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Some Kendri Noun Types
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A summary of common noun types in Kendri
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 26 May 2020, 19:06.

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Noun Types in Kendri

In contrast to most forms of speech in Kendri, nouns have forms which can appear to be irregular. In fact, these are usually owing to a combination of broadly predictable changes. However, because a given noun can be affected by more than one of these, they do not fall easily into declensions. The following description deals with the characteristic types which arise as a result of these changes, but it does not deal with the many factors - phonetic, historical, etc - which give rise to the different forms.

Noun Parts

Nouns can be described by their principle parts, e.g.

méndo -n: mend-n; mend-'o, rock
ngámbur ~ngambrun: ngambr-un; ngambr-u, bear
sáum -un: saum-n; samu, ocean
gédhwe -n: gedhw- ~gwedh-n; gwedh-'e, sister

The parts are delimited by semicolons, or colons (legacy format has a colon after the first part only, but a semicolon is now preferred.) They may be enclosed in square brackets for clarity, e.g.

méndo [-n: mend-n; mend-'o] rock

The parts are as follows:

1. The absolute singular - which is also the lemma, or dictionary form - and plural.

This consists of:
• singular form
• - addition for plural
• ~ different stem form for plural, if it cannot be formed by an addition to the singular
• (acute diacritic for stress marking applies only to the lemma)

Some nouns, such as méndo-n, retain a final vowel in the singular and add only the plural ending -n, whereas with others, such as ćarh, it is reinstated in the plural, cárh-on. Some words have contracted or metathesised plurals - e.g. ngámbur, ngámbru-n which are cited as different stem forms. Most nouns ending in -i, or with i and often y in the historical stem, retain or reinstate this in the plural and also add -on, giving e.g. ókri-on.

Words with optional endings in the singular - e.g. wedh~e, where the final -e is optional and marginally archaic - are given in the form wedh-e-n or wedh-(e)-n.


2. The absolute case form

• singular form
• - addition for plural
• ~ different stem form for plural, if required
• + position of plural case endings for unusual forms (final by default)
• ' triggers metathesis of plural -n with final stem character
• = combines functions of - and ' (separation and metathesis)

The singular typically loses any final vowel before adding case endings - ménd-e, etc. Most nouns retain any final vowel in the plural - méndo-n - or reinstate a historical vowel - sáumu-n -, or use -o as a default.

The plural tends to be contracted before cases, with the plural -n attached directly to the stem before the case ending, e.g. ménd-ne, etc. Some final stem sounds - Y and W - metathesise with the plural ending, e.g. cárhyo, man, pl.abl. cárhnye. Words like ámbur - town, city - may reduce the U in the stem to an unstressed Y, so ámbryn·ɛ.

However, some nouns - mainly those with double plurals - such as mírgen, prison, place the plural ending after the case ending - mírgn-en - and some have, or use as an alternative, the same form as the construct, which retains the final stem vowel in the plural.


3. The construct form

• singular form
• - final vowel removed before singular case endings
• ( ) - enclose letters found in the freestanding forms and the singular with cases, but not in the long forms - plural with cases, or possessive forms. (Specifically, those directly after a left bracket disappear in the possessive, and those directly before a right bracket in the case construct.)
' precedes vowels removed in the second form possessive plural.


The construct singular may or may not retain a final vowel before case endings - compare ménd-e and sámu-e. Resulting two-vowel endings do not take the stress. The plural retains or reinstates the stem vowel, and the case ending is added to the plural ending, e.g. mendó-ne. A few nouns also remove a final vowel in the plural.

Possessives add -v- plus a person ending to either the final vowel of the stem - mendó-vi - or to a case ending - mendé-vi. The plural metathesises to -vni giving mendó-vni, mendé-vni, but there is an alternative case plural which adds the possessive ending to the construct plural case ending, often with a contraction similar to that of the absolute plural - e.g. - mendné-vi. This co-exists with the other form with no particular connotation of region or register. It is included in only the first few tables for illustration. Possessives are here given in the first person, ending in -i.

Noun Types

Kendri nouns can be broadly divided into single-form or weak nouns, which have a single basic stem, and dual-form or strong nouns, which have both a weak and a strong stem. The strong stem is the result of historical sound changes, and the weak stem is typically used for the construct. However, many nouns which are not historically strengthened have also developed distinct construct stems.

