Coding of the causee in transitive constructions (Surgut Khanty)

TrCeeP: The causee appears in the same form as the patient of a transitive verb in a non-causative sentence.


(1a) rōpitʌə-tə jɔ̄ɣ qɔ̄t wär-ʌ-ət.

work-prs.ptc people house do-prs-3pl

‘The workers are building a house.’ (L. N. K.)


(1b) ōqqo rōpitʌə-tə jɔ̄ɣ qɔ̄t wär-taɣə pārt-ʌ.

head_man work-prs.ptc people house do-inf order-prs.3sg

‘The boss made the workers build a house.’ (L. N. K.)


(2a) järnas jɔ̄nt-ʌ-əm.

I dress sew-prs-1sg

‘I’m sewing a dress.’ (L. N. K.)


(2b) āŋki mān-t järnas jɔ̄nt-taɣə pārt-ʌ.

mother I-acc dress sew-inf order-prs.3sg

‘My mother made me sew a dress.’ (L. N. K.)


In Surgut Khanty, the most frequent causative construction is periphrastic. The main verb of the construction is pārt- ‘order’, which is accompanied by the infinitive of the verb denoting the causal event. The causee is in the object position. If the causee is a noun, it is in the nominative case (1b), while personal pronouns have distinct accusative forms (2b).

Author: 

Márta Csepregi