Mirad Grammar/Nouns
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Noun Types[edit | edit source]
- Nouns in Mirad can be distinguished in the following 7 ways:
- common vs. proper
- concrete vs. abstract
- countable vs. mass
- gender-neutral vs. masculine/feminine
- singular vs. plural
- animate vs. inanimate
- full form vs. acronym
Common vs. Proper Nouns COMMON PROPER tam....house Emer....Venus yagsim....bench Ferom....France dyes....book Notre Dame...Notre Dame tej....life Tot....God
Concrete vs. Abstract Nouns CONCRETE ABSTRACT tab....body ifon....love mil....water oyman....coolness deuz....song deuzen....singing
- Abstract nouns include gerunds, i.e. nouns which are nominalized derivations of verbs like deuzen....singing < deuzer....to sing or osexen....destruction < osexer....to destroy. Infinitives like deuzer....to sing are also considered abstract nouns.
Countable vs. Mass Nouns COUNTABLE MASS pat....bird pattel....bird food patayebi....feathers patayebyan....plumage megi....rocks mil....water
- In native Mirad, all common nouns in their singular dictionary lookup form end in a consonant. Proper nouns sometimes end in a vowel, such as Roma....Rome. Plural common countable nouns end in the vowel i (pat....bird ⇒ pati....birds).
Gender-neutral vs. Gendered GENDER-NEUTRAL FEMININE MASCULINE tob....human being toyb....woman twob....man edeb....monarch edeyb....queen edweb....king ted....parent teyd....mother twed....father
Singular vs. Plural Nouns SINGULAR PLURAL dom....city domi....cities gon....part goni....parts jub....day jubi....days
Inanimate vs. Animate Nouns INANIMATE ANIMATE mam....sky pot....animal tom....building aot....person job....time tobet....child
Full form vs. Acronym FULL FORM ACRONYM Anxwa Doobi....United Nations AD....UN Mir Nunuien Xob....World Trade Organization MNX....WTO
- The above noun type distinctions are relevant in various parts of Mirad's grammar.
Pluralization of Common Nouns[edit | edit source]
- A singular countable common noun always ends in a consonant and is made plural by suffixing the pluralizing marker -i. So, the plural of pur....car is puri....cars. In noun phrases, for example, where a noun is modified by an article and adjective, only the noun is pluralized, that is, there is no agreement across word boundaries as in many European languages (la belle fleur →les belles fleurs). The plural suffix -i is the only way nouns in Mirad are inflected. All other changes to nouns are derivational in nature, eg. genderization, augmentation, diminution, capitalization, etc.
Pluralization of Nouns SINGULAR PLURAL tam....house tami....houses toyb....woman toybi....women tej....life teji....lives ha via dom....the beautiful city ha via domi....the beautiful cities
Modifying Nouns with the Definite Article[edit | edit source]
- In Mirad, there is only a single noun-modifying article, the invariable definite article ha (the). There is no indefinite article like English a / an. A noun is considered indefinite or general unless modified by the definite article ha (which in reality is a definite deictic determiner, discussed with other deictic determiners in the later section on Mirad Grammar/Determiners#Deictic Determiners). The definite article ha is positioned, as in English, before the noun and before any other adjectives or modifiers of that noun. It is invariable, in that it does not vary for gender, number, or case as in German or Spanish. The definite article acts like its counterpart in English, as shown in the following chart:
Use of the Definite Article MIRAD ENGLISH SPECIFICITY tam a house indefinite, no article ha tam the house definite ha tami the houses definite, plural tej life general, no article fitejawa tej a life well-lived indefinite, no article ha tej (...ho at bayse) the life (... that I have) specific Ferad French language name, already specific, no article Ivan Ivan person's name, no article Ifliu yivan! Cherish freedom abstraction, no article Ha yivani ho yat ifie. The freedoms that we enjoy. abstraction specified Yata yivani... Our freedoms... abstraction specified with possessive pronoun, no article
- Speakers of French and other European languages should take note that general concepts like love, life, freedom do not employ the definite article unless they refer to a specific instance, such as in the phrases the love that dare not speak its name or the life well-lived or the freedoms we possess. The names of languages and countries are also considered already specific, and so as in English, they do not take a definite article as they might in some European languages. Names of persons do not take the definite article as they do in modern Greek, unless in a phrase like "the Ivan I once knew."
