Khulls nouns
Khulls nouns inflect using a fusional declension system. Though not as complicated at that of Poswa, the declensions differ more from each other because Khulls uses a "discrete" declension system instead of deriving inflections based on every phoneme in the word, as does Poswa.
Noun declension tables
Primary vowel-stem declensions
Final unstressed short vowels
Nominative | (English) | Accusative | Locative | Possessive | Dative | Circumstantial | Essive | Instrumental |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
òṭa | table, desk | oṭà | oṭâ | oṭas | oṭal | oṭan | oṭī | oṭō |
ḳĭri | happiness, victory | ḳirì | ḳirî | ḳiris | ḳiril | ḳirin | ḳirĕ | ḳiġʷ |
nìto | price, penalty | nitò | nitô | nitos | nitol | niton | nikʷ | nitū |
Nouns ending with final stressed short low-tone vowels follow the same patterns as above.
Final accent, high tone
This table shows nouns that are accented on their final syllable, with a short high-tone vowel at the end of the word:
Nominative | (English) | Accusative | Locative | Possessive | Dative | Circumstantial | Essive | Instrumental |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
egà | daytime sky | egaḳà | egaḳâ | egaḳas | egaḳal | egaḳan | egaḳī | egaḳō |
gʷì | beach | gʷiḳì | gʷiḳî | gʷiḳis | gʷiḳil | gʷiḳin | gʷiḳĕ | gʷiḳʷ |
makò | seal (animal) | makoḳò | makoḳô | makoḳos | makoḳol | makoḳon | makoḳʷ | makoḳū |
ʕʷè | tendril | ʕʷeḳà | ʕʷeḳâ | ʕʷeḳas | ʕʷeḳal | ʕʷeḳan | ʕʷeḳī | ʕʷeḳō |
Nouns ending in -ù follow the pattern for -ò, because they arose from labialization of a vowel that otherwise became /o/.
A "double essive" case is sometimes seen in the -ò declension, where the final labialized consonant loses its labialization and adds -ī.
Many nouns that end in a final high-tone short vowel historically ended with a final -ḳ. But after the vowel /u/, this consonant became a coarticulated labiovelar stop,[1] and was later retained as /ṗ/ when the velar stop otherwise disappeared. The same is true of the non-ejective version of this sound. Thus, words ending in -p or -ṗ decline following the patterns of the standalone word below, which means "teacher":
Nominative | (English) | Accusative | Locative | Possessive | Dative | Circumstantial | Essive | Instrumental |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
p | teacher | p | pʷ | pṡ | pḷ | pṅ | pī | pō |
Nouns with word-final falling tone, long vowels
Nominative | (English) | Accusative | Locative | Possessive | Dative | Circumstantial | Essive | Instrumental |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
pā | school | pâ | pâ | pâs | pâl | pân | pê | pô |
mī | bottle | bè | bê | bes | bel | ben | bē | bē |
kʷō | bed | kʷaʕʷù | kʷaʕʷû | kʷaʕʷus | kʷaʕʷul | kʷaʕʷun | kʷaʕʷ | kʷaʕʷū |
Secondary vowel-stem declensions
Nominative | (English) | Accusative | Locative | Possessive | Dative | Circumstantial | Essive | Instrumental |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
xʷèye | curved claw | |||||||
kʷăkʷ | stone tablet | |||||||
empĕ | sword | empyì | empyî | empyis | empyil | empyin | empĕ | empyŭ |
mī | ||||||||
ḳē | wheel | ḳê | ḳê | ḳês | ḳêl | ḳên | ḳê | ḳêʕʷ |
lū | milk |
- NOTE, possibly eliminate the first two rows of the secondaries, since final -e and final -u can only come from stressed positions even if in a compound where they are unstressed, except for when the /e/ follows /u/, in which case it comes from /u/ or /a/.
Tertiary vowel-stem declensions
Nominative | (English) | Accusative | Locative | Possessive | Dative | Circumstantial | Essive | Instrumental |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
atá | spirit | atakà | atakâ | atakas | atakal | atakan | atakī[2] | atakō |
šonorí | depravity, perversion | šonorikà | šonorikâ | šonorikas | šonorikal | šonorikan | šonorikī[2] | šonorikō |
ló | flower petal | lokà | lokâ | lokas | lokal | lokan | lokī[2] | lokō |
lé | diaper | lekà | lekâ | lekas | lekal | lekan | lekī [2] | lekō |
Nominative | (English) | Accusative | Locative | Possessive | Dative | Circumstantial | Essive | Instrumental |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
amâ | whip | amâ | amâ | amâs | amâl | amân | amê | amô |
gʷî | spy, thief | gʷî | gʷî | gʷîs | gʷîl | gʷîn | gʷê | gʷŭ |
dô | swamp | dô | dô | dôs | dôl | dôn | daʕʷ | dô |
hʷê | military road | hʷê | hʷê | hʷês | hʷêl | hʷên | hʷê[3] | hʷê |
ḳʷû | urine | ḳʷuʕʷù | ḳʷuʕʷû | ḳʷuʕʷus | ḳʷuʕʷul | ḳʷuʕʷun | ḳʷuʕʷ | ḳʷuʕʷū |
Final -ú might not exist because of retention of the final /kp/ cluster as /p/ rather than deletion.
Primary consonant-stem declensions
Nominative | (English) | Accusative | Locative | Possessive | Dative | Circumstantial | Essive | Instrumental |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
gis | fruit tree | gixì | gixî | gixis | gixil | gixin | gixĕ | gixʷ |
maŋan | prey | maŋaŋà | maŋaŋâ | maŋaŋas | maŋaŋal | maŋaŋan | maŋaŋī | maŋaŋō |