Revision as of 17:32, 20 February 2025

Parts of Speech

Nouns

Animate Nouns

Most living things are animate, but there are exceptions such as nouns for different kinds of fruits. Some animate nouns are also not alive at all such as the words for fingernail and snow.

• oxkwéesus<n><aa> ↔ oxkwéesus "girl"

• pehpáxkwuleesh<n><aa> ↔ pehpáxkwuleesh "flower"

• kóon<n><aa> ↔ kóon "snow"

• níhkash<n><aa> ↔ níhkash "fingernail"

Inanimate Nouns

Most non-living things are inanimate, including some berries, nuts, and vegetables, even though they may be thought of as living.

• wtéehiim<n><nn> ↔ wtéehiim "strawberry"

• xwáskwiim<n><nn> ↔ xwáskwiim "corn"

• mbúy<n><nn> ↔ mbúy "water"

• áhpapoon<n><nn> ↔ áhpapoon "chair"

Personal Pronouns

• nii <prn><pers><p1><sg> "me, my, I"
• kii <prn><pers><p2><sg> "you, your"
• neeka <prn><pers><p3><sg> "him, her; his, her; he,she"
• niilóona <prn><pers><p1><pl> "us, our, we"
• kiilóona <prn><pers><p1><pl> "us, our, we"
• kiilóowa <prn><pers><p2><pl> "your"
• neekáawa <prn><pers><p3><pl> "their, them, they"

Particle

Adjectives (Prenouns)

• askii<adj>+wuyóos<n><nn> ↔ askii-wuyóos "raw meat"

Auxiliary Verb (Preverb)

Preverbs are modifiers that occur before verbs. They reflect a wide variety of meanings.

Verbs

Inanimate Intransitive Verbs (VIIs)

Animate Intransitive Verbs (VAIs)

Transitive Inanimate Verbs (VTIs)

Transitive Animate Verbs (VTAs)

Grammar Points

Plurals

In Munsee, plurals are formed differently for each gender:

• Animate nouns take the suffix «ak»

• • pambíilak<n><aa><pl> ↔ pambíilak "books"

• Inanimate nouns take the suffix «al»

Obviative Endings

• Used to distinguish between 3rd person participants
• Noun without obviative ending (eg: 'al') is the proximate noun that is at the center of the discourse
• This allows for variation in word order to not cause confusion

Making a Noun Possessive

• Singular possessor + Singular animate possession
• Singular possessor + Plural animate possessions
• Plural possessors + Singular or plural animate possession
• Singular possessor + Singular inanimate possession
• Singular possessor + Plural inanimate possessions
• Plural possessors + Singular or plural inanimate possession

Using the Locative Suffix

• -ung
• Turns a noun into a location by adding meaning:
  • 'to the'
  • 'at the'
  • 'in the'
  • 'on the'
• There are rules for the contracted form of -ung

Using the Absence Suffix

• -aya
• Marks a noun as 'recently deceased'
• Only used on person name nouns and nouns that describe familial relationships (NOT plural or inanimate nouns)
  • Numoxóomus --> My grandfather
  • Nŭmoxoomsáya --> My late grandfather