Minhast: Difference between revisions

In Modern Standard Minhast and the majority of dialects, [[Minhast#Augmentive_Nouns|Augmentation]], along with [[Minhast#Type_I_Noun_Incorporation_Derivation|Type I Noun Incorporation]], is the most prevalent form of derivation.  Augmentation, in addition to its primary function of deriving larger versions of the noun root, can derive mass or collective nouns.  The creation of augmentative nouns does not occur on an ad-hoc basis, as is the case in NI-derived lexical items, but where a perceived need to describe a new phenomenon exists.  As a result, augmentative nouns may differ between dialects, or even between local speech communities within the same dialectal region.  This is a characteristic of "institutionalized" lexification.  Augmentation is restricted to nouns; augmentation via an intermediary process, via ''=naft'' nominalization is barred.  In the Dog Speaker and Lower Minhast dialects, deriving nouns from verbal roots through the augmentation process may occur provided the deverbal Participial affix ''-x-'' has been applied before augmentation.  This form of augmentation is more flexible, occurring with greater frequency among the Dog Speaker and Lower Minhast dialects.