This article shouldspecify the language of its non-English content, using{{langx}},{{transliteration}} for transliterated languages, and{{IPA}} for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriateISO 639 code. Wikipedia'smultilingual support templates may also be used - notablyyux for Southern Yukaghir.See why.(October 2024)

Southern Yukaghir
Forest Yukaghir, Kolyma Yukaghir
Одун ажуу
Native to	Russia
Region	Yakutia andMagadan Oblast
Ethnicity	1,800Yukaghir (2020 census)[1]
Native speakers	50 (2003)[2] ca. 10 active (2010)[3]
Language family	Yukaghir Southern Yukaghir
Language codes
ISO 639-3	yux
Glottolog	sout2750
ELP	Forest Yukagir
Glottopedia	Kolyma-Jukagirisch[4]
Pre-contact distribution of Southern Yukaghir (purple) and otherYukaghir languages
Forest Yukagir is classified as Critically Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger
This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA.

TheSouthern,Kolyma orForest Yukaghir language (Southern Yukaghir:одун ажуу^[5]) is one of two extantYukaghir languages.

Last spoken in the forest zone near the sources of the Kolyma, divided between theSakha Republic and theMagadan Oblast (around65°N153°E / 65°N 153°E /65; 153), previously in the wider area of the upperKolyma region. In 2010 it had about 10 active speakers.^[3]

As of 2003^[update], Kolyma Yukaghir is a moribund language, with only 50 remaining speakers with the language as their mother tongue. No speakers are monolingual, since all speak Russian and most speak Yakut. The first language for all Yukaghir under 60 is Russian, although many still have Kolyma Yukaghir as a mother tongue, and the average age for fluent, first-language speakers is 63 or more. In the past, multilingualism was common in the region, and Kolyma Yukaghir, Yakut, Even, and Chukchi all served as languages of intercultural communication, depending on the ethnicity of the addressee. Yukaghirs 60 and older follow this custom. Middle-aged Yukaghir, from 41 to 60, still have Yukaghir as their mother tongue and speak to elders in it, although they use Russian for all other communication. The youngest generation of Yukaghir is almost entirely monolingual in Russian, the only language used at school. Although Kolyma Yukaghir has been taught at school since 1985, the youngest generation still know little to none of the language.^[2]

The relationship of the Yukaghir languages with other language families is uncertain, though it has been suggested that they are distantly related to theUralic languages, thus forming the putativeUralic–Yukaghir language family.^[6]

Kolyma and Tundra Yukaghir are the only two remnants of what used to be one of the dominant language families of northeastern Siberia, spreading from theRiver Anadyr in the east to theRiver Lena in the west.^[7] On the basis of the evidence of early sources, it can be assumed that there existed a Yukaghir dialect continuum, with what is today Kolyma Yukaghir and Tundra Yukaghir at the extremes.^[8] Kolyma Yukaghir andTundra Yukaghir are not mutually intelligible.

All charts are from Maslova (2003).

Kolyma Yukaghir demonstrates contrastive vowel length.^[2]

Kolyma Yukaghir has a glottal stop, but only as a marginal phoneme in some interjections (ex.maʔ: "take!").^[2]

[b, x, ɣ, ç, ʝ] occur as allophones of /w, q, ʁ, tɕ, dʑ/.

When a labial approximant /w/ occurs at the end of a word, it is pronounced as a [u].

When a velar nasal /ŋ/ occurs before a voiced uvular fricative /ʁ/, it becomes a voiced uvular stop [ɢ].

The phonemes /(s) (z)/ only occur in Russian loanwords.

In the 1980s,Uluro Ado [ru] (Gavril Kurilov) developed a writing system for the language, based on theRussian alphabet and theYakut alphabet.

Both Yukaghir languages have residualvowel harmony and a complex phonotactics of consonants, richagglutinative morphology and are strictlyhead-final. They have practically no finite subordination and very few coordinate structures. Yukaghir has asplit intransitive alignment system based on discourse-pragmatic features. In absence ofnarrow focus, the system is organised on anominative–accusative basis; when focused, direct objects and subjects of intransitive verbs are co-aligned (special focus case, special focus agreement).

