Difference between revisions of "Animacy"
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− | + | All [[Nouns|nouns]] in Mi'gmaq belong to one of two categories: '''animate''' and '''inanimate'''. Animate nouns are generally things that are alive, such as people (like ''lpatuj'', 'boy') or animals (like ''mui'n'', 'bear'), while inanimate nouns are generally things that are not alive, such as places and objects (like ''guntew'', 'rock', or ''wigatign'', 'book'). However, the distinction is not always so clear-cut: some objects - like containers - may be animate and not inanimate. In addition, some foods and items of clothing are animate (like ''atla'i'', 'shirt' or ''gmu'jmin'', 'raspberry') while others are inanimate (like ''a'gwesn'', 'hat' or ''aloqoman'', 'grape'). This animate/inanimate distinction is sometimes referred to as the '''gender''' of language, in parallel to other languages such as French, where ''le couteau'', 'the knife', is masculine and ''la cuillère'', 'the spoon', is feminine. | |
− | = | + | =Animacy and Nouns= |
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− | + | Animacy is important to keep in mind with nouns because it determines which [[Plurals|plural]] ending to take. Animate nouns (in general) take the ending '''-g''' (although this sometimes changes to [[G_and_Q|''q'']], while inanimate nouns take the ending '''-l''' (which sometimes changes to [[Assimilation_with_N|''n'']]: | |
<gl> | <gl> | ||
− | \gll | + | \gll lpa'tuj -g\\ |
− | boy.AN\\ | + | boy.AN -PL.AN\\ |
− | \trans | + | \trans boys |
</gl> | </gl> | ||
<gl> | <gl> | ||
− | \gll | + | \gll mui'na -q\\ |
− | bear.AN\\ | + | bear.AN -PL.AN\\ |
− | \trans bear | + | \trans bears (cf. singular ''mui'n'', 'bear') |
</gl> | </gl> | ||
<gl> | <gl> | ||
− | \gll | + | \gll gunta -l\\ |
− | + | rock.INAN -PL.INAN\\ | |
− | \trans | + | \trans rocks (cf. singular ''guntew'', 'rock') |
</gl> | </gl> | ||
<gl> | <gl> | ||
− | \gll | + | \gll wigatign -n\\ |
− | + | book.INAN -PL.INAN\\ | |
− | \trans | + | \trans books |
</gl> | </gl> | ||
− | + | Some words can also change from being animate to inanimate by adding the suffix ''-ewei''. For example, ''plamu'', 'salmon', as an animal is animate, but ''plamewei'', 'salmon meat' is inanimate. | |
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+ | =Animacy and Verbs= | ||
+ | |||
+ | Animacy is also important to keep in mind with [[Verbs|verbs]], since it helps determine which ending the verb will take (except in the first and second [[Person_and_number|persons]], which are always animate), as well as the [[Animacy_and_Transitivity|class]] to which the verb belongs. | ||
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+ | For example, in '''intransitive''' verbs, the animacy of the subject determines whether the verb is [[VAI|animate]] (example 7) or [[VII|inanimate]] (example 8), as well as which ending to take: | ||
<gl> | <gl> | ||
− | \gll | + | \gll apje'ji-t lpa'tuj\\ |
− | + | be.small-3.AN boy.AN\\ | |
− | \trans | + | \trans the boy is small |
</gl> | </gl> | ||
<gl> | <gl> | ||
− | \gll | + | \gll apje'j-g na guntew\\ |
− | + | be.small-INAN NA rock.INAN\\ | |
− | \trans | + | \trans that rock is small |
</gl> | </gl> | ||
− | + | In '''transitive''' verbs, the animacy of the object determines whether the verb is [[VTA|animate]] (example 9) or [[VTI|inanimate]] (example 10) (it's usually assumed that the subject is animate), and thus which ending to take: | |
<gl> | <gl> | ||
− | \gll | + | \gll nem-ig epit\\ |
− | + | see-1>3.AN woman.AN\\ | |
− | \trans | + | \trans I see the woman |
</gl> | </gl> | ||
<gl> | <gl> | ||
− | \gll | + | \gll nem-itu ptauti\\ |
− | + | see-1>INAN table.INAN\\ | |
− | \trans | + | \trans I see the table |
</gl> | </gl> | ||
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Revision as of 14:34, 25 July 2012
All nouns in Mi'gmaq belong to one of two categories: animate and inanimate. Animate nouns are generally things that are alive, such as people (like lpatuj, 'boy') or animals (like mui'n, 'bear'), while inanimate nouns are generally things that are not alive, such as places and objects (like guntew, 'rock', or wigatign, 'book'). However, the distinction is not always so clear-cut: some objects - like containers - may be animate and not inanimate. In addition, some foods and items of clothing are animate (like atla'i, 'shirt' or gmu'jmin, 'raspberry') while others are inanimate (like a'gwesn, 'hat' or aloqoman, 'grape'). This animate/inanimate distinction is sometimes referred to as the gender of language, in parallel to other languages such as French, where le couteau, 'the knife', is masculine and la cuillère, 'the spoon', is feminine.
Animacy and Nouns
Animacy is important to keep in mind with nouns because it determines which plural ending to take. Animate nouns (in general) take the ending -g (although this sometimes changes to q, while inanimate nouns take the ending -l (which sometimes changes to n:
lpa'tuj -g boy.AN -PL.AN
'boys'
mui'na -q bear.AN -PL.AN
'bears (cf. singular ''mui'n'', 'bear')'
gunta -l rock.INAN -PL.INAN
'rocks (cf. singular ''guntew'', 'rock')'
wigatign -n book.INAN -PL.INAN
'books'
Some words can also change from being animate to inanimate by adding the suffix -ewei. For example, plamu, 'salmon', as an animal is animate, but plamewei, 'salmon meat' is inanimate.
Animacy and Verbs
Animacy is also important to keep in mind with verbs, since it helps determine which ending the verb will take (except in the first and second persons, which are always animate), as well as the class to which the verb belongs.
For example, in intransitive verbs, the animacy of the subject determines whether the verb is animate (example 7) or inanimate (example 8), as well as which ending to take:
apje'ji-t lpa'tuj be.small-3.AN boy.AN
'the boy is small'
apje'j-g na guntew be.small-INAN NA rock.INAN
'that rock is small'
In transitive verbs, the animacy of the object determines whether the verb is animate (example 9) or inanimate (example 10) (it's usually assumed that the subject is animate), and thus which ending to take:
nem-ig epit see-1>3.AN woman.AN
'I see the woman'
nem-itu ptauti see-1>INAN table.INAN
'I see the table'