Erzya language

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Erzya
erźań keľ
эрзянь кель
Native toRussia
RegionMordovia, Nizhny Novgorod, Chuvashia, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Penza, Saratov, Orenburg, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan
Ethnicity610,000 (553,000 in Russia, 2010 census)
Native speakers
36 726 (2010 census)[1] (2010 census)[2]
430,000 Mordvin in Russia per 2010 census.[3] The 1926 census found that approximately 2/3 of ethnic Mordvins were Erzya, and the figure might be similar today[4]
Cyrillic
Official status
Official language in
Mordovia (Russia)
Language codes
ISO 639-2myv
ISO 639-3myv
Glottologerzy1239
ELPErzya
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The Erzya language (эрзянь кель, erźań keľ, pronounced [ˈerʲzʲanʲ ˈkelʲ]), also Erzian or historically Arisa, is spoken by approximately 300,000 people in the northern, eastern and north-western parts of the Republic of Mordovia and adjacent regions of Nizhny Novgorod, Chuvashia, Penza, Samara, Saratov, Orenburg, Ulyanovsk, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan in Russia. A diaspora can also be found in Armenia and Estonia, as well as in Kazakhstan and other states of Central Asia. Erzya is currently written using Cyrillic with no modifications to the variant used by the Russian language. In Mordovia, Erzya is co-official with Moksha and Russian.

The language belongs to the Mordvinic branch of the Uralic languages. Erzya is a language that is closely related to Moksha but has distinct phonetics, morphology and vocabulary.

Phonology[]

Consonants[]

The following table lists the consonant phonemes of Erzya together with their Cyrillic equivalents.[5]

Labial Alveolar Post-
alveolar 		Palatal Velar
plain pal.
Nasal /m/ м /n/ н /nʲ/ нь /ŋ/ (н)
Plosive voiceless /p/ п /t/ т /tʲ/ ть /k/ к
voiced /b/ б /d/ д /dʲ/ дь /ɡ/ г
Affricate voiceless /t͡s/ ц /t͡sʲ/ ць /t͡ʃ/ ч
Fricative voiceless /f/ ф /s/ с /sʲ/ сь /ʃ/ ш /x/ х
voiced /v/ в /z/ з /zʲ/ зь /ʒ/ ж
Trill /r/ р /rʲ/ рь
Approximant /l/ л /lʲ/ ль /j/ й

Note on romanized transcription: in Uralic studies, the members of the palatalized series are usually spelled as ń, ť, ď, ć, ś, ź, ŕ, ľ, while the postalveolar sounds are spelled č, š, ž (see Uralic Phonetic Alphabet).

Minimal pairs between /n/ and /ŋ/ include:

  • /janɡa/ "along the path", in which the alveolar /n/ of the stem is retained before the prolative case ending /ɡa/, vs. /jaŋɡa/, the connegative form of the verb /jaŋɡams/ "to break"
  • /jonks/ "good", subject or object complement in /ks/ translative, vs. /joŋks/ "direction; area". See Rueter 2010: 58.

Vowels[]

Erzya has a simple five-vowel system.[6]

Front Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

The front vowels /i/ and /e/ have centralized variants [ï] and [ë] immediately following a plain alveolar consonant, e.g. siń [sïnʲ] "they", seń [sënʲ] "blue".

Vowel harmony[]

As in many other Uralic languages, Erzya has vowel harmony. Most roots contain either front vowels (/i/, /e/) or back vowels (/u/, /o/). In addition, all suffixes with mid vowels have two forms: the form to be used is determined by the final syllable of the stem. The low vowel (/a/), found in the comparative case -шка (ška) "the size of" and the prolative -ка/-га/-ва (ka/ga/va) "spatial multipoint used with verbs of motion as well as position" is a back vowel and not subject to vowel harmony.

The rules of vowel harmony are as follows:

  1. If the final syllable of the word stem contains a front vowel, the front form of the suffix is used: веле (veĺe) "village", велесэ (veĺese) "in a village"
  2. If the final syllable of the word stem contains a back vowel, and it is followed by plain (non-palatalized) consonants, the back form of the suffix is used: кудо (kudo) "house", кудосо (kudoso) "in a house"

However, if the back vowel is followed by a palatalized consonant or palatal glide, vowel harmony is violated and the "front" form of the suffix is used: кальсэ (kaĺse) "with willow", ойсэ (ojse) "with butter". Likewise, if a front-vowel stem is followed by a low back vowel suffix, subsequent syllables will contain back harmony: велеванзо (veĺevanzo) "throughout its villages"

Thus the seeming violations of vowel harmony attested in stems, e.g. узере (uźere) "axe", суре (suŕe) "thread (string)", are actually due to the palatalized consonants /zʲ/ and /rʲ/.