Proper Nouns[edit | edit source]
- Proper nouns, such as names of people, places, languages, etc., are capitalized as in English. The formation of country names and languages is discussed in Countries of the World and Languages of the World. It can be said here, though, that country names end in -m; the inhabitants of those places end in -t or pl. -ti; and the languages they speak end in -d. Language names are capitalized, eg. At tixe Ferad. (I study French.). In fact, this is the case for all parts of speech derived from a proper name, eg. Usoma tel Feramxweye. American food is being Frenchified.. French speakers beware; this is not like in French. And German speakers beware, too! Not all nouns are capitalized; only ones that are proper, such as names of people, companies, languages, countries, etc.
- Names of people, cities, etc. are spelled in Mirad to best reflect the foreign pronunciation, but also to remain recognizable. For example:
- Xikago....Chicago
- Paris....Paris
- Munxen....Munich/München
- Beijing....Beijing
- Nu York....New York
- Nu Orlinz....New Orleans
- Xampanya....Champagne
- Méhiko Dom....Mexico City
- Waxington....Washington
- Seol....Seoul
- Xeykspir....Shakespeare
- An inhabitant of a city is formed by adding -t or -at to the name, depending on whether it ends in a vowel or consonant, respectively, eg. Parisat....a Parisian or Waxingtonati....Washingtonians. Chicago's main newspaper is expressed in Mirad as ha aaga jubdindref bi Xikago. The English preposition in used before cities and states is translated by be in Mirad, eg. At tambese be Paris.....I live in New York.
Noun Modifiers: Placement and Agreement[edit | edit source]
- Nouns can be modified by various qualitative, quantitative, and deictic adjectives, which all precede the noun. These modifiers come in the same order as in English. There is no gender or number agreement between the modifiers and the noun, except that numeric adjectives, such as ewa....two naturally are followed by a noun in the plural number.
Noun Modifiers Mirad English ha ewa aga tami the two big houses gla ifxea taxi many pleasant memories hya fia tob every good man ha yaga via mepi the long, beautiful roads gra vua sexen too much ugly construction ata aja teji my past lives
Noun Linkage[edit | edit source]
- Nouns can be
- linked with a preposition or conjunction, where the prepositional/conjunctional phrase follows the head noun, or
- juxtaposed, where the modifier noun is separated by a space and comes before the head noun, or
- compounded, where the modifier noun is prefixed to a headword, or
- hyphenated, where two equal elements are joined by a hyphen.
- Examples:
Noun Linkage LINKAGE EXAMPLE CONSTRUCTION Ivan ay Maria....Ivan and Maria nouns linked associatively by the conjunction ay (and) ha tam ey ha par....the house or the car nouns linked associatively by the conjunction ey (or) hyati oy ha toybi....all but the women nouns linked associatively by the conjunction or (but) nyandras boy eta dyun....a list without your name nouns linked associatively by the preposition boy (without) tej bi nasuk....a life of poverty nouns linked associatively by the preposition bi (of) ha tam bi Maria ....Mary's house (the house of Mary nouns linked possessively by the preposition bi (of) job bi aga ivan....a time of great joy nouns linked associatively by the preposition bi (of) dyes ayv ha Ea Mira Dropek....a book about the Second World War nouns linked associatively by the preposition ayv (about) dropek jwabeni....war preparations modifier noun dropek (war) juxtaposed with the head noun jwabeni (preparations) dom yuzpur....a city bus modifier noun dom (city) juxtaposed with the head noun yuzpur (bus) tojojfon....a death wish modifier noun toj (death) compounded with the head noun ojfon (wish) jogatanyaf....youth league modifier noun jogat (youth) compounded with the head noun anyaf (league) maj-moj....a day-and-night two or more equal, opposed nouns hyphenated
- The X bi Y prepositional construction must always be used for possession by a named person, eg. ha tam bi Sam (Sam's house = the house of Sam). The methods of noun linkage otherwise follow the English pattern in most all cases. Pronominal possession such as his car is discussed in the section on personal pronouns. The preposition bi....of is used in partitive expressions like tilzyeb bi vafil....a glass of wine (but: vafil tilzeb....wine glass, where wine modifies the glass associatively). More about this and other prepositions or conjunctions can be found in the section on Mirad Grammar/Prepositions or Mirad Grammar/Conjunctions.
