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:'''ill os''', ''bone'', '''lla os''', ''bones'' | :'''ill os''', ''bone'', '''lla os''', ''bones'' | ||
:'''ill rham''', ''branch'', '''lla rham''', ''branches'' | :'''ill rham''', ''branch'', '''lla rham''', ''branches'' | ||
Many of these have a collective meaning, '''lla freich''', ''a pair of arms joined to a body'', contrasted to '''llo freich''', ''arms'' in a general sense. This is often reinforced in natural pairs by adding '''dew''', ''two'', as a prefix: '''yn ddewfreich''', ''a pair of arms''. | |||
The indefinite singular article is '''yn''', which also means 'one'. It also causes initial consonants to mutate on feminine nouns. The indefinite plural article is the preposition '''di''' combined with the definite article: '''di llo h-on''', ''some men''. In the spoken language it is contracted and pronounced as '''ddlo'''. The same happens with feminine plurals: '''ddla'''. However the creator himself doesn't favor this particular feature.<ref>(''The creator of Brithenig thinks this is an ugly feature and doesn't use it. Any student of the language is free to make their own choice - Andrew''.)</ref> | |||
Common nouns must always have an article. A notable exception is a genitive construction that alternatives with the use of '''di''' as possessive marker in Brithenig. Normally the only way to say 'the man's house' in Romance languages is to rearange it to mean 'the house of the man', '''lla gas di'll of'''. But there is an alternative form called the genitive construction. The preposition '''di''' is omitted along with the definate article of the possessed object. The possessed object comes first, followed by the possessor: | |||
:'''cas ill of''', ''the man's house, the house of the man'' | |||
:'''cas yn of''', ''a man's house, the house of a man'' | |||
In this case the possessed object is always understood as being definate, it cannot be understood as 'a house of . . .' It is not uncommon in poetic literature, but can also be translated as '''lla gas di'll of''', or '''lla gas d'yn of'''. It is often avoided when the possessed object is plural to avoid confusion, as there is no way to indicate plurality other than context. | |||
Many words expressing unspecified quantities, such as '''asset''', 'enough'; '''mullt''', 'many'; '''tan''', 'too much'; are also followed by '''di'''. | |||
Brithenig has three suffixes which are used on nouns, two diminutives and one augmentative. -'''ith''' is the usual diminutive, '''teithith''', 'little roof, circumflex', -'''in''' implies affection, Tomin, 'Tommy'. It is also used on collective nouns, '''plentin''', 'child', from '''plant''', 'children'. The augmentative is -'''un''', '''ofun''', 'big man'. Treat them as very productive. | |||
Brithenig has cases of i-mutation in its history, which cause a to become e, and u to become y. These cases are distinct from the normal letters e and i because they do not cause c and g to become the soft affricate sounds of 'tch' and 'j'. Technically the diminutive suffixes cause these vowels to change, but it is not strictly adhered to in spoken Brithenig. | |||
==Vocabulary== | ==Vocabulary== | ||