The counterfactive mood in Forest Enets and its origin

The description of the counterfactive mood (Siegl 2013: 298) reported that this mood has fallen out of use in the speech of the last generation of fully fluent speakers. Although it is remembered and some examples from elicitation are attested, it could no longer be found in transcribed narratives representing the language of the last fully fluent speakers recorded between 2006 and 2011. By contrast, the counterfactive mood is very frequent in narratives from the parental generation on which this study is based. Apart from a functional description and an analysis, the article discusses the history of this mood. The article ends with a collection of thoughts concerning the history of the Proto-Samoyedic tense system, as this mood is historically closely connected to the Proto-Samoyedic aorist marker *-ŋå

More on possible Forest Enets – Ket contacts

In this paper linguistic traces of the Enets’ migration to the Taimyr Peninsula are addressed. Special attention is paid to Forest Enets–Ket contacts and a tentative etymology for the (Forest) Enets’ ethnonym for Kets and Selkups is offered. Of special importance is a likely Enets place name in Northern Evenkija, an area from which no Enets place names have been reported earlier. As the same area is inhabited by speakers of the northern dialect of Ket, this area should be seen as a possible contact area for the unusual case of pronoun borrowing in Forest Enets as discussed in Siegl (2008

Die karitiven Formen des Waldenzischen

Forest Enets has two caritive derivations (Sorokina 2010: 148–150; Siegl 2013: 170–172) which, so far, were covered comparatively shallowly. The central task of this study is to delimit the morphosyntax of the verbal -ši and the nominal caritive -šuđ derivations with a short note on functionally and etymologically similar categories in Tundra Enets and Tundra Nenets. Furthermore, the morphosyntactic properties of the Forest Enets nominal caritive will be discussed with special reference to other participant-oriented adjuncts (Himmelmann & Schultze-Berndt 2005) such as essive, benefactive and comitative derivations

Prädikative Kasus und depiktive sekundäre Prädikation in Nordeurasien – eine Vorstudie unter Berücksichtigung der Verhältnisse im Tundrajukagirischen

Although a number of Uralic languages, especially Finnic, Saami and Northern Samoyedic possess predicative cases which are used to encode a change of state as well as impermanent states, the existence of such cases is, of course, not a unique feature of Uralic. Similar cases are known e.g. in Yukaghir and Chukchi (and in fact, even beyond). Upon a short areal synopsis, this study covers the so called purposive case in Tundra Yukaghir in great detail and compares its function with that of Forest Enets. Although the grammaticalization history of the Tundra Yukaghir purposive and the Northern Samoyedic essive-translative case shows significant typological parallels since it arose of the grammaticalization of a converbal form of the copula, its synchronic morphosyntax differs significantly, because the Tundra Yukaghir purposive case is used as depictive, whereas the Northern Samoyedic essive-translative is compatible with both depictive and resultative readings

Time-bounded Fieldwork “Ex-situ” or On Fieldwork Without Unlearning Another Language

