Valthungian/Nouns

Noun classes differ by suffix vowel and by gender. They may also differ by glides (/j/ or /w/) suffixed to the stem and/or the presence of infixive /n/. The main classes are those stems in /a/ or /ō/, in /i/, in /u/, or in /n/ (as described below: See “Strong” vs. “Weak”). There is also a small class of nouns in /r/ having to do with familial relations. Some former noun classes in Gothic (such as consontant‑stem and nd‑stem nouns) have been regularised in Valthungian through paradigmatic levelling, and their declensions have been assimilated into other classes.

Every noun in Valthungian (and many of the older Germanic languages, as well as modern German and Icelandic) has eight possible forms. These are the singular and plural forms of the nominative (those nouns which comprise the subject of the sentence), genitive (those used to indicate possession or relation), dative (the indirect object), and accusative (the direct object).

Masculine and feminine nouns usually take an ending of ‑s or ‑a for the nominative singular, while neuter nouns take no ending. The genitive is almost universally indicated by ‑is (this is equivalent to the “’s” of the English possessive). The dative usually takes ‑a. The accusative usually does not take any ending.

In the plural, Masculine and feminine nouns usually take ‑as as an ending; neuter takes ‑a. The genitive plural takes ‑aro, borrowed from Latin. The dative plural takes ‑am, but in many cases this ending undergoes a process of metathesis, rendering it ‑ma. Finally, the accusative plural of masculine and feminine nouns is usually ‑ans, but again may metathesise to ‑nas; neuter accusative plurals generally take ‑a.

Most of the actual declensions of nouns are fairly standard – much more standardised, in fact, than Gothic – however, the various phonological rules governing the language create a great deal of variation (See Phonology). It is important to be familiar with the rules set forth in the Phonology section of this document in order to fully understand some of the otherwise unexpected variants that emerge.

a‑Stem Variations

ba‑Stems

Stems which end in ‑ba in Proto‑Germanic become unvoiced in the nominative and accusative singular in Valthungian. Specifically, ba‑stems end in ‑f in the nominative and accusative, and have ‑v‑ elsewhere. The ba‑stems have also come to include the fa‑stems, which are now indistinguishable. Valthungian/n.st.m.ba

Strong neuter a-stem noun draf, ‘job’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	draf	dravis	drava	draf
Pl.	drava	dravaro	dravma	drava

da‑Stems

Following the same pattern as the ba‑stems, da‑stems have ‑ð‑ in most declensions but ‑þ in the nominative and accusative singular. The da‑stems have also come to include the þa‑stems, which are now indistinguishable.

Strong masculine a-stem noun mōþs, ‘disposition’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	mōþs	mōðis	mōða	mōþ
Pl.	mōðas	mōðaro	mōðma	mōðnas

Strong neuter a-stem noun wroþ, ‘word’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	wroþ	wroðis	wroða	wroþ
Pl.	wroða	wroðaro	wroðma	wroða

za‑Stems

The za‑stems also follow this voicing pattern, with ‑s in the nominative and accusative, and have ‑s‑ elsewhere. Unlike the ba‑ and da‑stems, however, the s‑stems remain distinct from the za-stems and have not been assimilated into them. The nominative masculine singular shows only ‑s rather than **‑ss.

Strong masculine a-stem noun mims, ‘meat’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	mims	mimžis	mimža	mims
Pl.	mimžas	mimžaro	mimžma	mimžnas

Strong neuter a-stem noun gǣs, ‘spear’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	gǣs	gǣžis	gǣža	gǣs
Pl.	gǣža	gǣžaro	gǣžma	gǣža

ga‑Stems

Stems ending in ‑gaz are regular except for the masculine nominative singular which has an ending of ‑ǧ where we would otherwise expect ‑gs. However, in Old Valthungian this stem patterned like the voicing alternation stems above, because /ɡ/ also became spirantised in the same environments as /b/ and /d/ (spellt ⟨gy⟩). Neuter g‑stem nouns are regular.

Strong masculine a-stem noun daǧ, ‘day’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	daǧ	dagis	daga	dag
Pl.	dagas	dagaro	dagma	dagnas

nda‑Stems

Stems ending in ‑ndaz are regular with the exception of the masculine singular nominative, which has the same ‑ǧ ending found in the ga‑stems above. Neuter nda‑stem nouns are regular.

