Converbal & equivalent structures: a comparative study of Selcup and Samoyedic languages

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Beáta Wagner-Nagy
• Subject Area: General and Comparative Linguistics, Experimental Linguistics, Typology, Non-European Languages
• Term: from 2020 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 445353352

• Final Report Year: 2023

Final Report Abstract

The overarching aim of the research project was to deepen the understanding of the Selkup language, an endangered Uralic language on the brink of extinction. The primary focus was on the analysis of converb constructions from a syntactic perspective, a phenomenon that has been relatively underexplored in Selkup. The investigations were based on existing co rpora, namely the Selkup Language Corpus and the INEL Selkup Corpus. Throughout the corpus analyses, significant differences in the frequency of converbs among the three Selkup dialect groups (North, Central, and South Selkup) became apparent, necessitating further clarification. The project pursued two main objectives: firstly, a detailed typification of Selkup converb constructions, with particular emphasis on dialectal differences. Previous research had suggested that South Selkup dialects utilize converbial constructions more extensively. However, the inclusion of the INEL Selkup Corpus demonstrated that both North and South Selkup dialects employ converbs to a similar extent, while Central Selkup utilizes them significantly less. Secondly, the Selkup language was contextualized within the Samoyedic language family. This involved a comprehensive comparison of Selkup converb constructions with those of other Samoyedic languages (Enets, Nenets, Nganasan, Kamassian), particularly concerning extended functions and equivalent structures. The obtained results not only addressed a research gap in Selkup syntax but also contributed to the enhancement of theoretical linguistic models on various levels. The anal ysis provided insights into internal linguistic diversity and the variability of constructions in co mparison to other Samoyedic languages. Thus, the project yielded valuable findings not only for Selkup language research but also for general linguistic theory formation.

Publications

• Converbal constructions in Selkup. Eesti ja soome-ugri keeleteaduse ajakiri. Journal of Estonian and Finno-Ugric Linguistics, 11(2), 137-165.
  Behnke, Anja
  
• Selkup Language Corpus. Working Papers in Corpus Linguistics and Digital Technologies: Analyses and Methodology. University of Szeged.
  Behnke, Anja & Budzisch, Josefina
  
• 12 Null subjects in Selkup and Nganasan. Null Subjects in Slavic and Finno-Ugric, 347-368. De Gruyter.
  Fischer, Susann & Wagner-Nagy, Beáta
  
• Adverbial sentences in Selkup over time, 55th Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea, 24.–27. August, Bucharest (Rumänien).
  Behnke, Anja & Josefina Budzisch
  
• Clause chaining im Ob-Jenissej Gebiet. Finnisch-Ugrische Mitteilungen 46: 39–56.
  Behnke, Anja
  
• Comitative constructions in Nganasan and Selkup. In: Bartens, H. H.; Larsson, L.-G.; Mattsson, K.; Molnár, J. & Savolainen, T. (eds.). Kīel joug om šīld: Festschrift zum 65. Geburtstag von Eberhard Winkler. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 425–441.
  Wagner-Nagy, Beáta & Alexandre Arkhipov
  
• Existential, locational, and possessive sentences. The Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages, 970-980. Oxford University PressOxford.
  Laakso, Johanna & Wagner-Nagy, Beáta
  
• Nganasan. The Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages, 754-776. Oxford University PressOxford.
  Wagner-Nagy, Beáta
  
• Samoyedic. The Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages, 659-673. Oxford University PressOxford.
  Wagner-Nagy, Beáta & Szeverényi, Sándor
  
• Temporal clauses in Selkup: a dialectal potpourri, Workshop on Samoyedic languages and cultures, 8.–9. September, Hamburg.
  Behnke, Anja
  
• Word order in Selkup. Finnisch-Ugrische Mitteilungen 46: 165–192.
  Wagner-Nagy, Beáta & Susann Fischer
  
• Enets. Clause Linkage in the Languages of the Ob-Yenisei Area, 26-132. BRILL.
  Shluinsky, Andrey & Wagner-Nagy, Beáta
  
• Introduction. Clause Linkage in the Languages of the Ob-Yenisei Area, 1-25. BRILL.
  Behnke, Anja & Wagner-Nagy, Beáta
  
• Kamas. Clause Linkage in the Languages of the Ob-Yenisei Area, 415-452. BRILL.
  Arkhipov, Alexandre & Wagner-Nagy, Beáta
  
• Selkup. Clause Linkage in the Languages of the Ob-Yenisei Area, 348-385. BRILL.
  Behnke, Anja & Budzisch, Josefina
  
• Clause Linkage in the Languages of the Ob-Yenisei Area. BRILL.
  Behnke, Anja & Wagner-Nagy, Beáta