Nouns

This chapter elaborates on the difference between the two stem forms nouns may have and it is argued that linguistic rules which derive one stem from the other do not work. A plausible explanation is based on statistical information and is further motivated by the huge number of exceptions typical for such rules. A case is put up for just memorizing nouns with two stems. Next, the types of suffix that may be added to nominal stems are discussed together with the order in which they must appear. Sections on nominal inflection instantiating these types follow: plural, possessive, and case markers. Since the six case markers fulfil several non-related functions in the sentence, relatively much space is given to this topic. A short section on the spelling of proper names in relation to suffixation concludes this chapter.