Pe wordlist - Roger Blench

Roger Blench: Pe Wordlist
ì-/i-
The ì-/i- pairing is the single most common affix alternation in Pe.
Gloss sg. pl.
Grass (growing) ì-fui i-fúí
Seed/stone/pip ì-ʃee i-ʃee
Thorn ì-ʃùù i-ʃùù
Yam-heap ì-buŋa i-buŋa
ù-/a-
The ù-/a- pairing is the second most common alternation after ì-/i-;
Gloss sg. pl.
Root ù-liŋ a-liŋ
Mushroom ù-woŋ a-woŋ
Skin ù-nja a-nja
Day ù-lom a-lom
Road ù-tsel a-tsel
Man ù-pak a-pak
All words to do with person exhibit the u/a- pairing but so do many other nouns.
tì-/a-
The tì- prefix can only be paired with a-.
In summary, Pe noun-class pairings are as follows;
Gloss sg. pl.
Name tì-yin a-yin
Grave tì-wap a-wap
Egg tì-ci a-ci
Eye tì-ʃu a-ʃu
Head-pad tì-kat a-kat
O -
i-
u-
a-
tiì-
i-
This shows a tendency to move towards a- as an all-purpose plural affix, also marked in many other languages of
the region. These pairings are quite similar to Tarok, although the presence of a functioning ti- prefix is
exceptional. Non-productive ti- prefixes are present in Sur and Yangkam. Almost certainly the large number of
stem-initial homorganic nasals in Pe argue for a former nasal prefix, cognate with the Tarok n- prefix. The other
two members of Tarokoid, Sur and Yangkam, have lost almost all alternations, but the presence of most of these
prefixes in non-productive form suggest that proto-Tarokoid as a whole had a fully functional prefix system.
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