nàna

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word nàna. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word nàna, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say nàna in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word nàna you have here. The definition of the word nàna will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofnàna, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

Kari'na

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Cariban *apina, apparently with the addition of an unknown initial element n-, which only appears in some dialects. Compare Apalaí yna, Trió anja, Wayana emna, epna, Waiwai amna, Ye'kwana nña, Akawaio ina, Macushi anna, Pemon ina.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

nàna (Guyana, East Suriname, Venezuela)

  1. the first-person exclusive dual pronoun; he and I, she and I, it and I.
  2. the first-person exclusive plural pronoun; they and I, we (exclusive)

Usage notes

This pronoun acts in many ways like a third-person pronoun; verbs agreeing with it take third-person agreement, and it may be referred back to by the third-person coreferential/reflexive prefix ty-.

Inflection

References

  • Courtz, Hendrik (2008) A Carib grammar and dictionary, Toronto: Magoria Books, →ISBN, pages 52–54, 323
  • Meira, Sérgio (2002) “A first comparison of pronominal and demonstrative systems in the Cariban language family”, in Mily Crevels, Simon van de Kerke, Sergio Meira and Hein van der Voort, editors, Current Studies on South American Languages, Leiden: Research School of Asian, African, and American Studies (CNWS), Leiden University, →ISBN, pages 255–275
  • Ahlbrinck, Willem (1931) “ana”, in Encyclopaedie der Karaïben, Amsterdam: Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen, page 83; republished as Willem Ahlbrinck, Doude van Herwijnen, transl., L'Encyclopédie des Caraïbes, Paris, 1956, page 85