538

The Sociolinguistic status quo on the Taimyr Peninsula

The following article presents a basic overview of the current sociolinguistic status quo on the Taimyr Peninsula. The picture presented in this article is to some degree impressionistic, as during the author’s stay on the Taimyr Peninsula (2006, 2008, 2011) documentation of morphosyntax and reconstruction of language contacts have dominated fieldwork; data on the sociolinguistic status quo were not gathered separately. The data on which this survey is based derives from conversations with speakers of all Taimyrian indigenous languages and several interviews with selected members of the local native intelligentsia, enhanced with observations. Although focusing on the situation of the Samoyedic languages Tundra Nenets, Tundra Enets, Forest Enets and Nganasan, some comments on the current state of Taimyrian Evenki and Dolgan are included as current problems affect all local native languages equally.Cet article présente un point de vue socio-linguistique sur l’état actuel des langues des peuples autochtones sis dans le Tajmyr. Je me concentrerai sur les peuples parlant des langues samoyèdes, mais je ne manquerai pas d’ajouter quelques observations sur les Evenks et les Dolganes de la péninsule. L’état actuel des langues induit cette approche, car leurs problèmes sociolinguistiques sont communs à tous et ne se limitent par à une langue. Mes informations proviennent de mes travaux de terrain, mais elles ne sont pas exhaustives, car mon travail dans la péninsule du Tajmyr était concentré sur la documentation linguistique et non sur l’état des lieux socio-linguistique. Elles seront complétées par des observations générales et par l’opinion des intelligentsias des peuples minoritaires de la région. La situation actuelle est déplorable du point de vue de la diversité linguistique; parmi les langues minoritaires, seuls le nenets et le dolgane font preuve de vitalité, même si elles sont en danger. Les langues enets et celle des Evenks du Tajmyr sont au bord de l’extinction et sont destinées à s’éteindre dans un avenir proche. Le statut du nganasan dépend aujourd’hui des locuteurs eux-mêmes. D’après mes informations, tous les locuteurs potentiels sont âgés de plus de trente ans, ce qui permettrait, en théorie du moins, de revitaliser la langue. Mais on peut se demander si la communauté le souhaite. Les perspectives sont de ce fait peu réjouissantes.Käesolev artikkel pakub sotsilingvistilisest vaatevinklist kontsentreeritud ülevaate Taimõri põlisrahvaste keelte hetkeseisust. Vaatluse all on Taimõri poolsaare samojeedikeelsed rahvad, kuid lisatud on ka tähelepanekuid Taimõri evenkide ja dolgaanide kohta. Selline lähenemisviis on tingitud nende keelte praegusest seisust, sest sotsiolingvistilised probleemid on ühised ja ei ole omased vaid ühele keelele. Ainestik pärineb autori välitöödelt, kuid on omajagu lünklik, kuna minu põhitöö Taimõril oli seotud keeledokumentatsiooniga ja mitte üldise Taimõri sotsiolingvistilise hetkeseisu kaardistamisega. Enamik andmetest, mida artiklis esitletakse, pärinevad minu välitöödelt; lisatud on aga ka üldisemaid tähelepanekuid ning vahendatakse ka vähemusrahvaste intelligentsi arvamusi. Praegune olukord on keelelise mitmekesisuse vaatevinklist nukker; kohalikest vähemuskeeltest on ainult tundraneenetsi ja dolgaani elujõulised, kuid ometi ohustatud. Eenetsi keeled ja Taimõri evenkide keel on väljasuremise äärel ja hääbuvad lähimas tulevikus. Nganassaani keele saatus on praegusel hetkel kõnelejaskonna käes. Minu andmete järgi on kõik potentsiaalsed rääkijad üle 30 aasta vanad, mis lubaks vähemalt teoreetiliselt seda keelt taaselustada. Kas kogukond seda aga ise soovib, on antud hetkel küsitav; seega on väljavaated pigem negatiivsed.Der Beitrag versucht einen grundlegenden Überblick über den soziolinguistischen Status Quo auf der Taimyr Halbinsel zu bieten. Da es auf diesem Gebiet keine Vorarbeiten gibt, basiert der Artikel auf Daten eigener Feldforschung, welche durch allgemeine Beobachtungen und kurzen Anmerkungen der Vertreter der indigenen Intelligenz ergänzt wird. Da die Forschungsaufenthalte auf der Taimyr Halbinsel im Zeichen der Sprachdokumentation und nicht zur Kartographie des generellen soziolinguistischen Status Quo standen, ist ein gewisser Impressionismus nicht von der Hand zu weisen. Im Mittelpunkt der Beschreibung stehen die samojedischen Sprachen der Taimyr Halbinsel Nenzisch, Enzisch und Nganasanisch. Da sich deren gegenwärtige Situation nicht von der des benachbarten Taimyr Evenki und des Dolganischen trennen lässt, werden auch gelegentlich Verweise und Vergleiche angebracht, da eine Beschränkung auf die samojedischen Sprachen der komplizierten Lage nicht gerecht wäre. Während sowohl das Nenzische als auch das Dolganische als bedroht, aber nicht unmittelbar als gefährdet zu gelten haben, befinden sich beide enzischen Sprachen und das Taimyr Evenki vor dem Aussterben. Das Nganasanische nimmt eine Mittelposition ein. Zwar sind zum gegebenen Zeitpunkt wohl keine Muttersprachler in der Generation unter 30 zu finden, dennoch wäre theoretisch Revitalisierung möglich. Da sich aber innerhalb der nganasanischen Sprachgemeinschaft keine Befürworter dafür ausfindig machen lassen können, ist die Zukunftsaussicht für das Nganasanische zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt negativ

