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    1.2.6 Conversion
    quickinfo

    Conversion is a morphological pocess that doesn’t involve affixes. The English verb to sabotage is a conversion of the noun sabotage. Conversion changes the category of a word but not its shape.

    Deadjectival converted nouns are usually neuter. Deverbal converted nouns are usually masculine. Converted verbs are in principle je-verbs (see: inflection).

    Below are some examples.

    Table 1: Nouns
    A>N dät Mul (‘soft inner part of bread’), dät Wäit (‘water’)
    V>N die Fang (‘booty’), die Begeer (‘desire’), die Begin (‘start, beginning’), die Babbel (‘mouth’), die Ferfaal (‘decay’), die/dät Ferskiel (‘difference’), die Uutkiek (‘view’),
    Np>N die Antoon(‘big toe’), ju Siska (‘evil woman’)
    Table 2: Adjectives
    N>A poor (‘even’ [number])
    V>A hink (‘lame’), joank (‘greedy’), risk (‘erect’), troang (‘squabby’)
    Table 3: Verbs
    A > V epenje (‘to open’), gräinje (‘to sprout’), skäärpje (‘to sharpen’)
    N > V klöärje (‘to paint’), oapje (‘to mock’), singelje (‘to encircle’), troonje (‘to throne’)
    Table 4: Prepositions
    N > P uurkaante (‘opposite’)

    There are some dubious examples.

    In the first place, it is not always clear which word is ‘original’ and which is derived. The verb pumpje (‘to pump’) looks like a conversion of ju Pumpe, but it might, theoretically, be the other way around.

    Lood (‘perpendicular’) is probably a shortening of loodgjucht (lit.: ‘lead-right’) rather than a conversion of the mass noun Lood (‘lead’).

    The adjective behotsk (‘careful’) is a lexicalised past participle of the verb behotje (‘to care’), see [1.2.7] pseudo-participles. It is synonymous with the derivation behotsk (cf. uurjälsk and uurjäl ‘curved’).

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