Stoffnut – Wikipedia

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A Dust or one Fabric designation (also: Kontinuativum , Substance expression , Fabric sub -substance, substance designation, substance nomas, material subsequent, material name, material nomas, masses)) [first] is a noun that conceptualizes its speakers as a uniform, non -divided entity.

The established term Dust is misleading in this respect when he as an equivalent to the technical term Kontinuativum does not refer to the semantic category of the concrete (in contrast to abstract), but to the semantic category of non-discretion nomina. It does not mean that such nomina cannot simply be multiplied by plural formation without changing the qualitative meaning of the singular. Examples:

  • For concrete: Salt Is not the multiplication of Salt The fabric, but also refers to different fabrics of a higher -level category Salt .
  • For abstract: Love Is not the multiplication of Love , but denotes various events of a higher -level category Love .

Fabric names in German [ Edit | Edit the source text ]

In the German language, the fabric names include all things that can be measured but cannot count discreet; On the other hand, however, many abstracts that cannot be measured objectively, but with measuring quantifiers such as few or much can connect. Examples of semantic classes:

  • Features, liquids and gases, e.g. B. Salt , Wood , ore , Diaper , Our taste , sulfur , Neon , Plutonium
    • Food substances and means of vegetable and animal origin, e.g. B. protein , Butter , Meat , More , Cocoa , Jerusalem artichoke , Fat , Zucker
  • Feelings like Love , Them , Trouble , Proud , Falling in love , indifference
  • Concepts like Money , Debt , To use , Peace , Responsibility , Responsibility , hospitality , xenophobia , Trust

In the German language, fabric names are distinguished from subject names by means of determination: The indefinite article for fabric names in German has the form Ø instead of a- . One and the same lexema can be both fabric and pieces. Example: 

(a) We had Ø kangaroo for dinner yesterday. 
(b) We had a kangaroo for dinner yesterday.

In sentence (a) is kangaroo A fabric name that denotes a non-discrete mass of kangaroo (e.g. meat). In sentence (b) refers kangaroo In contrast, on a discrete copy of the genus kangaroo .

Quantification [ Edit | Edit the source text ]

The following applies in the German language: Fabric names can only be used with quantifiers that measure a non-discrete mass or determine their frequency, e.g. B. much , few , all- , no- , sleeve- .

Quantifiers that determine a discrete number of speakers cannot be used for fabric names: * lots of love , * few milk .

Dust names such as Inanimata [ Edit | Edit the source text ]

Fabric names are excluded from the semantic revitalized, i.e. H. Fabric names are always inanimata. Therefore, the following addition would also be possible in (b), but not in (a): 

(A2) *We had Ø kangaroo for dinner yesterday. 
(B2) We had a kangaroo for dinner yesterday.

Plural formation [ Edit | Edit the source text ]

In the grammatical properties of these nouns, this is reflected in that the continuity in contrast to countable nouns do not form a plural and not directly with numerals (numeralia) and quantifiers (such as none, all, many, some ) can be combined.

The noun milk does not form a plural (the plural forms Milk or. Milk Find exclusively technical use) and cannot be counted in general by numeralia: Two milks, three milks Usf., Or the plural does not behave to the singular as usual, but learns a different meaning (such as is Water not as a plural form Water common, Water accordingly is a fabric name, although there is a plural).

Variety [ Edit | Edit the source text ]

Some fabric names form special variety: Metal or Wood Although used as fabric names without plural, but also form plural shapes to designate different types of metal or wood: Metals , Wooden .

In some languages ​​such as French, fabric names know a partutitive genitive that formally differ from other nouns: 

Do you still want meat? "Do you still want (from) meat?" (So: part of the existing amount of meat) Do you still want meat? "Do you still want the meat?" (So: the entire amount of meat)
  1. ↑ Fritz Hermans: Language, culture and identity. Reflections over three totality terms . In: Language history as cultural history. Walter de Gruyter, 1999, S. 365.