AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE OF THE

2 TARTU ÜLIKOOLI PAUL ARISTE SOOME-UGRI PÕLISRAHVASTE KESKUSE ÜLLITISED 7

AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE OF THE ERZYA LANGUAGE

2014

3 TARTU ÜLIKOOLI PAUL ARISTE SOOME-UGRI PÕLISRAHVASTE KESKUSE ÜLLITISED 7

AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE OF THE ERZYA LANGUAGE

Editor-in-chief: Tõnu Seilenthal Author: Niina Aasmäe Translation: David Paul Ogren, Patrick Juho-Ville ’Rourke Editing: Niina Aasmäe, Marie Saarkoppel Layout: Sulev Iva

Publication of the textbook has been supported by the Kindred Peoples Programme ().

© Niina Aasmäe 2014

ISSN 1406-7706 ISBN 978-9985-4-0800-1 (pdf)

4 PREFACE

The aim of this course is to present an overview of the structure of standard Erzya. It includes information on the base entities of grammar, as well as didactic materials which will help the learner to read simple texts and develop everyday functional language. The course consists of 10 units, preceded by an overview of pronunciation and word structure. Each unit introduces new grammar topics and gives examples of their use in speech. The units include various exercises through which the learner can practice the new grammar and vocabulary in reading, listening, speech, and writing. Sample texts on the topics of life stories, family life, everyday life, free time and travel illustrate the history and modern life of the Erzyan people. At the end of each unit, there is a vocabulary list with English translations. There is also a separate larger vocabulary list (Appendices III–IV), containing all the words introduced in the course as well as other important vocabulary items that will facilitate independent reading. The course is supported by links to audiovisual materials available on the Internet as well as by audio recordings (University of Tartu, Archives of Estonian Dialects and Kindred Languages or: TÜ EMSA; www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv , search: DS0169-01 through DS0169-24). The course materials are presented in the (Finno-Ugric transcription). There is a supplementary section dealing with the use of Cyrillic in standard written Erzya (Appendix ). The course is intended primarily for students of Finno-Ugric linguistics. It is appropriate for a group course with a teacher’s guidance as well as for independent study. Students taking the course independently may check their work using the answer key to the exercises (Appendix II). The course is based on the textbook “Kortatano źaks ” (“We speak Erzya”) by Niina Aasmäe ( Kortatano er źaks. Räägime ersa keelt. – Tartu Ülikooli Paul Ariste soome-ugri põlisrahvaste keskuse üllitised, 5. Tartu 2012). The textbook was developed with the help of many Erzya course participants over the years as well as colleagues who assisted in the writing and design of the book. The publication of the textbook “Kortatano er źaks ” and of this version of the textbook has been supported by the Kindred Peoples Programme (Estonia).

Niina Aasmäe [email protected]

5 CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ...... 9 OVERVIEW OF PRONUNCIATION AND PHONOLOGY Phonemes ...... 10 Vowels ...... 10 Consonants ...... 10 and palatalization ...... 11 Consonant clusters ...... 11 Assimilation ...... 12 Effects of palatalization ...... 12 Effects of voicing ...... 12 Vowel elision ...... 13 Vowel epenthesis ...... 13 Stress ...... 13 Exercises 1–4 ...... 14 VOCABULARY ...... 16 OVERVIEW OF WORD STOCK AND WORD FORMATION Word stock ...... 17 Exercise 5 ...... 17 Word formation ...... 17 VOCABULARY ...... 18 UNIT 1 Grammar ...... 19 Nouns and adjectives ...... 19 The plural marker ...... 19 Verbs: the ms -infinitive and present tense conjugation ...... 19 Forms and use of the verb uĺems ‘to ’ ...... 20 Exercises 1–7 ...... 21 Conversation and reading: Shumbrat! Hello! ...... 23 Exercises 8–9 ...... 23 TEXT 1 ...... 23 Exercise 10 ...... 23 TEXT 2 ...... 23 Exercises 11–15 ...... 24 VOCABULARY ...... 25 UNIT 2 Grammar ...... 26 Introduction to the Erzya case system ...... 26 The indefinite declension ...... 26 Pronouns ...... 28 Adverbs ...... 28 Exercises 1–6 ...... 29 Compound forms: declinable word + uĺems - personal ending ...... 30 Exercises 7–8 ...... 30 Conversation and reading: Kijat, kosto ńat? Who are you and where are you from? . . . 31 TEXTS 1-5 ...... 31 Exercises 9–14 ...... 31 VOCABULARY ...... 33 UNIT 3 Grammar ...... 34 Numerals ...... 34 Declension of numerals ...... 35 Exercises 1–6 ...... 35

6 Conversation and reading: Me źe t ́eči t ́ejat? What are you doing today? ...... 36 Exercise 7 ...... 37 TEXTS 1–3 ...... 37 Exercises 8–14 ...... 37 VOCABULARY ...... 39 UNIT 4 Grammar ...... 40 Definite declension ...... 40 Exercises 1–3 ...... 41 Comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs ...... 41 Exercise 4 ...... 42 Conversation and reading: Er źat ́ń ed ́ About the Erzyans ...... 42 TEXT 1 ...... 42 Exercises 5–7 ...... 43 TEXT 2 ...... 43 Exercises 8–14 ...... 43 VOCABULARY ...... 45 UNIT 5 Grammar ...... 46 Infinitives ...... 46 Exercises 1–3 ...... 46 Verb conjugation: present and past simple (preterite) ...... 47 Exercises 4–6 ...... 48 Declension of cardinal and ordinal numerals ...... 49 Exercise 7 ...... 49 Conversation and reading: ĺese – ošso In the country and in the city ...... 49 TEXT 1 ...... 50 Exercises 8–9 ...... 50 TEXT 2 ...... 50 Exercises 10–13 ...... 51 VOCABULARY ...... 51 UNIT 6 Grammar ...... 52 The possessive declension ...... 52 Possessive declension forms ...... 53 Exercises 1–5 ...... 55 Conversation and reading: Kudora śke Family ...... 56 TEXT 1 ...... 56 Exercises 6–7 ...... 56 TEXT 2 ...... 56 Exercise 8 ...... 56 TEXT 3 ...... 57 Exercises 9–13 ...... 57 VOCABULARY ...... 57 UNIT 7 Grammar ...... 59 Negative forms (present/future and past simple) ...... 59 Negation of the verb uĺems ...... 59 Exercises 1–4 ...... 60 Imperative mood (indefinite conjugation) ...... 61 Exercise 5 ...... 61 Conversation and reading: Eŕamot ́ń ed ́ e Life stories ...... 62 TEXT 1 ...... 62 Exercises 6–11 ...... 62 TEXT 2 ...... 63

7 Exercises 12–14 ...... 64 VOCABULARY ...... 64 UNIT 8 Grammar ...... 65 Definite conjugation ...... 65 Formation of the definite conjugation ...... 65 Use of the definite conjugation ...... 67 Exercises 1–5 ...... 67 Derivational suffixes ...... 68 Conversation and reading: Eŕva čiń t ́evt ́ń ed́ e Everyday life ...... 68 TEXT 1 ...... 68 Exercises 6–7 ...... 68 TEXT 2 ...... 68 Exercises 8–12 ...... 69 TEXT 3 ...... 69 Exercises 13–15 ...... 69 VOCABULARY ...... 70 UNIT 9 Grammar ...... 71 Imperative mood (definite conjugation) ...... 71 Exercise 1 ...... 72 Non-finite verb forms ...... 72 Exercises 2–4 ...... 73 Conversation and reading: Er źat ́ń eń ĺe Visiting the Erzyas ...... 73 TEXT 1 ...... 73 Exercises 5–8 ...... 74 TEXT 2 ...... 75 Exercises 9–13 ...... 75 VOCABULARY ...... 76 UNIT 10 Grammar ...... 77 Conditional mood ...... 77 Conjunctive mood ...... 78 Derivational suffixes ...... 79 Exercises 1–5 ...... 79 Conversation and Reading: Saranso In ...... 80 TEXT 1 ...... 80 Exercises 6–7 ...... 81 TEXT 2 ...... 81 Exercises 8–9 ...... 82 TEXT 3 ...... 82 Exercise 10 ...... 82 VOCABULARY ...... 83 APPENDICES Appendix 1. Standard written Erzya – the Cyrillic alphabet ...... 84 Appendix 2. Key to answers ...... 86 Appendix 3. Erzya-English glossary ...... 94 Appendix 4. English-Erzya glossary ...... 107 Appendix 5. Audio-materials...... 119

8 INTRODUCTION

The Mordvin languages (Erzya and Moksha) are part of the Uralic language family, geographically belonging to the Volgaic language group. For more on the Finno-Ugric language tree, see the following links:

www.fennougria.ee/ www.fennougria.ee/index.php?id=10553

The word “Mordvin” is likely to be an exonym, as no such word is native to Erzya or Moksha. Within the Republic of (formed in the 1930s), which is located on the territory of (approximately 600 km to the southeast of ), the Erzyans live in the east and the Mokshans in the west. More details about the Republic of Mordovia can be found at the links below.

www.erm.ee/et/Avasta/Soome-ugri-rahvakultuur/Mordvalased http://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordva http://www.e-mordovia.ru/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordovia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordvins

It is believed that only one third of all Erzyans and Mokshans live in the Republic of Mordovia; the others live outside the republic, primarily in other regions of Russia. This dispersion is one of a number of factors making it difficult for Erzyans and Mokshans to preserve their language and culture. However, they are one of the largest Finno-Ugric nations (the 2010 census showed 744,237 Erzyans and Mokshans living in the Russian Federation). The capital of the Republic of Mordovia is Saransk (founded in 1641), a rapidly developing city whose charm is on display in the following video-clip:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfQeLdSr_mA&feature=related

Typologically, the Erzya and Moksha languages are typical of the Uralic language family, with elaborate case systems and verb conjugation paradigms. The written language (using the Cyrillic alphabet) was created in the 1920s and 1930s. The course materials illustrate various aspects of Erzya culture.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mordovia03.png

9 OVERVIEW OF PRONUNCIATION AND PHONOLOGY

Phonemes

Standard Erzya has 5 vowels and 28 consonants. Erzya lacks and there is no phonemic distinction between short and long sounds. The language does, however, feature a large number of consonants. Erzya consonants have two essential features, voicing and palatalization, which help to distinguish words from one another.

Vowels

Standard Erzya features two front vowels ( i, e ), two back vowels ( , o ), and the vowel a, which functions as both a mid and a . The use of vowels, particularly in non-initial syllables, varies according to dialect. Some dialect regions exhibit the ä and the reduced vowel ə.

i u e (ə) o (ä) a

The omission of the consonants v and j in speech may lead to the appearance of consecutive vowels, i.e. ko(v)ol ‘cloud’, sa(j)ems ‘to take’. All vowels may appear in the first syllable of a word. The use of the high vowels i and u in non-initial syllables is restricted in the standard language. Exceptionally, the vowel u appears in non-initial syllables in words such as narmu ń/narmo ń ‘bird’, salmuks ‘needle’. The vowel i appears in suffixes, compounds and loan words, for example: – in personal endings of verbs : jaki , jaki ń, jakili ń (jakams ‘to go, move, visit’); – before the diminutive suffix -ńe: pari ńe (paro ‘good’ + -ńe), viški ńe (viška ‘small’ + -ńe); – in compounds: kudike ĺks ‘entryway’ ( kudo ‘home, house’ + ike ĺks ‘front part’); – in loan words: kartiná ‘picture’, maga źin ‘shop’.

Consonants

The consonant inventory of Erzya, presented in the table below, consists of the following phonemes: alveolar-dentals: t, d, c, s, z, r, l, n, t ́, d́ , ć, ź, ŕ, ĺ, ń; velars: k, g, h, in some dialects ŋ; postalveolars: č, š, ž; labials: p, b, m; palatals: j; labiodentals: f, v.

p b t d k g t́ d́ c č ć f v s z h ś ź š ž trills r ŕ laterals l ĺ nasals m n (η) ń semivowels j

10 The alveolar-dental consonants t, d, c, s, z, r, l, n have palatalized counterparts which are represented through diacritics placed above the letters: t́, d́ , ć, ź, ŕ, ĺ, ń. Palatalization refers to a process wherein a consonant is pronounced with the tongue raised near the palate. Examples of palatalization in English are the d in duke , n in new , or t in Tuesday (in British pronunciation). Compare the position of the tongue when making the initial consonant sounds in the words duke , new , and Tuesday (British pronunciation) to the position of the tongue when pronouncing the d in dog , n in now , and t in tower . You should feel that in the first set of words, the tongue is positioned higher in the mouth, producing what sounds like a short [j] sound immediately following the consonant. Some consonants form contrastive pairs according to both voicing and palatalization ( t-t́, d-d́ , t-d, t́- d́ , s-ś, z-ź, s-z, ś-ź), for example soks ‘ski’ – śok ś ‘autumn’, pize ‘nest’ – pi źe ‘it’s raining’, kise ‘for’ – kize ‘summer’, lovo ś ‘the snow’ – lovo ź ‘read’ ( past participle ). Other consonants form contrastive pairs according to either palatalization ( c-ć, l-ĺ, r-ŕ, n-ń) or voicing ( p-b, k-g, š-ž, f-v). The consonants m, č, j and h are not paired. The voiced plosives b, d, and g appear in word-initial position only in loan words. The consonants f and h appear only in loan words, and even then are sometimes replaced with sounds native to Erzya, e.g. Russian фуфайка > kufajka , kuhajka ‘padded cotton jacket’, хорошо > karašo ‘well’. The labiodental consonant v changes, especially after o, into a or a (semi-) vowel ( w, u), e.g.: lov /-w /-u ‘snow’. Some dialects feature the velar nasal ŋ: kov / ko ŋ ‘moon’. The velar nasal ŋ generally appears before g: to ŋgoms ‘to insert’ as, for example, in the word English. At morpheme or word boundaries ŋ is not realized: mongak ‘me, too’( mon ‘I’ + -gak ‘too’).

Vowel Harmony and Palatalization

Words in Erzya are subject to the rules of vowel harmony, which guide the choice of vowels (front vowel or back vowel) in the stem and numerous suffixes. The principle of vowel harmony concerns the vowels of the first and the subsequent syllables of a word that are allowed to appear together. Vowel harmony is found in a number of Finno-Ugric (and Turkic) languages, as well as in other languages throughout the world. In Erzya, vowel harmony is expressed in the rule according to which a word may contain exclusively front vowels ( e, i) or exclusively back vowels ( o, u), but not both. The vowel a is neutral; it can appear together with either front vowels or back vowels, e.g. pi ŕeva ‘through the garden’, modava ‘across the land’. Palatalized consonants play a significant role in the application of vowel harmony rules. If a palatalized consonant appears in the middle of the word, it may be followed by a front vowel, even if preceded by a back vowel, e.g. mu śkems ‘to do laundry’. Morphologically, due to vowel harmony, numerous suffixes in Erzya have both back- and front- vowel variants. Among them are the ending -so /-se : kudoso ‘in the house’, pi ŕese ‘in the garden’; the ending -sto /-ste : kudosto ‘out of the house’, pi ŕeste ‘out of the garden’, the third person possessive suffix -(n)zo /-(n) : kudosonzo ‘in his/her house’, pi ŕesenze ‘in his/her garden’, etc. Suffixes containing the vowel a do not have variants.

Consonant Clusters

Most Finno- do not permit word-initial consonant clusters. Such clusters are found primarily in loanwords and in words of onomatopoetic /imitative origin (Erzya examples: pŕaka ‘patty’, kravtoms ‘to drive away, stave off’). However, initial consonant clusters can emerge, due to vowel elision, in some other words, too: e.g. pŕa, pi ŕa ‘head’, kstij , kistij ‘strawberry’. The older form (with the vowel preserved) may remain in the language as an archaism or dialect word, although such variants are generally absent for older loanwords ( kši ‘bread’, kš ńi ‘iron’, ksnav ‘pea’). Word roots exhibit a tendency towards open-syllable (consonant + vowel) structure, e.g. kudo ‘house, home’, ve ĺe ‘village’. Due to historical vowel elision, many Erzya words end in consonants, e.g. kal ‘fish’ (Finnish and Estonian kala ), kev ‘stone’ (Finnish and Estonian kivi ). The addition of

11 derivational suffixes and endings, combined with vowel elision, leads to the appearance of consonant clusters in the middle and at the end of words (e.g. morams – mor śekš ńems ‘to sing’), which makes it more difficult to syllabify such words. Affixation may also cause the appearance of double consonants, e.g. loma ńń eń (loma ń ‘person’ + -ńeń, suffix), soksso (soks ‘ski’ + -so , inessive case ending), but such double consonants do not appear in word stems. Words may contain many syllables due to the various suffixes which may be added to the stem, for example mori ćatń́ eńtemestkaḱ ‘without their singers, too’. However, disyllabic words appear more frequently in speech than do longer words.

Assimilation

Effects of Palatalization

Several kinds of assimilation, primarily according to palatalization and voicing, occur in Erzya. Consonants are frequently palatalized under the influence of neighbouring palatalized consonants. In the spoken language, palatalization may even be extended to those consonants that do not conventionally form contrastive (palatalized-unpalatalized) pairs: m, p, b, v, f, k, g . This kind of palatalization is not marked in the Latin transcription used in this course (for example: pe ‘end’, kije ‘who’). There is a small number of words in which the presence of a front vowel does not cause palatalization in an adjacent consonant, e.g. kize ‘summer’, sive ĺ ‘meat’, si ‘comes, coming’, ti ń ‘you (pl.’), si ń ‘they’, etc. In suffixes added to a word stem, palatalization (or lack thereof) depends on the sounds that appear in the previous syllable. Back vowels and unpalatalized consonants are followed by an unpalatalized consonant, while front vowels and palatalized consonants are followed by palatalized consonants. Examples of alternating (palatalized /unpalatalized) forms:

– nominative plural marker -t/-t́: tumo ‘oak’ – tumot , but uma ŕ ‘apple’ – uma ŕt;́ – first person plural present tense verbal ending -tano/-t́ano : jarsatano ‘we eat’, but śimtanó ‘we drink’; – diminutive suffix -ne/-ńe: tolne ‘little wind’, ked́ńe ‘little hand’.

However, there are some morphemes in which such assimilation does not take place and only one variant of the morpheme exists, e.g.:

– marker -ś: tejt́ é ŕeś ‘the girl’, tumo ś ‘the oak’; – verbal participle -ź: mora ź ‘singing’, tejé ź ‘doing’; – illative, inessive, and elative suffixes -s, -se, -ste : śed́ ejs , śed́ ejse , śed́ ejste (śed́ ej ‘heart’).

Effects of Voicing

The voiced consonants b, d, d́ , g, z, ź and ž become voiceless at morpheme boundaries if they are followed by a voiceless consonant, e.g. nominative plural -t/-t́: vaz ‘calf’ – vazt (> vast ), ked́ ‘hand’ – ked́ t ́ (> ket́t́) or first person plural present tense -tano/-t́ano : sodoms ‘to bind, tie’– sodtano (> sottano ). In compound words, progressive assimilation takes place at the word boundary – a preceding voiced consonant leads to the voicing of a word-initial voiceless consonant, e.g. surb ŕa ‘fingertip’ ( sur ‘finger’ + pŕa ‘head’), kolmo ńgeme ń (kolmo ‘three’ + -ń genitive + keme ń ‘ten’) ‘thirty’. The form of the emphatic particle -gak /-kak /-jak used to add emphasis to the word it is attached to, as well as to convey the meaning of “too, also”, is dependent on the sound preceding it. The form - gak follows a voiced consonant, -kak follows a voiceless consonant, and -jak follows a vowel:

Mon kortan er źaks . I speak Erzya. Mongak kortan er źaks . I, too, speak Erzya.

12 Mon kortan er źakskak . I speak Erzya, too (in addition to other languages). Kortijak er źaks. He even speaks Erzya (not only reads or writes).

Another assimilatory phenomenon takes place with the fricatives s and ś, which are pronounced as affricates c and ć respectively when following the consonants l, ĺ, n, ń, r, and ŕ, e.g. jarsams > jarcams ‘to eat’.

Vowel Elision

The addition of case suffixes and verbal endings to the stem sometimes causes the elision of a vowel at the end of the stem. When following a consonant, the combinations -go- /--, -ko- /-ke-, -do- /-d́ e-,- to-/-t́e-, and -mo- /-me- lose their vowel before the following endings:

– nominative plural -t/-t́: pando ‘mountain’ – pandt , śeĺme ‘eye’ – śeĺmt;́ – local case endings -s, -so/-se , -sto/-ste : śeĺme – śeĺms , śeĺmse , śeĺmste ; – imperative ending -t/-t́: maksoms ‘to give’ – makst, also: sajems ‘to take’ – sajt;́ – 3rd person singular past tense -ś: śormadoms ‘to write’ – śormad ś.

Vowel elision also takes place in compound words, when a word beginning with a vowel is joined to a word ending in a vowel: kudazor (< kudo ‘house, home’ + azor ‘owner’) ‘head of the family, landlord, proprietor’; uŕva (< uŕe ‘slave’ + ava ‘woman’) ‘daughter-in-law’.

Vowel Epenthesis

Epenthetic vowels may appear at morpheme boundaries between two consonants, helping to differentiate words and word forms, for example:

– ked́ ‘hand’: ked́ et ́ ‘your hand(s)’, possessive declension; but ked́ t ́ ‘hands’, indefinite declension; – kal ‘fish’: kalo ś ‘the fish’; but paloms ‘to burn’: pal ś ‘it burned.’

At word boundaries, an epenthetic j may appear between two a’s, e.g. a ašt’ems > / ajaštemś / ‘not to stand /stay in place’.

Stress

In Erzya, the acoustic properties of stress are relatively weakly expressed, and the place of the stressed syllable in a word may vary. In polysyllabic words, additional stress appears. Typically, stress falls on odd-numbered syllables; for example, in the word śed́ ejsenze ‘in his/her heart’, the first and third syllables receive stress. Sentence rhythm may cause the stress to move to even-numbered syllables. When a word is preceded by a one-syllable word, for example an exclamation, the stress is moved to the second (and fourth) syllable: vaj, śed́ ejsenze ‘oh, in his/her heart’. Changes in the position of stress do not bring about changes in the meaning of a word. In loan words, there is a clear tendency to place the stress on odd-numbered syllables. In Russian loans such as vedra < ведро 'bucket’, turba < труба ‘chimney’, the stress is on the first syllable, even though in Russian it falls on the second syllable. Vowel reduction in unstressed syllables, a very common phenomenon in many languages (including English), does not take place in Erzya; that is, vowels are pronounced the same in unstressed syllables as they are in stressed syllables. Some mixed dialects, however, display the phenomenon of unstressed vowel reduction.

