Minhast: Difference between revisions

Although nouns are not overtly marked for gender or number by inflection or clitics, they do take case marking clitics that attach to the end of the noun or noun phrase.  There are two core nominal arguments:  the Absolutive which receives zero marking, and the Ergative clitic =''de''. The Genitive derives from the same =de clitic as the Ergative,  and in most declension tables are thus listed as the Ergative-Genitive case.  However, there are several allomorphs which are explained in the section “Allomorphs of the Ergative-Genitive” where the Ergative and the Genitive diverge in shape.

Additionally, there are seven basic Oblique case clitics to non-core NP arguments.  Most of the Oblique clitics have two forms, one form with a short medial vowel, and the other with a long medial vowel.  Use of both forms are acceptable, but native speakers tend to use the clitics with short vowels when the clitic is preceded by a long vowel, while the converse is true for the clitics forms with long vowels.