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Re: Nauradi

From:caeruleancentaur <caeruleancentaur@...>
Date:Monday, November 24, 2008, 10:12
> Scotto Hlad <scott.hlad@...> wrote:
> But culture requires a separate word for man and woman. > Historically, cows and bulls would have had crucial roles > agriculturally so separating them would have been a necessity. I'm > just looking for the ability to allow a bit more generality.
In Senjecas, most animate nouns are epicene, but there is a male or female prefix if differentiation is necessary, e.g., amhes, bird; iiamhes, hen; noramhes, cock. However, each of the loquent peoples has its own particular livestock: cattle, horses, goats, etc. With these there are generic as well as sex-specific names. There are also words for certain age groups (e.g., yearling), and words for the various geldings.
> Thinking about the pronoun conundrum, it doesn't seem so crucial > to have a male or female pronoun.
The third person pronouns are epicene but the prefixes used with the nouns can also be used with the pronouns if differentiation is desired: nus, iinus, nornus. The third personal pronouns are really the demonstrative adjectives in the -us or person class. This allows for some distance distinctions: dus, he close to me; nus, he farther away; olnus, he a long ways away. Or in the -os, inanimate class: dos, nos, olnos. Charlie