Table Of ContentA DESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR OF KET
(YENISEI-OSTYAK)
PART 1: Int!r::::oduction, Phonology, Morphology
Dem Andenken meines Vaters
Heribert Georg
29.04.1940 – 10.06.2005
Gewidmet.
A Descriptive Grammar of Ket
(Yenisei-Ostyak)
PART 1
Introduction, Phonology, Morphology
(cid:1)
STEFAN GEORG
University of Bonn
LANGUAGES OF ASIA SERIES
Volume 1
A DESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR OF KET (YENISEI-OSTYAK)
PA RT 1:Introduction, Phonology, Morphology :
By Stefan Georg
First published in 2007 by
GLOBAL ORIENTAL LTD
PO Box 219
Folkestone
Kent CT20 2WP
UK
www.globaloriental.co.uk
© Stefan Georg 2007
ISBN 978-1-901903-58-4
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical or other means, now known
or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any storage or retrieval system,
without prior permission in writing from the Publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available
From the British Library
Printed and bound in England by TJI Digital, Padstow, Cornwall
1 INTRODUCTION 9
2 THE KETS AND THEIR LANGUAGE 11
2.1 AVANT-PROPOS: THE NAME OF THE LANGUAGE 11
2.2 THE YENISEIC FAMILY OF LANGUAGES 16
2.2.1 YUGH 16
2.2.2 KOTT 17
2.2.3 ASSAN 17
2.2.4 ARIN 18
2.2.5 PUMPOKOL 18
2.2.6 YENISEIC AS A LANGUAGE FAMILY 18
2.2.7 EXTERNAL GENETIC RELATIONSHIPS OF YENISEIC 19
2.3 THE KETS AND THEIR LANGUAGE 20
2.3.1 THE HOMELAND OF THE KETS 20
2.3.2 KET DIALECTS 20
2.3.2.1 Southern Ket 20
2.3.2.2 Central Ket 21
2.3.2.3 Northern Ket 21
2.3.3 MAP OF THE KET AREA 22
2.3.4 SOCIOLINGUISTIC SITUATION 23
2.3.5 KET TRADITIONAL CULTURE 27
2.4 THE AREAL SETTING OF KET AND YENISEIC 31
2.5 HISTORY OF THE INVESTIGATION OF KET/YENISEIC 32
2.5.1 AUTHOR'S FIELDWORK 38
2.6 NOTATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND FAÇONS DE PARLER 39
2.6.1 THE VERBAL FORMULA 39
2.6.2 THE NOTATION OF KET WORDS 40
2.6.3 INTERLINEAR GLOSSES 41
2.6.4 VERB PARADIGMS 43
2.6.5 ABBREVIATIONS 44
2.6.6 A NOTE ON THE SOURCES OF THIS GRAMMAR 45
3 PHONOLOGY 47
3.1 TONE AND PROSODY 47
3.1.1 TONE ON MONOSYLLABIC STEMS 47
3.1.2 DISYLLABIC CONTOURS 56
3.1.3 TONE/ACCENT IN POLYSYLLABIC WORDS 58
3.2 VOWELS 61
3.2.1 VOWEL PHONEMES 61
3.2.2 SEGMENTAL ALLOPHONY 67
3.3 CONSONANTS 69
3.3.1 CONSONANT PHONEMES 69
3.3.2 SEGMENTAL ALLOPHONY 75
3.4 PHONOTACTICS 80
3.4.1 SYLLABLE STRUCTURE 80
3.4.2 DISTRIBUTION OF PHONEMES 81
3.4.3 CONSONANT CLUSTERS 82
4 MORPHOLOGY 88
4.1 NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES 88
4.1.1 SUBSTANTIVE NOUNS 88
4.1.1.1 Class 88
4.1.1.1.1 Morphological characteristics of noun classes 88
4.1.1.1.2 Semantic characteristics of noun classes 89
4.1.1.1.2.1 Nouns of class m not denoting male humans 90
4.1.1.1.2.2 Nouns of class f not denoting female humans 91
4.1.1.2 Number 91
4.1.1.2.1 Singular and singulative 91
4.1.1.2.2 Plural 92
4.1.1.2.3 Traces of natural dual, or paral 92
4.1.1.2.4 Plural markers 92
4.1.1.2.4.1 Plural characterized by suffixes 93
4.1.1.2.4.2 Morphologically uncharacterized plural 97
4.1.1.2.4.3 Plural characterized by vocalic "ablaut" 97
