Northian nouns

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Northian nominals are the nouns, adjectives, and some adverbs of the Northian language.

History

The Northian noun classes were named by Praetorianus of Duuora (c. 950? – 1027) in his studies on Galic language. Praetorianus was descended from Æþurian settlers who populated the north of the modern Northern States in the course of the 8th and 9th centuries. From a family seeking to build relations with the more southerly cities of Northian heritage, he was sent to take holy orders in the city of Cleiden at the age of 16; he first spent four years acquiring the Galic language before joining the order of training-priests and then graduating to an under-priest in 978, the first firm date of his biography. He celebrated his promotion as plenary priest in 993 with a large banquet for over 100 guests.

Later in life, he published in West Nordic on his priestly career, in which a full third was spent describing the way the language was taught in Cleiden. He engaged in an early form of comparative linguistics and identified many cognate words in Elder Nordic and Galic Northian. For example he said sunuz was the same as huiiuš and furthermore all genitives ending in -auz in Nordic ended in -ō in Northian. He did not discover any evolutionary principles between the two languages, considering them the same language, and instead attributed the difference to speech speed, as according to him, -auz spoken quickly was the same as -ō. In his effort to describe Northian, he summarized the various noun paradigms under the heading of an exemplar, which is still followed in modern education and called elsewhere the Praetorianian caput.

The pre-praetorianian method of language instruction followed the order of words in which they were encountered in the Gales, which intermixed the different parts of speech.

Stem types

-C -t -m -n -r -s -i -u -ī -ū -H -r/n -nt
OX-B About 80 root nouns and suffixed nouns in -k, -l, -ns, -d, etc., fos = "foot", xō = "heart" A few in -ōs, nepōs "child"; -it melit "honey"; -ut xaput "head" About 20 feminine, in -ō or -am, xay-ō "winter" Many, in -ō and -ə̄, often binds m-, s-, t-, i-, u-, H-, θxām-ō "human" haz-r "arm" and personal, feminizing suffix -ez-r A handful in -ā̊, awšt-ā̊ "dawn"; the perf. act. ptcpl. wayδuš "knowing" Some in -ō and -iš, hak-ō "friend, ally", ow-iš = "ewe"; neuter var. in -ai, oxϑ-ay "finger" A few dozen in -ōš or -uš, han-uš "jaw" Some in -ī, wrk-ī "wolfess" A handful in -ū, ϑen-ū "body" fənδōy, "path" Derived coll. of heteroclitics, in -r ~ n-, ō-grade in nom. > -ā̊   A few in -āṯ, dāṯ = "tooth"  
OX-A No Productive suffix -tāt-, āβr-tās "immortality" and -tūt-, wəš-tūs "moistness" No Productive, in -ṓ and -ā̊ Productive through agentive -ter, duhiϑ-ṓ "daughter" Productive, comparatives in -yā̊- maz-yā̊ "bigger", perf. act. ptcpl. in -wā̊-, βeβiž-wā̊ "trusting" Verbal nouns, middle, in -doi, št-oi "an eating" Certain denominal nouns, in -ṓ, piϑr-ṓ "uncle" Non-ablauting feminine derivatives in -ī́ No Certain nouns in -dōy, žβā-dōi "libation-giver" No Productive pres. aor. act. ptcpl. of thematic verbs, in -ās hadáʸy-ās "sitting"
PX No No No Productive, neuter var. of OX n-stems, exhibiting same bound suffixes yāϑr, "husband's sister" Productive, neuter var. of OX s-stems, in -ō; neβ-ō "cloud", xrat-ō "power" Productive, animate in -iš, action nouns -tiš, zāt-iš "a step"; neuter in -i, mər-i "sea" Productive, animate in -uš, wiš-t-úš "witness"; neuter in -ū, oii-ū "life" Proliferate suffix deriving feminines in -ī; geniϑr-ī "genitrix" Same as -ī but more common in adjectives, in -ū; hozr-ū "mother-in-law" bā̊ "wife" Neuter, in -r ~ n- suffix, yaH-arə "year"; more in -tr, -mr, -zr No
PP About 30 root and suffixed nouns in obstruent stems nox-ṯ "night", haš-ṯ "bed", xom-d "hand" tā̊ "house" Extended with -n-s, maHā "moon" māϑ-r "mother", βrāϑ-r "brother" zraw-š "gore" aŋhi "serpent" Neuter nouns in -ū, gon-ū "knee", wəšt-ū "settlement" Feminine pres. aor. act. ptcpl. with static accent, déδāṯīš "of the giveress" No A few, particularly neuter in -i, ošti "bone" A few, in -r ~ n-, f-ō "shrine" A few nouns; pres. aor. act. ptcpl. with static accent, déδāṯ "giving"

As appears from this schematic, most suffixes are associated with more than one accentual pattern. But even in Galic, the majority of suffixes have only one productive accentual pattern or separate productive patterns associated with masculine-feminine gender and neuter gender (the case of the n-stems and s-stems). Additionally, some suffixes are only productive through petrified compounds, which tended to be hysterokinetic and have invariant stems, such as the comparative in -yā̊- and perfect active participle in -wā̊-; otherwise, the s-stems in amphikinetic is non-productive.

Where there are multiple productive accentuation patterns, neuter nouns are almost always identified with the proterokinetic pattern, and masculine-feminine with the hysterokinetic or amphikinetic. The exception is for i-stems and u-stems, wherein proterokinetic accentuation is standard, and particularly productive through the compound with -t.

As is generally observed across all the Erani-Eracuran daughter languages, the suffixes ending in resonants and semivowels, i.e. n-, i-, and u-stems, tend to be productive over the suffixes in stops. There is some speculation why this is the case, one theory being the resonants were able to be vocalized as syllables and thus did not produce illegal clusters of consonants, given the tendency to delete vowels in unaccent positions. It is argued that the compound suffixes, which often mix one stop and one resonant are the results of transferrals from suffixes in stops to those in resonants; if so, these transferrals must have occurred quite early, as their older siblings in stops generally do not leave visible remnants in attested languages.

Unlike verbal formations, where suffixes often have specific meanings and exist as part of the standard morphology of verbs, the meanings of noun suffixes are barely if at all recoverable. Synchronically, there is no obvious meaning to most of the suffixes present in Galic, even the productive ones, above a rudimentary association with certain parts of speech from which a noun is derived. For example, the -tiš nouns most often are nomina actionis derived from verbs, -tuš having a similar function, -tāt and -tūt deriving states of being, but there is no comparable explanation for their common constituent -t-, which appears as an independent suffix in nouns like haš-t and nep-ot.

Root nouns ending in stops

The category of consonant-stems consist only of those that end in -p and -k, and all are root nouns, as apparently the parent language did not have any suffixes that ended in *-p or *-k, with one exception for the adjective meraxš "soft". There are two ablaut-cum-accent patterns attested in these nouns: one is static on the root syllable, and another shifts to the ending in oblique cases. The static accent is generally (but not universally) seen with the lengthening of the root syllable in direct cases. Phonetically, the obstruents p- and k- are rarely subject to alteration, except before the nom. sing. ending -s where they become fricativized to f- and x-, respectively.

