Declension classes in Latvian and Latgalian: morphomics vs. morphophonology
Nicole Nau
Warsaw: University of Warsaw, Baltic Linguistics 2 (2011), pp. 141 — 177.This paper explores the system of noun declension in Latvian and Latgalian. It is claimed that despite superficial similarities the principles underlying the two systems are different. In Latvian, a characteristic vowel that has no other function than to distinguish classes is present in most case-endings. In Latgalian inflectional morphology, on the other hand, an important feature is the distinction between phonologically hard vs. soft stems.