Brazil

In this thesis I describe the morphology of nouns in the Ugoroŋmo language (Arara of Pará), which is spoken by just over three hundred people. The Ugoroŋmo people live on the bank of the Iriri river, in two villages (Laranjal and Cachoeira Seca) in the state of Pará, Brazil.

The nouns of this language can be divided in three main groups: those that are not inflected for possession, those that may be inflected for possession, and those that must be inflected for possession (inherently possessed nouns). Possession is marked by two affixes: a possessor prefix and a possessive suffix. Inherently possessed nouns can also be inflected in an absolute form, indicating that the possessor is not expressed.

The nouns can be inflected with five suffixes that indicate case. Most of these relate to location, but one is the comparative case.

Nouns are inflected for plural in two ways, and the interpretation of the plural suffix depends on the type of noun. Possessed nouns can be marked for both plural possessor and plural possessed item.

Compound nouns are formed from two (or occasionally three) roots. All of the attested compound nouns are possessed nouns. Modifying suffixes that denote size, shape, etc., expand the nouns in interesting ways.

Finally, predicate adjectives are derived from nouns. They all have the meaning 'characterized as having (noun)'.