Der Partitiv im Taimyr Dolganischen

Although recent cross-linguistic and typological research on partitive cases (Luraghi & Huumo eds. 2014) has started to expand its perspective beyond Europe, partitive and partitive-like cases in the indigenous languages of Central and Eastern Siberia have been largely overlooked. This study discusses the partitive case in Taimyr Dolgan, an indigenous Turkic language of Northern Siberia from a functional-typological, areal and historical perspective, synthesizing existing descriptions (Ubrjatova 1985, Artem'ev 1999) with the author’s field materials and a convenience sample consisting of 48000 words of written Dolgan. Due to the fact that Finnic languages dominate cross-linguistic research on partitive cases, this study concludes with a short comparative analysis of Dolgan — Finnish similarities and dissimilarities.Although recent cross-linguistic and typological research on partitive cases (Luraghi & Huumo eds. 2014) has started to expand its perspective beyond Europe, partitive and partitive-like cases in the indigenous languages of Central and Eastern Siberia have been largely overlooked. This study discusses the partitive case in Taimyr Dolgan, an indigenous Turkic language of Northern Siberia from a functional-typological, areal and historical perspective, synthesizing existing descriptions (Ubrjatova 1985, Artem'ev 1999) with the author’s field materials and a convenience sample consisting of 48000 words of written Dolgan. Due to the fact that Finnic languages dominate cross-linguistic research on partitive cases, this study concludes with a short comparative analysis of Dolgan — Finnish similarities and dissimilarities.Although recent cross-linguistic and typological research on partitive cases (Luraghi & Huumo eds. 2014) has started to expand its perspective beyond Europe, partitive and partitive-like cases in the indigenous languages of Central and Eastern Siberia have been largely overlooked. This study discusses the partitive case in Taimyr Dolgan, a Turkic language of Northern Siberia from a functional-typological, areal and historical perspective, synthesizing existing descriptions (Ubrjatova 1985, Artem’ev 1999) with the author’s field materials and a convenience sample consisting of about 48000 words of written Dolgan. Due to the fact that Finnic languages dominate cross-linguistic research on partitive cases, this study concludes with a short comparative analysis commenting on Dolgan-Finnish similarities and dissimilarities

Eine tundranenzische Grammatik

Irina Nikolaeva: A Grammar of Tundra Nenets. Mouton Grammar Library XX. DeGruyter. Berlin & New York 2014. 526 p

