szóvégs

Szóvégs is a term used in linguistics to refer to the endings that attach to word stems to indicate grammatical function and to form new words. In Hungarian grammar, szóvégs denote suffixes that attach to a root to convey information such as number, case, tense, or aspect, and to create derived forms.

The concept covers two broad kinds of endings: inflectional endings, which reflect grammar (for example, case, number, possession, tense), and derivational endings, which build new words or change the word class. Inflectional endings modify existing words without changing their core meaning, while derivational endings produce new lexical items, often moving a word from one class to another (for example, a noun to a noun or verb).

Examples illustrate the range of szóvégs. Nouns: ház + -ak yields házak (houses); ház + -ban yields házban (in the house). Verbs: ír + -ok yields írok (I write). Derivational: olvas + -ás yields olvasás (reading). These endings also interact with phonology and vowel harmony, shaping how suffixes attach to different stems.

In linguistic analysis, recording the szóvégs of a language helps describe its morphology and how suffixes contribute to meaning, word formation, and syntactic alignment. The study of szóvégs is part of broader discussions of affixes, inflection, and derivation in Hungarian and other agglutinative languages.

See also: suffix, affix, inflection, derivation.