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Bis Burunko: Difference between revisions
→Natural Gender on Burung
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==Grammar== | ==Grammar== | ||
===Natural Gender on Burung=== | ===Natural Gender on Burung=== | ||
Grammatical gender does not occur in Bis Burunko, but natural gender is frequently marked on nominals, either by employing different words (e.g. ''az'' 'male' ''deme'' 'female') or by derivation. The concept of natural gender differs somewhat from the usual Western concept. | Grammatical gender does not occur in Bis Burunko, but natural gender is frequently marked on nominals, either by employing different words (e.g. ''az'' 'male', ''deme'' 'female', ''biitosh'' '''iriji'' person') or by derivation (e.g. with the honorative suffixes ''-osh'' (m.) and ''-ez'' (f.), ''-ai'' (mid.)). The concept of natural gender differs somewhat from the usual Western concept. | ||
All things are considered to be either '''animate''' (''bui'') or '''inanimate''' (''nabui''), the primary distinction being whether a thing is capable of acting under its own power. This means humans, deities/spirits, most animals and some natural features, such as the sun and the sea, are considered ''bui'' while plants, rocks and most abstracts are ''nabui''. | All things are considered to be either '''animate''' (''bui'') or '''inanimate''' (''nabui''), the primary distinction being whether a thing is capable of acting under its own power. This means humans, deities/spirits, most animals and some natural features, such as the sun and the sea, are considered ''bui'' while plants, rocks and most abstracts are ''nabui''. | ||