Noun Modification with na

There is a common nominalizing strategy in Sereer involving the particle na and its distant past tense form -iina. This is used for predicate nominalization as well as relativization.

In this type of modification, the noun and determiner form a constituent, the edge of which is subject to change in accordance with proximal/distal distinctions. That is, it’s akong aka for distal and akong ake for proximal (see section on Determiners and Demonstratives for more on proximity distinctions).

 akong ala sadarnoox na	                     akong aka sadarnoox na
 ‘gorilla that is scary’	                     ‘gorillas that are scary’

 japil fe wel na			             japil ke mbel na
 ‘knife that is sharp’			     ‘knives that are sharp’

 otew oxa sadarnoox na		             rew (w)a sadarnoox na
 ‘woman that is scary’		             ‘women that are scary’

Interestingly, na-nominalization can layer:

 xabiy xadak axa mbelna mbodaxna
 ‘the two fruits that are delicious that are sour’

Go back to: Modification Strategies

Oana 03:39, 8 December 2012 (UTC)