Singular and Plural Nouns

Singular and Plural Nouns

There are several ways that nouns have singular and plural forms.  Some add the suffix -ë (as in rum/rumë ‘club/clubs’). Some change the vowel (as in bëël/bel ‘grain/grains’, jɔk/jïöök ‘back/backs’). Some change the final consonant (as in yak/yau ‘famine/famines’). Some change the tone (as in lɛ̈ï (Low)/lɛ̈ï (High) ‘animal/animals’). Some do a combination of these changes (as in kɛ̈r/käärë ‘net/nets’), or are completely changed (as in yaŋ/ɣɔ̈k ‘cow’). And some do none of these changes (as in läŋ/läŋ ‘prayer/prayers’). Also, some nouns (as nhiaal ‘sky’) are singular and do not have a plural form. Other nouns (as cak ‘milk’) are plural and do not have a singular form.