4.1.1.2.4.4 Plural characterized by tone change 98
4.1.1.2.4.5 Plural characterized by tone change and "ablaut" 98
4.1.1.2.4.6 Contractive plural formation 99
4.1.1.2.4.7 Suppletive plural forms 100
4.1.1.2.4.8 Irregular plural forms 100
4.1.1.2.4.9 Functions of the plural 101
4.1.1.3 Case 102
4.1.1.3.1 Nominative 105
4.1.1.3.1.1 Subject 105
4.1.1.3.1.2 Object 106
4.1.1.3.2 Genitive 107
4.1.1.3.3 Dative 108
4.1.1.3.4 Benefactive 109
4.1.1.3.5 Ablative 110
4.1.1.3.6 Adessive 111
4.1.1.3.7 Locative 112
4.1.1.3.8 Prosecutive 113
4.1.1.3.9 Instrumental 114
4.1.1.3.10 Abessive 114
4.1.1.3.11 Translative 115
4.1.1.3.12 Vocative 117
4.1.1.3.13 Floating case 117
4.1.1.3.14 Predicative use of case forms 118
4.1.1.4 Possession 119
4.1.2 DERIVATION AND COMPOUNDING OF SUBSTANTIVE NOUNS 120
4.1.2.1 The Nominalizer -s 122
4.1.2.2 -~ 124
4.1.2.3 Compounding 125
4.1.2.3.1 Contact compounds 125
4.1.2.3.1.1 Plural forms of contact compounds 126
4.1.2.3.2 Genitive-linked compounds 126
4.1.2.3.2.1 Plural forms of genitive-linked compounds 127
4.1.2.3.3 Frequent parts of compounds, or "semi-affixes" 128
4.1.2.3.3.1 Frequent determiners ("semi-prefixes") 128
4.1.2.3.3.2 Frequent heads in compounds ("semi-suffixes") 129
4.1.2.3.3.2.1 -aj "container" 129
4.1.2.3.3.2.2 -(al/el)-kit diminutive 130
4.1.2.3.3.2.3 -has "step-" 131
4.1.2.3.3.2.4 -ad "bone" 131
4.1.2.3.3.2.5 -dis "small round object" 132
4.1.2.3.3.2.6 -es/-as "sky, weather" 132
4.1.2.3.3.2.7 -lamt "piece" 132
4.1.2.3.3.2.8 -oks "wooden object" 133
4.1.2.3.3.2.9 -ol "cover" 133
4.1.2.3.3.2.10 -qus "dwelling place" 133
4.1.2.3.4 Complex nominal compounds 134
4.1.3 ADJECTIVES 134
4.1.3.1 Formal characteristics of adjectives 135
4.1.3.2 Attributive use of adjectives 137
4.1.3.3 Predicative use of adjectives 139
4.1.3.4 Comparison 140
4.1.3.5 Derivation of adjectives 141
4.1.3.5.1 -tu 141
4.1.3.5.2 -(V)m 142
4.1.3.5.3 Adjectival compounds 142
4.1.4 ADVERBS AND POSTPOSITIONS 142
4.1.4.1 Local/spatial adverbs 143
4.1.4.2 Temporal adverbs 147
4.1.4.3 Adverbs of manner and degree 151
4.1.4.4 Postpositions 151
4.1.4.4.1 The postposition ákit "behind" 153
4.1.4.4.2 The postposition bƒl "between" 153
4.1.4.4.3 The postposition k⁄´ka "in the middle of, among" 154
4.1.4.4.4 The postposition ít(i)l "beside" 155
4.1.4.4.5 The postposition ™´lkitka "before, in front of" 155
4.1.4.4.6 The postposition ™™t "on, on top of" 156
4.1.4.4.7 The postposition h⁄´t(⁄)ka "under" 156
4.1.4.4.8 The postposition íka "in" 157
4.1.4.4.9 The postposition –l(ka) "beside" 157
4.1.4.4.10 The postposition kƒl "behind, on the other side" 157
4.1.4.4.11 The postposition útsil "near, in the vicinity" 158
4.1.4.4.12 The postposition ⁄´ndi "under" 158
4.1.4.4.13 The postposition às, aas "like, as, similar as" 158
4.1.4.4.14 The postposition bínamt "without" 159
4.1.4.4.15 The postposition daan "when, while, during" 159
4.1.4.4.16 The postposition dó(q)ot "for, on behalf of" 160
4.1.4.4.17 The postposition dúkde "during, while, as long as" 160
4.1.4.4.18 The pseudo-postposition ésa~ 161
