Noun Forms

Noun Forms

Nouns have different forms for the different ways they are used. The singular noun kath ‘waterhole’ has the possessor form kaath (with High tone) when it possesses or has a close relationship with another noun, as in wään kaath ‘place of waterhole’. It has the location form kaath (with Low tone) when it shows the location of an action, as in nuɛ̈ɛ̈r wëï kaath ‘person is going to waterhole’.

The plural noun kɛ̈th ‘waterholes’ has the possessor form kɛthë as in wään kɛthë ‘place of waterholes’. It has the location form kɛthë as in nuɛ̈ɛ̈r wëï kɛthë ‘person is going to waterholes’.

In the dictionary, common singular and plural nouns are always in bold such as kath, kɛ̈th. Possessor nouns are always bold between braces such as {kaath}, {kɛthë}. Location nouns are always bold between slashes such as /kaath/.

When the possessor singular form is the same as the common singular form (including tone), it is not relisted in the dictionary. And when the location singular form is the same as the possessor singular form, it is not relisted in the dictionary. For example, the singular possessor form tëëtë ‘of hand’ is in the dictionary because it differs from the singular noun teet ‘hand’. But there is no location singular form in the dictionary, so you can assume it is the same as the possessor singular tëëtë.

Similarly, when the possessor plural form is the same as the common plural form, it is not relisted in the dictionary. The location plural form is the same as the possessor plural form for all nouns, so it is never listed in the dictionary.