13 Exercise 1 . Listen and repeat. Audio: DS0169-01 (www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4723)

• vowels and consonants

i mi ń ‘we’, ti ń ‘you ( pl .)’ e śe ‘it’, se ń ‘blue’ i – e kije ‘who’, kize ‘summer’ u kuz ‘spruce’, sur ‘finger’ o mon ‘I’, ton ‘you ( sg .)’ u – o kudo ‘home, house’, tumo ‘oak’ a ava ‘woman, mother’, pŕa ‘head’ i – a iśt́a ‘so, thus’, viška ‘small’ e – a tet́ á ‘father’, vetamś ‘to pull’ u – a uma ŕ ‘apple’, uŕva ‘daughter-in-law’ o – a loma ń ‘person’, jovtams ‘to say’

p b s z c ć r ŕ t d ś ź č l ĺ t́ d́ f v (w) š ž n ń k g h m j

• palatalized /non-palatalized consonants kal ‘fish’ – ĺ ‘willow’ śeske ‘at once’ – śeśke ‘mosquito’ mon ‘I’ – mo ń ‘my, mine’ stams ‘to sew’ – śtamś ‘to get up’ pize ‘nest’ – pi źe ‘it's raining’ se ń ‘blue’ – śeń ‘its (genitive )’ pra ś ‘it dropped’ – pŕas ‘into the head’

• voiced /voiceless consonants koda ‘how’ – kota ‘shoe’ užo ‘wait!’ – ušo ‘outside, air’ tezé ‘to here, hither’ – tesé ‘here’ ved́ ‘water’ – vet ́ ‘at night’ sa ź ‘come ( past participle )’ – sa ś ‘he /she came’ lovo ź ‘read ( past participle )’ – lovo ś ‘the snow’

• fricatives and affricates: či ‘sun’, čize ‘sun (possessive declension )’ kši ‘bread’, kš ńi ‘iron’, ušo ‘outside, air’ užo ‘wait!’, ožo ‘yellow’, inže ‘guest’, piže ‘green’ kize ‘summer’, vaz ‘calf’, pize ‘nest’, kuz ‘spruce’

Exercise 2 . Listen and repeat (audio: DS0169-02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07)

• vowel harmony (Audio: www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4724) pi ŕese, -ste ‘in /out of the garden’, pizesenze ‘in its nest’ kudoso, -sto ‘at /from home /house’, kudosonzo ‘in his /her house /home’ pi ŕeva ‘through the garden’, modava ‘across the land’ mu śkems ‘to wash (clothes)’, aštemś ‘to stand, stay in place’

14 • consonant clusters (Audio: www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4725) pŕa, pi ŕa ‘head’, pŕaka ‘patty’ kravtoms ‘to drive away, stave off’ kši ‘bread’, kš ńi ‘iron’, mor śekš ńems ‘to sing’ kstij, kistij ‘strawberry’, ksnav ‘pea’, soksso ‘in the skis’ loma ńń eń ‘to /for a person’

• variation of palatalized and non-palatalized consonants in suffixes (Audio: www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4726) tumo ‘oak’ – tumot ‘oaks’ uma ŕ ‘apple’ – uma ŕt ́ ‘apples’ jarsatano ‘we eat’ – śimt anó ‘we drink’ tolne ‘little fire’ – ked́ ńe ‘little hand’

• variation of consonants at morpheme boundary (Audio: www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4727) vaz ‘calf’ – vazt (> vast ), ked́ ‘hand’ – ked́ t́ (> ket ́t́) sodoms ‘to bind, tie’ – sodtano (> sottano ) surb ŕa ‘fingertip’ ( sur ‘finger’ + pŕa ‘head’) kolmońgeme ń (kolmo + -ń genitive + keme ń) ‘thirty’ kals > kalc ’(to go) fishing’, jarsams > jarcams ‘to eat’

• vowel elision (Audio: www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4728) pando ‘mountain’ – pandt ‘mountains’ śeĺme ‘eye’ – śeĺmt ́ (> śeĺt́) ‘eyes’, śeĺms, śeĺmse, śeĺmste ‘into, in, out of the eye’ maksoms ‘give’ – makst ‘give (imperative)’ śormadoms ‘write’ – śormad ś ‘wrote’ kudazor (< kudo ‘home, house’ + azor ‘owner’) uŕva ‘daughter-in-law’ (< uŕe ‘slave’ + ava ‘woman’)

• stress (Audio: www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4729) śed́ ejsenze ‘in his/her heart’ vaj, śed́ ejsenze ‘oh, in his/her heart’

Exercise 3. Add the proper plural ending ( -t/-t́) to each of the following nouns:

-t -t́ -t -t́ -t -t́ ćora- kuz- sazor- kal- ĺepe- śed́ ej- ke d́ - loma ń- t́ej t́eŕ- ke ĺ- peš t́e- tumo- kudo- ŕive ź- vaz-

Exercise 4. Add the proper emphatic particle (-gak /-kak /-jak ) to each of the following nouns:

-gak -kak -jak -gak -kak -jak ava - lov - jarmak- makso- ke ĺ- peš t́e- kudo- śed́ ej- kši- śok ś- t́eš t́e- val- ve d́ - ve ĺe- ve ŕ- ŕive ź- tumot loma ńt́

15 VOCABULARY Valks a no, not paro, -ińe good aš t́ems to stand in place pe end ava woman, mother pe ĺks part či day, sun pi ŕe garden er źa Erzya pize nest ike ĺks front part pi źe to rain inže guest piže green jakams to go, visit pŕa, pi ŕa head jarsams to eat pŕaka patty jovtams to say, tell prams to drop, fall jur root sajems to take kal fish sams to come ke d́ hand salmuks needle ke ĺ language, tongue sepe gall kije who si ń they kise for si ŕe old kize summer sive ĺ meat koda how sodoms to bind, tie kolmo ńgeme ń thirty soks ski kota shoe stams to sew kov moon, month sur finger kovol cloud surb ŕa fingertip kravtoms to drive away, stave off śed́ ej heart ksnav pea śeĺme eye kstij, kistij strawberry śeske at once kši bread śeśke mosquito kš ńi iron śimems to drink kudazor head of the family, landlord, proprietor śok ś autumn kudike ĺks entryway śormadoms to write kudo home, house śt́ams to get up kuz spruce ti ń your (pl.) loma ń person tol fire lov snow tumo oak lovo/ms, -ź to read, -ing t́ejems to do maga źin shop t́ej t́eŕ girl, daughter maksoms to give uma ŕ apple mijems to sell uŕe slave moda land, earth uŕva daughter-in-law mon I ušo air, outside mo ń my, mine užo wait! morams to sing vajams to sink, drown mor śekš ńems to sing (repeatedly) vaj oh mu śkems to do laundry vaz calf narmu ń/-o- bird ve night ožo yellow ve t́ at night paloms to burn (be burned up ) ve ĺe village pando mountain, hill viški ńe small

16 OVERVIEW OF WORD STOCK AND WORD FORMATION

Word Stock

The Finno-Ugric heritage of Erzya is visible in its vocabulary (having preserved a number of old Finno-Ugric roots) as well as its phonology, morphology, and syntax. However, Erzya also contains a great many loan words from various times and sources: old Indo-European borrowings ( kši ‘bread’, kš ńi ‘iron’, paz ‘god’, tarvaz ‘sickle’), Turkic borrowings ( jarmak ‘money’, alaša ‘horse’), and Russian borrowings ( vedra ‘bucket’, ko ĺć a ‘ring’, śeŕada ‘Wednesday’, kapsta ‘cabbage’). Along with the growth of Erzya-Russian bilingualism in the second half of the 20 th century, code- switching phenomena (the use of Russian words, morphology and sentence structure in place of their Erzya equivalents) began to appear in Erzya. Recently there has been an effort to restore the original structure of Erzya, primarily in the written language. Attempts are being made to revive forgotten Erzya words and to create new terminology based on Erzya roots. Many of the Erzya words are phonetically quite similar to their Finnic counterparts.

Exercise 5. Match the following Erzya words with their Finnish, Estonian, and Mari equivalents: kolmo, śeĺme, ńiĺe, vete,́ san, śed́ ej, keme ń, śiśem, ej, mo ĺems, kavkso, kal, koto

Estonian Finnish Erzya Mari süda, südam- sydän, sydäm- šüm soon suoni šön minna, min- mennä, men- mije- kala kala kol jää jää ij silm silmä šin ča neli neljä nələt kolm kolme kum ət viis viisi wiz ət kuus kuusi ku δət seitse seitsemän šəmət kaheksa kahdeksan kandaš(e) kümne kymmenen lu

Word Formation

The principal means of word formation in Erzya are derivation and compounding, as well as the use of paired words. In the case of derivation, a suffix is added to the word stem, e.g. ašo ‘white’, aši ńe ‘white (diminutive)’, ašolgadoms ‘to become white’. Some derivational suffixes are formed from morphological markers, e.g. valks ‘dictionary’ ( val ‘word’ + -ks suffix), eŕamo ‘life’ (eŕa- ‘to live’ + -mo verbal noun suffix). Compound words are formed from more than one stem. The meaning of compound words may or may not be equivalent to the sum of their parts, e.g. ved́ gev ‘mill’ ( ved́ ‘water’ + kev ‘stone’), śeĺved́ ‘tear’ ( śeĺme ‘eye’ + ved́ ‘water’). A compound word constitutes one unit both orthographically and phonetically (through stress patterns). Some words used in compounds are roughly equivalent to derivational suffixes. Such words include či ‘day, sun’ ( paro či ‘good day’) – -či (paro či ‘goodness’, šumbra či ‘health’, té či ‘today’; pe ĺ ‘side, half’ ( pe ĺ či ‘half a day’) – -pe ĺ (lovnomape ĺ ‘something to read’).

17 Paired words, i.e. words that appear together as one lexical unit, generally appear in the same morphological form, e.g. eŕams-aštemś ‘live-be’, jarsams-tejemś ‘eat-do’, tej-tov́ ‘here and there’, tetat-́ ćorat ‘father and son together’, avat-tejt́ é ŕt ́ ‘mother and daughter together’, ĺeĺat-sazort ‘brother and sister together’ (note that paired nouns receive the plural ending -t/-t́, even though each part of the pair is singular in meaning).

VOCABULARY Valks

alaša horse ovto bear aš/o, -ińe white paro či goodness ašolgadoms to become white paz god avat -t́ej t́eŕt́ mother and daughter pe ĺ side, half ćora man, boy peš t́e nut ćora-loma ń male person pi ńe dog či day, sun pi źol rowan ej ice pursoz piglet eŕamo life ŕive ź fox eŕams to live san vein -gak /-kak /-jak too, also sazor sister jarmak money se ń blue jur root śeje ĺ hedgehog kavkso eight śeĺge saliva, spit ke ĺ language, tongue śeĺve d́ teardrop keme ń ten śiśem seven ke ńeŕe elbow śulmo knot kenže (finger)nail śuro horn kev stone šumbra či health koda how tarvaz sickle kolmo three tonavtoms to teach kolmo ńgeme ń thirty t́et́at-ćorat father and son koto six t́eči today kov moon, month t́ej-tov here and there ĺeĺat-sazort brother and sister t́eĺe winter ĺepe alder t́eš t́e star lovnoms to read ukštor maple makso liver uro squirrel me d́ honey uroz orphan me źe what val(ks) word (dictionary) mo ĺems to go ve night nal arrow ve d́ water ńi woman, wife ve d́ gev mill ńiĺe four ve ŕ blood olgo straw ve t́e five

18 Unit 1 Va śeńć e pe ĺks

GRAMMAR

Nouns and Adjectives

Nouns and adjectives may end in either a vowel or a consonant, e.g.: kudo ‘house, home’, kal ‘fish’; ašo ‘white’, se ń ‘blue’, mazij ‘beautiful’. Adjectives may be formed from nouns, by adding a derivational suffix (e.g. -j, -v): pitń́ ej ‘expensive’ (pit ́ń e ‘price’), salov ‘salty’ (< sal ‘salt’). Nouns can be formed by adding suffixes to adjectives and verb forms, e.g. mazijka (< mazij ‘beautiful’) ‘decoration, picture’, paro či (< paro ‘good’) ‘goodness’, šumbra či (< šumbra ‘healthy’) ‘health’, lovnomape ĺ (< lovnoma ‘reading’) ‘something to read’.

The Plural Marker

The plural is marked by the suffix -t/-t́. The variant -t appears after back vowels and non-palatalized consonants, e.g.: kudot ‘houses, homes’, ašot ‘white (pl.)’; -t́ appears after palatalized consonants and front vowels, as well as the consonants j and m: ve ĺet ́ ‘villages, vi ŕt ́ ‘forests, śeĺmt ́ (> śeĺt́) ‘eyes, se ńt́ ‘blue (pl.)’, ke ĺmt ́ (> ke ĺt́) ‘cold (pl.)’. Stem-final vowels (in some words also consonants) may be subject to elision before the plural ending. The vowels o and e are lost when following a consonant cluster ending in t, d, k, or g (sometimes also p, b, m, ž, and č): pando – pandt ‘mountains’, śeĺme – śeĺmt ́ (> śeĺt́) ‘eyes’, ke ĺme – ke ĺmt ́ (> ke ĺt́) ‘cold (pl.)’. The plural marker -t/-t́ appears in both elements of pair words such as tet́ at-avat́ ‘mother and father, parents, mothers and fathers’, tet́ at-́ ćorat ‘father and son together’, Ma ŕat-Miko ĺt ́ ‘Ma ŕa and Miko ĺ’. Attributive adjectives do not agree with their head word:

ašo ki ĺej ‘white birch’ – ašo ki ĺejt ́ ‘white birches’. od loma ń ‘young person’ – od loma ńt́ ‘young people’, mazij ava ‘beautiful woman’ – mazij avat ‘beautiful women’.

Verbs: the ms - Infinitive and Present Tense Conjugation

The base form of Erzya verbs is a stem ending in the vowel a, o or e; infinitive and personal endings are added to this stem. Below, examples of the ms- infinitive are given (the mo-/me - infinitive will be introduced in Unit 5).

The ms - infinitive form: kortams ‘to speak, talk’ ( kortams er źań, angla ń ke ĺse ‘to speak Erzya, English’; also: kortams er źaks, anglaks ); lovoms ‘to count, calculate’ ( lovoms jarmak ‘to count money’); lovnoms ‘to read’ ( lovnoms angla ń, ruzo ń ke ĺse ‘to read English, Russian’); ńejems ‘to see’ ( ńejems malasto ‘to see nearby’); tonavtńems ‘to study, learn’ ( tonavt ńems parosto ‘to study well’).

The Erzya present tense corresponds to both the English simple present (‘I go’) and present continuous (‘I am going’). In Erzya, future time is also expressed through the use of present tense forms.

Present/future tense forms together with corresponding personal pronouns ( mon I, ton you (sg.), son he /she, mi ń we, ti ń you (pl.), si ń they):

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a) kortams, lovoms, ńejems :

mon kort-a-n lov-a-n ńej-a-n ton kort -a-t lov -a-t ńej -a-t son kort-i lov-i ńej-i mi ń kort-a-tano lov-tano ńe(j)-t́ano ti ń kort -a-tado lov -tado ńe(j) -t́ado si ń kort-i-t́ lov-i-t́ ńe(j)-i-t́

b) lovnoms, tonavt ńems :

mon lovn-a-n tonavt ń-a-n ton lovn-a-t tonavt ń-a-t son lovn-i tonavt ń-i mi ń lovn -o-tan o tonavt ń-e-t́ano ti ń lovn-o-tado tonavt ń-e-t́ado si ń lovn-i-t́ tonavt ń-i-t́

Vowel elision is widespread in Erzya verb conjugation. The stem vowels -o and -e are typically lost in the first and second person plural ( lov-tano , lov-tado ; ńej-t́ano , ńej-t́ado , but: korta-tano , korta-tado ), although they remain in verbs containing a derivational suffix, e.g. -n/-ń (lovno-tano , tonavt ńe-t́ano ). In the first and second person singular, the personal endings (-n, -t) are preceded by the vowel a in all the three types of verbs. In the third person singular and plural, the stem vowel is always replaced by i. Negative forms are built by combining the negative particle a with the affirmative verb form, conjugated for person and number, e.g.: mon a kortan ‘I don’t speak’ (also in the ms -infinitive form: a kortams ‘not to speak, talk’).

Present / future tense: negative verb forms

mon a kortan I don’t speak ton a kortat you (sing). don’t speak son a korti er źaks he/she doesn’t speak Erzya mi ń a kortatano we don’t speak ti ń a kortatado you (pl.) don’t speak si ń a korti t́ they don’t speak

Forms and Use of the Verb uĺems ‘to be’

The present tense forms of the verb uĺems ‘to be’ ( uĺan, uĺat, uĺi, u ĺtano,́ uĺtado,́ uĺit)́ are not used in the meaning of ‘I am’, ‘you are’, ‘he is’, etc. Rather, they are used to talk about the future: uĺan toso kotosto ‘I’ll be there at six’. These forms are negated with the particle a: a uĺan , a uĺat , a u ĺi, a u ĺt́ano, a uĺt́ado, a uĺit́, e.g.: Mi ń a u ĺt́ano śe škasto kudoso. ‘We won’t be home then’. The third person singular and plural forms uĺi and uĺit ́ are, however, used in existential sentences (equivalent to English ‘there is’, ‘there are’). Nouns in existential sentences may appear in the indefinite, definite, or possessive declension (see units 2, 4, 6): e.g: uĺi ška /ška ś /škam (ška ‘time’: indefinite, definite, possessive declension) ‘there is time’, uĺi škam ‘I have time’; uĺit́ jalgat /jalgat ́ńe /jalgan (jalga ‘friend’: indefinite, definite, possessive declension, plural; uĺit́ jalgan ‘I have friends’). Negative existential sentences are formed with the word ara ś (plural ara śt́) ‘there isn’t /aren’t, don’t /doesn’t have’, e.g.: ška araś ‘there isn’t time’, ška ś araś ‘there’s no time’, škam araś ‘I don’t have time’. The meanings ‘I am’, ‘you are’, ‘he is’, and so on are expressed in Erzya by adding the appropriate personal ending to the predicate noun or adjective (also some other word classes).

20 Noun stem + uĺems personal ending (using the noun loma ń ‘person’)

loma ńan < loma ń + (u ĺ-)-an I am a person loma ńat < loma ń + (u ĺ-)-at you are a person loma ń < loma ń + ( -Ø-) he/she is a person loma ńt́ano < loma ńt́ + (u ĺ-)-t́ano We are people loma ńt́ado < loma ńt́ + (u ĺ-)-t́ado you are people loma ńt́ < loma ńt́ + ( -Ø-) they are people

Adjective stem + uĺems personal ending (using the adjective od ‘young’)

odan < od + (u ĺ-)-an I am young odat < od + (u ĺ-)-at you (sg.) are young od < od + (-Ø-) he/she is young odtano < odt + (u ĺ-)-t́ano we are young odtado < odt + (u ĺ-)- t́ado you (pl.) are young odt < odt + (-Ø-) they are young

In predicative expressions consisting of both an adjective and a noun, only the noun takes the personal ending, e.g. od loma ńan ‘I am a young person’, od loma ńt́ano ‘we are young persons’ (but: si ń odt ‘they are young’). The above forms are negated by adding the particle a: Mon a odan. Mi ń a odtano. In addition to the particle a, there is also the negative word avo ĺ, a compound formed from the particle a and the verb uĺems : (a + uĺ-). In some dialects, avo ĺ may be pronounced as awo ĺ or awu ĺ.

Use of the negation words a, avo ĺ, ara ś:

1. Mon a estonan, mon er źan. I’m not Estonian, I am Erzya. 2. Mon avo ĺ estonan, mon er źan. I’m not Estonian, but rather Erzya. 3. Ton stud́ entat? – Avo ĺ. Are you a student? – No. 4. Uĺi škat? – Ara ś. Do you have time? – No.

In general, the difference between the three negation words can be summed up as follows:

– The particle a is used to negate a verb form. – Avo ĺ is used for contrastive negation (‘not X, but Y’). – Ara ś is used for existential negation, denying the presence or existence of something.

Exercise 1 . Listen and repeat (audio: DS0169-08, 09, 10 )

• kortams er źań ke ĺse , kortams er źaks kortams estono ń ke ĺse , kortams estonoks lovoms jarmak lovnoms angla ń, ruzo ń ke ĺse ńejems malasto tonavt ńems parosto (Audio: www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4730)

• Mon kortan finneks. Son korti vengraks. Ton kortat estonoks? Ti ń a kortatado er źaks? (Audio: www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4731)

21 • Son a eston, son finn. Mon avo ĺ estonan, mon finnan. Mon loma ńan. Mon od loma ńan. Ti ń odtado. Ti ń od loma ńt́ado. Mon a odan. Mon avo ĺ od loma ńan. (Audio: www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4732)

Exercise 2. Add the appropriate plural suffix (-t/-t́) to the color words ašo ‘white’, raužo ‘black’, jakst ́eŕe ‘red’, t́uža ‘brown’, ožo ‘yellow’, se ń ‘blue’, piže ‘green’, as in the collocation Si ń ašot /… etc. ‘They are white /black /red /brown / yellow / blue /green’.

Exercise 3. Form collocations by combining the adjectives in the left-hand column with suitable nouns from the box, e.g. paro loma ń.

paro alaša pak śa ke d́ t́ t́ej t́eŕ ĺembe ava pa ća kudo ve ĺe ašo ćora pize loma ń śeĺmt́ se ń čokš ńe śed ́ ej kal mastor raužo t́ešt ́e kši moda kš ńi

Exercise 4. Conjugate the verbs eŕams ‘to live’, ašt ́ems ‘to be located, stay’, and ńejems ‘to see’ in the present tense (both affirmative and negative).

