(Udmurt)

SVO & SOV

SVO: Basic subordinate word order is SVO.

SOV: Basic subordinate word order is SOV.

(1)jevavera-z, mašasaša-jez žug-i-z(šuysa).
EvesayPST.3SGMashaSashaACCbeatPST3SGthat
’Eve said that Masha had beaten Sasha.’ (Y. S.)

(2)jevavera-z, mašažug-i-z saša-jez (šuysa).
EvesayPST.3SGMashabeatPST3SG SashaACCthat
’Eve said that Masha had beaten Sasha.’ (Y. S.)

(3)jevavera-z, (śto) mašasaša-jez žug-i-z.
EvesayPST.3SG thatMashaSashaACCbeatPST3SG
’Eve said that Masha had beaten Sasha.’ (Y. S.)

(4)jevavera-z, (śto) mašažug-i-z saša-jez.
EvesayPST.3SG thatMashabeatPST3SG SashaACC
’Eve said that Masha had beaten Sasha.’ (Y. S.)

(5)jevavera-z,śto mašasaša-jez žug-i-zšuysa.
EvesayPST.3SGthatMashaSashaACCbeatPST3SGthat
’Eve said that Masha had beaten Sasha.’ (Y. S.)

(6)jevavera-z, śto mašažug-i-z saša-jez šuysa.
EvesayPST.3SGthatMashabeatPST3SGSashaACCthat
’Eve said that Masha had beaten Sasha.’ (Y. S.)

In present-day Udmurt, the basic neutral order of a subordinate clause can be either SOV (1), (3), (5), or SVO (2), (4), (6). According to our data the word order of the subordinate clause is independent of whether it is introduced by a complementiser or not (1)–(4), or, in case it is, whether the complementiser is the Udmurt lexeme šuysa ’that’ (1)–(2), the Russian borrowing śto ’that’ (3)–(4), or a combination of the two (5)–(6).

Author: Erika Asztalos


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