The noun āfš < PEE *h₂ēp-s "river" is often the poster-boy of the Northian nouns due to its straightforward forms and clear ablaut alteration between ā ~ a. Here we also encounter the first diachronic variation: in the Didaskalic Material (noted in small type dm) the long grade is deployed only in the nominative singular, since the long grade was more typically associated with that desinence by way of the much commoner amphikinetic and hysterokinetic nouns. Theoretically, given this tendency, we should also expect the DM to yield nom. du. *apa with the short grade of the stem, but that cannot be confirmed either way as it is not attested there (also noted for interest). In the plural, there is attested a separate collective apō "the divine waters", which has singular number and no separate accusative form.

ap "force" is used for neuter nouns, displaying PEE e ~ Ø ablaut > Galic o ~ Ø. Forms with initial b- are due to vocalization of initial *p-.

hā āfš, "river" θaṯ op, "force"
sing du pl sing du pl
nom āfš āpi
dm ?		 āpaŋhā op opī opi
voc ap
acc āba
dm apa		 abā̊
gen afš apuš apõm bō bōš bõm
loc api apū apšū opi fštū
dat afma afmuš bā βmō βmuš
ins api dm aōβiiōḫ bōi βžβiiōḫ

t-stems

Ablauting nouns

The stems ending in -t comprise both of root nouns and suffixed nouns. They are underlyingly the same as other obstruent stems but are distinguished in that final -s is preserved in the nominative case, at the expense of *-t-. t-stems not part of a compound suffix such as -tāt- and -tūt- are rare and are descended mainly from the amphikinetic ablaut type.

nēpōs "grandchild" has the stem nep-ot-, where the suffix undergoes ablaut to zero grade in the oblique cases as *nep-t- > nef-θ-.

ha nēpōs, "grandchild"
sing du pl
nom nēpōṯ nepotōi neptaHā
voc
acc nepotā neptā
gen āptō neptō neptõm
loc nepeti nefšu
dat neptā neptmō nepšmuš
ins nepti

Non-ablauting animates

The PEE suffix *-teh₂ts created nouns of states of being. Inherited examples are mainly of hysterokinetic origin, which had the zero grade of the root, but later creations may bind the full grade. The suffix is non-ablauting and takex oxytone endings. The following example has many cognates in EE languages and is from a common root *n̥-mr̥teh₂ts > Galic āmarətāṯ.

hā āmarətāṯ, "immortality"
sing du pl
nom āmarətāṯ āmarətāϑōi āmarətāϑaHā
voc
acc āmarətāϑa āmarətāϑā̊
gen āmarətāϑō āmarətāϑō āmarətāϑõm
loc āmarətāϑi āmarətāštū
dat āmarətāϑā āmarətāsmō āmarətāsmuš
ins āmarətāϑōi

Neuters

This group of neuter nouns combines suffix -t with a semivowel (-it or -ut) or resonant (-n̥t). Neither the stem nor suffix displays ablaut, and accent is persistent over the root.

hā melit, "honey"
sing du pl
nom melit melitī meliti
voc
acc
gen melitō melitō melitam
loc melit melištū
dat melitā melismō melismuš
ins meliti
hā kaput, "head"
sing du pl
nom kaput kaputī kaputi
voc
acc
gen kaputō kaputō kaputam
loc kaput kapušū
dat kaputā kapusmō kapusmuš
ins kaputōi

The term ezat has the zero-grade of the stem *-nt. This word is an apparent exception to Cloverdale's law, as the suffix always appears written short, regardless of the quantity of the preceding vowel.

hā ezat, "food"
sing du pl
nom ezat ezatī kaputi
voc
acc
gen ezatō ezatō ezatam
loc ezat ezašū
dat ezatā ezasmō ezasmuš
ins ezatōi

hašt and non-ablauting items

These are t-stem nouns with acrostatic inflection. The nominative was evidently asigmatic < *ses-t, from *ses- "to rest". The genitive haš must represent *has-t-s, the final consonant cluster being resolved in favour of *s.

hā hašt, "bed"
sing du pl
nom hašt hašti haštā
voc
acc hašta
gen haš haštuš haštõm
loc hašti haštū hašū
dat haštmō haštmuš
ins

Interestingly, the dual hašti is more frequent than singular hašt and has singular meaning. It is possible that the singular had the sense of a bed-end rather than the entire bed.

The very well-attested word nōxt "evening, night" is usually thought to be a root noun with persistent accent on the initial syllable at the Proto-Erani-Eracuran level, but some authorities consider the root to be *(d)negʷ-, extended by the suffix -t-. Whatever the case in the parent language, the -t- never takes full grade even in the nom. du. and pl. Thus its behaviour is identical to that of hašt. xašt "hunger" is another word which is acrostatically accented; the expected form is *xošt, but the attested vowel is /a/, which may signify a (very) early borrowing from another Erani-Eracuran language that is not attested.

The word for "ten" in compounds of multiple of ten, e.g. twenty, thirty, etc. displays the zero grade and is apparently extended by suffix *-t, -tkaṯ < *-dḱm̥-t.

  • θrítkaṯ < *tri-dḱm̥-t, "thirty"
  • kóswr̥tkaṯ < *kʷetwr̥-dḱm̥-t, "forty"
  • patótkaṯ < *pn̥kʷe-dḱm̥-t, "fifty"
  • xšwáxštkaṯ < *ksweks-dḱm̥-t, "sixty"
  • háptatkaṯ < *septm̥-dḱm̥-t, "seventy"

nt-stems

The nt-stems are very closely associated with the formation of the present active participle in -nt-. But while participles are adjectives that have distinct gendered forms that agree with their principals, nt-stem nouns have the form of the masculine participle and a lexical gender (that is, the noun can have feminine gender but will always have the same inflectional endings as the masculine participle). In the following example, the oblique stem is from *h₁dn̥t-; as the vocalic *n̥ indeed follows two consonants, it is short by Cloverdale's law. In the acc pl, the -ā ending is for *-ah, which is regular following two consonants, disclosing the strong stem ending in *ent- that has been replaced by the oblique in at-.

hā dənt, "tooth"
sing du pl
nom dənt
lg dən		 dəntōi dəntaHā
voc
acc dənta datā
gen datō datō datām
loc dənti
lg dati		 daśtū
dat datā daśmō daśmuš
ins datōi

m-stems

This class is known from only a few but important nouns, e.g. ϑázā "earth, ground" and xaō "winter". All m-stem nouns in Northian are feminine in gender, though with only a few examples, this may not be a rule in the proto-language. The later the time period, the more the m-stem group tended to become merged with the n-stems, usually thought to be due to assimilation in some case-forms and the common irregular accusative that occurs in both groups and then generates similar results.

As Proto-Erani-Eracuran had a strict rule against geminates, the accusative morpheme *-m causes a geminate to occur in m-stems in both the singular and the plural. In the singular, the long vowel accusative results, while in the plural the sequence of *CVC-em-ms generated -ōi. This also happens to be evidence that the acc pl was originally a case with the strong stem, even though all attested m-stems terms have weak stem: only a full-grade suffix in this position could generate the required *-ē > -ōi.

ziiō

Outside of nouns, it is also known in numerals for 1, 7, and 10—hā̊ hafθa tezā—and the solitary adjective mərā "particulate, ground up". Some authorities believe many m-stems may have, during the time of the proto-language, been either remade to thematic neuters by the insertion of the theme vowel *e ~ o or had an additional *-n appended after *m-, giving rise to the multitude of n-stems of the -mn- type, wherein the -m- is of otherwise unexplained origin. But both hypotheses suffer from the mismatch of grammatical gender—virtually all m-stems in Erani-Eracuran languages are attested as feminine in gender, not neuter.

hā ziiō, "winter" = hiemps
sing du pl
nom ziiō ziiamōi ziiamaHā
voc ziiam
acc xaiiā̊ xaiiōi
gen ximō ximō ximām
loc ximām xīsū
dat ximā ximuš
ins ximōi ximβiyō

ϑázā

Most suffixed nouns with OX inflection have a long o-grade suffix in the nominative singular, cf. xaiiō, akin to the n-stems. Indeed, given phonetic change, *-ōm and *-ōn cannot be told apart, so it is possible this ending has been transported from the n-stems or generalized in the proto-language or later. Yet in the nom. sing. ϑázā xmō "earth" has an ultima reflecting a zero grade as in *dʰégʰ-m̥. Had the second vowel been a typical long o-grade, it would have become *ō and would not elide the guttural consonant, giving *ϑáɣō.