4.1.4.4.19 The postposition q¡n, qòn "up to, until" 161
4.1.4.4.20 The postposition séjbes "instead of, in place of" 162
4.1.4.5 "Prepositions" 162
4.2 PRONOUNS 163
4.2.1 PERSONAL PRONOUNS 163
4.2.2 POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS 165
4.2.3 DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS 166
4.2.4 INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS 168
4.2.5 RELATIVE PRONOUNS AND INTERROGATIVE RELATIVIZERS 173
4.2.6 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS 174
4.2.7 EMPHATIC/REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS 175
4.2.8 RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS 178
4.3 NUMERALS AND QUANTIFIERS 178
4.3.1 CARDINAL NUMERALS 178
4.3.2 ORDINAL NUMERALS 181
4.3.3 MULTIPLICATIVE AND DISTRIBUTIVE NUMERALS 182
4.3.4 QUANTIFIERS 182
4.4 VERBS 183
4.4.1 GENERAL OVERVIEW - CATEGORIES 184
4.4.2 POSITION CLASS 185
4.4.3 THE FIVE CONJUGATION CLASSES 189
4.4.3.1 Conjugation I 190
4.4.3.2 Conjugation II 193
4.4.3.3 Conjugation III 196
4.4.3.4 Conjugation IV 197
4.4.3.5 Conjugation V 201
4.4.3.6 Mixed paradigms 202
4.4.4 MORPHOTACTIC RULES 203
4.4.4.1 The surface realization of the P8 marker 3SGf /da/ 203
4.4.4.2 Truncation and elision 204
4.4.4.2.1 Truncation Rule 1 (TR1) 205
4.4.4.2.2 Truncation Rule 2 (TR 2) 205
4.4.4.2.3 Truncation Rule 3 (TR 3) 205
4.4.4.2.4 Truncation Rule 4 (TR 4) 206
4.4.4.2.5 Truncation Rule 5 (TR 5) 206
4.4.4.2.6 Truncation Rule 6 (TR 6) 206
4.4.4.2.7 Truncation Rule 7 (TR 7) 206
4.4.4.2.8 Truncation Rule 8 (TR 8) 207
4.4.4.2.9 Truncation Rule 9 (TR 9) 207
4.4.4.2.10 Truncation Rule 10 (TR 10) 208
4.4.4.2.11 Truncation Rule 11 (TR 11) 208
4.4.4.3 Vowel insertion (anaptyxis) 208
4.4.4.3.1 Vowel insertion Rule 1 (VIR 1) 208
4.4.4.3.2 Vowel insertion Rule 2 (VIR 2) 209
4.4.4.3.3 Vowel insertion Rule 3 (VIR 3) 209
4.4.4.3.4 Vowel insertion Rule 4 (VIR 4) 209
4.4.4.3.5 Vowel insertion Rule 5 (VIR 5) 209
4.4.4.4 Morphotactic separators 210
4.4.4.4.1 Separator Rule 1 (SR 1) 210
4.4.4.4.2 Separator Rule 2 (SR 2) 210
4.4.4.4.3 Separator Rule 3 (SR 3) 210
4.4.4.4.4 Separator Rule 4 (SR 4) 211
4.4.4.4.5 Separator Rule 5 (SR 5) 211
4.4.4.4.6 Separator Rule 6 (SR 6) 211
4.4.4.4.7 Separator Rule 7 (SR 7) 211
4.4.4.4.8 Separator Rule 8 (SR 8) 212
4.4.4.4.9 Separator Rule 9 (SR 9) 212
4.4.4.4.10 Separator Rule 10 (SR 10) 212
4.4.4.4.11 Separator Rule 11 (SR 11) 213
4.4.4.4.12 Separator Rule 12 (SR 12) 213
4.4.4.5 "Feminine Object Rule" (FOR) 213
4.4.4.6 Syncope (Sync) 214
4.4.4.7 Pre-root anaptyxis 215
4.4.5 THE INDIVIDUAL POSITION CLASSES (MORPHEME SLOTS) 215
4.4.5.1 R - the root morpheme 215
4.4.5.1.1 Suppletivism 218
4.4.5.1.1.1 Full suppletivism 218
4.4.5.1.1.2 Partial (or "pseudo-") suppletivism 221
4.4.5.1.1.2.1 The b- ~ k- alternation 221
4.4.5.1.2 Semantically bleached roots or "pseudo-affixes" 227
4.4.5.2 P7 incorporate 231
4.4.5.2.1 Incorporable lexical morphemes 231
4.4.5.2.1.1 Incorporated nouns 231
4.4.5.2.1.2 Incorporated adjectives 232
4.4.5.2.1.3 Incorporated adverbs 233
4.4.5.2.1.4 Incorporated verbs (infinitives) 233
