Samoyedic languages

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Samoyedic
Samoyed
Geographic
distribution		Northern Eurasia
Linguistic classificationUralic
  • Samoyedic
Proto-languageProto-Samoyedic
Subdivisions
ISO 639-5syd
Glottologsamo1298
Samoyedic languages at the beginning of the 20th century

Current geographic distribution of Samoyedic languages in Russia

The Samoyedic (

Proto-Samoyedic, and form a branch of the Uralic languages. Having separated perhaps in the last centuries BC,[4] they are not a diverse group of languages, and are traditionally considered to be an outgroup
, branching off first from the other Uralic languages.

Etymology

See also: Samoyedic peoples

The term Samoyedic is derived from the Russian term samoyed (Russian: самоед) for some indigenous peoples of Siberia. The term has come to be considered derogatory because it has been interpreted by some ethnologists as originating from Russian samo-yed meaning 'self-eater', i.e. 'cannibal'.[5]

Another suggestion for the term's origin is a corruption of the expression saam-edne, meaning "Land of the

Saams".[6]

The word Samodeic[7] has been proposed as an alternative by some ethnologists.[5]

Classification

Traditionally, Samoyedic languages and peoples have been divided into two major areal groups: Northern Samoyedic (Nenets, Yurats, Enets, Nganasans), and Southern Samoyedic (Selkups) with a further subgroup of Sayan-Samoyedics (Kamasins, Mators) named after the Sayan Mountains. They are however purely geographical, and do not reflect linguistic relations.

Linguistic genealogical classifications point to an early divergence of Nganasan and (perhaps to a lesser degree) Mator, with Enets–Nenets–Yurats and Kamas–Selkup forming internal branches.[4]

Grammar

Samoyedic languages are primarily

postpositions and suffixes and do not use articles or prefixes.[8][9] Samoyedic languages also have grammatical evidentiality.[8] Word order in Samoyedic languages is typically subject-object-verb (SOV).[10]
Below are two sentences in Nenets that demonstrate SOV word order and case in Samoyedic languages:

a.

Säxäko

Seheko

boľńica-xana

hospital-LOC

me

be.[3SG]

Säxäko boľńica-xana me

Seheko hospital-LOC be.[3SG]

"Seheko is in the hospital."

b.

toxolkoda

student

klass-xana

classroom-LOC

me

be.[3SG]

toxolkoda klass-xana me

student classroom-LOC be.[3SG]

"The student is in the classroom."[11]

Nouns

Nouns in Samoyedic languages do not have gender, but they are declined for number (singular, dual, and plural) as well as case.[9] All Samoyedic languages have at least seven noun cases which may include nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative, locative, instrumental, lative, and/or prolative depending on the language.[9][10]

Verbs

Many Samoyedic languages have the following three conjugation types: subjective, objective (in which the number of the object is expressed in addition to that of the subject), and reflexive.[10] Verbs in Samoyedic languages have several moods, ranging from at least eight in Selkup to at least sixteen in Nenets. Other forms of verbs that can be found in Samoyedic languages are gerunds, participles, and infinitives. Of the Samoyedic languages, only Selkup has verbal aspect.[8]

Phonology

Sonorant-obstruent consonant clusters with two consonants, of which the latter consonant is more sonorous than the former, are the most frequently occurring consonant clusters in several Samoyedic languages. Conversely, consonant clusters ending in glides are not found in any Samoyedic languages.[12]

Unlike some other Uralic languages, Samoyedic languages do not have vowel harmony.[10]

Vowel epenthesis is frequently used in Samoyedic languages to break up consonant clusters, particularly in the case of loanwords borrowed from Russian.[12]

Vowel epenthesis from Russian to Nenets[12]

  • крупа (krupa) > xurupa "cereals"
  • класс (klass) > xalas "class"

Vowel epenthesis from Russian to Nganasan[12]

  • бригада (brigada) > birigadә "brigade"
  • метр (metr) > metәrә "meter"

Vowel epenthesis from Russian to Selkup[12]

  • стекло (stʲeklo) > tʲekɨla "glass"
  • стол (stol) > istol "table"

Contact with Russian language

Samoyedic languages have experienced significant language contact with Russian to such an extent that members of the Nenets, Selkup, Nganasan, and Enets ethnic groups now often have Russian as a first language, with speakers of Samoyedic languages primarily belonging to elder age groups.[12]

Russian loanwords in Samoyedic languages include: колхоз ("collective farm"), машина ("car"), молоко ("milk"), Москва ("Moscow").[12]

Geographical distribution

At present, Samoyed territory extends from the

Sakha. A substantial Samoyed city grew up at Mangazeya
in the 16th century as a trade city, but was destroyed at the beginning of the 17th century.

The Southern Samoyedic languages, of which only the

Ob River in the west to the Sayan-Baikal uplands in the east. Records up to the 18th century sporadically report several further entities such as "Abakan", "Kagmasin", "Soyot", though there is no clear evidence for any of these constituting separate languages, and all available data appears to be explainable as these having been simply early forms of Kamassian or Mator.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Samoyedic". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-09-26.
  2. ^ "Samoyed". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27.
  3. ^ "Samoyed". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
  4. ^ a b Janhunen, Juha (1998). "Samoyedic". In Daniel Abondolo (ed.). The Uralic Languages. London / New York: Routledge. pp. 457–479.
  5. ^
    ISBN 9780691228112
    . ... I use the linguistic term Samodeic here, since it has superseded the more derogatory Samoyedic. In Russian, 'Samoyed' originally meant 'self-eater' before it became a general enthnolinguistic term for the group encompassing Nentsy, Entsy, Nganasan, and Sel'kup (cf. Comrie 1981; Golovnev 1995)...
  6. ISBN 9781487591113
    . ... The term 'Samoyeds' had no derogatory meaning (1) and, as can be surmised, represents a modification of the expression 'same-edne' i.e. 'land of the Saams.' This term was transferred from the Saam tribes (which evidently occupied, at one time, the entire north of European Russia) to the Nenets (who appeared there later), and thereafter to the Enets and Ngasans...
  7. ^ Samodeic @ google books
  8. ^
    JSTOR 26191775
    .
  9. ^ a b c Wagner-Nagy, Beata (2016). "Existentials, possessives and definiteness in Samoyedic languages".
  10. ^ a b c d "The Samoyedic Languages" (PDF). Community of Practice in Uralic Studies (COPIUS). November 30, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. ^ Nenyang, M. A. (2005). Russko-neneckij razgovornik [Russian-Nenets Phrase-book]. Sankt-Peterburg: Drofa.
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-1-61451-076-5
    .
  13. ISSN 0355-0141.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    ) |

External links
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