Nouns: Inflectional Distinctions (Southern dialect)

Nouns in East Cree appear in various forms. This page is about
Vocative Nouns. Back to the main Nouns page.

Vocative

Observation:

ᓂᒧᔔᒻ		nimushuum	‘my grandfather’
ᓂᒧᔔ		nimushuu	‘(my) grandfather!’
ᓂᒧᔔᒥᑎᒄ		nimushuumitikw	‘(my) grandfathers!’

When one speaks to someone and addresses them, there is a special suffix
-itikw that shows up in the plural. In the singular,
the end of the word can change. This is called vocative, it is not used
much anymore by younger speakers.

ᓅᐦᑯᒻ		nuuhkum	‘my grandmother’
ᓅᐦᑰ		nuuhkuu	‘grandmother!’
ᓅᐦᑯᒥᑎᒄ		nuuhkumitikw	‘grandmothers!’

ᓅᐦᑖᐧᐄ		nuuhtaawii	‘my father’
ᓅᐦᑖ		nuuhtaa	‘father!’
ᐅᐦᑖᐧᐄᒫᐅᑎᒄ		uuhtaawiimaautikw	‘fathers!’

ᓂᑳᐧᐄ		nikaawii	‘my mother’
ᓈᑳ		naakaa	‘mother!’
ᐅᑳᐧᐄᒫᐅᑎᒄ		ukaawiimaautikw	‘mothers!’

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