Editing Noun class (section)

=== Athabaskan languages ===
In [[Navajo language|Navajo]] ([[Southern Athabaskan languages|Southern Athabaskan]]) nouns are classified according to their animacy, shape, and consistency. [[Morphology (linguistics)|Morphologically]], however, the distinctions are not expressed on the nouns themselves, but on the verbs of which the nouns are the subject or direct object. For example, in the sentence ''{{spell-nv|Shi’éé’ tsásk’eh bikáa’gi dah siłtsooz}}'' "My shirt is lying on the bed", the verb {{spell-nv|siłtsooz}} "lies" is used because the subject ''{{spell-nv|shi’éé’}}'' "my shirt" is a flat, flexible object. In the sentence {{spell-nv|Siziiz tsásk’eh bikáa’gi dah silá}} "My belt is lying on the bed", the verb ''{{spell-nv|silá}}'' "lies" is used because the subject ''{{spell-nv|siziiz}}'' "my belt" is a slender, flexible object.

[[Koyukon language|Koyukon]] ([[Northern Athabaskan languages|Northern Athabaskan]]) has a more intricate system of classification. Like Navajo, it has classificatory verb stems that classify nouns according to animacy, shape, and consistency. However, in addition to these verb stems, Koyukon verbs have what are called "gender prefixes" that further classify nouns. That is, Koyukon has two different systems that classify nouns: '''(a)''' a classificatory verb system and '''(b)''' a gender system. To illustrate, the verb stem ''-tonh'' is used for enclosed objects. When ''-tonh'' is combined with different gender prefixes, it can result in ''daaltonh'' which refers to objects enclosed in boxes or ''etltonh'' which refers to objects enclosed in bags.