Papers by Chris Lasse Däbritz
International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics
The paper investigates the structure of Ewenki noun phrases, dealing with both their semantics an... more The paper investigates the structure of Ewenki noun phrases, dealing with both their semantics and syntax. Whereas semantics are rather uniform cross-dialectally, there is considerable variation in syntax, especially regarding agreement patterns. As a rule, the more northern a dialect is the less agreement it exhibits within the noun phrase; besides that, cardinal numerals greater or equal to ‘2’ call for the modified noun in plural in rather Southern dialects, but for its unmarked form in rather Northern dialects. From a comparative point of view, it can be shown that the areal-typologically unexpected agreement within the noun phrase is probably the inherited pattern in (Northern) Tungusic languages, whereas the relevant Ewenki dialects lost it secondarily due to Turkic (Dolgan and Sakha) influence.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Clause Linkage in the Languages of the Ob-Yenisei Area, 2023
The chapter investigates clause-linking strategies in Chulym Turkic, relying on natural language ... more The chapter investigates clause-linking strategies in Chulym Turkic, relying on natural language data. We show that Chulym Turkic generally adheres to the patterns expected from an areal-typological and genealogical point of view. Coordination is inheritedly realized via mere juxtaposition, although Russian conjunctions are also frequently used nowadays. Subordination is generally realized via nonfinite verb forms, but clause-initial interrogative pronouns or copied Russian conjunctions are also found in combination with finite or nonfinite verb forms. As typical for Turkic languages, Chulym Turkic frequently exhibits clause chaining patterns combining one or more converbs with a finite verb form. These clause chains are structurally similar to postverbial constructions expressing actionality or viewpoint aspects so that it can sometimes be hard to discriminate clause chains against them.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Clause Linkage in the Languages of the Ob-Yenisei Area, 2023
The chapter investigates clause-linking strategies in Northern and Southern Evenki varieties, rel... more The chapter investigates clause-linking strategies in Northern and Southern Evenki varieties, relying on natural language data from the INEL Evenki Corpus. As expected from an areal-typological point of view, clause linkage is chiefly asyndetic in Evenki, making use of non-finite verb forms if necessary. Still, also syndetic constructions occur in more recent data, whereby interrogative pronouns or (borrowed) conjunctions function as linking elements. Besides these general patterns, the chapter points to two special features: First, Evenki (like other Tungusic languages) exhibits internally headed relative clauses (Section 6.3). Second, the Taimyr Evenki variety, heavily influenced by Dolgan (< Turkic), shows patterns of clause chaining, otherwise not typical for Evenki and Tungusic languages.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Encyclopedia of Turkic Languages and Linguistics Online, 2023
Encyclopedia Article on Dolgan (together with Natalia Shirobokova)
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics, 2023
The paper investigates the structure of Ewenki noun phrases, dealing with both their
semantics an... more The paper investigates the structure of Ewenki noun phrases, dealing with both their
semantics and syntax. Whereas semantics are rather uniform cross-dialectally, there
is considerable variation in syntax, especially regarding agreement patterns. As a rule,
the more northern a dialect is the less agreement it exhibits within the noun phrase;
besides that, cardinal numerals greater or equal to ‘2’ call for the modified noun in
plural in rather Southern dialects, but for its unmarked form in rather Northern dialects.
