Contact-induced change in Surgut Khanty relative clauses

• Published in: Folia Linguistica
• Main Authors: Dékány, Éva, Gugán, Katalin, Tánczos, Orsolya
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Walter de Gruyter GmbH 2020
• Subjects: khanty; Siberia
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/flin-2020-2026; https://www.degruyter.com/view/journals/flin/54/1/article-p1.xml; https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/flin-2020-2026/xml; https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/flin-2020-2026/pdf

Abstract This paper inquires into the structure of newly emerging relative clauses (RCs) in the Surgut dialect of Khanty, an endangered Finno-Ugric language of Western Siberia. The original externally headed RCs in this language are prenominal, with a participial verb form and a gap at the relativization site. More recently new types have been observed as well: post-nominal participles with and without ťu (a morpheme that looks identical to the distal demonstrative ‘that’) as well as postnominal finite RCs with a relative pronoun. These types have emerged as a result of extensive language contact with Russian, the socially dominant language of the area. The paper provides the first detailed description and analysis of the new Surgut Khanty RC types, exploring their syntactic structure as well as the extent to which language contact has shaped these structures.