As with verbs, nouns in Sinampaiton are formed from a few parts:
Sinampaiton noun stems come in two varieties:
An N stem ends in a vowel, while most E stems end in a consonant. Here are some examples:
| E stem | N stem | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| chon- | boy | khaisa- | newt |
| dadz- | hand | ntau- | beans |
| lor- | lake | ja- | person |
A noun is generally cited as its stem followed by an e (if it's an E-stem noun) or an n (if it's an N-stem vowel). So a dictionary would list the above nouns like this:
| E stem | N stem | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| chone | boy | khaisan | newt |
| dadze | hand | ntaun | beans |
| lore | lake | jan | person |
Even though number and case are really two separate things in Sinampaiton, it's easiest to explain them together.
Number refers to the number of objects -- singular or plural -- represented by a noun. (As in English, some nouns have no number -- these are mass nouns such as 'milk' and 'ecstasy'.)
Number in Sinampaiton is indicated by a suffix (or lack thereof) attached to a noun. In most nouns, the plural is formed by attaching a suffix (-ke or -nde) to the singular form. In other nouns, the plural is the basic (unsuffixed) form and the singular is formed by attaching the singular suffix -le.
Examples:
| singular | plural |
|---|---|
| kambe 'boat' | kambeke 'boats' |
| jan 'person' | jande 'people' |
| ntaule 'bean' | ntaun 'beans' |
There is also a third number, dual, which specifies two of an object, but the dual number is found in only a few nouns.
Case has to do with a noun's relation with another noun or the action of a verb. In Sinampaiton, as in many European languages, case is indicated by a suffix attached to the noun stem.
Some of the principle noun cases in Sinampaiton are:
Sinampaiton nouns are cited in the direct case.
[More to come...]
Last modified Saturday, April 24, 2004 at 16:39:31 GMT -0500
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