- Details on how noun vocabulary is derived appears in the section on Mirad Grammar/Vocabulary Formation.
Noun Derivational Affixes[edit | edit source]
- Nouns can be divided into:
- simple nouns such as pur....vehicle
- compound nouns such as bixpur....train < bix....pull + pur....vehicle
- derived nouns such as fabyan....forest < fab....tree + -yan
a suffix meaning collection
- Derived nouns can be formed by attaching nominal suffixes or prefixes to words or roots. A list of nominal suffixes to form derived nouns is shown in the following table. More can be read about noun derivation in the section on vocabulary-building.
Noun Suffixes[edit | edit source]
Noun Derivational Suffixes SUFFIX MEANING BASE ONTO WHICH
SUFFIX IS ADDEDEXAMPLES -ag big noun tam house → tamag....mansion
tyal....meal → tyalag....banquet
tilar....spoon → tilarag....ladle-an abstact quality
-ness
-hood, -ityadjective stem vi a....beautiful → vian....beauty
yeva....fair → yevan....fairness, equity
toba....human → toban....humanity, humanness, manhood-ayg big and cute noun tam....house → tamayg....cozy mansion
epet....dog → epetayg....wolfie-d language
speech
soundadjective and other stems Enigem....English → Eniged....English (language)
Mira....of the world → Mirad....Mirad (world speech)
apet....horse →aped....neigh, whinny-ef need of noun tel....food→telef....hunger
iga....fast→igef....emergency
til....drink→ tilef....thirst-en present gerund
-ing
-tion
-mentverb stem ifi-....enjoy →ifien....enjoyment
deuz-....sing→deuzen....singing
ax-....act → axlen....acting-eyn present gerund
-tion
-mentverb stem x-....do →xeyn....deed
s-....to be→seyn....essence
jaup-....preceed → jaupeyn....precedent-es smaller counterpart thing noun tom....building→ tomes apartment
saun....kind→ saunes....sample
dreuz....poem → deuzes....stanza
mek....dust, powder→mekes....speck, grain-et smaller counterpart person noun twob....man → twobet....boy
toyb....woman→ toybet....girl-if love of
-philianoun tel....food → telif....gourmandise
doab....homeland → doabif....patriotism
dyes....book → dyesif....bibliophilia, love of books-ig sudden noun and verb stem man....light → manig....flash
pyex....stroke→pyexig....swat
yopap-....dive, fly down → yopapig....swoop-im room, chamber various stems fyadil-....to pray →faydilim....chapel
magel-....to cook → magelim....kitchen
tof-....to dress → tofim....dressing room-in doctrine, dogma, -ism various stems tot....god → totin....religion, theism
otofa....nude→otofin....nudism
yufr-....terror → yufrin....terrorism-n abstract noun various stems ze....in the middle of → zen....center
za....in front of →zan....face
byi....since, starting with → byin....source
go....less→ gon....part-am house
buildingvarious stems nun- merchandise→ nunam....store
til drink → tilam....bar, tavern
fyadil-....to pray → fyadilam....church-(e)m place various stems duho-? what-?→ duhom?....where?
