Difference between revisions of "Limbu/Grammar"

Revision as of 01:42, 22 February 2025

Number in the Limbu language

Singular, Plural, Dual

The Limbu language has both a plural and a dual form, where the dual form is seen as a special case of the non-singular (plural) form.

Plurals

• Plurals are formed in this language through the addition of the suffix <<ᤄᤠ>> (gʰa)
  • ᤐᤢ<n><pl> ↔ ᤐᤢᤄᤠ [pu ("bird")/pugʰa ("birds")]
  • ᤋᤱ<n><pl> ↔ ᤋᤱᤄᤠ [toŋ ("arrow")/toŋgʰa ("arrows")]
  • ᤀᤠᤶᤒᤣ<n><pl> ↔ ᤀᤠᤶᤒᤣᤄᤠ [ambɛ ("mango")/ambɛgʰa ("mangoes")]

Duals

• Duals are formed in this language through the addition of the suffix <<ᤄᤠᤇᤡ>> (gʰachi)
  • ᤐᤢ<n><du> ↔ ᤐᤢᤄᤠᤇᤡ [pu ("bird")/pugʰachi ("two birds")]
  • ᤋᤱ<n><du> ↔ ᤋᤱᤄᤠᤇᤡ [toŋ ("arrow")/toŋgʰachi ("two arrows")]
  • ᤀᤠᤶᤒᤣ<n><du> ↔ ᤀᤠᤶᤒᤣᤄᤠᤇᤡ [ambɛ ("mango")/ambɛgʰachi ("two mangoes")]

Gender

There is minimal grammatical gender in this language.

Gender is reflected in some handful of the nouns in Limbu which refer to ethnicity, kinship terms, or some handful other terms related to people.

There exist two grammatical genders - male and female

Male

• These are formed through the addition of the suffix <<ᤐᤠ>> (pa) or <<ᤒᤠ>> (ba)
  • ᤏᤠᤰ<n><m> ↔ ᤏᤠᤰᤐᤠ [nak ("nephew")/nakpa ("nephew MASC")]
  • ᤔᤣᤴᤇᤠ<n><m> ↔ ᤔᤣᤴᤇᤠᤒᤠ [mɛncha ("grandson")/mɛnchaba ("grandson MASC")]
  • ᤗᤠᤶᤛ᤹<n><m> ↔ ᤗᤠᤶᤛ᤹ᤒᤠ [lamsa ("nephew")/lamsaba ("nephew MASC")]

Female

• These are formed through the addition of the suffix <<ᤔᤠ>>
  • ᤏᤠᤰ<n><m> ↔ ᤏᤠᤰᤔᤠ [nak ("nephew")/nakma ("niece")]
  • ᤔᤣᤴᤇᤠ<n><m> ↔ ᤔᤣᤴᤇᤠᤔᤠ [mɛncha ("grandson")/mɛnchama ("granddaughter")]
  • ᤗᤠᤶᤛ᤹<n><m> ↔ ᤗᤠᤶᤛ᤹ᤔᤠ [lamsa ("nephew")/lamsama ("niece")]

Genitive case

The base case is the Absolutive case in Limbu.

Regular

• The Genitive case (expressing possession) is marked in Limbu through the use of the suffix <<ᤅᤠᤱ>> (ŋaŋ)
  • ᤏᤠᤵᤔᤡ<n><gen> ↔ ᤏᤠᤵᤔᤡᤅᤠᤱ [napmi ("man")/napmiŋaŋ ("man's")]
  • ᤂᤩᤠ<n><gen> ↔ ᤂᤩᤠᤅᤠᤱ [khya ("dog")/khyaŋaŋ ("dog's")]
  • ᤀᤕᤰᤐᤠ<n><gen> ↔ ᤀᤕᤰᤐᤠᤅᤠᤱ [ayakpa ("cat")/ayakpaŋaŋ ("cat's")]