The following tables have headings as follows:

ABSS - absolute state
OB - oblique (generically for forms with case endings)
CNS - construct state
POS - possessive form
SG - singular
PL - plural
PL.2 - alternative plural forms in some parts

Endings - other than plural - are separated by a middle dot ·. The Greek letter epsilon - ɛ - is used as a generic marker to represent any case ending. Note that the tables do not represent the fact that identical vowels are never doubled in Kendri - so while the ablative (+e) construct of ábri, friend, is ábrie, the dative (+i) is simple ábri. In the tables, this is represented generically as ábri·ɛ The tilde sign ~ is here used for optional endings, e.g. wédh~e, girl, which might equally appear with or without the final -e.

For sake of illustration, a full table for méndo, with the actual case endings, is given below. The cases are:

ABS - Absolutive
AGN - Agentive
PTN - Patientive
DAT - Dative
ABL.INS - Ablative / Instrumental
ACC.SO - Accusative / Second Object




ABS

AGN

PTN

DAT

ABL.INS

ACC.SO

ABSS.SG

méndo

méndo

méndu

méndi

ménde

ménda

ABSS.PL

méndon

méndno

méndnu

méndni

méndne

méndna

CNS.SG

méndo

méndo

méndu

méndi

ménde

ménda

CNS.PL

méndon

mendóno

mendónu

mendóni

mendóne

mendóna

POS.SG

mendóvi

mendóvi

mendúvi

mendívi

mendévi

mendávi

POS.PL

mendóvni

mendóvni

mendúvni

mendívni

mendévni

mendávni

PL.2


mendnóvi

mendnúvi

mendnívi

mendnévi

mendnávi


Typical Weak Nouns

Some typical weak noun types are as follows. Note that these are not declensions in the traditional sense, and that they rather combine several independent features. The main features which vary are:

- Whether any final vowel is retained in the absolute singular - ménd-o vs cárh
- Whether the absolute plural is contracted with cases - méndn-i vs ilrún-i
- Whether singular case endings are added to or replace any final vowel - ménd-i vs fo-i. Many nouns, such as ókri, tend to replace in the absolute and add in the construct. (Although the nouns below are given in a certain format, there is considerable variation.)

méndo -n: mend-n; mend-'o, rock, stone

Mendo has only one stem, which loses the final -o before cases, and contracts (that is, loses the final vowel before -n) in the absolute plural before case endings. Case endings replace the final vowel in both absolute and construct. Similarly dwéndo, forest, oléndo, star or planet, etc.




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

méndo

ménd·ɛ

méndo

ménd·ɛ

mendó·vi

mend·ɛ́·vi

PL

méndon

méndn·ɛ

méndon

mendón·ɛ

mendó·vni

mend·ɛ́·vni

PL.2






mendn·ɛ́·vi



cárh -on: carh-n; carh-o, person

Cárh is similar to méndo, except that it loses the final vowel in the absolute singular.




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

cárh

cárh·ɛ

cárho

cárh·ɛ

carhó·vi

carh·ɛ́·vi

PL

cárhon

cárhn·ɛ

cárhon

carhón·ɛ

carhó·vni

carh·ɛ́·vni

PL.2






carhn·ɛ́·vi



fo -n: fo-n; fo, hand

Like most monosyllabic nouns ending in vowels, fó adds case endings to the final vowel, and does not contract in the absolute plural.




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG



fó·ɛ



fó·ɛ

fó·vi

fó·ɛ·vi

PL

fón

fón·ɛ

fón

fón·ɛ

fó·vni

fó·ɛ·vni

PL.2






fon·ɛ́·vi



ókri -on: okr-in; okri, name

Ókri loses the final vowel only before absolute singular case endings. Similarly ábri, friend, etc. Like most nouns with -i (and usually those with y) in the stem, it adds -on to the stem vowel.




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

ókri

ókr·ɛ

ókri

ókri·ɛ

okrí·vi

okri·ɛ́·vi

PL

ókrion

okrín·ɛ

ókrin

okrín·ɛ

okrí·vni

okri·ɛ́·vni



ílru -n: ilr-un; ilru, happiness

Ílru is like ókri except that, not having final -i in the historical stem, it does not have the -ion plural ending, but adds the -n of the plural directly to the stem vowel.




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

ílru

ílr·ɛ

ílru

ílru·ɛ

ilrú·vi

ilru·ɛ́·vi

PL

ílrun

ilrún·ɛ

ílrun

ilrún·ɛ

ilrú·vni

ilru·ɛ́·vni



ílwo -n: ilw=n; ilw-o, eye

Like most nouns with stems ending in Y or W, this metathesises with the final -n of the absolute plural with cases, but it has an alternative form identical - in this case - to the corresponding construct form. Ílwo also differs from ílru in losing the final vowel in the construct. So ékwo, ear, cárhwe, woman, cárhyo, man, etc.




