nounsdíl

nounsdíl is a neologistic linguistic term used to describe a hypothetical morphosyntactic feature in some constructed languages. It denotes a bound morpheme attached to a noun that marks its division into referential sub-classes within a noun phrase, such as a distinction between discrete individual referents and mass or collectivities. The concept is theoretical and not attested in documented natural languages.

Etymology: The term combines the English word noun with a coined suffix -sdíl, created for descriptive purposes in conlang research. The form and meaning have no independent etymology outside this use.

Description and distribution: nounsdíl can be realized as a suffix or clitic and is described as co-occurring with other nominal markers like number, definiteness, and classifiers. In theoretical accounts, there are two primary values: one signaling a singular, individuated referent, and another signaling a mass or group referent. The feature is often discussed in relation to typology of noun phrases and cross-linguistic variation.

Illustrative examples: In a hypothetical language, the noun mira meaning “woman” could take nounsdíl1 to mean “a particular woman known to speaker and listener” and nounsdíl2 to mean “the women as a group” or “the entire class of women under discussion.” In many descriptions the exact phonology and placement of nounsdíl can vary, sometimes attaching as a suffix, sometimes as a particle preceding the noun.

In scholarly use, nounsdíl is primarily a tool for modeling and comparison rather than a documented feature of real languages. See also: noun, classifier, grammatical gender, definiteness, conlang.