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Except for the genitive and the vocative, nouns exhibit "case" in Teonaht primarily through their articles. Only a scant few show accusative case in the form of an ending or a mutation, such as in the '''Nenddeylyt''' nouns listed below; so inflection will not be a problem for the learner of Teonaht. The learner of Teonaht will not be plagued by the fabulous array of cases exhibited, say, by the Finnish. In fact, case is blindingly simple.
Except for the genitive and the vocative, nouns exhibit "case" in Teonaht primarily through their articles. Only a scant few show accusative case in the form of an ending or a mutation, such as in the '''Nenddeylyt''' nouns listed below; so inflection will not be a problem for the learner of Teonaht. The learner of Teonaht will not be plagued by the fabulous array of cases exhibited, say, by the Finnish. In fact, case is blindingly simple.
Teonaht once exhibited a morphology of gender, but that has been effaced by time. Nouns and articles do not reflect gender by themselves, whereas pronouns do. Animals, however, have a whole range of gendered categories expressed in an adjective that follows the noun; these vary according to the type of animal but are far from being consistent.
===Plurality===
Plural nouns are expressed in a number of ways. The most common is to add an -n or -en to the end of the word:<blockquote>'''ytanney, ytanneyn''', "foot, feet"
'''fanttear, fanttearn''', "dance, dances"
'''pyttela, pyttelan''', "color, colors"
'''paneht, pannehten''', "force, forces" (here the word undergoes a change in stress)
'''imuif, imuivn''', "gift, gifts" (here the -en has been modified, and the "f" voiced)</blockquote>The other most common plural is the addition of the plural prefix '''ni-''' or '''mim-''':<blockquote>'''htindro, nihhtindro''' ("song, songs")
'''flehta, nifflehta''' ("fire, fires")
'''hsavves, mimhsaves''' ("grass, grasses"--note here the shift in emphasis back to the initial syllable, now '''mim-''')
'''selivy, niselivy''' ("concept, concepts")</blockquote>The last example shows no change in stress in the root word because the rules have not been violated (i.e., a four syllable word is stressed on the second syllable); therefore, the prefix form of the plural is most often applied to three-syllable words with initial (normal) stress. Nonetheless, there are plenty of two syllable words that take the plural prefix, changing their stress, and many cases in which such words show either form: '''betõn''' ("boys"), and '''nibbetõ''' ("boys"). Occasionally you get a pleonasm: '''nibbetõn''' ("boys"), but this is rare.
Typographically, definite articles are almost never bonded to nouns with plural prefixes, but stand alone:<center>'''li nihhtindro''', "the songs"</center>Occasionally:<center>'''lini htindro''', "the songs"</center>The indefinite article suffix is never added to plural nouns, the preferred form being the adjective '''mimim'''(pronoun '''mim''' + partitive genitive '''õm'''): "some of," from which the plural prefix is of course formed:<center>'''mimim nihhtindro'''</center><center>"some (of) songs"</center>This is oftened abbreviated to '''mimi''' before non-collective '''ni-''' plurals: '''mimi nihhtindro''', and to '''mi''' before '''mim-''' plurals: '''mi mimshaves''', "some grasses." Typographically, this is sometimes rendered '''mimmim hsaves''', "some grasses."
The numbers followed suit, and when used adjectivally ("four spoons") they were assumed to carry the same plural force that '''mimmim''' does: so nouns aren't made plural after numbers:<blockquote>'''tibrom pronep''' "two (of) fork[s]"
...although you will occasionally see '''tibro nippronep''', "two forks"</blockquote>


=== Cases ===
=== Cases ===
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This rule is worth knowing because it is used in other rare instances of Teonaht mutation (which arise when certain words appear out of their customary word order: for instance, when a predicate noun or adjective follows the copula where it should precede--'''lynna vandivar''', "she is a dancer" '''(fandivar)'''. See the page on Syntax for more information.
This rule is worth knowing because it is used in other rare instances of Teonaht mutation (which arise when certain words appear out of their customary word order: for instance, when a predicate noun or adjective follows the copula where it should precede--'''lynna vandivar''', "she is a dancer" '''(fandivar)'''. See the page on Syntax for more information.
