N. A. Agafonova, I. N. Ryabov, G. V. Ryabova. The variation of the objectal conjugation suffixes in the Erzya dialect area

Introduction. The verb objectal conjugation in the Erzya dialect area has a developed and complex structure of word forms. Their morphological composition is characterized by varying subject and object suffixes. The variation of suffixes in the objectal conjugation word forms is attributed to linguistic and extratextual factors, largely related to the dispersed residence of the Mordovians. The purpose of the article is to identify and describe the variation of suffixes in the paradigms of the objectal conjugation of the future and past tenses of the mon sonze (I him) series in the Erzya dialect area.
Materials and Methods. Variants of the objectal conjugation suffixes have been recorded by the authors based on field materials collected during linguistic expeditions in the places of compact residence of the Erzya people. The collection of dialect material was carried out according to a questionnaire that reflects the lexical, phonetic, and morphological variation of linguistic phenomena. When analyzing linguistic materials, descriptive and comparative-historical methods were used.
Results and Discussion. The structural analysis revealed that in the analyzed suffixes there is no single order of the suffixes for object, subject and time of action. Subject and object markers can be placed both after the verb stem and at the end of the word form. They do not have a fixed position in the suffix structure. The analysis of the objectal conjugation paradigms of the future and past tenses showed that the structure of the suffixes -sať/-cať и -ińať/-įńať is the most logical and consistent. They retained all the formal components that reflect the semantics of the series mon sonze (I him) of the Erzya verb objectal conjugation.
Conclusion. The field material showed that the implementation of suffixes in the objectal conjugation paradigms of different dialects of the Erzya language is not uniform. In some dialects, the structure of the analyzed suffixes is clear, logical and consistent, while in others, the suffixes have lost one of the formal indicators of an object or subject.

Keywords: the Erzya language, dialects, objectal conjugation, paradigm, future tense, past tense, subject, object

For citation: Agafonova NA, Ryabov IN, Ryabova GV. The variation of the objectal conjugation suffixes in the Erzya dialect area. Finno-ugorskii mir = Finno-Ugric World. 2023;15;3:264–273. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.15507/2076-2577.015.2023.03.264-273.