Gender in Nouns Number in Nouns

b. wadili male ‘man’ kabyn wadili three male ‘three men’ kabyn wadili-non three male-PL ‘three men’ c. hiaro female ‘woman’ bithi hiaro four female ‘four women’ bithi hiaro-non four female-PL ‘four women’ In contrast to the above, and like the third-person pronoun tho, [–human] nouns may re- fer to either plural or singular referents. Their exact interpretation often depends on the context in which they are found. For example, the following nouns refer to [–human] refer- ents, and they may be plural even without an overt pluralizing suffix: 16 a. sikoa house ‘househouses’ aba sikoa one house ‘onea house’ bian sikoa two house ‘two houses’ b. ada dyna tree arm ‘branchbranches’ aba ada dyna one tree arm ‘onea branch’ kabyn ada dyna three tree arm ‘three branches’ c. siba stone ‘stonestones’ aba siba one stone ‘onea stone’ bithi siba four stone ‘four stones’ Although it is not strictly necessary to do so, it is possible to add a pluralizing suffix to a [–human] noun. In the case of a [–human] noun used in a context which does not force a plural interpretation, the use of the plural suffix apparently serves to disam- biguate the speaker’s meaning. However, it is also sometimes used when the context is clear. In this case, it seems to emphasize that there is some sort of diversity among the referents. 17 siba-be stone-PL ‘stones’ bian siba-be two stone-PL ‘two different stones’ As can be gleaned from the human and non-human examples above, Arawak has two pluralizing suffixes: -non and -be. The suffix -non is only used with [+human] referents. The suffix -be is used with both [+human] and [–human] referents. Thus it is also possible to say: 18 wadili-be ‘men’ hiaro-be ‘women’ As a matter of fact, both -non and -be can be used together on the same [+human] noun—and in either order. 17 hiaro-be-non ‘women’ hiaro-non-be ‘women’ 2.3 Nominals 19 As with [–human] referents, when -be is used with [+human} referents, it seems to add the implication that a diverse group is involved. Thus, the above forms for ‘women’ with the suffix -be would be appropriate to use when the women referred to are of different ages or from different villages.

2.3.3.4 Shape Classes

The use of some postpositions in postpositional phrases fairly equivalent to preposi- tional phrases in English is dependent on the physical shape or type of object referred to by their object noun phrases. An obvious example is that the object NP of diakon ‘on’ must refer to some referent which can be thought of as having a top surface. Less obvious from the standpoint of an English speaker are those postpositions which are translated by the English prepositions ‘in’, ‘from’, and ‘into’. Which word to use for ‘in’ in Arawak depends on whether its object NP refers to, for example, an animate body or bodies, a fluid, fire or sunshine, the inside surface of an object, or the inside of a hollow or solid object. 20 20 a. loko ‘inside a hollow or solid object’ b. da-khabo loko my-hand in ‘in my hand e.g. the thorn inside the flesh of my hand’ c. to kodo loko the gourd in ‘inside the gourd e.g. referring to what is contained in the gourd, 21 a. roko ‘on the inside surface of’ b. da-khabo roko my-hand in ‘in my hand e.g. referring to what I am holding in my hand’ 22 a. koborokon ‘inside of an animate body, among living beings’ b. de koborokon me in ‘in me e.g. a pain in my body’ c. ne koborokon them among ‘among them e.g. the location of a person’ 23 a. rakon ‘in a fluid’ b. to iniabo rakon the water in ‘in the water e.g. referring to the wash’ 20 Phonology and Morphology 20 Only examples for ‘in’ are illustrated here. Corresponding forms for ‘into’ and ‘from’ are derived by adding the suffixes -nro ‘toward’ and -ria ‘from’ to the postpositions. See also Section 2.5. 24 a. kolokon ‘in fire or light’ b. ikhi-hi kolokon fire-NGEN in ‘in the fire e.g. referring to the pot’ c. hadali kolokon sun in ‘in the sunshine e.g. referring to walking’

2.3.4 Derived Nouns

Arawak has at its disposal a number of ways by which it can derive nouns and noun phrases from other categories in the language. 2.3.4.1 Event Verb + -koana An instrumental noun or noun phrase may be derived from an event verb 21 with the suffix -koana ‘ an instrument or device with which’ glossed below and elsewhere as ‘THING’. The resulting de- rived noun is always something with which the action of the verb can be accomplished. 25 a. falhetho-dalhidi-koana white.man-run-THING ‘bus’ b. da-dalhidi-koana my-run-THING ‘my car’ c. bylhyty-koana make.marks-THING ‘penpencil’ 2.3.4.2 Stative Verb + -bero The suffix -bero may be added to almost any stative verb 22 which describes or ascribes an attribute. The result is a [–human] noun having that attribute. 26 a. firo-bero big-THING ‘big thingtapir’ b. bithi-ka-kothi-bero four-ATTRIB-foot-THING ‘carbus’ 2.3 Nominals 21 21 See Section 2.4.1 for a discussion of event verbs. 22 Concepts which in English are expressed by means of adjectives are expressed with stative verbs in Arawak e.g. firo ‘be big’. Stative verbs may be derived from nouns with the ka- ‘attributive’ and ma- ‘privative’ prefixes. See Section 2.4.2.