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    2.1.1.6 Plurals as input for morphological processes
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    There is a universal tendency for inflection to be peripheral to derivation. But plural inflection can appear within compounds (cf. Dutch woordenboek, German Wörterbuch). Bäisteflaask ‘beef’ and Monljudenome ‘men’s name’ are neat examples, because Bäiste and Monljude are irregular plurals of Ku and Mon respectively. (This is not to deny, however, that bäiste- and monljude- may have evolved into lexicalised compound forms in which the plural interpretation is secondary at most.)

    Some compound forms look like plurals. The compound form säärke- in Säärkendore ‘church door’ may well derive historically from a (German) genitive form. It is not semantically plural. Säärkenmäid ‘meadow belonging to a church’ is completely synonymous with Säärkmäid and Säärkemäid.

    On the other hand, compound forms like Stene- ‘stone’ and (possibly) Honen- ‘rooster’ have a tendency to refer to plural entities. A Stenebäält is a ‘heap of bricks’. Stene- refers to countable entities, whereas steen- can refer to the mass noun Steen ‘stone’, e.g. in Steenpot ‘a stone pot’. In some cases, both forms can be used synonymously. Stenepaad and Steenpaad both mean ‘stone path’. In other cases, there is a (lexicalised) difference in meaning: a Steenklopper is a ‘stonemason’, but a Steneklopper is a ‘stone hammer’. As for the compound forms hone- and honen-: A Honepoot is a rooster’s leg, and ju Honentied means ‘the early morning’. It is unclear here whether the choice of compound forms is semantically or phonologically determined.

    Nouns which have plurals in -ere (e.g. dät Wucht, do Wuchtere ‘girl(s)’) often form compounds containing -er-. Loumflaask and Loumerflaask both mean ‘mutton’.

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      About this article
      Author(s): Eric Hoekstra, Bouke Slofstra
      Category: Saterfrisian Syntax
      Version: 1.0, December 2023
      Version history:
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      1.0 Eric Hoekstra, Bouke Slofstra December 2023
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