Exercise 5. Use the forms of the verb uĺems with the words eston , finn , ńeme ć, vengra , ruz. Example: Mon estonan, avo ĺ vengran .

Exercise 6. Fill in the blanks: – Kij…t? – Stud́ enta… . – To… er źat? – Avo ĺ, m…n estonan. Ton er źat? – Avo ĺ, mon finn…n. – Ki…e t ́e? – V…ngra. – S…n stud́ ent? – Stud́ ent .

Exercise 7. Join the forms on the right with the corresponding subject pronoun on the left:

mi ń stu d́ entan mon stu d́ entt ton stud́ enttado si ń stud́ enttano son stud́ ent ti ń stud́ entat

22 CONVERSATION AND READING Kortamo – lovnoma

Šumbrat! Hello!

šumbrat ! Hello! (to one person) šumbratado ! Hello! (to more than one person) koda e ŕat ? How are you (sg.)? koda e ŕatado ? How are you (pl.)? parosto well sasti ńeste so-so (lit. slowly) śuk -pŕa thank you mo ń ĺemem O ŕa My name is Oŕa koda ĺemet ?́ What is your name ? ńejemazonok ! See you later! paro či! Have a nice day! šumbra či! Take care (lit. health )! er śik! er śid́ e! Live well!

Exercise 8. Listen and repeat. Audio: DS0169-11 (www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4732)

Exercise 9. Use the following expressions to introduce yourself and get to know your classmates: Šumbrat! Mo ń ĺemem … . Mon er źan. Ton stud́ entat? Ńejemazonok! Koda e ŕat? Mongak . Kijat ton? Stud́ entan . Šumbra či! Sasti ńeste .

TEXT 1

T́ e – aud́ ito ŕija. Ńet ńe – stud́ entt: kolmo t ́ejt ́eŕt́, kolmo ćorat. Merja finn, Pekkajak finn. Aniko vengra. T́ e – Va śa, son ruz. Toomas eston. Anujak eston.

– T́ e kije? – Professor Tamm. – Professor Tamm eston? – Eston. – Anikojak eston? – Avo ĺ. Son vengra. – Va śa ruz? – Ruz. – Merjat-Pekkat finnt? – Finnt. – Anujak finn? – Avo ĺ. Son eston. – Si ń stud́ entt? – Stud́ entt. – Tongak stud́ entat? – Mongak stud́ entan. – Koda ĺemet ́? – Ki ŕo. – Mo ń ĺemem Toomas. – Ton er źat? – Avo ĺ. Mon estonan. – Koso Anu? – Son ara ś. – Kosot Śomat-Miko ĺt́? – Si ńgak ara śt́.

Exercise 10. Listen and repeat. Audio: DS0169-12 (www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4734)

TEXT 2

Professor Tamm korti estonoks, ruzoks, er źaks, finneks, vengraks. Son korti angla ń ke ĺsejak. Aniko korti vengraks, lovni estono ń, ruzo ń ke ĺse, tonavt ńi er źań ke ĺ. Merjat-Pekkat kortit ́ finneks, ruzoks,

23 lovnit ́ vengra ń ke ĺse. Si ńgak tonavt ńit ́ er źań ke ĺ. Va śa korti ruzoks, estonoks, lovni vengra ń ke ĺse, tonavt ńi angla ń ke ĺ. Evat-Toomast estont. Si ń kortit ́ parosto angla ń, ruzo ń ke ĺse, tonavt ńit ́ er źań ke ĺ. Er źań ke ĺse si ń a kortit ́.

Exercise 11. Listen and repeat. Audio: DS0169-13 (www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4735)

Exercise 12 . Answer the questions:

Kije korti estonoks /ruzoks /finneks /vengraks? Kije korti angla ń /vengra ń ke ĺse? Kije a korti er źaks? Ton kortat er źaks? Kije tonavt ńi er źań ke ĺ? Tongak tonavt ńat er źań ke ĺ? Ton lovnat er źań ke ĺse?

Exercise 13 . Write the caption for a group photo, using the text below as a model.

T́ e Merja. Son finn. T́ e Paavo. Paavojak finn. Kije t ́e? T́ e mon. Mon er źan. T́ e eston, Indrek. T́ e Ilona. Son avo ĺ eston, son vengra. T́ ejak vengra, Edit. Kije śe? – Oĺona. Son ruz? – Avo ĺ, ka ŕel. Kijet ́ado ti ń? – Mon er źan, son ńeme ć.

Exercise 14. Translate into Erzya:

This is a university. They are students: two , one Hungarian, one Russian, three Estonians. This is professor Kask, he is also Estonian. Ilona isn’t Estonian, she’s Hungarian. Imre is Hungarian, too. Ann is a good student. She speaks English, Russian, and Finnish well, and is studying Hungarian. We are studying Erzya. They speak Erzya.

– Hello! Are you students? – No. – Hello! Are you (pl). Hungarian? – No, we are not Hungarian. We are German. – How are you (lit. how are you living )? – Well. – How are you (sg.)? – So-so. – Have a nice day! – See you later.

Exercise 15. Visit the following link: listen to how the reporters in the video clip introduce an event in an Erzya village.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXQRSdlfhMA&feature=related

Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXQRSdlfhMA&feature=related

24

VOCABULARY Valks avo ĺ no, not ńejemazonok goodbye angla ń ke ĺ English (language) ńeme ć German ara/ ś, -śt́ is, are absent od new, young ašo white pa ća towel au d́ ito ŕija auditorium pak śa field avo ĺ not parosto well čokš ńe evening piže green eŕa/t, -tado you live (sg./pl.) pokš big eston Estonian raužo black estono ń ke ĺ Estonian (language) ruz Russian finn Finnish ruzo ń ke ĺ Russian (language) finne ń ke ĺ Finnish (language ) sal, -ov salt, -y francuz French sasti ńeste ok jaks t́eŕe red se ń blue jarmak money si ń they kaŕel Karelian si ŕe old ke ĺme cold son he/she kije who stu d́ ent student ki ĺej birch śe it, that koda how śet́ńe those kortams to speak śorma letter koso where śormav mottled, patterned latiž Latvian śuk-pŕa thank you ĺem name ška time ĺembe warm šumbra healthy ĺitov Lithuanian ti ń you ( pl .) lovnoms to read ton you ( sg .) malaso nearby tonavtńems to learn mastor land, country toso there mazij beautiful t́e this mazijka decoration, picture t́ese here meze what t́uža brown mi ń our uĺems to be moda land, earth vengra Hungarian mon I vengra ń ke ĺ Hungarian (language) ńe, -t́ńe these vi ŕ forest ńejems to see

25

Unit 2 Ombo će pe ĺks

GRAMMAR

Introduction to the Erzya Case System

A wide variety of spatial, temporal and abstract relationships in Erzya are expressed through the system. Case endings contribute meanings which in English are generally conveyed by the prepositions of, about, from, by, to, in, on, without, along, etc. Erzya nouns, pronouns, adjectives and numerals are declined in three different paradigms: the indefinite, definite, and possessive declensions. The basic meanings of each declension are illustrated below:

indefinite (singular, plural): kudo, kudot ‘a house, houses’; definite (singular, plural): kudo ś, kudot́ńe ‘the house, the houses’; possessive (1st–3d person, singular /plural;): kudom/-n; -t/-t́; -zo/-nzo; -nok/-nok; -nk/-nk; -st/-st ‘(my, your (sg.), his /her /its, our, your (pl.), their) house, houses’.

The indefinite declension has 12 cases in the singular, but only one in the plural – the nominative, with the plural marker -t/-t́. In the definite declension (see Unit 4), words appear in 10 cases in both singular and plural. In the possessive declension (see Unit 6), the number of cases is limited. Firstly, the distinction between singular and plural is largely lost in the forms. Secondly, the number of cases depends greatly on the semantics of the particular word being declined.

The Indefinite Declension

The Erzya case system, in the indefinite declension, is presented below:

Case and ending Meaning Example Nominative (no ending in kudo ‘house’, jalga ‘friend’, ĺej ‘river’, vi ŕ (basic dictionary form) singular, -t/-t́ in plural) ‘forest’, t́ev ‘task, deed’, pe ĺ ‘half, side’ Genitive , relatedness kudo ń ‘house’s’, jalga ń kudo ‘a friend’s -ń (of, possessive ’s) house), kudo ń t ́ev t́ ‘housework’ Dative loma ńń eń ‘to a person’, jalgane ń ‘to a to (indirect object) -ne ń/-ńeń friend’, azorne ń ‘to a proprietor’ Ablative kudodo ‘about a house’, jalga ń pe ĺd́ e from (place, source), about -to/-t́e/ -/-do/-d́ e/- ‘from a friend’ Inessive in, at kudoso ‘at home’, vi ŕse ‘in a forest’ -so/-se Elative from (source, place, time), kudosto ‘from home’, kotosto ‘at six -sto/-ste at (time) o’clock, from six up to (seven)’ Illative kudodo kudos ‘from house to house’, vi ŕs into, until (time), up to -s ‘into a forest’, vejkses ‘until nine o’clock’ Lative to, toward, in the direction vi ŕev ‘to the forest’, kudov ‘home’ -v of Prolative along, about (area of ĺejga ‘along a river’, kudova ‘around -va/-ga/-ka movement) /about the house’ Comparative approximately (quantity, śadoška ‘about a hundred’ -ška size) Abessive kudovtomo ‘homeless’, jalgavtomo without -vtomo/-vt ́eme/ -tomo/-t́eme ‘friendless’, t́ev t́eme ‘idle, without work’ Translative as, into (describes a state of jalgaks ‘as a friend’, kudoks ‘as a home’ -ks being or a change thereof)

26 The use of case forms with different nominals is governed by the meaning of each nominal. Cases such as the inessive, elative, illative, lative, and prolative are used primarily with words denoting spatial relationships. The dative is used primarily with nouns denoting living beings. The is formed from words that denote an amount, size, or quantity. Erzya cases have a range of uses in addition to their basic spatial meanings. For example, the inessive case ( -so/-se ) is used to communicate instrumentality or manner, e.g. salmuksso ‘with a needle’, ve čkemaso ‘with love’. The elative ( -sto/-ste ) and illative ( -s) are used in time expressions, e.g. kavtosto kotos ’from 2:00 to 6:00’; the elative is also used to show that something happens “in” or “at” a certain time, e.g. vastovtano kavksosto ‘we’ll meet at 8:00’.

Examples (kudo ‘house, home’, loma ń ‘person’, śed́ ej ‘heart’):

Nom. kudo loma ń śed́ ej Gen. kudo-ń loma ń-e-ń śed́ ej-e-ń Dat. – loma ń-ńeń (śed́ ej-ńeń) Abl. kudo-do loma ń-d́ e śed́ ej-d́ e Iness. kudo-so (loma ń-se) śed́ ej-se Elat. kudo-sto (loma ń-ste) śed́ ej-ste Illat. kudo-s (loma ń-s) śed́ ej-s Lat. kudo-v – – Prol. kudo-va (loma ń-ga) śed́ ej-ga Comp. (kudo-ška) (loma ń-ška) (śed́ ej-ška) Abess. kudo-vtomo loma ń-t́eme śed́ ej-t́eme Transl. kudo-ks loma ń-e-ks śed́ ej-e-ks

As seen from the table given above, an epenthetic vowel ( o or e, in accordance with the rules of vowel harmony) appears between the stem that ends in a consonant and some of the case endings, e.g.. loma ń-e-ń. Stem-final o and e are dropped before the local case endings ( -s, -so/-se, -sto/-ste ) when they are preceded by a consonant cluster ending in d, k or g (in some words also p, b, m, ž, č), e.g. śeĺme ‘eye’: śeĺm-s, śeĺm-se, śeĺm-ste . The three variations of the prolative ending (-ga/-ka/-va ) are used as follows: -ga follows a voiced consonant ( vi ŕ-ga ) -ka follows a voiceless consonant ( kijaks-ka ) -va follows a vowel ( kudo-va ).

Examples:

paro kudo ‘a good house’ sovams kudos ‘to enter a house’ kudo ń t́ev ‘housework’ mo ĺems kudov ‘to go home, to a house’ kortams kudodo ‘to speak about a house’ jakams kudova ‘to walk about/through a house’ eŕams kudoso ‘to live in a house’ kudovtomo loma ń ‘homeless person’ ĺiśems kudosto ‘to go out of a house’ lovoms kudoks ‘to consider/count as a house’

In addition to the 12 primary cases listed above, there are arguably two other cases in Erzya, the accusative and the comitative. The accusative , which functions as direct object, lacks a case ending of its own in the indefinite declension; its form is identical to that of the nominative, e.g.:

Ava jaki vi ŕga . A woman is walking in a forest. Mon ńejan ava . I see a woman.

27 The comitative is used in the meaning of ‘together with’, e.g. stud́ entnek , jalga ńek ‘together with a student /students, together with a friend /friends’. The more general meaning of ‘with’ is expressed by the postposition marto , e.g. jalga marto ‘with a friend’, lovso marto kši ‘bread with milk’ ( kši ‘bread’, lovso ‘milk’). There is a range of postpositions in Erzya, which display case forms analogous to nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and adverbs. Postpositions serve as additional means for the expression of the relations between agents or objects.

Examples: pe ĺe ‘on /to the side’: či pe ĺe ‘in the sun’, či pe ĺd́ e ‘from the (side of the) sun, from the South’, či pe ĺev ‘in the direction of the sun, to the South’, či pe ĺga ‘along the sunny /Southern side’.

Nominalized adjectives (i.e. adjectives that stand alone as nouns, with no head noun following them): ašo ‘white’, -do , -so , -sto , -s, -va , -ks , -vtomo ; piže ‘green’, -d́ e, -se , -ste , -s, -va , -ks , -vt́eme.

Pronouns

The most common pronouns in Erzya are represented by both simple stems and lexicalized combinations of a stem with a case ending:

Personal pronouns: mon ‘I’, ton ‘you (sg.)’, son ‘he/she/it’, mi ń ‘we’, ti ń ‘you (pl.)’, si ń ‘they’. Demonstrative pronouns: té ‘this’, śe ‘that’, ńe(-tń́ e) ‘these’, śe(-tń́ e) ‘those’ . Interrogative pronouns: kije ‘who’, me źe ‘what’, koda ‘how’, also: kona ‘which’, kodamo (< ko -) ‘what kind’, ki ń (< kije +-ń) ‘whose’, me źeks (< me źe + -ks ) ‘what for’, meks (< me źe + -ks ) ‘why’, koso (< ko- + -so ) ‘where’, kosto (< ko- + -sto ) ‘from where’, kov (< ko- + -v) ‘to where’, kuva (< ku- + -va ) ‘where, along/through what/where’, sńaro, s ńardo, s ńars ‘how much/many, when, for how long’.

The emphatic particle -gak/-jak/-kak affixed to personal and demonstrative pronouns conveys the meanings of ‘too, also’: mongak ‘I too’, tongak ‘you (sg.) too’, songak ‘he/she too’, mi ńgak ‘we too’, ti ńgak ‘you (pl.) too’ , si ńgak ‘they too’, tejaḱ ‘this too’, śejak ‘that too’, ńe(-tń́ e-)jak ‘these too’. Interrogative pronouns with the emphatic particle affixed to them function as both indefinite and negative pronouns: kijak ‘someone /anyone /no-one’, me źejak ‘something /anything /nothing’, kodajak ‘somehow /anyhow /in no way’, kodamojak ‘some kind of /any kind of /no kind of’, kosojak ‘somewhere /anywhere /nowhere’, sńardojak ‘sometime /any time /never’:

– Kijak korti er źaks? Does anyone (here) speak Erzya? Kijak a korti. No one speaks (it). – Ton me źejak ńejat? Do you see anything? Me źejak a ńejan. I don’t see anything. /I see nothing.

Adverbs

Adverbs are formed primarily through the use of compounding and derivational suffixes, e.g. t́eči ‘today’ ( t́e ‘this’ + či ‘day’), parosto ‘well’ ( paro ‘good’ +-sto ), be ŕańste ‘badly’ ( be ŕań ‘bad’ + -ste ). As can be seen from the previous examples, the suffix -sto/-ste is used to form adverbs from adjectives, similar to the English -ly . Adverbs may also be derived by adding case endings to adjectives or pronouns, as shown below:

-so /-se toso there t́ese here malaso near -sto /-ste tosto from there t́este from here malasto from near

28 -v / -j tov (t o) there t́ej (to) here malav (to) near -va /-ja tuva along there t́ija along here malava along near

As these examples illustrate, adverbs formed with the help of derivational suffixes are structurally quite transparent. Adverbs such as pek ‘very’ ja ńej ‘now’ may be considered basic forms, consisting of only a stem. Some adverb forms have preserved older case endings: va śń a ‘in the beginning, at first’, mej ĺe ‘after’, valske ‘tomorrow, morning’, čokš ńe ‘evening, in the evening’, kuvat ́ ‘for a long time’, t́eĺń a ‘in winter’. Pronouns and adverbs are declined like other nominals.

Examples me źeń, t ́eń, ki ń (kije- + -ń); t́ese ń, kosto ń, ńeje ń: genitive -ń ‘of’; me źed́ e, kodamodo : ablative -d́ e /-do ‘of, about’; kodamovtomo, me źevt ́eme : abessive -vtomo/-vt́eme ‘without’ .

Exercise 1 . Decline the following words: ava, loma ń, pak śa, pando, od ; t́ejt́eŕ, śeĺme, śed ́ ej, ĺej, vi ŕ, pi ŕe.

Exercise 2. Put the following word forms into the appropriate column below, and add your own examples:

Tartuv, Ta ĺĺ innste, Estonijava, Udmurt ́ijaso, Moskovsto, Ame ŕikav, Rigava, Oslosto, Vengrijava, Saranso, Germanijav, Rakverev, Pärnusto, Helsinkiste .

Where From where To where Through where Saranso

Exercise 3. Conjugate the verbs in the phrases jakams vi ŕga, kortams er źań ke ĺse, and mo ĺems kals for different subjects, e.g.:

Si ń a mo ĺit ́ t́eči kals. Ton kortat er źań ke ĺse.

Exercise 4. Combine appropriate nouns from columns a-e with the verbs eŕams, mo ĺems, ńejems, jakams, and kortams , and give the English equivalent of each word pair.

a b c d e ĺej kudov ve ĺese alamo pak śava kalt vi ŕev loma ńeks parodo ejga t́ej t́eŕ ke d́ s kudoso sasti ńeste ve ĺev loma ńt́ pak śav ve d́ se parosto ve d́ s mastort ve d́ s loma ńga er źaks pi ŕeva

Exercise 5. Listen and repeat. Audio: DS0169-14 (www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4736)

Exercise 6. Visit the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWupcV8IGWg&feature=endscreen

Pay attention to the phrases used in the video clip and number them in the order they appear in the video clip:

29

a Jalgat, veise! Friends, together! 1 b Me źe i śt́amo? What is this? ? c Mi ń mo ĺt́ano, mi ń mo ĺt́ano… We’re going, we’re going ? d Jalgat, purnado vejs! Friends, gather together! ? e Jalgat, mo ĺt́ano kerš jonov! Friends, let’s go to the left! ? f Vejke, kavto, kolmo, ńiĺe… One, two, three, four… ?

Compound Forms: Declinable Word + uĺems- Personal Ending

As it has been said above, predicative sentences in Erzya are formed by affixing the personal endings of the verb uĺems to nominals. The personal endings may be added to the words both in their basic forms and in case forms. In the examples below, the personal endings of uĺems are added to the forms veĺe-se ‘in a village’, kije ‘who’, kosto-ń ‘where from (by birth/origin)’, and vasol-do ‘from afar’.

mon ve ĺesan kijan kosto ńan vasoldan ton ve ĺesat kijat kosto ńat vasoldat son ve ĺese kije kosto ń vasoldo mi ń ve ĺese t́ano ki(je) t́ano kosto ńt́ano vasoldotano ti ń ve ĺese t́ado ki(je) t́ado kosto ńt́ado vasoldotado si ń ve ĺese t́ ki(je) t́ kosto ńt́ vasoldot

This compound structure allows entire English predicative sentences to be expressed in Erzya with a single word, e.g.:

Veĺesan. = I’m in a village. Kijat? = who are you? Kosto ńt́ado? Where are you (plural) from? Vasoldot. They are from afar.

Exercise 7. Read the following dialogues; replace the singular pronouns mon , ton , and son with the corresponding plural forms ( mi ń, ti ń, si ń) and make any other necessary changes in the text:

– Kijat ton? – Kije son? – Er źan. – Er źa. – Koso e ŕat? – Koso e ŕi? – Tartuso . – Ta ĺĺ innse . – Kov mo ĺat? – Kov mo ĺi? – Ta ĺĺ innev. – Tartuv .

Exercise 8. Match the questions with the answers:

– Kosat? – Stud́ ent. – Kov mo ĺat? – T́ esan. – Kijat? – Pek paro. – Koso e ŕat? – Ve ĺese. – Kodamo son? – Kinov. – Kije son? – Naimanstan. – Kosto ńat? – Stud́ entan.

30 CONVERSATION AND READING Kortamo – lovnoma

Kijat, kostońat? Who are you and where are you from?

kosto ńat? (kosto-ń-at ) Where are you from? ińe /pokš: big ińeved́ sea pokš kudo big house

šumbra loma ń healthy person stud́ ente ń kudo dormitory inže ń kudo guest house, hostel

TEXTS

1. Miko ĺ er źań ćora. Ma ŕa er źań t ́ejt ́eŕ. Ma ŕat-Miko ĺt́ od loma ńt́. Si ń ńej Esto ńijasot. T́ ese eŕit ́ estont, ruzt, latižt, ĺija ra śke ń loma ńt́kak. Ma ŕat-Miko ĺt́ alamodo kortit ́ estono ń ke ĺse.

2. Jaant-Toomast estono ń ćorat. Si ń Ta ĺĺ innstet ́. Ńej si ń Tartusot. Si ńgak odt. Paro, mazij loma ńt́. Si ń tonavt ńit ́ u ńiver śit ́etse. E ŕit ́ stud́ ente ń kudoso.

