Use of indefinite negative pronouns (Surgut Khanty)

DbleNeg: Negation is expressed through the use of both a negative pronoun and a negative predicate.


(1a) əj məta qo jowət.
a what_kind_of man come.pst.3sg
‘Somebody has arrived.’ (L. N. K.)

(1b) əj məta qo əntə jowət.
a what_kind_of man pcl neg come.pst.3sg
‘Nobody has arrived.’ (L. N. K.)

(2a) məta ot wūj-əm.
what_kind_of thing see-pst.1sg
‘I have seen something.’ (L. N. K.)

(2b) əj məta ot əntə wūj-əm.  
a what_kind_of thing pcl neg see.pst-1sg
‘I haven’t seen anything.’ (L. N. K.)

(3a) məšməta kank-ət panč-ət.
some_kind_of berry-pl ripen-pst.3pl
‘Some kind of berry has ripened.’ (L. N. K.)

(3b) əj məšməta kank-ət əntə panč-ət.
a some_kind_of berry-pl neg ripen-pst.3pl
‘Some kind of berry hasn’t ripened yet.’ (L. N. K.)

Surgut Khanty uses double negation: negative indefinite pronouns require negative predicates. The negative nature of pronouns is indicated by the әj prefix (3b), the particle (1b), or both (2b).

Author: 

Márta Csepregi