A Grammar of Kolyma Yukaghir

Elena Maslova

• Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9783110175271
• eBook ISBN: 9783110197174
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Linguistics
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Kolyma Yukaghir is a seriously endangered language spoken by about 50 people in the northeast of Asiatic Russia. It is one of the two surviving languages of the Yukaghir family, which is considered by different scholars either as an isolate left over from before the expansion of other languages and language families into Siberia, or as a distant relative of the Uralic family. In many ways, Yukaghir fits the grammatical type widespread among the languages of Siberia, namely that of predominantly verb-final dependent-marking language with relatively rich agglumative morphology and deranking strategies of clause linking. Furthermore, it has a number of typologically remarkably features, which will be of interest to general linguists irrespective of their theoretical orientation. These include Yukaghir focus-marking system, differential object marking based on global effects of person hierarchy, the obligatory use of bound possesive markers to indicate non-coreference of the possessor with the subject, elaborated switch-reference system, initimate interaction between aspect and valence-changing derivation, etc.

The book incorporates all major components of descriptive grammar, from phonology to syntax, with a special chapter on coreference and discourse coherence, annotated and translated sample texts, a Yukaghir-English vocabulary, and a subject index. The description is based on extensive field materials and richly exemplified by non-elicited data. The organization of the book facilitates its use as a reference grammar, with numerous cross-references between sections and concise summaries of interrelated phenomena discussed in various parts of the grammar.

The book is of interest to scholars of Uralic and Siberian languages, linguistic typology, and general linguistics.

