Language/Southern-uzbek/Grammar/Gender
Hi Southern Uzbek learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about gender in Southern Uzbek. Gender is an important aspect of the Uzbek language and plays a crucial role in communication. With gender, we can identify people, animals, and objects based on their sex.
Introduction
Gender is a grammatical category that deals with the classification of nouns based on their sex. Southern Uzbek uses a system of two genders: masculine and feminine.
For example:
Southern Uzbek | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
оқувчи | o'quvchi | student (masculine) |
талаба | talaba | student (feminine) |
тереза | teraza | window (feminine) |
kap | door (masculine) |
As you can see, nouns ending in -чи, -учи, -ши, -қа, -қазо, and -а are typically masculine, while nouns ending in -ба, -батиш, -ша, -ёлки, -қалик, and -қиз are typically feminine.
In this lesson, we will learn how to use gender in Southern Uzbek grammar. We will also include cultural information and interesting facts to help you better understand Southern Uzbek. Let's get started!
Masculine Gender
In Southern Uzbek, there are several ways to form masculine nouns. One way is to add the suffix -чи to a word. This suffix is commonly used to indicate an occupation, profession, or a person who is involved in an activity. For example:
Southern Uzbek | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
механикчи | mehanikchi | mechanic |
табибчи | tabibchi | doctor |
истеъмолчи | iste'molchi | user |
касбиётчи | kasbiyotchi | craftsman |
Another way to form a masculine noun is to add the suffix -бош to a noun. This suffix is commonly used in words that indicate the head or leader of a group. For example:
Southern Uzbek | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
китобхонибош | kitobxonibosh | head bookkeeper |
касбхонибош | kasbxonibosh | chief craftsman |
We can also form masculine nouns by replacing the final vowel of a feminine noun with the suffix -лик. This is commonly used to indicate a person who is involved in an activity or profession. For example:
Southern Uzbek | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
овқаттан лиқ | ovqattan lik | cook |
киноқарши лиқ | kinoqarshi lik | actor |
муаллимлик | muallimlik | teacher (masculine) |
In addition to these suffixes, there are other ways to form masculine nouns in Southern Uzbek. Also, it's common to use masculine gender pronouns to refer to people we assume are male until we get more information.
Let's practice using masculine gender in Southern Uzbek in a dialogue:
- Person 1: Салом, акаба! Кимсан? (Salom, akaba! Kimsan?) (Hello, buddy! Who are you?)
- Person 2: Мен бўйсун, механикчиман. Турибдику пайтда темир йўлни тўғрилатмўйман. (Men bo'ysun, mehanikchiman. Turibdiku paytda temir yo'lni to'g'rilatmo'yman.) (I am fine, I am a mechanic. I am currently fixing the train tracks.)
Feminine Gender
In Southern Uzbek, feminine nouns are formed differently than masculine nouns. One way to form a feminine noun is to add the suffix -бин to a noun. This suffix is commonly used in words that indicate a wife, sister, or daughter. For example:
Southern Uzbek | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
укалибин | ukalibin | niece |
шашватибин | shashvatibin | sister-in-law |
тораларибин | toralaribin | daughter-in-law |
Another way to form a feminine noun is to add the suffix -ён to a noun. This suffix is commonly used to indicate a person who is involved in an activity. For example:
Southern Uzbek | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
муаллимён | muallimyon | teacher (feminine) |
учён | uch'yon | scholar |
касбён | kasbyon | craftswoman |
It's also possible to form feminine nouns by adding the suffix -й to the end of the noun. This is commonly used in words that indicate a female animal. For example:
Southern Uzbek | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
кўкйүлак | kok'yu-lak | hen |
сутйор | sut'yor | cow |
Let's practice using feminine gender in Southern Uzbek in a dialogue:
- Person 1: Салом, одамзат! Кимсиз? (Salom, odamzat! Kimsiz?) (Hello, young lady! Who are you?)
- Person 2: Мен ёшман, муаллимёнман. Аҳмад Ёсубовнинг мактабида ўқитаман. (Men yoshman, muallimyonman. Ahmad Yesubovning maktabida o'qitaman.) (I am young, I am a teacher. I teach at Ahmad Yesubov's school.)
Gender Agreement
In Southern Uzbek, gender agreement plays an important role in the language. It means that not only nouns, but adjectives, pronouns, and verbs must also agree in gender.
When using an adjective in a sentence, we must use the correct form of the adjective based on the gender of the noun. For example:
Southern Uzbek | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
катта меҳнатчи | katta mehnatchi | hardworking (masculine) |
катта меҳнатчиба | katta mehnatchiba | hardworking (feminine) |
As you can see, we add the suffix -ба to form the feminine form of the adjective.
Pronouns in Southern Uzbek must also agree in gender with the noun they are replacing. For example:
Southern Uzbek | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
Унга китоб сотдим. У кўп ўқийди. | Unga kitob sotdim. U kop o'qiydi. | I sold him a book. He reads a lot. (masculine) |
Унга китоб сотдим. Улар кўп ўқийди. | Unga kitob sotdim. Ular kop o'qiydi. | I sold her a book. They read a lot. (feminine) |
As you can see, we use the pronoun у (u) to replace a masculine noun, and улар (ular) to replace a feminine noun.
Verbs must also agree in gender with the noun they are describing. For example:
Southern Uzbek | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
Узбекистон халқаро ёрим соатига бошиди | O'zbekiston xalqaro yorim soatiga boshidi | Uzbekistan started the international hour. (masculine) |
Аҳмад Ёсубовнинг мактабида халқабуян ёрим соатига бошлади | Ahmad Yesubovning maktabida xalqabuyan yorim soatiga boshladi | The public announcement started at Ahmad Yesubov's school. (feminine) |
As you can see, we use the suffix -ди to indicate the masculine form of the verb, and -ди to indicate the feminine form of the verb.
Let's practice using gender agreement in Southern Uzbek in a dialogue:
- Person 1: Уйгур қорғани хақида ким сўрайди? (Uygur qorg'ani haqida kim so'raydi?) (Who is asking about the Uyghur fortress?)
- Person 2: Мен бўламан. Менга яхши ўқилгилар берилган. (Men bo'laman. Menga yaxshi o'qilgillar berilgan.) (It's me. I was given good books to read.)
Conclusion
Gender is an important aspect of Southern Uzbek grammar. It plays a crucial role in communication and identification of people, animals, and objects based on their sex. In this lesson, we've learned about the different ways to form masculine and feminine nouns, and how gender agreement works in Southern Uzbek.
To improve your Southern Uzbek Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!
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