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Suwáá/Unknown: Difference between revisions
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==Nouns== | ==Nouns== | ||
{{PAGENAME}} nouns decline in definiteness, three numbers (singular, dual and plural), and four cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, oblique). Unusually for a modern Semitic language, case plays a very important and productive role. There is no counterpart to the construct state or possessed forms of other Semitic languages; however, the possessor always follows the head | {{PAGENAME}} nouns decline in definiteness, three numbers (singular, dual and plural), and four cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, oblique). Unusually for a modern Semitic language, case plays a very important and productive role. There is no counterpart to the construct state or possessed forms of other Semitic languages; however, the possessor always follows the head. This state of affairs presumably came about because absolute and construct forms merged very early in the language's history, thus allowing the speakers to analyze them as free case-declined forms instead of bound, "construct-locked" forms. | ||
The accusative is identical to the genitive for animate nouns, and identical to the nominative for inanimate nouns. | The accusative is identical to the genitive for animate nouns, and identical to the nominative for inanimate nouns. | ||
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Nouns fall into one of several declension paradigms. Diachronically, the declension paradigm a noun belongs to is a function of the declension class it was analyzed as, as well as the noun's gender. | Nouns fall into one of several declension paradigms. Diachronically, the declension paradigm a noun belongs to is a function of the declension class it was analyzed as, as well as the noun's gender. | ||
The possessor follows the possessor: ''mescajov jumovo'' 'the drink of the day | The possessor follows the possessor: ''mescajov jumovo'' 'the drink of the day'. | ||
===Masculine nouns of type ''júm''=== | ===Masculine nouns of type ''júm''=== | ||