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Mirad Grammar/Nouns

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Noun Types[edit | edit source]

Nouns in Mirad can be distinguished in the following 7 ways:
  1. common vs. proper
  2. concrete vs. abstract
  3. countable vs. mass
  4. gender-neutral vs. masculine/feminine
  5. singular vs. plural
  6. animate vs. inanimate
  7. 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....birdpati....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
  1. linked with a preposition or conjunction, where the prepositional/conjunctional phrase follows the head noun, or
  2. juxtaposed, where the modifier noun is separated by a space and comes before the head noun, or
  3. compounded, where the modifier noun is prefixed to a headword, or
  4. 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 Suffixes[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

Noun Suffixes[edit | edit source]

Derived nouns can be formed by attaching nominal suffixes (and sometimes prefixes)to other 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 Derivational Suffixes
SUFFIX MEANING BASE ONTO WHICH
SUFFIX IS ADDED
EXAMPLES
-ag big noun tam house → tamag....mansion
tyal....mealtyalag....banquet
tilar....spoontilarag....ladle
-an abstact quality
-ness
-hood, -ity
adjective stem via....beautifulvian....beauty
yeva....fairyevan....fairness, equity
toba....humantoban....humanity, humanness, manhood
-ayg big and cute noun tam....housetamayg....cozy mansion
epet....dogepetayg....wolfie
-d language
speech
sound
adjective and other stems Enigem....EnglishEniged....English (language)
Mira....of the worldMirad....Mirad (world speech)
apet....horseaped....neigh, whinny
-ef need of noun tel....foodtelef....hunger
iga....fastigef....emergency
til....drinktilef....thirst
-en present gerund
-ing
-tion
-ment
verb stem ifi-....enjoyifien....enjoyment
deuz-....singdeuzen....singing
ax-....actaxlen....acting
-eyn present gerund
-tion
-ment
verb stem x-....doxeyn....deed
s-....to beseyn....essence
jaup-....preceedjaupeyn....precedent
-es smaller counterpart thing noun tom....buildingtomes apartment
saun....kindsaunes....sample
dreuz....poemdeuzes....stanza
mek....dust, powdermekes....speck, grain
-et smaller counterpart person noun twob....mantwobet....boy
toyb....womantoybet....girl
-if love of
-philia
noun tel....foodtelif....gourmandise
doab....homelanddoabif....patriotism
dyes....bookdyesif....bibliophilia, love of books
-ig sudden noun and verb stem man....lightmanig....flash
pyex....strokepyexig....swat
yopap-....dive, fly downyopapig....swoop
-im room, chamber various stems fyadil-....to prayfaydilim....chapel
magel-....to cookmagelim....kitchen
tof-....to dresstofim....dressing room
-in doctrine, dogma, -ism various stems tot....godtotin....religion, theism
otofa....nudeotofin....nudism
yufr-....terroryufrin....terrorism
-n abstract noun various stems ze....in the middle ofzen....center
za....in front ofzan....face
byi....since, starting withbyin....source
go....lessgon....part
-am house
building
various stems nun- merchandise→ nunam....store
til drink → tilam....bar, tavern
fyadil-....to prayfyadilam....church
-(e)m place various stems duho-? what-?→ duhom?....where?
yex....workyexem....worksite
ab....on, aboveabem....top, surface
kua....lateralkum....side
-um compartment
booth
various stems teuzibar....telephoneteuzibarum....telephone booth
-yem enclosure, box various stems apet....horseapetyem....corral
b-....putbyem....position
-ud offspring, baby of noun apet....horseapetud....foal
-wud son of noun apet....horseapetwud....colt
-uyd daughter of noun apet....horseapetuyd....filly
-og little noun tab body→ tabog....corpuscle
apet....horseapetog....pony
tyal....mealtyalog....snack
golbun....cutgolbunog....cutlet
-oyg little and cute noun tam....housetamoyg....cottage
apayt....chickenapaytoyg....chickadee
mimpar....boatmirparoyg....dingy
-ar, -ir, -ur tool, machine, engine usu. verb stem p-....to gopur....car
dr-....to writedrar....pencil
gobl-....to cutgoblar....knife
