Talk:Diminutives in Luganda

Good evening Medadi,

I agree diminutives and their use is an interesting topic.

Let me make some editorial suggestions. The list of inherently cl12 nouns should perhaps also come as a table.

Your table deserves some clean-up. I started with the first two rows. :)

The following examples are interesting, but I would really need some more discussion of these examples. Why is the diminutive used in these sentences. What is the context, that is, when would you typically say such as sentence.

--Dorothee Beermann 19:52, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

From Medadi:

Dorothee, thank you so very much for your kind help. I say again, thank you!

Pardon me, I seem not to clearly understand the sentences you refer to. Kindly point out the sentences in question.

Hi again,

I was referring to the following paragraph:

Classes 12/13 have very few nouns that inherently belong to these classes, and these inherently assigned nouns are not semantic diminutives.  
Examples of inherently assigned nouns to class 12 are: akajanja (no plural), akateebe (deep water), akatandaalo ‘raised table-like structure for drying utencils’, akakongovvule  óuncle’, akakunizo ‘puzzle’, akalulu ‘vote’, akamooli ‘ventilator’,  .... Class 13otu has only one inherent noun, 
otulo sleep (no plural). 
Class 14OBU (plural) has many inherently assigned nouns to it, for instance: obulo millet, obubaka message, obuugi porridge, obukeedo raw material 
for making a basket and so on. 

In addition I think it would be good to make your table more consistent.

--Dorothee Beermann 11:22, 6 January 2011 (UTC)

Hi Dorothee!

Here I give the examples of the nouns cited: (All these example sentences are not diminutive)

1. Akakongovvule kannuma. I have pain in my ankle.

2. Akakunizo akali mu Bukedde wa leero kazibu nnyo. The puzzle in today's Bukedde (A Luganda local newspaper)is so hard.

3. Uganda egenda kukuba akalulu mu mwaka guno 2011. Uganda is going to vote this year, 2011.

4. Yazimba ennyumba nga tekuli kamooli ne akamu. He/she built a house without any ventilator.

5. Obulo bwe nasimba ku Lwokusatu bumeze. The millet that I planted on Wednesday has germinated.

6. Njagala kunywa ku buugi. I want to take some porridge.

I have tried to edit the table, hope it is more clear now.

--Medadi Erisa Ssentanda 13:07, 6 January 2011 (UTC)