Blackfoot/Grammar

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Nouns

Nouns in Blackfoot can be inflected for grammatical gender (animacy), number particularity, and XXXXX

Noun Inflections

Grammatical Gender

Blackfoot has two noun classes: animate and inanimate. Inanimate nouns take the suffixes «yi» when singular and «istsi» when plural.

Inanimate Nouns

Singular animate nouns whose stem ends in a vowel take the suffix «yi»

  • ᖱ'ᖽᐧᓭᖾ <n><sg> ↔ ᖱ'ᖽᐧᓭᖾᔪ
  • ᖹᒪᒐ <n><sg> ↔ ᖹᒪᒐᔪ
  • ᒉᒧᐧᖹ <n><sg> ↔ ᒉᒧᐧᖹᔪ

«yi» is realized as «i» after consonants.

  • ᑫᒣᘁ <n><sg> ↔ ᑫᒣᖽ
  • ᒍᐡ <n><sg> ↔ ᒍᖹ
  • ᓴᔭᑲᘁ <n><sg> ↔ ᓴᔭᑲᖽ

Animate Nouns

Singular animate nouns whose stem ends in a vowel take the suffix «wa»

  • ᖻᒣᔭ <n><sg> ↔ ᖻᒣᔭᖷ
  • ᑲᖺᖿ <n><sg> ↔ ᑲᖺᖿᖷ
  • ᖿᖾ <n><sg> ↔ ᖿᖾᖷ

«wa» is realized as «a» after consonants

  • ᖳᒣᑯᐢ <n><sg> ↔ ᖳᒣᑯᒉ
  • ᑲᔈ <n><sg> ↔ ᑲᓭ
  • ᖲᑊᖾᒪᘁ <n><sg> ↔ ᖲᑊᖾᒪᖽ

Number

Blackfoot distinguishes between singular and plural nouns.

Inanimate Plurals

  • ᓴᔭᑲᖽᖱ'ᖽᐧᓭᖾ <n><pl> ᓴᔭᑲᖽᖱ'ᖽᐧᓭᖾᐟᔈᒧᐧ
  • ᖹᒪᒐ <n><pl> ᖹᒪᒐᐟᔈᒧᐧ