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

ílwo

ílw·ɛ

ílwo

ílw·ɛ

ilwó·vi

ilw·ɛ́·vi

PL

ílwon

ílnw·ɛ

ílwon

ilwón·ɛ

ilwó·vni

ilw·ɛ́·vni

PL.2


ilwón·ɛ




ilwon·ɛ́·vi



Typical Strong Nouns

Strong nouns have two distinct stem forms, but differ in their distribution through the paradigm. The general format is that the strong stems incorporate the historical final vowel orthographically in a digraph, however it is pronounced. So sámu becomes sáum, sáme becomes sáem, etc. The main exception is that a combination of I and U becomes Y, so símu becomes sým.

The two most typical types are like sáum, ocean, and sámo, lake.


sáum -un: saum-n; samu, sea, ocean

Sáum has the strong stem throughout the absolute and the weak stem throughout the construct. The original final -u vowel is reinstated in the absolute plural. The plural absolute contracts with cases, and case endings are added to the vowel of the construct singular. The resulting two-vowel ending does not attract the stress.




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

sáum

sáum·ɛ

sámu

sámu·ɛ

samú·vi

samu·ɛ́·vi

PL

sáumun

sáumn·ɛ

sámun

samún·ɛ

samú·vni

samu·ɛ́·vni



sámo -n: saom-n; samo, lake

In sámo, the strong stem occurs only in the absolute case forms. So although sámo is technically a strong noun, its dictionary form is weak.




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

sámo

sáom·ɛ

sámo

sámo·ɛ

samó·vi

samó·ɛ·vi

PL

sámon

sáomn·ɛ

sámon

samón·ɛ

samó·vni

samó·ɛ·vni



eláim ~elamion: elaim-n; elami, ray (of light)

Nouns with I in the stem have the weak stem in the absolute plural




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

eláim

eláim·ɛ

elámi

elámi·ɛ

elamí·vi

elàmi·ɛ́·vi

PL

elámion

eláimn·ɛ

elámin

elamín·ɛ

elamí·vni

elàmi·ɛ́·vni


So sáim, liquid, etc.

Pairs of nouns may be formed from the same original stem. When strong nouns are used as proper or pet names, or as vocatives related to these, the weak form is normally used. So while sáli, spark became the strong common noun sáil, the weak sáli form survived as a proper name, with a different declension in the absolute.


sáil ~salion:sail-n;sali, spark




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

sáil

sáil·ɛ

sáli

sáli·ɛ

salí·vi

sali·ɛ́·vi

PL

sálion

sáiln·ɛ

sálin

salín·ɛ

salí·vni

sali·ɛ́·vni


sáli -on: sali-n;sali, spark
 



ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

sáli

sáli·ɛ

sáli

sáli·ɛ

salí·vi

sali·ɛ́·vi

PL

sálion

salín·ɛ

sálin

salín·ɛ

salí·vni

sali·ɛ́·vni


They have the same declensions in the construct, but differ in the absolute. Both have the characteristic -ion plural absolute ending for I-stems. Similarly ngáurh / ngárhu, wolf, etc.

Many words with Y in the stem are strong nouns, but these decline differently from most.

sym -ion: sym-n;symi(-u), string (of a musical instrument)




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

sým

sým·ɛ

sýmiu

sými·ɛ

symiú·vi

symi·ɛ́·vi

PL

sýmion

sýmn·ɛ

sýmiun

symín·ɛ

symiú·vni

symi·ɛ́·vni


Sým comes from an original símu. Unlike other strong nouns, the Y is retained throughout the paradigm, and the full reinstated ending - not the original ending - is IU, which occurs in the construct and possessive forms. With cases, the final U is lost. The -ion ending is by analogy with I-stem nouns, the original -iun ending surviving in the construct plural.

Many Y-stem nouns - like dwýr, bow - decline like sým.

Other Types

Other types of nouns, while technically weak because they do not exhibit the historical strengthening sound changes, may have different stems, often produced by contraction or metathesis.


Nouns from Combinations

These are largely anomalous.


sémyl -ion: semyl-n; seml-o, tear, teardrop

Not all nouns with Y in the stem are strong. Sémyl, tear, is from an original sáme ílwo, water of the eye (or older forms of those words). It is similar to a strong noun in having separate stems for the absolute and construct, but does not decline like a strong Y-stem noun, having no historical -U ending.