One exception to front-vowel harmony is observed in palatalized non-final /lʲ/, e.g. асфальтсо (asfaĺtso) "with asphalt".

Morphology[]

Like all other Uralic languages, Erzya is an agglutinative language which expresses grammatical relations by means of suffixes.

Nouns[]

Nouns are inflected for case, number, definiteness and possessor. Erzya distinguishes twelve cases (here illustrated with the noun мода moda "ground, earth"). Number is systematically distinguished only with definite nouns; for indefinite nouns and nouns with a possessive suffix, only nominative case has a distinct plural.[6][5]

Case Indefinite Definite 1st person sg. possessive 2nd person sg. possessive 3rd person sg. possessive
singular plural singular plural singular plural singular/plural singular plural
nominative мода
moda		 мода-т
moda-t		 мода-сь
moda-ś		 мода-тне
moda-ťńe		 мода-м
moda-m		 мода-н
moda-n		 мода-т
moda-t		 мода-зo
moda-zo		 мода-нзo
moda-nzo
genitive мода-нь
moda-ń		 мода-нть
moda-ńť		 мода-тне-нь
moda-ťńe-ń
dative/allative мода-нень
moda-ńeń		 мода-нтень
moda-ńťeń		 мода-тне-нень
moda-ťńe-ńeń
inessive мода-со
moda-so		 мода-сонть
moda-sońť		 мода-тне-сэ
moda-ťńe-se		 мода-со-н
moda-so-n		 мода-со-т
moda-so-t		 мода-со-нзo
moda-so-nzo
elative мода-сто
moda-sto		 мода-стонть
moda-stońť		 мода-тне-стэ
moda-ťńe-ste		 мода-сто-н
moda-sto-n		 мода-сто-т
moda-sto-t		 мода-сто-нзo
moda-sto-nzo
illative мода-с
moda-s		 мода-нтень
moda-ńťeń		 мода-тне-с
moda-ťńe-s		 мода-з-oн
moda-z-on		 мода-з-oт
moda-z-ot		 мода-з-oнзo
moda-z-onzo
prolative мода-ва
moda-va		 мода-ванть
moda-vańť		 мода-тне-ва
moda-ťńe-va		 мода-ва-н
moda-va-n		 мода-ва-т
moda-va-t		 мода-ва-нзo
moda-va-nzo
ablative мода-до
moda-do		 мода-донть
moda-dońť		 мода-тне-дe
moda-ťńe-ďe		 мода-до-н
moda-do-n		 мода-до-т
moda-do-t		 мода-до-нзo
moda-do-nzo
lative мода-в
moda-v		 - - - - -
translative мода-кс
moda-ks		 мода-ксонть
moda-ksońť		 мода-тне-кс
moda-ťńe-ks		 мода-кс-oн
moda-ks-on		 мода-кс-oт
moda-ks-ot		 мода-кс-oнзo
moda-ks-onzo
abessive мода-втомо
moda-vtomo		 мода-втомонть
moda-vtomońť		 мода-тне-втеме
moda-ťńe-vťeme		 мода-втомо-н
moda-vtomo-n		 мода-втомо-т
moda-vtomo-t		 мода-втомо-нзo
moda-vtomo-nzo
comparative мода-шка
moda-ška		 мода-шканть
moda-škańť		 мода-тне-шка
moda-ťńe-ška		 мода-шка-н
moda-ška-n		 мода-шка-т
moda-ška-t		 мода-шка-нзo
moda-ška-nzo

Plural possessors follow the pattern of second person singular possessors.

Case 1st pers. pl. poss. 2nd pers. pl. poss. 3rd pers. pl. poss.
singular/plural singular/plural singular/plural
nominative мода-нoк
moda-nok		 мода-нк
moda-nk		 мода-ст
moda-st
inessive

(...) 		мода-со-нoк
moda-so-nok
(...)		 мода-со-нк
moda-so-nk
(...)		 мода-со-ст
moda-so-st
(...)