In the acc, the sequence *-em-m̥ in the proto-language resolves prehistorically to *-ēm via Stang's law and appears in Galic as -ā̊, while the equivalent sequence for n-stems *-en-m̥ yielded Northian -əmā.

hā ϑázā, "ground, earth" = χθών
sing du pl
nom ϑázā
voc
acc xōi lg ϑámō
gen xmō
loc xšam
dat xmā
ins xmōi

To this table above must be subjoined that xā̊ < *ǵʰḗm < *dʰǵʰém-m̥ is only found in a handful of instances in Galic Period I, and even there it is not exclusive. The proto-form of the accusative is uncertain, since many authorities predict this word should have a full-grade root syllable, which should result in dysyllabic *θaɣā̊. But the form actually found is monosyllabic, which could only come from a zero-grade root. If the oblique stem *dʰǵʰm- was later introduced to replace the nominative stem, the resulting form would have been expected xam, with the *m of the stem probably vocalized as short by position.

n-stems

This group of nouns, all with a stem ending in -n, had numerous subtypes. Some of them were proliferate in Northian, while others were vestigial. Their phonetic outcomes can be quite different due to the paradigmatically irregular vocalization of resonants, which are particularly common because the resonant suffix is often attached to another resonant. It appears the suffix -n could be attached to nearly all other suffixes at some point in the prehistory of the language, with only the combination of *-r-n- being unattested. The common feature of all n-stem nouns is that the primary ablauting element is the syllable containing -n-, with or without the root syllable also participating; all other suffixes do not ablaut when followed by the -n suffix.

As a general observation, most n-stems can be divided into those of amphikinetic origin and those of hysterokinetic origin. Only the latter are productive in the recent prehistory of Northian. Amphikinetic nouns, e.g. laēmō "lake", always have an accented root in the nominative singular and more often than not lose the final *-n there; the kʷetwóres rule applies to them in the accusative singular, as the shape of the stem is always *CéC-on- > *CeC-ón, e.g. limōi. Hysterokinetic nouns have accented suffixes and endings, while the root is never accented. Amphikinetic nouns are actively transferred into the hysterokinetic paradigm during the historical period and thereby acquire an invariant root, which may retain the full grade or receive the zero grade instead.

mn-stems

A common subtype of the n-stems is through the suffix *-mn-, which is common in Northian. The OX pattern was normal for animate nouns, and the PX in neuter nouns. Items with this inflection can further be divided into sub-classes: some are of amphikinetic origin like asmō in the following example, while others are of hysterokinetic origin.

In ā́smō "life", the nom. singular ending -ō (which occludes the stem consonant) arises due to the effects of a sound law that deleted final *-n in the environment of *-ōn, though some related languages have either retained or restored this stem final *-n. A few ablauting nouns in this class have an accented root in the direct cases and accented ending in oblique cases, except in the locative singular where the accented suffix is attested (note that "ablauting nouns" in Northian usually refers to root-ablauting nouns, rather than suffix-ablauting nouns, as these are regular).

In the accusative singular and plural the deletion of geminate consonants operates after adjacent nasals assimilate in early Northian history, causing compensatory lengthening of the suffix syllable *-en- in each case the ending *-m disappears.

There are two phonologically-regular oblique stems arising conditionally: where the ending began with a vowel, the *m part of the suffix -mn- was vocalized, and where it began with a consonant, *n was vocalized instead. Thus, the gen sing is tanō and gen du smaHō, given the presence of a laryngeal in the latter. Yet it should be noted that such a regular application of the vocalization rule is exceptional. Most nouns have generalized the vocalization pattern of *-m̥n- rather than *-mn̥-, possibly because the commonly-used cases tended to begin with vowels and trigger *-m̥n-.

Owing to the presence of an o-grade following an e-grade in a three-syllable word, the kʷetwóres rule intervenes in the nom pl and shifts the accent to the suffix syllable. The apparent e-grade is considered an analogy to the en-stems. The rule does not operate regularly in case the final syllable is long, but here the final syllable actually reflects short *-eH, which entertains the rule and also shifts the accent to the o-grade.

ha ā́smō, "life"
sing du pl
nom ā́smō āsmә́nōi āsmә́naHā
voc ā́smən
acc ā́smōi smə̄ŋh
gen tanō smaHō tanõm
loc smən smahū
dat tanā smamō tanuš
ins tanōi smaβiiō

fnaōmin "breath" is an ablauting mn-stem noun with PX inflection. Owing to its semantic connection with fraōmō "lung" as well as the shape of the oblique stem under the influence of u, the alternate spelling fraōmin is also seen, for example G.Nr. 1477 mōi βā xšəm apū praōmənō praōmən dite "By the Earth, let therefore not [his] breaths be given away from his two lungs". But these two words are from etymologically unrelated roots.

ϑaṯ ϑərma, "edge"
sing du coll
nom ϑərma ϑә́ranī ϑərmā̊
voc
acc
gen ϑarəmáŋh ϑarəmә́nuš ϑarəmә́nõm
loc ϑarəmә́ni ϑarəmənū ϑarəmāhū
dat ϑarəmә́nō ϑarəmāmuš
ins ϑarəmāβiiō

apṓ

apṓ "holy waters" < *h₂ep-Hō(n) has the same suffix, but preceded by a laryngeal that colours the vowel. As a result, the rule that deletes final resonants following lengthened *-ō comes into play and produces the same ending as the animate mō-stems. But here in the gen. and loc. du. it is the suffix *-n- that becomes vocalized when followed by a consonant. The resulting vowel is short on account of the preceding laryngeal, with regular alterations of quality and quantity to surrounding vowels.

voc sing ápan has regular recessive accent for vocatives; otherwise accent is regularly on the suffix syllable. acc pl requires the weak stem of *h₂ep-Hn-m̥s. Under Cloverdale's law, interconsonantal laryngeals count as consonants, which means the word is underlyingly scanned as *h₂epH-nm̥s; thus the vocalized *m̥ will be short and produce *-ah > -āʰ. In some Early Galic phrases, this word was indeed only dysyllabic and not trisyllabic as the orthography suggests, recovering the extreme antiquity of the scansion of -i- as a laryngeal consonant.

hā apṓ, "holy waters"
sing du pl
nom apṓ aponōi apə̄naHā
voc ápən
acc apə̄nā apnā
gen apnō apə̄nō apnõm
loc apə̄n apšū
dat apnā apmō apmuš
ins

xaēñin

This group of nouns had the compound suffix *-i-n- and showed no ablaut, irrespective of gender.

ha xaēnin, "girl"
sing du pl
nom xaēnin xaēninōi xaēninaHā
voc
acc xaēninā xaēninā̊
gen xaēnī xaēninō xaēninõm
loc xaēnini xaēnaŋhū
dat xaēninā xaēninmō xaēninmuš
ins xaēninōi xaēnimβiyō

xrauuštō, anžiiō

ha xrauuštō, "reputation, honour"
sing du pl
nom xrauuštō xrauuštenōi xrauuštónaŋhāʰ
voc xrauuštan
acc xrauuštṓnəm xrauužnā̊
gen xrauužnōḫ xrauužnōš xrauužnõm
loc xrauuštan xrauužnō xrauužnū
dat xrauužnai xrauužnmō xrauužnmuš
ins xrauužnōi xrauužāβiiōḫ
ha yaoxštō, "team of draft animals"
sing du pl
nom yaoxštō yaoxštenōi yaoxštonaŋhāʰ
voc yaoxštan
acc yaoxštinąm yaoxštanā̊
gen yāoxnōḫ yāoxnōš yāoxnõm
loc yaoxštan yāoxnō yāoxnū
dat yāoxnai yaoxštmō yāoxāmuš
ins yāoxnōi yāoxzāmβiiōḫ

hmərun

There is some debate over the origin of this class of nouns that seemed to be rare otherwise in the other daughter languages, as there are few comparanda. Such a conspicuous absence of comparanda could very well indicate this type was young or even arose after Northian had split off from the parent language. In support of that chronologization, all members of this class had completely non-ablauting roots with accented full grade, and an invariant suffix in zero-grade. The stem nevertheless exhibits inverse vocalization patterns depending on the vocalism of the ending, which means it must at least predate the vocalization of syllabic resonants.