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

sémyl

semýl·ɛ

sémlo

séml·ɛ

semló·vi

seml·ɛ́·vi

PL

semýlion

semýln·ɛ

sémlon

semlón·ɛ

semló·vni

seml·ɛ́·vni


sálitharh -un:salitharh-n; sal(i)tharh-u, hawkweed (orange)

Sálitharh is from an original sáli thárhu, spark of death. Owing to the residual stress on the first syllable of the first word, it usually loses the I in the long forms, in a position where it would otherwise be emphasised as a secondary stress.




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

sálitharh

salithárh·ɛ

salithárhu

salithárh·ɛ

saltharhú·vi

saltharh·ɛ́·vi

PL

salithárhun

salithárhn·ɛ

salithárhun

saltharhún·ɛ

saltharhú·vni

saltharh·ɛ́·vni

PL.2






saltharhn·ɛ́·vi


Nouns with Metathesised Stems

Many of these have DH in the stem. Again, the different stems are usually absolute-construct, although these are not strong nouns.

súmodh -on: sumodh-n;sumdh-o, drop

Súmodh is similar to a strong noun, except that the case endings replace the final vowel in the construct singular and possessive. Similarly sámnedh, construct saméndho, raindrop.






ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

súmodh

sumódh·ɛ

súmdho

súmdh·ɛ

sumdhó·vi

sumdh·ɛ́·vi

PL

sumódhon

sumódhn·ɛ

súmdhon

sumdhón·ɛ

sumdhó·vni

sumdh·ɛ́·vni


orwedh -en: orwedh-n; ordh(e)w-e, heather

Órwedh has a metathesised construct stem which also contracts in the long forms.




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

órwedh

orwédh·ɛ

ordhéwe

ordhéw·ɛ

ordhwé·vi

ordhw·ɛ́·vi

PL

orwédhen

orwédhn·ɛ

ordhéwen

ordhwén·ɛ

ordhwé·vni

ordhw·ɛ́·vni


Names for young people and family members have DH in the stem, and have similar declensions. Cárhodh, child, with construct cárhdho, is declined like súmodh. Cárhwedh, girl, and cárhyodh, boy, are declined similarly.


cárhwedh -en: carhwedh-n; cardhw-e, girl




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

cárhwedh

carhwédh·ɛ

cárdhwe

cárdhw·ɛ

cardhwé·vi

cardhw·ɛ́·vi

PL

carhwédhen

carhwédhn·ɛ

cárdhwen

cardhwén·ɛ

cardhwé·vni

cardhw·ɛ́·vni


Carhódhwe, daughter, and carhódhyo, son, have metathesised construct stems, and are declined as follows.

carhódhwe -n: carhodhw-en; carhdhow-e, daughter




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

carhódhwe

carhódhw·ɛ

carhdhówe

carhdhów·ɛ

carhdhowé·vi

carhdhow·ɛ́·vi

PL

carhódhwen

carhodhwén·ɛ

carhdhówen

carhdhowén·ɛ

carhdhowé·vni

carhdhow·ɛ́·vni

PL.2






carhdhòwen·ɛ́·vi


These have a variety of abbreviated forms. Cárwedh, girl, is routinely abbreviated to wédh, as follows.

wedh-e-n: wedh-n; dhw-e, girl




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

wédh~e

wédh·ɛ

dhwé

dhw·ɛ́

dhwé·vi

dhw·ɛ́·vi

PL

wédhen

wédhn·ɛ

dhwén

dhwén·ɛ

dhwé·vni

dhw·ɛ́·vni


The tilde sign indicates an optional ending. Similarly yódh~o, boy. The irregular-looking construct forms came to be used in patro- and matronymics, e.g. dhwé Brith, dhyó Brent, Brith’s girl and Brent’s boy, and accrued the meaning of ‘daughter’ and ‘son.’ Note that these are not abbreviations of carhódhwe and carhódhyo, daughter and son, for which the construct forms end in -dhówe and -dhóyo. Those words have their own abbreviations, as follows.

ódhwe -n: odhw-en; dhow-e, daughter




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

ódhwe

ódhw·ɛ

dhówe

dhów·ɛ

dhowé·vi

dhow·ɛ́·vi

PL

ódhwen

odhwén·ɛ

dhówen

dhowén·ɛ

dhowé·vni

dhow·ɛ́·vni

PL.2











dhowen·ɛ́·vi


This is simply carhódhwe with the carh- component removed.

