Komi-Zyrian affixes in Khanty

Summary

Affix function number of borrowed affixes

Description

Information and examples are from Sauer (1967:171–188; see also Sauer 1963; Mägiste 1968:6). According to Sauer (1967:171–172), borrowed affixes are primarily productive, also with native stems.

7 nominal derivational suffixes. Sauer (1967) gives a total of 11 borrowed nominal derivational suffixes, but 4 of these are excluded here because they are not attested with native stems

  • -ja ‘adjectivizer’, e.g. wŭ’rja ‘fat (of bears)’
  • -ki̬m ~ -kem ~ -kim ~ -kam ~ -kȧm ‘diminutive (note that all examples are with adjectives)’, e.g. łełkam ‘smallish’
  • -kis ‘attenuative, adjectivizer’, e.g. warkis ‘light red, reddish’
  • -an ‘instrument noun’, e.g. šestän ‘pole for pushing a boat along’
  • -as ‘nominalizer’, e.g. šărtas keʌ ‘belt’
  • -tek, -tak ‘adjectivizer’, e.g. šitak ‘peaceful’
  • -tem ~ -tim ~ -tam ~ -tȧm ‘negative adjective formation’, e.g. ŏččam ‘unintelligent, stupid’

2 comparative/superlative particles

  • -čək ‘comparative’, e.g. ȧjčək ‘smaller’
  • -mȧtȧ ‘superlative’, e.g. ȧjmȧtȧ ‘smallest’

6 verbal derivational suffixes, Sauer (1963:195–196) lists a total of 7, but one is excluded here because it is only attested with Komi-Zyrian stems. Sauer (1963) does not give examples of hybrid formations, but explicitly states that these suffixes are added to native stems.

  • -aś- ‘reflexive verbs from nouns’
  • -e̬d- ‘causative verbs from nouns’
  • -al- ‘intransitive verbs from nouns’
  • -śi̬- ~ -źi̬- ~ -t’śi̬- ‘reflexive, intransitive’ from nouns
  • -i̬ś- ‘reflexive, frequentive’ ［for this form, the only example seems to be verb-verb derivation with valency change, but I am assuming that it can have a verbalizing function, too.］
  • -ki̬- ~ -gi̬- ‘affective verbs’

Mägiste (1968:6), citing Sauer (1963) also mentions that there are a total of seven nominal derivational suffixes, seven verbal derivational suffixes, and two nominal particles. Sauer (1967:171–172, 182–188) discusses affixes from Russian, Samoyedic, Wogulian, and Tatar, but these do not seem to have become productive.