New Nouns
There are several words that make new nouns from other nouns or words. These are called derivational words or classifiers. Each are listed in the dictionary with dots (. . .) to show that it must be followed by another word.
The derivational word ga . . . ‘big’ changes fi ‘water’ into ga fi ‘ocean’.
Derivational word | Original noun | Compound phrase | |||
ji/jo . . . | person | liiny | fight | ji liny/ jo liny | soldier/soldiers |
mu . . . | that | kpɔ | life | mu kpɔ | alive |
kar . . . | place | nyɔɔw | buy | kar nyɔw | market |
gi . . . | thing | neenɔ | see | gi nenɔ | spectacles |
ga . . . | big | fi | water | ga fi | ocean, big river |
nyi . . . | small | lɛlɔ | stone | nyi lɛlɔ | gravel, pebble |
The classifier far . . . ‘place’ changes akim ‘doctor’ into far akim ‘hospital’
Classifier | Original word | Classifier noun phrase | |||
far . . . | place | akim | doctor | far akim | hospital |
ti . . . | under | baꞌd | arm | ti baꞌd | under arm |
di . . . | at | fi | water | di fi | shore, bank |
di . . . | language | Bor | Bor person | di Bor | Bor language |
dï . . . | part | fàlà | knife | dï fàlà | blade |
fu . . . | area | Runga | Zande person | fu Runga | Zande area |
mi . . | mother | faci | house | mi faci | wife |
ü- | on | kwɔt | house | ükwɔt | root |