Irregular

• If preceded by a dental stop, the <<ᤅᤠᤱ>> changes to a <<ᤏᤠᤱ>>
  • ᤐᤡᤋ<n><gen> ↔ ᤐᤡᤋᤏᤠᤱ [pit ("cow")/pitnaŋ ("cow's")]

• If preceded by a bilabial consonant, the <<ᤅᤠᤱ>> changes to a <<ᤔᤠᤱ>>
  • ᤀᤡᤗᤠᤶ<n><gen> ↔ ᤀᤡᤗᤠᤶᤔᤠᤱ [ilam ("path")/ilammaŋ ("path's")]

Vocative case

• The Vocative case (used to address) is marked in Limbu through the use of the suffix <<ᤣ>> (E) or <<ᤥ>> (o) where the latter cannot be added to -i or -u ending words.
  • ᤀᤠᤔᤠ<n><voc> ↔ ᤀᤠᤔᤠᤣ [ama ("mother")/amo ("O mother")]
  • ᤏᤠᤵᤔᤡ<n><voc> ↔ ᤏᤠᤵᤔᤡᤀᤣ [napmi ("man")/napmiE ("O man")]
  • ᤐᤢ<n><voc> ↔ ᤐᤢᤀᤣ [pu ("bird")/puE ("O bird")]

Comitative case

• The Comitative case (used to express 'with') is marked in Limbu through the use of the suffix <<ᤏᤢᤱ>> (nuŋ)
  • ᤀᤠᤔᤠ<n><com> ↔ ᤀᤠᤔᤠᤏᤢᤱ [ama ("mother")/amanuŋ ("'with' mother")]
  • ᤀᤠᤐᤠ<n><com> ↔ ᤀᤠᤐᤠᤏᤢᤱ [apa ("father")/apanuŋ ("'with' father")]
  • ᤛᤣᤒᤠ<n><com> ↔ ᤛᤣᤒᤠᤏᤢᤱ [sɛba ("friend")/sɛbanuŋ ("'with' friend")]

Ablative case

• The Ablative case (used to express 'from') is marked in Limbu through the use of the suffix <<ᤏᤢᤱ>> (nuŋ) or <<ᤗᤠᤠᤶ>> (lam)
  • ᤏᤣᤐᤠᤸ<n><abl> ↔ ᤏᤣᤐᤠᤸᤏᤢᤱ [nepal ("nepal")/nepalnuŋ ("from nepal")]
  • ᤁᤠᤌᤔᤠᤴᤍᤢ<n><abl> ↔ ᤁᤠᤌᤔᤠᤴᤍᤢᤗᤠᤠᤶ [kathmandu ("father")/kathmandulam ("from kathmandu")]
  • ᤐᤩᤠᤱᤛᤡ<n><abl> ↔ ᤐᤩᤠᤱᤛᤡᤏᤢᤱ [pyaŋsi ("paddy field")/pyaŋsinuŋ ("from the paddy field")]

Tense in Limbu

Limbu only has two tenses - past and non-past, where non-past is unmarked.

Past Tense

• The past tense is marked in Limbu through the addition of the suffix <<ᤧ>> (ɛ) to a finite verb, but is not used separately as often as in other languages such as English, as the past is implied through the use of other words. Thus, past and non-past are often the same words in inflection. The infinitive form is often used as the base case.
  • ᤀᤡᤶᤔᤠ<ito><past> ↔ ᤀᤡᤵᤛᤧ [imma ("to sleep")/i{ps}e ("slept")]
  • ᤗᤡᤶᤔᤠ<ito><past> ↔ ᤗᤡᤶᤍᤧ [limma ("to taste sweet")/lim{d}e ("tasted sweet")]
  • ᤛᤥ᤺ᤔᤠ<ito><past> ↔ ᤛᤥ᤺ᤛᤧ [so:ma ("to itch")/so:{s}e ("itched")]