(Udmurt)
IP~Q
IP~Q: Indefiniteness is expressed by a special bound morpheme that usually – but not necessarily – has an etymological relationship to words meaning ‘be,’ ‘want,’ ‘maybe,’ ‘or,’ and ‘too.’
| animate | inanimate | |
|---|---|---|
| interrogative pronoun | kin ’who’ | ma(r) ’what’ |
| indefinite pronoun | kin ke ’somebody’ | make, mar ke ’something’ |
| olokin ’somebody’ | olomar ’something’ |
In Udmurt indefinite pronouns are derived from interrogative pronouns by adding ke or olo- (Perevoshchikov et al. 1962: 352, Tarakanov 2011: 135). (As an independent morpheme, ke is used as a conjunction meaning ’if’, whereas olo can be a modifier meaning ’maybe, probably’.)
Author: Erika Asztalos