Phi practice Nouns and classifiers in Phi

Reading 2 of 12

Part 1

The bare noun

The smallest reference in the language is one word:

mia melu nila.

1SG friend see.

(I see a friend. I see the friend.)

Both translations are right, because Phi has no articles to choose between them. The bare noun hands identification to the conversation, and the conversation is usually holding it already: a friend just mentioned, a friend walking into view, the friend both speakers have been expecting. The listener follows the discourse, not a little word in front of the noun.

01What the bare noun claims

melu alone says: a friend, present in this sentence, identity carried by context. Number can stay open too. shelu may be one book or several; when it matters, the next parts of this pamphlet supply the marking. This openness is a feature to practice, not a gap to apologize for: most sentences land perfectly well on bare nouns, and the household that says misheko nulae. has never once wondered which cat.

02When context needs help

Context sometimes carries less than the speaker hopes. Two books on one table, two friends in one doorway, and a bare noun leaves the listener holding both. The repair is always the same: add exactly the words that identify.

ha shelu

PROX book

(this book)

mia shelu

1SG book

(my book)

Pointing, possession, description, or a second sentence: each narrows the field, and the pamphlet ahead is an inventory of these identifying words and their fixed positions. The morning with two books on the table is this pamphlet's recurring guest, and by part 8 it will be settled in full.

Practicehear what context carries

For each situation, say whether the bare noun suffices, and if not, what kind of word would identify.

  1. One cat lives in the house. Say that the cat sleeps.
  2. Two books lie on the table. Ask for the one nearby.
  3. A friend was mentioned one sentence ago. Say that you see the friend.
  4. Several gardens surround the village, and you mean the one belonging to you.

Answers: 1 misheko nulae. One cat, no competition, bare noun. 2 ha shelu, the pointing word narrows two to one. 3 mia melu nila., the mention one period ago is exactly the context a bare noun trusts. 4 mia thepalu, the possessor identifies among many. The bare noun is the default; each added word is there to narrow a real field.