From a comparative point of view, it can be shown that the areal-typologically
unexpected agreement within the noun phrase is probably the inherited pattern in
(Northern) Tungusic languages, whereas the relevant Ewenki dialects lost it secondarily
due to Turkic (Dolgan and Sakha) influence.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Siberica et Uralica: In memoriam Eugen Helimski, 2022
The paper discusses the structure of noun phrases in various Selkup dialects.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Hämeenmaalta Jamalille: kirja Tapani Salmiselle 07.04.2022, 2022
Within the given paper, I investigate the patterns of the linguistic expression of
locative predi... more Within the given paper, I investigate the patterns of the linguistic expression of
locative predication (formalized as “X BE.AT Y”) in the Samoyedic languages, taking
into account the two major typological approaches of Stassen (1997) and Ameka &
Levinson (2007). The following patterns are shown: The encoding of the theme
(unmarked subject) and the location (spatial adverbial included in the predicate) does
not differ across the Samoyedic languages, but the linking element: In affirmative
locative clauses, most Samoyedic languages exhibit a copula verb, which appears in
predicate nominals/adjectives as well. The major exception from this pattern is the
Forest Enets locative copula verb ŋa- ‘to be at’, which I discuss in more detail since its
locative semantics appear to be a recent functionally motivated development. In
negative locative clauses, in turn, negative existential verbs are used in all Samoyedic
languages. Consequently, Samoyedic languages show a polarity split in the encoding
of locative predication. Arguing that a locative interpretation of the successor forms of
the Proto-Samoyedic copula verb is not felicitous from a synchronic point of view, I
discuss the typological approaches of Stassen (1997) as well as Ameka & Levinson
(2007). Finally, I present a first attempt at typological classification of locative
predication, which is based on the analysis of the Samoyedic languages but might be
validated by taking into account data from a much larger sample of languages.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uralic studies, languages, and researchers,, 2021
The paper deals with the digitalisation and processing of fieldwork manuscripts in linguistics.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Studies in Language, 2023
The paper at hand deals with morphological marking of information structural relations from the p... more The paper at hand deals with morphological marking of information structural relations from the perspective of North-Western Siberian languages. Given many items (morphemes as well as particles and clitics) which have been analyzed as markers of information structure in these languages, I try to discuss whether they indeed mark information structural relations or whether this supposed marking is rather a side effect of other functions expressed. In order to develop criteria for decision marking, I rely on the concepts of sufficiency as well as necessity and sufficient as well as necessary conditions, respectively. Additionally, I argue that the latter can be arranged hierarchically with respect to their reliability for the evaluation of potential markers of information structure, being intertwined with functional and transparency coding principles.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen, 2021
This paper investigates the linguistic expression of number in seven languages from Western and C... more This paper investigates the linguistic expression of number in seven languages from Western and Central Siberia. In a first step the number system of each language is described in detail, and afterwards the most relevant convergences and divergences of the languages are dealt with. Three particularly interesting phenomena are discussed in more detail: First, it is shown that the concept of general number, denoting noun forms underspecified for number, is able to account for a range of related phenomena (unmarked noun forms after numerals, nouns denoting paired objects). Second, singulatives in Selkup, Ket and partly Eastern Khanty are analyzed, whereby it is argued that their similar morphosyntactic and grammaticalization patterns allow for analyzing them as a contact phenomenon. Third, two splits on the animacy hierarchy between the first and second person in Dolgan as well as Chulym Turkic are presented. Finally, the results are evaluated against a broader areal-typological background, whereby it is shown that the category of number does not support any larger areal groupings within Western and Central Siberia, but that the analyzed languages rather adhere to patterns of number marking present all over Northern Eurasia.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Eesti ja soome-ugri keeleteaduse ajakiri, 2020
It is well known that the basic word order pattern of a language is closely intertwined with the ... more It is well known that the basic word order pattern of a language is closely intertwined with the syntactic realization of argument focus constituents. SVO languages exhibit a focus position at the sentence's right periphery, SOV languages exhibit an immediately preverbal focus position. The study at hand examines both the basic word order patterns and the syntactic realization of focus in Enets, Nganasan and Dolgan. The major outcome is that Nganasan and Dolgan are much more flexible with respect to their basic word order pattern and, in consequence, exhibit both an immediately preverbal focus position and a right-peripheral focus position, whilst Enets realizes argument focus constituents almost exclusively immediately preverbally.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Finno-Ugric Languages and Linguistics, 2020
