Peshpeg: Difference between revisions

Peshpeg nouns fall into three declensions, or classes, simply called Class I, Class II, and Class III.  The noun classes roughly coincide with natural gender and/or animacy.  Class I nouns, which preserve the original nominative-accusative system, are typically male, or consist of nouns that are associated with male attributes, particularly weapons.  Divinities, supernatural events and horses also fall within this class.  Class II nouns contain all other nouns that can be counted.  These nouns, under Minhast influence, have developed an ergative-absolutive pattern: they take the ergative ''-du/-dumu'' markers, the ''-d-'' submorpheme etymologically derived from the Minhast ergative clitic ''=de''.  An noticeable characteristic of these nouns is that they are considered to be low animacy nouns.  Lastly, Class III nouns take no marking for case or number.  Nouns falling in this class include certain body parts, mass nouns, and abstract nouns.