Burmeso
Adjectives table
| gloss | layer | m sg option1 | m sg option2 | m pl | m inan sg | m inan pl | f sg option1 | f sg option2 | f pl | f inan sg | f inan pl | n sg option1 | n sg option2 | n pl | n an sg option1 | n an sg option2 | n an pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| near | lexeme | isana | isana | isana | isana | isana | isana | isana | isana | isana | isana | isana | isana | isana | isana | isana | isana |
| near | prefix | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero |
| near | stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem |
| near | suffix | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero |
| new | lexeme | gasara | gasara | gosur | gasara | gosur | gasara | gasara | gosur | gasara | gosur | gasara | gasara | gosur | gasara | gasara | gosur |
| new | prefix | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero |
| new | stem | #stem1 | #stem1 | #stem2 | #stem1 | #stem2 | #stem1 | #stem1 | #stem2 | #stem1 | #stem2 | #stem1 | #stem1 | #stem2 | #stem1 | #stem1 | #stem2 |
| new | suffix | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero |
| well | lexeme | bekabo | bekabo | bekodo | bekab | bekor | bekan | bekan | bekodo | bekan | bekor | bekora | bekora | bekoro | bekora | bekora | bekod |
| well | prefix | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero | zero |
| well | stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem |
| well | suffix | abo | abo | od(o) | ab | or | an | an | od(o) | an | or | ora | ora | or(o) | ora | ora | od |
| white | lexeme | nasab | nasab | tansarur~tansarud | nansab | tansab | ansan | nansan | tansarur~tansarud | nansan | tansan | ansao | nansao | tansarur | ansao | nansao | tansarur |
| white | prefix | zero | n | t | n | t | zero | n | t | n | t | zero | n | t | zero | n | t |
| white | stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem | #stem |
| white | suffix | b | b | rur~rud | b | b | n | n | rur~rud | n | n | o | o | rur | o | o | rur |
Verbs table
| gloss | layer | I sg | I pl | II sg | II pl | III sg | III pl | IV sg | IV pl | V sg | V pl | VI sg | VI pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| see | lexeme | jihi | sihi | gihi | sihi | gihi | jihi | jihi | jihi | jihi | gihi | gihi | gihi |
| see | prefix | j | s | g | s | g | j | j | j | j | g | g | g |
| bite | lexeme | bakwa | takwa | nakwa | takwa | nakwa | bakwa | bakwa | bakwa | bakwa | nakwa | nakwa | nakwa |
| bite | prefix | b | t | n | t | n | b | b | b | b | n | n | n |
Burmeso notes
Verbs
Verbs agree prefixally with their objects, according to the following gender classes:
| I | male |
| II | female, animate |
| III | miscellaneous |
| IV | mass nouns |
| V | banana, sago tree |
| VI | arrows, coconuts |
Adjectives
Mixed category -- 'one', 'all', 'white': these three lexical items mark the noun class by prefixes like verbs, and have a cross-cutting system of suffixes distinguishing masculine, feminine neuter, and animate ~ inanimate; for the sake of simplicity the example here is fixed with the prefixal series for class II.
References
Donohue, Mark. 2001. Animacy, class and gender in Burmeso, in Andrew Pawley, Malcolm Ross & Darrell Tryon (eds) The boy from Bundaberg. Studies in Melanesian linguistics in honour of Tom Dutton, pp. 97-115. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.