yex....work → yexem....worksite
ab....on, above → abem....top, surface
kua....lateral→kum....side-um compartment
boothvarious stems teuzibar....telephone → teuzibarum....telephone booth -yem enclosure, box various stems apet....horse →apetyem....corral
b-....put → byem....position-ud offspring, baby of noun apet....horse→apetud....foal -wud son of noun apet....horse→apetwud....colt -uyd daughter of noun apet....horse→apetuyd....filly -og little noun tab body→ tabog....corpuscle
apet....horse → apetog....pony
tyal....meal → tyalog....snack
golbun....cut → golbunog....cutlet-oyg little and cute noun tam....house → tamoyg....cottage
apayt....chicken →apaytoyg....chickadee
mimpar....boat → mirparoyg....dingy-ar, -ir, -ur tool, machine, engine usu. verb stem p-....to go→ pur....car
dr-....to write → drar....pencil
gobl-....to cut → goblar....knife
yaobl-....to lift up and down → yaoblur....elevator, lift
yaoblir....lift, crane
dop....military → dopar....gun
dopur....machine gun
dopir....artillery, cannon
-s thing, object, the X one adjective aa first → aas....first one, first thing
otwa....unknown → otwas....mystery, an unknown
tejea....living → tejeas....living thing-(s)on abstract thing
issuevarious stems if-....to love→ifon....love
ov against→ ovon....obstacle
azastrong → azon....force
yika....difficult → yikson....problem-(s)un object
thing
result of an actionvarious stems vyu a....dirty → vyun....spot
tamb-....settle →tambiun....settlement
gofr- shred → gofrun....scrap, shred
hyo....not a single→ hyosun....not a single thing-t person adjective ea second → eat....second one, second person
fya-....holy → fyat....holy one, saint
ujna....last→ujat....last one, last person
Usoma....American →Usomat....an American-tun science of, -ology noun tot....god → tottun....theology
tob....man → tobtun....anthropology
vob....plant →vobtun....botany-tuyn pseudo-science noun mar....star → martuyn....astrology -tuin theory noun vyelan....relativity→ vyelantuin....theory of relativity -tyen skill, craft noun sur....engine → surtyen....engineering -(t)in doctrine, -ism noun zaypas-....progress → zaypasin....progressivism -tut, tuyt (f.) scientist
-ologist
-istnoun tot....god → tottut....theologist
tob....man → tobtuyt....woman anthropologist
vob....plant→ vobtut....botanist-uf hate of, -phobia noun mil water → miluf....hydrophobia
totin....religion → totinuf....hatred of religion
toyb....woman → toybuf....misogyny-ut, uyt (f.) agent, one who Xes, -er, -ant, -ist verb stem bek-....treat → bekuyt....female nurse
pop-....travel→poput....traveler
ak-....win → akut....winner--yaf ability to, power
-abilityverb stem teat-....to see → teatyaf....ability to see
tex-....to think → texyaf....cognition
test-....to understand → testyaf....comprehension
nos-....to spend → nosyaf....spending power
t-....to know → tyaf....cognizance-yafwan possibility, -ability verb stem teat-....to see → teatyafwan....visibility -yof inability to, disability verb stem teat-....to see → teatyof....blindness
teet-....to hear → teetyof....deafness
pas-....to move→pasyof....paralysis
tuj-....to sleep → tujyof....insomnia-yofwan impossibility verb stem teat-....to see → teatyofwan....invisibility -yag big and ugly, long noun tetwid....uncle→ tetwidyag....dirty old uncle
toyb....woman → toybyag....hag-yan collection, grouping
-arynoun tob....man → tobyan....mankind
mar....star → maryan....constellation
fab....tree → fabyan....forest
dyes....book→ dyesyan....library-yen manner, kind noun dal....talk →dalyen....parlance
sex-....build →sexyen....structure-yef duty to verb stem dud-....to answer → dudyef....responsibility
byok-....to ache → byokyef....punishment-yik difficulty to verb stem teeter....to hear → teetyik....difficulty hearing
tiex-....to breathe → tiexyik....difficulty breathing, asthma-yog little and ugly noun tam....house →tamyog....shack
epat....duck → epatyog....ugly duckling
