(Udmurt)
ClsfrN & NClfsr
ClsfrN: Classifiers precede the noun.
NClfsr: Classifiers follow the noun.
| (1) | 1 | (pu) | pomidor |
|---|
| 1 | tree | tomato |
| ’1 tomato plant’ (Agyagási – Dékány 2019: 61) |
| (2) | eššo | 3 | śurs | jyr | parś | vord-e. |
|---|
| even | 3 | thousand | head | pig | raise‑3SG |
| ’(S)he even raises 3000 pigs.’ (UdmCorp.) |
| (3) | 1 | jyr | sugon |
|---|
| 1 | head | onion |
| ’1 onion’ (UdmCorp.) |
| (4) | ta | pomidor | pu | tuž | ćeber. |
|---|
| this | tomato | root | very | nice |
| ’This tomato plant is very nice’ (Y. S.) |
| (5) | ta | sugon | jyr | tuž | ćeber. |
|---|
| this | onion | head | very | nice |
| ’This piece of onion is very nice’ (Y. S.) |
| (6) | mon | skal | jyr | śi-iśko. |
|---|
| I | cow | head | eat‑PRS.1SG |
| ’I’m eating the head of a cow.’ (Y. S.) |
| (7) | ǯyny | sugon | jyr |
|---|
| half | onion | head |
| ’half an onion’ (UdmCorp.) |
| (8) | 52 | skal | jyr | tunne | keľa-my. |
|---|
| 52 | cow | head | today | send.PST‑1PL |
| ’Today we sent 52 cows on their way.’ (Y. S.) |
In Udmurt quantified expressions, the optionally present classifiers usually precede the noun (1)–(3). In non-quantified expressions classifiers can form compound words, in which case they follow the noun (4)–(6). At least the classifier jyr may also follow the noun even in quantified expressions: in certain such cases the compound word interpretation is also a possibility (7), but in examples like (8) jyr can only be understood as a classifier (compare with example (6), where the same structure has an endocentric compound interpretation: skal jyr ’cow head’ = the head of a cow).
Author: Laura Horváth
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