Chapter 05 - The Definite Nouns of Somali

 Inventory on the Nouns : 

There are two grammatical genders in Somali : masculine and feminine gender.
All nouns belong to either gender. Yet, a plural noun may differ in gender from its singular counterpart : this is "gender polarity".
Gender is not marked on undefinite nouns : definite nouns only show grammatical gender.
An undefinite noun becomes definite by adding a definite marker whose role is somehow equivalent to that of the English definite article.
 ◊ Unlike in English, the definite article in Somali is not a separate word but a suffix added to the end of the noun :

• -ka, -ga and -ha are masculine definite suffixes.
• -ta, -sha and -da are feminine definite suffixes.

 ◊ On plural nouns, the definite suffix is always placed after the plural suffix :
        Noun + plural suffix + definite suffix.


 Masculine Nouns : 

 ◊ Masculine definite suffixes are : -ka, -ga, -ha

Example :	nin (a man)	→ ninka (the man)
	niman (men)	→ nimanka (the men)
Example :	guri (a house)	→ guriga (the house)
	guriyo (houses)	→ guriyaha (the houses)

 ◊ Nouns ending in -g do not take -ga but -a :

Example :	buug (a book)	→ buuga (the book)
	buugag (books)	→ buugaga (the books)

 ◊ Some typically masculin nouns can take a feminin definite suffix in plural :

Example :	abti (maternal uncle)	→ abtiga (the maternal uncle)
	abtiyo (maternal uncles)	→ abtiyada (the maternal uncles)
Example :	adeer (paternal uncle)	→ adeerka (the paternal uncle)
	adeero (paternal uncles)	→ adeerada (the paternal uncles)

 Feminine Nouns : 

 ◊ Feminine definite suffixes are : -ta, -sha, -da, -dha

Example :	cunto (food)	→ cuntada (the food)
	cuntooyin (foods)	→ cuntooyinka (the foods)
Example :	gabadh (girl)	→ gabdha (the girl)
	gab(a)dho (girls)	→ gab(a)dhaha (the girls)
Example :	hal (she-camel)	→ halsha (the she-camel)
	halo (she-camels)	→ halaha (the she-camels)
Example :	náag (woman)	→ naagta (the woman)
	naago (women)	→ naagaha (the women)

 ◊ Some typically feminine nouns can take a masculin definite suffix in plural :

Example :	hooyo (mother)	→ hooyada (the mother)
	hooyooyin (mothers)	→ hooyooyinka (the mothers)
Example :	edo (paternal aunt)	→ edada (the paternal aunt)
	edooyin (paternal aunts)	→ edooyinka (the paternal aunts)

 Other examples : 

Type	SINGULAR		PLURAL
	undefinite	definite	undefinite	definite
1	midí a knife	midída the knife	midiyo knives	midiyada the knives
2	dáwo a medicine	dawóoda the medicine	dawóooyin medicines	dawóooyinka the medicines
3	muftax a key	muftaxha the key	muftaxyo keys	muftaxyada the keys
4	waraabe a hyena	waraabaha the hyena	waraabayaal the hyenas	waarabayaalka the hyenas
5	hilib a meat	hilibka the meat	hilbo meats	hilbaha the meats
6	áf a mouth	afka the mouth	afaf mouths	afafka the mouths
7	Soomáali a Somali	Soomáaliga the Somali	Soomaalí Somalis	Soomaaliyada the Somalis
8	ugax an egg	agaxha the egg	ugaxáan eggs	agaxaada the eggs

 An ordered chaos : 
Some of the legitimate questions you may ask yourself at this stage :
How can I know if a noun is masculine or feminine ?
Even if I know a noun is masculine, should it take the suffix -ka, -ga or -ha ?
Even if I know a noun is feminine, should it take the suffix -ta, -sha or -da ?
This is because we are taking the problem in reverse : Somali is not spoken according to a set of explicit grammatical rules, but according to implicit phonetic rules. As a matter of fact, phonetics is more relevent than gender.
In the absence of rules, the following may serve as a rough guide :

Singular nouns ending in...
/b/	are usually masculine	and take -ka	e.g. hilibka	= the meat
/d/	are usually feminine	and take -da	e.g. bisadda	= the cat
/e/	are usually masculine	and take -(e)aha	e.g. aabaya	= the father
			waraabaha	= the hyena
/i/	are usually masculine	and take -ga	e.g. dibiga	= the bull
/g/	are usually masculine	and take -(g)a	e.g. buuga	= the book
			tuuga	= the thief
/l/	are usually feminine	and take -sha	e.g. diilsha	= the wooden pot
			weelsha	= the calf
/r/	are usually masculine	and take -ka	e.g. dameerka	= the donkey
			giirka	= the mouse
/o/	are usually feminine	and take -(o)ada	e.g. hoyada	= the mother
Plural nouns ending in...
/g/	are usually feminine	and take -ta	e.g. tuugagta	= the thieves
			buugagta	= the books
/oyin/	are usually masculine	and take -ka	e.g. hoyooyinka	= the mothers
/yaal/	are usually masculine	and take -ka	e.g. aabayaalka	= the fathers

                Source: http://hooyo.web.free.fr