Strong masculine a-stem noun hunǧ, ‘dog’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	hunǧ	hundis	hunda	hund
Pl.	hundas	hundaro	hundma	hundnas

sa‑Stems

Stems in ‑sa, as mentioned above, do not have voicing, so they don't merge with the za‑stems as may be expected. However, because the masculine nominative singular also has a final ‑s, one of them is dropped… but I’m not going to tell you which one.

Strong masculine a-stem noun hlas, ‘neck’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	hlas	hlasis	hlasa	hlas
Pl.	hlasas	hlasaro	hlasma	hlasnas

ra‑Stems

The ra‑stems behave similarly – they are ostensibly regular but the final ‑s is dropped from the masculine nominative singular – but the reason for this dropping happens much earlier, in pre-Gothic East Germanic. Originally it only affected masculine nouns ending in ‑r after a short vowel, but in Middle Valthungian times, it came to include all masculine nouns ending in ‑r. Neuter r‑stem nouns are regular.

Strong masculine a-stem noun wer, ‘man’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	wer	weris	wera	wer
Pl.	weras	weraro	werma	wernas

Cluster‑Stems

Similar to the r‑ and s‑stems, cluster stems are nouns ending in the clusters ‑st, ‑sp, ‑sk, ‑šk, or ‑ft. They are regular but for the lack of final ‑s in the nominative masculine singular. Neuter cluster‑stem nouns are regular.

Strong masculine a-stem noun fišk, ‘fish’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	fišk	fiškis	fiška	fišk
Pl.	fiškas	fiškaro	fiškma	fišknas

ha‑Stems

(skōfs) nom & acc sg have f; gu elsewhere

iha‑Stems

iha‑stems (slīs) it gets weird...

ma‑Stems

Masculine and neuter ma‑stem nouns are regular except that the dative plural ends in ‑am rather than ‑ma.

Strong masculine a-stem noun drǭs, ‘dream’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	drǭms	drǭmis	drǭma	drǭm
Pl.	drǭmas	drǭmaro	drǭmam	drǭmnas

Strong neuter a-stem noun rūm, ‘space’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	rūm	rūmis	rūma	rūm
Pl.	rūma	rūmaro	rūmam	rūma

mba‑Stems

The mba‑stems are largely regular, but the nasal‑stop combination prevents the stop (/b/) from being spirantised. (The same thing happens to the nda‑stems.) Further, the cluster mb cannot exist word‑finally or before a consonant, so the masculine and neuter nominative and accusative singular are reduced to an ending of ‑m rather than the expected **‑mb, and the dative plural and masculine accusative plural do not show metathesis (i.e. they are ‑am and ‑ans, respectively, rather than the expected **‑ma and **‑nas.)

Strong masculine a-stem noun lams, ‘sheep’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	lams	lambis	lamba	lam
Pl.	lambas	lambaro	lambam	lambans

Strong neuter a-stem noun kram, ‘cabbage’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	kram	krambis	kramba	kram
Pl.	kramba	krambaro	krambam	kramba

na‑Stems

• na‑stems (himins, lapins) – no metathesis in dative or accusative plural

Geminate a‑Stems

• geminate‑stems (puls, swams) single sonorant in nom and acc sg; extended syllabic reflex elsewhere

Syllabic a‑Stems

• syllabic stems (bagmas, naglas) – no metathesis, ‑a(‑) gets added where necessary

Syllabic ra‑Stems

• syllabic ra‑stems (þundra, naðra) – syllabic, also no nominative singular ‑s

ō‑Stems (Feminine)

The ō‑stems are really just the feminine version of the a‑stems, historically speaking.

ō‑Stems

The pure ō‑stems have even less drama than the masculine and neuter a‑stems. No metathesis, no umlaut, no palatalisation: pretty straightforward, really.

Strong feminine ō-stem noun snuža, ‘daughter‑in‑law’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	snuža	snužis	snuža	snuža
Pl.	snužas	snužaro	snužam	snužas

jō‑Stems

The jō‑stems have umlaut, but it is persistent throughout the paradigm, so there are no extra steps to learn. There are the usual palatal variations as well, but they are also consistent.