=== Gender ===
Teonaht once exhibited a morphology of gender, but that has been effaced by time. Nouns and articles do not reflect gender by themselves, whereas pronouns do. Animals, however, have a whole range of gendered categories expressed in an adjective that follows the noun; these vary according to the type of animal but are far from being consistent.
=== Nenddeylyt Noun Classes ===
The following classes of noun are presumed to come from Nenddeyly, a language for which we have little textual evidence and much folklore. They take different endings:
====i. -ar/-arn nouns ====
These are primarily used for animals and plants and some gods: things of the earth; -ar was originally the masculine ending; -arn is the feminine. Plurals are formed variously, usually with a prefix.
:'''pavar''', "clam."
:'''ivvarn''', "deep glen."
:'''õllern''', "pigeon."
====ii. -im/-em nouns. ====
:'''velim''', "female."
:'''fyllim''', "female virgin."
:'''zelim''', "male."
====iii. -õl, -ol, -or nouns ====
This group includes nouns made from verbs, adjectives, or other nouns and represent both states of being and generality. By analogy, these endings have been applied to non-Nenddeylyt words:
:'''firkol''', "generosity" (from '''firik''', "giving").
:'''nisimol''', "pushing" (from '''nisim''', "aggressive").
:'''toykor''', "sarcasm" (from '''toyk''', "cutting").
:'''coyol''', "sentimentality" (from '''coy''', "sweet").
====iv. -õn, õ , -õ, -is/-il, -l, -ik, -k nouns ====
This very large group includes objects. Not all Teonaht words ending with these letters are Nenddeylyt:
:'''flanis''', "wool"
:'''fõn''', "dust"
:'''findris''', "glass"
====v. -yr nouns ====
This special class of nouns takes traits from Teonaht nouns, so it is unclear whether they are corrupted forms of Nenddeylyt nouns or vice versa. An unerring characteristic is the stress on the second syllable in disyllabic words. They have a special form of the object case, described below, and take Teeonaht endings in the plural:
'''byr''', '''byrn''', "guilty one(s), beer(s)."
'''dyr''', '''dyrn''', "scream(s)."
'''cyr''', '''cyrn''', "tumult(s)."
=== Nenddeylyt Plurals ===
Class One Nenddeylyt nouns take a special plural in the form of a prefix: '''se-, ze-''' (depending on voiced consonants in the noun), '''es-,''' or '''e-'''. The '''se-/ze-''' prefixes are often abbreviated: '''s', z'<nowiki/>''':<blockquote>'''pavar, sippavar, s'pavar,''' "clam, clams."
</blockquote>When the article is added, the s' or z' often transfer to the end of the article:<blockquote>'''li pavar, lis pavar; il pavarb, ils pavarb.'''</blockquote>The indefinite article also transfers the "s" or "z" plural particle:<blockquote>'''uõas pavar; uõs pavar; uols pavar.'''</blockquote>So:<blockquote>'''ivvarn, zivvarn, lez ivvarn''', "the glens"
'''õllern, s õllern, les õllern''', "the pigeons"
'''teuanar, etuanar, lis eteuanar''', "the fawns"
</blockquote>
Note that where the juxtaposition of an article ending with a vowel and the e- form of the plural causes an awkward stop, -s or -z will be suffixed to the article while retaining the plural prefix of the noun: '''ils/lis eteanar''', "the fawns."
This rule applies with dwindling force to the other classes of Nenddeylyt nouns ('''siffindris, sipperõ'''), and then just applies, by analogy, the common -en plural suffix, occasionally the ni- prefix, especially with the -ndl/-il nouns:<blockquote>'''hilen''', "constellations."
'''tilvan''', "stars."
'''hwendlen''', "infants."
'''fefirilen''', "lightning bolts."</blockquote>NOTE: In Class One N. Nouns, the plural particle can suffix itself to possessive pronouns as well:<blockquote>'''las pelnarn''', "her rivers"
'''lõz ydonar''', "his forests"</blockquote>
=== Object Case in Nenddeylyt Nouns ===
The objective form occurs only in Nenddeylyt nouns; wherever it occurs in Teonaht nouns as well it is due to analogy. It is likely that Teonaht itself was inflected, but that morphology is lost to us. The accusative ending in Nenddeylyt nouns is most commonly -p and -b, appended to nouns ending in -m, -r, -s, and -ol; for nouns ending with -arn, the mutations is to -armp; -s for nouns ending with -k; -z for nouns ending in -il or -ndl, or a vowel. Plural forms are given below:
==== a. Class-i nouns ====
<blockquote>'''pavarb''', "clam," '''spavarb''', "clams."
