Word order of predicative comparative constructions (Northern Mansi)

StAdjM: The standard is followed by the adjective, then the marker.


(1) wōt ānǝm-nǝl jōr.
wind I-abl strong
‘The wind is stronger than me. (Kálmán 1976: 48)


(2) towlǝŋχar nājǝŋχāp-nǝl pēlǝp.
plane steamboat-abl fast
‘The plane is faster than the steamboat.’ (Rombandeeva 1973: 84)


(3) ti tuw mōlti tuw-nǝl tēpǝŋ-nuwe ōl-ǝs.
this summer previous summer-abl strong-comp be-pst.1sg
‘This summer is richer than the previous one.’ (Rombandeeva 1973: 84)


(4) naŋ luw-n jōr-nuwe ke, naŋ lili-n wos nēγli.
you horse-2sg strong-comp if you life-2sg let survive.prs.3sg
‘If your horse is stronger, you may survive.’ (Rombandeeva 1973: 84)


There are two predicative comparative constructions in Northern Mansi. In the first construction (1-2), the standard of comparison takes the ablative case and the comparee is in the nominative (Kálmán 1976). The adjective does not take a comparative suffix, thus the word order is comparative standard  + adjective.

If the difference between the compared entities is not substantial (Rombandeeva 1973: 84), another construction is used where the adjective takes the -nuwe ending, while the case distribution is the same: ablative + nominative (3) (Riese 2001: 29). The word order in this construction is standard + adjective + comparative marker. The appearance of the comparee is optional after the -nuwe suffix (4).

Author: 

Szilvia Németh