Chantic language

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Chantic (Khanty, Ostyak )

Spoken in

Russia
speaker 9,580 (2010)
Linguistic
classification
Official status
Official language in Chanting and mannersAutonomous circle of the Khanty and Mansi / Ugra Autonomous circle of the Khanty and Mansi (limited)
Language codes
ISO 639 -1

-

ISO 639 -2

fiu

ISO 639-3

kca

The Chantic language ( chantic ханты ясаӈ , chanty jasaŋ ' ), also Khanty or Ostyak , is the language of the Chanten (formerly "Ostyak"), who live in the north-west of Siberia along the river Ob and its tributaries.

Khanty belongs to the Obugian branch of the Finno-Ugric language family . It is a predominantly agglutinating , heavily alcoholic SOV language.

In 2010 - with an ethnic population of around 20,000 people - Chantisch still had around 9,500 speakers, who are divided into several main dialects , some of which are very different from one another .

Dialects

The Chantic language is divided into different dialects , which can be summarized in three main groups: the northern, eastern and southern dialects. Most speakers count the northern dialects, while the southern dialects are rarely used.

In particular, the northern and eastern dialects differ so much that the speakers can only understand each other with difficulty. The main differences are, for example, the number of cases and tense forms, as well as differences in syntax.

Phonology

The sound inventories of the different dialects can differ greatly. The dialects with the smallest vowel inventories (e.g. Nizyam, Sherkal and Berezovo) can be found in the northern distribution area of ​​the language and distinguish a total of eight vowels, with four short and four long sounds contrasting. Vach, the dialect with the largest vowel inventory, differentiates between nine and thirteen vowels.

A special feature of the consonant inventories are the retroflexes that occur in most dialects. They form minimal pairs, like this example from the Vach:

  • liis ( bird trap ) and ɭiis ( loose )

In chantic there is no contrast between voiced and unvoiced sounds, but palatalization can be quite contrasting, e.g. B. in Vach or Kazym.

grammar

noun

Number, possession and case are marked on the noun. Since Chantic is a predominantly agglutinating, heavily suffixing language, each property is given a suffix.

number

A distinction is made between singular , plural and dual . The singular is usually unmarked, but it can be emphasized with a numeral , e.g. B. if one wants to refer to part of an inherently dual object: se: m pelek ( an eye ).

Number inflection for simple nouns (Obdorsk)
SG YOU PL translation
xo: t xo: t-ŋən xoːt-ə-t House
ku: sa ku: sa: j-ŋən kuːsaːj-ə-t master
e: wi e: we: -ŋən e: we: -t girl

case

The number of cases varies significantly between the dialects. While the northern dialect Obdorsk only has three cases (nominative, locative, translative), the eastern dialect Vach distinguishes ten cases. In all dialects you can find the nominative and at least one local case , whereby the nominative is mostly unmarked.

Case in Obdorsk xo: t - house
case suffix example
Nominative unmarked xo: t
locative -n / A xo: t-na
Translative -ji or -Ci ku: sa: -ji, but xo: t-ti
Case in Tremjugan / Tromagan kååt - house
case suffix example
Nominative unmarked kååt
Lative -aa kååt-aa
Approximate -naam kååt-naam
locative -nə kååt-nə
ablative -ii kååt-ii
Instructive -aat kååt-aat
Comitative -naat kååt-naat
Abessive -ɬəɣ kååt-ɬəɣ
Expletively -ptii kååt-ptii
Translative -ɣə kååt-ɣə

Possessive

With possessive forms , both the number of the owner and that of the possessed are marked. The phonological form of number affixes differs from the non-possessive forms.

Possessive forms for nouns (Obdorsk)
possession SG YOU PL
owner
SG 1. xo: te: m xo: t-ŋil-am xo: tl-am
2. xo: te: n xo: t-ŋil-an xo: tl-an
3. xo: tl xo: t-ŋil-al xo: tl-al
YOU 1. xo: te: mən xo: t-ŋil-mən xo: tl-ə-mən
2. xo: t-lən xo: t-ŋil-lən xo: tl-ə-lən
3. xo: t-lən xo: t-ŋil-lən xo: tl-ə-lən
PL 1. xo: te: w xo: t-ŋil-uw xo: tl-uw
2. xo: t-lən xo: t-ŋil-lən xo: tl-ə-lən
3. xo: te: l xo: t-ŋil-al xo: tl-al

Pronominal system

The chantic language has a rich pronominal system. There are personal pronouns , possessive pronouns , demonstrative pronouns , reciprocal pronoun , interrogative and indefinite pronouns used. The case system of pronouns differs from that of nouns. The differences vary depending on the dialect.

A special feature is that reflexivity can be expressed without reflexive pronouns . For the reflexive interpretation of a sentence, the usual personal pronouns are used in certain syntactic contexts, for example in connection with differential object marking .