'''ils pavarb,''' "the clams," etc.
'''ivvarmp''', "glen," '''zivvarmp''', "glens."
'''õllermp''', "pigeon," '''sõllermp''', "pigeons."</blockquote>
==== b. Class-ii nouns ====
<blockquote>
'''velimp''', "female," '''zvelimp''', "females."
'''fyllimp''', "female virgin," '''sfyllimp''', "unmarried girls"
'''zellemp''', "male virgin," '''ezellemp''', "unmarried boys."</blockquote>
==== c. Class-iii nouns ====
<blockquote>
'''firkolp''', "generosity" (no plural).
'''nisimolp''', "a push," '''ninisimolp''', "pushes."
'''toykorp''', "sarcasm" (no plural).</blockquote>
==== d. Class-iv nouns ====
<blockquote>
'''flanisp''', "wool," '''sifflanisp, sflanisp''', "woolens."
'''fõmp''', "dust," '''siffomp''', "dustballs."
'''findrisp''', "glass," '''siffindrisp''', "glasswares."
'''perõb''', "song," '''sipperõ, sperõ''', "songs."
</blockquote>
==== e. Class-v nouns ====
This class, as stated, has an entirely different object case involving radical mutation of the noun:
subject: '''byr, byrn''';
    object: '''binis, nibbinis''', "beer(s)."
subject: '''dyr, dyrn''';
   object: '''dinis, niddinis''', "scream(s)."
subject: '''cyr, cyrn''';
   object: '''cyr, cinis''', "tumult(s)."


=== Articles ===
=== Articles ===
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|Genitive
|Genitive
|}
|}


{| class="bluetable"
{| class="bluetable"
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Likewise, the oblique object articles will often bond with the preposition: '''aril''', "to the"; '''celuõl''', "in a"; '''euil''' "to the" (this last needs the glide "u" to bond '''e''' and '''il''').
Likewise, the oblique object articles will often bond with the preposition: '''aril''', "to the"; '''celuõl''', "in a"; '''euil''' "to the" (this last needs the glide "u" to bond '''e''' and '''il''').
=== Possession ===
The Teonaht noun shows a variety of ways of expressing possession, as we have seen already with the "genitive" above. The most common way is to suffix '''-id''' to the noun:<blockquote><center>'''betõid,''' "boy's"
'''tohda betõid,''' "cat of a boy", "a boy's cat"
</center>Another way is to prefix '''d-,''' '''di-''' or '''id-''' to the noun:<center>'''dytanney,''' "of a foot," "foot's"
'''dippaneht''', "of force"
</center>Still another way is to suffix '''-id''' to the article:<center>'''mabbamba ilid betõ''', "the boy's ball"
'''ilid flehta,''' "of the fire"
</center></blockquote>A rule of thumb is that the possessed object generally precedes the possessor, and where there are exceptions, convention requires that '''d-, di-,''' and '''-id-''' not be placed between the two words to avoid a construction like '''betõid mabbamba''', which could be taken for '''betõ idmabbamba,''' "the ball's boy." The Teonaht would say, however, that this makes little difference in the close relationship of possessor and possessed--and violate this prescription all the time. If the NP is head initial, then that in itself reduces ambiguity, although you will also find '''dotma paneht''', "the demon's strength." This, actually, seems to be the older tradition, back when Teonaht, a good OV language, was more "head final" in structure, and its adjectives preceded its nouns. In short, Teonaht is fairly flexible about word order.
How do these work with other prefixes? With plural prefixes, the possessive suffix is used if there is no article: '''wydo niselivyd''', "[the] truth of concepts." Otherwise: '''paneht ilid niselivy''', "[the] strength of the concepts."
