monikon

Monikon is a term used in Finnish linguistic tradition to denote the plural form of a word and the inflectional system that marks number. The word itself is the genitive singular form of monikko, meaning “plural.” In descriptive grammar, monikon taivutus refers to how nouns, adjectives, and pronouns take plural endings and adjust for number across different cases.

In standard Finnish, nouns inflect for number and case, and the plural is typically signaled by endings such as -t on the nominative plural. The plural forms interact with case endings, so adjectives and pronouns also agree in number with the noun. Common plural examples include koira → koirat (dogs) and suuri koira → suuret koirat (large dogs). The genitive plural is koirien (of the dogs), and the partitive plural is koiria (dogs in partitive). The concept of monikon taivutus provides a framework for describing these endings as a coherent plural system.

The term monikon also appears in discussions of specific phrases like monikon pääte (the plural ending) and monikon taivutusta (the inflection of the plural). It is primarily a feature of Finnish grammar and linguistic description, rather than a separate language feature found in many other languages. While other languages have their own plural systems and terminology, the label “monikon” is characteristic of Finnish linguistic tradition and its approach to number agreement and inflection.

In summary, monikon refers to the plural aspect of Finnish grammar—the set of inflectional forms that mark that a word is plural, including the various endings and the way they interact with case and with related words in a sentence.