Re: Nouns from Verbs

Rob Haden wrote:

>I was wondering what your methods are for deriving nouns from verbs.  More
>specifically, how to derive instances of verbal activities from verbal
>roots/stems -- i.e., "(a) kick" from "(to) kick".  My language, OurTongue,*
>already has a general derivation method for abstract/durative activities: a
>masdar form in -ma (e.g., daruma "being afraid, having fear").  But most
>languages have some nouns derived from verbs which mean "instance of
>[verbing]" like the example above.  I'd like to keep the new forms distinct
>from the verbal roots.
In Rhean, the infinitive is used as a noun meaning "the act of -ing". There
is another verbal noun form as well, usually for an individual instance of
an act. In the case of "kick", and a (small) few others, it is formed by a
bare stem. But most verbs take some kind of suffix.

This system gets messy: -ak verbs may form this noun in -0 (bare stem), -
ut, or -ad; -ek verbs in -o, -ud, and a few in -ed.[1] Both classes include
a few in -uk, formed from verbs that end in either -uak or -uek. And then
there are irregulars.

Some regular examples:
pentak "(to) kick" --> pent "(a) kick"
haikak "(to) scratch" --> haik "(a) scratch"
marbak "pay" --> marbut "(a) payment"
basmak "(to) smile" --> basmut "(a) smile"
raabak "join, connect" --> raabad "(a) connection"
dorek --> doro "dance"
ps'oktek --> ps'okto "step"
zritek --> zritud "crash"
dyefek "act (feign)" --> dyefud "act (pretense)"
asmek "permit" --> asmed "permission"
tremuak --> tremuk "pause"
gazruek --> gazruk "bet, wager"

And some irregulars:

amiak "search for, look for" --> amit "search"
ganatek "sing" --> ganad "song"
nadek "(to) hope" --> nade "(a) hope"
dahkek "(to) laugh" --> dahuk "(a) laugh"
ravowak --> ravo "work"

>Also, a question: which is generally more common, nouns from verbs or
verbs from nouns?

If you consider the infinitive as a noun (and in Rhean it actually
declines), then the former. But maybe someone's actually done a survey on
verb nouning and noun verbing in various languages.


M

PS. To make the Rhean system even nastier, all verbal nouns in -o belong to
an "irregular" declension!