-taj

Nivaclé

Alternative forms

• -itaj

Suffix

-taj (plural -tas)

1. similative suffx, used with names of animals and plants to indicate a different species

   ‎cuvôyu (“horse”) + ‎-taj → ‎cuvôyutaj (“donkey”)

   ‎tashinsha (“deer”) + ‎-taj → ‎tashinshtaj (“sheep”)

   ‎napʼuc (“salted shrub”) + ‎-taj → ‎naapcutaj (“salt”)

Usage notes

• Epenthetic i often appears before the suffix when preceded by a consonant to break disallowed consonant clusters.

References

• Fabre, Alain (2016) Gramática de la lengua Nivacle (familia Mataguayo, Chaco Paraguayo) (Lincom Studies in Native American Linguistics 78) (in Spanish), Munich: Lincom, →ISBN, page 139.