The paper at hand presents a description of the INEL Dolgan Corpus that has been created from 201... more The paper at hand presents a description of the INEL Dolgan Corpus that has been created from 2016 to 2019 within the INEL project, located at the Institute for Finno-Ugric/Uralic Studies of the University of Hamburg. The corpus aims to provide a digital research infrastructure for Dolgan, an indigenous language of Northern Siberia. Though Dolgan is a Turkic language, the corpus is relevant for researchers of Uralic languages both due to the close areal connections of Uralic with Dolgan on the Taymyr peninsula and on account of the fact that it is an example of electronic research infrastructure developed for an endangered language. After introducing Dolgan and the INEL project, the paper describes the INEL Dolgan Corpus in detail, focusing on its linguistic content, annotation layers and search possibilities. Finally, the paper provides an outlook on how the corpus contributes to furthering research on this endangered language.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Turkic Languages, 2020
The INEL Dolgan corpus was compiled between September 2016 and August 2019 within the long-term r... more The INEL Dolgan corpus was compiled between September 2016 and August 2019 within the long-term research project INEL (2016–2033) at the Institute for Finno-Ugric/Uralic Studies at the University of Hamburg. This report aims to make the corpus public as well as to describe its content and structure. Therefore, some basic information on the INEL project as well as on Dolgan is given in the introduction (section 1). The main sections 2 and 3 deal with the content of the corpus and linguistic research conducted with its help. Finally, some conclusions are drawn and the corpus is evaluated against a broader Turcological background.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The present corpus of Dolgan has been created as part of the long-term research project INEL (“Gr... more The present corpus of Dolgan has been created as part of the long-term research project INEL (“Grammatical Descriptions, Corpora and Language Technology for Indigenous Northern Eurasian Languages”) in the context of the Academies’ Programme1, coordinated by the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities. Its primary goal is to create digital and machine-searchable corpora of several indigenous Northern Eurasian Languages. The INEL Dolgan corpus at hand fills a gap in the documentation of the indigenous languages of Northern Eurasia and makes possible further descriptions of the language. Dolgan is not completely unknown and undescribed, however, well-based grammatical descriptions are missing, whence the corpus can be a valuable tool for both language-specific and typologically oriented research.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Kamas is an extinct Samoyedic (Uralic) language which used to be spoken in the north of the Sayan... more Kamas is an extinct Samoyedic (Uralic) language which used to be spoken in the north of the Sayan Mountains. The INEL Kamas corpus aims to bring together the whole body of available recorded spoken Kamas data. It is the first publicly available annotated and searchable digital resource for Kamas texts ever.
The present paper documents the structure and scope of the corpus, the details of the metadata provided, the layout of the annotation tiers as well as the annotation schemes used in the corpus and can thus serve as a user guide.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Finnisch-Ugrische Mitteilungen, 2019
The study at hand investigates the first person imperative forms of Dolgan (< North-Siberian Turk... more The study at hand investigates the first person imperative forms of Dolgan (< North-Siberian Turkic < Turkic). Although Dolgan exhibits only two numbers (singular and plural), there are three forms in the first person imperative, whence the question arises in which functional domains these forms do occur. After some theoretical preliminaries are dealt with (section 2), three analyses of the forms are discussed (section 3.1): 1. number distinction (cf. Korkina 1970), 2. clusivity distinction inclusive vs. exclusive (cf. Ubrjatova 1985, Artem'ev 2013b) and 3. clusivity distinction minimal inclusive vs. augmented inclusive (cf. Dobrushina & Goussev 2005, Nevskaja 2005). Finally, it is argued (section 3.2) that the forms can indeed be described most appropriately via a number distinction, whereby in many cases this correlates to a clusivity distinction minimal inclusive vs. augmented inclusive.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Petri Kallio rocks : Liber semisaecularis 7.2.2019, 2019
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Ambiguous Verb Sequences in Transeurasian Languages and Beyond, 2020
This paper describes ambiguous verb sequences (postverbial constructions, aspectual converb const... more This paper describes ambiguous verb sequences (postverbial constructions, aspectual converb construction) in Dolgan (< NE Turkic).
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology, 2018
The article deals with the expression of predicative possession in Dolgan, a Turkic language of N... more The article deals with the expression of predicative possession in Dolgan, a Turkic language of Northern Siberia. Predicative possession is understood as the expression of possession within a verbal phrase, the analysis follows the typology of Heine (1997) (section 1). Dolgan exhibits various types of predicative possession constructions: a companion scheme, a location/goal scheme and a genitive scheme, whereby the companion scheme occurs by far most often (section 3). As Turkic languages are usually assumed to exhibit a genitive scheme (cf. Johanson, 1998), some contact linguistic considerations are made in order to relate the Dolgan constructions to areal circumstances (section 4).
