Eldertongue: Proximity, Gender, and Plurality in Nouns

I find myself thinking that, for someone who despised French gender-agreement so intensely, it's downright peculiar that I am modifying nouns with so much enthusiasm.

Perhaps it's revenge.

In Eldertongue, nouns are modified based upon three properties.

Proximity - A noun can be proximate, distant, or hypothetical.
Gender - A noun can be male, female, neuter, or of mixed gender.
Plurality - A noun can be single or plural.

If a noun is proximate to the speaker (which may be in the immediate physical vicinity, or close enough to be seen and/or heard) then no further modifications need to be made to the noun. Context (or a physical gesture) suffices to indicate whether gopda references a single gelding or the whole mixed-gender herd of horses. Modifying the noun is acceptable for stress and emphasis, but it is not mandatory.

If a noun is a specific thing, place, or person, but it is not physically present with the speaker, then it must be designated as distant and modified by gender and plurality.

If a noun is unspecific -- one dog among the many dogs that exist as opposed to a specific known dog, for example -- then the noun is hypothetical. It must be designated as hypothetical and modified by gender and plurality.

Proximate male singular: +do
Proximate male plural: +doj
Proximate female singular: +zo
Proximate female plural: +zoj
Proximate neuter singular: +ro
Proximate neuter plural: +roj
Proximate mixed plural: +euveg

Distant male singular: +do di
Distant male plural: +dooj di
Distant female singular: +zo di
Distant female plural: +zooj di
Distant neuter singular: +ro
Distant neuter plural: +rooj di
Distant mixed plural: +euvegi

Hypothetical male singular: +dom
Hypothetical male plural: +domoj
Hypothetical female singular: +zom
Hypothetical female plural: +zomoj
Hypothetical neuter singular: +rom
Hypothetical neuter plural: +romoj
Hypothetical mixed plural: +euvum

To illustrate the difference...

Mornuv odoudin.
I am about to hunt this deer. (the deer is present/visible at the time of speaking)

Mornuv odoudindo di.
I am about to hunt that stag. (the stag is a known, specific animal, but is not present or visible at the time of speaking)

Mornuv odoudindom.
I am about to hunt a stag. (there is no specific stag being referenced)

And a second illustration, this one a bit more complex.

Roug azegurval zharoo odburjoz.
I wish you had sung to this person. (the person is neither the speaker nor the person being spoken to, but is present.)

Roug azegurval zharoo odburjozo di.
I wish you had sung to that woman. (the woman is a known, specific woman, but is not present or visible at the time of speaking)

Roug azegurval zharoo odburjozom.
I wish you had sung to a woman. (there is no specific woman being referenced)

Although the examples above use the unspoken object or subject, both subjects and objects do exhibit this behavior.

Vorgan ruluv mameudo dig odaroo.
I heard that the tomcat just followed this dog. (the tomcat is not present; the dog is present.)

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Q: Shouldn't Roug azegurval zharoo odburjoz translate to "You wish you had sung to this person"?

A: No. Evidentiality always references the speaker's position on the matter. In similar vein, Roug azegurgan zharoo odburjoz would translate to "I heard that you sang to this person", not "You heard that you sang to this person."

Q: How do I say "You wish you had sung to this person"?

A: Patience, grasshopper.

Q: That means you don't know either, doesn't it.

A: Walk first, run second. Hush.