The grammar of Kolyma Yukaghir, like that of its siblingTundra Yukaghir, isagglutinative.^[9] Most forms of declension in the language come about by means ofsuffixing, with only a handful of prefixes expressing certain types ofgrammatical aspect.^[10]

Word order is usually verb-final, but the overall order of constituents is determined by their pragmatic roles;^[11] the language is stronglyhead-final and ispro-drop.^[12]

The language exhibits strong dialectal and evenidiolectal variation as well as a heavy influence from Russian andYakut; generational differences in use are also quite distinct.^[13] Russian influence is especially strong, with Russian vocabulary borrowed wholesale without any phonological alteration, unlike Yakut borrowings, which are altered to match native Yukaghir phonology.^[14]

Kolyma Yukaghir nounsinflect fornumber,case andpossession according to the following paradigm:^[15]

STEM +[NUM]/POSS + [CASE]

The corresponding markers are suffixed to the stem. This nominal morphology is compatible with nouns as well as nominalized verb forms, variouspronominal forms and non-possessives.^[16] Case, number and possessive forms are shown below with the nounāče (deer).^[17]

Number

Nouns are inherently singular and marked for plural.^[18] This plural affix, -p(ul)- for nouns ending in [e] or [o] and -pe- for all others,^[19] comes after the noun stem and before other affixes.^[20] With the singular exception of the worduø (“child”), which becomesuø-r-pe, these plural forms are highly regular.^[21]

Possessive

Possession is expressed via the affix -d(e)-, which is positioned between the noun stem and case ending, in the same position as, and taking the place of, the number suffix.^[22]

Since possession is expressed independently of grammatical number, the meaning of a fully inflected possessive form can sometimes be ambiguous, as in the example below:^[23]

ače-p-ki

deer-PL-3(NOM)

“his/her [many] deer” / “their [single] deer” / “their [many] deer”

Possession in Kolyma Yukaghir can denote in-group membership andkinship roles as well as direct ownership.^[24]

Case marking and focus

Nouns are marked for nine grammatical cases.^[25] The nominative is unmarked while the others are expressed via suffix which follows the possessive marker in possessive noun forms.^[26] Case is dominated by anergative system offocus which overrides subsequent case marking in certain instances.^[27][28] For example, in clauses in which the subject is in first or second person and the direct object is in third person, both occur in unmarked Nominative case, as in:^[29]

met tolow kudede

I(NOM) deer(NOM) kill(TR:1:SG)

“I killed a deer.”

Nominative case represents the subject of anintransitive verb or otherwise theagent of a clause, depending upon the context of focus. Noun stems are inherently nominative and unmarked.^[30]

met tet-ul juø

I(NOM) you-ACC see(TR:1SG)

“I saw you.”

Predicative case, expressed by the suffix -(le)k, marks the nominative predicate or otherwise the focus of a clause.^[31]

met tet-in šaqale-lek kej-te-me

I you-DAT fox-PRED give-FUT-OF:1SG

“I will give you a fox.”

Accusative refers to the direct object of a transitive verb. It takes the suffix -gele.^[32]

čolhorā-die-gele tā šašil-ge ī-de-m

hare- there snare-LOC get.caught-CAUS-TR:3SG

“He caught the hare in the snare there.”

Instrumental case, using the -le suffix implies that the referent is facilitated or acted upon, roughly equivalent to “by means of X” in English.^[33]

tāt n’umud’ī-le čine-j-m

CA ax-INSTR chop-PFV-TR:3SG

“Then he chopped it with an ax.”[34]

In clauses where the direct object is represented by an indefinite nominal predicate, this case is used instead of accusative, as in:^[35]

tudel tolow-le kudde-m

he(NOM) deer-INSTR kill-TR:3SG

“He killed a deer.”

Dative case marks the indirect object of a verb using the -ŋin suffix.^[36]

tintaŋ pulut mon-I šaqale-ŋin

that old.man say-INTR:3SG fox-DAT

“that old man said to the fox”[37]

It can also be used with the Russian-borroweddo (“until”) to form a temporal construction.^[38]

do ugujel-ŋin mie-de-ŋi

until morning-DAT wait-DETR-3PL:INTR

“They waited until the morning.”

Comitative case, marked by the suffix -n’e, is used to link constituents or to indicate a secondary actor in a joint or reciprocal event; in this way it is somewhat similar to “X and X” phrases in English.^[39]

irk-in omnī mod-l’el pulut terike-de-n’e

one-ATTR family sit-INFR(3/SG) old.man old.woman-POSS-COM

“There lived one family, an old man and his wife.”

