Munsee/Grammar

Parts of Speech

Nouns

Animate Nouns

• kóon <aa> "snow"
• pehpáxkwuleesh <aa> "flower"

Personal Pronouns

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

Verbs

• Inanimate Intransitive Verbs (VIIs)
• Animate Intransitive Verbs (VAIs)
• Transitive Inanimate Verbs (VTIs)
• Transitive Animate Verbs (VTAs)

Productive Grammar Rules (Brainstorm)

Plural

• To make an animate noun plural, add 'ak'
• To make an inanimate noun plural, add '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

Contraction Rules for ung

Morphemes	Contracted Form
ay + ung	eeng
uy + ung	iing
uw + ung	oong

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