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Indicating 'One' of Something

Learn how to specify 'one' of something in Sairupanese!



In Sairupanese, there are two ways to indicate that there is 'one' of something: adding a [pœr-] or [pœ-] to the beginning of a word! This is a prefix since it is an addition at the beginning of a word. There are specific scenarios where we use one option over the other.


[pœr-] is used to indicate 'one' for words beginning in [m], [l], [r] and [ŋ]. For example, [mõr] which means 'dog' becomes [pœrmõr] ‘one dog’ when [pœr-] is added.


[pœ-] is used to indicate 'one' in all other situations! For example, [cœɾ] ‘man’ becomes [pœcœɾ] ‘one man’ when [pœ-] is added.


Here is a table that puts all of this information together:


 

Now try it out!

Make the following words mean 'one' of something:

1. [ŋõεj] 'stone'
2. [tœs] 'tree'
3. [zɛt] 'tooth'

Answers:

1. [pœrŋõεj] 'one stone'

2. [pœtœs] 'one tree'

3. [pœzɛt] 'one tooth'

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