Issue 2, 2023

Read abstract

In many Uralic languages, possessive agreement markers form a special determiner system. Following several studies that argue that Uralic possessives have been grammaticalized as determiners, the present study (based on original field data) describes the semantics of four such determiners in the Kazym dialect of Northern Khanty and sets them against the background of recent investigations of typology and the theory of determiner semantics. Although these determiners involve well-known semantic features (familiarity, uniqueness, salience, partitivity, intensional rigidity), some of the combinations of these features observed in Northern Khanty appear to be previously unattested among the world’s languages. For instance, I claim that in Northern Khanty, there are definite possessive markers, as well as a determiner that marks the most salient referent. In other cases, the Northern Khanty data confirm the findings of my predecessors, with the only difference being that in their data the relevant oppositions are found in expressions unrelated to possessives. Thus, this study contributes to determiner typology and to field-based semantic research in the languages of Russia, continuing the direction of Uralic studies started by [Nikolaeva 2003; Fraurud 2001; Kuznetsova 2003].

Key words: possessives, definiteness, partitive specificity, salience,proprial article, field-based semantic research, Northern Khanty

For citation: Mikhailov S. K. Northern Khanty possessives and determiner typology. Rodnoy yazyk, 2023, 2: 6–51.

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2023-2-6-51

Read abstract

Since the second half of the 20th century, there has been an increasing interest in sign languages and the sociocultural identity of the deaf. In an ever increasing number of countries, sign languages have come to be officially recognized on par with other minority languages, with deaf people now considered a separate sociolinguistic community, not a group of disabled people. Sign languages ​​ as linguistic systems have already received much attention around the world. Nevertheless, less attention has been devoted to the capability of sign languages for literary expression. The present article investigates kinetic modality, specifically the use of space, in Russian Sign Language (RSL) as a means of expressiveness. The materials examined in this article are selected books of the New Testament that have been translated into RSL by the Institute for Bible Translation in Moscow. The article demonstrates that RSL is capable of conveying the notion of ​​ God’s inf luence on a person more subtly than spoken languages. This leads us to see the future development of literature in RSL with a great deal of optimism.

Keywords: Russian Sign Language, Bible translation, expressivity, spatial loci, topographical function of space

For citation: Ovcharenko A. V. Translating New Testament metaphysical concepts into Russian Sign Language: The role of space in expressing God’s inf luence on a person Rodnoy yazyk, 2023, 2: 52–77.

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2023-2-52-77

Read abstract

The article presents a linguistic analysis of two poems written by well-known Avar poet Rasul Gamzatov, namely “The Cranes” (/q’unq’rabi/, ca. 1965) and “The White Cranes” (/qaħal q’unq’rabi/, 1971). Both were originally written in Avar, but the earlier poem also became widely known in the Russian translation by Naum Grebnev (1968). Additionally, a third poem by Gamzatov, written on a similar topic and with one stanza fully identical to the corresponding stanza of “The Cranes”, is also taken into consideration. All three poems are presented in a unified format, as glossed texts comprising three lines: the linguistic transcription of the Avar text, interlinear morphemeby-morpheme glossing, and a close-to-literal Russian translation. The Avar texts are also given in the original Cyrillic orthography. As the comparison of these poems shows, “The Cranes” and “The White Cranes” are in fact two versions, one earlier, one later, of the same poem. The later version is also closer to the Russian translation by Grebnev. From the standpoint of structure and content, both poems resemble the song version of “The Cranes”, which appeared in 1969 as a shortened and slightly edited version of Grebnev’s translation. Interestingly, the full original version of “The Cranes” in Avar (including the two stanzas which were left out of the song version) appears to have never been published.

Keywords: poetry, Rasul Gamzatov, Avar language, translation, glossed text

For citation: Maisak T. A. A linguistic analysis of several Avar poems by Rasul Gamzatov. Rodnoy yazyk, 2023, 2: 78–101.

