ABSTRACT NOUNS IN SLOVAK ROMANI

This study aims to describe the onomasiological structure of abstract nouns in Slovak Romani. The onomasiological base of this structure is represented by the formants -(i)ben, -(i)pen or -(i)šagos, and the onomasiological mark by bases of different parts of speech such as verbs, adjectives, past participles, adverbs, nouns, pronouns, prepositions, numerals or particles. The study focuses especially on an analysis of names of actions and names of qualities, which constitute the richest subgroup of abstract nouns. The object of analysis is onomasiological marks – motivating words, which are the main indicator of the meaning of action or the meaning of quality of an abstract noun. In some cases they are transpositions from motivating words into abstract nouns; in others new naming units are generated to refer to new content and express new meanings. What then plays a significant role in determining the meaning of an abstract noun is context.