Strong feminine jō-stem noun henia, ‘hen’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	henia	henis	henia	henia
Pl.	henis	heniro	henim	henis

ijō‑Stems

The ijō‑stems are a bit weird, mainly because the nominative singular seems to have collapsed in Proto‑Germanic into a single ‑ī (more of Siever’s shenanigans), leaving a modern reflex of a simple ‑e following an unumlauted, unpalatalised stem. Otherwise, the ijō‑stems are indistinguishable from the jō‑stems in modern Valthungian.

Strong feminine ijō-stem noun hundre, ‘century’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	hundre	hyndris	hyndria	hyndria
Pl.	hyndris	hyndriro	hyndrim	hyndris

wō‑Stems

The wō‑stems are uneventful, differing from the standard ō‑stems only in that a /u/ shows up in some of the endings instead of the standard /a/.

Strong feminine ō-stem noun bandua, ‘symbol’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	bandua	bandus	bandua	bandua
Pl.	bandus	banduro	bandum	bandus

i‑Stems (Masculine & Feminine)

i‑Stems

The i‑stems are very similar to the a‑stems – the singular declension is identical to the masculine a‑stems – but the plural resembles the ja‑stems, and the nominative plural has umlaut. The i‑stems can be masculine or feminine, and their declensions are identical. There are no neuter i‑stem nouns.

Most nouns which were part of the “consonant‑stems” in Gothic (such as miluks or mēnaþs were assimilated into the i‑stem class.

Strong feminine i-stem noun dluþs, ‘feast’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	dluþs	dluðis	dluða	dluþ
Pl.	dlyðis	dluðaro	dluðim	dluðins

Strong masculine i-stem noun mats, ‘meal’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	mats	matis	mata	mat
Pl.	metis	mataro	matim	matins

u‑Stems (all genders)

u‑Stems

The u‑stems are similar to the i‑stems except – you guessed it! – the stems have /u/ instead of /i/. The masculine and feminine declensions are identical (like the i‑stems), but there are also neuter u‑stems. A large number of u‑stems are made up of borrowed Latin words ending in ‑us and Greek words ending in ‑ος (‑os). The genitive and dative singular of the u‑stems has been assimilated from the wa‑stems, and there is both umlaut and palatalisation in the nominative and genitive plural.

Strong masculine u-stem noun þāsus, ‘badger’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	þāsus	þāsus	þāsua	þāso
Pl.	þǣsis	þǣšigaro	þāsum	þāsuns

Strong feminine u-stem noun handus, ‘hand’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	handus	handus	handua	hando
Pl.	henǧis	henǧigaro	handum	handuns

Strong neuter u-stem noun šalto, ‘peach’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	šalto	šaltus	šaltua	šalto
Pl.	šaltua	šelčigaro	šaltum	šaltua

ju‑Stem

The ju‑stems are to the u‑stems as the ja‑stems are to the a‑stems. There is umlaut and palatalisation throughout the paradigm. Once again, the masculine and feminine declensions are identical.

The neuter u‑stem only exists in newly‑borrowed Latin or Latinate words ending in ‑ium (e.g. aluminio ‘aluminum’), while earlier borrowings of neuter nouns in ‑ium tend to be ja‑ or ija‑stems (e.g. ōraloge ‘clock’, from hōrologium)

Strong masculine ju-stem noun drynis, ‘voice’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	drynis	drynis	drynia	drynio
Pl.	drynis	drynigaro	drynim	drynis

Strong neuter ju-stem noun krœumio, ‘chrome’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	krœumio	krœumis	krœumio	krœumio
Pl.	krœumio	krœumigaro	krœumim	krœumio

r‑Stems (all genders)

The r‑stems are a very small class of nouns consisting of family members. Here is the full list:

Strong masculine r-stem noun faðra, ‘father’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	faðra	faðris	faðra	faðra
Pl.	feðris	faðro	faðrum	faðruns

Strong feminine r-stem noun mōðra, ‘mother’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	mōðra	mōðris	mōðra	mōðra
Pl.	mœuðris	mōðro	mōðrum	mōðruns

