User:Bukkia/sandboxVIII

Noun declension

As already mentioned, the nominal root has a CVCV structure. This structure can be derivatively and semantically expanded by other syllables, while still preserving its vowel-ending structure.

Nouns do decline, according to their role in the sentence for case. They also distinguish three morphological numbers, singular, dual, and plural.

A nominal root is thus declined for case and number by adding the following morphemes:

Case morphemes
agentive	-li
passive	-
genitive	-ra
ablative	-ʂu
terminative	-χæ
causative	-kʰu
instrumental	-kʰæ
abessive	-ŋil
locative	-ʈar
Numeral morphemes
singular	-
plural	-no
dual	-ʔi

In the pre-diasporic period, these morphemes are added to the root without a fixed pattern. Numeral morpheme can, indeed, be freely placed before or after the case morpheme.

Some examples are shown below: a typical active or animate noun, papu, father, and a typical inactive or inanimate noun, soːŋo, house.

	Singular declension
agentive	papuli	-
passive	papu	soːŋo
genitive	papura	-
terminative	papuʂu	soːŋoʂu
terminative	papuχæ	soːŋoχæ
causative	papukʰu	soːŋokʰu
instrumental	-	soːŋokʰæ
abessive	-	soːŋoŋil
locative	-	soːŋoʈar

The endings for the secondary oblique cases are not usually added to a semantically animate noun, while the endings for the primary main cases are not usually added to a semantically inanimate noun.

	Plural declension
	precasual pattern	postcasual pattern	precasual pattern	postcasual pattern
agentive	papunoli	papulino	-	-
passive	papuno	papuno	soːŋono	soːŋono
genitive	papunora	papurano	-	-
terminative	papuʂu	soːŋoʂu
terminative	papuχæ	soːŋoχæ
causative	papukʰu	soːŋokʰu
instrumental	-	soːŋokʰæ
abessive	-	soːŋoŋil
locative	-	soːŋoʈar