THE FIRST PART OF THIS TWO-PART ANALYSIS DESCRIBES MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SERBOCROATIAN NOUNS ONLY. THERE IS A SHORT DISCUSSION OF THE SOURCES AND DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN ESTABLISHING WHAT IS THE STANDARD SPEECH FOR THE PURPOSE OF ANALYSIS. NOUNS ARE DIVIDED INTO THREE DECLENSIONAL CLASSES, ACCORDING TO ENDING OF THE GENITIVE SINGULAR CASE. GENDER FEATURES ARE DETERMINED BY TWO FACTORS--SYNTACTIC CONSEQUENCE AND PRONOUN REPLACEMENT. STEMS CONSIST OBLIGATORILY OF A ROOT WITH WHICH THERE MAY OCCUR ONE OR MORE PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES. THE PAPER ALSO DISCUSSES (1) MIXED NOUNS (THOSE OF MIXED GENDERS OR DECLENSIONAL TYPES), (2) "SINGULARIA TANTUM" NOUNS, (3) LENGTH ALTERNATION IN THE NOUN STEM, AND (4) STRESS SHIFTS. ALL SERBOCROATIAN EXAMPLES ARE CITED IN STANDARD SPELLING WITH THE ADDITION OF SYMBOLS FOR ACCENTS AND VOWEL LENGTH. A SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY IS LISTED AT THE BEGINNING. (AW)