Noun

A noun is a word with lexical meaning that as a member of that part of speech primarily referential (as opposed to predictive ) function has. In the speech system, it stands next to the adjective and the pronoun and is - together with them - directly opposite the verb. Be categorized as a noun primarily time- stable terms, ie terms of entities that are meant to be immutable over time, as opposed to transactions and events.

• 3.1 Definition
• 3.2 Set Features
• 3.3 declination 3.3.1 genus
• 3.3.2 case
• 3.3.3 numerus

• 3.4.1 Formation of nouns 3.4.1.1 By deriving ( nominalization )
• 3.4.1.2 By composition

• 5.1 External links

Term

The term is shortened from late Latin noun nomen the substantive " related to a substance noun". The basic meaning of noun is "Name"; in the Romance languages ​​(French nom, Spanish nombre, etc. ), the term for ' noun ' is always also means " name ". With substance here is about " self- existing entity " meant, as opposed to properties and operations that do not exist independently, but - substances be attributed - in the form of adjectives or verbs.

Under the noun traditionally fall next to the substantive noun, the noun adiectivum ( adjective), the nomen the Numeral ( numeral ) and the pronoun. Among these, the noun is the noun par excellence, because just the literal meaning of nomen " name " is what fits on the other sub-categories of the noun less. Therefore, the noun in English ( in addition to substantive ) since the 20th century is, usually noun, in French nom and similar in some other languages ​​. This use has also come from the 1960s into German, so that noun is often used not as a generic term, but as a synonym for noun.

In the German school grammar noun is translated as thing- word, noun, noun, word names, naming word.

Term

Basics

The two operations of the reference and predication are essential for human speech. They are encoded in different ways in the grammar, in particular in the two word classes ' noun ' and ' verb '. A distinction between a nominal and a verbal category is revealed in all the languages ​​, while there are certainly differences in terms of the individual nominal parts of speech.

Like all parts of speech also has the category of the noun semantic and structural features. The essential semantic feature of the noun is its referential function, that is, its potential to speak, and thus to serve as referential expression compared to the predicate. Primarily occur in this function mainly term stable entity so entities that are designed to be invariant over time. These are primarily concrete objects such things, beings, etc. These semantic categories are not constitutive of the concept of the noun, but follow up from the primary function of referentiality. Often you will also (typically less time- stable ) will speak entities that fall into any of these categories, such as on " beauty ", " examining ", etc. But then by nominalization (of beautiful, investigate ) Nouns ( beauty, investigation ) provided (see below for word formation).

By the criterion of lexical meaning, the noun is compared with the pronoun, which can fall into the same syntactic category as the noun in certain circumstances (was in German, the personal pronouns have the same distribution as the proper name ), but in any case no lexical meaning ( but a grammatical function ).

The structural features of nouns vary between languages. Nevertheless, one can on the basis of the semantic properties referred to identify the category of the noun across languages ​​.

Classifications

Nouns can be classified mainly according to semantic, syntactic and morphological characteristics. The results are largely independent of each other classifications. A purely syntactical classification is based solely on distributional criteria, eg the compatibility of a noun with the definite article. According to this criterion, for example, fall Personal names in High German (Hans), English (John) and French (Jean) in a different class than in dealing Germans ( Hans ) and Portuguese (o João ).

Semantic classification

Established classification tries traditionally (eg in the school grammar), secure semantic classes with syntactic criteria. She gives the following taxonomy:

• Noun (Latin nomen the substantive ) Proper name (Latin nomen proprium ), for example Vanessa, Danube, Berlin, Alpine, United States of America
• Generic name (or appellative; Latin nomen commune or appellative ) Abstraction (Latin nomen abstractum ), for example Art, love, mention, friendliness
• Concretum (Latin nomen concretum ) Individual noun ( or countable noun), eg Man, table, grain, drop
• Mass noun, for example, Sand, blood, wood.

• A proper noun is a noun which has only specific reference and refers to a single entity, without being subsumed under a concept. The entity may also be a collective (see below), such as the Alps.
• A appellative is a noun that refers to entities by them subsumed under a concept. It may have specific or generic reference.
• An abstraction is an appellative, which refers to something abstract. Typical abstractions are derived nouns and do not form a plural, such as hostility.
• A concrete object is an appellative, which refers to concrete objects.
• An Individual noun is a concrete object that refers to a defined object. In German, individual nouns form the plural ( grains) and the indefinite article ( a grain), with cardinal number words ( two grains ) and the quantifier many ( grains) combined.
• A mass noun is a concrete object that refers to a " continuous " object, that is, such a fall the parts under the same concept as the object itself. ( A part of water is water again, but a part of a table is not a table. ) In the German form mass nouns either no plural (* blood ) or a variety plural ( wines are not copies, but varieties of wine). They are not combined with the indefinite article or cardinal number words ( a * blood, * two blood ), unless that again varieties are meant ( a wine, two wines). In addition, they are combined with the quantifier much ( much blood / wine).

• A collective noun is a (typically concrete ) appellative that summarizes a lot of individuals as a complex entity, such as mountains, police. In German, the collectives fall into two syntactic classes, namely mass nouns and individual nouns. Under the terms of these syntactic criteria Mountains, Family and ostrich are individual nouns, police, poultry and fruit, however, mass nouns.

Morphological classification

As morphological criteria are, inter alia, the declension and word formation status used. The latter results in the following classification:

• Noun primary noun, for example, Delusion, friend, grain
• Secondary noun, for example, Mention ( mention of ) kindness (of kind ), carriers (of carry ).