The dhwé and dhyó forms then went on to form their own declensions, of which there are several variations. The first simply uses the construct forms as the absolutes of the new words.


dhwe -n: dhw-en;dhw-e, daughter





ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

dhwé

dhw·ɛ́

dhwé

dhw·ɛ́

dhwé·vi

dhw·ɛ́·vi

PL

dhwén

dhwén·ɛ

dhwén

dhwén·ɛ

dhwé·vni

dhw·ɛ́·vni


To complicate matters further, however, they are often combined like defective nouns. The most common version uses the absolute of ódhwe with the construct form dhwé. Less commonly, dhwé is used as the absolute, as above, but dhówe as the construct, on the analogy of ódhwe. The male versions are similar.

yódh-o, boy, construct dhyó
dhyó - son (of)
ódhyo - son, construct dhóyo, but often used as the absolute of dhyó.

The words for brother and sister do not have parallel forms, however. Gédhwe, sister, has a metathesised stem gwédhe, which is used in the construct, but unusually also in the absolute case plural.

gédhwe -n: gedhw-e ~gwedhn; gwedh-e, sister




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

gédhwe

gédhw·ɛ

gwédhe

gwédh·ɛ

gwedhé·vi

gwedh·ɛ́·vi

PL

gédhwen

gwédhn·ɛ

gwédhen

gwedhén·ɛ

gwedhé·vni

gwedh·ɛ́·vni

PL.2
















gwedhen·ɛ́·vi


On the other hand, gédhyo, brother, has no separate construct stem, but uses the gédhy- stem throughout, metathesising the absolute case plural to gédhny·ɛ.


Double Plurals and similar nouns.

Certain things are referred to in the plural in Kendri, much as we talk about trousers, scissors and gardens. The various words for gaols and prisons are based on plurals of mírgo, bar, which is declined like méndo (compare the phrase ‘behind bars’ in English.) The most common word is mírgen, but a less common word, mírgon, is clearer for purposes of illustration, as it is the plural of mírgo.

mírgon ~mirgnon; mirgn-+n;mirgn-o, prison




ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

mírgon

mírgn·ɛ

mírgno

mírgn·ɛ

mirgnó·vi

mirgn·ɛ́·vi

PL

mírgnon

mírgn·ɛn

mírgnon

mirgnón·ɛ

mirgnó·vni

mirgn·ɛ́·vni

PL.2


mirgnón·ɛ




mirgnon·ɛ́·vi


All except the absolute singular forms consist of a contracted stem mirgn- identical to the absolute case plural stem of mírgo, to which the usual endings are then added. However, in the absolute case plural the case ending is added directly to this stem and the second plural after that (the position is indicated by the + sign in the principal parts.) So words like this use the same contracted plural stem throughout except in the absolute singular. Mírgen declines in the same way, but with -e where mírgon has -o. Similarly umírgun, dungeons (the singular umírgu is also extant.)

(Note that the words for 'prison,' and in particular 'dungeon,' reflect a difference between Umurian (specifically, Western Umurian or Eldan) castles, and those of Medieval Europe, which typically had no permanent prisons. Their prevalence in Elda, and their derivation from words meaning 'bar' and 'cage' indicate that they were primarily used for retaining Ylfwe rather than humans, whether for use as slaves, or captives to be killed in arenas. Umirgun, here translated 'dungeons,' simply means 'low prisons,' or cages in the basement, and does not suggest the oubliette or bottle dungeon of gothic novel fame.)

Mirgéndo, literally ‘cage,’ also forms a double plural meaning ‘cells’, which declines like mírgon.

Some words form double plurals with different, often metaphorical meanings. So bírjon, plural of bírjo, bone, declines like mírgon with the meaning 'bravery,' and also gives rise to an abstract noun bírjnu, bravery, and an adverb bírjne, bravely.

Most words ending in -ur (known generally as honorifics, although they do not all have an honorary connotation) decline similarly, though without any plural background. Here again, the contracted stem is used throughout except in the absolute singular. However, the case absolute plural has the same form as the construct, instead of the form occasioned by the double plural.

ngámbur [~ngambrun: ngambr-un;ngambr-u] bear



ABSS

ABSS.OB

CNS

CNS.OB

POS

POS.OB

SG

ngámbur

ngámbr·ɛ

ngámbru

ngámbr·ɛ

ngambrú·vi

ngambr·ɛ́·vi

PL

ngámbrun

ngambrún·ɛ

ngámbrun

ngambrún·ɛ

ngambrú·vni

ngambr·ɛ́·vni

PL.2











ngambrun·ɛ́·vi


Úmur, the World, has the contracted stem Úmr-u only in the construct, and forms the conventional absolute case plural Umúrn·ɛ (although by definition it does not have a generally used plural, the form úmu being used in the general sense of world or planet.)
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