8 The Yeniseian language family
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Edward Vajda
Abstract
Yeniseian languages were spoken by interior northern Asia’s last hunter-gatherers and contrast typologically in many ways with the suffixal agglutinating families of Eurasia’s pastoral tribes. Finite verbs are polysynthetic and follow a rigid prefixing template. Verb stems are discontinuous, and verb forms index objects as well as subjects. Some stem patterns allow the incorporation of object, instrument, or unaccusative subject nouns. Possessive markers are preposed to the possessum noun rather than suffixed. Nouns follow a class system based on animacy and gender that interacts with many features of the inflectional morphology. The family shows no trace of vowel harmony. The last surviving daughter branch, which contains the critically endangered Ket and recently dormant Yugh (or Sym-Ket) language, developed a unique system of phonemic tones. Features that Yeniseian shares with its neighbors include SOV word order and an array of postposed relational morphemes, some of which resemble the case suffix paradigms found elsewhere in native Siberia. Though Yeniseian languages garner more attention for their isolated genealogical status in northern Asia, the family is equally noteworthy for contact-induced structural changes accrued over centuries of interaction with Uralic, Turkic, and Tungusic-speaking tribes and more recently with Russian.
Abstract
Yeniseian languages were spoken by interior northern Asia’s last hunter-gatherers and contrast typologically in many ways with the suffixal agglutinating families of Eurasia’s pastoral tribes. Finite verbs are polysynthetic and follow a rigid prefixing template. Verb stems are discontinuous, and verb forms index objects as well as subjects. Some stem patterns allow the incorporation of object, instrument, or unaccusative subject nouns. Possessive markers are preposed to the possessum noun rather than suffixed. Nouns follow a class system based on animacy and gender that interacts with many features of the inflectional morphology. The family shows no trace of vowel harmony. The last surviving daughter branch, which contains the critically endangered Ket and recently dormant Yugh (or Sym-Ket) language, developed a unique system of phonemic tones. Features that Yeniseian shares with its neighbors include SOV word order and an array of postposed relational morphemes, some of which resemble the case suffix paradigms found elsewhere in native Siberia. Though Yeniseian languages garner more attention for their isolated genealogical status in northern Asia, the family is equally noteworthy for contact-induced structural changes accrued over centuries of interaction with Uralic, Turkic, and Tungusic-speaking tribes and more recently with Russian.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Table of contents V
- List of Contributors IX
- Introduction XI
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I Major language groups of Inner Eurasia
- 1 The Turkic language family 1
- 2 The Mongolic language family 75
- 3 The Tungusic language family 123
- 4 The Samoyed languages 167
- 5 Khanty dialects 253
- 6 Mansi dialects 281
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II Microfamilies of Siberia and Asia’s North Pacific Rim
- 7 The Yukaghir language family 307
- 8 The Yeniseian language family 365
- 9 The Amuric language family 481
- 10 The Ainuic language family 541
- 11 The Chukotko-Kamchatkan Languages 633
- 12 The Eskaleut language family 669
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Table of contents V
- List of Contributors IX
- Introduction XI
-
I Major language groups of Inner Eurasia
- 1 The Turkic language family 1
- 2 The Mongolic language family 75
- 3 The Tungusic language family 123
- 4 The Samoyed languages 167
- 5 Khanty dialects 253
- 6 Mansi dialects 281
-
II Microfamilies of Siberia and Asia’s North Pacific Rim
- 7 The Yukaghir language family 307
- 8 The Yeniseian language family 365
- 9 The Amuric language family 481
- 10 The Ainuic language family 541
- 11 The Chukotko-Kamchatkan Languages 633
- 12 The Eskaleut language family 669