A few members of this class are also neuter in gender, which are declined with the same apophonic pattern, except with accusatives identical to the nominative; some of them are associated with the acrostatic u-stem, e.g. hánun "knee". It has been noted this entire declensional pattern reminiscs of the old acrostatic neuter pattern ending in *-u, only enlarged with a suffix *-n of unclear function. That connection is mooted by a unique, newly-identified (2020) instance of gen sg ending -ū in G.Nr. 1127 hánū, which by that analysis represent the zero-grade genitive ending in *-un-s. Such a form would be difficult to ascribe as a recent innovation. As yet, it is not agreed which type was the older or if they share a common origin; the more prevalent view regards the neuter type as the original, and the non-neuter type as secondary to other nouns.

The Nordic scholar Havarsson has connected this suffixal *-n to the Nordic weak noun declension, which were n-stems in the ancestral language, saying "this mysterious Galic word could bear witness to the ancient origin of the weak nouns, hitherto believed to be a young and deviant noun type." Yet he also provides that since hanun is a hapax legomenon and is glossed as an equivalent to nom sg hánū "knee", it would be most difficult to explain functionally how these formations are alike in origin.

ho hmərun, "bone marrow"
sing du pl
nom hmərun hmərunōi hmərunaHā
voc
acc hmərum hmərū
gen hmərunō hməruuaHō hmərunam
loc hməruni hməruuāhū
dat hmərunā hməruuāmō hməruuāmuš
ins hmərū hməruuāβiiō

bare n-stems

There are also n-stems not part of a compound suffix like *-mn-. They are rarer and sometimes emphasized as "bare" n-stems. They are of two types, distinguished in the nom. sing., those with -ō and those with -ā̊. Though less common, they are typical of adjectival origin and often family names; the Venetian name Cato is a cognate example, < *kat-ōn "the smart one".

In uə̄rštā̊ "male of an animal", of the type ending in -ō, PNN stems are ablauting *uors-on- and *uərəs-n-. In the nom. sing. the root vowel is lengthened, occasioning the loss of the root-final resonant prehistorically. As it will appear, the stem-final -n- is vocalized if the ending begins with a consonant; the gen. and loc. du. begin with the prehistoric laryngeal, which still trigger vocalization and are reflected as Galic hiatus and quantitative and qualitative alteration. After *r and its vocalized allophone, *s obligatorily becomes š, which cannot precede a vowel directly and to which a t is added. However, this addition is chronologically late and therefore applicable to the loc. and gen. du. forms, even though earlier they were considered to begin with consonants and trigger vocalization.

ho uxšō, "bull"
sing du pl
nom uxšō uxšənōi uxšənā
voc uxšən
acc uxšənā uxnā
gen uxnō uxšənō uxšənõm
loc uxšəni uxšahū
dat uxnā
uxšənā		 uxšamō uxšamuš
ins uxnōi uxšaβyō

r-stems

duxiϑṓ

duxiϑṓ "daughter" represents the oxytone group of the r-stems, which includes many agentive nouns that terminate in *-tēr.

Similarly inflected: fϑō piϑrō "father", nomina agentis in -ā̊ and -ō.

hā tuxiϑṓ, "daughter"
sing du pl
nom dukiϑṓ dukitərōi dukitəraHā
voc
acc duxiϑərā dúxiϑrā̊
loc duxiϑəri duxiϑarHṓ duxiϑrštū
gen duxiϑrō duxiϑrõm
dat duktrā duxiϑrmṓ duxiϑrmō
ins duxiϑrōi duxiϑrβiyōḫ

mā̊tar

mā̊tar "mother" represents the group with inherited acrostatic pattern, whose accent persists on the root syllable and always takes suffix and ending in zero-grade. βrātar "brother" is declined in like manner.

gen.sg mā̊tarəš from *meh₂tr̥s. nom.pl, aside from more frequent mā̊traHā, has alloforms mā̊traH ~ mā̊traHaH preserved in Old Material, in spondee and bacchius positions; these attested to the more archaic simplex nom.pl ending *-es as well as complex *-eses. The bacchius reading precedes another word that beings with *s-, whereby degemination between words caused the ending to lose its final consonant.

The acc.pl mā̊tərā seems to reflect PEE *meh₂tr̥n̥s (for expected *meh₂tern̥s), while most daughters reflect *meh₂tern̥s. The form is a prima facie deviation from the general rule of resonant vocalization, but the vocalization of *r̥ could have been carried over from the gen. sing., where it is the only resonant that could be vocalized; moreover, it is a perfect match with Xevdenite mātərąs, hinting that the vocalization of -n̥s was not a firm rule in the proto-language. Perhaps the lack of vocalization here could also be explained by analogy to the acc. sing., where the -m is never vocalized.

In Galic, mā̊tar "two mothers" is often an ellipsis for "mother and father".

hā mā̊tar, "mother"
sing du pl
nom mā̊tar mā̊tar mā̊traHā
~ mā̊traHaH
~ mā̊traH
voc
acc mā̊tra mā̊tərā
gen mā̊tarəš mā̊taruš mā̊tram
loc mā̊tar mā̊tarū mā̊tərəšū
dat mā̊tri mā̊tərəmō mā̊tərəmuš
ins mā̊trōi mā̊tərəβiiō

yāϑr

hā yāϑr, "husband's brother's wife"
sing du pl
nom yāϑr yaϑəra yaϑeraŋhāʰ
voc
acc yaϑram yāϑrā̊
gen yaϑōs yaϑəruš yaϑrõm
loc yaϑéri yaϑərū yaϑrštū
dat yaϑərma yaϑərmuš
ins yaϑəra yaϑərβyōḫ

Feminines in -zarə

Certain Northian nouns formed feminine counterparts with the suffix *-sr.

hā hwózr, "sister"
sing du pl
nom hwózr hwozórōy hwózoraŋhāʰ
voc
acc hwozóram huzrā̊
gen huzrōʰ huzrōʷ huzrõm
loc huzeri huzrštū
dat huzrma huzrmuš
ins huzra huzrβyōḫ

l-stems

There are a few nouns which anciently had an ablauting stem ending in -l, the most important being āuuarə "Sun", nəmβar "navel", naōgar "nail", əṇgar "coal-fire", and abar "apple". Aside from nəmβar, a feminine noun, all attested l-stems are neuter heteroclitics that attest a stem in -n in oblique cases.

For the most part, l-stems are indistinguishable from r-stems since the two sounds merge completely in Northian, but traces of their former existence can be seen. Since the parent language prohibited geminates, the sequence of nom.sg *CVr-r̥ would simplify to *CVr-, which appears endingless and is indeed found in that shape in Northian. But if the suffix had been *-l̥, this sound does not degeminate and surfaces in Northian as CVr-r instead, as in pərarə "a type of food-offering", reflecting *per-l̥; this forms, indeed, a minimal pair with pər < *per(-r̥) "mountain".

s-stems

The s-stem nouns can be divided into two classes, more numerous, neuter nouns like xrétō and animate nouns like awšā̊. The former suffix exhibits qualitative ablaut from *-os ~ es-, while the second class has a more conventional, quantitative -os ~ s- pattern.

xrétō

The os/es-stems are a class of very common neuter nouns in Northian and are directly cognate to those found in Nordic languages, where the ablaut surfaces as -az ~ iz-.

In PX the nom sing ended in -ō < *-os, a bare stem. The suffix ablauted to -es- for all oblique cases, but here the ending once again acts prominently on the suffix. If the ending did not begin with a voiceless stop, the -s- of the suffix disappeared or become -H- intervocalically and coloured any neighbouring /e/ to /a/. As a result, the gen. ended in -aHā < *-es-es. If the ending began with a voiced consonant, the -s- elided and caused compensatory lengthening to the preceding *e-, which surfaced as -aē- instead. The gen loc du endings began with a laryngeal consonant, which assimilated with the preceding -s- and was deleted.

