nounsuffiksiin

Nounsuffiksiin is a term used in linguistic literature to denote a class of suffixes that derive nouns from other lexical categories. In typological studies, nounsuffiksiin covers suffixes that transform verbs, adjectives, or other nouns into nouns, sometimes encoding semantics such as agenthood, result, abstract quality, or instrumentality. The concept is used to compare how languages formalize noun formation and to analyze productivity, meaning shifts, and morphophonemic alternations associated with these suffixes.

Morphology and semantics of nounsuffiksiin vary across languages. Suffixes in this class can be derivational and may interact with number and case marking, exhibiting allomorphy conditioned by phonology or stress. Semantic values commonly associated with nounsuffiksiin include agent nouns (for example, from a verb: run → runner), result or process nouns (move → movement), and abstract nouns (happy → happiness). Some suffixes may also create instrument nouns or classify nouns by thematic roles. The exact inventory of suffixes and their multifunctional uses differ widely between language families.

Productivity and typology are central to nounsuffiksiin. In some languages, the suffixes are highly productive and form a large portion of the noun lexicon; in others, they are limited and restricted to specific stems or semantic domains. The presence or absence of noun-forming suffixes often correlates with other word-formation processes, such as compounding or zero-derivation, and with morphological alignment or case systems.

See also: derivational morphology, noun formation, suffixation, agent nouns, nominalization.