4.4.5.2.1.5 An incorporated particle 234
4.4.5.2.2 Paradigmatic incorporation 235
4.4.5.2.3 Formal characteristics of P7 incorporates 237
4.4.5.2.3.1 Light and heavy P7 incorporates 237
4.4.5.2.4 The pseudo-incorporate bin7- 239
4.4.5.2.5 Pseudo-suppletivism of P7 incorporates 241
4.4.5.2.5.1 -s/-j 242
4.4.5.2.5.2 -j/-k 244
4.4.5.2.6 Morphologically complex P7 incorporates 244
4.4.5.2.6.1 Recursive incorporation 244
4.4.5.2.6.2 Pluralized P7 incorporates 245
4.4.5.2.6.3 An iterative suffix in P7 246
4.4.5.2.6.4 The causative morpheme - a suffix in position P7 246
4.4.5.3 "Determiners": flotsam between P7 and P4 248
4.4.5.4 Determiners in P5 (and co-occupying P6) 255
4.4.5.4.1 The determiner k 257
4.4.5.4.2 The determiner t 258
4.4.5.4.3 The determiner n 259
4.4.5.4.4 The determiner h 260
4.4.5.4.5 The determiner d 260
4.4.5.4.6 The determiner q 262
4.4.5.4.7 The determiner ~ 263
4.4.5.5 PL - the subject plural 263
4.4.5.5.1 The distribution of PL suffixes 263
4.4.5.5.2 The shape of PL suffixes 264
4.4.5.6 P8 266
4.4.5.6.1 P8 actant morphemes - the "D-series" 266
4.4.5.6.2 Petrified P8 da- in "impersonal" verbs 266
4.4.5.7 P6 actant morphemes - the "B-series" 268
4.4.5.8 Person markers and thematic a in P4 270
4.4.5.8.1 P4 actant markers 270
4.4.5.8.2 a4 as "thematic" marker 271
4.4.5.8.3 Preterite-labialization of P4 /a/, /a~/ 273
4.4.5.9 Inanimate object/subject markers and petrified b in P3 274
4.4.5.9.1 Actant b3 274
4.4.5.9.2 Non-actant (petrified) b3 275
4.4.5.10 P1 280
4.4.5.10.1 Actant-marking P1 280
4.4.5.10.2 a1 as a petrified resultative marker 280
4.4.5.11 P2: preterite and imperative 281
4.4.5.11.1 The P2 preterite markers il and in 282
4.4.5.11.2 Other preterite markers 284
4.4.5.11.2.1 The preterite marker ij 284
4.4.5.11.2.2 The pseudo-preterite marker q 285
4.4.6 MOOD AND TENSE 285
4.4.6.1 Present, preterite, and future 285
4.4.6.2 Imperative and prohibitive 288
4.4.6.2.1 Imperatives in conjugation I 289
4.4.6.2.2 Imperatives in conjugation II 289
4.4.6.2.3 Imperatives in conjugation III 290
4.4.6.2.4 Imperatives in conjugation IV 291
4.4.6.2.5 Common irregularities found in imperative forms 291
4.4.6.2.5.1 The erosion of the P2 marker il 292
4.4.6.2.5.2 Assimilations 293
4.4.6.2.5.3 The erosion of velar and uvular consonants 294
4.4.6.2.5.4 Marginal phenomena in irregular imperative forms 295
4.4.6.2.6 Prohibitive forms 296
4.4.6.3 Analytically expressed moods 297
4.4.6.3.1 The irrealis particle s–m 297
4.4.6.3.2 The optative particle qƒn 298
4.4.7 DERIVED CATEGORIES 299
4.4.7.1 Causatives 299
4.4.7.2 Iteratives 302
4.4.7.3 Inchoatives 303
4.4.8 NOMINAL VERB FORMS 304
4.4.8.1 Infinitive and participle 304
4.4.9 COPULAE, EXISTENTIALS AND PREDICATIVE AFFIXES 312
4.4.9.1 The null-copula and the past tense copula òb⁄lda 312
4.4.9.2 (Non-) existentials 314
4.4.9.3 Predicative concord suffixes 316
4.4.10 PROBLEMATIC AND IDIOSYNCRATIC VERB PARADIGMS 317
4.5 OTHER PARTS-OF-SPEECH 319
4.5.1 PARTICLES AND CONJUNCTIONS 319
4.5.2 INTERJECTIONS AND IDEOPHONES 320
5 REFERENCES 320