θaṯ xrétō, "intellect, power"
sing du pl
nom xrétō xrétaHā
e xrétā		 xrétā̊
voc
acc
gen xrétaHā
e xrétā		 xrétaHuš
e xrétōš		 xrétaHam
e xrétām
loc xrétā xrétaHū
e xrétō		 xrétahū
dat xrétaHā
e xrétā		 xrétaēmō xrétaēmuš
ins xrétaēβiyō

aōšā̊

The noun aōšā̊ "dawn" has feminine gender and therefore a distinct accusative. The noun had three stems: the strong stem which appears in the sing. nom. and voc. comes from PEE *h₂eu̯s-os-, with regular lengthening of the final syllable anticipating a zero nominative ending; the middle stem appears in the other direct cases and is from *h₂us-es-; the weak stem appears in all other cases and is from *h₂us-s-, which dissimilated to ušt- in Northian, with full-grade endings as expected in OX nouns. The acc. sing. shows elision of *z and compensatory lengthening. The *z was generated before a syllabic nasal *m̥.

hā aōšā̊, "dawn"
sing du pl
nom aōšā̊ ušaHā ušáHā
voc aōšō
acc ušézā uštā
gen uštō uštō uštām
loc ušā ūštū
dat uštā ušmō ušmuš
ins uštōi užβiyō

i-stems

mātiš

The i-stems were a prolific class of nouns in Northian during the Galic period. In the proto-language, the i-stems were completely parallel to the u-stems in virtually all ways, but due to sound changes their surface forms in Northian are quite different. Accordingly, they are considered separate classes in Northian tradition.

The PX pattern of the i-stems gained primacy early in Northian history, and these nouns proliferated, being built to a variety of roots. These nouns usually show no root ablaut, but the example provided here does. Where the root did not show ablaut, the accent was presistent on the suffix, even in zero-grade. The other forms require little comment, other than the gen. and loc. du. and gen. pl. where the suffix *-i is consonantal before endings beginning with a vowel, which here triggers the palatalization of preceding *-t.

Of the neuter nouns in -i, only one example can be considered original to the parent language, that being məʸri "sea". Most other neuter nouns can be shown to be petrified neuter forms of adjectives in i-stem. It is assumed that the neuter i-stems would have formed a collective in the same way as the u-stems, but such is not attested.

hā mātiš, "thought" ϑaṯ məri, "sea"
sing du pl sing du coll
nom mātiš mātī mātaiiā məri
voc māti
acc mātī
loc mātō mātaiiō mātišū
gen mātaiiuš mātaiiõm
dat mātaiiā mātimō mātimuš
ins mātī mātiβiiō

ākō

The OX pattern of the i-stems was moderately productive in Galic times and less so by later ages. In the nominative du. and pl., the suffix is in long o-grade; the suffix consonantal *-i is lost. The same deletion corresponds exactly with forms found in archaic grammars in Syaran and Tennite languages, so the dropping of final -i is likely to have been old.

Perhaps owing to the phonetic similarity between the dual and plural nom. forms, *-ē > -ōi, which is not expected after i-, often displaces the expected -ā. However, there is also a hapax of short -e found in Galic and in final position, which suggests the -ōi may be a late alteration, inserted after du *-aH had ceased to be distinguishable in speech from pl *-ah.

This pattern has a neuter equivalent that ended in -ā < *-ei̯ in the nominative; otherwise, oblique cases inflect identically. This neuter pattern is very rare and only present in a few examples like óxϑā "palm", whose archaic dual form óxϑō means "eight".

ho ākō, "friend, ally" = socius θaṯ óxϑā, "palm"
sing du pl sing du pl
nom ākō hokoiiā
dm hokoyōi		 hokoiiā óxϑā óxϑō
voc
acc hokiiā
loc hokā škiHō škišū
gen hiiō hiiõm
dat hiiā škimō škimuš
ins škiβiiō

u-stems

Ablauting u-stems in PX

etó hūiiuš, "child" = υἱύς etóṯ oiiū, "life, generation"
sing du pl sing du coll
nom hūiiúš hūiiū hūiiáuuā oiiū oiiō
voc hūiiū
acc hūiiúm hū́iiū
var. həruuā
gen hūiiō hūiiáuuō hūiiauuam
loc hūiiū hūiiušū
dat hūiiumō hūiiumuš
ins hūiiū hūiiumβiiō

The PX pattern in u-stem nouns is very prolific in both the Galic and Epic languages. Many are abstract nouns with the ending -tuš, though combinations with -m- and -s- are also seen.

The nom. ended in -uš. While many Northian nouns showed root ablaut, none of the nouns in the pattern of hūiiúš do and therefore have all components in zero grade in the nom sing; the hypothetical forms *haōiiuš < *sewHyus or *sowHyus might be expected based on general ablaut tendencies, but it is in fact the phonological pre-form of hūiiúš that is reflected in all Erani-Eracuran languages, showing, if once these nouns had a full-grade root, that the spread of the zero-grade root probably occurred in the proto-language. Yet it is also suspected this pattern only became productive after root ablaut ceased to be productive, as suffix ablaut is aberrant compared to other stem types (viz. below).

Note the voc.sing form hūiiū which contrasts with acc.pl hū́iiū only by accent.

The gen., dat., and loc. forms are all hūiiō in the oldest texts, but they have different sources. The gen. ended in *-ou̯-s, where *-s has dropped after the final resonant, giving *-ōu̯, which changed to -ō in Northian in final position. In the dat. and loc. the final *-i is lost after the stem resonant. But the stem-final -u̯ lingers as a spectre in sandhi: a following *-kʷe delabializes and becomes -xa < *-ke. In the later Gales, a final -s is often restored to the genitive unless prohibited by metre. In this instance, Northian presents the most archaic forms and demonstrates that widespread compensatory lengthening had indeed occurred prior to analogical restoration, which in all other branchs obscured the outcome of the sound change. The Northian restoration of -s must be later than the period when -s is retroflexed after *-w, as it is written -s.

The nom. du. has the ending -ū, which is from *-u-h₁, and then the gen. has -áuuō < *-ew-ow; both have unexpected ablaut grades. It has been suggested the full grade in the gen. could have been introduced from the singular; if so, it must have been before the final *-ow > -ō. The loc. du. has -ū, which must reflect *-u-u, but this an irregular syncopation acorss a laryngeal boundary, which is otherwise well-preserved in Northian.

The nom. pl. has the expected forms, while the acc. pl. shows the suffix in the weak grade, *-u-ns > Galic -ū. The weak suffix in the acc. pl. is often taken as a sign of lateness, but there is a common alternative form associated with certain words that has -uuā as an ending. There is debate which one is the more original, as the sequence -uuā is a more regular outcome of the general ruler of resonant vocalization from the sequence *-wn̥s, while the more common variant -ū would reflect something like *-w̥ns. The latter can be seen as a tendency of thematization, that is the regular appearance of a certain sound between stem and ending. On the other hand, this "thematized" form appears in the earlier G1 texts more often and is better attested across cognate languages, leading some to assert that the -uuā ending is a result of subsequent re-analysis and that the more regular vocalization was not in use in the parent language.

The gen. has the strong suffix again and shows *-ew-om. All other forms in the plural are straightforward and have the zero-grade suffix -u-, which departure from the normal rules of proterokinetic declension has also been linked with the attempt to thematize the u- and i-stems.

The neuter version of the PX u-stems, in contradistinction to the animate ones, often displays root ablaut, which alternates strong and weak stems. The strong has o-grade from PEE *h₂ói̯-u > unchanged Galic oiiū, save the regular lengthening of final *-u. The oblique stem is from *h₂i̯-ou̯-s > also unaltered Galic yō. For this word, of great canonical significance, final *-s is never restored in Galic.