3. Istvánt-Ferenct vengrat. Si ń t ́et ́at-ćorat. István šumbra si ŕe loma ń. Ferenc mazij od ćora. Si ń ńej Ta ĺĺ innset ́. Si ń tu ŕistt. E ŕit ́ ote ĺse (inže ń kudoso). Si ń jakit ́ Ta ĺĺ innga jalgo, ńejit ́ mazij tarkat.

4. Ilse Elza marto latižt Rigasto, si ń avat- t́ejt ́eŕt́. Rigaso si ń e ŕit ́ pokš kudoso. Ilse a si ŕe, son mazij paro ava. Elzajak mazij. Si ń ńej Pärnu ń sanato ŕijasot. Pärnu i ńeved́ malaso. E ŕit ́ t ́ese kolmoška čit ́.

5. Henry angla ń ćora, Ma ŕu er źań t ́ejt ́eŕ. Si ń tonavt ńit ́ Tartu ń u ńiver śit ́etse. Ńej si ń er źań ke ĺeń śeminarsot. Henry parosto korti er źaks. Son tonavt ńi finne ń-ugra ń ke ĺt́. Ma ŕu Sarano ń malasto. Songak tonavt ńi finne ń-ugra ń ke ĺt́. Si ń e ŕit ́ stud́ ente ń kudoso.

Exercise 9. Listen and repeat. A udio: DS0169-15 (www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4737)

Exercise 10 . Answer the questions:

Kit ́ Ma ŕat-Miko ĺt́? Kosot si ń? Kodamo ke ĺse si ń kortit ́ Esto ńijaso? Jaant-Toomast od loma ńt́? Kodamot si ń? Koso si ń e ŕit ́? Kosot ńej si ń? Koso tonavt ńit ́ Jaant-Toomast? Kit ́ Istvánt-Ferenct? Meks si ń Ta ĺĺ innset ́? Ilset ́-Elzat jalgat? Kosot si ń? Koso tonavt ńit ́ Henry Ma ŕuń marto? Me źe tonavt ńi Henry? Kosto ń Ma ŕu? Meks son ńej Tartuso? Kijat ton? Kosto ńat? Koso e ŕat? Me źe tonavt ńat?

Exercise 11 . Fill the blanks with words from the list below, then make a similar text on your own.

Word list: mo ĺan, kosto ńat, kortat, parosto, koso, ton, me źe, tonavt ńan, alamodo, e ŕat, tonavt ńat .

31 Śoma Ton … ? Finnat? Aniko Avo ĺ, vengran. Śoma … e ŕat? Budapeštse? Aniko Moskovso. Śoma … t ́ejat? Aniko … u ńiver śit ́etse. … e ŕat Mordovijaso? Śoma Mordovijaso. Aniko … Tartu ń u ńiver śit ́etse? Śoma Avo ĺ, Mordovija ń U ńiver śit ́etse. Ńej Tartusan. Aniko Ton vengraks …? Śoma … kortan. Mon kortan er źaks, ruzoks, finneks, estonoks. Aniko Mon kortan vengraks, finneks, alamodo er źaks, ruzokskak. Śoma Ton pek … kortat er źaks. Aniko Ńej mon … finne ń ke ĺeń ĺek ćijav. Tongak mo ĺat? Śoma Ara ś, mon mo ĺan avo ĺ ĺek ćijav, śeminarov.

Exercise 12. Replace the English words in parentheses with Erzya words.

Excerpts from phone conversations: – T́ e (who) ? Ton, Joga? – Mon. – Ton (where are you) ?Kudosat? – (No) . – Ve ĺesat? – (No). Finne ń mastorsan. – Fin ĺand́ ijasat? (What) toso t ́ejat? – (I’m studying) finne ń ke ĺ.

– Šumbrat, Petra! – Šumbrat, Olda! Kosto (are you speaking) ? – (From home). Ton me źe t ́ejat? – (I’m reading). – Ška (there is no) kortams? – (There is).

Exercise 13. Translate into Erzya: a). I’m going home. Today I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to the cinema. Do you go to the cinema? He lives in the country (in a village). Where are you from? They study at university. Where do you study? We know a lot of songs. Do you know a song? I’m writing a letter. What are you writing? This is a beautiful place. What country do you live in? You speak many languages. Does anyone speak Erzya? I don’t see anything. What do you see? They are Erzyans. Who are you? We are well (we are living well). How are you? b). Veiko is Finnish. He is studying Estonian at the University of Tartu. Veiko is a good boy, he studies well. Veiko speaks Estonian. He visits Hungary, where he speaks Hungarian. Now Veiko is also learning Erzya. He reads in Erzya. An Erzya girl, Nata ĺ, studies at the University of Tartu. She studies English. Nata ĺ is from an Erzya village. She is a pretty girl. Nata ĺ and Veiko speak Estonian and English. Now Veiko also speaks a little Erzya. I am Russian. I am from Moscow. I study Estonian and Finnish at the University of Tartu.

Exercise 14. Visit the following link: listen to how a young teacher of Erzya in a primary school introduces himself. www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=-vPm9Vk_siA&feature=endscreen

32 VOCABULARY Valks alamo a small amount, few meks why alamodo a little (bit) mekskak because of ińeve d́ sea me źejak something, anything, nothing jalga friend me źeks what for jalgo by foot me źekskak for something, anything, nothing kijak someone /anyone /no-one moro song kijaks floor ńej now ki ĺej birch ote ĺ, inže ń kudo hotel, guesthouse ki ń whose pando mountain, hill kodajak somehow/anyhow/in no way pek very kodamo what kind pokš big kona which ra śke people kosojak somewhere/anywhere/nowhere salmuks needle kostojak from somehere/anywhere/nowhere sal, -ov salt, -y kosto ń from where si ŕe old kov to where sńardo when kuva where, along /through what /where sńardo -sńardo sometimes kuvajak somewhere, anywhere, nowhere sńaro (źaro ) how much kuva t́, -s for a long time sńars (for ) how long /far lamo many, much, a lot śet́ńe those ĺek ćija lecture sodams to know ĺej river sovams to enter ĺija other śormadoms to write ĺiśems to exit šabra neighbour lovnomape ĺ something to read tarka place lovso milk t́ej to here, hither mala/so, -sto close/near, from close/near toso there malav (to) close/near tov to there, thither malava by (along) close/near tuva through there marto with valske (marto) morning, in the morning mastor land va śń a in the beginning mej ĺe after vasolo far

Source: www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=-vPm9Vk_siA&feature=endscreen

33 Unit 3 Kolmo će pe ĺks

GRAMMAR

Numerals

Basic forms of numerals:

1 vejke 6 koto 2 kavto 7 śiśem 3 kolmo 8 kavkso 4 ńiĺe 9 vejkse 5 ve t́e 10 keme ń

0 no ĺ 100 śado 1000 t́ože ń

Numerals formed by compounding: a) keme ń +(vejke…vejkse) + (-je /-vo /-ge) (-je after a front vowel, -vo after a back vowel, -ge after a sonorant):

11 kevejkeje 12 kemkavtovo > kemgavtovo 13 kemkolmovo > kemgolmovo 14 kem ńiĺeje 15 keve t́eje 16 kemkotovo > kemgotovo 17 kem śiśemge > kem źiśemge 18 kemkavksovo > kemgavksovo 19 kevejkseje b) kom ś + (vejke…vejkse) + (-je /-vo /-ge) (-je after a front vowel, -vo after a back vowel, -ge after a sonorant)

20 kom ś 21 kom śvejkeje 22 kom śkavtovo 23 kom śkolmovo 24 kom śń iĺeje 25 kom śve t́eje 26 kom śkotovo 27 kom śś iśemge 28 kom śkavksovo 29 kom śvejkseje c) (kolmo…vejkse) + -ń + keme ń + (vejke…vejkse )

30 kolmo ń + keme ń > kol(m)o ńgeme ń 31 kolmo ńkeme ń vejke > kol(m)o ńgeme ń (vejke) 40 ńiĺeń + keme ń > ńiĺeńgeme ń 50 ve t́eń + keme ń > ve d́ geme ń 60 koto ń + keme ń > kodgeme ń 70 śiśeme ń + keme ń > śiźgeme ń 80 kavkso ń + keme ń > kavkso ńgeme ń 90 vejkse ń + keme ń > vejkse ńgeme ń

34 d) śado + (vejke … keme ń); śado + a) /b) /c)

100 śado 101 śado vejke 111 śado kevejkeje 133 śado kolmo ńgeme ń kolmo e) (kavto…vejkse) + śadt (plural) + ( vejke … keme ń); … śadt + a) /b) /c)

200 kavto śadt (> śatt) 567 ve t́e śadt kodgeme ń śiśem f) t́ože ń + (vejke…vejkse ); t́ože ń + a) /b) /c) /d) /e)

1000 t́ože ń (tiš ča) 1933 t́ože ń vejkse śadt kolmo ńgeme ń kolmo g) (vejke…vejkse) + t́ože ń(t ́) + a) /b) /c) /d) /e)

10 000 keme ń t́ože ńt́ (> t́ože t́t́) 1 000 000 mi ĺĺ ion

Declension of Numerals

Both simple and compound numerals are declined. Numerals ending in a consonant receive a linking vowel before the case endings, as follows:

Nom. śiśem kavkso kom ś Gen. śiśem-e-ń kavkso-ń kom ś-e-ń Dat. śiśem-e-ńeń kavkso-ńeń kom ś-e-ńeń Abl. śiśem-e-d́ e kavkso-do kom ś-e-d́ e Iness. śiśem-e-se kavkso-so kom ś-e-se Elat. śiśem-e-ste kavkso-sto kom ś-e-ste Ill. śiśem-e-s kavkso-s kom ś-e-s Lat. śiśem -e-v kavkso -v kom ś-e-v Prolat. śiśem-ga kavkso-va kom ś-e-va Comp. śiśem-ška kavkso-ška kom ś-e-ška Abess. śiśem-e-vt́eme kavkso-vtomo kom ś-e-vt́eme śiśem-t́eme Transl. śiśem-e-ks kavkso-ks kom ś-e-ks

With the numerals 2–10, nouns appear in the plural e.g. vete čit́. However, with numbers greater than 10, nouns may appear in either the singular or the plural: kom ś či, -t́. Approximate quantities are expressed by the comparative case form of numerals: kolmoška , śadoška ‘about three, about a hundred’ .

Exercise 1 . Listen and repeat (audio: DS0169-16, 17)

(Audio: www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4738) • vejke, kavto, kolmo, ńiĺe, vet́e, koto, śiśem, kavkso, vejkse, keme ń, kom ś, kom śvejkeje, kom śvet́eje, kom śś iśemge, kom śvejkseje.

(Audio: www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4739) • śado, śado vejke, śado kolmo ńgeme ń kolmo, kavto śadt, vet́e śadt kodgeme ń śiśem, t́ože ń, t́ože ń vejkse śadt kolmo ńgeme ń kolmo, keme ń t́ože ńt́.

35 Exercise 2. Listen to the song at the following link: pay attention to the numerals used. www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-ZIRZDDXFQ&feature=related

Exercise 3. Study how the principle of vowel harmony is reflected in numerals:

a. (front vowel words ): vejke, ńiĺe, vet ́e, vejkse, keme ń, kevejkeje, kem ńiĺeje, keveteje, kem źiśemge, kevejkseje, ńiĺeńgeme ń, ved́ geme ń, śiźgeme ń, vejkse ńgeme ń;

b. (back vowel words ): kavto, kolmo, koto, kavkso, kom ś, kom śkavtovo, kom śkolmovo, kom śkotovo, kom śkavksovo, śado ;

c. (compound words with back vowels followed by front vowels ): kom śvejkeje, kom śń iĺeje, kom śvet ́eje, kom śś iśemge, kom śvejkseje, kolmo ńgeme ń, kavkso ńgeme ń;

d. (compound words with front vowels followed by back vowels) : kemgavtovo, kemgolmovo, kemgotovo, kemgavksovo.

Exercise 4. Write the following numbers in Erzya: your year of birth, street address, apartment and telephone number. Then read the numbers to your classmates.

Exercise 5. Say how old your family members are.

Examples: avam 50 ijese My mother is 50 years old (in her 50s); t́et ́am (my father) …; sazorom (my younger sister) …; pat ́am (my older sister) …; jalaksom (my younger brother) …; ĺeĺam (my older brother) … .

Exercise 6. Read the following SMSs:

• 4:00 – 6:00 śeminarsan, u ĺan kudoso 7:00. • Mo ĺan u ńiver śit́etev, toso uĺan 3-ška časst. • Ńejemazonok t ́eatraso, 6-sto.

CONVERSATION AND READING Kortamo – lovnoma

Me źe t ́eči t ejat?́ What are you doing today?

ara ś ška(-m) (I) don’t have time a u ĺi ška(-m) (I) won’t have time (-m = possessive case, see unit 6) kuva tś mo ĺat ? Are you going for long? kodamo škasto ? At what time? vanta ... Look (listen...) sodat me źe ... You know what? a sodan (also: azdan ) I don’t know eŕ, eno ... So, ... paro ki! Have a good trip! pŕevejka wiseacre (but in a playful way, not pejorative as in English) śuk-pŕa Thank you!

36 Exercise 7. Listen and repeat. Audio: DS0169-18 (www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4740)

TEXT 1

Ma ŕat-Miko ĺt́ jarsit ́ t ́eči avoĺ kafete ŕijaso. Čit ́ toso pek lamo loma ńt́. Si ń mo ĺit ́ Ma ŕańeń. Ma ŕa t́eji kalo ń jam. Maŕat-Miko ĺt́ jarsit ́-t́ejit ́, mo ĺit ́ ĺek ćijav, čokš ńe mo ĺit ́ kafete ŕijav, mej ĺe t ́eatrav.

Ma ŕa Miko ĺ, koso jarsat t ́eči? Miko ĺ A sodan. Kudoso jarsams a u ĺi ška – eŕan vasolo, kafete ŕijaso pek lamo loma ńt́. Ma ŕa Sodat me źe…. Mon e ŕan malaso, jarsatano t ́eči mo ń kudoso. Mon t ́ejan kalo ń jam . Miko ĺ Kalo ń jam? Paro, pek paro! Ma ŕa Kodamo škasto jarsatano? Miko ĺ Vejkeste . Ton paro loma ńat, Ma ŕuša. Śuk-pŕa! Ma ŕa Eŕ, ńejemazonok . Miko ĺ Ńejemazonok.

TEXT 2

T́ eči Ma ŕań keme ńste ńiĺes śeminart-ĺek ćijat. Mej ĺe son mo ĺi bib ĺiot ́ekav. Miko ĺ mo ĺi čit ́ t ́eatra ń kassav, rami bi ĺett. Čokš ńe Ma ŕat-Miko ĺt́ mo ĺit ́ t ́eatrav, toso t ́eči od opera, Ĺitova.

Miko ĺ Ton mo ĺat u ńiver śit́etev? Ma ŕa Mo ĺan. Miko ĺ Kuvat ́s? Ma ŕa Keme ńste kotos. Miko ĺ Me źe t ́ejat? Ma ŕa Uĺan ĺek ćijaso, śeminarso. Miko ĺ Vanta, čokš ńe t ́eatraso od opera, Ĺitova. Mo ĺt́ano t ́eatrav? Ma ŕa Meks a mo ĺems… Mo ĺt́ano, pek paro! Bi ĺett u ĺit ́? Miko ĺ A sodan. Čit ́ mo ĺan kassav, kevkst ́an. Pa ŕak u ĺit ́. Ma ŕa Śeste t ́ejt ́ano i śt́a. Mon mo ĺan univer śit ́etev, ton mo ĺat kassav, ramat bi ĺett. Miko ĺ Eŕ, eno, čokš ńes, p ŕevejka!

TEXT 3

Ma ŕat-Miko ĺt́ autobuso ń kassasot . Miko ĺ mo ĺi ve ĺev. Toso lamo vi ŕeń-pak śań t ́evt ́. Rami buso ń bi ĺet. Ve ĺev son mo ĺi kavtoška čis. E ś mašinaso Miko ĺ ve ĺev a jaki. Ma ŕa mo ĺi ekskur śijav. T́ eči uĺi buso ń ekskur śija Sura-ĺeje ń pe ĺga.

Ma ŕa Kov mo ĺat, Miko ĺ? Miko ĺ Ve ĺev. Ma ŕa Kuvat ́s? Miko ĺ A kuvat ́s. Kavtoška čis. Ĺezdan kudoso. Ve ĺese ńej lamo vi ŕeń-pak śań t ́evt ́. Ma ŕa Ist ́a. Mo ĺat busso, avo ĺ mašinaso? Miko ĺ Busso. E ś mašinaso a jakan ve ĺev. Be ŕań kiva mašina a ćid́ ardi. Kov ton mo ĺat? Ma ŕa Ekskur śijav. T́ eči u ĺi buso ń ekskur śija keme ńste ńiĺes Sura-ĺeje ń pe ĺga. Miko ĺ Paro ki, Ma ŕa! Ma ŕa Šumbrasto!

Exercise 8. Answer the questions:

Me źe t ́eji Ma ŕa u ńiver śit ́etse t ́eči? Kije rami bilett t ́eatra ń kassasto ? Meks Miko ĺ a jarsi čit ́ kafete ŕijaso ? Koso jarsit ́ t ́eči Ma ŕat-Miko ĺt́?

37 Meks mo ĺi Miko ĺ ve ĺev ? Sńaroška či u ĺi Miko ĺ ve ĺese ? Jaki Miko ĺ ve ĺev e ś mašinaso ? Kov mo ĺi Ma ŕa? Kuvat ́s? Ton jakat t ́eatrav, ekskur śijav?

Exercise 9. Fill the blanks with personal endings and case suffixes:

a) Mon ńej (‘now’) a e ŕa… ve ĺese. Tonavt ńan u ńiversit ́et…, Tartu… . Ve ĺe… jakan čurosto (‘rarely’). b) Čit ́ jarsa… stud́ ent… kafeterijaso. Čokš ńe jarsan kudo… . T́ ejan paro kal… jam. Mej ĺe t́ejan kudo… t ́evt ́. Jakan teatra … . c) Te či a mo ĺan ĺek ćija…, mo ĺan ve ĺev. Keme ń… u ĺi bus, mo ĺan bus… . Rama… bi ĺet. T́ ejan kudo… t ́evt ́. d) Ton mo ĺa… t ́eči ekskur śija…? – A mo ĺa…. e) Si ń korti… er źaks? – A korti… . f) Sńaro či… mo ĺat ekskur śija…? – Vejke či… . g) Sńaro… loma ńt́ mo ĺit ́ ve ĺev? – Alamo, kavto-kolmo.

Exercise 10 . Form questions that correspond to the answers given, e.g.:

Question: – Kuvat ́ u ĺat bib ĺiot ́ekaso? Answer: – T́ eči u ĺan bib ĺiot ́ekaso a kuvat ́.

Question Answer –? Mej ĺe jarsan-t́ejan, mo ĺan kudov. –? Čokš ńe vanan t ́eĺevizorsto ba ĺet. –? Jakan t ́eatravgak. –? Avo ĺ, ekskur śijav. –? Mo ĺan ve ĺev kavtoška čis.

Exercise 11 . Talk with your classmates about your daily routine, using the following model:

Me źe t ́ejat t ́eči kavtosto ńiĺes? Kodamo škasto ... ( uĺat, mo ĺat, jarsat )?

8-10 uĺems kudoso … 10-12 uĺems seminarso, mo ĺems seminarov ... 12-14 mo ĺems ĺek ćijav ... 14-15 jarsams(-t́ejems) ... (kudoso, kafete ŕijaso) 15-18 mo ĺems bib ĺio t́ekav, lovnoms bib ĺio t́ekaso čokš ńe jarsams jalga ń kudoso, kortams, vanoms TV

Exercise 12. Fill the blanks in the riddles (missing words: vanit ́, maksan, t ́eĺeńek, korti, jakst ́eŕe).

Sodamojovkst Vejke …, kavto …, kavto kunsolit ́. (= Kurgo, śeĺmt ́, pi ĺet ́). Mo ĺan – mo ĺi, lotkan – lotki, jarsams ... – a jarsi. (= Su ĺej). Kize ńek – … od ćora. (= Pi če). Kudodo kudos … at ́akš jaki. (= Tol).

Exercise 13. Translate into Erzya:

Kadri and Mikk are students. They’re not going to the university cafeteria today, there are a lot of people there. They're eating at Kadri’s house. Kadri is making fish soup. There’s a new opera at the theater this evening. Mikk will go during the day to the ticket office and buy tickets.

38 Mikk is going to the country today. He’s going by bus. Mikk won’t be in the country for long – a couple days. He’ll do housework. Kadri is going on a field trip by car. Today there’s a field trip to Tallinn, by bus.

Will you be in the library for long today? Where do you eat during the day/in the evening? Do you have a lot of housework? Do you go to the theater? Are you going on a field trip today? Are you going to the country?

Exercise 14. Write about yourself and your everyday life in Erzya (~100 words).

VOCABULARY Valks

at́akš cockerel maksoms to give avam my mother mej ĺe later azdan, a sodan I don't know mi ĺĺ ion million be ŕań bad ńiĺe four ćid́ ardoms to bear, withstand pa t́am my older sister čas hour pa ŕak hopefully, maybe čit́ in the daytime pe ĺe side, on the side čuro, -sto rare, -ly pi če pine eś own pi ĺe ear -gak/-kak/-jak too, also pŕevej wise iśt́a so, thus ramams to buy ije, -se year, years old sazorom my (younger) sister jalaksom my brother śeste then jam soup śado hundred kevks t́ems to ask sodams to know ki path, road sodamojovks riddle kize summer su ĺej shadow kunsoloms to listen ška time kurgo mouth t́eĺe winter kuva t́(s) for a long time t́et́am my father ĺej river t́ev work ĺeĺam my older brother t́ože ń thousand ĺezdams to help vanoms to look, watch lotkams to stop, finish, cease vanta look!

Source: http://uralistica.com/photo/erzjanj-norovzhorchketj?context=user

39 Unit 4 Ńiĺeće pe ĺks

GRAMMAR

Definite Declension

The definite declension is used with referents that are specific and (usually) already known to the listener, similar to the use of the article the in English. Nominals in the definite declension have 10 cases, compared to 12 in the indefinite declension. For singular nominals, there are two ways of forming the definite declension.

