Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Noun Stems

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So far, when we have been discussing adding endings to nouns, we have been looking at "regular" nouns – nouns that strictly follow the patterns.   Many nouns do in fact follow the patterns exactly as we have been describing.   

Another large group of nouns almost follow the pattern – with an important exception.   For these nouns, the endings are added to something that is not quite the plain dictionary word.   This "something" is called the "stem" for the word.

        huan        hound, hunting dog
but
        húni        hounds
        húnwa        belonging to a hound
        húnenen        because of a hound
These three words (and all other words pertaining to hounds) are formed as if the word for “hound” were hún, instead of huan.

        cas        head
but
        cari        heads
        carinya        my head
        caressë        on a head
        carinyassë        on my head
Again, these words are formed as if the word for “head” were car, instead of cas.

In a dictionary, these "irregular" nouns would be listed like this:
        hound:   huan (stem hún-)
        head:   cas (stem car-)
or just
        hound:   huan (hún-)
        head:   cas (car-)

If the word is used alone, use the “ordinary”, dictionary form.
If any ending are to be added, use the stem, and add the endings to the stem.

Extra Material for the Geeks:
Tolkien, who always loved the history of his languages, suggests that in ancient proto-Quenya the normal, “dictionary” form of the word matched what is now the “stem.”  Over time, the “dictionary” form changed, while the form used in combinations did not.  So you could make a case that the “stem” is the “real” form of the word, and it is the “dictionary” form that is anomalous.

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A few nouns have slightly irregular plurals.   Those are also noted in the dictionary.
        arm:   ranco (stem rancu-, plural ranqui)
or
        arm:   ranco (rancu-, pl.  ranqui)

Giving us:
        ranco        arm
        rancunya        my arm
        rancussë        on an arm
        ranqui        arms

Extra Material for the Geeks:
Would the "plural" form of a word like ranco also show up in other plural endings?   My guess is yes, but I don't know of any concrete examples to prove that.   Tolkien did not leave explicit instructions.
         ranquissen (as opposed to rancussen)        on arms
         ranquiltar (as opposed to rancultar)        their arms
         ranquiltaressë (as opposed to rancultaressë)        on their arms
        ranquinen (as opposed to rancunen)        accomplished by arms
This remains unproven, and I would be interested in any examples or comments Tolkien left on the topic.

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Examples of Nouns with Stems

baby, child not yet fully grown:   vinë (stem vini-)
wind:   súrë (stem súri-)

Extra Material for the Geeks:
Ai!  laurië lantar lassi súrinen!”         “Ah!  like gold fall the leaves on the wind!
(Galadriel's Song, Fellowship of the Ring)

Now we see the real reason “because of wind” is súrinen (instead of súrenen). Wind (súrë) has a stem súri-.

nose:   nengwë (stem nengwi-)
arm:   ranco (stem rancu-, plural  ranqui)
leg:   telco (stem telcu-, plural  telqui)
fox:   rusco (stem ruscu-, plural  rusqui)
snake:   ango (stem angu-, plural  angwi)
goblin, orc:   urco (stem urcu-, plural urqui)
woman:   nís (stem niss-)
steep-sided island:   tol (stem toll-)
hound, hunting dog:   huan (stem hún-)
head:   cas (stem car-)
eye:   hen (stem hend-)
girl, maiden:   ven (stem vend-)
great gate:   andon (stem andond-)
palace:   túrion (stem túriond-)
arrow:   pilin (stem pilind-)
mountain:   oron (stem oront-)

Extra Material for the Geeks:
Some Quenya analysts speculate that már (home) has the stem márd-.   Others speculate that már (home) is regular, and that the words containing the element mard- are a different word – easy to confuse with it -- mardë (hall).

