Determiners Otjiherero grammar

1 determiners

1.1 demonstratives
1.2 possessives

1.2.1 personal pronoun possessive determiners
1.2.2 proper noun possessive determiners
1.2.3 common noun possessive determiners
1.2.4 impersonal pronoun possessive determiners


1.3 quantifiers

1.3.1 some
1.3.2 other, another, different
1.3.3 another
1.3.4 many, most
1.3.5 all


1.4 cardinal numbers

1.4.1 1 through 5
1.4.2 6 through 10
1.4.3 11 through 19
1.4.4 20 through 99
1.4.5 100 , beyond


1.5 ordinal numbers

determiners

otjiherero makes use of following determiners:

demonstratives
possessives
quantifiers
cardinal numbers
ordinal numbers

most notably omitted when compared english articles, compensated context or demonstratives

demonstratives

in otjiherero, each noun class has own demonstratives, , demonstrative corresponds noun class of noun refers to. noun classes have multiple demonstratives in use due generational differences or regional differences, , these represented in table below fields multiple entries. oru- , otu- classes have wide range of demonstratives in use, , not possibilities listed.

demonstratives proximity , nounclass

demonstratives can positioned before or after corresponding noun. when positioned after, used in table above. when written before noun, i- prefixed demonstrative.

examples

omuatje ngwi child
ingwi omuatje child
otjiṋa ho thing
iho otjiṋa thing
ozondundu nḓena hills on there
inḓena ozondundu hills on there

a common usage of demonstratives in otjiherero involves placing them directly after corresponding pronoun. creates new meaning, along lines of here / there / there on there or s 1 here / s 1 there / s 1 on there

examples

ongombe ri pi? oyo ndji. cow? here is.
simbuli u ri pi? eye ngo. simbuli? there is.
zaongara u ri pi? owami ngwi. zaongara? m here.

demonstratives can stand alone demonstrative pronouns. see pronouns section above.

possessives

possessive determiners composed of 2 parts: possessive concord prefixed possessive suffix. possessive concords correspond noun class of noun being possessed, while possessive suffix corresponds noun class of possessor.

possessive concords (similar of )

exception: omuṱena (opposite-sex sibling) has irregular possessive concord, using kwa- instead of wa-

the possessive suffix can take 4 different forms, creating 4 different classes of possessive determiners

personal pronoun possessive determiners

personal pronoun possessive determiners possessive determiners personal pronoun (or noun first noun class) doing possessing. these, suffix personal possessive pronoun.

personal possessive suffixes

the final of possessive concord dropped when possessive determiner formed. note possessors in first noun class, omu/ova treated eye/ova respectively.

examples

eta embo randje. give me book (the book of mine).
eye nomukazendu we. , wife (the wife of his).
omurumendu nomukazendu we. man , wife (the wife of his).
ovaherero nozongombo zawo. hereros , goats (the goats of theirs).

proper noun possessive determiners

when proper noun doing possessing, possessive concord prefixed proper noun. 2 types of inflection possible:

examples

embo raanna anna s book (the book of anna)
ovandu vakahandja people of okahandja
omundu wamama mother s person (meaning re related)
ozongombo zatate father s goats (goats of father)

common noun possessive determiners

when common noun doing possessing, -a of possessive concord dropped.

example

otjipaturure tjomberoo office key (key of office)

impersonal pronoun possessive determiners

when impersonal pronoun doing possessing, -o of impersonal pronoun dropped.

example

otjipaturure tjayo key ( quite possibly referring office , omberoo in o- noun class , use oyo pronoun)

quantifiers

important quantifiers in otjiherero include

1. tjiva 2. -arwe other, another, different 3. -kwao 4. o- -ngi many, 5. a- -he all

some

tjiva expresses idea of in otjiherero. tjiva positions after noun standard adjective, not inflect.

example

mba munu ozongombe tjiva. saw cows.

other, another, different

-arwe expresses idea of other , or different in otjiherero. -arwe prefixed possessive prefix of noun modifies, a- of possessive prefix dropped. -arwe similar -kwao, -arwe can used imply difference, -kwao means .

examples

omundu warwe person / other person / different person
eyuva rarwe day / other day (not today)

another

-kwao expresses idea of in otjiherero. inflects standard adjective. -arwe similar -kwao, -arwe can used imply difference, -kwao means .

-arwe , -kwao can confusing english speaker because use 2 different ideas. 1 use involves addition, while involves replacement.

compare

ngatu ungure eyuva ekwao. let s work day. (in addition today)
ngatu ungure eyuva rarwe. let s work day. (instead of today)

many, most

o- -ngi expresses idea of many (and ) in otjiherero. not inflect standard adjective; rather, present habitual subject concord of modified noun infixed between o- , -ngi.

examples ovandu ovengi many people otumwe otungi many mosquitoes

all

a- -he expresses idea of in otjiherero. not inflect standard adjective; rather, present habitual subject concord of modified noun infixed between a- , -he.

examples ovandu avehe people otumwe atuhe mosquitoes aruhe always, (short oruveze aruhe, of time )

cardinal numbers
1 through 5

for numbers 1 through 5, cardinal numbers work standard adjectives, except number stems prefixed present habitual subject concord of noun modify instead of noun-class prefix.

the ozo- class inflects differently. instead of being prefixed, number stem stands alone. moreover, number stems starting v- change mb- , number stems starting t- change nd-.

the number 4 has few irregular inflections

for oma- noun class, 4 prefixed ya-, yane
for ova- noun class, 4 prefixed va-, vane
for ozo- noun class, 4 prefixed i-, ine

when using numbers in , of , (not modifying anything), treated if modifying word in ozo- class, except i- prefixed (even beyond 5). example, first 5 numbers imwe, imbari, indatu, ine, indano

examples

omundu umwe 1 person
omapanga yetano 5 friends
ozongombe ndatu 3 cows
ozongombo ine 4 goats
imwe, imbari, indatu, ine, indano... one, two, three, four, five... (counting sake of counting)

6 through 10

numbers 6 through 10 not inflect. numbers 6 through 8 1 through 3 if inflected ozo- noun class, hambo- prefixed.

examples

omambo hambombari 7 books
ozongombo hambombari 7 goats

11 through 19

numbers 11 through 19 formed through addition. example, 15 ten , 5 . note number in unit s place still inflects if stood alone.

examples

otumwe omurongo na tutatu thirteen mosquitoes
ovirongo omurongo na vivari twelve towns

20 through 99

numbers 20 through 99 formed through addition. multiples of 10 created treating 10 noun, , modifying number 1 through 9.

examples of multiples of 10

examples

ozongombe omirongo vitano na ndatu fifty-three cows
ovandu omirongo muvyu na vetano ninety-five people

100 , beyond

numbers 100 , beyond formed through addition, each place value modified noun create multiples. english, place values of thousand , beyond modified hundreds in order create 3 places (example: thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands; millions, ten millions, hundred millions)

examples

ozongombe omayovi hambombari, omasere yane nomirongo vivari na imwe 7 thousand 4 hundred twenty-one cows
ovandu engete omayovi omasere yane omasere yevari nomirongo vitatu na vane 1 million 4 hundred thousand 2 hundred , thirty-four people

ordinal numbers

the following formula converts cardinal numbers ordinal numbers

o + [present habitual concord of ordered noun] + tja + [number stem]

the exceptions first , last . these constructed standard adjectives, -tenga adjective stem first , , -senina adjective stem last .

examples

embo etenga first book
oruveze orutjavari second time
ombapira oitjahambombari seventh paper
eyuva esenina last day




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