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Tameï: Difference between revisions
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* The feminine class (''ninyaŧow chiâ'') includes all nouns ending in ''-i'' and ''-e'' (excluding the ''-wałe'' deverbal suffix, which is neuter), and most ''-ū'' and ''-a'' ones (incl. all Russian borrowings in ''-a''). | * The feminine class (''ninyaŧow chiâ'') includes all nouns ending in ''-i'' and ''-e'' (excluding the ''-wałe'' deverbal suffix, which is neuter), and most ''-ū'' and ''-a'' ones (incl. all Russian borrowings in ''-a''). | ||
* The neuter class (''đalūnaŧow chiâ'') includes all nouns ending in ''-u'' and ''-o'', all those nouns ending in ''-x'' and ''-z'', and many ''-a'' ones. | * The neuter class (''đalūnaŧow chiâ'') includes all nouns ending in ''-u'' and ''-o'', all those nouns ending in ''-x'' and ''-z'', and many ''-a'' ones. | ||
There is no general pattern, not even semantic, for which ''-a'' nouns are feminine and which ones are neuter: for example among geographical features ''neyna'' "island" and ''r′ulka'' "beach" are feminine, while ''łäna'' "stream" is neuter, while among body parts ''kilka'' "foot" is neuter and ''nʌmisa'' "leg" is feminine. | There is no general pattern, not even semantic, for which ''-a'' nouns are feminine and which ones are neuter: for example among geographical features ''neyna'' "island" and ''r′ulka'' "beach" are feminine, while ''łäna'' "stream" is neuter, while among body parts ''kilka'' "foot" is neuter and ''nʌmisa'' "leg" is feminine. Furthermore, deadjectival nouns from adjectives in ''-a'' are usually masculine (e.g. ''täzifeyza'' "red hue"). | ||
A notable feature of Tameï classes is that they almost never correlate with natural gender: as such the word ''p′ūki'' "man" is feminine, while ''niny'' "woman" is masculine (as is ''đalūn'' "stone", which is the root ''đalūnaŧe'' "neuter" is built on). | A notable feature of Tameï classes is that they almost never correlate with natural gender: as such the word ''p′ūki'' "man" is feminine, while ''niny'' "woman" is masculine (as is ''đalūn'' "stone", which is the root ''đalūnaŧe'' "neuter" is built on). | ||