Verbs

In Chantic all verbs are congruent with the number and person of the subject . In addition, transitive verbs can also have object congruence. The affix sequence in this case would be as follows:

  • Stem-tense (passive) -object-number-subject congruence
Conjugation with subject congruence we: r - make
SG YOU PL
1. we: rl-ə-m we: rl-ə-mən we: rl-uw
2. we: rl-ə-n we: rl-ə-tən we: rl-ə-ti
3. we: rl we: rl-ə-nən we: rl-ə-t
Conjugation with object congruence we: r - make
object SG YOU PL
subject
SG 1. we: rle: m we: rl-ə-ŋil-am we: rl-ə-l-am
2. we: rle: n we: rl-ə-ŋil-an we: rl-ə-l-an
3. we: rl-ə-lli we: rl-ə-ŋil-li we: rl-ə-l-lli
YOU 1. we: rle: mən we: rl-ə-ŋil-mən we: rl-ə-l-ə-mən
2. we: rl-ə-lən we: rl-ə-ŋil-lən we: rl-ə-l-ə-llən
3. we: rl-ə-lən we: rl-ə-ŋil-lən we: rl-ə-l-ə-llən
PL 1. we: rle: w we: rl-ə-ŋil-uw we: rl-ə-l-uw
2. we: rl-ə-lən we: rl-ə-ŋil-lən we: rl-ə-l-ə-llən
3. we: rle: l we: rl-ə-ŋil-al we: rl-ə-l-al

Tense

The number of tense forms varies depending on the dialect. The smallest number can be found u. a. in Obdorsk, which has two synthetic (non-past, past) and one analytical tense form (future tense). The other tense forms of the other dialects usually have other analytical forms, for example a perfect.

aspect

In the chantic language there are different derivation and analytic verb forms that express aspect . The tripod, which describes the state of a discourse speaker resulting from the previous action, is particularly frequent.

mode

There are the following modes in chantic:

passive

Passive verb forms are marked with an affix. A special feature is that this marking can also be used on intransitive verbs.

Passive marking on intransitive verb
kul'na joxət-sa
DEVIL-LOC COME-PAST-PAS.3SG
"The devil came to him."
Passive conjugation in Obdorsk
SG YOU PL
1. we: rla: j-ə-m we: rla: j-mən we: rla: j-uw
2. we: rla: j-ə-n we: rla: j-tən we: rla: j-ti
3. we: rla we-la: j-ŋən we: rla: j-ə-t

Non-finite verb forms

The following non-finite verb forms are used in chantic:

  • infinitive
  • imperfective participle
  • perfect participle
  • Converb

Simple sentences

Word order

Chantic is a relatively strict SOV language , with particular attention to the verb position at the end of the sentence. The word order variability varies greatly between the dialects.

In particular, the information structure can have a strong influence on the word order. Here stands Topik always set initially and the focus directly preverbal place.

Differential object marking

Transitive verbs can optionally also mark the number of the object in chantic . There are no strict rules for triggering object congruence. However, there are tendencies that some phenomena increasingly trigger DOM .

These include, for example, specific objects such as B. in noun phrases with possessive or personal pronouns. Certain syntactic properties can also trigger DOM. The structural position of the object can also play a role: If the object is outside the verb phrase , DOM occurs more intensely. Finally, the information structure also seems to have an influence: If the object is not in focus or if it is the secondary topic, object congruence is also often triggered.

An important function of differential object marking in chantic is to express reflexivity. Since there are no reflexive pronouns , the object congruence in the verb, for example, can result in a reflexive interpretation of the verb phrase.

negation

Unlike in other Uralic languages, there is no negation verb in Chantic. Instead, negation takes place using a particle that is usually directly in front of the verb.

tami naŋ ke: se: n ant u: l
this be your knife-2SG NEG-NPAST-2SG
"This is not your knife."

In contrasting negation, the negation particle is directly in front of the negated element.

ma juwan wa: nsəm anta pe: tra
I see Johannes-PAST-EP-1SG NEG Peter
"I saw Johannes, not Peter."

Pro-drop

In chantic the subject can be left out as long as it is salient in the context and the topic remains unchanged.

If there is a salient object with which the verb in the sentence congruates , the object itself does not have to be realized either.

Lexicons

Chantic numbers compared to Hungarian:

# Chantic Hungarian
1 yit, yiy egy
2 katn, kat kettő, két
3 xutəm három
4th nyatə négy
5 wet öt
6th xut Has
7th tapət hét
8th nəvət nyolc
9 yaryaŋ kilenc
10 yaŋ tíz
20th xus húsz
30th xutəmyaŋ harminc
100 sot száz

literature

  • Daniel Abondolo: Khanty. In: Daniel Abondolo (Ed.): The Uralic Languages, Routledge, London 1998, pp. 358-386.
  • Andrey Yury Filchenko: A grammar of Eastern Khanty. UMI, Ann Arbor 2007.
  • Irina Nikolaeva: Ostyak (= Languages ​​of the World / Materials. 305). Lincom Europe, Munich 1999.
  • Irina Nikolaeva: Object Agreement, Grammatical Relations and Information Structure. In: Studies in Language. 23 (2), 1999, pp. 331-376.
  • Steinitz, Wolfgang : Ostjak Grammar and Chrestomathie. With dictionary. 2., verb. Edition. Harrassowitz, Leipzig 1950.
  • Steinitz, Wolfgang : Ostjakologische work. In: Gert Sauer and Renate Steinitz (eds.): Contributions to linguistics and ethnography. Volume I-IV. Akademiai Kiado / Akademie-Verlag, Budapest / Berlin 1980.
  • Anna Volkova, Eric Reuland: Reflexivity without Reflexives. In: The Linguistic Review. 31 (3-4), 2014, pp. 587-633.

Web links

Test Wikipedia in Chantic