Reflections on Linguistic Fieldwork Within Moribund Speech Communities

Whereas linguists conducting fieldwork tend to be a minority among linguists, linguists conducting fieldwork among the last speakers of an underresearched/underdocumented or even undocumented language are a minority within a minority. Although a number of fieldwork manuals have been published in recent decades, the perspective of fieldwork in extreme sociolinguistic situations such as among the last speakers of a language is usually underrepresented in the literature. It is precisely this perspective which will be presented by shedding some light on personal experiences and challenges from ongoing work on two moribund languages Forest Enets (Samoyedic, Uralic) and Ume Saami (Saami, Uralic). These impressions are contrasted with personal experiences from fieldwork and consultant work on other languages such as Dolgan and Tuvin (both Turkic), Taimyr Tundra Nenets (Samoyedic, Uralic) as well as Meithei (Sino‑Tibetan) and Tundra Yukaghir (isolate). A central claim of this article is to show that work with extremely endangered languages does not allow any meaningful equation; field sites are unique and working with speakers of moribund languages in different countries may mean very different things and imply highly diverging challenges—what works in field site X does not necessarily work in field site Y and vice versa.Alors que les linguistes de terrain ont tendance à être une minorité dans leur discipline, ceux qui font leurs terrains parmi les derniers locuteurs de langues sous-étudiées, sous-documentées, voire non documentées sont encore une minorité de la minorité. Même si un certain nombre de manuels de terrain ont été publiés dans les dernières décennies, la perspective du terrain dans des situations sociolinguistiques extrêmes comme c’est le cas parmi les derniers locuteurs d’une langue est en général sous-représenté dans la littérature existante. C’est cette perspective qui fait l’objet du présent article à partir d’une expérience personnelle d’un travail sur le terrain, ainsi que de consultations sur des langues aussi diverses que le dolgane et le touvinien (toutes deux turciques), le nénetse de la toundra parlé dans le Tajmyr (une langue samoyède, ouralienne) ainsi que le meithei (langue sino-tibétaine) et le youkaghir de la toundra (isolat). L’un des principaux objectifs de cet article est de montrer que la notion de langues en danger extrême ne recouvre jamais les mêmes paramètres, chaque site est unique, et travailler avec les derniers locuteurs d’une langue dans des pays différents peut signifier des activités fort différentes et présenter des défis fort divers – ce qui fonctionne sur un site x peut ne pas fonctionner sur un site y et vice-versa.Kui välitöid harrastavad keeleteadlased on keeleteadlaste hulgas vähemus, need kes teevad välitöid viimaste inimeste juures, kes kõnelevad alauuritud, aladokumenteeritud või üldse mitte dokumenteeritut keelt on veel vähemuse vähemus. Kuigi viimaste aastakümnete jooksul on ilmunud mõned välitöö õpikud, ekstreemsed olukorrad, mis tekivad töötades viimaste keelekõnelejatega, käsitletakse harva olemasolevas kirjanduses. Selles on jutt käesolevad artiklis isikliku kogemuse põhjal, nii välitöödes kui ka konsultandiks olemisest erinevate keelte jaoks – dolgaani ja tuva keeled (mõlemad türgi keelkonnast), Taimõri tundraneenetsi keel (samojeedi, uurali keel) kui ka meithei (sino-tibeti keel) ja tundrajukagiiri keel (isoleeritud keel). Sele artikli üks peamistest eesmärkidest on näidata, kuidas ekstreemselt ohustatute keelte mõiste kunagi ei kata samasuguseid reaalsusi: iga tööväli on unikaalne, ja viiaste keelekõnelejatega töötamine võib tähendada väga erinevaid asju erinevatel riikidel ning esitada väga erinevaid väljakutseid – see, mis toimib ühel alal ei pruugi toimida mujal

Sekundäre depiktive und resultative Prädikation und der tschuktschische Designativ

This study re-approaches the morphosyntax of the Chukchi designative case, a minor predicative case whose central function is the encoding of secondary depictive and resultative predicates. Although the designative case has been covered in Chukchi grammaticography (Bogoras 1922; Skorik 1961, 1977; Dunn 1999; Kämpfe & Volodin 1995), these accounts offer diverging and partly contradicting accounts concerning its compatibility with certain nominal parts of speech; of central relevance is the account of Inenlikej (1974) who went as far and denied the existence of a designative case altogether. A dedicated study of the syntax and semantics of the designative case has however, so far, not been attempted. Based on a manually glossed corpus of almost 13000 orthographic Chukchi words and additional electronically searchable Chukchi materials, this study covers the designative case from the perspective of participant-oriented adjuncts (Himmelmann & Schultze-Berndt 2005) and a recent questionnaire on secondary predication in Uralic Languages (Groot 2017). Since a number of Northern Eurasian languages have cases with a similar function e.g, Yukaghiric, Eskimo, several Uralic languages as well as Chukchi’s genetic relatives Koryak, Alutor and Itelmen, some cross-linguistic comparisons finalize this study.   Keywords: Chukchi, designative case, depictive secondary predication, resultative secondary predication, participant-oriented adjuncts, Chukotko-Kamchadal languages, Yukaghir languages, Siberian Yupik Eskimo, Uralic language