Re: Marked nominative

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tolgs001" <gs001ns@...> wrote:

>
> In Hungarian, there also exists many words with
> different stems for different cases, but IMHO
> it's easier to use them. (What's difficult is
> the so-called "Vokalharmonie" between the stem
> vowels and the vowels in the desinences.)
>
> >0 koira = dog
> >1 koira-n = dog's
> >2 koira-na = as a dog
> >3 koira-a = one of a collection, or a part of a dog.
>
> But how is e.g. the possessive pronoun attached
> to such a substantive? In Hungarian, it is put
> (as a suffix) between the root and, say, the
> accusative suffix:
>
> vizemet (my water), vizedet, vizét, vizünket, vizeteket,
> vizeiket / (my dog:) kutyámat, kutyádat, kutyája,
> kutyánkat etc. (BTW: are koira & kutya related
> etymologically? AFAIK, Bulgarian [kutS] is related
> to Hung. kutya)
>
> >Peter P
>
> George

Possession in the colloquial language is often expressed as in
English;

Minun koira = my dog
sinnun koira = your dog
hänen koira = his/her dog etc.

In the written language a possessive marker is more likely used.

Koirani = my dog, koirastani = from my dog
Koirasi = your dog, koirastasi = from your dog
Koiransa = his/her dog, koirastansa = from his or her dog

The marker goes at the end. I have only given a few examples.

Re: the etymology of `koira'. The Hungarian cognate is `here'. The
original meaning was `male animal, bull', Finnish `härkä' = bull.
Some suggest that it could come from *kojra <*koj a particle
meaning `man' in PU. - Häkkinen

Pete P