There are signs that Middle Norwegian varieties display a minimal nominal, N ellipsis.
In some varieties of Norwegian, adjectival remnants in nominal ellipsis display the definiteness suffixes that are otherwise reserved for the missing nouns, differentiating gender and number:
- Nest finest årstia e her. Men kjenn att i gle meig te den finesta❄️
second finest season is here but feel that I enjoy me to the finest.DEF[F]
'The second best season is here. But I'm looking forward to the very best (season).' - Synd den kviten er solgt.
pity the white.DEF[M] is sold
'Pity that the white one/offroader has been sold.' - Æ ska ha bare dæm småan.
I shall have only the small.DEF[PL]
'I'll only have the small ones/railway tracks.'
What might this imply for the size of the ellipsis and its licensing conditions?
Cf. Saab (2018), section 22.4.3., and Julien (2005), Noun Phrases from a Scandinavian Perspective.