Substantiiviosista

Substantiiviosista, or substantivized words, are words that have changed their grammatical class, most commonly functioning as nouns. This phenomenon is prevalent in many languages and involves taking words from other parts of speech, such as adjectives, verbs, or adverbs, and using them as if they were nouns. For instance, an adjective like "beautiful" can be substantivized to refer to "the beautiful" as a concept or entity.

The process of substantivization can occur through various means. In some languages, it may be marked by a specific grammatical change or the addition of a noun-forming suffix. In others, context alone is sufficient to signal the change in grammatical function. The meaning of a substantivized word often relates to the original word's meaning but refers to a thing, person, concept, or quality.

Substantivization contributes to the flexibility and expressiveness of a language. It allows for more concise expression by turning descriptive terms or actions into entities that can be discussed, quantified, or acted upon. For example, instead of saying "the action of swimming is good," one might say "swimming is good," where "swimming" has been substantivized from a verb to a noun. This grammatical adaptation is a common linguistic process observed across diverse language families.