Chuvash affixes in Mari

Summary

Affix function number of borrowed affixes

Description

Information and examples mainly from Bereczki (1979; 1993; 2002) and Kangasmaa-Minn (1998), in addition to other sources, as specified below.

4 case markers, out of 11 Mari case markers. Note that the “boundaries between case suffixes, derivational suffixes, and enclitics are far from clear-cut” (Kangasmaa-Minn 1998:220).

  • -la ~ -lä ‘modal, lative, comparative’, e.g. mar-la ojla ‘speaks Mari’, totar-la solə̂k ‘Tatar scarf’, jal muča-ŝkə̂-la kaja (village/end-illocution-lative/goes) ‘goes to the end of the village’ (Kangasmaa-Minn 1998:227), kiɗemla ‘as my hand’ (Bereczki 1979:65)
  • -sɘ̂(n) ‘causal case, used with participles’, e.g. kottəmašən šolten o ̇ mɘ̂l ‘I did not cook so they would not eat’ (Bereczki 1979:68). See also Kangasmaa-Minn (1998:233, 244). Note that Bereczki (1979:68) considers this to be a causal case suffix, borrowed from a corresponding case suffix from Chuvash, the use of which is restricted to participles. Its status as a case suffix is confirmed by the fact that it can be replaced by a dative case marker.
  • -len ‘distributive’, e.g. kečɘ̂len ‘every day’, almašlen ‘changing’ (Bereczki 1979:69)
  • -j ‘vocative case (used with kinship terms)’, e.g. isaj ‘my older brother!, my uncle!’ (Bereczki 1993:511). This form may also be from Tatar.

2 valency-changing verbal suffixes

  • -n ‘reflexive’, e.g. wijnem ‘get up’ (from wiem ‘lift up’) (Bereczki 2002:99)
  • -tar, -tär, -dar, -där ‘causative’, e.g. jomdara ‘he/she looses’ (from jomam ‘I disappear’) (Mägiste 1968:10; citing Beke 1911:134–136, 287–288, 301–302). Kangasmaa-Minn (1998:235) gives the forms =tə̂ ~ =də̂, e.g. joškar=tə̂ ‘make red’, but does not explicitly state that it is borrowed. This form may also be from Tatar.

6 miscellaneous derivational affixes

  • -mVš ~ -šV ‘ordinal numeral formation’, e.g. kumuso ‘third’, nilemise ‘fourth’ (Bereczki 2002:99; citing Budenz 1864:437–438), koγә̑ mśo ‘second’ (Bereczki 2002:99; citing Galkin 1964:108), kolә̑ šo ‘twentieth’ (Bereczki 2002:99). Note that Kangasmaa-Minn (1998:233–234, 244) considers this to be “the same (or homophonous) suffix (with an m- element)” as =sɘ̂(n) ‘causal case, used with participles’, which is used in the formation of ordinal numerals, e.g. nɘ̂lɘ̂mše ‘forth’.
  • ala- ‘indefinite’, e.g. ala-kö ‘someone’, ala-mo ‘something’ ala-kuze ‘somehow’ (Bereczki 2002:99)
  • =le ~ =lö ~ =lo ‘adjectivizer’, e.g. lüm=lö ‘famous’ (Kangasmaa-Minn 1998:244)
  • =rak ‘comparative, modal’, e.g. joškar=gə̂=rak ‘reddish’ (Kangasmaa-Minn 1998:234), ko ̇yo-rak ‘bigger’ (Mägiste 1968:10; citing Beke 1911:134–136, 287–288, 301–302). See also Raun (1971:120 and passim) and Wiedemann (1847:50). This form may also be from Tatar.
  • =lə̂k ‘abstract noun’, e.g. kül-eš=lə̂k ‘necessity’ (Kangasmaa-Minn 1998:244), porlək ‘goodness’ (Mägiste 1968:10; citing Beke 1911:134–136, 287–288, 301–302)
  • =kalə̂- ‘iterative aspect’, e.g_. lüj=kalə̂-_ ‘shoots repeatedly’ (Kangasmaa-Minn 1998:245)

Note that it is not clear what the total number of cases is. Kangasmaa-Minn (1998:226) gives 10 (in addition to unmarked nominative), to which we added -j ‘vocative’.