Abstract
In New High German the following five declension classes of the noun are distinguished: 1) the feminine declension class (comprising all feminine nouns), 2) the so-called s-class (with masculine and neuter nouns), 3), the class of strong nouns (masculine and neuter nouns), 4) the mixed class (masculine and neuter nouns) and 5) the class of weak nouns (masculine nouns only). In the spoken register and sometimes even in the written register, speakers of German tend to inflect certain weak nouns according to the mixed or even to the strong class. The present paper consists of two major parts. In the first part, I give an account of how the inflection of weak nouns is treated in two dictionaries giving advice to readers being in doubt about the correct form. In the second part, I investigate possible reasons for the transition of nouns from the weak to the mixed or to the strong class. I argue that the weak declension differs considerably from all other declension classes in that the accusative and the dative of the singular are marked by a case suffix (absent in all other classes), that only in this class the genitive of the singular is not marked by the suffix -s and that only in the weak class there are two different forms for the accusative and the dative singular, depending on the syntactic context. Accordingly, speakers' doubts about the correct inflection of weak nouns are explained by the deviance of the weak class from all other declension classes of Modern German.
Highlights
In New High German the following five declension classes of the noun are distinguished: 1) the feminine declension class, 2) the so-called s-class, 3), the class of strong nouns, 4) the mixed class and 5) the class of weak nouns
I give an account of how the inflection of weak nouns is treated in two dictionaries giving advice to readers being in doubt about the correct form
I argue that the weak declension differs considerably from all other declension classes in that the accusative and the dative of the singular are marked by a case suffix, that only in this class the genitive of the singular is not marked by the suffix -s and that only in the weak class there are two different forms for the accusative and the dative singular, depending on the syntactic context
Summary
Im Duden lautet die Überschrift, unter der das Problem behandelt wird: "Nicht anerkannte Unterlassung der Deklination" (Duden 2001: 859). Das sieht wie folgt aus: Deutsche Wörter und Lehnwörter: Bei den folgenden deutschen oder entlehnten Substantiven ist die Unterlassung der Deklination nicht korrekt: des Bärs, dem, den Bär statt: des Bären, dem, den Bären; [...]; des Finks, dem, den Fink, statt: des Finken, dem, den Finken; des Gecks, dem, den Geck, statt: des Gecken, dem, den Geck; dem, den Held, statt: dem, den Helden; dem, den Hirt, statt: dem, den Hirten; dem, den Mensch, statt: dem, den Menschen, [...] (Duden 2001: 860). Weiter heißt es: Fremdwörter: Bei den folgenden fremden Substantiven ist die Unterlassung der Deklination nicht korrekt: des Automats, dem, den Automat statt: des Automaten, dem, den Automaten; [...]; dem, den Diplomat statt: dem, den Diplomaten; des Elefants, dem, den Elefant statt: des Elefanten, dem, den Elefanten; dem, den Exponenten statt dem, den Exponent; [...] (Duden 2001: 860f.). Es gibt (im Gegensatz zu einer Reihe von anderen Artikeln) keinerlei Erklärungen für die Übergänge zur gemischten und (sehr selten) zur starken Deklination
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