Notkunarform

Notkunarform is a term used in Icelandic linguistics to describe the particular morphological shape a word takes to express its usage or function in a sentence. It refers to the form that encodes grammatical function, such as tense, aspect, mood, voice, number, or case, as opposed to the base dictionary lemma.

In grammar descriptions, notkunarform is distinguished from the lemma; while the lemma is the canonical dictionary form, the notkunarform is the actual form used in context. For nouns, notkunarform reflects syntactic role and is often shown through case inflection and definiteness. For verbs, it reflects tense, person, and sometimes mood or voice. For adjectives and other parts of speech, notkunarform can indicate degree or agreement with a noun.

Practically, notkunarform appears in inflection tables, verb conjugation charts, and dictionary entries where a form is exemplified in a sentence. It is a useful concept for language learners and lexicographers because it ties a word’s surface form to its grammatical usage rather than to its lemma alone.

Because notkunarform is tied to the grammar of a specific language, its exact scope and labeling vary across language descriptions. The concept is widely used in linguistic description as a way to discuss how word shapes encode usage in context.

See also: morphology, inflection, grammar, lexicography.