Some typologically exceptional points of grammar are discussed by Arensen, et al., such as that VSO languages have been predicted to not have postpositions or final interrogatives.
Arensen has proposed a set of semantically based categories (such as association with men, or with weather and seasons) to try to predict which suffixes will be used (1992, 1998).
onyiit 'rib' onyii 'ribs' rottin 'warrior' rotti 'warriors' However, the same final consonants are found in productive marking of singulative number in Majang, another Surmic language, e.g. ŋɛɛti-n 'louse', ŋɛɛti 'lice'.
[5] Also, final -t has been shown to be a singulative suffix in Murle and other Surmic languages,[6] fitting the pattern of T for singular and K for plural pointed out by Margaret Bryant.
[7] If these final consonants are analyzed as singulative suffixes, it means that the claim of unusual discovery of subtractive morphology in Murle is incorrect.