Ablauting u-stems in OX

There are also u-stem nouns with an OX pattern, of which there are several sub-types that are subsumed under the heading of hənuš.

hā gənuš, "jaw" = jaw hā haiiō, "horizon"
sing du pl sing du pl
nom gənō hənauuā hənauuā haiiō
voc hənū
acc hənā̊ hənnā̊
gen jñuuōḫ gnuōš jñuuõm
loc jñaō
dm jñauui		 gnuō gnuštū
dat jñuuoi gnumō gnumuš
ins jñuua

The OX nouns had a nom. sg. end that vacillated amongst the lexical items between -uš and -ō / -ōs < *-ou̯-s. These reflect the zero and full grades respectively. The gen. and dat. reflects PEE *-u-os and *-u-ei̯ as expected. The dual behaves as expected. The acc. is on account of the deletion of resonants before a syllabic nasal, genā̊ < *gen-ēm < *gen-eu̯-m̥.

The acc. pl. gennā̊ < *gen-w-ns has the suffix assimilated into the root.

Note in this word some oblique forms have the stem jñuu-, which is an altered form of *gnw-. Northian generally permits up to three consonants (or four, if beginning with s-) in anlaut, but only if they contain no stops; if they do, stops are altered to fricative counterparts. This rule is not in effect for sequences of only two members in anlaut, hence the conserved gn- when the following *w is vocalized. Note also, the genitive and dative dual endings begin with a (lost) laryngeal, triggering the vocalization of *w.

The other EE languages attest a neuter version of this OX patern as in Tennite madhu gen. madhvas < *medʰ-w-es that is not found in Northian. This word in particular is found as an acrostatic meδū gen. meδuš. Instead, there is a solitary neuter noun haiiaō "horizon" that seems to have a neuter ending in *-ew. It is quite uncertain whether this is an inherited pattern or a petrified Northian adjective on the pattern of the s-stems adjectives (though it is equally unclear what original adjective would give the meaning of "horizon"), or it could be somehow related to ei-stem nouns attested in Xevdenite.

ϑórū

Some neuter nouns in -ū, such as ϑórū "tree, wood", hanū "knee", uuəštū "settlement" descend from an old acrostatic ablaut pattern that subsequently gained proterokinetic forms in the oblique cases. The original oblique stem *deru- is still visible as a compounding form. These changes result in a locative singular that is identical to the nominative. These special nouns need to be distinguished from those that also end in -ū like oiiū "life", which have a distinct locative.

θoṯ ϑórū, "wood" = δόρυ, "tree"
sing du coll
nom ϑərū ϑərū ϑərō
voc
acc
loc
gen drā
dat drumō
ins drū

The word ϑərū gives rise to several intriguing concepts in related languages. In Nordic, an important derivative is triwwiz "true, faithful", evidently comparing a reliable person's character to the durability of wood. Northian drəmβuuōḫ, reflecting the same *drew-wos, means "firm, difficult", from the same sense that wood is resilient and hence difficult to manipulate. But the word carries more of a neutral tone than the usually-positive one in the Nordic cognate: a person described as drəmβuuō in the Epics is inflexible and ill-disposed to the speaker, but not hostile. Compare another possible cognate, duros in Venetian, which means "hard, harsh" and is more overtly critical and pejorative applied to persons, cp. dura lex sed lex.

ī-stems

orī

The ī-stems in paroxytone has remained productive down to the Epic period as a feminizing suffix for athematic nouns. This suffix showed ablaut from full grade *-ieh₂ ~ -ih₂ > Northian -iiā ~ ī-. Some inherited nouns have a root that participated in ablaut, so the root was in full grade and suffix in zero grade in the direct cases, and vice versa in oblique cases.

Notice that, in the gen. oriiā̊, the laryngeal is syllabified with the preceding vowel and causes it to lengthen, but in the dat. oriiaē it syllabifies with the ending -i and does not lengthen the suffix; still, in both cases, the suffix vowel is coloured. The regular syllabification is only attested in Galic; by Didaskalic and Epic times, the dative was remade according to the genitive and has the ending -iiā-yi. The nom. pl. attests the ending -īš < *ih₂-s, which features an unexpected zero-grade suffix and a zero-grade variant of the nom. pl. ending, which is unique here and *-es everywhere else. This zero-grade variation has been explained by some as rather the nom. sing. ending but not to general acceptance.

The acc. pl. ending is the same as the nom., which indicates the final resonant failed to vocalize, thus from *-ih₂-ns rather than *-ih₂-n̥s. This renders it the same as the acc. pl. of the i-stems of the type mātiš. Such a syllabification is attested also in the 3 pl. of the athematic optative for stems with persistent accent, which has -inṯ < *-ih₂-nt rather than *-iyat < *-ih₂-n̥t.

hā orī, "eagless, hen eagle"
sing du pl
nom orī orīš
voc
acc
gen oryā̊ oriiāouš oriiaõm
loc oriiayi oriiaoū oriiāštū
dat oriiaē oriiāma oriiāmuš
ins oriiā oriiāβiyōḫ

hənitrī

In the example below, Sievers's law operates in oblique form as the agentive *-tr- invariably creates a heavy syllable before the yod of the full-grade feminizing suffix *-yeh₂. Thus, in old texts, the surface forms are trisyllabic hātriyā̊ and hāϑriyay, but the disyllabic forms hāϑəriyā̊ and hāϑəriyaHē are often seen in texts of an only slightly younger vintage. Jeweller indicates that metrical considerations can be discounted from this variance. Minimally, these could be analogical replacements from words in like stem where Sievers's law does not operate, or maximally they could indicate Sievers's law governed a kind of free variation but not a definite shift. The shortcoming of the former is that stems obtaining Sievers's are far more numerous than those not, owing to the preponderating usage of the feminizing suffix after another suffix.

The -o- in the gen. and dat. du. forms is a Runic orthographic insertion done to prevent the incorrect scansion of dysyllabic /a.us/ as monosyllabic /aws/; the -o- is spurious and silent. It is not present in all texts: monumental inscriptions usually omit it.

hā hənitrī, "genitrix" = genitrix
sing du pl
nom hənitrī
voc
acc
gen hatriyā̊ hatriyaHō hatriyaHõm
loc hatriyā hatriyaHā hatriyāšū
dat hatriHāmō hatriyāmuš
ins hatriHā hatrīβiyō

štərī

This type, consisting mostly of feminine derivatives, was much more common in the Gales than in later texts.

hā štərī, "heifer"
sing du pl
nom štərī štəriiā štəriiā
voc
acc štəriiā̊
loc štrīHō štrīšū
gen štriHō štriHõm
dat štriHā štrīmō štrīmuš
ins štrī štrīβiyō

ū-stems

ϑənūˀ

The ū-stems were originally parallel to the ī-stems, but phonetic changes have rendered them distinct. The nom. sing. always had accented root syllable and an ending in PEE *-uh₂ > Galic *-ūˀ. The acc. requires a proto-form *-ueh₂-m, but already has simplified to *-u̯ām > -uā̊. In the oblique cases, the stem alternated between -ū preconsonantally and -uH prevocalically, to which full-grade endings were added. Other disfigurements are attributable to the shape of this stem. The stem in zn- occurs whenever the *u of the stem is vocalized in the environment of *tnuh₂-, and the stem in dā-, when *u borders a vowel and *n is vocalized instead, i.e. *tn̥weh₂-. The irregularity in this paradigm was preserved certainly owing to its frequent usage.

hā ϑənū, "body"
sing du pl
nom ϑənū ϑənnaHā ϑənnaHā
voc
acc ϑənnā̊ dāuuā̊
gen znuHō znuHō znuHõm
loc dāuuā znuŋhū
dat znuHā znūmō znūmuš
ins znuHōi znūβiyō

hōxrū

The ū-stems also includes one member with paroxytone accent, namely hōxrūḥ "mother-in-law".

hā hōxrū, "mother-in-law" = socrus
sing du pl
nom hōxrū hōxrō hōxrwā
voc
acc hōxrwō
gen hōxrwā̊ hōxrwāHuš hōxrwaHõm
loc hōxrwā hōxrwāHū hōxrwāhu
dat hōxrwāmi hōxrwāmuš
ins

H-stems

The H-stems or laryngeal-stems have a suffix consisting of an ablauting vowel followed by a laryngeal and were similar in structure to the ī- and ū-stems. But, there, semivowels *i- and *u- preceded the ablauting vowel, and so in oblique cases, they become vowels in the absence of the ablauting vowel and are lengthened by the laryngeal. Here, however, the ablauting vowel is not preceded by a semivowel and disappears completely in the oblique cases, causing the laryngeal to scan as part of the ending syllable.

pəntā̊

The word pəntā̊ "path" had a stem ending in PEE *póntoh₁- ~ pn̥th₁-. Fundamentally, it is a regular laryngeal-stem noun of amphikinetic origin of the same type that has full-grade root and o-grade suffix. In the accusative singular, the ending was *oh₁-m̥ > *ōm, with regular operation of Stang's law.

