Biwdiw morphology

Main article: Biwdiw

This page gives an extensive description of Biwdiw morphological features.

Nouns

Nouns in Biwdiw language end almost exclusively in a vowel or in the recurring -iw diphthong. A certain number of nouns, mostly loanwords, may unusually end in a consonant; in this case a euphonic vowel, -u-, is added at the end of noun before the normal declension endings.

Nouns are grouped into two declension classes: animate nouns or class I and inanimate nouns or class II. The first class generally includes nouns indicating animate beings, namely capable of intentional motion or action, while the second class includes inanimate objects or entities. As a rule, we can sketch out the following scheme:

• class I: human beings, animals, deities
• class II: plants, objects, ideas, feelings, senses, perceptions

A noun is not irreversibly included in one of the two classes, as nouns lack clear morphological marks for each class. For example, there are some logical-semantical exceptions, like the word hɛčo, wind, ňuli, love, or sjɛňu, light, which freely shift from a class to the other during the history of the language, depending on the overall cultural perception of the nouns' animateness degree, being thus regarded as lifeless objects or concepts or as moving entities.

Despite the general lack of morphological markers in the basic forms, being thus unable to distinguish the two classes, the declension patterns depend on which class a noun belongs to.

There are three morphological numbers for almost all nouns, singular, dual, and plural.

The dual number is used when two entities are mentioned (or when these entities are usually found in couple):

līlušū subɛnu
I see dogs (three, four, some, many, …)

līlušū subɛhiw
I see two dogs (it cannot be any other number)

In this case, the usage of the numeral hɛgiw, two, is not required. It can be used, however, to highlight the value of the numeral.

līlušū hɛgiw subɛhiw
I see two dogs (the amount of two is purposedly highlighted)

The dual number is not a continuously stable feature per se in the history of Biwdiw language. It is largely used in the classical period, while it tends to be always introduced by the numeral in the first later period. It begins to die out in the texts of the later period, except for the texts in the western area, where it is still widely used well into the earlier modern period.

Cases

Biwdiw nouns do decline, according to an active-stative system with 6 cases:

Case	Meaning
Agentive	This case marks primarily the subject of a transitive verb. It is also used to mark the subject of an intransitive verb, which displays a certain degree of activity, will or intention in performing the said action or in being in a certain state. It can be used only with nouns belonging to the class I.
Passive	This case marks primarily the direct object of a transitive verb. It is also used to mark the subject of an intransitive verb, which displays no degree of activity, will or intention in performing the said action or in being in a certain state. It is regarded as the base form of the noun, and it is used as the vocative form.
Ablative	This case marks primarily a natural and unintentional belonging (for example, body parts), without any sign of will of possession, or an inverse belonging. It also marks the point of origin of a movement (motion from a place). It is also used to mark the direct object of an infinitival form of a verb, marking thus the direct object of the negated form of a transitive verb.
Genitive	This case marks an intentional possession, from subjects with a clear and active will. It can be used only with nouns belonging to the class I.
Dative	This case marks primarily the indirect object. It can also mark the final point of a movement (motion toward a place), and, in a broad sense, the final purpose of an action or a state.
Causative	This case marks the reason or the cause, which are the source of an action or a state.

The cases are usually classified in 3 groups:

1. Primary main cases: agentive, genitive
2. Secondary main cases: passive, ablative
3. Oblique cases: dative, causative

Other types of clause complements are conveyed using various prepositions, which can select one or more cases.

Class II nouns can be also declined in another case, named instrumental, which marks the tool or the instrument which are used to perform an action or to be in a certain state. However, this case has already fallen out of use in the classical period, its meaning being replaced by the preposition čīg. Some declined forms survive well into this period, but already crystallized in an adverbial role.

In some declension tables the endings of the instrumental case are shown for the sake of completeness, but they are always marked as obsolete.

Noun declension

Nouns are declined in case and number by adding the following endings to the base form of the noun:

	Class I			Class II
	singular	dual	plural	singular	dual	plural
agentive	-liw	-hiwliw	-nuliw
passive	-	-hiw	-nu	-	-hiw	-nu
ablative	-šu	-hiwšu	-nušu	-šu	-hiwšu	-nušu
genitive	-rɛ	-hiwrɛ	-nurɛ
dative	-xjɛ	-hiwxjɛ	-nuxjɛ	-xjɛ	-hiwxjɛ	-nuxjɛ
causative	-ku	-hiwku	-nuku	-ku	-hiwku	-nuku
instrumental1				-kjɛ1	-hiwkjɛ1	-nukjɛ1

¹ These forms are deemed as obsolete and rapidly vanishing from current usage.

Some examples are shown below: a class I noun, bɛbju, father, and a class II noun, sōgu, house.

	bɛbju			sōgu
	singular	dual	plural	singular	dual	plural
agentive	bɛbjuliw	bɛbjuhiwliw	bɛbjunuliw
passive	bɛbju	bɛbjuhiw	bɛbjunu	sōgu	sōguhiw	sōgunu
ablative	bɛbjušu	bɛbjuhiwšu	bɛbjunušu	sōgušu	sōguhiwšu	sōgunušu
genitive	bɛbjurɛ	bɛbjuhiwrɛ	bɛbjunurɛ
dative	bɛbjuxjɛ	bɛbjuhiwxjɛ	bɛbjunuxjɛ	sōguxjɛ	sōguhiwxjɛ	sōgunuxjɛ
causative	bɛbjuku	bɛbjuhiwku	bɛbjunuku	sōguku	sōguhiwku	sōgunuku
instrumental1				sōgukjɛ1	sōguhiwkjɛ1	sōgunukjɛ1

¹ These forms are deemed as obsolete and rapidly vanishing from current usage.

