RelN: The relative clause always or usually precedes the noun head.
NRel: The relative clause always or usually follows the noun head.
(1) xorǝt-ti āp
bark-ptcp.prs dog
‘barking dog’ (S. O.)
(2) tam āp, mati xorǝt-l
det dog which bark-prs.sg3
‘the dog, which is barking’ (S. O.)
(3) mā wɔ̄š-n lūt-ǝm ūlas-em-ǝn ɔ̄mǝs-l-ǝm.
I town-loc buy-ptcp.pst chair-1sg-loc sit-prs-1sg
‘I am sitting on the chair which I had bought in the town.’ (S. O.)
(4) mā tum ūlas-em-ǝn ɔ̄mǝs-l-ǝm, āmati wɔ̄š-n lūt-s-ǝm.
I det chair-1sg-loc sit-prs-1sg which town-loc buy-pst-1sg
‘I am sitting on the chair which I had bought in the town.’ (S. O.)
In Synya Khanty, the primary way of subordination is the participle construction (1), (3), where the relative participle precedes its head noun. Recently, another construction has also appeared, in which the relative close follows the referent nouns (2), (4) (cf. Honti 1984: 103‒106). The topic requires further research.