Nuosu/Grammar

Part of Speech

1. Open
   • Noun
     • lyp<n> ↔ lyp - seed
   • Verb
     • lyp<v> ↔ lyp - sow
   • Adjective
     • jjip<adj> ↔ jjip - full
2. Semi-closed
   • Determiner
     • Classifier
       • ji<Cl> ↔ ji - bar,used to classify one-dimensional entities
   • Adverb
     • gexyimu<adv> ↔ gexyimu - stupid
   • Conjunction
3. Closed
   • Pronoun
     • nga<p1><sg> ↔ nga
   • Particle
     • da<pfv> ↔ da

Morphological Analysis

Size prefixes

• The diminutive prefixes i generates the meaning of "small"
  • sho<dim><adj> ↔ ixsho
  • du<dim><adj> ↔ ixdu
  • ly<dim><adj> ↔ ixly
• The augmentative prefix a can be prefixed to generate pair of antonyms, meaning of "big"
  • sho<aug><adj> ↔ asho
  • adu<aug><adj> ↔ adu
  • ly<aug><adj> ↔ axly

Nominalizer suffixes

Three nominalizer suffixes can be attached to verbs to form nouns. Not all verbs can take three suffixes.

• -lu is attached to a verb to form the action of that verb
  • mgu<v><nmlz> ↔ ngulu
  • hxip<v><nmlz> ↔ hxiplu
  • ndo<v><nmlz> ↔ ndolu
• -jjux is attached to a verb to mean the quality or extent of that verb
  • mgu<v><nmlz> ↔ ngujjux
  • ju<v><nmlz> ↔ jujjux
  • bi<v><nmlz> ↔ bijjux
• -tie is attached to a verb to indicate the manner of that verb
  • zhe<v><nmlz> ↔ zhetie
  • gu<v><nmlz> ↔ gutie
  • hlu<v><nmlz> ↔ hlutie

Adjectivizer suffixes

• - sa encodes the easiness or pleasure of doing an activity.
  • zze<v><nmlz> ↔ zzesa
  • ndo<v><nmlz> ↔ ndosa
  • yu<v><nmlz> ↔ yusa

• - we expresses the opposite state of difficulty, though less productive than -sa
  • zze<v><nmlz> ↔ zzewe
  • ndo<v><nmlz> ↔ ndowe
  • yu<v><nmlz> ↔ yuwe

Reduplicaiton

• Nouns are wholly reduplicated to mean some/a few of the noun, a classifier must follow this category of reduplication
  • mudi<n><rdpl> ↔ mudimudi
  • muhly<n><rdpl> ↔ muhlymuhly
  • lurmat<n><rdpl> ↔ lurmatlurmat
• Pronouns may be reduplicated as emphatic pronouns.
  • ngat<p1><sg><rdpl> ↔ ngatngat
  • nop<p2><p1><rdpl> ↔ nopnox
  • nit<p2><sg><rdpl> ↔ nitnit
• Verbs reduplicate in the form of V-jjy-V for intensification
  • mgu<v><rdpl> ↔ mgujjymgu
  • ndup<v><rdpl> ↔ ndupndup
  • budex<v><rdpl> ↔ budexjjybudex
• Adjectives are reduplicated to form alternative question
  • ssi<adj><rdpl> ↔ ssixssi
  • zhut<adj><rdpl> ↔ zhutzhut
  • ceqy<adj><rdpl> ↔ ceqyxqy

Color Ideophones

• Colour adjectives take reduplicated ideophones to express colour nuances. They evoke images in the mind of the addressee. The ideophone is meaningless in isolation.
  • ashyx<adj><rdpl> ↔ shyxndondo
  • aqu<adj><rdpl> ↔ quxzyrzyr
  • axhni<adj><rdpl> ↔ vutmomo
  • avut<adj><rdpl> ↔ vutlolo
  • sox<adj><rdpl> ↔ soxbobo

Gender/Age suffixes for animal names

• - bat (male)
  • le<n><nmlz> ↔ lebat
  • mu<n><nmlz> ↔ mubat
  • yo<n><nmlz> ↔ yobat

• -bu (male)
  • va<n><nmlz> ↔ vabu
  • ie<n><nmlz> ↔ iebu
  • op<n><nmlz> ↔ opbu

• -mop (female)
  • le<n><nmlz> ↔ lemop
  • mu<n><nmlz> ↔ mumop
  • yo<n><nmlz> ↔ yomop

• -sse (young).
  • lat<n><nmlz> ↔ latsse
  • wo<n><nmlz> ↔ wosse
  • bbo<n><nmlz> ↔ bbosse