Basic word order of nominal adverbials (Synja Khanty)

XOV: Basic word order is XOV.


(1) pox aškula-n nēpǝk luŋǝt-l.

boy school-loc book read-prs.3sg

‘The boy is reading a book in the school.’ (S. O.)


(2) aškula-n pox nēpǝk luŋǝt-l.

school-loc boy book read-prs.3sg

‘In the school, the boy is reading a book.’ (S. O.)


(3) pox nēpǝk aškula-ja tū-s.

boy book school-lat bring-pst.3sg

‘The boy brought a book in the school.’ (S. O.)


(4) pox jēj-el-a pisma xanš-l.

boy brother-3sg-lat letter write-prs.3sg

‘The boy is writing a letter to his brother.’ (S. O.)


(5) pox nēpǝk luŋǝt-l aškula-n.

boy book read-prs.3sg school-loc

‘The boy is reading a book in the school.’ (S. O.)


In Synja Khanty, the subject is typically at the beginning of the sentence, while the predicate is at the end, and the object is in between. Nominal adverbials are put between the subject and the object (1) or at the beginning of the sentence (2). The adjunct can be put between the object and the verb too (3). Free adjectival recipients usually appear between the subject and the object (4). The adjunct can also be at the end of the sentence (5), but according to our native language informant, this word order is very rare (S. O.). (cf. Honti  1984:  88‒89, Nikolaeva  1999a:  57‒64, Solovar  2009: 73‒77). The topic requires further research.

Author: 

Nikolett F. Gulyás