TheLocative case suffix -ge expresses spatial relationships or directed action relating to the English pronominal forms “in,” “below,” “near” and “next to.”^[40]

irk-in jalhil-ge ninge-j omnī-k ed’-u-t madā-l’el-ŋi-l

one-ATTR lake-LOC many-ATTR family-PRED [live-0-SS:IPFV] reside-INFR-3PL-SF

“There were many people near one lake.”

TheAblative case suffix -get indicates movement away from a location.^[41]

qodōbe-get čirčege-s’

bed-ABL spring.up-PFV:INTR:3SG

“He sprang up from the bed.”

Finally, theProlative case suffix -gen signifies movement along or within a location.^[42]

čuge-de-gen qon-ŋi

trace-POSS-PROL go-3PL:INTR

“They went along his trace.”

As with nouns, verbs in Kolyma Yukaghir are formed by the addition of suffixes to a verb stem.^[43] Unlike in English and most other European languages, the difference between these two parts of speech is somewhat indistinct and various markers can nominalize a verb stem. Of note, Kolyma Yukaghir does not feature adjectives as a distinct part of speech;attributive markers are added to verb stems which in turn modify nouns.^[44] Verbs inflect to express focus,negation/affirmation, person,aspect and tense^[45] according to the following paradigm:^[46]

[AFF] + [IRLS] + [NEG] + STEM-INF/PRSP-PL-FUT + [agreement]

Transitive and intransitive verb stems take separate sets of affixes corresponding to the categories in the paradigm above.^[47] The entire Transitive Verb paradigm is illustrated below with the verbjuø (“to see”) and the Intransitive paradigm withšohie (“to disappear”):^[48]

Thus, a fullydeclined Kolyma Yukaghir verb, demonstrating many possible semantic nuances, would look like the following example:^[49]

el+iks’ī-l’el-ŋi

NEG+catch-INFR-3PL:INTR

“(they) did not catch”

Negation and affirmation

Verbs are negated with the prefix el-. The affirmation prefix me- serves as an emphatic.[50]

Tense and Mood

The only specifictense distinction in Kolyma Yukaghir is Future versus Non-Future, which is unmarked.^[51] Past tense forms can be expressed periphrastically by rearranging constituents, as in:

ā-l-bed-ek

make-ANR-RELNR-PRED

“[somebody] has made”

Morphologically, tense andmood distinctions are formed by the addition of a single suffix, or two suffixes in the case of hypothetical forms.^[52] The language distinguishes several different tense/mood forms, including Future, Irrealis, Inferential, Prospective and Hypothetical, all of which are contrasted with unmarked non-Future and non-Inferential forms.^[53] The corresponding suffixes, with the verbā (“to make”), are listed below:

The Future affix -t(e) describes events in the literal future as well as other nuances such as desirability, hypotheticality and recommendation or instruction.^[54] This form can also be used to express surprise or doubt.^[55]

tuøn qarnie-t-u-m

this help-FUT-0-TR:3SG

“This will help.”

Irrealis primarily describes counterfactual situations but also, and less commonly, desirability or potentiality. Unlike other mood and tense forms, it is expressed by a prefix, et-.^[56]

taŋnugi anil-pe čumut ot+amde-ŋi

CA fish-PL allIRLS+die-3PL:INTR

“Then the fishes would all have died.”[57]

Theinferential suffix -l’el is used, in non-Future, for narration or to transmit hearsay.^[58]

šašet el+ūj-ŋide čumu ā-l’el-u-m

[nowNEG+work-SS:COND] all make-INFR-0-TR:3SG

“If he is not working now, he must have finished.”[59]

The prospective suffix -moži signifies a prediction based on real world knowledge.^[60]

omo-če pod’erqo ō-moži

[good-ATTR] dayCOP-PRSP(3SG)

“It is going to be a good day.”

“Hypothetical” refers to the inferential suffix -l’el, used with future marking, expressing purely hypothetical situations.[61]

met emej es’ie tā-ŋide qol-l’el-ŋi-te-j

my mother father thereDIR go-INFR-3PL-FUT-INTR:3SG

“My mother and father must have gone there.”