1. Nominative, genitive and dative forms:

stem + definite declension marker + case ending

Nominative -ś kudo ś, ve ĺeś Genitive -ńt́ kudo ńt́, ve ĺeńt́ Dative (= illative) -ńt́ + -eń (< -ńeń) kudo ńt́eń, ve ĺeńt́eń

2. Ablative, inessive, elative, prolative, comparative and abessive forms:

stem + case ending + definite declension marker -ńt́

Ablative -do /-d́ e /-de /-to /-t́e /-te + -ńt́ kudodo ńt́, ve ĺed́ eńt́ Illative (dative used instead) Inessive -so /-se + -ńt́ kudoso ńt́, ve ĺese ńt́ Elative -sto /-ste + -ńt́ kudosto ńt́, ve ĺeste ńt́ Prolative -va /-ga /-ka + -ńt́ kudova ńt́, ve ĺeva ńt́ Comparative -ška + -ńt́ kudoška ńt́, ve ĺeška ńt́ Abessive -vtomo /-tomo /-vt́eme /-t́eme / kudovtomo ńt́, ve ĺevt́eme ńt́ -teme + -ńt́

The plural forms all have the same structure:

stem + definite declension marker -t́ń e + case ending

Nom. -t́ńe kudo t́ńe, ve ĺet́ńe Gen. -t́ńe-ń kudo t́ńeń, ve ĺeńt́eń Dat. -t́ńe-ńeń kudo t́ńeńeń, ve ĺet́ńeńeń Abl. -t́ńe-d́ e kudo t́ńed́ e, ve ĺet́ńed́ e Illat. -t́ńe-s kudo t́ńes, ve ĺet́ńes Iness. -t́ńe-se kudo t́ńese, ve ĺet́ńese Elat. -t́ńe-ste kudo t́ńeste, ve ĺet́ńeste Prolat. -t́ńe-va kudo t́ńeva, ve ĺet́ńeva Comp. -t́ńe-ška kudo t́ńeška, ve ĺet́ńeška Abess. -t́ńe-vt́eme kudo t́ńev t́eme, ve ĺet́ńev t́eme

In words ending in -do/-to/-de/-te/ -go/-ko/-ge/-ke/-be/-pe/-že/-če/-mo/-me , vowel elision takes place in the inessive and elative, singular and plural, in both the indefinite and definite declension: śeĺme – śeĺm(e)s, śeĺm(e)ste, śeĺm(e)t ́ń este. In other cases (nominative, genitive, dative, ablative etc.) the vowel is preserved; in one-syllable words, a linking vowel is inserted before the definite declension marker, e.g. kal-o-ś, ĺej-e-ś. After the consonants g, k, d, and t, the definite plural marker is -tne rather

40 than -t́ń e, e.g. odtne, stud́ enttne . Some examples of definite declension forms of adjectives, pronouns, and numerals are presented below. Some words may not have comparative or other case forms.

Definite declension forms of the words od, me źe, vejke, kolmo :

odo ś me źeś vejke ś kolmo t́ńe odo ńt́ me źeńt́ vejke ńt́ kolmo t́ńeń odo ńt́eń me źeńt́eń vejke ńt́eń kolmo t́ńeńeń odto ńt́ me źed́ eńt́ vejke d́ eńt́ kolmo t́ńed́ e odso ńt́ me źes eńt́ vejkese ńt́ kolmo t́ńese odsto ńt́ me źeste ńt́ vejkeste ńt́ kolmo t́ńeste odga ńt́ me źeva ńt́ vejkeva ńt́ kolmo t́ńeva – me źeška ńt́ vejkeška ńt́ – odtomo ńt́ me źev t́eme ńt́ vejkev t́eme ńt́ kolmo t́ńev t́eme

Exercise 1 . Give the definite declension forms (singular and plural) of the words ĺej, pando, and kize .

Exercise 2. Join the numerals 1, 3, 10, and 12 with the noun kov in the indefinite and definite declensions: vejke kov /kovo ś, keme ń kovt /kovtne.

Exercise 3. Give the definite declension forms corresponding to the indefinite expressions below:

a) Indefinite singular – definite singular: mazij t ́ejt ́eŕ ‘pretty girl’ – mazij t ́ejt ́eŕeś ‘the pretty girls’

pokš ve ĺe – t́eatra ń bi ĺet – ta ńt́ej uma ŕ – od mašina – eś ra śke ń muzika – śok śeń ška –

b) Indefinite singular – definite plural: kudo ś ve ĺese ‘the house is in the village’ – kudot ́ń e ve ĺeset ́ ‘the houses are in the village’

t́ej t́eŕeś pi ŕese – ćora ś mašinaso – loma ńeś pak śaso – ĺek ćija ś uńiver śit́etse – ava ś kudoso – stu d́ ente ś kafete ŕijaso –

Comparative Forms of Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs do not change form to convey the comparative or superlative degree. Comparative expressions are formed by combining a) the ablative form of the noun, adjective, or pronoun serving as the basis for comparison with b) the basic form of the adjective or adverb, e.g.:

loma ńd́ e prevej(-ste) smarter than a person, parodo paro(-sto) better than good, t́eńd́ e mazij(-ste) more beautiful than this, śed ́ e od(-sto) younger (than that).

The emphatic particle -jak /-gak /-kak may be added to the ablative form of the nominal serving as the basis for comparison: loma ńd́ ejak prevej(-ste) even smarter than a person parodojak paro(-sto) even better than good t́eńd́ ejak mazij(-ste) even more beautiful than this śed ́ ejak od(-sto) even younger than that.

41 When there is no specific item serving as the basis for comparison, the comparative degree is formed by the word śed ́ e (the ablative form of the pronoun śe), which precedes the adjective or adverb: śed ́ e vasolo(-sto) ‘further’, śed ́ e paro(-sto) ‘better’. Comparisons can also be made using the adjective ko ńd́ amo ‘like, similar’, which follows a noun in the genitive:

uma ŕeń ko ńd́ amo (mazij , ta ńt́ej ) ‘like an apple (beautiful, tasty)’, pando ń ko ńd́ amo (se ŕej ) ‘like a mountain (high)’.

The superlative degree is expressed by the pronoun ve śe ‘all’ in the , followed by the adjective or adverb in the nominative:

ve śemed́ e paro(-sto) ‘the best, (in the best way)’.

Exercise 4. Use the words below to make comparative expressions, e.g.:

śok śeś t́eĺed ́ e ĺembe morams śed ́ e mazijste

Word list:

t́eĺe, śok ś, kize, tundo, ije – jakšamo, ĺembe, kuvaka, nu ŕki ńe, mazij ; morams, jarsams, tonavt ńems, jakams, kortams – ta ńt́ejste, parosto, čurosto, vijevste.

CONVERSATION AND READING Kortamo – lovnoma

Er źat ́ń ed́ e About the Erzyans

koda i śt́a how so eŕavi me ŕems it has to be said tevé ś vana mejse the thing is (that...) tev́ tń́ e ĺijat things are different Rav čiŕese on the bank of the Volga uĺema, -t maybe, presumably (is, are) od škasto nowadays kolmo će pe ĺks one third iśtá ń s ńaro just as much Stopá ńize / Ĺova ńize Stepan’s /Lyova’s wife (< St́opa-, Ĺova- + ńi ‘wife’+ -ze possessive) Dŕiga tá Old D ŕiga /Uncle D ŕiga (< Dŕiga + at́a ‘old man’)

TEXT 1

1. Er źat ́ń eń lamo čid́ est

– Sńaro er źat ́ń ed́ e mastorsont ́? – Śeńd́ e kijak parosto a sodi. – Koda i śt́a? – T́ eve ś vana mejse. Ruzo ń mastorso er źat ́ń eń-mokšot ́ń eń lovit ́ veise mordva ra śke ń ĺemse. Ruzo ń Fed́ era ćijaso, ĺija mastorga er źat ́ń ed́ e-mokšot ́ń ed́ e u ĺemat 900 t ́ože ńeń malava, er źań-mokšo ń mastorsont ́ an śak kolmo śadoška t ́ože ńt́. Moskovso, Moskovo ń pe ŕka ńej e ŕit ́ 50-ška t ́ožent ́ er źat- mokšot. Od škastont ́ lamot tujit ́ Moskovov. Pek lamo er źat-mokšot (100 t ́ože ńd́ e lamo) e ŕit ́ Rav čiŕese. Esto ńijaso vet ́eška śadt er źat-mokšot. Iśt́ań s ńaro u ĺemat Latvijasojak, Litvasojak.

42 – Sńaro er źat-mokšot e ŕit ́ Saranso? – Alamot. An śak kolmo će pe ĺks ve śe e ŕićat ́ń este. – Śeste Sarano ń e ŕićat ́ń e śed́ e lamo kortit ́ ruzo ń ke ĺse? – Iśt́a. Sarano ń er źat ́ń e-mokšot ́ń e kortit ́ e ś ke ĺse an śak kudoso. Ve ĺese t ́evt ́ń e ĺijat. Toso ejkakštnejak kortit ́ e ś ke ĺse, u ĺit ́ er źań-mokšo ń školatkak. – Ruzo ń školat ́ń ese er źań-mokšo ń ke ĺt́ń eń a tonavt ńit ́? – Od škasto ńt́ kuva-kuva karma śt́ tonavt ńeme. E ŕavi me ŕems, odtne ńej karma śt́ moramo e ś morot er źań-mokšo ń ke ĺse. Si ń śormadit ́ valt e ś muzika ń ko ŕas. – Kodamot t ́evt ́ń e u ńiver śit ́etse? – Uńiver śit ́etse er źań, mokšo ń ke ĺt́ń eń tonavt ńit ́ filologija ń faku ĺt́etse, koso u ĺit ́ e ś ke ĺeń professort. Uĺi e ś ke ĺeń-ku ĺtura ń inst ́itutkak, ĺiśit ́ pub ĺika ćijat ke ĺt́ń ed́ e, isto ŕijado, fo ĺkĺordo.

Exercise 5 . Listen and repeat. Audio: DS0169-19 (www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4741)

Exercise 6. Read in Erzya the numbers showing the size of ethnic groups living in the Republic of Mordovia (data from the year 2010; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordovia#Ethnic_groups).

Ra śket ́ń e Lamo čiśt (t ́ože ńse) % procentse er źat, mokšot 333 112 40 ruzt 443 737 53 tatart 43 392 5 ukrai ńect 4 801 0.5 (pe ĺ) ĺijat ́ń e 11 361 1.5 (vejke pe ĺ marto)

Exercise 7. Ask questions concerning the population of your country. (Interrogative pronouns to be used in the questions: sńaro, koso, meks, kije / kit ́, kodamo, kona, kuva, me źeks. )

TEXT 2

Ve ĺese. Šabra ń avat ́ń e pi ŕeset. Si ń kortit. Miko ĺ juti kivant.

St ́opa ńize T́ e ćora-loma ńeś kije? Ĺova ńize Užo, t ́e D ŕiga ń Miko ĺ. St ́opa ńize Ka ńa son? Ĺova ńize Son. Vanta, kodamo mazij ćora ś. St ́opa ńize Mazij. P ŕevejgak, tonavt ńi u ńiver śit ́etse. Ĺova ńize Ma ŕajak Saranso? St ́opa ńize Saranso. Tonavt ńi er źań ke ĺ. Ĺova ńize Tonavt ńi er źań ke ĺ? Vaj! Ka ńa er źań ke ĺent ́ tonavt ńit ́ u ńiver śit ́etse? St ́opańize Ke ĺa, tonavt ńit ́. Ĺova ńize Eŕ, t ́e paro, pek paro. Odtne ńej Saranso er źaks a kortit ́. St ́opa ńize Iśt́a. Er źań morotkak a morit ́. Ĺova ńize T́ eĺevizorstojak er źań ke ĺ ma ŕatano pek alamo. St ́opa ńize Ton lovnat er źań ga źett? Ĺova ńize A lovnan. Si ń stakat lovnoms.

Exercise 8. Categorize statements in the text as referring to positive ( paro ) or negative ( a paro ) ideas:

Paro A paro Miko ĺ ćora ś p ŕevej. … … … … …

43 Exercise 9. Fill in the blanks:

Miko ĺ kudoso T́ et ́at-ćorat … (are speaking) . Dŕigat ́a Ja, t ́e ton, Miko ĺ? Miko ĺ (It's me) . Dŕigat ́a Bussto valgat? Miko ĺ Bussto. Dŕigat ́a Paro. To ń mašina ś … (new), ve ĺeń kit ́ń e be ŕańt́. Miko ĺ Mašinaso ńt́ … (I go) stad́ ionov , ... (sometimes) uńiver śit ́etev. Dŕigat ́a (How) t́evt ́ń e mo ĺit ́? Miko ĺ (So-so) . Ti ń koda? Dŕigat ́a (We too) iśt́a. Tonavt ńat parosto? Miko ĺ Parosto. T́ et ́aj, me źe … (are we doing) t́eći? Dŕigat ́a T́ evt ́ń e lamot. Va śń a jarsatano. T́ eči mo ĺt́ano … (to the forest). … (In the evening) uĺi ba ńa, śimt ́ano pu ŕed́ e. Valske uĺit ́ t ́evt ́ … (in the field). Miko ĺ Pu ŕeś anok? Koso? T́ et ́aj, koso ke čeś?

Exercise 10 . Visit the following links: listen to the reporter’s talks with the local people (children) and the guests who came to participate in an event in the village Kivat ́. www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0PIrm6s_RI&feature=relmfu www.youtube.com/watch?v=exS6yseEeSw&feature=relmfu

Exercise 11. Learn the names of the months and of some holidays:

jakšamkov (< jakšamo) January davolkov (< davol) February ej źurkov (< ej śuro) March čadikov (< čadoms) April panžikov (< panžoms) May aš t́emkov (< aš t́ems) June me d́ kov (< me d́ ) July uma ŕkov (< uma ŕ) August taštamkov (< taštams) September ožokov (< ožo) October su ńd́ eŕkov (< su ńd́ eŕks) November acamkov (< acams) December

Roštova ‘Christmas’: Paro Roštova! ‘A merry (good) Christmas!’ Od Ije ‘New Year’: Paro Od Ije! ‘A happy (good) New Year!’ Ine či ‘Easter’: Paro Ine či ‘A good Easter!’

Exercise 12. Answer the questions:

Sńaro ijet ́ pingese ńt́? Sńaro kovt ijese ńt́? Sńaro čit ́ ijese ńt́ /kovso ńt́? Konat tundo ń /kize ń / śok śeń / t ́eĺeń kovtne? Kona kovtnese 30/31 či? Sńaro čit ́ t ́e ije ń davolkovso ńt́?

44 Exercise 13. Translate into Erzya:

It’s summer, July. I’m going to Saaremaa, I’ll be there for about ten days. This is the most beautiful place in Estonia. I’ll stay at a friend’s house there. We’ll do garden and field work, in the evenings we’ll be with other young people. We’ll listen to and sing Saaremaa songs. Elderly people sing very well. The people of Saaremaa speak their own dialect ( kortavks ).

Exercise 14. Write about your summer plans (50 words).

VOCABULARY Valks anok ready lamo či multitude an śak only ĺembe warm acams to cover, spread mala/so, -v, -va near, to near, by/along near ar śems to think ma ŕams to hear aš t́ems to stay in place, be muzika music at́a old man ńe, ńet́ńe these be ŕań bad nu ŕk/a, -ińe short bus bus panžoms to open čadoms to boil over, flow pinge lifetime, century čiŕe, -se bank/edge, on the bank pu ŕe kvass, mead čopoda dark pŕevej wise čuro, -sto rare, -ly ra śke people davol storm śeh( -t́e) the most ej źuro icicle śeje d́ e dense eŕavi is necessary (must) śeje d́ ste often eś own se ŕej tall eŕića inhabitant staka hard, difficult ga źet magazine su ńd́ eŕks dusk ije year šabra neighbour iśak yesterday ta ńt́ej tasty jarmak money tarka place jakšamo cold, frost taštams to store jutams to pass by tund o spring ka ńa (oh) really tujems to leave karmams to begin uĺema(-t) maybe, presumably kortavks dialect užo wait! ke če ladle, dipper vaj oh ke ĺa supposedly, they say val word ki path, road valgoms to land, come down kize summer ve śe all ko ńd́ amo like, similar ve śemeze everything/-one together kuvaka long veise together kuva-kuva in some places vijev, -ste strong, -ly

45 Unit 5 Ve t́eće pe ĺks

GRAMMAR

Infinitives

In addition to the -ms infinitive (the dictionary form of verbs), Erzya verbs also have a -mo /-me infinitive. The choice of which infinitive to use depends on the syntactic role of the infinitive expression as well as the semantic properties of the phrase it modifies. (Those learners familiar with will note that the Erzya -ms and -mo/-me infinitives correspond fairly well to the -da and -ma infinitives in Estonian, or to the first infinitive and third infinitive in Finnish).

soda -ms, -mo ‘to know’; stuvto -ms, -mo ‘to forget’; me ŕe-ms, -me ‘to say’.

The table below provides examples of words which are typically used in conjunction with the -ms infinitive (1) as well as words typically used together with the -mo/-me infinitive (2).

1. eŕavi ‘is necessary, must’, sati ‘is enough’, a. me ŕems ‘to say’, sodams ‘to know’, udoms ‘to me źe ‘what’, kov ‘where (to)’, ška ‘time’, staka sleep’, jarsams ‘to eat’, stuvtoms ‘to forget’, ‘difficult’, uĺi me źe ‘there is something’, ara ś t́ejems ‘to do, make’, śormadoms ‘to write’ me źe ‘there is nothing’ 2. karmams /purnams ‘to begin (doing b. moramo ‘to sing’, t́ejeme ‘to do, make’, something)’, anokstams ‘to prepare’, mo ĺems ‘to lovnomo ‘to read’, sodamo ‘to know’, go’, sams ‘to come’, maštoms ‘to know how to’, śormadomo ‘to write’, jarsamo ‘to eat’, kortamo tonadom s ‘to get used to’ ‘to speak’, kunsolomo ‘to listen’, tonavt ńeme ‘to study, learn’

To generalize, the -mo/-me infinitive is mainly used when the infinitive phrase modifies a verb denoting an activity ( karmams, anokstams, mo ĺems etc.), while the -ms infinitive is used together with state verbs ( eŕavi, sati ) as well as in predicative expressions.

Exercise 1 . Make collocations from the words in the table above, e.g.: 1a: eŕavi me ŕems ‘it must be said’; 2b: karmams moramo ‘to start singing’.

Exercise 2 . Write the -mo/-me infinitive forms of the following words, paying attention to vowel harmony, e.g. mo ĺems, mo ĺeme . Then form collocations with them, e.g.: eŕavi mo ĺems, karman mo ĺeme :

ardoms, ardo-… ojm śems, ojm śe-... kiš t́ems, kiš t́e-... panžoms, panžo -… kodams, koda-... śormadoms, śormado-… kunsoloms, kunsolo-… stuvtoms, stuvto-… maštoms, mašto-… tujems, tuje-… morams, mora-... valgoms, valgo-… ńejems, neje-... ve čkems, ve čke-…

Exercise 3. Translate the following verbal nouns (which all end in -ma or -mo ), e.g.: ardoma riding, a ride; kortamo speaking, speech. Then write the -ms and -mo /-me infinitive forms of the corresponding verbs, e.g.: ojm śema – ojm śems, ojm śeme. ojm śema, panžoma, moramo, kišt́ema, ve čkema, tujema, vikš ńema, śormadoma, kunsoloma, śiźema, sodamo.

46 Verb conjugation: present and past simple (preterite)

The stem vowels a, o, and e preceding the -ms infinitive ending are preserved in only a few present and past tense forms. In the present, for all verbs, the stem vowel is replaced by a in the first and second person singular and by i in the third person singular and plural. In the first and second person plural, the stem vowel a is preserved, but o and e are dropped, except in the case of verbs containing a derivational suffix, e.g. lov-n-oms , tonavt-ń-ems (see Unit 4).

Present tense forms:

soda-ms lovno-ms me ŕe-ms tonavtńe-ms -a-n sodan lovnan me ŕan tonavtńan -a-t sodat lovnat me ŕat tonavtńat -i sodi lovni me ŕi tonavt ńi -a/o/e-tano/-t́ano sodatano lovnotano me ŕt́ano tonavtńet́ano -a/o/e-tado/-t́ado sodatado lovnotado me ŕt́ado tonavtńet́ado -i-t́ sodit́ lovnit́ me ŕit́ tonavtńit́

The past simple, which expresses indefinite (finished or unfinished) past activity, is generally marked by the vowel i, followed by the appropriate personal endings (-ń, -t́, -ś, -ńek, -d́ e, -śt́). The vowel i appears in all first- and second-person past tense forms. In the third person, the following rules apply: • The stem vowel a is always preserved. • The stem vowels o and e are preserved in verbs containing a derivational suffix, but are otherwise dropped.

