Wishram
Nouns table
| gloss | layer | sg | pl |
|---|---|---|---|
| hand | lexeme | iłkšin | itkšinmax̣ |
| hand | prefix | ił | it |
| hand | suffix | zero | max̣ |
| acorn | lexeme | ag̣úlul | itg̣úlul |
| acorn | prefix | a | it |
| acorn | suffix | zero | zero |
| chinook salmon | lexeme | igunat | itgunat |
| chinook salmon | prefix | i | it |
| chinook salmon | suffix | zero | zero |
| dead person | lexeme | iłmiməlušt | idmiməluštikš |
| dead person | prefix | ił | it |
| dead person | suffix | zero | Vkš |
| dish | lexeme | iládas | iłládas |
| dish | prefix | i | ił |
| dish | suffix | zero | zero |
| female bat | lexeme | ac’ig̣ula | itc’ig̣ulayukš |
| female bat | prefix | a | it |
| female bat | suffix | zero | Vkš |
| female wildcat | lexeme | apkwa | apkwamax̣ |
| female wildcat | prefix | a | a |
| female wildcat | suffix | zero | max̣ |
| finger ring | lexeme | ak’wiak’wiamax̣ | ik’wiak’wiamax̣ |
| finger ring | prefix | a | i |
| finger ring | suffix | max̣ | max̣ |
| her younger sister | lexeme | agaútxix | iłgaútxikš |
| her younger sister | prefix | a | ił |
| her younger sister | suffix | zero | Vkš |
| his wife’s male relative | lexeme | iyag̣uqšin | idiag̣uqšnana |
| his wife’s male relative | prefix | i | it |
| his wife’s male relative | suffix | zero | nana |
| lamprey | lexeme | igakwal | agakwal |
| lamprey | prefix | i | a |
| lamprey | suffix | zero | zero |
| magpie | lexeme | iknáʔan | itknáʔanukš |
| magpie | prefix | i | it |
| magpie | suffix | zero | Vkš |
| mail carrier | lexeme | iiagikʷčan | idagikʷčan |
| mail carrier | prefix | ia | da |
| mail carrier | suffix | zero | zero |
| male wildcat | lexeme | ipkwa | ipkwamax̣ |
| male wildcat | prefix | i | i |
| male wildcat | suffix | zero | max̣ |
| man | lexeme | ikala | ikálukš |
| man | prefix | i | i |
| man | suffix | zero | Vkš |
| my father’s sister | lexeme | akłak | iłkłagnana |
| my father’s sister | prefix | a | ił |
| my father’s sister | suffix | zero | nana |
| my friend | lexeme | iłkšikš | iłkšikšnana |
| my friend | prefix | ił | ił |
| my friend | suffix | zero | nana |
| paiute | lexeme | it’uanx̣a | iłt’uanx̣ayukš |
| paiute | prefix | i | ił |
| paiute | suffix | zero | Vkš |
| pin | lexeme | agikw’inc | iłgikw’inc |
| pin | prefix | a | ił |
| pin | suffix | zero | zero |
| putter out of lights (female) | lexeme | ičak’ičxəbčxəb | idak’ičxəbčxəb |
| putter out of lights (female) | prefix | ča | da |
| putter out of lights (female) | suffix | zero | zero |
| spider | lexeme | ałagagʷuli | itłagagʷulimax̣ |
| spider | prefix | a | it |
| spider | suffix | zero | max̣ |
Wishram notes
- The primary system of number marking on nouns consists of prefixes and suffixes, which may be combined.
- Some prefixes are described as marking gender-number: a- for feminine singular, i- for masculine singular and it- for gender-neutral plural. While their sex-designating function is clear in the case of animates (compare 'female wildcat' and 'male wildcat' in the database, which also may share a plural in it- indicating wildcats of either gender), they are also found with inanimates, and presumably are simply part of the lexical entry.
- The suffixes have at least in part some semantic correlates: ił- may have a paucal meaning ('some', 'a few'), while -max̣ may have a distributive meaning, though for some nouns they appear simply to function as ordinary plurals. The suffix -nana occurs only with certain kinterms (not close relatives), and -Vkš is for animates, though what is construed as animate covers a fairly wide territory of non-living things.
- The vowel in -Vkš varies in ways that are not phonologically conditioned, and this suffix could perhaps be understood as a set of different (animate) suffixes.
- Some nouns are derived directly from verbs, e.g. 'mail carrier' ~ 'mail carrier's should be glossed as 'his carrying it' ~ 'their carrying it' (similarly for 'putter out of lights'). The number marking is manifested on the (originally) verbal argument marker.
References
Fowler, Nancy and David H. French. 1982. Wasco-Wishram noun pluralization. Working Paper for the 17th International Conference on Salish and Neighboring Languages, Portland State University (9-11 August).