This word is a direct cognate to the Shalumite word "path", which is a borrowing from the oblique stem of the reflex in another Erani-Eracuran language.

ho pəntā̊, "path, way" = "path"
sing du pl
nom pəntā̊ pəntōi pəntoHaHā
voc
acc pāϑā̊ pəntoHā
gen pāϑō pāϑām
loc pāšū
dat pāϑā pāsmō pāśmuš
ins pāϑōi

bā̊

bā̊ "woman" continues the proterodynamic declension ending in *-h₂, and the nom. was asigmatic. This suffix also underlies the ī- and ū-stem declensions in Northian but is otherwise rarely seen alone. The direct stem is from *gʷénh₂ > *gʷḗn > gā̊, and the oblique *gʷnéh₂- > gnā-. Both nominative and accusative forms are affected by Stang's law.

hā gā̊, "wife" = γυνή
sing du pl
nom gā̊ gənā̊ gənā
voc
acc gənā̊ bnā
gen bnā bnaHuš βna·ā̊m
loc bnaēii βnaHū βnāhū
dat bna·ā̊ βnāmuš
ins βnā

r/n-stems

The r/n-stems, or heteroclitics, continue a class of EE nouns that had different suffixes for direct and oblique stems. Excepting productive derivative suffixes *-tr̥ and *-mr̥, they are all neuter nouns with basic meanings and show P/PX inflection in the singular and dual. Many, but not all, formed a collective with an o-grade root with OX ablaut pattern. The collective was endingless in the nom, like a singular, but took plural endings in the oblique cases.

In the Epic language, many heteroclitics also formed ordinary plurals from the zero-grade stem, which agree with singular verbs and have meanings different from those of their collective forms.

yuHarə "year" is a case where the spelling of the Gales leaves open a number of interpretations as to their phonological forms. The nom yuHarə < *yoh₁-r̥ had the o-grade of the root. Proto-form of gen *yoh₁-n̥-s or *yeh₁-n̥-s should anticipate a PNR form like *yaH-ā̊, but nowhere is this found or metrically allowed; instead, one finds monosyllabic yā̊, which according to Krueger may be an ad hoc replacement for *i-āh, logically assumed to be from < *ih₁-n̥-s. However, the contraction of syllables across laryngeal borders is very rare in Northian, so this explanation has not achieved agreement by authorities. du loc yaŋhaˀū is surely for a rather awkward *yaˀāˀū < *yéh₁n̥Hu.

θaṯ yuHarə, "year" = ὥρα → "hour"
sing du coll
nom yuHarə yōrī yōrō
voc
acc
gen yuHā̊ yaHāHuš
loc yūni
dat
ins

pāwr̥ "fire" has PX inflection, with accented suffix in the oblique cases. In the nom. sing. the proto-form was from *péh₂wr̥; the final -ərə is paedagogically taught as /ara/, but as it is a single long syllable and not two short as the orthography implies, authorities concur it probably represents a preserved, tautosyllabic -R-r̥ sequence. This ending also occurs with the *-mr̥ compound suffix, but not *-tr̥. Oblique stem is from *ph₂wén- > *fiwen > Galic fūvon-. The collective form is fūvə̄, which is presumably from *ph₂wṓ, showing the replacement of full-grade root by zero-grade that is common in derived OX nouns, cp. direct cognate in Elder Nordic fōr.

θaṯ pāwr̥, "fire" = πῦρ → pyro-
sing du coll
nom pāwr̥ pāuuō
voc
acc
gen puuanh
loc puuən
dat puuənā
ins puuā̊

Other common heteroclitic nouns include:

  • PX azr̥ azā̊ "day"
  • PX fetar fθā̊ "feather"
  • PP woδar woθā̊ "water" < PEE *wodr̥ *wodn̥s
  • PP ferərə ferūš "mountain"
  • PP fō ferā̊ "house"

ā-stems

The main point of interest in this paradigm is in the genitive and locative dual forms, where the form suggests the e-grade *-ew- instead of the anticipated zero grade -u-. Nowhere else in Northian or other Erani-Eracuran languages does this ending take the e-grade.

hā mīrā, "mist"
sing du pl
nom mīrā mīraHī mīraHā
voc
acc mīrō mīrā
gen mīraHā mīraHā mīraHõm
loc mīrā mīraHū
dat mīraHā mīrāmō mīrāmuš
ins

o-stems

The thematic declension in o-stem could be divided into two subclasses that arose on account of the position of the accent, without which the short *o became /a/.

ha θūmōḫ, "smoke" θaṯ yuɣõm, "yoke"
sing du pl sing du pl
nom θūmōḫ θūmṓḥ θūmā̊ yuɣõm yuɣṓ(yīḥ) yuɣāḥ
voc θūmi
acc θūmõm θūmə̄ṇġ
gen θūmōiiō θūmōš θūmõm
loc θūmōi θūmō θūmohū
dat θūmoma θūmomuš
ins θūmō θūmomβiiōḫ

Acrean declensions

Many words in later Northian are Early Elder Nordic loanwords from speakers of Acrean, which was used as a lingua franca in western Eracura for centuries under the influence of the Acrean Empire. These words were so numerous that many were not nativized but declined according to an approximation of the thematic declension in ELder Old Nordic. Naturally, Old Nordic vocabulary would not occur within the Galic and Epic corpora, but as the Epic language survived in literary and liturgical usages, later material did incorporate a considerable number of Acrean words.

Hybridized paradigms

The displacement of native vocabulary in favour of Acrean words was widespread and penetrating to a basic level, unlike previous assumptions that it was only introduced for topics of exotic political and commercial interest. Baker notes that the Old Nordic word sōwulą sōwulas "Sun" has hybridized with native Northian hāuuərə hūvə̄ṇġ and displaced the latter's oblique forms. Displacement concentrated in Epic forms made opaque by regular sound change. While all these forms are now analyzed as regular, at least in this noun they were no longer so understood after the Epic age.

The Northian inscriptions from the Epic age are revelatory of the extent of Nordic substitutions from an early time. Nordicisms were regarded as "vulgar substitutions" by antiquiarians, but a mid-6th-century BCE stone discovered in 2002 has the word <sōwulas> in genitive usage for the solar goddess, found within her very own temple precinct. Such finds have cast doubt whether Nordicisms were really regarded as "vulgar" forms by Northians of the Epic age, and some scholars have come to think the "correct" forms like hūvə̄ṇġ were actually poetic forms that had not been used regularly for some generations by that time.

hā hāuuərə, "Sun"
sing du & pl
nom hāuuərə sōwulōs
voc
acc
gen sōwulas sōwulōm
dat sōwulai̯ sōwulamas
ins sōwulō sōwulamiš

a-stems

For the most part, these endings are cognates with the o-stems (2nd declension) ones in Northian, but because of intervening sound changes, they are taught separately. Where there was a distinct vocative, the nominative form has displaced it. There are also no dual forms for these nouns, for which neologisms have sometimes been suggested, to no general acceptance. Since Elder Nordic had no locative case, this form is always identical to the dative where Northian syntax demands the locative.

ha wulfas, "lupine" = lupus θaṯ ētą̄, "food"
sing du & pl sing du & pl
nom wulfas wulfōs ētą̄ ētō
voc
acc wulfą̄ wulfāŋš
gen wulfas wulfõm ētas ētõm
dat wulfai̯ wulfamas ētai̯ ētamas
ins wulfō wulfamis ētō ētamis

ō-stems

These are cognates of the ā-stems in Northian.

sā erδō, "Earth"
sing du & pl
nom erδō erδōs
voc
acc erδōm erδōs
gen erδōs erδōm
dat erδōi̯ erδōmas
ins erδō erδōmiš

Venetian declensions

Old Venetian was another Erani-Eracuran language whose terms have been borrowed into Northian during the Late Canon Period. The first and second declensions of Old Venetian, in -ā and -os respectively, were directly cognate to the Northian ā- and o-stems.

