Introduction

Nouns in Transemilian take suffixes for number and for case, in that order. In most situations, nouns must also take determiner prefixes. Thus, the basic structure of a Transemilian noun is: determiner prefix + root + number suffix + case suffix.

Determiners

All nouns, including proper nouns, must have a prefix that acts as a determiner; the only exception is in direct address, i.e. the vocative (for this reason, the vocative singular form of the noun, which has no prefixes or suffixes, is the standard citation form). When a prefix is found on a proper noun, the noun retains its capitalization: эіТрансэмілія "(the) Transemilia". There are six determiner prefixes.

Articles

The definite article is indicated with the prefix эі- /ɛi/. Similar to English, the definite article is used for nouns that are known to the speakers, either because they have already been introduced, they are commonly understood ("the Parthenon"), or context makes it clear (e.g. two workers in the same plant referring to "the factory"). However, it is never used as a generic ("the apple is an ancient fruit"). When it comes before a vowel, including a soft vowel, the prefix becomes эім- /ɛim/:

• эі + каі "girl" = эікаі "the girl"
• эі + ӭлкан "apple" = эімӭлкан "the apple"
• эі + ауто "car" = эімауто "the car"

The basic indefinite article is ка- /ka/. As in English, the indefinite article introduces new or unknown subjects to the conversation. It is not used for hypotheticals or generics ("a goat has four legs"), and is only ever used to introduce a mass noun if it is grammatically treated as a count noun (i.e. it has one of the number suffixes, -зун or -цо).

There is a second indefinite article, commonly called the "mass article"; the prefix is ін- /in/ (/iɲ/ before a soft vowel or consonant). It is used to introduce hypotheticals ("what if a man proposed to you?"), and mass nouns that are not treated as count nouns. It is also used with generics, whether introducing them or not (and whether English would render it with an indefinite or definite article: "the zebra is black with white stripes", "a goat has four legs").

Demonstratives

Where English has two levels of demonstratives (this/these vs. that/those), Transemilian has three.

The proximal demonstrative is бро- /bro/. This prefix functions much the same as the English word "this", and refers to something within reach of the speaker.

The medial demonstrative is вда- /βda/. This prefix indicates something within reach of the listener but not of the speaker.

The distal demonstrative is щен- /ʃtʃen/ (ʃtʃeɲ/ before a soft vowel or consonant). This prefix indicates something not within reach of either the speaker or the listener.

As in English, the demonstratives can be extended metaphorically to refer to elements of the conversation, abstract concepts, etc. However, бро- is never used to introduce an unfamiliar subject as in the English "all of a sudden this guy just starts screaming at me".

Similarly, the prefix ву- /βu/ "which" can be attached to a noun to form a question: вукаі "which girl?" If the noun starts with a vowel (including a soft vowel), the prefix becomes вул-: вулӭлкан "which apple?"

Number

Nouns may be either singular or plural. The plural ending is -цо /tso/. Normally, the singular is indicated by the lack of a number suffix, much like in English.

Transemilian recognizes a certain class of nouns as being "mass nouns", or non-count nouns. These nouns, such as хюл /çul/ "water", are not typically regarded as being either singular or plural. If they are used as a count noun, they take the singular suffix -зун /zun/. Semantically, this may indicate one arbitrary unit of the noun ("I'd like a coffee, please"), or perhaps one type of the noun ("brie is a soft cheese"). If plural, they use the same plural suffix as regular count nouns. Thus: хюл "water"; хюлзун "(a) water"; хюлцо "waters". The singular suffix -зун can also be used on count nouns; when this is the case, it is used to emphasize the "singularness" of the word (e.g. ӭлкан "apple", ӭлканзун "single solitary apple").

Case

Transemilian nouns decline for a large number of cases. Case suffixes immediately follow the number suffix, if any.

Nominative

The nominative indicates the subject of a clause. It is indicated by the lack of a case suffix. It is also used for address (vocative), in which case there is never a determiner prefix (see below)

Accusative

Suffix: -ве /βe/
The accusative indicates the direct object (including the "object" of a copula, e.g. "She is a painter").

Dative

Suffix: -къӭл /kjɛl/
The dative indicates the indirect object. Semantically its use is very broad; it can be used as a general benefactive.

Genitive

Suffix: -юр /(j)ur/ (note the soft vowel—softens preceding variable consonants)
The genitive is a basic genitive, and always follows its governing noun. Transemilian distinguishes between alienable and inalienable possession. Inalienable possession in Transemilian typically consists of body parts, familial and personal relations, character traits, geographic locations ("my country", "our city"), organizations or groups that one is a member of (including "my job"), and expensive objects that one ideally keeps permanently or for a long time (such as a car, a house, a TV, or a computer, though not jewelry). It is also used for abstract nouns such as "conscience" or "professionalism". The works of writers, artists, and so on are also inalienable: "my book" is alienable if it's a book that I own, but inalienable if it's a book that I wrote. Alienable possession theoretically consists of objects that aren't "permanent" in some way, but in practical use it is simply for nouns that don't "qualify" for inalienable possession.

