Noun Structure
Nouns are made up of a stem together with a prefix and a suffix. Noun stems can be monosyllabic, with a CVC structure. VC, CV, and V stems occur, as well as multisyllabic and compounded stems.
Prefixes
Stems are inflected with a mandatory set of prefixes denoting animate, inanimate, and possessed nouns.
Animate nouns refer to people, to things that are considered to have volition, such as some natural phenomena, or to things that have been elevated to person status, such as pets. What is inflected as animate can vary by idiolect. The most restrictive use of animacy is to designate only kin as animate. The following shows which things are most likely to have animate inflection:
| <— | Kēleñi kin | Kēleñi non-kin | Īrāñi & humans | natural forces, pets | animals, natural objects | tools | everything else | —> |
| <— | more likely | ———————————————————————————— | less likely | —> | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Inanimate nouns refer to things, events, places, qualities, and abstractions. Occasionally, animate nouns are demoted to inanimate for the purposes of insult. Also, possessed nouns that are no longer associated with a person, such as detached body parts, will be inflected as inanimate.
Possessed nouns refer to those inanimates that are considered to be part of a person, such as body parts. Occasionally and in the proper context, other non-body-part stems will also carry possessed marking. These tend to be emotions and other mental states, utterances, creations, motion in place, and other things exclusively associated with a person. Kinship terms are not generally possessed.
The prefixes are:
| before C | before V | |
|---|---|---|
| animate | ma | m |
| inanimate | ja | j |
| an | ||
| 1p possessed | le | l |
| 2p possessed | ri | r |
| 3p possessed | sa | s |
Suffixes
Stem suffixes denote number: non-plural and plural. The non-plural varies between -a, -e, and a null suffix. Which is used depends on the form and final consonant of the stem. The plural suffixes are -i and -ien. -ien is only used with animates.
Generally, the null suffix is used with stems ending in:
- a vowel
- a single nasal (m, n, ñ, ŋ)
- l, λ, r, or rj
-e is used with stems ending in:
- any two consonants (except rj)
- stems with the suffixes -īk or -īw
Regular stems ending in -īk or -īw do not use the non-plural -e suffix. For example, the stem -kīw- "skin" would not use the -e suffix, but the stem -kīwīk- "leather" would.
-a is used everywhere else, especially:
- after any single stop or fricative (varies by dialect)
- after a monosyllabic stem ending in any consonant (varies by dialect)
The plural suffix -i assimilates with stems ending in vowels. For example:
- -ā + -i = -āe
- -āe + -i = -āji
- -iē + -i = -īji
- -ēie + -i = -ēji
Other Suffixes
Stems can have other suffixes attached. These suffixes will occur between the stem and the number suffix. Productive suffixes include:
- -anen practitioner of N, as in anālte 'health' => māltanen 'healer, practitioner of healing'
- -ēl person who has quality N, as in ankēra 'holy' => makērēl 'holy person'
- -īhen device associated with N, as in annītte 'fried in oil' => janīttīhen 'frying pan'
- -īk artificial kind associated with N, as in sakīwa 'skin' => ankīwīke 'leather'
- -īñ diminutive, as in malāca 'girl' => malācīñ 'little girl'
- -īw opposite or lack of N, as in ansēña 'harmful' => ansēñīwe 'harmless'
- -ōn augmentative or agent, as in jatāena 'story' => matāenōn 'storyteller'
Common non-productive suffixes include:
- -eran guild associated with N, as in jālteran 'healers guild'
- -ienāl set of 4 N, as in jaxāelienāl 'set of four nights'
- -iss diminutive, as in jēwānisse 'small pond'
- -(n)non male practitioner of N, as in mērānnon 'hunter'
Inflections
A combination of prefix and suffix determines the inflection of the noun stem.
| inanimate ja- | + | non-plural -a/-e/- | = | inanimate singular noun |
| inanimate ja- | + | plural -i | = | inanimate plural noun |
| inanimate an- | + | non-plural -a/-e/- | = | stative noun |
| inanimate an- | + | plural -i | = | inanimate collective noun |
| animate ma- | + | non-plural -a/-e/- | = | animate singular noun |
| animate ma- | + | plural -i | = | animate collective noun |
| animate ma- | + | reduplication of initial consonant + plural -ien | = | animate plural noun |
Both animates and inanimates have three numbers: singular, collective, and plural. These could also be termed non-plural, collective plural, and distributive plural. There is also the stative inflection, which has no number and is neither animate nor inanimate.
Singular
Nouns that are inherently singular include things that can be counted, pieces or parts of things, and events. Singular nouns are used with modifying numbers up through four. Possessed nouns, even those that denote paired objects, are singular. Singular nouns are the preferred object of the relational SE.
- jaxāela 'night'
- malāca 'girl'
- sakīwa 'skin'
Collective
Collective nouns include inherent aggregations of parts, powders, liquids, and gases. Collectives are also sets, series, or expanses, and can optionally be used for large scale natural phenomena. Collectives can be used to refer to a generic when discussing something that applies to all members of a set.
- anhāri 'water'
- ancēwriti 'powder'
- makīri 'kinfolk'
Plural
Plural is a distributive plural, and refers to multiple distinct entities that are not grouped.
- jaxāeli 'nights'
- mallācien 'girls'
Stative
Stative nouns include abstractions, qualities such as color and size, materials and substances, and feelings. The stative can be used to refer to a generic when discussing the essence of something. Also, the stative is the preferred 2nd opject of PA.
- ankēra 'holy'
- anmāλa 'green'
- ankīwīke 'leather'
Stative nouns will often modify other nouns. In this situation, the stative noun will change its inflection to agree with the other noun. Sometimes the modified noun is omitted, and so only the changed stative is left.
Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns make more distinctions in number than nouns do. Where nouns have merely a singular, a collective, and a plural, pronouns come in singular, dual, paucal (or collective), and plural. The dual is used for pairs and dyads. The paucal is generally used to refer to a set of closely bonded individuals, such as in a marriage or small kingroup, and other groups that act collectively. The plural is used to refer to larger unrelated groups of people. Thus the paucal has lost its strict numerical value and become a collective plural, while the plural remains a non-collective plural. Kēlen culture approves of collectives, so the paucal is actually more widespread than the plural.
Furthermore, the first person pronouns come in both exclusive and inclusive varieties. Exclusive excludes 2nd person, and inclusive includes it. Or, first person exclusive refers to 'me and him or her, but not you', or first person plus third person, and first person inclusive refers to 'me and you and maybe him or her, too', or first person plus second and/or third person.
| Singular | Dual | Paucal | Plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1p | liēn | liēnne | 1 + 3 | lēim | 1 + (3 + 3) | liēþ | 1 + 3 + 3 |
| (inclusive) | liēr | 1 + 2 | ñēim | 1 + (2 + 2) | ñiēþ | 1 + 2 + 3 | |
| 2p | riēn | riēnne | 2 + 2 | rēim | 2 + (2 + 2) | riēþ | 2 + 3 |
| 3p | sāen | sāenne | 3 + 3 | sāim | 3 + (3 + 3) | sāeþ | 3 + 3 + 3 |
There are two modifiers that can modify pronouns, tēna and āñ. tēna can modify any non-singular pronoun to add emphasis by specifying "both" or "each". āñ can modify any pronoun, turning it into a reflexive form.
Reduced and Relative Pronouns
There are four reduced pronouns. One is used only as a relative pronoun, the others appear in both roles.
| 1p | le |
|---|---|
| 2p | ri |
| 3p anim. | ma |
| 3p inan. (relative only) | ja |
le is often used in place of singular, dual, and paucal forms of 1p, exclusive and inclusive. This is considered a polite usage. ri can be used in place of singular, dual, and occasionally paucal forms of 2p, but is considered impolite. ma is often used in place of any of the 3p animate forms, and is neutral as far as politeness is concerned, though in some contexts it could be interpreted as impolite. Most often the reduced forms occur in oblique phrases and not as an object of a relational.
These forms can all be used as relative pronouns, though the 3rd person reduced pronouns are the most prevalent relative pronouns. Also, there is a special relative pronoun ien which is only used to relativize the object of the relational SE.
Definite Pronouns
Inflected nouns can be definite or indefinite. Generally definiteness is clear in context. When one wants to explicitly state that a noun is definite, one can use one of three definite pronouns. These are xō, þō, and āke. They mean 'this', 'that', and 'the other' respectively. They generally follow the noun they modify, but can immediately precede it. They can also be used to reference a previously mentioned noun.
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns can be used alone or in conjunction with a noun.
| Indef. PN | as standalone | as modifier |
|---|---|---|
| janaren | everything | every |
| jannarien | - | every |
| jawae | nothing | no |
| janahan | anything, something | any |
| manaren | everyone, everybody | every |
| mannarien | - | every |
| mawae | noone, nobody | no |
| manahan | anyone, anybody, someone, somebody | any |
| honnarien | every kind, every manner | every kind of, every manner of |
| howae | no kind, no manner, no-how | no kind of, no manner of |
| honahan | any kind, some kind, any manner, some manner | any kind of, any manner of |
Singular nouns can be modified by the indefinite pronouns janahan (inanimate) and manahan (animate).
Collective nouns can be modified by the indefinite pronouns janaren (inanimate), manaren (animate), jawae (inanimate), and mawae (animate).
Plural nouns can be modified by the indefinite pronouns jannarien (inanimate), mannarien (animate), honahan, howae, and honnarien.
Quantifiers
Quantifiers are modifiers that express quantity. These have different forms when used alone as opposed to used as a modifier.
| modifying form | + N.sg | + N.co | + N.pl | + N.st | standalone form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nāra | all of | the whole set of | all | all | janāra | whole, all of it/this/that |
| tēna | - | all, both, each in the set | - | - | - | |
| ān tēna | only one | only one | - | - | - | |
| wā | none of | none in the set | no | not | jawāe | none of it/this/that |
| pē | some of | some of the set | few | some, little | japē | something, some of it/this/that |
| pē pē | very little of | very few in the set | very few | very little | jañīña | very little of it/this/that |
| ām | enough of | enough of the set | enough | enough | jaŋŋīra | enough of it/this/that |
| āmīwe | not enough of, too little of | not enough in the set, too little of the set | not enough, too little | not enough, too little | jāmīwe | not enough of it/this/that, too little of it/this/that |
| nā | much of | much of the set, many in the set | many | much, lots of | janāe | much of it/this/that, lots of it/this/that |
| ŋō | very much of | very much of the set, very many in the set | very many | very | jaŋō | very much of it/this/that |
| nāpie | too much of | too much of the set, too many in the set | too many | too much | janāpie | too much of it/this/that |
Noun Phrases
Noun phrases consisting of two or more nouns in juxtaposition with the same inflection refer to the same entity. The order of the nouns in the noun phrase is syntactically irrelevant. Possessed nouns are considered to be inanimate singular, so any modifying nouns referring to the possessed noun would also have to be inanimate singular, though not possessed.
Two or more nouns of differing inflections in juxtaposition do not refer the same entity. Instead, the first is considered to be the main or topic noun, and the modifying noun is considered to be a part or attribute of that noun. This whole::part relationship is the same relationship that the relational PA expresses.
More complex noun phrases can consist of a noun modified by an indefinite pronoun or a quantifier.