Past simple forms:

soda-ms lovno-ms me ŕe-ms tonavtńe-ms -i-ń sodi ń lovni ń me ŕiń tonavtńiń -i-t́ sodit́ lovnit́ me ŕit́ tonavtńit́ -a/-o/-e-ś soda ś lovno ś me ŕś tonavtńeś -i-ńek sodi ńek lovni ńek me ŕińek tonavtńińek -i-d́ e sodi d́ e lovni d́ e me ŕid́ e tonavtńid́ e -a/-o/-e-śt́ soda śt́ lovno śt́ me ŕś t́ tonavtńeśt́

The past simple forms of the verb uĺems appear only in compound structures, combining with nouns, adjectives, numerals, pronouns and adjectives to form predicative expressions (just as in the present tense):

Nominal + u ĺems personal ending

present stu d́ ent- koso- ve ĺese- mazij- Mon stu d́ entan kosan ve ĺesan mazijan Ton stu d́ entat kosat ve ĺesat mazijat Son stu d́ ent koso ve ĺese mazij Mi ń stu d́ enttano kosotano ve ĺese t́ano mazij t́ano Ti ń stu d́ enttado kosotado ve ĺese t́ado mazij t́ado Si ń stu d́ entt kosot ve ĺese t́ mazij t́

47

past stu d́ ent- koso- ve ĺese- mazij- Mon stu d́ ente ĺiń koso ĺiń ve ĺese ĺiń mazije ĺiń Ton stu d́ ente ĺit́ koso ĺit́ ve ĺese ĺit́ mazije ĺit́ Son stu d́ ente ĺ koso ĺ ve ĺese ĺ mazije ĺ Mi ń stu d́ ente ĺińek koso ĺińek ve ĺese ĺińek mazije ĺińek Ti ń stu d́ ente ĺid́ e koso ĺid́ e ve ĺese ĺid́ e mazije ĺid́ e Si ń stu d́ ente ĺt́ koso ĺt́ ve ĺese ĺt́ mazije ĺt́

The verb uĺems does not have stand-alone past-tense forms as such. Instead, the past simple forms shown below are used: the suffix -ń- in uĺń iń, -t́, -ś, -ńek, -d́ e, -śt́ expresses both continuous and repeated action in the past. These forms are defective in that they lack the infinitive of a frequentative verb. The examples below compare the use of the verb uĺems in two different constructions expressing a state in the past: the forms uĺń iń, -t́, -ś, -ńek, -d́ e, -śt́ serve for verbal predication while the personal endings of uĺems affixed to an adverb appear in nominal predication. Note that the compound forms with uĺems express only continuous past action, not repeated past action.

repeated/continuous continuous Mon uĺń iń toso toso ĺiń Ton uĺń it́ toso toso ĺit́ Son uĺń eś toso toso ĺ Mi ń uĺń ińek toso toso ĺińek Ti ń uĺń id́ e toso toso ĺid́ e Si ń uĺń eśt́ toso toso ĺt́

Exercise 4 . Join the words in the left- and right-hand columns:

1 Toomas a. kudoso ĺit́ 2 Mon b. kudoso ĺiń 3 Toomast-Annat c. kudoso ĺid́ e 4 Mi ń d. kudoso ĺińek 5 Ti ń e. kudoso ĺt́ 6 Ton f. kudoso ĺ

Exercise 5. Discuss what you did yesterday, using the following questions as prompts:

Me źe t ́ejit ́ i śak? Kov jakit ́? Koso jarsit ́? Kodamo škasto (uĺń it ́, jakit ́ /mo ĺit ́, jarsit ́) ... ? Jakit ́ kovgak čokš ńe? Vanit ́ t́eĺevizor? Me źe ńejit ́?

Exercise 6 . Speak about what someone else (a friend, family member, famous person) did yesterday.

10-13 uĺems bib ĺio t́ekaso, seminarso, ... 13-14 jarsams(-t́ejems) ... (kafete ŕijaso), … 14-18 uĺems /mo ĺems /jakams ( ĺek ćija-, ...) 18-19 jarsams kudoso, … čokš ńe vanoms TV, mo ĺems klubov, …

48 Declension of Cardinal and Ordinal Numerals

Ordinal numerals are formed from cardinal numerals by adding the ending -će. The words for ‘first’ and ‘second’, however, are based on other stems: vejke – va śeńć e ‘one – first’ ( va ś-ńa ‘at the beginning’) and kavto – ombo će ‘two – second’ ( ombo ‘other’, ombo mastor ‘foreign country’).

vejke one va ś-e-ń-će first kavto two ombo-će second kolmo three kolmo-će third keme ń four keme ń-će tenth kom ś twenty kom ś-e-će twentieth śado a hundred śado-će hundredth t́ože ń a thousand t́ože ń-će thousandth

Forms of uĺems can be added to numerals as well: va śeńć an /va śeńć eĺiń ‘I am / I was first’. Cardinal and ordinal numerals may appear in both the indefinite and definite declensions:

vejke , -ń, -ńeń, -d́ e, -se, -ste, -ška, -vt ́eme ; vejke ś, -ńt́, -ńt́eń, -d́ eńt́, -se ńt́, -ste ńt́, -ška ńt́, -vt ́eme ńt́; ombo će, -ń, -ńeń, -d́ e, -se, -ste, -ška, -vt ́eme ; ombo ćeś, -ńt́, -ńt́eń, -d́ eńt́, -se ńt́, -ste ńt́, -ška ńt́, -vt ́eme ńt́.

Exercise 7 . Fill in the blanks, using the expressions below:

(ombo će čiste ńt́, ni ĺeće loma ńeś, kolmo će kurso ś, va śeńć e ijeste ńt́, ombo mastorso ). a) … u ĺń eś Kad ŕi. b) … mi ń u ĺń ińek Helsinkise. c) … mon u ĺń iń a kuvat ́. d) … u ĺń eś staka. e) … t ́ese u ĺń eśt́ lamo stud́ entt.

CONVERSATION AND READING Kortamo – lovnoma

In the country and in the city Ve ĺese – ošso

mon me ŕiń I said (also: I assumed) si ijeste (si: sams ‘to come’) next (coming) year ińeči Easter tašto/si ŕe/umoko ń: old: tašto kudo old house si ŕe loma ń old person umoko ń ška old, ancient time mo-/ma- verbal nouns: eŕams: eŕamo living/life učoms: učoma waiting/wait ar śems: ar śema thinking/thought eŕamo /u čoma /ar śema + -ś, -tń́ e = definite declension (e ŕamo /u čoma /ar śema + -m, -t, etc .) = possessive declension

49 TEXT 1

Miko ĺt́-Ĺosat bussot, si ń kortit ́. Miko ĺ školado mej ĺe tu ś tonavt ńeme Saranov. E ŕi toso ombo će ije. Ĺijatkak tu śt́ ve ĺeste ńt́. Ve ĺeś pokšo ĺ, ńej loma ńt́ń e toso alamot.

Miko ĺ Saranov mo ĺat, Ĺosa? Ĺosa Avo ĺ, Tavlav. Mo ĺan ĺeĺańeń. Son e ŕi Tavlaso, t ́ej ś od kudo. Mon me ŕiń, ton Saransat. Miko ĺ Saransan, ńej kolmoška čit ́ u ĺń iń kudoso. Ĺosa Koda tonavt ńema ś mo ĺi? Miko ĺ Parosto. Ton ńejgak ve ĺesat? Ĺosa Ve ĺesan. Si ijeste tujan Moskovov tonavt ńeme. Miko ĺ Od loma ńt́ń e lamot ve ĺesent ́? Ĺosa Alamot. Keme ńška u ĺt́ano – mon, Tat ́u, Mihalo ń Śoma, Ki ŕoń Nasta, kit ́-kit ́ ĺijat. Miko ĺ Me źe jala t ́ejt ́ado? Ĺosa Kizna, śok śń a vi ŕeń-pak śań t ́evt ́ń e lamo ĺt́. T́ eĺń a u ĺń eś ška ojm śems. Ńej si I ńečiś – tundo ń parodojak paro ška ś. Miko ĺ Jakatado klubov? Ĺosa Sńardo-sńardo jakatano. Vantano kino, t ́ejt ́ano koncert. Sit ́ od loma ńt́ ĺija ve ĺet ́ń estejak, kišt ́t́ano-moratano. Ton jakat kovgak Saranso? Miko ĺ Ška ś jakams alamo. Moran stud́ ente ń folkgruppaso, jakan sporto ń zalov, kosto-kosto teatravgak. Ĺosa Eŕamo ś Saranso a be ŕań. Ja, mon ńej t ́ese valgan. Er śik! Miko ĺ Tongak! Šumbrasto!

Exercise 8 . Answer the questions:

Kosto si Miko ĺ? Kov mo ĺi Ĺosa busso ? Sńaro od loma ńt́ e ŕit ́ ve ĺese ńt́? Koda e ŕit ́ od loma ńt́ń e ve ĺese ? Me źe si ń t ́ejit ́ ije ń pe ŕt́? Koso si ń vanit ́ kino ? Koda e ŕi Miko ĺ Saranso? Meks lamo od loma ńt́ tu śt́ ve ĺeste ńt́? Kov tuji Ĺosa si ijeste?

Exercise 9 . Visit the following link: the video clip shows the festival Mastorava (Mother of the Earth) held in the village of Kĺav ĺino . Listen to the Erzya songs in the clip. www.youtube.com/watch?v=U39rC73CNSQ&feature=plcp

TEXT 2

Uńiver śit ́et: umoko ń – ńeje ń ška ń – Koso tonavt ńat? – Tartu ń U ńiver śit ́etse. – Mon sodan, t ́e u ńiverśit ́ete ś umoko ń. – Pek umoko ń, panžo ź 1632-će ijeste. Va śń a u ĺń eś a pokš, 4 faku ĺt́etse. Ńej son jala kasi. Uńiver śit ́etsent ́ 9 faku ĺt́ett, 17 000-d́ e lamo stud́ entt, 1 700 tonavti ćat. Koso ton tonavt ńat? – Mon tonavt ńan Mordovija ń U ńiver śit ́etse. T́ e u ńiver śit ́ete ś od. 1931 ijeste 1957 ijes son u ĺń eś inst ́itut, mej ĺe – uńiver śit ́et. Ńej toso 9 faku ĺt́ett, koso tonavt ńit ́ 20 000-d́ e lamo stud́ entt. T́ esejak 1 700 tonavti ćat.

Exercise 10. Listen and repeat. Audio: DS0169-20 (www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4742)

50 Exercise 11. Fill the table below based on the text above.

Tartu ń U ńiver śit́ete ś Mordovija ń U ńiver śit́ete ś Sńardo panžo ź Sńaro faku ĺt́etse Sńarot stu d́ enttne Sńarot tonavti ćat́ńe

Exercise 12. Answer the questions, then compose a short text (several sentences) about yourself.

Sńardo ša čit ́ ? – (tunda / kizna / śoks ńa / t ́eĺń a). Kodamo ijeste / kovsto / čiste ša čit ́? – (e.g. 16.05.1958: t́ože ń vejkse śadt ved́ geme ń kavkso će ije ń panžikovo ń kemgotovo će čiste ). Sńardo (kodamo ijeste) karmit ́ tonavt ńeme školaso /u ńiver śit ́etse? Kodamo ijeste jakit ́ ombo mastorov? Sńardo sit ́ e ŕamo Tartuv? S ńaro ijet ́ e ŕat Tartuso?

Exercise 13. Translate into Erzya:

I’m living in Tartu the first year. I’m studying at the University of Tartu, where there are about 17000 students. There are students here from , Hungary, Russian, , and Germany. I study Finno-Ugric languages. I go to seminars on Finnish, Hungarian, Erzya and Mari. I listen to lectures. In the evening I rest at home, sometimes I go to the theater, to a cafe or to a discotheque. Yesterday I went to Tallinn with a friend. We were on a field trip. Tallinn is bigger than Tartu. We saw many beautiful places. During the day we ate in a cafe. We went back to Tartu at 7:00 in the evening. We were home at 9:00. We watched TV and talked about what we saw in Tallinn. In the summer we’re going to Finland to learn Finnish.

VOCABULARY Valks

anokstams to prepare pe ŕt́ through ardoms to ride pokš big eŕavi is necessary, must pŕev či wiseness ike ĺe earlier pŕevej wise Ińeči Easter purnams to gather iśak yesterday sams to come ja well; oh satoms to suffice jala still, even śok śń a in autumn ka ńa (oh) really śormadoms to write karmams to begin sńardo when kasoms to grow (v.i.) sńardo-sńardo sometimes ke ĺa supposedly staka, -sto hard, -ly kizna in summer stuvtoms to forget kiš t́ems to dance tarka place klub club t́eĺń a in winter kunsoloms to listen tonadoms to get used/accustomed to ĺeĺa older brother, uncle tujems to leave maksoms to give tunda in spring ma ŕams to hear udoms to sleep maštoms to know, be able to umok, -oń long ago, way back marto with vaj oh me ĺat last year valme ŕevks proverb me ŕems to say valgoms to land, come down ojm śems to rest va śeńć e first ombo mastor foreign country va śń a at first ombo će second ve čkems to love panžo/ms, -ź to open, -ed vikš ńems to crochet, embroider

51 Unit 6 Koto će pe ĺks

GRAMMAR

The Possessive Declension

The possessive declension expresses relationships of belonging. Possessive suffixes added to nominals in Erzya perform the same function as possessive pronouns ( my, your, our , etc.) or the ’s/-s’ ending in English. The definite and indefinite declension nominals are marked for number and receive case endings; nominals in the possessive declension are also marked for the person and number of the possessor. Unlike in the indefinite and definite declensions, where the plural markers are -t/-t́ and -tne /-t́ń e respectively, the possessive declension does not have a separate plural marker; number is expressed through the possessive suffixes themselves. The possessive declension may be used in combination with the possessive pronouns mo ń, to ń, sonze, mi ńek, tink, sinst (the forms of the personal pronouns mon, ton, son, mi ń, ti ń, si ń). For example: mo ń pat ́am ‘my older sister’, sonze ĺeĺazo ‘his older brother’.

Possessive declension markers:

Possessor in the singular, possessed in the singular/plural

One possessed item mo ń my to ń your (sg.) sonze his/her/its -m -t/-t́ -zo/-ze Multiple possessed mo ń my to ń your (sg.) sonze his/her/its items -n/-ń -t/-t́ -nzo/-nze

Possessor in the plural, possessed in the singular/plural

One possessed item minek our tink your (pl.) sinst their -nok/-ńek -nk -st Multiple possessed minek our tink your (pl.) sinst their items -nok/-ńek -nk -st

As can be seen from the tables above, singular and plural possessed items (e.g. my book vs. my books ) are distinguished only for first and third person singular possessors. In some dialects, the distinction is lost for first person singular possessors as well – -m marks both singular and plural possessed items, e.g. sazorom ‘my sister(s)’.

Examples: sur ‘finger’, ked́ ‘händ’, śeĺme ‘eye’ (stems ending in a consonant receive a linking vowel before the possessive endings):

a) my, your (sg.), his /her /its (one possessed item)

-m -t/-t́ -zo/-ze surom surot surozo ked́ ked́ et́ ked́ eze śeĺmem śeĺme t́ śeĺmeze

b) my, your (sg.), his /her /its (multiple possessed items)

-n/-ń (-m) -t/-t́ -nzo/-nze suron (m) surot suronzo ked́ eń (m) ked́ et́ ked́ enze śeĺme ń (m) śeĺme t́ śeĺmenze

52 c) our, your (pl.), their (one or more possessed items)

-nok/ -ńek -nk -st suronok suronk surost ked́ eńek ked́ enk ked́ est śeĺme ńek śeĺmenk śeĺmest

The number of the possessed item(s) can often be determined from context, for example based on whether the verb or negation word appears in the singular or plural ( uĺi, u ĺit́; ara ś, ara śt́).

Example:

a) have / don’t have a friend: b) have / don’t have friends:

Mo ń uĺi /ara ś jalgam. Mo ń uĺit ́ /ara śt ́ jalgan (-m). To ń uĺi /ara ś jalgat. To ń uĺit ́ /ara śt ́ jalgat. Sonze uĺi /ara ś jalgazo. Sonze uĺit ́ /ara śt ́ jalganzo. Mi ńek uĺi /ara ś jalganok. Mi ńek uĺit ́ /ara śt ́ jalganok. Tink uĺi /ara ś jalgank. Tink uĺit ́ /ara śt́ jalgank. Sinst uĺi /ara ś jalgast. Sinst uĺit ́ /ara śt ́ jalgast.

Possessive Declension Forms

Nominals in the possessive declension may appear in a total of eight cases: nominative, ablative, inessive, elative, illative, prolative, comparative, and abessive. Kinship terms have only three case forms – nominative, genitive, and dative with the possessors mo ń /to ń /sonze and only nominative with the possessors mi ńek /tink /sinst . As in the other declensions, the appearance of words in the various case forms depends greatly on the semantic properties of the word being declined. Relatively few words can appear in the comparative or abessive. With the possessor sonze , the ending -zo /-ze appears only in the nominative singular; in the other cases the ending -nzo /-nze is used. Possessive declension forms are constructed as follows:

stem + case ending + possessive declension marker

mo ń to ń sonze mi ńek tink sinst Nom. sg.: -m -t/-t́ -zo/-ze -nok/-ńek -nk -st pl .: -n/-ń -t/-t́ -nzo/-nze -nok/-ńek -nk -st Gen. -ń -t́ -nzo/ -nze – – – Dat. -ńeń -t́eń -nste ń – – – Abl. -dom, -n -dot -donzo -donok -donk -dost -d́ em, -ń -d́ et́ -d́ enze -d́ eńek -d́ enk -d́ est -dem, -ń -det ́ -denze -de ńek -denk -dest -tom, -n -tot -tonzo -tonok -tonk -tost -t́em, -ń -t́et ́ -t́enze -t́eńek -t́enk -t́est -tem, -ń -te t́ -tenze -te ńek -tenk -test Iness. -som, -n -sot -sonzo -sonok -sonk -sost -sem, -ń -se t́ -senze -se ńek -senk -sest Elat. -stom, -n -stot -stonzo -stonok -stonk -stost -stem, -ń -ste t́ -stenze -ste ńek -stenk -stest Illat. (s > z) -zom, -n -zot -zonzo -zonok -zonk -zost -zem, -ń -ze t́ -zenze -ze ńek -zenk -zest

53 mo ń to ń sonze mi ńek tink sinst Prolat. -vam, -n -vat -vanzo -vanok -vank -vast -gam, -n -gat -ganzo -ganok -gank -gast -kam, -n -kat -kanzo -kanok -kank -kast Comp. -škam, -n -škat -škanzo -škanok -škank -škast Abess. -vtomom, -n -vtomot -vtomonzo -vtomonok -vtomonk -vtomost -vt ́emem, -ń -vt́emet́ -vt ́emenze -vt́eme ńek -vt ́emenk -vt́emest -tomom,-n -tomot -tomonzo -tomonok -tomonk -tomost -t́emem, -ń -t́emet́ -t́emenze -t́eme ńek -t́emenk -t́emest -temem, -ń -teme t́ -temenze -temenek -temenk -temest

Examples: singular, plural (-n/-ń) forms:

a. Body parts:

mo ń to ń sonz e mi ńek tink sinst Nom. pŕam pŕat pŕazo pŕanok pŕank pŕast pi ĺem, -ń pi ĺet́ pi ĺeze, -nze pi ĺeńek pi ĺenk pi ĺest Abl. pŕadom pŕadot pŕadonzo pŕadonok pŕadonk pŕadost pi ĺed́ em, -ń pi ĺed́ et́ pi ĺed́ enze pi ĺed́ eńek piĺed́ enk pi ĺed́ est Iness. pŕasom pŕasot pŕasonzo pŕasonok pŕasonk pŕasost pi ĺesem, -ń pi ĺese t́ pilesenze pi ĺese ńek pi ĺesenk pi ĺesest Elat. pŕastom pŕastot pŕastonzo pŕastonok pŕastonk pŕastost pi ĺestem, -ń pi ĺeste t́ pilestenze pi ĺeste ńek pi ĺestenk pi ĺestest Illat. pŕazom pŕazot pŕazonzo pŕazonok pŕazonk pŕazost pi ĺezem, -ń pi ĺeze t́ pi ĺezenze pi ĺeze ńek pi ĺezenk pi ĺezest Prolat. pŕavam pŕavat pŕavanzo pŕavanok pŕavank pŕavast pi ĺevam, -n pi ĺevat pi ĺevanzo pi ĺevanok pi ĺevank pi ĺevast

b. Kinship terms:

mo ń to ń sonz e mi ńek tink sinst Nom. sazorom, -n sazorot sazorozo, -nzo; sazoronok sazoronk sazorost t́ej t́eŕem, -ń t́ej t́eŕet́ t́ej t́eŕeze, -nze t́ej t́eŕeńek t́ej t́eŕenk t́ej t́eŕest sazoro ń sazorot́ sazoronzo Gen. t́ej t́eŕeń t́ej t́eŕet́ t́ej t́eŕenze sazorone ń sazorot́eń sazoronste ń Dat. t́ej t́eŕeńeń t́ej t́eŕet́eń t́ej t́eŕenste ń

Different parts of speech – nouns (especially names of body parts, kinship terms, and verbal nouns), pronouns and numerals, postpositions, and non-finite verb forms (including participles) – may appear in the possessive declension, e.g.:

śkamo-m, -t, -nzo , -nok , -nk , -st (< eś- + -ka prolative + -mo ) ‘(I /you /he /she / we /you /they) alone’; mo ĺe-mste -m, -t,́ -nze, -ńek, -nk, -st (-mste- gerund) ‘while going’; marto-m, -t, -nzo, -nok, -nk, -st ‘with, together with me, you, etc’.

The nouns či ‘day, sun’ and ška ‘time’ appear in the possessive declension in the following expressions: čize ĺis ś ‘the sun rose (= came out)’; škazo sa ś ‘the time came’; sńaro škazo ? ‘what time is it (how much time is there)?’

54 Exercise 1 . Match the English phrases on the left with their Erzya equivalents on the right:

His seminars śeminaron Our seminar śeminarot Your (sg.) seminars śeminaronok My seminar śeminaronk Their seminars śeminarozo Her seminar śeminarost My seminars śeminarom Your (pl.) seminar śeminaronzo

Exercise 2 . Fill in the blanks with the vowel o or e:

a) ked́ ...m, sur...t, čeŕ...m, san...t, pej...m ; b) mastor...zo, ĺej...ze, vi ŕ...ze , uńiver śit́et...ze ; c) jalaks...nok, ĺem... ńek, sazor...nok ; d) skal...nk, saraz...nk, ŕev...nk, pursoz...nk ; e) pi ĺeks…st, e ŕg…st, surks…st, pulaj…st.

Exercise 3 . Add the correct possessive ending ( -zo/-ze , -nzo/-nze ):

a) ked́ , sur, pi ĺge, sudo, kenže, p ŕa, keĺ, mešt ́e, pi ĺe; b) loma ń, sazor, ĺeĺa, pat ́a, t ́ejt ́eŕ, u ŕaž, parija ; c) surks, pi ĺeks, e ŕge, śulgamo, kem, ka ŕt́-prakstat.

Exercise 4 . The following word pairs denote possessor and possessed (in singular or plural). Form possessive noun phrases from them, e.g.: ćora – kudo > ćora ńt́ kudozo .

Singular – singular Singular – plural Plural – plural ava – pa ća ćora – kem t́ stu d́ entt – śeminart stu d́ ent – jalga t́ej t́eŕ – čeŕt́ ejkakšt – kudot ra śke – eŕamo t́et́a – ejkakšt er źavat – pulaj t́ uŕaž – parija od́ iŕva – eŕgt́ loma ńt́ – ar śemat

Exercise 5 . Answer the question Sńaro škazo? ‘What time is it?’