If it is referring to alienable possession, the genitive is preceded by the particle ғим /ʝim/; if referring to inalienable possession, there is no such particle. Thus: эімауто эіѕонюр "the woman's car" (эімауто "the car", эіѕон "the woman"), but эіцігарэта ғим эіѕонюр "the woman's cigarette" (эіцігарэта "the cigarette"). This particle appears even if the genitive is a pronoun.

Partitive

Suffix: -здінь /zdiɲ/
The partitive, like the genitive, always has (and follows) a governing noun; it indicates the whole that the governing noun is a part of (e.g. a slice of cake, one of the boys). The partitive indicates composition, not some of the more abstracted meanings found in partitive cases in other languages (though see чэм for an exeption). Often the difference between the partitive and the genitive is subtle ("one [member] of the group" [partitive] vs "leader of the group [genitive]). The partitive is used for measurements as well: калітэрцо шка інхюлздінь "two liters of water".

Comitative

Suffix: -кя /ca/ (softens preceding variable consonants)
The comitative indicates "accompanied by", and follows its governing noun. It contrasts with the simple conjunction "and"; in a comitative construction, the governing noun is still clearly the "subject" of the comitative phrase (regarless of whether it's nominative or not). For example, "Susan-nom and Karen-nom killed the Nazi-acc" indicates that they worked together as a team, or that exact blame is uncertain, whereas "Susan-nom Karen-com killed the Nazi-acc" indicates that, while Karen was involved in the killing, Susan bears more of the responsibility. It should not be confused with the instrumental.  (P.S. kill all Nazis)

Instrumental

Suffix: -чу /tʃu/ (softens preceding variable consonants)
The instrumental indicates "by means of": "Susan-nom killed the Nazi-acc knife-inst" means "Susan killed the Nazi with (i.e. 'by using') a knife".

Abessive

Suffix: -хом /xom/
The "opposite" of both the comitative and the instrumental, the abessive indicates "lack of" or "without". It should follow its governing noun where possible: "Susan-nom Karen-abe killed the Nazi-acc" means "Susan killed the Nazi without Karen('s help)", "Susan-nom weapon-abe killed the Nazi-acc" means "Susan killed the Nazi without a weapon (i.e. with her bare hands)", and "Susan-nom killed the Nazi-acc weapon-abe" means "Susan killed the weaponless (i.e. unarmed) Nazi".

Locative

Suffix: -ці /tsi/
The locative indicates where something is, or where an event is taking place. It may be combined with prepositions for greater specificity. Most nouns or noun phrases have an "understood" meaning for the locative case which does not need to be indicated with a preposition, while other meanings will; for example, the basic meaning of "the-box-loc" is "in the box", while "on the box" must be indicated with a preposition ("on the-box-loc"), while convsersely the basic locative meaning of "roof" is "on", so "the-roof-loc" means "on the roof" and "in the-roof-loc" is how you would say "in the roof". The locative case is also used with time construction, roughly meaning "at" (a certain time) or "on" (a certain date). When a noun/pronoun referring to a person is locative, the meaning is "at X's house" unless context indicates otherwise.

Lative

Suffix: -не /ne/
The lative is similar to the locative case, but instead of indicating where something is it indicates where something is going or directed, i.e. a destination. As with the locative, the lative can be combined with prepositions. When used with time, the lative indicates (roughly) "before" or "until".

Ablative

Suffix: -дэн /dɛn/
Similarly, the ablative indicates where something is coming from, i.e. a source or departure point. It can be combined with prepositions. When used with time, the lative indicates "after" or "since". (Students of Latin should not assume this functions as the Latin ablative; in Transemilian, it is simply a counterpart to the lative.)

Semblative

Suffix: -мо /mo/
The semblative indicates "like X" or "in the manner of X". It can follow a referent noun, in which case it acts almost like an adjective; frequently it will follow a verb, acting as an adverb. It will usually agree in number with the relevant noun.

Causative

Suffix: -щэ /ʃtʃɛ/
The causative indicates the cause of an action, such as "I-nom cried John-caus" = "John made me cry". However, its use is broader than the simple English "make" construction; often it can be translated as "because of" or "due to": "John-nom killed himself-acc shame-caus" = "John killed himself out of shame", "We-nom had to read the-candles-inst the-outage-caus" = "We had to read by candlelight because of the power outage". Though Transemilian is not an ergative language, the causative is often used with verbs that can be both intransitive and transitive in English but are strictly intransitive in Transemilian: "burned-down the-house-nom I-caus" = "I burned down the house". The causative generally comes at the end of the sentence, or more specifically it does not precede the direct or indirect objects. Causatives can be stacked, but strictly in order: "burned-down the-house-nom I-caus John-caus" = "John made me burn down the house".