Verbs[]

Erzya verbs are inflected for tense and mood, and are further conjugated for person of subject and object.[5][6] Traditionally, three stem types are distinguished: a-stems, o-stems and e-stems. A-stems always retain the stem vowel a in the non-third person present tense forms, and in the third person first past tense forms (e.g. pala-ś "kissed"). With many o-stems and e-stems, the stem vowel is dropped in these forms (e.g. o-stem van-ś "watched", e-stem ńiľ-ś "swallowed"), but there also o- and e-stem verbs which retain the vowel (udo-ś "slept", piďe-ś "cooked"). Rueter (2010) therefore divides verb stems into vowel-retaining stems and vowel-dropping stems.[7]

In indicative mood, three tenses are distinguished: present/future, first past, second (=habitual) past.

indicative mood
present/future tense first past tense second past tense
a-stem o-stem e-stem a-stem e-stem a-stem
1sg мора-н
mora-n 		ван-ан
van-an 		пил-ян
piľ-an 		сод-ы-нь
sod-i-ń 		мер-и-нь
meŕ-i-ń 		моры-линь
mori-ľiń
2sg мора-т
mora-t 		ван-ат
van-at 		пил-ят
piľ-at 		сод-ы-ть
sod-i-ť 		мер-и-ть
meŕ-i-ť 		моры-лить
mori-ľiť
3sg мор-ы
mor-i 		ван-ы
van-i 		пил-и
piľ-i 		содa-сь
soda-ś 		мер-сь
meŕ-ś 		моры-ль
mori-ľ
1pl мора-тано
mora-tano 		ван-тано
van-tano 		пиль-тяно
piľ-ťano 		сод-ы-нек
sod-i-ńek 		мер-и-нек
meŕ-i-ńek 		моры-линек
mori-ľińek
2pl мора-тадо
mora-tado 		ван-тадо
van-tado 		пиль-тядо
piľ-ťado 		сод-ы-де
sod-i-ďe 		мер-и-де
meŕ-i-ďe 		моры-лиде
mori-ľiďe
3pl мор-ыть
mor-iť 		ван-ыть
van-iť 		пил-ить
piľ-iť 		содa-сть
soda-śť 		мер-сть
meŕ-śť 		моры-льть
mori-ľť
infinitive мора-мс
mora-ms 		вано-мс
vano-ms 		пиле-мс
piľe-ms 		сода-мс
soda-ms 		мере-мс
meŕe-ms 		мора-мс
mora-ms
'sing' 'watch' 'swallow' 'know' 'say' 'sing'

The third person singular form in present tense is also used as present participle. The second past tense is formed by adding the past tense copula -ľ to the present participle.

The other mood categories are:

  • conditional (-ińďeŕa + present suffixes)
  • conjunctive (-v(o)ľ + past suffixes)
  • conditional-conjunctive (-ińďeŕa-v(o)ľ + past suffixes)
  • desiderative (-ikseľ + past suffixes)
  • optative (zo + present suffixes)
  • imperative (-k/-do)
other mood categories
conditional conjunctive conditional-conjunctive desiderative
1sg ярс-ындеря-н
jars-ińďeŕa-n 		ярсa-вли��ь
jarsa-vľiń 		ярс-ындеря-влинь
jars-ińďeŕa-vľiń 		мор-ыксэлинь
mor-ikseľiń
2sg ярс-ындеря-т
jars-ińďeŕa-t 		ярсa-влить
jarsa-vľiť 		ярс-ындеря-влить
jars-ińďeŕa-vľiť 		мор-ыксэлить
mor-ikseľiť
3sg ярс-ындеря-й
jars-ińďeŕa-j 		ярсa-воль
jarsa-voľ 		ярс-ындеря-воль
jars-ińďeŕa-voľ 		мор-ыксэль
mor-ikseľ
1pl ярс-ындеря-тано
jars-ińďeŕa-tano 		ярсa-влинек
jarsa-vľińek 		ярс-ындеря-влинек
jars-ińďeŕa-vľińek 		мор-ыксэлинек
mor-ikseľińek
2pl ярс-ындеря-тадо
jars-ińďeŕa-tado 		ярсa-влиде
jarsa-vľiďe 		ярс-ындеря-влиде
jars-ińďeŕa-vľiďe 		мор-ыксэлиде
mor-ikseľiďe
3pl ярс-ындеря-йть
jars-ińďeŕa-jť 		ярсa-вольть
jarsa-voľť 		ярс-ындеря-вольть
jars-ińďeŕa-voľť 		мор-ыксэльть
mor-ikseľť
infinitive ярса-мс
jarsa-ms 		ярса-мс
jarsa-ms 		ярса-мс
jarsa-ms 		мора-мс
mora-ms
'eat' 'eat' 'eat' 'sing'

