This got my attention. I was able to dig up a thesis on this language, and here's the section on Nouns for the interested. (and here's all of the parts) The noun class section begins on page 227, and is both interesting and complicated.Frislander wrote:Enindhilyagwa appears to have an interesting lustrous/non-lustrous distinction.
According to this, the split is:
singular animate human masculine
singular animate nonhuman masculine
singular animate human feminine
singular animate nonhuman feminine
dual animate
plural animate
visible "lustrous" inanimate - e.g. birds with shiny/bright-colored feathers, clouds, fog, things related to fire, "shiny" body parts (heart, liver, lungs, face), fresh water
visible "non-lustrous" inanimate - e.g. birds with dull-colored feathers, things with dark markings (such as some fish), dark night, "non-shiny" body parts/covered by hair (brain, spine, ear), saltwater
invisible inanimate - e.g. language and speaking, winds, sicknesses
It seems the dual/plural animate prefixes are also always used for certain things that are viewed as being in groups, like spirits and some animals (e.g. dingoes, mice, ducks).
This whole system is fascinating! I'm so glad I looked it up.
(ETA: Anindilyakwa is another name for Enindhilyagwa; they're the same language)