RelPro: Object-headed relative clauses include both the nominal head of the relative clause in the main clause and an obligatory coreferential pronoun in the relative clause. The pronoun is marked as the object of the relative clause, while the nominal head is marked for the role it plays in the main clause.

RCnonO: While the nominal head of a relative clause can be understood to be the object of the clause, this role is not marked grammatically; instead, the noun is only marked for its syntactic role in the main clause.

(1) am ūs-t jowt-um ulas-t ūnl-ēγ-um.

I town-loc buy-ptcp.pst chair-loc sit-prs-1sg

‘I sit down on the chair that I bought in the town.’ (T. M.)

(2) am ta ulas tarmәl ūnl-ēγ-um, χoťi ulas ūs-t jowt-әs-l-um.

I that chair onto sit-prs-1sg which chair town-loc buy-pst-obj-1sg

‘I sit down on the chair that I bought in the town.’ (T. M.)

In Northern Mansi, the participle constructions are the primary means of subordination (1). Recently, relative pronoun subordination has also appeared in the language, probably due to Russian influence (2) (Rombandeeva 1979). The latter construction is only used with concrete nouns, while the former can express generalizations too (oral interview with S. D.).