Nouns in Mingo are words which refer to people, places, animals, plants,
objects, and abstract notions.   There are a number of different types
of nouns in Mingo -- we'll start here with the Simple Noun.  Simple
Nouns occur in a number of different forms.  The first form we'll look
at is the Basic Form.

The Basic Form of a Simple Noun is composed of four parts: a Noun
Prefix, a Noun Base, a Linker Vowel, and a Noun Suffix.  They always
occur in exactly this order.
 

   Noun Prefix  +  Noun Base  +  Linker Vowel  + Noun Suffix
 

Here are some examples of Simple Nouns, broken down into their four
parts:
 

   u-   -'nöhs-   -a-   -'   u'nöhsa'     onion
   u-   -wis-     -æ-   -'   uwísæ'       ice
   u-   -në-      -ö-   -'   unëö'        corn
   ka-  -khw-     -a-   -'   kakhwa'      food
   ká-  -yatösh-  -æ-   -'   káyatöshæ'   book
 

To begin with, we'll look at each of these four parts.
 

1.1. Noun Prefix

Most Simple Nouns take some type of Noun Prefix.  There are two basic
Noun Prefixes, which we call the Agent prefix, and the Patient prefix.
The basic form of the Agent Noun Prefix is ka-.  The basic form of the
Patient Noun Prefix is u-.  The nouns that take the Agent Noun Prefix --
such as «kakhwa'» "food" -- are called Agent Nouns, while the nouns that
take the Patient Noun Prefix -- such as «uwísæ'» "ice" -- are called
Patient Nouns.

This division between Agent Nouns and Patient Nouns in Mingo is very
similar to what in other languages is called "noun gender". If you've
studied French or Spanish, you know that all nouns in those languages
must be either "masculine" or "feminine". In German, all nouns must be
either "masculine", "feminine" or "neuter". In Algonquian languages,
such as Cree, Ojibwe, or Cheyenne,  nouns belong either to the "animate"
or the "inanimate" gender.

Is there any way to tell whether a given noun in Mingo is going to be an
Agent Noun or a Patient Noun?  Well, yes and no. Take a look at the
following lists of nouns, divided into Agent Nouns and Patient Nouns.

   Some Agent Nouns

   kahikwææ' -- hat
   kaöshæ' -- box
   këëwëë' -- wire
   katkunya'shæ' -- ladle
   katsi'káya' -- chair
   káyatöshæ' -- book
   kaya'ta' -- doll
   kaeu'ta' -- gun
   katsihkwanö' -- button
   kakawihsa' -- shovel
   kashewë'ta' -- bell
   ka'nö' -- arrow
 

   Some Patient Nouns

   uka'stææ' -- mud
   unëö' -- corn
   unö'kwa' -- milk
   usae'ta' -- bean
   utsi'tsu'kwa' -- pear
   u'nehsa' -- sand
   unôta' -- rhubarb
   uyë'kwa' -- tobacco
   usnö' -- bark
   unöni'ta' -- thistle
   unékhwa' -- bloodroot
   uhsëë' -- frost

As we can see from the lists above, Patient Nouns typically refer to
things which are found in nature, whereas Agent Nouns typically refer to
things which are man-made. Although most Simple Nouns follow this
general principle, there are definitely exceptions, so we can't rely on
it all the time. Here are a few of the nouns which seem to belong to the
"wrong" class.

   Some Agent Nouns That "Should Be" Patient Nouns

   kaháta' -- forest
   këtahsa' -- fin
   kakaa' -- eye
   katsistöta'shæ' -- strawberry
   kaëhta' -- swamp
   wahta' -- maple tree
 

   Some Patient Nouns That "Should Be" Agent Nouns

   u'syöhsa' -- leather
   uæhkwa' -- bread
   uëhtsi'æ' -- fried meat
   uthe'shæ' -- flour
   uhsíyæ' -- thread
   u'niskææ' -- wheel

Although ka- and u- are the basic forms for the Agent Noun prefix and
the Patient Noun Prefix, respectively, they aren't the only forms.  The
Agent Noun Prefix also shows up as ká- (as in «káyatöshæ'» "book"), kë-
(as in «këëwëë'» "wire"), kæ- (as in «kææhkwa'» "sun/moon"), and w- (as
in «wahta'» "maple tree").  The Patient Noun Prefix also shows up as ú-
(as in «úya'» "another one"), and aw- (as in «awënyahsa'» "heart").  We
will learn the rules for when to use these different forms later on.

Although the vast majority of Simple Nouns take either the Agent Noun
Prefix or the Patient Noun Prefix, there is a group of nouns which take
a null (or zero) Noun Prefix in their most basic form.  All of the nouns
in this group begin either with a, ë or ê, and many of them end in -shæ'.

   Some Nouns With a Zero Noun Prefix

   atya'tawi'shæ' -- clothes
   ahtahkwa' -- shoe
   ênishæ' -- day
   ëníshæ' -- shelf
   ë'húshæ' -- ball
   êni'ta' -- month
 

1.2. Noun Base

The Noun Base is the heart of the Simple Noun.  It's the the part the
carries the basic meaning of the noun, such as -ya'tawi'sh- "clothes", -ka-
"eye", or -nö'kw- "milk".  We always write Noun Bases with a hyphen at both
the beginning and at the end, to show that the Noun Base cannot stand on
its own as a word, but must always have something added to it to make it
a complete word.
 

1.3. Linker Vowel

The job of the Linker Vowel is to connect the Noun Base to what comes
after it.  All nouns in Mingo take one of four Linker Vowels, either -a-
, -æ-, -ö- or -ë-.  By far the most common Linker Vowel is -a-, followed
by -æ- and -ö-; only a relatively few nouns take -ë- as their Linker
Vowel.
 

   Some Nouns With -a- Linker Vowel

   unö'kwa' -- milk
   u'nehsa' -- sand
   kaya'ta' -- doll
   wahta' -- maple tree
 

   Some Nouns With -æ- Linker Vowel

   kakanya'shæ' -- knife
   uëhtsi'æ' -- fried meat
   uthe'shæ' -- flour
   kaëhtææ' -- cloth
 

   Some Nouns With -ö- Linker Vowel

   ka'nö' -- arrow
   unëö' -- corn
 

   Some Nouns With -ë- Linker Vowel

   këëwëë' -- wire
   kë'tôwë' -- bottom
 

As we can see from the lists of words above, there is no relationship
between a noun's Linker Vowel and its status as an Agent Noun or a
Patient Noun. Both of these are things that you must just learn
separately about each Mingo noun.
 

1.4. Noun Suffix

There are three Noun Suffixes in Mingo.  The simplest of these, called
the Basic Noun Suffix, occurs at the end of all Simple Nouns.  It always
takes the form -', which is why all Simple Nouns end with a -'.