Tyap/Nouns
Noun/A̱lyoot
[edit | edit source]Difinition and Types
[edit | edit source]A noun is a word that identifies a person, place, animal, things, abstract idea etc.
Types
[edit | edit source]The types of noun include:
A. Proper nouns:
[edit | edit source]Begins with a capital letter. It identifies:
- Person (A̱yin): Da̱wali, Ca̱cet, Bityong, Kumaai, Sangkwai, A̱yok, etc.
- Place (A̱vwuo): Sankwap, Mawukili, Fantswam, etc.
- Institution (Sotnta̱m): ACDA, TLDB, etc.
- Months and Days (Zwát ma̱ng Á̱tuk): Zwat Tsat (ji), A̱tuk Ladi (ka), etc.
B. Common nouns:
[edit | edit source]They do not always start with capital letter except at the beginning of a sentence. It refers to general names of persons, places, etc.
- Person (A̱yin): nggwoneam (girl), nggwoseam (boy), a̱tyok (man), a̱yang (mother), etc.
- Animal (Nyam): a̱kwi (cat), a̱bwu (dog), zon (goat), etc.
- Place (A̱vwuo): a̱byin (country), fam (district), etc.
- Thing (Kyang): a̱li (house, eye), a̱byin (land, country, state), kwatak (shoe), kurum (money), a̱la̱ujhyi (sickle), bung (cap), etc.
C. Abstract nouns:
[edit | edit source]They do not have physical attribute e.g., mai (laughter), nwuan (seeing), cat (love), dyep (praise), fwoi (insult), a̱nak (mourning), etc.
D. Concrete nouns:
[edit | edit source]They can be seen and touched, E.g., a̱ceang (basket), tong (honey), a̱buki̱ti (bucket), a̱toot (cloth), a̱tyii (table), a̱kwon (tree), kyayak (food).
E. Uncountable (mass) nouns:
[edit | edit source]They cannot be pluralised or are already in plural form. They are usually singular. E.g., nkyuo (powder), za (rain), a̱sa̱khwot (rain), a̱myia̱ (oil), etc.
F. Countable nouns:
[edit | edit source]They can be counted and exist as singular and plural.
Examples:
| S/N | SINGULAR | PLURAL |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | a̱nyung ka (tooth) | a̱nyunyung ba (teeth) |
| 2 | a̱li ka (house) | a̱ka̱sa na (houses) |
| 3 | a̱tyem ka (hoe) | tityem hu (hoes) |
| 4 | nggwoneam ka (girl) | a̱ka̱neam na (girls) |
| 5 | a̱kusuru wu (pig) | a̱yaakusuru ba (pigs) |
| 6 | bwak hu (hand) | mbwak na (hands) |
| 7 | a̱baai ka (knife) | a̱ka̱baai na (knives) |
| 8 | zon ji (goat) | zón ji (goats) |
| 9 | tak hu (leg) | a̱ti̱tak ba (legs) |
| 10 | nggwoseam ka (boy) | zam ji (boys) |
Tyap nouns are classified according to the six definite articles of the language.
Noun Formation (Bwoi A̱lyoot)
[edit | edit source]In this section, we shall view the various ways of forming nouns from verbs and adjectives.
Nouns can be formed (norminalized) from verbs:
(A) By adding the prefix "a̱-"
[edit | edit source]Examples:
| S/N | WORD | NOUN FORMED |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | bwom (to sing) | a̱bwom (song) |
| 2 | lyiat (to speak) | a̱lyiat (speech) |
| 3 | khwo (to serve) | a̱khwo (slave) |
| 4 | bwok (to treat) | a̱bwok (physician) |
| 5 | kpang (to peg) | a̱kpang (peg, nail, hammer) |
| 6 | tyia̱ (to put) | a̱tyia̱ (father) |
The nouns formed above may refer to both living and non-living targets and situations.
(B) By adding the prefix "ka-"
[edit | edit source]Examples:
| S/N | WORD | NOUN FORMED |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | jang (exaggerate) | Kajang (when you exaggerate) |
| 2 | lyiat (to speak) | Kalyiat (when you speak) |
| 3 | kwok (packing) | Kakwok (when you are packing) |
| 4 | lat (to be less than) | Kalat (when you are less than) |
| 5 | lyin (to lack) | Kalyin (when you lack) |
| 6 | sang (to be without, to lack) | Kasang (when you are without, when you lack |
These nouns formed are mostly used as human names and the "ka-" prefix is a contraction of the phrase "ka̱ a" (i.e., if/when you).
(C) Nouns can be formed from adjectives by removing the first "a̱":
[edit | edit source]Examples:
| S/N | WORD | NOUN FORMED |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | a̱bwuon (foolish) | bwuon (foolishness) |
| 2 | a̱tsotswat (true) | tsotswat (truth) |
| 3 | a̱pa̱mpang (useless) | pa̱mpang (uselessness) |
| 4 | a̱sa̱t (free) | sa̱t (freedom, liberty) |
(D) Nouns can also be formed by placing the noun antecedent "a̱tyu" as a prefix before a verb
[edit | edit source]The nouns formed using "a̱tyu" can only be used to refer to humans.
Examples:
| S/N | WORD | NOUN FORMED |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | tyiet (to teach) | a̱tyutyiet (teacher) |
| 2 | gba (to warn) | a̱tyugba (warner) |
| 2 | lyuut (to write) | a̱tyulyuut (writer, author) |
| 3 | cam (to watchguard) | a̱tyucam (guard) |
| 4 | luk (to drive) | a̱tyuluk (driver) |
| 5 | khap (tilling) | a̱tyukhap (farmer) |
| 6 | myiam (to learn) | a̱tyumyiam (learner) |
(E) Nouns or noun phrases may also be formed using noun antecedents such as "kyang" and "swat" before other nouns
[edit | edit source]Examples:
| S/N | WORD | NOUN FORMED |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | cet (strength) | kyangcet (insect) |
| 2 | cung (race/racing) | kyangcung (vehicle) |
| 3 | fang (reading/to read) | kyangfang (textbook, text manuscript) |
| 4 | nyeang (marriage) | swat nyeang (marriage life) |
| 5 | nta (outside) | swat nta (outer living) |
| 6 | a̱yang (mother) | swat a̱yang (motherhood) |
(F) Nouns created by adding "yet" and "ya" to act as antecedents before an adjective or adverb
[edit | edit source]Examples:
| S/N | WORD | NOUN FORMED |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | a̱tsotswat (true) | yet a̱tsotswat (righteousness) |
| 2 | a̱tan (good) | yet a̱tan (goodness) |
| 3 | a̱son (front) | ya a̱son (progress) |
NOTE: There are words which on their own serve as both verbs and nouns. These are the Tyap gerunds.
Example: fang (reading), lyuut (writing), nwuan (watching/seeing), corop (descending), ban (ascending), etc.