The use of plural form of the noun in the Finnish language

Abstract

The focus of the study is the category of plurality of the noun in the Finnish language. The article studies plural forms of the noun in the Finnish language. The aim of the publication is to study the grammatical and semantic features of the plural forms in the Finnish language, to show the interrelation of different linguistic means related to vocabulary and morphology, using them to express the plurality, to reveal the features of the functioning of these means in the context of the utterance. The study was conducted on the material of artistic and journalistic literature in Finnish. The main research method is a synchronous analytical description using elements of the component, contextual, distributional methods, as well as the method of a functional semantic field. The method of analysis is presented by both an onomasiological approach, meaning «from functions to means», as well as semasiological approach meaning «from means to functions». The work systematizes categorical meanings transmitted by the plural forms. In the situation with quantification, the division of substances into continuous and discrete is significant. The dual category in modern Finnish is not fully represented. The grammatical forms of its manifestation are preserved in possessive affixes. The value of singularity / multiplicity, denoted by these affixes, is determined by the syntactic environment or by using the context. Analysis of the contexts of the use of the plural form allowed us to distinguish two types of characteristics – common and lingo-specific. The presented illustrative material clearly demonstrates the conditions for the implementation of these characteristics. The category of number in Finnish is related to the ideas of certainty-uncertainty.