yaobl-....to lift up and downyaoblur....elevator, lift
yaoblir....lift, crane
dop....militarydopar....gun
dopur....machine gun
dopir....artillery, cannon
-s thing, object, the X one adjective aa first → aas....first one, first thing
otwa....unknownotwas....mystery, an unknown
tejea....livingtejeas....living thing
-(s)on abstract thing
issue
various stems if-....to loveifon....love
ov againstovon....obstacle
aza strong → azon....force
yika....difficultyikson....problem
-(s)un object
thing
result of an action
various stems vyua....dirtyvyun....spot
tamb-....settletambiun....settlement
gofr- shredgofrun....scrap, shred
hyo....not a singlehyosun....not a single thing
-t person adjective ea second → eat....second one, second person
fya-....holyfyat....holy one, saint
ujna....lastujat....last one, last person
Usoma....AmericanUsomat....an American
-tun science of, -ology noun tot....godtottun....theology
tob....mantobtun....anthropology
vob....plantvobtun....botany
-tuyn pseudo-science noun mar....starmartuyn....astrology
-tuin theory noun vyelan....relativityvyelantuin....theory of relativity
-tyen skill, craft noun sur....enginesurtyen....engineering
-(t)in doctrine, -ism noun zaypas-....progresszaypasin....progressivism
-tut, tuyt (f.) scientist
-ologist
-ist
noun tot....godtottut....theologist
tob....mantobtuyt....woman anthropologist
vob....plantvobtut....botanist
-uf hate of, -phobia noun mil water → miluf....hydrophobia
totin....religiontotinuf....hatred of religion
toyb....womantoybuf....misogyny
-ut, uyt (f.) agent, one who Xes, -er, -ant, -ist verb stem bek-....treatbekuyt....female nurse
pop-....travelpoput....traveler
ak-....winakut....winner
--yaf ability to, power
-ability
verb stem teat-....to seeteatyaf....ability to see
tex-....to thinktexyaf....cognition
test-....to understandtestyaf....comprehension
nos-....to spendnosyaf....spending power
t-....to knowtyaf....cognizance
-yafwan possibility, -ability verb stem teat-....to seeteatyafwan....visibility
-yof inability to, disability verb stem teat-....to seeteatyof....blindness
teet-....to hearteetyof....deafness
pas-....to movepasyof....paralysis
tuj-....to sleeptujyof....insomnia
-yofwan impossibility verb stem teat-....to seeteatyofwan....invisibility
-yag big and ugly, long noun tetwid....uncletetwidyag....dirty old uncle
toyb....womantoybyag....hag
-yan collection, grouping
-ary
noun tob....mantobyan....mankind
mar....starmaryan....constellation
fab....treefabyan....forest
dyes....bookdyesyan....library
-yen manner, kind noun dal....talkdalyen....parlance
sex-....buildsexyen....structure
-yef duty to verb stem dud-....to answerdudyef....responsibility
byok-....to achebyokyef....punishment
-yik difficulty to verb stem teeter....to hearteetyik....difficulty hearing
tiex-....to breathetiexyik....difficulty breathing, asthma
-yog little and ugly noun tam....housetamyog....shack
epat....duckepatyog....ugly duckling
kod....secretkodyog....little dirty secret
-yuf fear of, -phobia noun lopyet....snakelopyetyuf....fear of snakes
mil....watermilyuf....hyrophobia
-yuk ease of verb stem pes- to waitpesyuk....patience
kovyox- to foolkovyoxyuk....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....angel
aadeb....premier
azdezun....premiere
aatat....archangel
ab superior, sur- donab....rank
dout....gentleman
dyun....name
abdonab....superior rank
abdout....aristocrat
abdyun....title, surname
ayb over-, super- dras....script
ilp....flow
mas....name
aybdrun....superscript
aybilp....overflow
aybmas....ceiling
ayn holo- dras....script
meg....stone
sag....number
ayndras....hologram
aynmeg....hololith
aynsag....integer
az strong hihid....laugh
ojvad....promise
tos....feeling
azhihid....guffaw
azojvad....covenant
aztos....passion
do public del....statement
did....question
vyab....rule
dodel....announcement
dodid....inquiry
dovyab....law
eb inter-, dia- dal....statement
ifek....gram
kyax....change
ebdal....dialog
ebifek....interlude
ebkyaz....interchange

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).

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