Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c27.s26: 7.23 Number and gender
Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c27.s26
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Contents
- c27.s26.t1 7.23.1 Masculine singular — 2 parts
- c27.s26.t2 7.23.2 Feminine singular — 2 parts
- c27.s26.t3 7.23.3 Honorific singular — 2 parts
- c27.s26.t4 7.23.4 Human (epicene) plural — 1 part
- c27.s26.t5 7.23.5 Neuter singular — 11 parts
- c27.s26.t6 7.23.6 Neuter plural — 2 parts
7.23 Number and gender
c27.s26.1
Nouns (including pronouns) are classified into five categories (*pāl*) according to the composite number-gender system of traditional grammar (see Table 7.4).
c27.s26.2
1. Masculine singular (*āṇpāl*)
2. Feminine singular (*peṇpāl*)
3. Human (epicene) plural (*palarpāl*)
4. Neuter singular (*oṉṟaṉpāl*)
5. Neuter plural (*palaviṉpāl*)
c27.s26.4
Table 7.4. Number-gender classification in Tamil.
c27.s26.5
Singular and plural numbers are called *orumai* and *paṉmai* respectively. In some cases, singular nouns and pronouns have the plural suffix *-ar* / *-ār* to indicate respect. This category which may be called honorific singular includes both masculine and feminine genders.
7.23.1 Masculine singular
c27.s26.t1.1
Personal names in the Corpus are mostly in masculine singular. See Index to Personal Names (Appendix II). Some common nouns in masculine singular are illustrated below.
c27.s26.t1.2
| *amaṇaṉ* | 'Jaina monk' | 24.1 |
| *kaṇa(k)ka(ṉ)* | 'accountant' | 40.2 |
| *kōṉ* | 'chieftain' | 73.4 |
| *ta(c)caṉ* | 'carpenter, stonemason' | 73.8, 117.3.b |
| *tantai* | 'father' | 2.8 |
| *pākaṉ* | 'elephant-driver, charioteer' | 13.1.a |
| *poṉ-kolvaṉ* | 'goldsmith' | 36.2 |
| *makaṉ* | 'son' | 20.2 |
7.23.2 Feminine singular
c27.s26.t2.1
There are very few feminine personal names in the Corpus. Examples of nouns in feminine singular:
c27.s26.t2.2
| *aṇṇi* | 'honorific (fem.)' | 83.4.c |
| *kanti* | 'Jaina nun' | 83.2.b |
| *pa(m)mitti* | 'Jaina nun' | 41.3 |
| *makaḷ* | 'daughter' | 66.3 |
7.23.3 Honorific singular
c27.s26.t3.1
Human nouns (masculine and feminine) have the honorific singular suffix *-ar*/*-ār*:
c27.s26.t3.2
| *ācāriyar* | 'preceptor' | 115.4 |
| *ācirikaru* | 'preceptor' | 116.5 |
| *kiḻār* | 'landowner or eminent person' | 84.2 |
| *tāyiyaru* | 'mother' | 83.3 |
| *māṇākkar* | 'disciple' | 115.5 |
7.23.4 Human (epicene) plural
c27.s26.t4.1
| *iḷayar* | 'members of a martial clan' | 49.6 |
| *nikama(t)tōr* | 'members of the merchant guild' | 6.2 |
7.23.5 Neuter singular
c27.s26.t5.1
Only selected examples illustrating each type are given below.
c27.s26.t5.2
*animals*
c27.s26.t5.3
| *puli* | 'tiger' | 118.1.b |
| *kōḻi* | 'cock' | 112.5 |
c27.s26.t5.4
*plants*
c27.s26.t5.5
| *vēmp(u)* | 'neem tree' | 35.1.a |
c27.s26.t5.6
*objects*
c27.s26.t5.7
| *ayam* | 'tank' | 35.2.b |
c27.s26.t5.8
*institutions*
c27.s26.t5.9
| *kaṭikai* | 'assembly' | 88.3 |
c27.s26.t5.10
*abstract nouns*
c27.s26.t5.11
| *aṟam* | 'charity' | 76.4 |
7.23.6 Neuter plural
c27.s26.t6.1
No plural suffix occurs in the Corpus for nouns in the neuter gender. However, in the following cases, the singular forms stand for the plural:
c27.s26.t6.2
| *ati(ṭ)ṭāṉam 3* | 'three stone beds' | 76.7.a-b |
| *kal* | '(two) stone beds' (from the context) | 48.7 |
| *ūr* | 'members of the village (assembly)' (from the context) | 35.1.c |