Sńaro škazo? – 12 časst, 17 minutat . – 11 časst, 38 minutat. – 9 časst, 25 minutat. – 7 časst, 50 minutat . – 1 čas, 15 minutat . – 8 časst, 49 minutat .

Source: www.goloserzi.ru/ru/tvorchestvo/photografia/slugin-aleksandr-yakovlevich2/albom-1.html?autoopen=1&autoopen-image=56

55 CONVERSATION AND READING Kortamo – lovnoma

Kudora śke Family

Iĺuši ńkat (-ińkat indicates a family) the Ilushin family alo /ve ŕe pe lower / upper end (of a village) sńars until me ŕems ĺemse to address by name ĺiśems mi ŕd́eńeń to get married (for women) uŕvakstoms to get married (for men) satoms: satoška to be enough: enough uĺi-paro fortune, possessions tujems ruzavaks to give up traditional clothing (to be Russified) lamo ńe-ńek, -nk, -st many together kolmo ńe-ńek, -nk, -st three (of us, you, them) together

TEXT 1

Iĺuši ńkat e ŕaśt́ alo pese. Iĺuš, ĺijaks me ŕems I ĺija, umok kulo ś, kudora śke ńt́ ĺeme ś jala u ĺń eś t ́eke. Tašto kudoso ńt́ tago-sńardo e ŕaśt́ lamo ńest, kevet ́eješkast, ńej an śak Oh ŕemat ́a ńinze marto śkamost. Kolmo ćorast u ŕvak śś t́, tu śt́ e ŕamo od tarkav. Ćorat ́ń eń kudost u ĺń eśt́ ve ŕe pese. T́ et ́ast-avast maks śt́ ćorat ́ń eńeń ŕevet ́, pursozt, sarazt. Skalost u ĺń eś vejke. Śed́ e tov ćorat ́ń ejak rama śt́ skalt. Ćorat ́ń eń ejkakšost lamo ĺt́. S ńars t ́et ́ast-avast u ĺń eśt́ vi ŕś e-pak śaso, si ŕet ́ń e ašt ́eśt́ ejkakštne ń marto. T́ ejt ́eŕest vejke ĺ. Kom ś ijese son ĺiśś mi ŕd́ eńeń šabra ve ĺev. Mi ŕd́ eś u ĺń eś p ŕevej paro ćora. Iješka si ń e ŕaśt́ vejse at ́avto ńt́-avavto ńt́ marto, mej ĺe tu śt́ tonavt ńeme Saranov. At ́avto ńt́-avavto ńt́ kudost pok śoĺ, u ĺi-paro ś kudoso ńt́ satoška ĺ. Odtne e ŕaśt́ kizna ve ĺese. Ška ń juta ź si ń rama śt́ mašina, śed́ e tov Saranso rama śt́ kudo. Ejkakšost u ĺń eśt́ kavto – va śeńć eś ćori ńe, ombo ćeś t ́ejt ́eŕka.

Exercise 6 . Listen and repeat. Audio: DS0169-21 (www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4743)

Exercise 7 . Answer the questions:

Sńaro ńest e ŕaśt́ I ĺuši ńkat? Sńaro ćorast-t́ejt ́eŕest u ĺń eśt́ Oh ŕemat ́ań ńinze marto? Kije kudora śket ́ń este tu ś e ŕamo od kudov? Kov ĺiśś mi ŕd́ eńeń t ́ejt ́eŕest? Meks t́ejt ́eŕeś mi ŕd́ enze marto tu śt́ Saranov? Si ń śeske rama śt́ mašina?

TEXT 2

Śed́ e ike ĺe er źat ́ń e e ŕaśt́ lamo ńest. Kudora śkeks u ĺń eśt́ pokšt ́at ́ń e, t ́et ́at ́ń e-avat ́ń e, odtne ejkakšost marto. Avat ́ń e-t́et ́at ́ń e me ŕś t́ ćorast ńińt́eń u ŕva. Vežen će ćora ń ńińt́eń me ŕś t́ uŕvi ńe, pe ńeŕva. Ćora ńt́ sazoronzo, jalaksonzo me ŕś t́ ĺeĺast ńińt́eń u ŕaž. U ŕažo ś me ŕś mi ŕd́ enze sazortne ńeń parija. Pat ́aj, ĺeĺaj me ŕś t́ veže ńć et ́ń e śed́ e pokš t ́ejt ́eŕt́ń eńeń-ćorat ́ń eńeń. Ve ĺeń e ŕićat ́ń e, śed́ e si ŕet ́ń e, ńejgak me ŕit ́ i śt́a, avo ĺ ĺemse. Avaj, t ́et ́aj – iśt́a pškad́ it́ ńeje ń škastojak ejkakštne avanste ń-t́et ́anste ń.

Exercise 8. Explain the following kinship terms:

Term: Explanation: at́avt-avavt uŕva, u ŕvi ńe, pe ńeŕva uŕaž, parija pat ́a, ĺeĺa

56 TEXT 3

Er źavat ́ń eń oršamost pek mazije ĺt́. Avat ́ń e koda śt́ ašo koct, vikš ńeśt́ kocto ńt́ jakst ́eŕe, se ń ponasu ŕese. Langsost u ĺń eśt́ panar, ru ća, pulaj. Er źava ń p ŕaso u ĺń eś pango, pi ĺevanzo – pi ĺekst, kirgavanzo – eŕgt ́, mešt ́esenze – śulgamo, ked́ ganzo – ked́ kst, surkst. Pi ĺgesenze u ĺń eśt́ ka ŕt́-prakstat, pokš čiste – kemt ́. Śed́ e tov er źavat ́ń e karma śt́ oršamo ĺijaks – si ń „tu śt́ ruzavaks”.

Exercise 9. Visit the following links: view the photos illustrating the tradition of Erzya folk costume. http://purgine.livejournal.com/tag/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8E%D0%BC http://www.goloserzi.ru/ru/etnos/kostyum/

Exercise 10 . On what parts of the body are the following items worn?

panar, ru ća, pulaj – langso śulgamo – pango – ke d́ kst – pi ĺekst – surks – eŕgt́ – ka ŕt́-prakstat, kem t́ –

Exercise 11. Fill in the blanks:

Mo ń ĺeme… Ann, mon eston…n. E ŕan Tartuso, t ́et ́am-avam e ŕit ́ Ta ĺĺ inn…. Mo ń u ĺi sazoro…, ĺeme… Kadi. Son e ŕi Vengrija…, toso son ńej tonavt ńi. Sazoro… pek p ŕevej. Ije… 22. Mon 19 ijes…n. T́ et ́am- avam jakit ́ Vengrija… t ́eĺń a, mon jakan tov kizna. Vengrija… mazij mastor. Toso ĺembe kize ńek- t́eĺeńek. Sazoro… marto Vengrijaso jarsa… ker śeź sive ĺd́ e ( ĺeme… gu ĺaš). Pokšt ́am-babam si ŕet ́. Pokšt ́am 80 ijese, babam – 75-se. Si ń e ŕit ́ Ta ĺĺ inne ń malaso. U ĺi vasolbabam, son 70 ijese šumbra ava, jaki pangs, t ́eji pi ŕe… t́evt ́, jaki kišt ́ema ń-moramo ń kurov. Son e ŕi t ́et ́ań-ava ń marto.

Exercise 12. Introduce your family, based on the following questions:

Ton kijat? Kosto ńat? Koda(mo) ĺemet ́? S ńaro ijet ́? Kit ́ t ́et ́at-avat? Uĺit ́-ara śt́ pat ́at-sazorot / ĺeĺat-jalaksot? Koda(mo)t ĺemest? Me źe si ń t ́ejit ́ ? Uĺit ́ -ara śt́ pokšt ́at-babat? S ńaro ijest? Koso si ń e ŕit ́ ? Si ń šumbrat? Uĺit́-ara śt́ jalgat? Kit́ si ń? Kosto ńt́ ? Me źe t́ejit́ ? Kit́ t ́et ́ast-avast?

Exercise 13. Translate into English:

Valme ŕevkst : Sńardo peket ́ va či, śeste p ŕevet ́ ša či. Me źe putat p ŕevezet ́, śe sati pingezet ́. Čevt ́t́ ked́ enze, pšt ́it ́ kenženze.

VOCABULARY Valks alo pe lower end of the village ponasu ŕe woollen yarn, worsted at́avt father-in-law pŕa head avavt mother-in-law pŕev( t́) brain, sense čeŕ hair pulaj back-apron ejkakš child pursoz piglet eŕge pearl putoms to put ka ŕś ems to wear smth on the feet pška d́ ems to address ka ŕt́-prakstat footwear ( ethnographic ) ŕeve sheep ke d́ ks bracelet ru ća robe, gown

57 kem t́ boots rungo chest, body ke ŕams to cut, chop ruzava Russian (woman) kirga neck saraz chicken kirgapa ŕ throat satoms to suffice koct fabric satoška sufficiently kodams to knit sazor (younger) sister ko ŕas according to skal cow kudora śke family sive ĺ meat lamo ńest amongst themselves śkamo(-m) alone ( possessive ) lang/s, -so on to, on śulgamo brooch ĺiśems to go out sur finger ĺiśems mi ŕd́ eńeń to get married (to go to a man) surks ring me ŕems to say ša čoms to be born meš t́e chest tago-sńardo sometime mi ŕd́ e man, husband tašto old ńi woman, wife t́eke same oršamo(pe ĺ) clothing ruzijams to russify pa ća towel uĺi-paro fortune panar shirt, tunic umok long ago pango bonnet uŕaž sister-in-law pango mushroom uŕvi ńe youngest daughter-in-law parija husband’s sister uŕvaksto/ms to get married (take a wife) pa t́a older sister, aunt vana look! peke stomach va čoms to become hungry pej too th va čopeke with an empty stomach pe ńeŕva youngest daughter-in-law va śń a at first pi ĺe ear vasolbaba maternal grandmother pi ĺekst earrings ve ŕe pe upper end of the village pi ĺge leg, foot veže ńć e younger pokš či holiday, celebration vikš ńems to crochet, embroider pokš t́at-babat grandfather and -mother źepe pocket

Source: http://purgine.livejournal.com/tag/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8E%D0%BC

58 Unit 7 Śiśeme će pe ĺks

GRAMMAR

Negative Forms (Present /Future and Past Simple)

Present /future: negation word a + conjugated verb form Ex. a mo ĺan, -t, -i, -t́ano, -t́ado, -it́ ‘I, you (sg.), he /she /it, we, you (pl.), they don’t / doesn’t go’.

Past simple: conjugated form of negation verb eź- + verb stem Ex. eźiń, - t́ , -ź, -ńek, - d́ e, -źt́ mo ĺe ‘I, you (sg.), he/she/it, we, you (pl)., they didn’t go’.

Examples: tujems ‘to leave, go away’, sams ‘to come’.

Present /future Past simple Present/future Past simple tujan tuji ń a tujan eźiń tuje san si ń a san eźiń sa tujat tujit́ a tujat eźit́ tuje sat si t́ a sat eźit́ sa tuji tu ś a tuji eź tuje si sa ś a si eź sa tutano tuji ńek a tutano eźińek tuje satano si ńek a satano eźińek sa tutado tuji d́ e a tutado eźid́ e tuje satado sid́ e a satado eźid́ e sa tujit́ tu śt́ a tujit́ eźt́ tuje si t́ sa śt́ a si t́ eźt́ sa

Negation is also expressed by the emphatic particle -gak /-kak /-jak affixed to pronouns and postpositions:

Ki ń ńejit ́? – Ki ńgak e źiń ńeje. Who did you see? – I didn’t see anyone. Kov jakit ́? – Kovgak e źiń jaka. Where did you go? – I didn’t go anywhere. Me źe me ŕit ́? – Me źejak e źiń me ŕe. What did you say? – I did not say anything. Ki ń marto kortit ́? – Ki ń martojak e źiń korta. Who did you speak with? – I didn’t speak with anyone.

The emphatic particle -gak /-kak /-jak may be added to either the postposition or the noun /pronoun preceding it, depending on which element the speaker wishes to stress:

Ki ń marto kortit ́? – a) Ki ńgak marto e źiń korta. b) Ki ń martojak e źiń korta.

Negation of the Verb uĺems

The present tense forms of uĺems express a state in the future: Mon a uĺan toso. I will not be there. To express a state in the present, the negation ara ś, -t́ is used: Si ń ara śt́ toso. They are not there. In clauses expressing possession (‘to have’), the negation ara ś, -t́ is used with a noun phrase in the genitive form: Moń ara ś škam. I have no time. Sonze ara ś škazo. S/he has no time. Just like the affirmative past tense forms ( mon u ĺń iń, ton u ĺń it́, son u ĺń eś, mi ń u ĺń ińek, ti ń u ĺń id́ e, si ń u ĺń eśt́), the stand-alone negative forms of uĺems come from the stem uĺń e- ‘to be (frequentative, repeated)’:

59 Mon e źiń uĺń e toso. ‘I wasn’t there / I haven’t been there.’ Ton e źit́ uĺń e toso. Son e ź u ĺń e toso. Mi ń e źińek u ĺń e toso. Ti ń e źid́ e u ĺń e toso. Si ń e źt́ uĺń e toso.

Predicative expressions consisting of a nominal and a past tense ending of the verb uĺems are negated with the word a: Mon a toso ĺiń ‘(At the moment) I was not there (but rather somewhere else).’ Compare also: Mon u ĺń iń avo ĺ toso . ‘I was (staying) not there (but rather somewhere else).’ In the meaning of ‘to be absent, lacking’, the negative forms of the verb ara ś, -t́ are used:

Mon ara śeĺiń toso. ‘I wasn’t there (I was absent at the moment)’. Ton ara śeĺit́ toso. Son ara śeĺ toso. Mi ń ara śeĺińek toso. Ti ń ara śeĺid́ e toso. Si ń ara śeĺt́ toso.

Exercise 1 . Fill in the blanks with negative past simple forms:

Son ... lovo jarmakt. Mi ń ... mora klubso. Si ń ... jaka velev? Ton ... jarsa čokš ńe? Mon ... rama ka ńt́vetkat (sweets) . Ti ń ... lovno er źań jovkst? Mon ... jaka bibliot ́ekav t ́eči. Mi ń ... soda kosot jalganok. Si ń ... tonavt ńe t ́e školaso ńt́. Son ... sa čokš ńe kafete ŕijav.

Exercise 2 . Fill in the blanks with the proper negation ( a, avo ĺ, e źińek, ara ś, e ź):

Son umok ... jaka Saranov . Estontne Saranso ... pek lamot . Ton er źat ? – ... , estonan . Mon me źejak ... ma ŕan e ŕamodo ńt́ Saranso . Ton umok e ŕat Saranso? – ... umok . Ti ń jakid́ e Saranov? – … .

Exercise 3 . Make sentences by joining the fragments on the left with the appropriate continuations on the right:

1. Kudonok a. uĺne śt́ lamo jalgam. 2. Ton śeste b. uĺń eś vasolo. 3. Kizna c. uĺne śt́ tonavti ćat. 4. T́ et ́am-avam d. uĺń iń ekskur śijaso. 5. Mi ńek škola ś e. uĺne śt́ ekskur śijaso. 6. Školaso mo ń f. uĺń eś pokš. 7. Stu d́ entne g. uĺń it ́ viška ejkakš.

Exercise 4. Translate the following sentences into Erzya, using indefinite pronouns ( sńardojak, kijak, kovgak, me źejak, kodajak, kostojak, kodamojak ).

I’ve never spoken with an Erzyan in his /her own language. No one lives here. We’re not going anywhere today. They didn’t buy anything abroad. I can't find a better place anywhere. He didn’t go to any (any kind of) village.

60 Imperative Mood (Indefinite Conjugation)

In the singular, the imperative is marked by the ending -k or -t/-t́. The ending -k is generally used with stems ending in a, as well as with a few verbs with stems ending in o or e. The variants -t and -t́ are added to stems ending in o and e respectively (following the principles of vowel harmony). In simple stems, the vowels o and e are lost before the imperative ending. In the plural, the imperative ending is -do /-d́ e. The negative imperative is formed from the stem iĺa (plural iĺado ).

Singular: -k Singular: -t/-t́ Singular / plural Plural: -do /-d́ e Plural: -do /-d́ e (negative): iĺa / iĺa-do + stem morams: mora-k /-do vanoms: van-t /-o-do iĺa / i ĺa-do mora jarsams: jarsa-k /-do lovoms: lov-t /-o-do iĺa / i ĺa-do vano sovams: sova-k /-do putoms: put-t /-o-do iĺa / i ĺa-do saje lovnoms: lovno-k /-do moĺems: mo ĺ-t́ /-e-d́ e udoms: udo-k /-do śimems: śim-t́ /-e-d́ e ojm śems: ojm śe-k /-d́ e t́ejems: t́ej-t́ /-e-d́ e kort ńems: kort ńe-k /-d́ e sajems: saj-t́ /-e-d́ e

Examples:

Vana t́ese uma ŕt́. Jarsak! Look, there are apples here. Eat! Sak t ́ej! Kortatano. Come here! Let’s talk. Vana su ĺikaso ńt́ ĺimonad. Śimt́! Look, there’s lemonade in the bottle. Drink! Ma ŕat moro? Kunsolok! Do you hear the song? Listen! Ńejt ́ado me źejak? Vanodo! Do you see anything? Look! Aźo tov! Toso ĺembe. Go there! It’s warm there. Aźodo t ́este! I ĺado t́ej ńe i śt́a. Go away! Don’t do that. Sovak! Ozak! Vasoldo sat? Come in! Have a seat! Are you coming from far away? Toso kijak ara ś. I ĺa / Iĺado pe ĺe! There’s no one there. Don’t be afraid! Ašt́ek-ašt ́ek! Čokš ńeś kuvaka. Don’t go anywhere (relax)! The evening is long.

The lexicalized forms aźo, a źodo ‘go!’ and užo, užodo ‘wait!’ behave more like interjections than standard imperative forms:

Užo , me źt́ ton kortat? Wait, what are you talking about? Aźo sodik , me źed́ e son korti. Who knows ( liter. go, know) what he /she is talking about.

Exercise 5 . Choose a suitable expression for each request /invitation:

Request /invitation: Expressions: to take a seat Sovak! to come over Ozak! to listen Sak t ́ej! to come in Aš t́ed́ e-ašt ́ed́ e! to stay in place Śim t́! to drink Jarsado! to eat Aźodo! not to be scared Užo-užo! to go away Iĺado pe ĺe! to wait Kunsolok!

61 CONVERSATION AND READING Kortamo – lovnoma

Life stories Eŕamot ń́ ed́ e

paro me ĺse gladly, with pleasure eŕams vepe ĺe to live away from home eŕva koso all over the place, everywhere eŕams pensija ń jarmakso to live off a pension (be retired) tujems me ĺs to please, appeal to si ijeste next year śeń kuvalt because of/through that aźo, -do tov go there sak(a) t́ej come here

TEXT 1

Mo ń e ŕamom

Mon ša čiń-kasi ń Kuzim ve ĺese. 1950-će ijet ́ń este ve ĺeś pokšo ĺ, kudot ́ń e u ĺń eśt́ kavto śadodo lamot. Ve ĺeń e ŕićat ́ń e korta śt́ an śak er źaks. Kijak e ź korta ruzo ń ke ĺse. Mej ĺe karma śt́ sodamo ruzo ń ke ĺeńt́kak. E ŕiń ve ĺese śiśem ijet ́. Ve ĺeń školaso ńt́ u ĺń eśt́ a ńś ak ńiĺe klasst. Pokš škola malaso ara śeĺ. Pat ́am-ĺeĺam tu śt́ Saranov tonavt ńeme. Mej ĺe t ́et ́am-avamgak sazorom marto tu śt́ tov. Mon e ŕiń baba ń marto. Kavkso će ijestem tuji ń Saranov. Toso karmi ń tonavt ńeme ruzo ń školaso. Va śeńće ijeste ruzo ń ke ĺse tonavt ńema ś u ĺń eś staka. E ŕva kizna jaki ń ve ĺev, e ŕiń toso pek paro me ĺse. Školado mej ĺe tonavt ńiń univer śit ́etse va śń a angla ń ke ĺeńt́, mej ĺe francuzo ń ke ĺeńt́. Ńej kolmo ńgeme ń ijed́ e lamo e ŕan Tartuso. Kortan estonoks, tonavt ńan ĺija finne ń-ugra ń ke ĺt́kak. S ńardo-sńardo jakan ombo mastorov. Jakan t ́evs, avo ĺ ojm śeme. U ĺń iń Ang ĺijaso, Ita ĺijaso, Fran ćijaso, Veng ŕijaso, Germa ńijaso.

Exercise 6. Listen and repeat. Audio:) (www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4744)

Exercise 7. Answer the questions:

– Sńaro e ŕićat u ĺne śt́ Kuzimse? – Meks śormadi ćaś tu ś eŕamo Saranov? – Ejkakšpingste son korta ś ruzo ń ke ĺse? – Ruzo ń ke ĺse tonavt ńema ś u ĺń eś staka? – Meźe son tonavt ńeś u ńiver śit ́etse? – Meks son sa ś e ŕamo Tartuv? – Snaro će ije e ŕi Tartuso? – Meks son jaki ombo mastorov?

Exercise 8. Are the following suppositions accurate? Use the model in the answers a and b: a) To ń ĺemet ́ Toomas /Tiia? – Avo ĺ. Mo ń ĺemem … . b) Ton stud́ entat. – Vid́ e. Stud́ entan. / Avo ĺ, mon tonavti ćan.

– Ton ša čit ́ ve ĺese. – Ton kasit ́ pokš kudora śke jutkso. – To ń u ĺit ́ pat ́at-sazorot. To ń u ĺi ĺeĺat. – To ń paro jalgat e ŕi vasolo, ombo mastorso. – Ton tonavt ńit ́ Ta ĺĺ innse, ńej kosojak a tonavtńat. – Kurok ton mo ĺat tonavt ńeme ombo mastorov. – To ń u ĺi me ĺet ́ kortams er źaks.