Table of contents

• Abbreviations
• 1. Introduction
• 1. Kolyma Yukaghir and its genetic affiliation
• 2. An overview of Kolyma Yukaghir grammar
• 2.1. Phonology and morphophonemics
• 2.2. Morphology
• 2.3. Syntax
• 3. About this grammar
• 3.1. Purpose
• 3.2. The structure of the grammar
• 3.3. Data for this study and exemplification
• 3.4 Terminology and glossing conventions
• 2. Kolyma Yukaghir and its speakers
• 1. The Kolyma Yukaghirs
• 1.1. Population figures and geographical location
• 1.2. The village of Nelemnoye
• 1.3. Some remarks on Yukaghir history
• 1.4. On ethnonyms
• 2. Sociolinguistic situation in Nelemnoye
• 3. Accents and varieties
• 4. The effect of language contact on Kolyma Yukaghir
• 5. Kolyma and Tundra Yukaghir
• 3. Phonology
• 1. Segmental phonological units
• 1.1. Vowels
• 1.2. Consonants
• 1.3. Transcription
• 2. Phonotactics
• 2.1. Syllable structure
• 2.2. Consonant clusters
• 2.3. Vowel clusters
• 2.4. Vowel harmony
• 3. Phonological and morphophonemic alternations
• 3.1. Syllable-final consonant alternations
• 3.2. Syllable-initial alternations of consonants
• 3.3. Suffix-initial /j/
• 3.4. The morphoneme {E} and related alternations
• 3.5. Epenthetic submorphs
• 4. Word stress
• 4. Parts of speech and inflectional paradigms
• 1. Nouns vs. verbs
• 1.1. Nominal paradigm
• 1.2. Verbal paradigm
• 1.3. Relationship between the major paradigms
• 2. Adverbs
• 2.1. Generalities
• 2.2. Locative paradigm
• 3. Attributes and properties
• 3.1. Attributive forms of nouns and verbs
• 3.2. Qualitative verbs
• 3.3. Adverbial use of qualitative verbs
• 3.4. Nonverbal qualitative stems
• 4. Closed classes
• 5. Nominal morphology
• 1. Formation of major categories
• 1.1. Plural formation
• 1.2. Comitative formation
• 1.3. Possessive forms
• 1.4. Consonantal stems
• 2. Functions of the Possessive markers
• 3. Functions of the Number forms
• 3.1. Functions of the Singular
• 3.2. Functions of the Plural
• 4. Functions of the cases
• 4.1. Core cases
• 4.2. Other cases
• 5. Other nominal forms
• 5.1. The Attributive form
• 5.2. The Privative form
• 5.3. The Temporal Form
• 5.4. The Prospective form
• 5.5. Verbal forms
• 6. Nominal derivation
• 6.1. Derivational suffixes
• 6.2. Compounds
• 6.3. Lexicalization of verb forms
• 6.4. Conversion
• 6. Verb morphology
• 1. Major types of verb forms
• 1.1. The Finite forms
• 1.2. The Attributive forms
• 1.3. The Nominal forms
• 1.4. Switch-reference forms (converbs)
• 2. Tense and Mood
• 2.1. The Tense-Mood subparadigm
• 2.2. Functions of the non-Future
• 2.3. Functions of the Future
• 2.4. Functions of the Irrealis
• 2.5. Functions of the non-Future Inferential
• 2.6. Functions of the Future Inferential (Hypothetical)
• 2.7. Functions of the Prospective
• 2.8. Functions of the Imperative
• 2.9. Periphrastic Tense-Mood Forms
• 2.10. Desiderative
• 3. Aspect
• 3.1. Preliminaries
• 3.2. The Imperfective in -nu-
• 3.3. “Internal” Aspect marking
• 3.4. Habitual
• 3.5. Ingressive and Inchoative
• 3.6. Resultative and Stative
• 3.7. Other aspect-related markers
• 4. Valence-changing morphology
• 4.1. Preliminaries
• 4.2. Denominai Proprietive verbs
• 4.3. Causative
• 4.4. Transitivizers and detransitivizers
• 4.5. Reciprocal and Reflexive
• 7. Morphology of closed classes
• 1. Pronouns
• 1.1. Personal pronouns
• 1.2. Demonstrative pronouns
• 1.3. Interrogative pro-forms
• 1.4. Indefinite Pronouns
• 1.5. Universal quantifiers
• 2. Numerals
• 2.1. Cardinal numerals
• 2.2. Ordinal numerals
• 2.3. Frequentative adverbials
• 3. Postpositions
• 3.1. Spatial postpositions
• 3.2. Postpositions with spatial and temporal meanings
• 3.3. Comparative postposition
• 8. Noun phrase and postpositional phrase
• 1. The structure of the noun phrase
• 1.1. Overview of NP types
• 1.2. Word order in the noun phrase
• 2. Noun phrases as noun modifiers
• 2.1. Zero marking: NPM+NPH-CASE
• 2.2. Possessive (head) marking: NPM NPH-POSS-CASE
• 2.3. Attributive marking: NPM-ATTR+NPH-CASE
• 3. Quantifiers
• 4. NP conjunction
• 4.1. Comitative strategy
• 4.2. Asyndeton
• 4.3. Conjunction with tāhile ‘then’
• 5. Postpositional phrases
• 5.1. Possessive pronouns vs. Possessive markers
• 5.2. Attributive marking
• 9. Syntax of the clause
• 1. Core participants and grammatical relations
• 1.1. Finite clauses: summary of case marking
• 1.2. Non-finite clauses
• 1.3. “Pragmatic motivations” for case marking
• 1.4. Grammatical relations
• 1.5. Constituent order
• 2. Overview of verb patterns
• 2.1. Introductory notes
• 2.2. One-slot patterns
• 2.3. Monotransitive pattern
• 2.4. Patterns with a Dative slot
• 2.5. Patterns with Ablative
• 2.6. Patterns with Directional slot
• 2.7. Patterns with non-primary Experiencer
• 2.8. Reciprocal pattern
• 3. Clausal adjuncts
• 3.1. Overview of clausal adjuncts
• 3.2. Sociative adjuncts
• 10. Clause chaining
• 1. Types of clause chaining
• 1.1. Switch reference
• 1.2. Ordinary vs. Conditional chaining
• 1.3. Structural cohesion
• 2. Semantics of ordinary chains
• 2.1. General semantic properties and “loose” chaining
• 2.2. Temporal relations in clause chains
• 2.3. Backgrounding
• 2.4. Semantic cohesion
• 3. Conditional constructions
• 3.1. Predictive conditional constructions
• 3.2. Generic conditional constructions
• 3.3. The unreality conditional constructions
• 3.4. Inferential conditional constructions
• 4. The concessive construction
• 11. Subordination
• 1. Nominal Complements
• 1.1. Introductory notes
• 1.2. Complements in the S slot
• 1.3. Complements in the O slot
• 1.4. Detached nominal complements
• 1.5. The verb medū- ‘be heard’: Instrumental Action Nominal
• 1.6. Complements in the Directional slot
• 2. Minor complementation strategies
• 2.1. Clause chaining as a strategy of complementation
• 2.2. The Supine complements
• 2.3. Applicatives of complement-taking verbs
• 3. Relative clauses
• 3.1. Attributive relative clauses
• 3.2. Nominal relative clauses
• 3.3. Headless relative clauses
• 4. Adverbial clauses
• 4.1. Temporal Adverbial clauses
• 4.2. Spatial adverbial clauses
• 4.3. Causal clauses
• 4.4. The Supine Purpose clause
• 4.5. Comparative adverbial clauses
• 12. Nominal predicates and grammatical Focus
• 1. Clauses with nominal predicates
• 1.1. Descriptive clauses
• 1.2. Proprietive clauses
• 1.3. Minor copular-like clause patterns
• 2. Syntax of the Focus construction
• 2.1. Introductory remarks
• 2.2. Focus as a clause-internal phenomenon: summary
• 2.3. Cleft-like constructions
• 2.4. Clause chains with shared Focus
• 3. Semantics of grammatical Focus
• 3.1. Compulsory Focus marking
• 3.2. Free Focus marking
• 13. Sentence types and negation
• 1. Imperative sentences
• 2. Questions
• 2.1. Polar questions
• 2.2. Question-word questions
• 2.3. Negative/dubitative use of questions
• 3. Minor sentence types
• 3.1. Exclamations
• 3.2. Optative
• 4. Negation
• 4.1. Standard negation
• 4.2. The negative marker n’e
• 4.3. Negation in non-finite clauses
• 4.4. Negative particles
• 5. Speech-reporting strategies
• 5.1. Quotations
• 5.2. Indirect questions
• 5.3. Correlative subordinate clauses
• 14. Coreference and discourse coherence
• 1. Grammaticalized coreference phenomena
• 1.1. Clause-internal phenomena
• 1.2. Reflexivization and omission in subordination
• 1.3. Chain-level phenomena
• 2. Paragraph-level phenomena
• 2.1. Referent tracking
• 2.2. Links between same-type situations
• 3. Connective adverbials
• Appendices
• Yukaghir-English vocabulary
• Non-productive verb derivation
• Texts
• 1. Perch
• 2. My friend
• Notes
• References
• Subject index