Agreement

The final element of the inflection paradigm is an agreement suffix. Verbs agree according toperson, transitivity and number with the subject.^[62]

Aspect

Grammatical aspect is expressed by markers that affix between the verb stem and other endings. There are four specific aspectual distinctions, illustrated below with the verbā (“to make”).^[63]

Imperative, prohibitive and interrogative forms

Verbs expressingimperative, prohibitive or interrogative mood, whether transitive or intransitive, use the following paradigm:^[64]

[NEG] + STEM-PL-IMP/PROH = [agreement]

The full range of these verb forms is illustrated below, withjaqa (“to arrive”):^[65]

Nonfinite verbs and converbs

Kolyma Yukaghir has a richly developed system ofnonfinite verb forms, illustrated in the following chart with the verbšubeže (“to run”):^[66]

Converbs are used for a broad array ofsyntactic functions. Chief among these is clause chaining, which is describing sequences of related events or forming conditional verb constructions, as in:^[67]

aŋdile šar meru-še-t mudde-s’

[hawk something fly-CAUS-SS:IPFV] [pass-INTR:3SG]

“A hawk passed by, flying and carrying something.”

There are threegrammatical persons in Kolyma Yukaghir. Plurality is marked by a pronominal stem change.^[68] Pronouns are declined in the same way as nouns, for case, possession and number (singular and plural).^[69] The complete set of personal pronouns and attendant case suffixes are shown below:

Notably, there are no attested instrumental pronoun forms in the language.^[70]

Possessive Pronouns

When possession is marked pronominally rather than morphologically, pronouns take a specific possessive suffix that corresponds to an English possessive pronoun.^[71] “Free Possessive” refers to a group or set of possessed objects rather than to a single item. These forms are obsolescent and rarely encountered.^[72]

In the modern form of the language, the free possessive is commonly replicated using the Russian loanwordsam (“self”) as a suffix.^[73]

met+sam met+šørile-š-te-je

I+selfREFL-paint-CAUS-FUT-INTR:1SG

“I will paint myself.”

Intensified form

Pronouns can take the suffix -id’ie which functions in the same way as a case marker and roughly corresponds to the Englishreflexive form (myself, itself, and so on).^[74]

mit-id’ie pon’ō-jīl’i

we-INTS remain-INTR:1PL

“We (ourselves) remained alone.”

Attributive and qualitative forms

The lines distinguishing individual parts of speech other than verbs and nouns in Kolyma Yukaghir are not as clearly defined as in European languages.[75] Verbs, for example, can take the -n or the action nominal -l suffixes,^[76] yielding verb forms that functionally modify nouns, as in:^[77]

kel-u-l šoromo mon-i

[come-0-ANR] man say-INTR:3SG

“The man who came said…”

Attributive verb phrases are the primary means of building relative clauses, as in:[78]

purk-in šoromo lē-je šoromo

[seven-ATTR person eat-ATTR] person

“a person who has eaten seven people”

Kolyma Yukaghir utilizespostpositions. They can have spatial or temporal meanings (or both), and can take locative suffixes to produce subtle changes in these meanings.^[79] In the following examples, the postpositionjolā is translated as either “behind” or “after” depending on the presence of a locative (in this case, prolative) marker:^[80]

pølbieljolā tāt abudā-je

hammockbehindCA lie.down-INTR:1SG

“then I lay down behind a hammock”

tetjolā-t mit kel-t-īl’i

youbehind-PROL we come-FUT-INTR:1SG

“We’ll go after you.”

Aninterlinear glossed sample:

Yarqadan

Recorded by Ljudmila Zhukova from Ljubov' Demina in 1988.^[81]

Notes

Bibliography

• Vakhtin, N. B. 1991.The Yukaghir language in Sociolinguistic Perspective. Steszew, Poland: International Institute of Ethnolinguistic and Oriental Studies.
• Krejnovich, Eruhim A.,Jukagirskij jazyk. Moscow / Leningrad: Nauka (1958).
• Maslova, Elena,A Grammar of Kolyma Yukaghir, Mouton Grammar Library, 27 (2003).
• Maslova, Elena,Tundra Yukaghir, LINCOM Europa. Languages of the World/Materials 372 (2003).
• Nagasaki, I. (2016) “Relative clauses and nominalizations in Kolyma Yukaghir.”Studia Orientalia. 117: 137-151.

• Southern Yukaghir atGlottopedia
• The Yukaghir Languages
• Online Documentation of Kolyma (Southern) Yukaghir
• Bibliography

• Agglutinative languages
• Endangered languages of Asia
• Languages of Russia
• Subject–object–verb languages
• Yukaghir languages

• Language articles citing Ethnologue 26
• CS1 Russian-language sources (ru)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Pages with non-English text lacking appropriate markup from October 2024
• Articles containing Southern Yukaghir-language text
• ISO language articles citing sources other than Ethnologue
• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2003
• All articles containing potentially dated statements