Word formation

Qohenje allows two kinds of agglutinating word-formation processes, one with toneless prefixes, and the other with toned affixes (defective lexemes)

Toneless prefixes

Qohenje has 16 productive derivational prefixes. These carry no tone, and simply adhere to the beginning of the word, with or without phonetic modification as indicated.

Toned suffixes / defective lexemes

These are a discrete set of lexemes, called "defective", as they do not occur in isolation, but only in compounds of the kind shown below. Like the prefixes, they are productive, combining freely with any stem that is semanticlly compatible. When suffixed to another lexeme, the first lexeme takes its ATT form. The defective lexeme then determines the declension and animacy of the compound. The defective lexemes are given below in their four toned aspectual forms:

Some examples (not the whole list)

"Participant" [ANIMATE] member of a class defined by the modified stem. Sense is automatically singulative (never co-occurs with the singulative marker)

 

"Location" [INANIMATE] location habitually associated with the sense of the modified stem.

 

"Leader" [ANIMATE] leader or head of a group or class defined by the modified stem. Sense is automatically singulative (never co-occurs with the singulative marker). This lexeme is irregular.

 

"System of thought / -ism" [ABSTRACT] system of thought based on the sense of the modified stem. This lexeme is irregular.

 

"Profession / -er" [ANIMATE] one habitually or professionally associated with the sense of the modified stem. This lexeme is irregular.

 

Note that these compounds are very similar to ATT+NOUN formations, and it is clear that historically that is precisely what these things were. Over time the noun has become schematised, and is no longer an independent lexeme.