Nominal Structures of Uralic Languages

Count and mass nouns can be distinguished. Mass nouns cannot stand in plural and cannot co-occur with certain quantifiers, including the indefinite article.

homok(*-ok),	(*egy)	homok,	(*hány)	homok
sand-PL	one	sand	how.many	sand

’sands, one/a sand, how many sand’

Source: Examples provided by database editor (native speaker).

Proper names can be distinguished from common nouns, since they are inherently referential. Proper names cannot have restrictrive modifiers and certain froup of proper names (.e.g. names of cities) cannot co-occur with e a definite artcile.

(*a)	Budapest
the	Budapest

’the Budapest’

Source: Example provided by database editor (native speaker).

Relational nouns typically form an inalienable possessive relation with another referential noun phrase. The use of modifiers, such as the intensional adjective //egykori// 'former' create odd constructions evidently for semantic reasons..

#János	egykori	kez-e
John	former	hand-POSS

’John's former hand’

Source: Dékány 2021: 163.

A subset of relational nouns show alternation between two allomorphs for possessive suffix, depending on whether they are inalienably or alienablypossessed.

lép-e,	lép-je
spleen-POSS	spleen-POSS

’his/her/its spleen (inalienable body part vs. owned by e.g. a medical researcher)’

Source: Dékány 2021: 166.

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