Syntactic Variation in Diminutive Suffixes

Russian, Kolyma Yukaghir, and Itelmen

Bibliographic Data

ID7903789
AuthorsOlga Steriopolo (0000-0002-0499-2882, Leibniz-Centre General Linguistics, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume2
Issue4
Pages23
Publication date2017-11-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLanguages (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2226-471X • E-ISSN: 2226-471X
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/languages2040023
OpenAlexW2770486792
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited6

This article presents a syntactic analysis and comparison of diminutive suffixes in Russian, Kolyma Yukaghir, and Itelmen, three genetically unrelated languages of the Russian Federation. Kolyma Yukaghir and Itelmen are on the verge of extinction. This article investigates how contact with Russian (specifically the syntax of Russian diminutives) has influenced the syntax of diminutives in Kolyma Yukaghir and Itlemen. Adopting the framework of Distributed Morphology, a syntactic analysis of diminutives across the three languages reveals that they share the same manner of syntactic attachment, but differ in regards to the site or place of attachment. Specifically, it is proposed that diminutives in all three languages are syntactic modifiers; however, in relation to the place of attachment, in Russian, diminutives attach below the functional category of Number, while diminutives in Kolyma Yukaghir and Itelmen attach above the Number category. This article contributes to our understanding of variation in universal grammar and linguistic outcomes of the syntactic feature ‘diminutive’ in a multilingual situation where a majority language is in contact with two genetically unrelated endangered languages

Diminutive · Grammar · Linguistics · Relation (database · Syntax · Variation (astronomy · Computer Science · History · Lexicography and Language Studies · Philosophy · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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