Marking of function P on nouns (Northern Mansi)

Neutr: Case alignment is neutral: the functions S, A, and P are not marked morphologically.

NoPMark: The function P is not explicitly marked, while S, A, or both are marked. P is therefore marked with a zero (∅) morpheme.


(1) āmp sāli kinsi.

dog reindeer look_for.prs.3sg

‘The dog is looking for the reindeer.’ (S. D.)


(2) āmp χājtyγti.

dog run_around.prs.3sg

‘The dog is running around.’ (S. D.)


(3) āmp taj kinsi-te.

dog that.acc look_for-prs.obj.3sg

‘The dog is looking for that.’ (S. D.)


(4) ńawram oma-te-n ti-tta-we.

child mother-3sg-lat eat-caus-prs.pass.3sg

The mother is feeding her child.’ (S. D.)


Regarding P marking in Northern Mansi, active and passive sentences have to be distinguished. Nouns do not have distinct accusative forms, thus they are marked by zero morphemes in active sentences (1), just like S’s and A’s (2). It means that their case distribution is neutral in active sentences (Riese 2001). If the P is expressed by a pronoun, a suppletive form codes the accusative case, and the A is marked by a zero suffix (3) (cf. the parameter “Marking of function P on pronouns”). In passive sentences, the A takes the -n lative/dative ending (4), which morphologically distinguishes the A and the P functions (Riese 2001).

Author: 

Szilvia Németh