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2023-2-78-101

Read abstract

This article presents a text in the Pur dialect of the Forest Nenets language. The text has to do with the traditional ritual doll of the Forest Nenets – Дяӈ ката, ‘Grandmother of the Earth’. The text’s author is a native speaker of Forest Nenets, and its publication was prepared in collaboration with linguists. The text is accompanied by a Russian translation and interlinear morpheme-by-morpheme glossing. The orthographic system used for transcribing the text is introduced in the preface. Linguistic phenomena that have previously not been sufficiently described for the Forest Nenets language are commented on in footnotes.

Key words: Forest Nenets, ritual doll, language documentation, mother-tongue text

For citation: Yavid V. A., Kozlov A. A., Aristova M. V. A Forest Nenets text about the d ’aŋ kata ritual doll. Rodnoy yazyk, 2023, 2: 102–117.

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2023-2-102-117

Read abstract

In this article we present a mythological text from Kalmyk folk‐ lore. Better known as folk tale, this text has appeared in various publications both in the original language (Kalmyk) and in Russian. As this text explains the origin of certain phenomena in bird life, it is scientifically more appropriate to classify it as an etiological folk tale or an etiological myth. The story is short and mostly consists of a dialogue between the Eagle, the king of birds, and the savvy Owl. Thanks to its resourcefulness, the Owl gets out of a difficult situation and helps to set other birds free. Unlike them, the Owl’s beak is not perforated, therefore the future generations of owls do not have nostrils (in fact, owls do have nostrils, but they are non-perforated). The text is presented in the original Kalmyk form, accompanied by the translation into Russian and interlinear glossing. The Abbreviations section provides two systems for designating Kalmyk morphemes: the modern one and the traditional one (according to G. Sanzheyev). In this way, the text can be used not only by Kalmyk language specialists, but also by experts in other Mongolian languages, by linguistic typologists, and by researchers in the fields of folklore, anthropology and ethnology.

Keywords: Kalmyk language, etiological texts, folklore

For citation: Kondakov A. The Kalmyk etiological fairy tale “Why the owl has no nostrils”. Rodnoy yazyk, 2023, 2: 118–132.

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2023-2-118-132

Read abstract

This article presents the texts of “The Goat and her kids”, a folk tale in the Rushani and Khufi languages. The Rushani version of the story was recorded by A. K. Pisarchik in 1943; the Khufi text was recorded in 1951 by V. S. Sokolova. Both texts are transcribed on the basis of the phonological principle using international Iranian transcription, with Russian translation; in the Rushani version the phonetic features of speech are also noted. In the present publication these texts are provided with morpheme-by-morpheme glossing.

Both texts are valuable written documents that record an unwritten language at a relatively early point in time.

Despite the significant similarity of the cultural traditions and folklore of the Western Pamir peoples, the example of this folk tale highlights discrepancies in plot, theme and cast of characters. Differing from the more common story, widespread in Central Asia, about a fight between a goat and a wolf, the Rushani and Khufi tales presented here notably replace the antagonist with a bear.

Keywords: Pamir languages, Rushan language, Khufi language, folk tale

For citation: Dodykhudoeva L. R. “The Goat and her kids”: A folk tale in Rushani and Khufi. Rodnoy Yazyk, 2023, 2: 133–155.

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2023-2-133-155

Read abstract

The article presents two folklore texts in Kildin Saami. These texts were recorded in 1960 and 1975, respectively, and have since been stored in EMSUKA. They were transcribed and translated during fieldwork in 2022. The texts represent two widespread genres of oral tradition: a trickster tale and a personal narrative about a supernatural encounter (also called a memorate). The Saami texts are supplemented with a Cyrillic transcription and a Russian translation so as to make the publication available to the community of native speakers.

Keywords: Kildin Saami, language documentation, oral tradition, trickster tale, memorate

For citation: Burov D. A., Egorov I. M. Materials from Kildin Saami: A trickster tale and a personal narrative. Rodnoy yazyk, 2023, 2: 156–192.

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2023-2-156-192