Syntactic Variation in Diminutive Suffixes: Russian, Kolyma Yukaghir, and Itelmen
This article presents a syntactic analysis and comparison of diminutive suffixes in Russian, Kolyma Yukaghir, and Itelmen, three genetically unrelated languages of the Russian Federation. Kolyma Yukaghir and Itelmen are on the verge of extinction. This article investigates how contact with Russian (...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2017-11-01
|
| Series: | Languages |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/2/4/23 |
| _version_ | 1818005536431407104 |
|---|---|
| author | Olga Steriopolo |
| author_facet | Olga Steriopolo |
| author_sort | Olga Steriopolo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article presents a syntactic analysis and comparison of diminutive suffixes in Russian, Kolyma Yukaghir, and Itelmen, three genetically unrelated languages of the Russian Federation. Kolyma Yukaghir and Itelmen are on the verge of extinction. This article investigates how contact with Russian (specifically the syntax of Russian diminutives) has influenced the syntax of diminutives in Kolyma Yukaghir and Itlemen. Adopting the framework of Distributed Morphology, a syntactic analysis of diminutives across the three languages reveals that they share the same manner of syntactic attachment, but differ in regards to the site or place of attachment. Specifically, it is proposed that diminutives in all three languages are syntactic modifiers; however, in relation to the place of attachment, in Russian, diminutives attach below the functional category of Number, while diminutives in Kolyma Yukaghir and Itelmen attach above the Number category. This article contributes to our understanding of variation in universal grammar and linguistic outcomes of the syntactic feature ‘diminutive’ in a multilingual situation where a majority language is in contact with two genetically unrelated endangered languages. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T04:46:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-52cdf4bd28944f79adeb1ef49a48ae10 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2226-471X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T04:46:31Z |
| publishDate | 2017-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Languages |
| spelling | doaj.art-52cdf4bd28944f79adeb1ef49a48ae102022-12-22T02:11:27ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2017-11-01242310.3390/languages2040023languages2040023Syntactic Variation in Diminutive Suffixes: Russian, Kolyma Yukaghir, and ItelmenOlga Steriopolo0Leibniz-Zentrum Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft (ZAS), Schützenstraße 18, 10117 Berlin, GermanyThis article presents a syntactic analysis and comparison of diminutive suffixes in Russian, Kolyma Yukaghir, and Itelmen, three genetically unrelated languages of the Russian Federation. Kolyma Yukaghir and Itelmen are on the verge of extinction. This article investigates how contact with Russian (specifically the syntax of Russian diminutives) has influenced the syntax of diminutives in Kolyma Yukaghir and Itlemen. Adopting the framework of Distributed Morphology, a syntactic analysis of diminutives across the three languages reveals that they share the same manner of syntactic attachment, but differ in regards to the site or place of attachment. Specifically, it is proposed that diminutives in all three languages are syntactic modifiers; however, in relation to the place of attachment, in Russian, diminutives attach below the functional category of Number, while diminutives in Kolyma Yukaghir and Itelmen attach above the Number category. This article contributes to our understanding of variation in universal grammar and linguistic outcomes of the syntactic feature ‘diminutive’ in a multilingual situation where a majority language is in contact with two genetically unrelated endangered languages.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/2/4/23MorphosyntaxDistributed Morphologydiminutive suffixexpressive suffixendangered languageslanguage contactlanguage changeKolyma YukaghirItelmenRussian |
| spellingShingle | Olga Steriopolo Syntactic Variation in Diminutive Suffixes: Russian, Kolyma Yukaghir, and Itelmen Languages Morphosyntax Distributed Morphology diminutive suffix expressive suffix endangered languages language contact language change Kolyma Yukaghir Itelmen Russian |
| title | Syntactic Variation in Diminutive Suffixes: Russian, Kolyma Yukaghir, and Itelmen |
| title_full | Syntactic Variation in Diminutive Suffixes: Russian, Kolyma Yukaghir, and Itelmen |
| title_fullStr | Syntactic Variation in Diminutive Suffixes: Russian, Kolyma Yukaghir, and Itelmen |
| title_full_unstemmed | Syntactic Variation in Diminutive Suffixes: Russian, Kolyma Yukaghir, and Itelmen |
| title_short | Syntactic Variation in Diminutive Suffixes: Russian, Kolyma Yukaghir, and Itelmen |
| title_sort | syntactic variation in diminutive suffixes russian kolyma yukaghir and itelmen |
| topic | Morphosyntax Distributed Morphology diminutive suffix expressive suffix endangered languages language contact language change Kolyma Yukaghir Itelmen Russian |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/2/4/23 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT olgasteriopolo syntacticvariationindiminutivesuffixesrussiankolymayukaghiranditelmen |