TWO NOMINAL CLAUSE-TYPES IN NORTHERN MANSI: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF LANGUAGE VARIATION/POHJAMANSI KAKS NOMINAALSET LAUSETUUPI: KEELE VARIEERUMISE KATSELINE UURING

• Published in: Linguistica Uralica Vol. 59; no. 4; p. 272
• Main Authors: Horvath, Csilla, Mus, Nikolett
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Estonian Academy Publishers 01.12.2023
• ISSN: 0868-4731
• DOI: 10.3176/lu.2023.4.04

The paper examines the structure and distribution of two types of nominal/adjectival predicates in the Northern Mansi language. A nominative noun or adjective serves as the predicate in one construction. The other predicate type contains a predicate noun or adjective that takes translative case marking. In both constructions, the stative-like copula ol- 'be, exist' can also appear, though under different conditions. In the paper we focus on (a) the licensing conditions of the ol-copula, (b) the predicate-subject agreement morphology, and (c) concord within the predicate phrase in both predicates. Our findings demonstrate that the two types exhibit systematic structural differences: the copula ol- is utilized in the nominative construction in the past, while it must be omitted in the present. The ol- copula is always obligatory in the translative predicate. The nominative predicate noun/adjective takes the morpheme of the subject agreement in number, and we attested inter-and intra-speaker variation in Number concord in this construction when there is an overt copula in the predicate phrase. The translative-marked nominal/adjectival predicate does not take any inflectional suffix, and agreement that indicates both the person and the number of the subject is marked on the ol- copula. Additionally, we will show that only the translative-type is acceptable in identificational clauses. As a result, the identificational reading/interpretation is where the semantic division of labor between the two constructions lies. Our data come from fieldwork where Mansi native speakers helped us with survey research. Northern Mansi newspaper texts were also used to clarify certain inconsistencies between our findings and the literature. Keywords: Mansi, nominal/adjectival clauses, nominal/adjectival predicates, experimental methods, endangered language. Artiklis vaadeldakse pohjamansi kaht tuupi nimisonaliste ja omadussonaliste oeldistaidete struktuuri ja esinemistingimusi. uhes konstruktsioonis on oelditaiteks nimivoi omadussona nominatiivis, teises aga translatiivis. Molema tuubi puhul voib esineda ka staatiline koopula ol- 'olema, eksisteerima', kuigi erinevatel tingimustel. Artiklis keskendume (a) ol-copula esinemistingimustele, (b) oeldise ja aluse uhildumisele ja (c) arvu kooskolale oeldistaite sees nii nominatiivi kui ka translatiivi korral Meie tulemused naitavad, et neil kahel tuubil on sustemaatilisi struktuurseid erinevusi. Lisaks osutame, et nende kahe konstruktsiooni semantiline toojaotus ilmneb nn. identifitseerival lugemisel/tolgendamisel. Meie andmed parinevad vlitoodest, kus mansi emakeelsed konelejad aitasid meid kusitlustel pohinevates uuringutes. Samuti kasutati pohjamansi ajalehetekste, et selgitada meie tulemuste ja teaduskirjanduse seisukohtade moningaid vastuolusid.