=== '''Pronouns''' ===
:''Main article: [[Teonaht/Pronouns]]''
This chart on the main pronouns is repeated, for clarity's sake, in the section on verbs. These prefix to verbs except for '''broffyn, brossyn,''' and '''brottwav.''' Inclusive and exclusive "we" makes a distinction between an addressee (or addressees) who is included from or excluded in a group with the speaker. The difference between '''fy''' and '''sy''' is (familiar and formal "you") is not one of number, as in most of the Indo-European languages, but of intimacy and formality, closeness and distance. Teonaht has an indefinite pronoun much like the German ''man'' in '''õn/bõn/mim.''' Also like the Germanic languages, Teonaht has a dual formation. Closeness and distance and one-on-one are important in expressing relationships.
{| class="bluetable"
! colspan="3" |'''a. Nominative (Agentive and Experiential)'''
|-
!Singular
!Dual
!Plural
|-
|'''y, ry,''' "I"
|'''brõ''', "we two" (inclusive)
'''broys''', "we two" (exclusive)
|'''tsõ''' "we" (inclusive)
'''soys,''' "we" (exclusive)
|-
|'''fy''', "thou"
|'''broffyn''', "you two" (familiar)
|'''fyn''', "you" (familiar)
|-
|'''sy''', "you"
|'''brossyn''', "you two" (formal)
|'''syn''', "you" (formal)
|-
|'''lo''', "he"
'''ly''', "she"
'''ai''', "it"
|'''brottwav''', "those two," "both"
|'''twav''', "they"
|-
|'''on''', "one"
|'''brõn''', "a couple"
|'''mim''', "some"
|}
==== '''Emphasized nominative or subject''' ====
Very often one may want the nominative pronoun to lead the sentence, as in the French ''moi'' of ''Moi, je suis arrivé etc.'' The following paradigm for the emphasized subject is the only form of the pronoun to make a distinction between subject and participant. Ordinarily, this distinction is ignored, the absolute form being used for both cases, but in some instances the agentive (which takes the suffix '''-i''' (pronounced like a ''schwa'') is useful in some contexts, especially when you are formally addressing someone whom you don't wish to offend by putting his pronoun in the "non-volitional" (universally conceived in T. as the weaker case): '''Syryi, Hmeo, krekinvand tyr nuarsy bado''', "You, Sir, had a bad dream too." This is of course a compromise; '''nuarsy bado''' exhibits non-volitional morphology (used of actions like dreaming, or enduring dreams), but at least some agency is returned to the important man in the emphatic pronoun at the beginning. Pronounced, incidentally, exactly like "Syria."
{| class="bluetable"
! colspan="3" |b. Emphasized Subject
|-
!Singular
!Dual
!Plural
|-
|'''yry, ryry''', "I" (participatory)
'''yryi, ryryi''', "I" (agentive)
|'''brõry, broysy''', "We two" (incl./excl.)(participatory)
'''broryi, broysyi''', "We two" (incl./excl.)(agentive)
|'''tsõry, soysy''', "We" (incl./excl.) (participatory)
'''tsõryi, soysyi''', "We" (incl./excl.)(agentive)
|-
|'''fyry,''', "thou" (participatory)
'''fyryi''', "thou" (agentive)
|'''broffynry''', "you two" (participatory)
'''brofynryi''', "you two" (agentive)
|'''fynry''', "you" (familar, (participatory)
'''fynryi''', "you" (agentive)
|-
|'''syry''', "you" (formal, participatory)
'''syryi''', "you" (formal, agentive)
|'''brossynry''', "you two" (formal, participatory)
'''brosynryi''', "you two" (formal, agentive)
|'''synry''', "you" (formal participatory)
'''synryi''', "you" (formal, agentive)
|-
|'''loly''', "he" (participatory)
'''loylyi''', "he" (agentive)<br>
'''lyly''', "she" (participatory)<br>
'''lylyi''', "she" (agentive)<br>
'''airy''', "it" (participatory)<br>
'''airyi''', "it" (agentive)<br>
|'''brottwavry''', "those two" (participatory)
'''brotwavryi''', "those two" (agentive)
|'''twavry''', "they" (participatory)
'''twavryi''', "they" (agentive)
|-
|'''õnry''', "one" (participatory)
'''õ nryi''', "one" (agentive)
|'''brõnry''', "a couple" (participatory)
'''brõnryi''' "a couple" (agentive)
|'''mimry''', "some" (participatory)
'''mimryi''', "some" (agentive)
|}
'''Examples''':
'''Yry ta tohdan kohsan omy maka garne.'''</kbd>
"Now me, I like dogs better than cats."</kbd>
These are also used for emphasis in such constructions as '''yry massela''', "I myself sit," but also as a kind of reflexive if you attach the infixed form of the possesseve (see below) to the emphasized pronoun:
'''Yryel uaja''', "I hate myself," a little stronger than saying:
'''õl ryuuaja''', "me I hate."
