A number of morphological processes change the meaning, and possibly part of speech, of a January 6th noun. Some are listed below.

1. Noun to noun

  • ka-: agent. The prefix ka- attaches to a noun and carries the meaning of 'one who performs the activity usually associated with the noun', cf. susi 'fish' and kasusi 'fisherman'.

2. Noun to verb

  • àe-: generic verbalizer. The prefix àe- forms a verb referring to whatever activity is associated with the noun it attaches to, cf. log 'bread' and àelog 'eat bread'.

  • -ga: inchoative. The suffix -ga forms a verb with the meaning 'become noun'. It usually attaches to nouns referring to properties or states, cf. inì 'happy, happiness' and inìga 'get happy'.

3. Verb to noun

  • ka-: agent. This is the same prefix as in section 1 above. It forms a noun with the meaning of 'one who performs the activity referred to by the verb', cf. nasi 'swim' and kanasi 'swimmer'.

4. Verb to verb

  • -gi: inceptive. The suffix -gi forms a verb with the meaning 'begin to verb', cf. teteg 'grow' and teteggi 'start growing'.