Predicative comparative constructions (Northern Mansi)

Abl: The standard is grammatically or morphologically marked to express an ablative (‘from’) meaning.

NoCompMk: The comparative function is not marked.

CompMkAff: The comparative function is marked using a special affix (prefix, suffix, or circumfix).


(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.3sg
’This summer is richer than the previous one.’ (Rombandeeva 1973: 84)


(4) naŋ luwn jōr-nuwe ke, naŋ lilin wos nēγli.
you horse strong-comp if you life 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 comparative standard takes the ablative case and the comparee is in the nominative case (Kálmán 1976). 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 appearance of the comparee is optional after the suffix (4).

Author: 

Szilvia Németh