Practice – Your Turn

Highlight the shaded boxes to see the answers.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
│            useful vocabulary             
my        -(i)nya                        │
their     -(e)lta                        │
│                                          │
genitive ("of", originating from):      
│    singular -o; plural -on               │
locative (on, in):                       │
│    singular -(e)ssë; plural -(i)ssë     
ablative (away from):                    │
│    singular -(e)llo; plural -(i)llon    
allative (toward, into):                
│    singular (e)nna; plural -(i)nnar     
instrumental (because of, by action of):
│    singular -(e)nen; plural -(i)nen      │
└──────────────────────────────────────────┘

babies          vinir    The stem is “vini.”  To form the plural of a noun ending in -i, add -r.
their babies          viniltar    Not vineltar.  “Vini” ends in a vowel, so add -lta (their) and -r (plural).
five babies         vinir lempë
my nose         nengwinya
snakes         angwi
away from a snake         angullo
orcs         urqui
away from an orc        urcullo
Extra Material for the Geeks:
away from snakes         angwillon   (At least I think that is the answer.)
away from orcs         urquillon   (At least I think so.)
my hounds         húninyar
away from hounds         húnillon
my eye         hendinya
eyes         hendi
away from eyes         hendillon
into an eye         hendenna
in a palace         túriondessë
in palaces         túriondissen
originating from an island         tollo
toward an island         tollenna
on an island         tollessë
away from an island         tollello
away from islands         tollillon
by the action of an arrow         pilindenen
by the action of arrows         pilindinen


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Saturday, March 16, 2013

Fun Stuff - Numbers

 « Cases - Preposition-Style «        Course Index         » Noun Stems »   

Whew!  After that heavy work with "cases," it is time for another fun lesson!
 

Quenya numerals follow the noun.
  1: minë, min (first of a series)
  2: atta
  3: neldë
  4: canta
  5: lempë
  6: enquë
  7: otso  
  8: tolto, toldo
  9: nertë
10: quëan, quain
11: minquë
12: yunquë
13: yunquentë, yunquenta
14: canaquë, canquë
15: lepenquë
16: enenquë
17: otoquë
18: toloquë
19: neterquë.
24: yurasta
 
What happened to "twenty," "thirty," and other useful numbers? You can ask Professor Tolkien about those, next time you talk to him.  

Why do some numbers have several variations?  Probably because Professor Tolkien was not totally consistent throughout his lifetime.

For numbers three and higher, the noun (not the numeral) takes all case endings. The noun is plural, and uses plural endings. The numeral does not change at all. 
   eleni neldë      three stars
   eleninnar neldë   toward three stars 

"Two" is different. For two ("atta"), the noun is not changed. Add "singular" case endings to atta
   elen atta      two stars 
   elen attenna   toward two stars
 

The Quenya word min (or minë) refers to "one" in the context of "first of a series," where there is a least the possibility of others. There is another Quenya word, er, which refers to "one alone", "a unique one." Er precedes the noun (like an adjective), and does not take any case endings. 
   lingwë min, lingwë atta   one fish, two fish 
   er corma             One Ring 
   er cormanen           because of One Ring 
 

Practice – Your Turn

Highlight the shaded boxes to see the answers.

┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│         useful vocabulary          
Elda      High Elf                 │
Atan      Human                    │
Casar     Dwarf                   
│                                    │
possessive case ("belonging to"):  │
│    -va (after vowel)               │
│    -wa (after consonant)          
└────────────────────────────────────┘

five fishes                                       lingwi lempë 
seven Dwarves                             Casari otso 
belonging to seven Dwarves      Casariva otso 
three rings                                    cormar neldë 
two Humans                                 Atan atta 
belonging to two Humans          Atan attava 
ten Elves                                       Eldar quëan 
belonging to ten Elves                Eldarwa quëan

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Extra Material for the Geeks:

Ordinal Numbers:

These are used as adjectives.  That means that they go before the noun. The noun, not the number, takes any case endings.
1st:   minya
2nd:   attëa
3rd:   neldëa, nelya
4th:   cantëa
5th:   lempëa
6th:   enquëa
7th:   otsëa
8th:   toltëa, toldëa
9th:   nertëa
10th:   quainëa

Practice – Your Turn

fifth fish                  lempëa lingwë
seventh Dwarf       otsëa Casar
third ring                neldëa corma or nelya corma
second Human      attëa Atan
tenth Elf                  quainëa Elda

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Extra Material for the Geeks:

Fractions

I'm not sure whether these are used as nouns or adjectives.   Nor do I know why some words have so many variations.
1/2:   peresta, perta
1/3:   nelesta, neldesta, nelta, nelsat
1/4:   canasta, casta, cansat
1/5:   lepesta, lepsat
1/6:   enquesta
1/7:   otosta, osta, otsat
1/8:   tolosta, tosta, tolsat
1/9:   neresta, nesta, nersat
1/10:   quaista
1/11:   minquesta
1/12:   yunquesta

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