Writing[]

Main article: Mordvinic alphabets

Cyrillic alphabet[]

The modern Erzya alphabet is the same as for Russian:[5]

А
/a/		 Б
/b/		 В
/v/		 Г
/ɡ/		 Д
/d/		 Е
/je/		 Ё
/jo/		 Ж
/ʒ/		 З
/z/		 И
/i/		 Й
/j/
К
/k/		 Л
/l/		 М
/m/		 Н
/n/		 О
/o/		 П
/p/		 Р
/r/		 С
/s/		 Т
/t/		 У
/u/		 Ф
/f/
Х
/x/		 Ц
/t͡s/		 Ч
/t͡ʃ/		 Ш
/ʃ/		 Щ
/ʃt͡ʃ/		 Ъ
/-/		 Ы
/ɨ/		 Ь
/◌ʲ/		 Э
/e/		 Ю
/ju/		 Я
/ja/

The letters ф, х, щ and ъ are only used in loanwords from Russian. The pre-1929 version of the Erzya alphabet included the additional letter Cyrillic ligature En Ge (Ҥ ҥ) in some publications, (cf. Evsevyev 1928).

In combination with the alveolar consonants т, д, ц, с, з, н, л, and р, vowel letters are employed to distinguish between plain and palatalized articulations in a similar way as in Russian: а, э, ы, о, у follow plain alveolars, while я, е, и, ё, ю follow palatalized alveolars, e.g. та /ta/, тє /te/, ты /ti/, то /to/, ту /tu/ vs. тя /tʲa/, те /tʲe/, ти /tʲi/, тё /tʲo/, тю /tʲu/. If no vowel follows, palatalization is indicated by ь, e.g. ть /tʲ/. Following non-alveolar consonants, only а, е, и, о, у occur, e.g. па /pa/, пе /pe/, пи /pi/, по /po/, пу /pu/.

Latin alphabet[]

A Latin alphabet was officially approved by the government of Nizhne-Volzhskiy Kray in 1932, but it was never used:

a в c ç d ә e f g y i j k l m n o p r s ş t u v x z ƶ ь

A modern version of Latin alphabet exists:

a b c č ć d ď e f g h i j k l ľ m n ń o p r ŕ s š ś t ť u v y z ž ź

See also[]

Bibliography[]

  • A.I. Bryzhinskiy, O.V. Pashutina, Ye.I. Chernov. Писатели Мордовии Биобиблиографический справочник. Saransk: Mordovskoye Knizhnoye Izdatelystvo, 2001. ISBN 5-7595-1386-9.
  • Vasilij D'omin. Сюконян тенк... Эрзянь писательде ёвтнемат. Saransk, 2005. ISBN 5-7595-1665-5.
  • Ksenija Djordjevic & Jean-Leo Leonard. Parlons Mordve. Paris: L'Harmattan, 2006, ISBN 2-296-00147-5.
  • Makar E. Evsev'ev. Основы мордовской грамматика, Эрзянь грамматика. С приложением образцов мокшанских склонений и спряжений. Москва: Центральное издательство народов СССР, 1928.
  • Jack Rueter. Adnominal Person in the Morphological System of Erzya. Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia 261. Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, 2010, ISBN 978-952-5667-23-3 [print], ISBN 978-952-5667-24-0 [online].
  • D.V. Tsygankin. Память запечатленная в слове: Словарь географических названий республики Мордовия. Saransk, 2005. ISBN 5-7493-0780-8.

References[]

  1. ^ Официальная публикация итогов Всероссийской переписи населения 2010 года. Т. 1. Численность и размещение населения //
  2. ^ Erzya at Ethnologue (24th ed., 2021)
  3. ^ [Перепись-2010 "Population of the Russian Federation by Languages (in Russian)"]. gks.ru. Russian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 1 November 2017. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  4. ^ Jack Rueter (2013) The Erzya Language. Where is it spoken? Études finno-ougriennes 45
  5. ^ a b c d Saarinen, Sirkka. "Erzya e-learning course" (PDF). Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  6. ^ a b c Zaicz, Gábor (1998). "Mordva". In Abondolo, Daniel (ed.). The Uralic Languages. London: Routledge. pp. 184–218.
  7. ^ Rueter, Jack (2010). Adnominal Person in the Morphological System of Erzya. Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia 261. Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura.

External links[]

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