Thangha': Difference between revisions

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Only CCV syllables are permitted (this assumes that nasal and glottalised vowels are distinct phonemes). Furthermore, the only permissible consonant clusters (that are not affricates / cases of secondary articulation in at least some dialects) are /pf/, /tf/ and /pç/~/ps/~/pɬ/.

==Nouns==

===Plurals===

====Additive Plural====

This is formed by reduplicating the last syllable of the noun e.g. /ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ - "boss" -> /ˈʂaⁿsəʔsəʔ/ - "bosses". However, in Thangha', pluralisation is optional. So /ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ could mean either "boss" or "bosses". In general, the plural is only used to emphasise that there is a large number / quantity of something. It can even be used for uncountable nouns e.g. /ˈpfəⁿʂa/ - sand (from a desert, Thangha' has a different word for beach sand) -> /ˈpfəⁿʂaʂa/ - "large amount of desert sand / dune sea".

====Associative Plural====

Distinct from the additive plural, this means "X and company", "X and his/her mob" etc. (similar to Japanese -tachi). It is formed by suffixing /-də/ to the noun e.g.

/ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ - "boss" -> /ˈʂaⁿsəʔdə/ - "the boss and his lot"

Note that this is distinct from the additive plural discussed before. /ˈʂaⁿsəʔsəʔ/ refers to a group of bosses, while /ˈʂaⁿsəʔdə/ refers to a boss with a group of other people associated with him (who by no means need to be bosses, and could well be the boss's subordinates).

===Case===

Thangha' has three cases, Absolutive (unmarked), Ergative (marked with the suffix /-ɟa/) and Genitive.

The Genitive case is normally marked with the prefix /naⁿ-/ e.g. /ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ - "boss" -> /naⁿˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ - "of the boss", /ˈpfəⁿʂa/ - "sand" -> /naⁿˈpfəⁿʂa/ "of the sand". However, if the initial consonant of the noun is /ʔ/, /j/ or /w/, then these are replaced with /nag-/, /naɟ-/ and /nagʷ-/ respectively. e.g. /ˈʔaba/ - "ash" -> /naˈgaba/ - "of the ash", /ˈjiːtəʔ/ - "food" -> /naˈɟiːtəʔ/ - "of the food", /ˈwəʔɖa/ - "rain" -> /naˈgʷəʔɖa/ - "of the rain".

@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 Only CCV syllables are permitted (this assumes that nasal and glottalised vowels are distinct phonemes). Furthermore, the only permissible consonant clusters (that are not affricates / cases of secondary articulation in at least some dialects) are /pf/, /tf/ and /pç/~/ps/~/pɬ/.
+==Nouns==
+===Plurals===
+====Additive Plural====
+This is formed by reduplicating the last syllable of the noun e.g. /ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ - "boss" -> /ˈʂaⁿsəʔsəʔ/ - "bosses". However, in Thangha', pluralisation is optional. So /ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ could mean either "boss" or "bosses". In general, the plural is only used to emphasise that there is a large number / quantity of something. It can even be used for uncountable nouns e.g. /ˈpfəⁿʂa/ - sand (from a desert, Thangha' has a different word for beach sand) -> /ˈpfəⁿʂaʂa/ - "large amount of desert sand / dune sea".
+====Associative Plural====
+Distinct from the additive plural, this means "X and company", "X and his/her mob" etc. (similar to Japanese -tachi). It is formed by suffixing /-də/ to the noun e.g.
+/ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ - "boss" -> /ˈʂaⁿsəʔdə/ - "the boss and his lot"
+Note that this is distinct from the additive plural discussed before. /ˈʂaⁿsəʔsəʔ/ refers to a group of bosses, while /ˈʂaⁿsəʔdə/ refers to a boss with a group of other people associated with him (who by no means need to be bosses, and could well be the boss's subordinates).
+===Case===
+Thangha' has three cases, Absolutive (unmarked), Ergative (marked with the suffix /-ɟa/) and Genitive.
+The Genitive case is normally marked with the prefix /naⁿ-/ e.g. /ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ - "boss" -> /naⁿˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ - "of the boss", /ˈpfəⁿʂa/ - "sand" -> /naⁿˈpfəⁿʂa/ "of the sand". However, if the initial consonant of the noun is /ʔ/, /j/ or /w/, then these are replaced with /nag-/, /naɟ-/ and /nagʷ-/ respectively. e.g. /ˈʔaba/ - "ash" -> /naˈgaba/ - "of the ash", /ˈjiːtəʔ/ - "food" -> /naˈɟiːtəʔ/ - "of the food", /ˈwəʔɖa/ - "rain" -> /naˈgʷəʔɖa/ - "of the rain".