Research study 03 / Nouns and reference
From chokro to chokra: number, gender and distance
Plural nouns and descriptive words show variation by number, gender and grammatical context. The available evidence does not yet support a single plural rule.
The examples include chokro and chokra, chokri and chokreu(n), and both ghar and ghare(n) in different constructions. Demonstratives and adjectives also vary alongside these nouns. The study compares the forms without treating one observed alternation as a rule for the language as a whole.
Section 01
More than one way to be plural
| Singular | Recorded plural or contextual form | Illustration |
|---|---|---|
| chokro | chokra | boy → boys |
| chokri | chokreu(n) | girl → girls |
| cheej | cheejeu(n) | thing → things |
| ghar | ghar / ghare(n) | house → houses, by context |
| maru | maru / marue(n) | man / people, by context |
Chokro sumethoChokra sume(n)thaaChokri sumethiChokreu(n) sume(n)thaaThe recorded pairs include chokro with chokra and chokri with chokreu(n). The accompanying verbs also differ between singular and plural subjects. These examples suggest a number pattern but are insufficient for a complete declension.
Section 02
A plural noun may have more than one shape
Hinee ghare(n) me was supplied for ‘in these houses’, while Hinee ghar vadaa i(n)ye was supplied for ‘these houses are big’. Since ghar appears in a plural context, ghare(n) cannot simply be labeled the plural form without considering the construction.
Section 03
The describing word changes too
Vado with a man, vadi with a woman and vadaa with several houses suggest agreement in descriptive expressions. The recorded ‘cold’ forms thadho and thadhee provide another contrast. Other adjectives require independent testing.
Section 04
This, that, these and those
| Reference | Near | Far |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | hee | hoo |
| Plural | hinee | hoonee |
In running examples, hee and hoo distinguish ‘this’ from ‘that’, while hinee and hoonee distinguish ‘these’ from ‘those’. Another pair contrasts hin ... ke with hee without ke, suggesting that demonstratives may also vary with grammatical function.
Section 05
Possessive expressions
The attested possessive expressions include mujo ghar (‘my house’), mujo bhaa jo ghar (‘my brother’s house’) and hinjo ghar (‘his house’). Agreement with feminine or plural possessed nouns remains to be tested.
Questions for further elicitation
- Compare ‘my house’ and ‘my things’ with the same possessor.
- Use chokro and chokre in controlled subject, object, recipient and location contexts.
- Test feminine plural adjective agreement independently of masculine plural nouns.
Lexical notes
Words in this study
Word notes record meanings in their sentence contexts. Select a word for its contextual meaning and to search the public dictionary. Some entries remain under review.
- chokro
- Boy; plural chokra is attested.
- chokri
- Girl; plural chokreu(n) is attested.
- ghar
- House.
- cheej
- Thing.
- hee
- This; also used for a nearby referent in some contexts.
- hoo
- That; distal demonstrative in the noun-phrase examples.
- hinee
- These; also a third-person plural reference in other contexts.
- hoonee
- Those; also used in plural/formal reference contexts.
- jo
- Possessive element attested after a noun phrase.
Source & method
How this article was prepared
The published material includes native-speaker sentences, translation pairs and grammaticality judgments, including a 48-sentence questionnaire (Study 007), earlier verb and case comparisons, and targeted studies of possession and negation (Studies 008–011). Original forms remain visible, with a working (n)-before-th display spelling where indicated.
These analyses are preliminary, not claims about every Kutchi speaker or variety. Evidence from Mombasa is not automatically treated as confirmation for Ethiopian Kutchi. The research has not been peer reviewed or independently validated across multiple speakers. Issue dates organize the 2026 series and do not indicate earlier online publication; the articles first appeared online in October 2026.