CHAPTER 4 Nominal Morphology and Noun Phrase Structure

This chapter covers nominal morphology and the structure of noun phrases (NPs) in Nungon. Nominal morphology is limited, with most nouns always unmarked for number. This marking, and associative constructions, are introduced in §4.1. Nominalizations formed from adjectives are marginal; ‘labile’ adjectives, which are primarily adjectives but can also be possessed and head NPs, were covered in §3.2.10. The three major types of deverbal nominal- izations are described in §4.2, while sections §§4.3–6 explore the Nungon NP.

4.1 Nominal Morphology

Nungon nouns take few affixes. The locative suffix -(i)n, the comitative suffix -ot, and the pertensive suffixes (marking —see Dixon 2010b: 268) are the only affixes that may affix directly to nouns (other grammatical relation markers are considered enclitics—see Chapter 8). Nouns with prototypically- human referents (§3.1.1) may receive number-marking suffixes after the singu- lar pertensive suffixes. Number is usually unmarked, except in the following ways. Nouns with prototypically-human referents receive obligatory dual and plural number marking after singular pertensive suffixes (§4.1.1).‎ This is the basis for the mor- phologically-indicated associative plural construction (§‎4.1.3). Number may also be indicated on same-generation consanguineal kin terms through collec- tive expressions employing the element yomot (§‎4.1.2). Non-singular number may also be indicated through two additional strategies: repetition of a modi- fier (§‎4.4.3), and the ‘miscellanea’ construction (§4.1.4). Natural sex is never morphologically marked. The nouns amna ‘man’ and oe ‘woman’ are unusual among nouns in that they can serve as adjectives, indicat- ing sex of animates (§‎4.4.1, and Sarvasy 2016b).

4.1.1 Number Marking All nouns of the nominal sub-class with prototypically-human referents receive dual and plural number marking after the singular pertensive suffixes. That is, these nouns are marked for number only when possessed by a singular Possessor. Even when a noun of this sub-class does not refer to a human or even an animate, it is still marked for number. According to McElhanon (1973: 12),

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���7 | doi ��.��63/9789004340107_005 Nominal Morphology And Noun Phrase Structure 173 number marking of prototypically-human nouns has been considered rare in western Finisterre-Huon languages (including the Uruwa group) but is attested in the eastern languages of the family. As discussed in more detail in Chapter 9, both head and dependent in a Nungon possessive NP may be formally marked. The dependent (Possessor) NP is marked through the genitive postposition =hon (§9.1), while the head (Possessed) NP is marked through ‘pertensive’ markers (§9.2) that index the person and number of the Possessor (using the terminology of Dixon 2010b: 268). The Nungon pertensive marking paradigm is in table 4.1. The person and number combinations in the table are those of the Possessor . This paradigm combines suffixes and postposed words—see §9.2 for more discus- sion of pertensive marking.

Table 4.1 Pertensive markers

Singular Dual Plural

1 -na nori noni 2 -a hori honi 3 -o/-no yori yoni

The difference between the two forms -o and -no of the 3sg pertensive suffix is one of alienability; this is discussed further in §9.2.3. As noted in §3.2.2, these are homophonous with the Class 2 adjectivizing suffixes. Further discussion of this homophony is in §9.2.6. Simple use of the 2sg pertensive suffix -a is illustrated in (‎4.1) and (‎4.2):

4.1) Orug-aS ep-pa-k. brother.of.male-2sg.poss come-pres.sg-3sg ‘Your brother is coming.’

4.2) Haw-aS e-wa-ng. dog-2sg.poss come-pres.nsg-2/3pl ‘Your dogs are coming.’

The fact that hap ‘dog’ refers to more than two dogs in (‎4.2) is only marked on the verb, not on the noun itself. But since oruk ‘brother (of male)’ is a