Modern Udmurt language: social and cultural aspects

Svetlana Edygarova, University of Tartu

Finno-Ugric languages Samoyedic languages

Nenets, Enets, Nganasan, Selkup,

Finnic Ugric Hungarian, Khanty, Mansi

Baltic-Finnic Volga-Finnic PermicFinnish, Estonian, Mordvin (Erzya, Moksha, Komi, Komi

Permyak, Livonian,Veps, Shoksha), Mari (Hill Mari, UdmurtVotic, Karelian, Meadow Mari)Ingrian, Sami

Uralic language family

Kamas

UDMURTSName variants: “ar”, “arsk people”,

“votyak”

Ethnic name: “udmurt”, “udmort”, “ukmort”

• Location: Udmurtia, Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Mari El, Perm and Kirov oblast

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The map of the Russian Federation

Population of Udmurt Republic 1,64 million in general• Udmurts 29.33 % • Russians 60.12 %• Tatars 4.3 %• Others

According to the last census of the population (2002)Udmurts are 637.000, 72 % speaks mother tongue

In 1989 the figure was 715 000

Udmurt language is endangered language according to UNESCO red book on endangered languages

Udmurt is co-official with Russian language in Udmurt Republic

Studies:-Udmurt language as a mother tongue,-Udmurt literature,-History of Finno-Ugric languages,-Foreign languages (Finnish, Hungarian, English, German)-Summer school of Udmurt language for foreigners

Periodicals

• Udmurt dunne www.udmdunne.ru

• Invozho http://www.invozho.ru/

• Kenesh

• Vorskem kyl

• Dzechbur!

• Kizili

Literature and arts

• Etnofuturism

• Motives of pagan culture

• Nature and civilization

• Contrastive expression

• Mythology

Religion

- In ancient times Udmurts worshiped the powers of nature and pagan gods. Some of the religious structures and sites remain up to the present day in some Udmurt villages. Ancient priests used to pray and worship there. Some of the folk holidays take place there now (Gerber).- The religion of the Udmurts has strong animistic roots. They worship ancestors as well as the gods of the earth, forest, sky, water, house, sauna etc.

Southern Udmurts (19th century)

Modern Southern Udmurts (2008)

Northern Udmurts from Kirovsky region (20th century)

Northern Udmurts (2008)

Udmurt alphabet А Й Х Б К ЦВ Л Ч Г М ӵ Д Н Ш Е О ЩЁ Ö Ъ Ж П Ыӝ Р Ь З С Эӟ Т ЮИ У Яӥ Ф

Some words in Udmurt language

Udm. Transcr. Fin. Eng.

тыл [tyl] tuli fire

кык [kyk] kaksi two

кыл [kyl] kieli tongue, language

пу [pu] puu tree

вир [vir] veri blood

лымы [lymy] lumi snow

синм- [s“inm]

му [mu]

муск- [musk]

вöй [vöj]

Grammatical examples

Udm. (Ton) pon-i-d kõk pu gur-e

Est. (Sina) pan-i-d kaks puu-d ahj-u

Eng. (You) put two (fire)wood oven-to

‘You put two pieces of firewood to the oven’

Declination Estonian Udmurt

1. Nominative mets s’ik3. Genitive metsa s’ik-len4. Partitive/Accusative metsa s’ik/s’ik-ez5. Ablative metsa-lt s’ik-les’6. Allative/Dative metsa-le s’ik-ly7. Adessive metsa-l s’ik-len8. Comitative/instrumental metsa-ga s’ik-en9. Abessive metsa-ta s’ik-tek10. Inessive metsa-s s’ik-yn11. Illative metsa-sse s’ik-e12. Elative metsa-st s’ik-ys’(t)13. Terminative metsa-ni s’ik-oz’14. Translative metsa-ks -15. Essive metsa-na -16. Egressive - s’ik-ys’en17. Prolative - s’ik-eti18. Approximative s’ik-lan’

Uralic morphosyntax in Udmurt language: comparative survey of possessive

constructions in Udmurt and Uralic languages

Possessee marking

Udm. korka-my Fin. talo-mme Hun. ház-unk

house-Px.1PL ‘our house’

• majority of Uralic languages (except Estonian, Livonian)

Morphologically distinguishes

• plural objects (in singular only)

korka-os-yd

house-PL-PX.2SG ‘your houses’

• inalienable objects (in singular only)

jyr-yd vs. korka-jed

head-PX.2SG ‘your head’

No marking: Juxtaposition

korka ös ‘house door’

House-NOM door-NOM

• In Komi, Mari, Mordvin, Hungarian, Nenets

Duble marking

1. korka-len ös-ez

house-GEN door-Px.3SG

‘the door of the house’

• Mari, Hungarian, Mordvin

2. korka-les’ ös-s-e chigt-i-dhouse-ABL door-PX.3SG-ACC break-1PRET-2SG‘you broke the door of the house’

Ul’cha-ys’ piosmurt-ez adzdz-i

street-EL man-ACC see-1PRET-1SG ‘I saw a man in the street’• Komi

Possessor marking

Udm. Myn-am mylkyd kapchi

I-GEN mood easy

‘I am in good mood’

Fin. poja-n kirja

boy-GEN book ‘boy’s book’

• Komi, Mari, Mordvin, Hungarian, Finnic, Nenets

Possessive adjectives

Udm. chagyr s’inm-o nyl

blue eye-with girl

‘a girl with blue eyes’

Fin. Tuma-tukka-inen mies ‘man with dark hair’

• Komi, Estonian, Finnish

svetie@yandex.ru

Тау кылзэмды понна!