182 R. M. W. Dixon
Verbs show various modes of productive reduplication (see Dixon and Vogel
1996); initial CV- reduplication occurs in (9) and final -CV reduplication in (21).
Just one adjective and a handful of nouns derive verbs through partial or full redu-
plication; for example, from adjective hinita 'empty, alone' is derived intransitive
verb hi.hinita-na- '(water) be empty (offish)', and from possessed noun tone 'bone'
is derived intransitive verb tone.tone -na- 'be skin and bones'.
3.2. NOUNS
There is a major division between inalienably possessed nouns, a class which has
about 170 attested members (with no well-established loans^2 ), and free nouns, a
large open class.
(a) Free nouns include proper names and common nouns. Each free noun has an in-
herent gender—feminine (f) or masculine (m). (Just a handful can take either gen-
der, depending on the sex of the referent; for example, inamatewe 'child'.) Gender
cannot be inferred from the form of the noun itself; it is shown by gender agreement
of other items in the NP and by gender agreement of verbal suffixes. Most verbal suf-
fixes (and auxiliaries and inflecting roots, when in word-final position) have distinct
f and m forms. They agree in gender with the CS in a copula clause, with the S in an
intransitive clause, with the A in a transitive A-construction, and with either O or A
in a transitive O-construction (the somewhat complex rules for gender assignment
in an O-construction are set out in Dixon 20003,20043).
All human nouns have gender according to their sex reference. About 85 per
cent of non-human animates are m, around 80 per cent of non-flora inanimates
are f, while about 53 per cent of plant names are f. Although there are some minor
rules for gender assignment (for example, all liquids are f), as a rule the gender of
a non-human noun simply has to be learnt.
Interestingly, f is the functionally unmarked term in the gender system. For
example, all pronominal arguments (whatever the sex of their referent) take
f agreement on verbal suffixes. Note the f form of the future suffix in (4-5), deter-
mined by the S argument, isg pronoun o-.
(b) Inalienably possessed nouns (PNs) cannot make up a full NP (except under
specific conditions of discourse anaphora) but follow a free noun or pronoun,
which is head of the NP. Slightly less than half the PNs distinguish gender; these
agree in gender with the head noun. We write them as f/m, as in tame/teme 'foot'.
With an f free noun (for instance, woman's name Jane) we get the f form; thus Jane
tame 'Jane's foot'. With an m free noun (for instance, man's name Okomobi) we get
the m form; thus Okomobi feme 'Okomobi's foot'.
(^2) Loans saokato 'salted' and saoti 'health' (from Portuguese salgado and saude respectively) have
been heard in grammatical environments typical of possessed nouns, but appear to be ad hoc—
rather than fully established—members of this category.