Strong neuter r-stem noun ǧutra, ‘grandchild’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	ǧutra	ǧutris	ǧutra	ǧutra
Pl.	ǧutris	ǧutro	ǧutrum	ǧutruns

þ-Stems (neuter)

There is a small group of neuter nouns which historically were known as consonant-stems. The masculine and feminine consonant-stems (words such as mēnaþs ‘month’ and bruǧ ‘city’) were assimilated into the i-stems, but the neuters were weird right from the start. In the late Proto-Germanic period there was a sound change known as Coronal Consonant Deletion in which the coronal consonants (/t, d, and θ/) were deleted word-finally. Most were then either restore or lost completely through analogical levelling; this is why English has what – with a t – while Gothic has 𐍈𐌰 (ƕa). Valthungian maintains the distinction, so these words retain their coronal consonant (at this point, always ð) in all declensions except for the nominative and accusative singular.

• alo ~ aluðis
• ile ~ iliðis
• mile ~ miliðis

n‑Stems (all genders)

The n‑stems, sometimes known as “weak nouns,” decline in the same manner as weak adjectives. Like the a‑, ō‑, and u‑stems, they have various reflexes depending on the presence of glides between the stem and the endings. Weak neuter nouns are very rare, and mostly refer to parts of the body.

ōn‑Stem

Weak masculine ô-stem noun gumna, ‘person’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	guma	gumins	gumin	gumna
Pl.	gumnas	gumnaro	gumma	gumnas

Weak feminine ǭ-stem noun drjusa, ‘cliff’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	drjusa	drjusans	drjusan	drjusan
Pl.	drjusans	drjusnaro	drjusam	drjusans

Weak neuter ô-stem noun hretna, ‘heart’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	hreta	hretins	hretin	hreta
Pl.	hretana	hretnaro	hretnam	hretana

jōn‑Stem

Weak masculine jô-stem noun sinþia, ‘traveller’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	sinþia	sinþins	sinþin	sinþin
Pl.	sinþins	sinþinaro	sinþim	sinþins

Weak feminine jǭ-stem noun sinþia, ‘traveller’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	sinþia	sinþins	sinþin	sinþin
Pl.	sinþins	sinþinaro	sinþim	sinþins

Weak neuter jô-stem noun lipia, ‘lip’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	lipia	lipins	lipin	lipia
Pl.	lipina	lipinaro	lipim	lipina

wōn‑Stem

Weak masculine wô-stem noun ankua, ‘butter’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	ankua	ankuns	ankun	ankun
Pl.	ankuns	ankunaro	ankum	ankuns

Weak feminine wǭ-stem noun þīfua, ‘thunder’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	þīfua	þīfuns	þīfun	þīfun
Pl.	þīfuns	þīfunaro	þīfum	þīfuns

Weak neuter wô-stem noun tegua, ‘toe’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	tegua	teguns	tegun	tegua
Pl.	teguna	tegunaro	tegum	teguna

īn‑Stem

The īn‑stems are exclusively feminine, and are comprised largely of nominalized adjectives.

Weak feminine į̄-stem noun ǣði, ‘mother’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	ǣði	ǣðins	ǣðin	ǣðin
Pl.	ǣðins	ǣðinaro	ǣðim	ǣðins

r/n‑Stems (“Heteroclitic Nouns”)

The r/n‑stems, also known as “heteroclitic nouns” or “heteroclites,” are a small group of weak neuter nouns in which the typical ‑n‑ of the ending is replaced by ‑r‑ in some declensions. This is an old, old relic likely from Pre‑Indo‑European. There is no evidence that heteroclites were present in Gothic. Fōr ‘fire’ and watra ‘water’ only occur in the singular.

Weak neuter r/n-stem noun ǧikur, ‘liver’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	ǧikur	ǧikuns	ǧikun	ǧikun
Pl.	ǧikuna	ǧikunaro	ǧikum	ǧikuna

Weak neuter r/n-stem noun fōr, ‘fire’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	fōr	funins	funin	fōn

Weak neuter r/n-stem noun watra, ‘water’
	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Sg.	watra	watins	watin	watna