kod....secret → kodyog....little dirty secret-yuf fear of, -phobia noun lopyet....snake→ lopyetyuf....fear of snakes
mil....water → milyuf....hyrophobia-yuk ease of verb stem pes- to wait → pesyuk....patience
kovyox- to fool → kovyoxyuk....gullibility, foolhardiness
Examples of the Suffix -yen[edit | edit source]
| ajtyod....past people || ajtyodyen....tradition |- | d-....to say || dyen....expression |- | akpas....winning move || akpasyen....tactic |- | dre(r)....to write || dreyen....writing system |- | amal....atmosphere || amalyen....weather |- | an-....single || anyen....quirk, idio- |- | axl-....to act || axlyen....behavior |- | aot....person || aotyen....character, personality |- | ty-....to know how || tyen....skill, craft |- | x-....to do || xyen....profession |- | ze-....middle || zeyen....means |- | bas-....gesture || basyen....body language |- | tex....thought || texyen....opinion |- | es-....to exist || esyen....state |- | kya-....change || kyayen....version |- | p-....to go || pyen....pace, gait |}
Noun Prefixes[edit | edit source]
- Prefixes can also be attached to nouns to create derivatives. Here are some common productive ones:
Noun Prefixes Prefix Meaning Base Noun Derivations aa first, arch- deb....leader
dezun....performance
tat....angelaadeb....premier
azdezun....premiere
aatat....archangelab superior, sur- donab....rank
dout....gentleman
dyun....nameabdonab....superior rank
abdout....aristocrat
abdyun....title, surnameayb over-, super- dras....script
ilp....flow
mas....nameaybdrun....superscript
aybilp....overflow
aybmas....ceilingayn holo- dras....script
meg....stone
sag....numberayndras....hologram
aynmeg....hololith
aynsag....integeraz strong hihid....laugh
ojvad....promise
tos....feelingazhihid....guffaw
azojvad....covenant
aztos....passiondo public del....statement
did....question
vyab....ruledodel....announcement
dodid....inquiry
dovyab....laweb inter-, dia- dal....statement
ifek....gram
kyax....changeebdal....dialog
ebifek....interlude
ebkyax....interchangeeyn semi-, hemi-, half- il....liquid eynil....semi-liquid en bi-, di-, two- zyukpar....wheeled vehicle enzyukpar....bicycle eg normal byen....manner egbyen....norm ej step- twid....brother ejtwid....step-brother ev a-, neutral totin....deism evtotin....atheism fi eu-, bene- dyen....expression fidyen....euphemism fu caco-, mal-, ill- seux....sound
fon....willfuseux....cacophony
fufon....ill-will, malevolencefyu waste mil....water fyumil....waste water fya holy din....story fyadin....gospel fyo evil tat....angel fyotat....demon gab plus nix....earning gabnix....interest gaw re- aklen....conquest gawaklen....reconquest gla multi-, plur- gon....part glagon....plurality gra too, hyper- bik....caution grabik....hypercaution gwa macro-, super- mor....universe gwamor....macrocosm hyi homo-, same toobif....gender preference hyitoobif....homosexualtiy hyu hetero-, different, other-, allo-, xeno- toobif....gender preference
mer....planet
san....shapehyutoobif....heterosexuality
hyumer....alien planet
hyusan....allomorphhya omni-, pan-, all- doobin....nationalism hyadoobin....pan-nationalism hye any, whatever saun....kind hyesaun....any kind hyo(s) nothing ten....knowledge hyosten....ignorance hyuit mutual fizuen....respect hyuitfizuen....mutual respect ig fast didyan....questionnaire igdidyan....pop quiz ij initial dun....word ijdun....prologue ik full nuxen....payment iknuxen....liquidation il liquid ok....loss ilok....leak im wet mel....soil immel....loam, wetland in tri-, three goblun....cut ingoblun....trisection iv happy din....story ivdin....comedy iz straight fin....quality izfin....rectitude ja before, pre- bik....caution jabik....precaution je 'continuous dodal....speech jedodal....harangue jo 'after, post- dren....writing jodren....postscript ku 'side, aside, lateral bux....push
deyn....sayingkubux....rebuff
kudeyn....remarkki 'diagonal, slant nad....line
texyen....opinionkinad....diagonal, slant
kitexyen....biasko hide, covert d....utterance
exut....operative
