5 Adjectives in Mam 127The head noun in a noun phrase is preceded (in this order) by demonstratives,
numbers (with or without a measure word) or the indefinite article or optional plu-
ral marking, and adjectives. It is followed (in this order) by possessor nouns (with
number/person of the possessor marked on the head noun), emphatic demonstra-
tives, relational noun phrases that directly modify the noun, and relative clauses.
Some dialects or speakers of Mam move adjectives directly after the noun if there
are other modifiers, especially the indefinite article or a number, preceding the
noun. Others do not.
2 The grammar of adjectives
Adjectives form a distinct class from nouns, verbs, and positionals. They can func-
tion as the head of a stative non-verbal predicate, the complement of an existen-
tial non-verbal predicate, or can directly modify a noun within an NP. The class
includes underived words that relate to DIMENSION, VALUE, COLOUR, PHYSICAL
PROPERTIES, QUANTIFICATION, and POSITION. While the class of adjective roots is
fairly small, there are large numbers of derived adjectives, principally from nouns,
positionals, transitive verbs, and intransitive verbs. In addition, Mam accepts bor-
rowed adjectives, principally from Spanish. A summary of the grammatical char-
acteristics of adjectives and a comparison of these with nouns, positionals, and
verbs can be found in Table i, following §2.2.
2.1. MORPHOLOGY
Adjectives take inflection for the number/person of a subject when they function
as the heads of non-verbal predicates, a characteristic they share with both nouns
and positionals:^1
(1) adjective: ky'aaj-0 ky'aaj-qo'-ya
lazy-I>3sg lazy-Bip-ipl EXCL
'he/she is lazy' 'we are lazy'
(2) noun: xjaal-0 xjaal-qo'-ya
person-I>3sg person-Bipl-ipl EXCL
'he/she is a person 'we are people'
(3) positional: wa'l-0 wa'l-qo'-ya
standing-B3sg standing-Bipl-ipl EXCL
'he/she is standing' 'we are standing'
The only other inflection that non-verbal predicates can take is the (im)perfect
marker -taq, which they share with verbs:
(^1) Symbols in the practical orthography for Mam are like phonetic symbols, except that ch = a voice-
less alveopalatal affricate, j = a voiceless uvular fricative, ky = a voiceless palatal stop, tx = a voiceless
retroflex affricate, tz = a voiceless alveolar afficate, x = a voiceless retroflex fricative, xh = a voiceless
alveopalatal fricative,' = glottal stop, VV = long vowel, C' = glottalized consonant.