Chamteela/Part 3

Pronouns noo = I noy = me ꞌom = you (subject) ꞌoy = you (direct object) wunáal = he/she/it/they (singular) poy = him/her/it/them (singular) chaam = we chaami = us ꞌomóm = you all (subject) ꞌomóomi = you all (object) wunáalum = they (plural) popóomi = them (plural) Noun Declension English vs. Chamteela sentence structure In English, nouns do not change depending on whether they are the subject or the direct object. Consider the following two sentences: The man saw the dog. The cat saw the girl. In these two sentences, we instantly know which noun is the subject and which one is the direct object based on their position in relation to the verb. The English language places subject nouns before the verb and direct object nouns after the verb. However, Chamteela is different. The subject, verb, and direct object can come in any order within a sentence. You probably now wonder "How do you know which word is the subject and the direct object this way?" The answer is noun declension, which is when nouns change depending on their role within the sentence. Basic Chamteela noun declension In Chamteela (and many other languages), the term "nominative case" refers to a noun's form when it is used as the subject. The term "accusative case" signifies the direct object form of a noun. There are six cases in Chamteela, but we will focus on the nominative and accusative cases for the purposes of this lesson. We will learn the other cases later on within this book. All of the Chamteela nouns given within the book come in their singular nominative forms; the other forms are derived from the nominative case. However, forming the other noun cases depends on the ending in the singular nominative form and whether or not they are animate (referring to a person or animal). Here is how to form the singular and plural forms of the nominative and accusative cases in Chamteela: +Noun endingNominative Singular Nominative Plural Accusative Singular Accusative Plural Meaning -cha; inanimate nounkichakichamkishkishhouse -ta; animate nounlamáqatalamáqatamlamáqatlamáqatamiant -ta; inanimate nountootatootamtoottootstone -la; animate nounpaaꞌila paaꞌilampaaꞌilpaaꞌilamiturtle -la; inanimate nounpaalapaalampaalpaalwaterAny consonant; animate nounyaꞌáshyaꞌáshumyaꞌáshiyaꞌáshumimanAny consonant; inanimate nounkutápishkutápishumkutápishikutápishicornOther vowel; animate nounkaváayukaváayumkaváayuykaváayumihorseNawítmal; grammatical exceptionnawítmalnánatmalumnawítmalinánatmalumigirl References https://huntergatherer.la.utexas.edu/languages/language/3 Davis, John Frederick (1973). "A Partial Grammar of Simplex and Complex Sentences in Luiseño", University of California, Los Angeles https://quizlet.com/503767900/an-introduction-to-the-luiseno-language-nouns-1-flash-cards/ https://escholarship.org/content/qt6tr732gg/qt6tr732gg_noSplash_003204331d54e438c409389eb220ba37.pdf