3 The Interdependence of Adaptation, Derivation, and Inflection in a Mixed Morphology

Abstract

The morphology of a mixed language like Scandoromani presents a great challenge: the formation of new words, the adaptation and camouflaging of loan words, and the adaptation of the lexicon to Scandinavian inflectional morphology and prosody prove intricate and unpredictable. A number of noun categories from inflected Romani factor into Scandoromani derivation and inflection: i.e., gender, animacy (animate/ inanimate), and the matic status. Scandoromani inflection follows Scandinavian, which means that nouns occur in four forms: indefinite singular, definite singular, indefinite plural, and definite plural. The Scandoromani morphology of derivations and loan-word adaptations are among the most intriguing aspects of the language. The verb morphology of inflected Romani is highly complex, with markings for different persons and a complicated system of tense, mood, and aspect that varies between dialects. Scandoromani has only one type of verbal inflection, corresponding to the so-called 'weak' inflection of Swedish and Norwegian.Keywords: mixed language; mixed morphology; Norwegian; noun; Scandinavian; Scandoromani; Swedish