(Udmurt)

RelPro & RCnonObl

RelPro: Oblique-headed relative clauses include both the nominal head of the relative clause in the main clause and an obligatory coreferential pronoun in the relative clause, generally marked for its oblique role.

RCnonObl: While the nominal head of an oblique-headed relative clause can be understood to fulfill an oblique role in the clause, this role is not marked grammatically; instead, the noun is only marked for its syntactic role in the main clause.

(1)ö-znaśurysyćeaďami,
NEG.PST3SGyetfind.CNG.SGsuchman
kin-lyosky-nylu-e.
whoDATbelieveINFwill_be3SG
’I haven’t found a man yet who you could believe.’ (UdmCorp.)

(2)aďami,kin-lenkyl-yz-leśnoki-os-yz-leś
hemanwho-GENtongue-3SG-ABLandhand-PL-3SG-ABL
muketaďamiosugkuradʒ́o.
otherman-PLNEG.PRSsuffer.CNG.3PL
’He is a man whose tongue and hand other people do not suffer from.’ (UdmCorp.)

(3)aďami,kin-enveraśk-i-m,imperiaľist.
DEMmanwhoINSCOMtalkPST1PLimperialist
’The man we are talking with is an imperialist.’ (UdmCorp.)

(4) so nylaš, kin-leśnokinno viźmo övöl, gord diplombaśt-i-z.
DEMlány, kiABLsenkiPCL okos NEG piros diplomaveszPST.3SG
’The cleverest girl of all (lit. “the girl nobody is cleverer than”) received a red diploma.’ (Y. S.)

(5)mynamkino-jevetl-emnylaš-ealnaš-ynvordsk-emyn.
I.GENcinemaILLgoPTCP.PSTgirl1SGAlnasINEbe_bornPTCP.PASS
’The girl I went to the cinema with was born in Alnas.’ (Asztalos 2018: 177)

In Udmurt, oblique-headed relative clauses contain an interrogative pronoun in the corresponding oblique case as a relaitvizer when the head noun would have one of the following forms in the relative clause: dative (1), genitive (2), instrumental/comitative (3), or comparative (4). There can be an optional demonstrative in the main clause introducing the relative clause (1), (3)–(4). Instrumental and comitative meanings can also be expressed using participial constructions (5) (besides locative and temporal meanings, cf. Asztalos 2018: 177–178).

Author: Laura Horváth


[🠐 back]