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Finnisch-Ugrische Mitteilungen, 2018
This study deals with the syntactic representation of topics in Northern Khanty dialects within a... more This study deals with the syntactic representation of topics in Northern Khanty dialects within a generative framework of minimalist character. After a discussion of the existing research on Khanty information structure (section 2) and a short description of the model of information structure applied here (section 3), the syntactic representation of topics in Northern Khanty dialects is analyzed on the basis of three corpora of Northern Khanty varieties (section 4). The major outcome of this study is that (Northern) Khanty is to be regarded as a topic-prominent language where the sentence-initial position (in generative terms: adjunction of the topic constituent to the subject agreement phrase Agr S P) plays a crucial role in marking topics; the passive, in turn, which itself is atypical for topic-prominent languages, is not to be regarded as a default mechanism of topicalization, as the subject in passive clauses is not always to be analyzed as the topic of the sentence.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Papers by Chris Lasse Däbritz
semantics and syntax. Whereas semantics are rather uniform cross-dialectally, there
is considerable variation in syntax, especially regarding agreement patterns. As a rule,
the more northern a dialect is the less agreement it exhibits within the noun phrase;
besides that, cardinal numerals greater or equal to ‘2’ call for the modified noun in
plural in rather Southern dialects, but for its unmarked form in rather Northern dialects.
From a comparative point of view, it can be shown that the areal-typologically
unexpected agreement within the noun phrase is probably the inherited pattern in
(Northern) Tungusic languages, whereas the relevant Ewenki dialects lost it secondarily
due to Turkic (Dolgan and Sakha) influence.
locative predication (formalized as “X BE.AT Y”) in the Samoyedic languages, taking
into account the two major typological approaches of Stassen (1997) and Ameka &
Levinson (2007). The following patterns are shown: The encoding of the theme
(unmarked subject) and the location (spatial adverbial included in the predicate) does
not differ across the Samoyedic languages, but the linking element: In affirmative
locative clauses, most Samoyedic languages exhibit a copula verb, which appears in
predicate nominals/adjectives as well. The major exception from this pattern is the
Forest Enets locative copula verb ŋa- ‘to be at’, which I discuss in more detail since its
locative semantics appear to be a recent functionally motivated development. In
negative locative clauses, in turn, negative existential verbs are used in all Samoyedic
languages. Consequently, Samoyedic languages show a polarity split in the encoding
of locative predication. Arguing that a locative interpretation of the successor forms of
the Proto-Samoyedic copula verb is not felicitous from a synchronic point of view, I
discuss the typological approaches of Stassen (1997) as well as Ameka & Levinson
(2007). Finally, I present a first attempt at typological classification of locative
predication, which is based on the analysis of the Samoyedic languages but might be
validated by taking into account data from a much larger sample of languages.
The present paper documents the structure and scope of the corpus, the details of the metadata provided, the layout of the annotation tiers as well as the annotation schemes used in the corpus and can thus serve as a user guide.
semantics and syntax. Whereas semantics are rather uniform cross-dialectally, there
is considerable variation in syntax, especially regarding agreement patterns. As a rule,
the more northern a dialect is the less agreement it exhibits within the noun phrase;
besides that, cardinal numerals greater or equal to ‘2’ call for the modified noun in
plural in rather Southern dialects, but for its unmarked form in rather Northern dialects.
From a comparative point of view, it can be shown that the areal-typologically
unexpected agreement within the noun phrase is probably the inherited pattern in
(Northern) Tungusic languages, whereas the relevant Ewenki dialects lost it secondarily
due to Turkic (Dolgan and Sakha) influence.
locative predication (formalized as “X BE.AT Y”) in the Samoyedic languages, taking
into account the two major typological approaches of Stassen (1997) and Ameka &
Levinson (2007). The following patterns are shown: The encoding of the theme
(unmarked subject) and the location (spatial adverbial included in the predicate) does
not differ across the Samoyedic languages, but the linking element: In affirmative
locative clauses, most Samoyedic languages exhibit a copula verb, which appears in
predicate nominals/adjectives as well. The major exception from this pattern is the
Forest Enets locative copula verb ŋa- ‘to be at’, which I discuss in more detail since its
locative semantics appear to be a recent functionally motivated development. In
negative locative clauses, in turn, negative existential verbs are used in all Samoyedic
languages. Consequently, Samoyedic languages show a polarity split in the encoding
of locative predication. Arguing that a locative interpretation of the successor forms of
the Proto-Samoyedic copula verb is not felicitous from a synchronic point of view, I
discuss the typological approaches of Stassen (1997) as well as Ameka & Levinson
(2007). Finally, I present a first attempt at typological classification of locative
predication, which is based on the analysis of the Samoyedic languages but might be
validated by taking into account data from a much larger sample of languages.
The present paper documents the structure and scope of the corpus, the details of the metadata provided, the layout of the annotation tiers as well as the annotation schemes used in the corpus and can thus serve as a user guide.