When we talk about declensions, we deal mainly with nouns (and also adjectives that are used nominally, i.e., as nouns, as in “The good, the bad and the ugly”). The second declension comprises all feminine words ending in i, with the exception of monosyllabic or disyllabic nouns (not adjectives) having a single consonant (unless it is j or x) before the i, e.g. bi (seed), koddi
Unlike the words of the first declension, where neuter nouns form their plurals differently from the masculine nouns, the words belonging to the second declension form not only their flex stems but even their plurals in the same manner. The singular flex stem is formed by replacing the ending i with ê, the plural (nominative) is formed by replacing the i with eô, and the plural flex stem is formed by by replacing the i with eam. However, in the case of disyllabic adjectives with a single consonant before the i (mentioned above), if the first vowel happens to be an o or e, it opens out in the plural flex stem. Thus the o‘s in gori, gorê and goreô are all closed, while it is open in the word goream. Listen to these sounds in the last example below.
Here are some examples of words of the second declension:
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| bokddi Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
bokddê Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
goat | bokddeô Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
bôkddeam Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
goats | |
| ostori Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
ostorê Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
woman | ostoreô Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
ostôream Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
women | |
| mhatari Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
mhatarê Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
old lady | mhatareô Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
mhataream Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
old ladies | |
| gori Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
gorê Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
fair lady | goreô Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
goream Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. |
fair ladies | |