First declension

hā azā, "altar"
sing du & pl
nom azā azās
voc
acc azām azas
gen azās azām
dat azāi azāis
abl azād

Second declension

ha cabos, "measure of corn" θaṯ alom, "comfrey"
sing du & pl sing du & pl
nom cabos caboi alom alā
voc cabe
acc cabom cabōs
gen cabōiio cabozom
dat caboi cabois
abl cabod

Third declension

The third declension in Venetian was cognate with the athematic nouns in Northian, though in Venetian the number of sub-patterns was smaller. As learned borrowings, they generally retained their original endings, though substitutions were only too common.

hā loux, "light"
sing du & pl
nom loux loukeiies
voc
acc loukem loukēs
gen loukes loukom
abl loukibos
dat loukei

Fourth declension

hā manus, "hand" θaṯ cornu, "horn"
sing du & pl sing du & pl
nom manus manūs cornu cornuā
voc manu
acc manum
gen manuos manuom
abl manubos
dat manui

Irregular nouns

ā̊ "mouth"

ā̊ is an acrostatic neuter root noun in s-stem. Like other acrostatic nouns, its inflectional pattern can show irregularities under the influence of other, more productive ablaut patterns. After the Late Canon period, all the oblique forms of this noun were replaced by thematized forms based on the stem ā̊-, e.g. gen. ā̊ōiiō, but it is the athematic originals that are discussed below. Nom. sing. ā̊ is for *ō-h < *HoH-s-Ø.

θaṯ ā̊, "mouth"
sing du pl
nom ā̊ ōhīḥ ōha
voc
acc
gen ōs ōhuš ōhõm
loc āḫ ōhū ōššū
dat ōhi ōma ōmuš
ins ōha

mā̊ "meat"

mā̊ < *mēm-s must be distinguished from the word for "moon", as outside of paedagogical texts they are both printed and written as mā. This is either a root noun or a reduplication of a root *me-ms-. The word has no dual or collective forms.

θaṯ mā̊, "meat"
sing
nom mā̊
voc
acc
gen
loc
dat meṃśi
ins meṃśa

potiš "master" in compounds

The word *potiš "lord, master" has OX-B inflection. As a word it is not seen alone but does serve as the second element in the terms déṃpśpatiš "master of the house" and uuei̯xšpatiš "lord of the settlement". The word can sometimes appear with the o-grade suffix, e.g. déṃpśpatōiš.

While the root *potiš is not seen independently, the feminine -īḥ derivative potnīḥ is used as part of certain goddesses' titles; there, the full grade root is invariant.

ha déṃpśpatiš, "master of the house" = δεσπότης
sing du pl
nom déṃpśpatiš déṃpśpačiiāḥ déṃpśpačiiāḫ
voc déṃpśpatai
acc déṃpśpatim déṃpśpatī
gen déṃpśpatiiāḫ déṃpśpatiyōš déṃpśpačiiõm
loc déṃpśpati déṃpśpatiyō déṃpśpatištū
dat déṃpśpačiiai déṃpśpatimō déṃpśpatimuš
ins déṃpśpačiiāḥ

šiiō "god, sky"

This word šiiō is a direct cognate with several theonyms across the Erani-Eracuran family. The original *ew was transformed to *aw (written aō) after yod. Under the influence of that phone, the initial obstruent was palatalized to z, where it is otherwise preserved before vocalic i. There is an alternate nom. form žiiōš, which may either be a contraction or a reflex of *dyou̯-s, the o-grade of the same root. The acc. sing. žiiā̊ is a product of Stang's law, which requires the sequence of *dyeu̯-m to be simplified to *dyēm; this sequence is attested in virtually all branches and is assumed to be old. šyā̊ is cognate to Syaran Ζῆν.

šyō often co-occurs with the epithet ufšištō "highest" as ufšištoz-dyō "Heaven Most High", in much the same way as fərətištā-taɣam "Earth Most Broad". These compounds, other than being appellations of their titular deities, were also used of their agents. Aithar, the god of numina, is almost always accompanied by the epithet ufšištṓiia-diuuō "of Heaven Most High". After Aithar, the pantheon of Valstígr was also called āhaṓuuāḫ põm ufšištṓiia diuuō, "Lords of Powers and Heaven-Most-High", defining them as celestial, rather than chthonic, deities.

It is to note that the epithet ufšištōḫ "highest" does not carry the implication that the god is highest in rank or power, at least in the Galic and Didaskalic corpora. The idea of a deity that is supreme over other deities was not endorsed by the earlier Northians, and instead a god's supremacy was envisioned more as "excellence" or "extremity", or simply the quality or domain assigned to that god in a superlative, peerless state. Thus in Northian theology, Ziiaōš was the highest, and θaɣam the broadest, and the two are both peerless in the qualities recognized in them. But, being differently or oppositely characterized, they partake in nothing in common and thus could not compare with each other. There thus could not exist a hierarchy between them.

ha šiiō, "sky, Sky God"
sing du pl
nom šiiō ziiauuō
voc ziiā
acc ziiā̊ 𝛿uwā̊
gen 𝛿uwō 𝛿ūwam
loc ziiā 𝛿ūwšū
dat 𝛿uwō 𝛿ūmuš
ins dī

hazərə "hand"

hazərə is an OX noun in r-stem with the inverted declension, with a zero-grade in the nominative singular. -ərə here is treated as a single, long syllable, representing Erani-Eracuran *-r̥. That -ərə is a consonantal is elucidated by the reflex of *s as -z- and not -h-, which would be regular had -ərə been a vowel sound. As with all nouns with inverted declension, the accusative is regarded as a weak case as to its appropriate stem, thus xšrə̄m over the expected *xšerəm; however, the syllable weight of the original is preserved in the long vowel of the ending.

hā hazərə, "hand"
sing du pl
nom hazərə xšerōi̯ xširiš
voc
acc xšrə̄m xšrā̊
gen xšrōḫ xšarōš xšrõm
loc xšrei̯ xšarō xšərəšū
dat xšərəmō xšərəmuš
ins xšroi̯

monuš "man, human"

monuš is the basic word for "human" in Northian, and it frequently appears as the principal to the adposition θxāmō "earthling". It defines the human being as "the thinking one" or "one who remembers" and is formally very similar to the perfect active participle ménuš "remembering, recalling", from móna "to remember". monuš defines mankind in opposition to beasts, and θxāmō in opposition to gods.

The word monuš has two competing etymologies: some stress its connection to the o-grade of the PEE root *men- "to think", thus characterizing the human being as a characteristically intelligent being, and others provide a more mundane connection to the very basic Nordic word mannuz "male, man". These etymologies are not necessarily incompatible. mannuz is obligatorily male in Elder Nordic and all its descendants, but monuš can be female in Northian, though the feminine form mnuuozərə < putative *mn-u-és-r̥ is more commonly seen with women. The feminine participle form of the verb mona is ménuuī.

monuš takes the oxytone declension in u-stem, gen. mŋʷuuōḫ, e.g. GNr. yōrō mnuuōḫ "a person's lifetime".

Adverbs

See also

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