As for the rules, the endings for the primary main cases cannot be added to a class II noun, while the endings of the already obsolete instrumental case cannot be added to a class I noun.

Numerals

The numeral system relies on a decimal base.

Cardinal numerals

The first ten cardinal numbers are noun-like forms on their own:

digit	noun form
1:	ʂāhu
2:	hɛgiw
3:	miwgō
4:	gōli
5:	šāgi
6:	tūlɛ
7:	xɛšɛ
8:	čuhi
9:	ʈōǰu
10:	pēhu

Numerals from 11 to 19 are built with the construction NUM + pēhu + nɛ:

digit	noun form
11:	ʂāhupēhunɛ
12:	hɛgiwpēhunɛ
13:	miwgōpēhunɛ
14:	gōlipēhunɛ
15:	šāgipēhunɛ
16:	tūlɛpēhunɛ
17:	xɛšɛpēhunɛ
18:	čuhipēhunɛ
19:	ʈōǰupēhunɛ

The numerals for (one) hundred and (one) thousand are noun-like forms on their own:

digit	noun form
100:	ňācju
1000:	wiwhā

The numerals for the multiples of tens, hundreds and thousands are built with the construction NUM + pēhudjunu / ňācjudjunu / wiwhādjunu, with some irregularities:

	tens	hundreds	thousands
2x:	hɛgiwpēhudjuhiw	hɛgiwňācjudjuhiw	hɛgiwiwhādjuhiw
3x:	miwgōpēhudjunu	miwgōňācjudjunu	miwgōwiwhādjunu
4x:	gōlipēhudjunu	gōliňācjudjunu	gōliwiwhādjunu
5x:	šāgipēhudjunu	šāgiňācjudjunu	šāgiwiwhādjunu
6x:	tūlɛpēhudjunu	tūlɛňācjudjunu	tūlɛwiwhādjunu
7x:	xɛšɛpēhudjunu	xɛšɛňācjudjunu	xɛšɛwiwhādjunu
8x:	čuhipēhudjunu	čuhiňācjudjunu	čuhiwiwhādjunu
9x:	ʈōǰupēhudjunu	ʈōǰuňācjudjunu	ʈōǰuwiwhādjunu

The numeral for “million” is formed from the word wiwhā. Numbers above the millions have no name and are specified by the lesser numerals.

digit	noun form
1,000,000:	wiwhālu

This form is treated as a regularly declinable noun:

digit	noun form
3,000,000:	miwgō wiwhālunu
25,000,000:	hɛgiwpēhudjuhiw šāgi wiwhālunu

If this numeral is used as a simple count form, it is declined in the passive case. Inside of a structured sentence, it is declined according the case required by its syntactical role. Nouns adjoining such numerals are introduced by the preposition čɛl and are declined in the ablative case.

hɛgiw wiwhāluhiwxjɛ čɛl pūgɛnušu
to two millions people

Composite numbers are built by just putting them beside, without any conjunction, in descending order:

• 1985: wiwhā ʈōǰuňācjudjunu čuhipēhudjunu šāgi

When cardinal numbers have an adjective-like function, or when they are used as as simple count forms, they are meant as indeclinable forms (except for "million").

ūdjušu miwgō mācudiwnurɛ sōgu 
my three friends' house

ʂāhu, hɛgiw, miwgō, gōli, ...
one, two, three, four, ...

Every numeral, however, can also have a pronominal function. In this case, they are declined in the required case. They display a complete declension set, not belonging inherently to one of the two classes, varying whether they refer to a I class noun (animated class) or to a II class noun (inanimated). They are declined only in the singular declension.

miwgōrɛ sōgu 
the house of both (of them)

Ordinal numerals

Ordinal numerals are formed by adding the comparative ending -rō to the cardinal numeral form, with some irregularities:

digit	adjective form
1st:	ʂāhurō
2nd:	hɛgiwrō
3rd:	miwgōrō
4th:	gōlirō
5th:	šāgirō
6th:	tūlɛrō
7th:	xɛšɛrō
8th:	čuhirō
9th:	ʈōǰurō
10th:	pēhurō

The ordinal numeral for “millionth” is regularly formed from its corresponding cardinal forms, while its multiples are formed by unifying the separated forms in an only adjectival word:

digit	adjective form
1,000,000th:	wiwhālurō
3,000,000th:	miwgōwiwhālunurō

If the numeral form is composite, the ending is added only to the last numeral form:

• 25^th: hɛgiwpēhudjunu šāgirō

Fractional numerals

Fractional numerals are formed by adding the derivative ending -gū to the cardinal numeral form, with the exceptions of the numeral one, and an irregular suppletive form:

digit	full form
1:	-
2:	čūpu
3:	miwgōgū
4:	gōligū
5:	šāgigū
6:	tūlɛgū
7:	xɛšɛgū
8:	čuhigū
9:	ʈōǰugū
10:	pēhugū
11:	ʂāhupēhunɛgū
12:	hɛgiwpēhunɛgū
20:	hɛgiwpēhudjuhiwgū
60:	tūlɛpēhudjunugū
300:	miwgōňācjudjunugū
9000:	ʈōǰuwiwhādjunugū

The fractional numeral for “millionth” is regularly formed from its corresponding cardinal forms, while its multiples are formed by unifying the separated forms in an only adjectival word:

digit	adjective form
1,000,000:	wiwhālugū
3,000,000:	miwgōwiwhālunugū

If the numeral form is composite, the ending is added only to the last numeral form:

• 25: hɛgiwpēhudjunu šāgigū