flen....desire
jadrun....plankod....secret
koexut....spy
koflen....envy
kojadrun....plotkya change, para-, re- 'bax....movement
dyan....phrase
din....story
naz....value
napxen....ordering'kyabax....shift
kyadyan....paraphrase
kyadin....version
kyanaz....variable
kyanapxen....reordering, shufflingkye haphazard den....saying
fyun....harm
kaxun....findkyeden....guesswork
kyefyun....danger
kyekaxun....discoverykyo fixed byen....manner
deyn....saying
doneg....social classkyobyen....habit
kyodeyn....cliché
kyodoneg....castekyi heavy azon....force
tes....meaning
bal....pressurekyiazon....gravity
kyites....importance
kyibal....strainkyu light azon....force
mamilkyuazon....ballast
kyumamil....drizzlelo- dis-, de-, un- bexun....possession
bokulxen....toxification
box...quietlobexun....dispossession, divestment
lobokulxen....detoxification
lobox....disquietmak electro-, e- ebdras....letter
nagar....metermakebdras....email
maknagar....electrometero not, un- bik....care obik....neglect ob infer-, off- goflun....rip
fub....branchobgoflun....stub
obfub....offshootoyb under-, sub-, infra- mos....floor
neg....leveloybmos....basement
oybneg....sublevelof unauthorized birun....grab
dresini....drawings
gelxun....copyofbirun....loot
ofdresini....grafitti
ofgelxun....plagiarismog small soni....matters ogsoni....'trivia ok loss buun....gift
tos....feelingokbuun....sacrifice
oktos....heartacheug slow dal....'speech
ilok....leak
teax....lookugdal....drawl
ugilok....seepage
ugteax....gazeun quadri-, tetra-, four- drezun....poem
yan....collectionundrezun....quatrain
unyan....tetraduk empty dal....talk
mel....soil
nod....pointukdal....blather
ukmel....desert
uknod....punctureut self-, sui-, aut(o)- tojben....killing
dab....governmentuttojben....suicide
utdab....autarchyuv sad deuzun'....song
dolen....silence
kyeuj....fateuvdeuzun....dirge
uvdolen....sulking
uvkyeuj....tragedyuf 'hate dal....speech
tos....feelingufdal....rant
uftos....angerva yes bien....taking
diun....request
dud....answervabien....acceptance
vadiun....claim
vadud....assentve maybe texen....thinking
yovdeyn....inculpationvetexen....supposition
veyovdeyn....indictmentvo no texen'....thinking
fon....willvotexen....doubting
vofon....disinclination
Gender[edit | edit source]
- Nouns in Mirad are gender-neutral, unless those relating to people, animals, and sometimes clothing are altered to be specifically male/male-oriented or female/female-oriented. To create the male or male-oriented form of an otherwise gender-neutral noun, prefix the vowel of the semantically-significant syllable with the letter w. To create the female or female-oriented form, suffix the vowel of the semantically-significant syllable with y. If the noun is an agent noun with the suffix -ut, that is, a noun that means "one who does something as an occupation or behavior", the ending -ut is changed to -uyt for the female form, but the male form stays the same. The reason for this is that the addition of a w to the agentive ending could be confused with the verbal passive marker w (see the chapter on Mirad Grammar/Verbs. The chart below shows how this works:
Making Nouns Gender-specific NEUTRAL MALE/MALE-ORIENTED FEMALE/FEMALE-ORIENTED tob....human being, person twob....man toyb....woman tobet....child twobet....boy toybet....girl tad....spouse twad....husband tayd....wife ejtad....step spouse ejtwad....step-husband ejtayd....step-wife ajtad....ex-spouse ajtwad....ex-husband ajtayd....ex-wife ted....parent twed....father teyd....mother datif....sweetheart dwatif....boyfriend daytif....girlfriend yapet....pig yapwet....boar yapeyt....sow edeb....monarch edweb....king edeyb....queen apat....fowl apwat....rooster apayt....hen tiuv....underwear tiwuv....briefs tiuyv....panties vapet....antelope vapwet....deer vapeyt....doe deuzut....singer deuzut....singer deuzuyt....songstress tud....child twud....son tuyd....daughter
- For gender specification in pronouns, see Mirad Grammar/Pronouns, below).