Word order of adjectives and degree words (Northern Mansi)

DegAdj: Degree words always (or almost always) precede adjectives.


(1) am saka janyγ.
I very tall
‘I’m very tall.’ (Kálmán 1976: 76)


(2) ńawram­-ǝt moś janyγ jemt-­uŋkwe pa­t-s-­ǝt.
child-­pl bit big become­-inf become-­pst-­3sg
‘The children grew a little.’ (Popova 2004: 23)


(3) am sūp­-um-­nǝl kwāl-­ǝn! ľūńśǝŋ kapaj!
I mouth­1sg-abl come­prs.imp.2sg slobbery very
‘Come out of my mouth! – It is very slobbery!’ (Kálmán 1976: 76)


In Northern Mansi, the adjectival degree words preceed the adjectives (1), (2). The only exception is the kapaj ‘huge’ word, which always follows the adjective. The latter, however, is an exception and thus we did not consider it in specifying the parameter value.

Author: 

Szilvia Németh