'''Heddorla fyryelf olmfy epriko'''
"For a long time (''heddorla'') you were (''olmfy'') deceiving yourself (''epriko, fyryelf'')."
==== Accusative and Oblique Cases ====
Teonaht does not make a morphological distinction between accusative and dative/ablative/locative (what I call the "oblique cases"), but prefers to express these other relationships through prepositions. Here's the chart:
{| class="bluetable"
! colspan="3" |'''c. Accusative and Oblique Cases.'''
|-
!Singular
!Dual
!Plural
|-
|'''õl''', "me"
|'''brõs''', "us two" (inclusive)
'''bros''', "us two" (exclusive)
|'''rrõ''', "us" (inclusive)
'''ros''', "us" (exclusive)
|-
|'''fel''', "thee"
|'''broffend''', "you two" (informal)
|'''fend''', "you"
|-
|'''sed''', "you" (formal)
|'''brossend''', "you two"
|'''send''', "you"
|-
|'''der''', "him"
'''dam''', "her"
'''ain''', "it"
|'''brad''', "those two"
|'''ad(we)''', "them"
|-
|'''on''', "one"
|'''bron''', "a couple"
|'''mimin''', "some"
|}
{| class="bluetable"
! colspan="3" |'''d. Genitive Case.'''
|-
!Singular
!Dual
!Plural
|-
|'''al''', "my"
|'''bro''', "between us our" (inclusive)
'''broy''' "between us our" (exclusive)
|'''ro''', "our" (inclusive)
'''roy''', "our" (exclusive)
|-
|'''fyl''', "thy"
|'''bryl''' "thy"
|'''fyl, fylin''', "thy"
|-
|'''syl''', "your" (formal)
|'''brossyl''', "your"
|'''syl, sylin''', "your"
|-
|'''lõ''', "his"
'''la''', "her"
'''aid''', "its"
|'''brodwe''', "their"
|'''twe''', "their"
|}
==== Infixed Possessive Pronouns ====
There is a special (more often poetic) form of possessive pronoun that is used only in infixed positions and mainly with the gerund/infinitive: between the gerundive prefix rem- and its gerund, the prepositional prefix and the conjunct verb, and many adverbial prefixes. No dual forms are used:
{| class="bluetable"
! colspan="2" |'''Infixed Pronoun Forms.'''
|-
!Singular
!Plural
|-
|'''el''', "my"
|'''or''', "our"
'''os''', "our" (inclus.)
|-
|'''elf''', "thy"
|'''elt''', "your" (fam.)
|-
|'''es''', your
|'''est''', your (formal)
|-
|'''ol''', "his"
'''yl''', "her"'''aid''', its
|'''we''', "their"
|}
'''remelfravõ''', "your loving," from '''remravvõ''', "to love" (an inversion of '''ravvõrem'''. Sometimes this is written '''remelf ravvõ.''' Other examples include:
:'''remest taitaf''', "your (formal) laughing"
:'''remolrefod''', or '''remol refod''', "his choosing" (note change in phonic emphasis).
:'''hsoveleuan''', "my preceding." (Note: with the prepositional verbs, the '''rem-''' is often omitted.
:'''prebestlis''', "your being promoted."
:'''pomwefen''', "their being included."
:'''rempomweffen''', "their being included."
:'''remwe pomfen''', a variant of the above.


==Syntax==
==Syntax==
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== External links ==
== External links ==
*[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1126975 NPR interview with Sally Caves]
*[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1126975 NPR interview with Sally Caves]
*[http://www.frontiernet.net/~scaves/teonaht.html Sally Caves's Teonaht page]
*[http://www.concavities.org/teonaht/whatsteo.html Sally Caves's Teonaht page]


[[Category:Teonaht]]
[[Category:Teonaht]]
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