Modern Udmurt language:
social and cultural aspects
Svetlana Edygarova, University of Tartu
Uralic language family
Finno-Ugric languages
Samoyedic languages
Nenets, Enets, Nganasan,
Selkup, Kamas
Finnic
Baltic-Finnic
Finnish, Estonian,
Livonian,Veps,
Votic, Karelian,
Ingrian, Sami
Ugric Hungarian, Khanty, Mansi
Volga-Finnic
Mordvin (Erzya, Moksha,
Shoksha), Mari (Hill Mari,
Meadow Mari)
Permic
Komi, Komi Permyak,
Udmurt
UDMURTS
Name variants: “ar”, “arsk people”,
“votyak”
Ethnic name: “udmurt”, “udmort”,
“ukmort”
• Location: Udmurtia, Bashkortostan,
Tatarstan, Mari El, Perm and Kirov
oblast
“
The map of the Russian Federation
Population of Udmurt Republic
1,64 million in general
• Udmurts 29.33 %
• Russians 60.12 %
• Tatars 4.3 %
• Others
According to the last census of the
population (2002)
Udmurts are 637.000,
72 % speaks mother tongue
In 1989 the figure was 715 000
Udmurt language is
endangered language according to
UNESCO red book on endangered languages
Udmurt is co-official with
Russian language in Udmurt Republic
Studies:
-Udmurt language as a mother
tongue,
-Udmurt literature,
-History of Finno-Ugric languages,
-Foreign languages (Finnish,
Hungarian, English, German)
-Summer school of Udmurt
language for foreigners
Periodicals
•
•
•
•
•
•
Udmurt dunne www.udmdunne.ru
Invozho http://www.invozho.ru/
Kenesh
Vorskem kyl
Dzechbur!
Kizili
Literature and arts
•
•
•
•
•
Etnofuturism
Motives of pagan culture
Nature and civilization
Contrastive expression
Mythology
Religion
- In ancient times Udmurts
worshiped the powers of nature and
pagan gods. Some of the religious
structures and sites remain up to the
present day in some Udmurt
villages. Ancient priests used to pray
and worship there. Some of the folk
holidays take place there now
(Gerber).
- The religion of the Udmurts has
strong animistic roots. They worship
ancestors as well as the gods of the
earth, forest, sky, water, house,
sauna etc.
Southern Udmurts (19th century)
Modern Southern Udmurts (2008)
Northern Udmurts from Kirovsky region (20th century)
Northern Udmurts (2008)
Udmurt alphabet
А
Б
В
Г
Д
Е
Ё
Ж
ӝ
З
ӟ
И
ӥ
Й
К
Л
М
Н
О
Ö
П
Р
С
Т
У
Ф
Х
Ц
Ч
ӵ
Ш
Щ
Ъ
Ы
Ь
Э
Ю
Я
Some words in Udmurt language
Udm.
тыл
кык
кыл
пу
вир
лымы
синмму
мусквöй
Transcr.
[tyl]
[kyk]
[kyl]
[pu]
[vir]
[lymy]
[s“inm]
[mu]
[musk]
[vöj]
Fin.
tuli
kaksi
kieli
puu
veri
lumi
Eng.
fire
two
tongue, language
tree
blood
snow
Grammatical examples
Udm. (Ton) pon-i-d
Est.
(Sina) pan-i-d
Eng. (You) put
kõk
kaks
two
pu
puu-d
(fire)wood
‘You put two pieces of firewood to the oven’
gur-e
ahj-u
oven-to
Declination
1. Nominative
3. Genitive
4. Partitive/Accusative
5. Ablative
6. Allative/Dative
7. Adessive
8. Comitative/instrumental
9. Abessive
10. Inessive
11. Illative
12. Elative
13. Terminative
14. Translative
15. Essive
16. Egressive
17. Prolative
18. Approximative
Estonian
Udmurt
mets
metsa
metsa
metsa-lt
metsa-le
metsa-l
metsa-ga
metsa-ta
metsa-s
metsa-sse
metsa-st
metsa-ni
metsa-ks
metsa-na
-
s’ik
s’ik-len
s’ik/s’ik-ez
s’ik-les’
s’ik-ly
s’ik-len
s’ik-en
s’ik-tek
s’ik-yn
s’ik-e
s’ik-ys’(t)
s’ik-oz’
s’ik-ys’en
s’ik-eti
s’ik-lan’
Uralic morphosyntax in Udmurt language:
comparative survey of possessive
constructions in Udmurt and Uralic
languages
Possessee marking
Udm. korka-my Fin. talo-mme Hun. ház-unk
house-Px.1PL ‘our house’
• majority of Uralic languages (except
Estonian, Livonian)
Morphologically distinguishes
• plural objects (in singular only)
korka-os-yd
house-PL-PX.2SG ‘your houses’
• inalienable objects (in singular only)
jyr-yd
vs. korka-jed
head-PX.2SG ‘your head’
No marking: Juxtaposition
korka ös ‘house door’
House-NOM door-NOM
• In Komi, Mari, Mordvin, Hungarian, Nenets
Duble marking
1. korka-len
ös-ez
house-GEN door-Px.3SG
‘the door of the house’
• Mari, Hungarian, Mordvin
2. korka-les’ ös-s-e
chigt-i-d
house-ABL door-PX.3SG-ACC break-1PRET-2SG
‘you broke the door of the house’
Ul’cha-ys’ piosmurt-ez
adzdz-i
street-EL man-ACC see-1PRET-1SG
‘I saw a man in the street’
• Komi
Possessor marking
Udm. Myn-am
mylkyd
kapchi
I-GEN
mood easy
‘I am in good mood’
Fin. poja-n kirja
boy-GEN book ‘boy’s book’
• Komi, Mari, Mordvin, Hungarian, Finnic, Nenets
Possessive adjectives
Udm. chagyr s’inm-o
nyl
blue
eye-with girl
‘a girl with blue eyes’
Fin. Tuma-tukka-inen mies ‘man with dark
hair’
• Komi, Estonian, Finnish
svetie@yandex.ru
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