That thing happened to me where I wrote up a huge long post and then accidentally lost it as I was trying to post it. So here is an abbreviated version of what I wrote up this afternoon. I think it touches all the main points, though.
Note: You will notice inconsistencies between this post and the two OPs. I am aware of this, but have chosen to keep the OPs as is for now, for various reasons.
History of Noun Declension
A number of changes had already been underway in Greek. The dative had become obsolete, and phonological changes, such as loss of vowel length, led to merging declension paradigms. First and second declensions had largely, though not entirely, boiled down to the following forms in the singular:
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Singular Nouns
M F N
Nom -ος -α -ον
Acc -ον -αν -ον
Gen -ου -ας -ου
Not all nouns fit neatly into the gendered paradigms. However, it seemed that the association of the paradigms with gender had been enregistered among Greek speakers as:
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Singular Nouns
M F N
Nom -ς Ø -ν
Acc -ν -ν -ν
Gen Ø* -ς Ø
* While the morpheme was –ου, it was likely still pronounced similarly or identically to ο in this environment, such that the speakers interpreted it identically with ο.
This theme spread into the third declension via the accusative form:
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Before After
N πατήρ -ς→ πατέρας
A πατέρα -ν→ πατέραν
G πατρός Ø→ πατέρα
Likewise, the feminine paradigm was assigned to feminine nouns:
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Before After
N μητήρ Ø→ μητέρα
A μητέρα -ν→ μητέραν
G μητρός -ς→ μητέρας
While the third declension as a distinct paradigm was collapsing in the singular, it was the third declension’s plural forms that were spreading. This process began centuries earlier, with a-stem nouns forming their plurals like consonant-stems. This may have been triggered through the phonological merger of αι with ε.
By this time period, these plural forms had been firmly established within the a-stem paradigm. Its spread in other paradigms was underway and ongoing. It did not, however, affect o-stem nouns, which to this day remain untouched in Modern Greek. The chart below indicates the incoming paradigm.
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Cons/a-stem Other stems o-stem
N -ες -ες -οι
A -ας -ας -ους
G -ων -ων -ων
The plural forms no longer marked gender. Rather, the -ες, -ας, -ων forms were becoming the default forms, and o-stem forms were the untouched exceptions. This left significant overlap in gender.
This was the state of the language in the 11th century, when the would-be Vlachians settled in Paristrion.
At this time, another key feature was already underway. Final -ν had begun to disappear. It is difficult to measure how advanced the process had already progressed, but it was not long before the process was complete among the Vlachian dialect.
This had important consequences for the case system, which would now appear thus:
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Singular Nouns
M F N
Nom -ς Ø Ø
Acc Ø Ø Ø
Gen Ø -ς Ø
Plural Nouns
Other stems o-stem
N -ες -οι
A -ας -ους
G -ω/Ø -ω/Ø
The only remaining marked forms in the singular declensions were the nominative masculine noun and the genitive feminine noun. These forms quickly fell out of use. The genitive, now indistinguishable in the singular and overwhelmingly unmarked across the board, soon collapsed as well.
The noun declension system was now quite simplified and no longer marked for gender:
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Default o-stem
Sg Pl Sg Pl
Nom -[ ] -ες -ο -οι
Obl -[ ] -ας -ο -ους
This system remained in place for a long period. Eventually, the nominative became relegated solely for vocative functions.
Later phonological developments further eroded the remnants of the singular declension. Final open unstressed vowels were reduced. In some cases, the reduction was reversed, and the final vowels remain in place up to the present. In most cases, however, the reduced vowel became devoiced, and subsequently disappeared, or left traces.
Examples:
- Apocope: σκάφον > σκάφο ['skafo] > ['ska:fo] > ['skafŏ] > ['skafŏ̥] > ['skaf] σκαφ (pl. σκάφυς) ‘ship, vessel’
- Apocope: θάλασσαν > θάλασσα ['θalasa] > ['θa:lasa] > ['θa.lă.să] > ['θal.să] > ['θaj.să] > ['θajs] θαις (pl. θάισες) 'sea'
- Labialization: οὐρανόν > οὐρανo ['urano] > ['uo.ra.no] > ['wo.ră.nŏ] > ['wornŏ̥] > [wornʷ] > [worm] υορμ (pl. ρανύς) ‘sky’
- Labialization: λόγον > λόγο ['logo] > ['loa.Go] > ['loa.Gŏ] > ['loa.Gŏ̥] > [loaGʷ] > [loaw] > [lowa] λόυα (pl. λόαγυς) ‘word, speech, saying’
- Back mutation (α): βάρβαρον > βάρβαρο ['βarβaro] > ['βa:rβaro] > ['var.va.rŏ] > ['var.va.rŏ̥] > ['var.varʷ] > ['var.vəor] βάρβεορ (pl. βάρβαρυς) ‘barbaric, uncivilized, barbarian’
- Back mutation (ε): ἄπλετον > άπλετο ['apleto] > ['a:pleto] > ['ap.le.tŏ] > ['ap.λe.tŏ] > ['ap.λetʷ] > ['ap.λeut] άπλευτ (pl. άπλετυς) 'limitless, boundless, undefined'
- Back mutation (ι): σκεπτικόν > σκεπτικο [skeptiko] > ['skeap.ti.ko] > ['ʃçeap.tsʲi.kŏ] > ['ʃeap.tsikʷ] > ['ʃeap.tsʏk] σέαπτσυικ (pl. σέαπτσικυς) 'contemplative, thoughtful'
- Blocked devoicing*: ἡμέρα > μέρα ['mera] > ['mea.ra] > ['mea.ră] > ['mea.ra] μέαρα (pl. μέαρες) ‘day’
- Palatalization: συγγνώμηv > συγγνώμη [siN.'no.mi] > [sim.'noa.mi] > ['sim.noa.mĭ] > ['sim.noa.mĭ̥] > ['sim.nomʲ] > ['sim.noɲ] σίμνονὴ ‘sorry’
* Liquids and plosives cannot cross syllable boundaries to end a diphthongized syllable, thus the final syllable is fortified rather than devoiced.