Articles & Nouns
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This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 12 Oct 2022, 08:11.
[comments] mthlmathalgrammarmorphologynounnounsgenderdefinitecommonneutersingularpluralnumber
1. Adjectives
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2. Articles & Nouns
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To build a noun there are a few things that need to be considered first.
You have probably heard this word before but in English this grammatical function does not really exist for nouns, but it is used in many, many other languages, like French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, etc.
In German, for example, the fork is feminine, the spoon masculiine and the knife of neuter gender.
How arbitrary is that? For foreigners learning gender is usually one of the most difficult parts. You just need to learn what gender goes with which word. But it adds another aspect to the language and influences not just the noun but also other classes of words.
Looking closely at English there are some forms that indicate feminine, masculine or non-gender specific gender. Oftentimes you find these in professions, for example in the service industry:
A masculine person who takes your order at a restaurant is called ‘waiter’,
but you also have ‘waitress’ addressed to a feminine person.
And there is also the word ‘server’, a genderless option.
Since I have a thing for Danish I wanted to use a similar system. Danish uses intetkøn and fælleskøn, which translate to Neuter and Common (also called Utrum). It basically distinguishes between a Neuter thing and a Common person, no matter the gender. And of course there are several exceptions.
So, Mathal has two grammatical genders: COMMON and NEUTER.
Common | Neuter |
---|---|
people, animals, plants (not fruit) | Dead people, dead animals, dead plants, tools, actions, abstract thoughts |
This means, Mathal can distinguish between a dead or a living flower, and a murderer or a murder but not between a female or male or non-binary friend.
A noun can show two other things. A Singular or Plural state. Singular describes a quantity of only one, Plural clarifies an amount larger than one.
Mathal is able to tell the difference if someone is talking about one single person or thing or a bunch of people or objects. Duality, for example, is not important.
Both gender and number are expressed in Mathal by a distinctive Suffix at the end of a root.
Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|
Common | -e | -o |
Neuter | -i | -u |
We are not quite done yet. To build a noun there is one more information necessary:
Mathal also distinguishes between definite and indefinite nouns. Take a look at the following examples:
She is a killer.
This phrase implies that the person is in fact a killer, one of many among us. It is an unspecific killer. It is more about what kind of person she is. The listener usually does not know who or what the speaker is talking about. 'a' specifies that the noun 'magician' is indefinite.
She is the killer.
The second sentence is more precise. The person is the killer, an identifiable one or that has already been mentioned before (in the conversation or on the news) or is known to the addressee. 'the' indicates definiteness of the noun.
These two distinctions are created by another specific suffix, also called NOUN-MARKER (n-m.):
Definiteness | Indefiniteness |
---|---|
-ŋ | -þ |
First, we look at the building of the common indefinite singular noun.
Now, how does this work in Mathal? We will use the word root 'magic', which in Mathal is [bu:n].
Runes | |
---|---|
Mathal | |
Morphology | |
English |
To create the indefinite common singular noun, you need an article which consists of two parts: the vowel '-e' which determines Common gender and Singular number, and the so-called indefinite noun marker '-þ'.
This is all you need to know to build any indefinite common singular noun in Mathal. There are no exceptions.
Let's look at the building of the common indefinite plural noun.
Now, how does this work in Mathal? We will use the word root 'magic', which in Mathal is [bu:n].
Runes | |
---|---|
Mathal | |
Morphology | |
English |
To create the indefinite common singular noun, you need an article which consists of two parts: the vowel '-o' which determines Common gender and Plural number, and the so-called indefinite noun marker '-þ'.
English does not exactly have an indefinite plural article. This plural form usually stands alone. Sometimes it is accompanied by "some" or "any" or similar words. In Mathal the word cannot stand alone. It always needs the '-of' suffix. It's similar to the French article 'des'.
Let's look at the building of the neuter indefinite singular noun.
Now, how does this work in Mathal? We will use the word root 'magic', which in Mathal is [bu:n].
Runes | |
---|---|
Mathal | |
Morphology | |
English |
To create the indefinite common singular noun, you need an article which consists of two parts: the vowel '-i' which determines Neuter gender and Singular number, and the so-called indefinite noun marker '-þ'.
In English 'magic' is an uncountable noun. There is not one magic, two magics, etc. In Mathal, though, there is. Everything is countable and so there is an indefinite and definite version of 'magic'. Someone can perform a specific magic like creating fire from thin air or magic of unkown power like boiling water and it's not clear whether this comes from fire magic or water magic.
Let's look at the building of the neuter indefinite plural noun.
Now, how does this work in Mathal? We will use the word root 'magic', which in Mathal is [bu:n].
Runes | |
---|---|
Mathal | |
Morphology | |
English |
To create the indefinite common singular noun, you need an article which consists of two parts: the vowel '-u' which determines Neuter gender and Plural number, and the so-called indefinite noun marker '-þ'.
Well, that was a lot. Here is a little summary of the above:
Common | Neuter | |
---|---|---|
Singular | -eþ | -oþ |
Plural | -iþ | -uþ |
The exact same thing goes for the definite nouns:
Common | Neuter | |
---|---|---|
Singular | -eng | -ong |
Plural | -ing | -ung |
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