Peshpeg: Difference between revisions

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, horses, and moving bodies of water 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''. These nouns follow along biological gender for female and neuter animate nouns.  Some inanimate nouns are also found in this category, such as trees, household items e.g. ''tonkul'' "crockpot",  or farming implements, e.g. ''vulpat'' "hoe".  These nouns are lower in the animacy hierarchy than the Class I nouns.

 

Lastly, Class III nouns, which occupy the lowest level in the animacy hierarchy, take no marking for case or number.  Nouns falling in this class include certain body parts, most plants, mass nouns, inanimate objects, and abstract nouns.