A secondary noun is one that is formed by derivation, namely nominalization. A primary noun is morphologically simple, so neither derived nor assembled.

The noun in the German language

Definition

In German, one can define the noun by the following structural criteria:

These criteria certainly characterize a prototypical concept. The first criterion does not obey many nouns as happiness; the second obey a few nouns with variable genus, such as yogurt, are not; the article take all subclasses of nouns, such as personal names, not. This is expected due to partial similarities with the prototypical nouns to the same class.

Set Features

The noun is the semantic core of the Nominalsyntagmas: a beautiful picture, little ones, the man who knew too much. The head determined by the grammar of this phrase, by escalating gender characteristics to their changeable parts and by co-determined as a member of the above subclasses of the noun, the use of Determinantien.

A Nominalsyntagma may, inter alia, in the sentence assume the following functions: subject ( set object), object (supplement), adverbial determination ( fact data), attribute ( enclosing ), predicate nouns ( cf. Prädikativum ). As a predicate noun not referenced a nominal expression; that is, in this position has a noun not in the sense of Definition primary function.

Declination

Genus

The noun declined not by gender, but for every noun is the genus ( in the lexicon ) firmly. The genus is not in a regular manner on the noun, but instead of a noun kongruierenden of speech, in particular articles, pronouns and adjectives encoded. Therefore, since the ancient grammar is the simplest and most common (although not scientific ) specify method, the gender of a noun, the combination with the definite article. So instead of saying " Caraway has masculine gender ," says one, " says the cumin ."

Since the genus is not seen generally on the noun, it has to be learned with this. Help Subregularitäten the genus assignment. Almost completely regular is the genus of derived nouns, because the derivational brings a genus, which it inherited the derived noun. For example, are all on surfaces derived nouns such as masters and mistresses Neutra. Accordingly, the feminine gender of the on - anz depend - (t ) ion, - ness, - ness, -ung, - ( i) ity etc. Nouns derived from these same Derivationsoperatoren from. And most with Ge -derived nouns are Neutra: babble, waters, mountains; but: the thought.

The German nouns belong either to the genus masculine (male ) with the definite article, the feminine ( feminine ) with the definite article or the neuter ( neuter) with the definite article the to. Exemplary word fields

• For masculine nouns: the compass, weather conditions (east, monsoon, storm, but: the storm ), spirits ( vodka, wine, brandy ), minerals, rocks (marble, quartz, granite, diamond);
• For feminine nouns: Ships and Aircraft ( the Germany, the Boeing, but: the Airbus), cigarette brands ( Camel, Marlboro ), many tree and plant species (oak, poplar, pine, but: the lilac), numbers ( one, million; but: the dozen ), most domestic springing rivers (Elbe, Oder, Danube, but: the Rhine, ...);
• For Neutra: cafes, hotels, cinemas ( Mariott, the Cinemax ), chemical elements (helium, arsenic, but: the sulfur, masculine items on stock), letters, notes, languages ​​and colors ( the orange, A, the English ), certain brand names for washing and cleaning agents ( Ariel, Persil ), continents, countries ( article -less: (the old ) Europe, but: Lebanon, Switzerland, ...).

Case

Like other nouns inflect nouns in languages ​​like German (including Latin, Russian and Arabic ) to case ( " cases "). The German case is nominative, genitive, dative and accusative. The German Kasusdeklination is highly irregular and syncretistic; no noun has different shapes for all four case. In terms of the number of German case is in the middle.

Number

The Numbers are singular ( " singular " ) and plural ( " plural" ). While concrete nouns i.a. decline after two Numbers, numerous abstractions (like peace ) and proper names (such as Kilimanjaro and Iran) no plural; and a few nouns such as parents have no singular. A noun has only one singular, is a Singularetantum; one that occurs only in the plural, is a Pluraletantum.

Morphology

Formation of nouns

By deriving ( nominalization )

Nouns can be hardly derived from adverbs on the basis of members of any part of speech. If the base is not a noun, is the process nominalization (in the narrow sense). Nominalization in a broader sense even then comprises the derivation of a noun on the basis of a noun. According to the criterion of the part of speech of the base results in the following classification derived nouns:

• Denominales / desubstantivisches noun: font - date, Knapp company, Ge - tains, woman -chen, Löw- in
• Deverbales noun: teaching e, Erwähn -ung, classifica-tion
• Deadjektivisches noun: friendliness, Klug unit, curios - ity.

On the syntactic level, it suffices to combine a word with the definite article to it nominalize ( " forced " ), as in the Greens, arguing that self.

By composition

By composition (composition ) of two strains of new noun stems ( nominal compounds ) can be formed, for example, as in road traffic, Robin, Feingold, poet composer. Usually a noun as the second component is then the head: He makes the overall word to a noun, its genus determines the gender of the compound word and it provides a rule the importance of class, which is determined by the first part only closer.

Formation of other types of words from nouns

Nouns can in turn give the basis for the formation of logs of other types of words:

• Denominales / desubstantivisches verb: live, color
• Denominales / desubstantivisches adjective: cloudy, effeminate
• Denominales / desubstantivisches adverb: in the morning, row by row.

Orthography

Nouns begin with a capital letter in German. To this rule there are numerous exceptions, in particular relating to the case that a noun is not used as a noun.

The noun in the English language

Of relevance to the German noun criteria are the following for the relevant English: The noun

Because gender does not exist in English; and case is only for pronouns. Overall, the declination in English is reduced even more than the conjugation.