62 Exercise 9. Choose an appropriate answer to each question:

Questions: Answer choices: Kit ́ t ́et ́at -avat ? Ve ĺese. Koso si ń e ŕit ́? A pek. Sńaro ijenze t ́et ́at ́, avat ́, sazo rot, jalaksot, ĺeĺat ́? Jaki ń. Ton u ŕvakstit ́ / ĺiśit ́ mi ŕd́ eńeń? Me ĺat. Sńardo karmit ́ tonavt ńeme u ńiver śit ́etse? Eźiń. Meks karmit ́ tonavt ńeme er źań ke ĺeńt́? Tonavti ćat . Tonavt ńema ś staka? 54 /53 /20 /30 /18. Ombo mastorov jaki t́? Eŕavi.

Exercise 10. Fill in the blanks:

Mo ń ĺeme… Nasta. Mi ŕd́ em ĺeme… St ́opa, śeks mo ńeń ve ĺese me ŕit ́ St ́opa… . Śed́ e odtne me ŕit ́ Nasta … . Mon 70 ijesan, mird́ em 75 ije…, e ŕatano pensija ń jarmakso. Ve ĺeń... ĺemeze Vi ŕeń Tavla, son ašt ́i vi ŕeń-pando ń tarka… . Ejkakšonok vet ́e, ve śe mazijt ́, p ŕev…, parot. Ńej si ń e ŕit ́ vepe ĺe. Ćorat ́ń e Moskov… – vejke ś tonavt ńi, kavto… tonavt ńemado mej ĺe važod́ it ́. Si ń u ŕvaksto ź, u ĺit ́ ejkakšostkak. Vejke t ́ejt ́eŕe… ĺiśś mi ŕd́ eńeń ombo mastor… . Son vasolo. Ombo ćeś e ŕi šabra ve ĺe… . Kudozo pokš, ejkakšo… kavto. Si ijeste t ́eĺeń škasto e ŕatano pokš t ́ejt ́eŕeńt́ …, kizna si vežen će ćora ś Moskov…, śeste eŕatano e ś kudoso.

Exercise 11. Write some facts in Erzya about your life history (approx. 100 words).

TEXT 2

Skulptor Er źado

Er źań ra śkeste ńt́ ĺiśś skulptor, kona ńd́ e vas ńa karma śt́ sodamo Ita ĺijaso, Fran ćijaso, ĺija mastorga Europaso, śed́ e meile Ruzo ń, Er źań mastorsojak. Sonze ĺemeze St ́epan D. Nefjodov (t ́et ́anzo ĺemeze uĺń eś Dmit ŕij, er źaks me ŕems Mit ŕej). Saranso u ĺi St ́epan Er źań ĺemse ga ĺeŕeja. Ekskur śija ń vet ́ića korti tu ŕist marto, kona va śeńć ed́ e ma ŕi sku ĺptor Er źado.

– St ́epan Nefjodov-Er źa ša čś 1876-će ijeste er źań ve ĺese, Bajevoso. Ejkakšpingstenze son tonavt ńeś artoma ń t ́eve ńt́, art ś pazavat. Son u ĺń eś kom ś kotovo ijese od ćora, s ńardo tu ś tonavt ńeme Moskovov. Tonavt ńemste karma ś t ́ejeme sku ĺpturat (kevrungot). – Sńardo sonze ĺemeks karma ś u ĺeme St ́epan Er źa? – Moskovso e ŕamsto sonze u ĺń eś jalgaks vejke loma ń Ita ĺijasto. 1906 ijeste St ́epan tu ś Ita ĺijav. Va śń a son e ŕaś jalganzo kudoso. Artoma ń, sku ĺptura ń paro sodi ća (Ugo Nebbia) marto St ́epan jaka ś lamo mu źejga, karma ś ńejeme śed́ e parosto sku ĺptura ń mazi čińt́. Ombo mastorso son e ŕaś kavkso ijet ́, sku ĺpturanzo u ĺń eśt́ keme ńška ńevt ́emaso. Sku ĺpturanzo langs son karma ś ke ŕamo S. Er źa ĺeme ńt́. – Iśt́a tombale, Evropaso, karma śt́ sodamo er źań sku ĺptordo, er źat ́ń ed́ e? – Lamot ́ń e ar śeśt́, son ruz. Er źań ra śked́ e ombo mastorso me źejak e źt́ soda. Sku ĺptoro ńt́ ĺemenze kuvalt karma śt́ loma ńt́ń e t ́ija-tuva sodamo er źań ra śked́ eńt́kak. – Sńardo St ́epan Er źa sa ś e ś mastorov? – Eŕavi me ŕems, e ś mastorso son e ź e ŕajak. An śak jaka ś s ńardo-sńardo kudora śkenze vanomo. Eŕaś Moskovso, Uralso, mej ĺe 1926 ijeste tu ś Pa ŕižev, tosto ijed́ e mej ĺe Argent ́inav. Moskovov son tago sa ś 1950 ijeste, ijenze śeste u ĺń eśt́ 74. Son šumbra loma ńeĺ. Moskovso 1954 ijeste sonze u ĺń eś pokš ńevt ́emazo. Pek lamot sa śt́ sku ĺpturanzo vanomo. Śed́ e mej ĺe sonze ate ĺjese sval u ĺń eśt́ loma ńt́. Kulo ś St ́epan Er źa 1959 ijeste Moskovso, kalmozo Saranso. – Sku ĺpturanzo mazijd́ ejak mazijt ́. Mo ń me ĺs pek tujit ́ marmorsto di čuvtosto ke ŕaź ša čot ́ń e, kevrungot ́ń e. – Marmorsto son karma ś ke ŕamo Ita ĺijaso, Mike ĺanželo ń sku ĺpturat ́ń eń langs vano ź. Argent ́inaso son ke ŕaś lamo ša čot čuvtosto. St ́epan Er źa e ŕaś pek staka e ŕamoso ĺija mastorga –

63 jarmaktomo, kudovtomo, va čočise. Sarano ń ga ĺeŕejaso ńt́ lamo sku ĺpturanzo ara śt́, si ń loma ń ked́ ga e ŕva kuvat. – Kijak śormad ś St ́epan Er źado? – Śormad śt́. U ĺit ́ paro a ĺbomt arhive ń mat ́eŕial marto, ĺija ĺit ́eraturajak. Vana t ́e info-lopasto ńt́ lovnodo me źeś u ĺi. Vanodo, t ́ese u ĺi bib ĺiografija. Sovado minek arhive ń zalo ńt́eń, mo ĺed́ e Bajevo-ve ĺev: kudoso ńt́, koso ša čś -ka śś St ́epan Er źa, ńej mu źej.

Exercise 12 . Correct the following statements about the text.

1. Sku ĺptor Er źań t ́et ́anzo ĺemeze u ĺń eś St ́epan. 2. Sku ĺptoro ś tonavt ńeś sku ĺptura Ita ĺijaso. 3. Er źa e ŕaś Ita ĺijaso kolmo ijet ́. 4. Moskovso u ĺi Er źań ĺemse ga ĺeŕeja. 5. Argent ́inaso Er źa ke ŕaś lamo ša čot marmorsto. 6. Er źań e ŕamodonzo kijak me źejak e ź śormado.

Exercise 13 . Visit the following link: view the materials provided online by the Stepan Erzya Museum (contents: the sculptor’s biography, a photo gallery displaying his works, bibliographical references, a visit to the museum). www.goloserzi.ru/erzia/

Exercise 14 . Write some facts in Erzya about the life history of a writer (a painter, or a linguist).

VOCABULARY Valks

artoms, -ma to paint, -ing ńev t́ema exhibition, show ańś ak only paz god ar śems to think, believe pazava icon aźo, -do go! (sg./pl.) pe ĺems to fear ejkakšpinge childhood pen śija pension eŕavi must, is necessary putoms to put eŕića inhabitant ramams to buy eŕva each, every si ijeste next year iĺa, -do don't! (sg./pl.) sovams to enter info-lopa fact sheet su ĺika glass, bottle jutkso amongst, amidst sval always kalmo grave śeks because ka ńt́vetkat sweets ša čoms to be born kasoms to grow ša čo form, figure ka źń e gift, present tago again ke ŕams to cut t́ija-tuva here and there kevrungo sculpture, monument tombale abroad kš ńi iron tonadoms to learn, get used to kuloms to die tŕams ejkakš to raise a child kuvalt because of, along tujems to leave langs on top of umok long ago, wayback ĺiśems to exit, go out vana look! marmor marble vepe ĺe at a distance mastorlango world va čoči hunger mazi či beauty važo d́ ems to work me ĺs tujems to please, appeal to, like veš ńems to look/search for mijems to sell ve t́ića leader, guide me ĺat last year vi d́ e true, right ozams to sit čavo empty paro me ĺse gladly, with pleasure čuvto, -ń wood, -en

64 Unit 8 Kavkso će peĺks

GRAMMAR

Definite Conjugation

The Erzya verb system includes a separate conjugation paradigm for verbs used with definite objects, e.g. t́ejsa ‘I will do it’, morasi ńek moro ńt́ ‘we will sing the song’. The definite conjugation can only be used with transitive verbs because of its dependence on the object. Present-tense forms of the definite conjugation generally refer to future (or completed) activities.

Indefinite conjugation: Definite conjugation: Mon śormadan śorma. Mon śormadsa śorma ńt́. I’m writing a letter. I will write the letter.

However, the present tense definite conjugation forms of verbs expressing feelings, sensations or states (e.g. ve čkems ‘to love’, ma ŕams ‘to hear, feel’, sodams ‘to know’) typically refer to the present, not the future.

Indefinite declension: present Definite declension: present Mon sodan jovks. Mon sodasa jovkso ńt́. I know a fairy tale. I know the fairy tale. Mon ma ŕan moro. Mon ma ŕasa moro ńt́. I hear a song. I hear the song.

Some verbs (e.g. ńejems ‘to see’) may be used in the definite conjugation to refer to either present or future time, depending on the context.

Indefinite declension: Definite declension: Mon ńejan t́ejt́eŕ (present) . Mon ńesa t́ejt́eŕeńt́ (present/future). I see a girl. I (will) see the girl.

The definite conjugation forms of the verb ńejems may in such cases (depending on the object) refer only to present time:

Mon ńejan narmo ń. Mon ńesa narmo ńeńt́. I see a bird. I see the bird.

Formation of the Definite Conjugation

In the definite conjugation, the forms added to the verb stem express the person and number of both subject and object (although there is considerable overlap between the plural forms). Some forms (e.g. I /us) are absent from the paradigm, as can be seen in the tables below. The subject appears in the indefinite, definite, or possessive declension in the , while the object appears in the definite or possessive declension in the genitive (indicating completed action).

Ava / Ava ś / Avazo mori źe moro ńt́ / moronzo. ‘A woman /The woman / His mother sang the / her song’.

An object in the definite or possessive declension together with a verb in the indefinite conjugation indicates unfinished action:

Ava / ava ś / avazo mora ś moro / moro ńt́ / moronzo. ‘A woman/The woman / His mother was singing a / the / her song’.

65 Definite conjugation endings a) Present / future (completed action), b) Past simple (completed action):

mo ń to ń sonze mi ńek tink sinst a) mon -tan/-t́an -sa -tadi ź/-t́adi ź -si ń ton -samak -sak -sami ź -si t́ son -samam -tanzat/-t́anzat -si -sami ź -tadi ź/-t́adi ź -sin źe mi ń -tadi ź/-t́adi ź -si ńek -tadi ź/-t́adi ź -si ńek ti ń -sami ź -sink -sami ź -sink si ń -sami ź -tadi ź/-t́adi ź -si ź -sami ź -tadi ź/-t́adi ź -si ź b) mon -t́iń -ja -d́ iź -ń ton -mik -k -mi ź -t́ son -mim -ńź it́ -źe -mi ź -d́ iź -nźe mi ń -d́ iź -ńek -d́ iź -ńek ti ń -mi ź -nk -mi ź -nk si ń -mi ź -d́ iź -ź -mi ź -d́ iź -ź

Note that the past tense forms of the definite conjugation all include the past tense marker i, which replaces the stem vowel a, e, or o and precedes the endings listed above.

Examples:

Indefinite conjugation: Definite conjugation:

a) present present/future (completed action) Mon śormad-an śorma Mon śormad-sa śorma ńt́ Ton śormad-at śorma Ton śormad-sak śorma ńt́ Son śormad-i śorma Son śormad-si śorma ńt́ Mi ń śormad-tano śorma Mi ń śormad-si ńek śorma ńt́ Ti ń śormad-tado śorma Ti ń śormad-sink śorma ńt́ Si ń śormad-it́ śorma Si ń śormad-si ź śorma ńt́ b) past past (completed action) Mon śormad -i-ń śorma Mon śormad -i-ja śorma ńt́ Ton śormad-i-t́ śorma Ton śormad-i-k śorma ńt́ Son śormad-ś śorma Son śormad-i-źe śorma ńt́ Mi ń śormad -i-ńek śorma Mi ń śormad -i-ńek śorma ńt́ Ti ń śormad-i-d́ e śorma Ti ń śormad-i-nk śorma ńt́ Si ń śormad-śt́ śorma Si ń śormad-i-ź śorma ńt́

In both the indefinite and definite declension, negation is expressed with the word a (in the present / future) and the negative verb stem eź- (in the past). In the present, the word a is followed by the appropriate conjugated verb form, while in the past, the definite conjugation forms are added to the stem eź-, followed by the stem of the main verb.

Examples:

Present/future: a śormadsa śorma ńt́ ‘I won’t write the letter’, a sodatan ‘I don’t know you’; Past: eźija śormado śorma ńt́ ‘I didn’t write the letter’, eźit ́iń soda ‘I didn’t recognize you’.

66 Use of the Definite Conjugation

Indefinite conjugation Definite conjugation Unfinished action: Com pleted action: Mon lovnan jovks. I am reading / will read a tale. Mon lovnosa jovkso ńt́. I will read the tale. Mon lovni ń jovks. I (have) read a tale. Mon lovnija jovkso ńt́. I (have) read the tale.

State / sense verbs State / sense verbs Mon ve čkan ejkakšt. I love children. Mon ve čksi ń ejkakštne ń. I love the children. Son ma ŕi vajge ĺt́. He /She hears /is hearing Son ma ŕasi ńź e vajge ĺt́ńeń. He /She hears /is voices. hearing the voices. Ti ń sodatado jovkst? Do you know tales? Ti ń sodasink jovkstne ń? Do you know the tales? Mon ńejan narmo ń. I see a bird. Mon ńesa narmo ńeńt́. I see the bird. Mon ńejan t́ejt́eŕ. I (will) see a girl. Mon ńesa t́ejt́eŕeńt́. I (will) see the girl.

Exercise 1 . Identify the transitive verbs in the following list: jakams, kortams, mu śkems, sevems, tonavt ́ń ems, sodams, ve čkems, ašt ́ems, maksoms, sams, ramams, tujems, kandoms, mo ĺems.

Exercise 2 . Conjugate the following verbs in the definite conjugation (present and past tense): lovnoms ( śorma ńt́), sevems (kši ńt́), jovt ńems (jovkso ńt́).

Exercise 3. Conjugate the verbs sasams ‘to catch, catch up to’ and t́eŕd́ ems ‘to invite’ in the definite conjugation, e.g.: mon to ń sasatan, ton mo ń t́eŕd́ samak.

Exercise 4. Fill the blanks in column B with definite conjugation verb forms, matching the indefinite conjugation sentences given in column A.

A. Si ń morit ́ morot. B. Si ń mora si ź morot ́ń eń. Son lovno ś jovks. Son … jovkstne ń. Śormadan śorma. … śormant ́. T́ ejit ́ t ́evt ́? … t ́evt ńeń? Viks ńat panar? … panaro ńt́? Pa ńt́ano kši . … kši ńt́. Mi ń ma ŕińek vajge ĺ. Mi ń … vajge ĺeńt́. Ńeji ń e ŕke . … e ŕke ńt́.

Exercise 5. Fill in the blanks in the text with the following verb forms: śormadoms, kortatano, sodasa, ve čksi ń, mo ĺems, sodasi, tonavt ńesink, sodasak, kortams, čaŕkod́ eme.

Meks tonavt ńat er źań ke ĺeńt́ ? – Er źań ke ĺeńt́ ... ? – Alamodo ... . – Jalgatkak ... ? – Son sodasi mo ńd́ em parosto. – Koso tonavt ńet ́ado er źań ke ĺeńt́? – Finne ń-ugra ń kafedraso. – Meks ... ? – Uĺi me ĺeńek ... er źań ke ĺse. – Mon ... Torama ń morot ́ń eń. S ńardo-sńardo Torama ś si t ́ej, mi ń ... er źaks mori ćat ́ń eń marto. Śeks tonavt ńan er źań ke ĺeńt́. – Mo ń u ĺi me ĺem ... er źań ve ĺev. Toso kortit ́ er źaks, mon karman ... me źd́ e kortit ́. – Mo ńeń e ŕavi er źań ke ĺeś uralo ń ke ĺt́ń eń tonavt ńemste. – Mon ar śan ... jutavkst er źań ke ĺste estono ń ke ĺs.

67 Derivational suffixes

The derivational suffix -ś- is a frequentative suffix; it indicates that the action described takes place repeatedly. Frequentatives feature prominently in Erzya verbal derivational morphology. You have already come across one other frequentative suffix, -n-/-ń-, found in the verbs vannoms ‘to look’, tonavt ńems ‘to learn’ (cf. vanoms ‘to look’, tonavtoms ‘to teach’) and in the past tense forms uĺńiń, uĺńit́ etc. Another common frequentative marker is -kšn-/-kš ń-: vanokšnoms ‘to look, research, study, investigate’, ńejekšńems (compare vanoms ‘to look’, ńejems ‘to see’). As can be seen from these examples, the addition of the frequentative suffix sometimes changes the meaning of the word dramatically, while in other cases (e.g. ramams and ram śems ‘to buy’) it merely conveys repeated action.

CONVERSATION AND READING Kortamo – lovnoma

Eŕva čiń t ́evt ́ń ed́ e Everyday life

loma ń jutkso among people jutkoška, -sto free time, in one’s free time uštoms kaštom to heat the oven me źt́-me źt́, koj-me źt́ something ve t́ams p ŕa to behave, act eŕva me ź/e, -t́ all kinds of things pi t́ńeze (its) price pekem , -t́/-ze/-ńek/-nk/-st va čś (my/your/etc) stomach has become empty t́ese vana look (here)

TEXT 1

Mit ŕej ńize śt́i čiĺiśema marto. Uštsi kaštomonzo, pot ́avtsi skalonzo, pa ńi kši, pid́ i jam. Jarsit ́-t́ejit ́ mi ŕd́ enze marto, mird́ eś tuji ved́ gevev. Ved́ geve ś tašto, Mit ŕejat ́ań toso t ́evenze lamot. Mit ŕej ńize čit ́ t́eji kudo ń t ́evt ́ – pid́ i, š ĺi-nardi, mu śki. Jutkoškasto sti me źejak. Čokš ńeń pe ĺev son tuji pi ŕev, toso valnosi ńź e emežt ́ń eń. Čokš ńe andsi ńź e ŕevet ́ń eń, skalont ́, sovi kudos. Mi ŕd́ enze marto jarsit ́-t́ejit ́, karmit ́ vanomo t́eĺevizor. S ńardo-sńardo sovi šabrast, D ŕigat ́a. Ćorat ́ń e śimit ́ čajd́ e, karmit ́ kortamo po ĺit ́ikado, ve ĺeń t ́evt ́ń ed́ e, umok škado ńt́. Ava ś sti-kodi, kunsoli me źed́ e ćorat ́ń e kortit ́. I śt́a čokš ńest juti. Ejkakšost e ŕit ́ vepe ĺe, s ńardo-sńardo sit ́ ve ĺev. Tunda sit ́ emeže ń putomo, śoks ńa ĺezdit ́ emežt ́ń eń purnamsto.

Exercise 6 . Listen and repeat. Audio : DS0169-23 (www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4745)

Exercise 7 . Answer the questions:

Kodamo t ́evt ́ t́eji Mit ŕej ńize valske marto, čit ́, čokš ńe? Koso važod́ i Mit ŕejat ́a? Koda juti čokš ńest? Kije si Mit ŕejat ́ań marto kortamo čokš ńe? Me źd́ e kortit ́ ćorat ́ń e? Ava ś korti ćorat ́ń eń marto? Kosot ejkakšost?

TEXT 2

Ašt emá kudo

Kov od loma ńt́ń e jaka śt́ vejse umoko ń škasto, s ńardo ara śeĺt́ a klubt, a kafete ŕijat, a kinot ́eatrat? Kizna si ń purom śt́ kišt ́eme-moramo ve ĺeń kunškaso, ĺija tarkava, mo ĺś t́ vi ŕev. T́ eĺń a čokš ńeń škasto si ń

68 purom śt́ śkamonzo e ŕića ava ń kudos, kona ńeń me ŕś t́ ašt ́ema kudo. Od t ́ejt ́eŕt́ń e saji ź martost stamost- kodamost, vikš ńemast. Ašt ́ema ń kudoso si ń ńevt ́iź me źeńt́ mašti ź t ́ejeme, vani ź ĺijat ́ń eń t ́evest, tonavt ńeśt́ me źejak od. Ašt ́ema ń kudos purom śt́ od ćoratkak. Od loma ńt́ń e veise korta śt́, kišt ́ś t́-mora śt́, nalk śeśt́, mu śt́ jalgat. Toso u ĺń eśt́ pejd́ emat, s ńardo-sńardo śeĺved́ t́kak. Ćorat ́ń e-t́ejt ́eŕt́ń e tonad śt́ loma ń jutkso ašt ́eme, karma śt́ sodamo koda vet ́ams p ŕańt́.

Exercise 8. Listen and repeat. Audio: DS0169-24 (www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv/naita.php?t=audio_trakk&id=4746)

Exercise 9. Complete the table Ašt ́ema kudo:

Kit́ jaka śt́ ašt́ema Me źeks jaka śt́ od loma ńt́ńe Koda juta śt́ čokš ńet́ńe ašt́ema kudov? aš t́ema kudov? kudoso?

Exercise 10 . Choose the right word to fill in the blank (word list: kudopotmo, peke, pŕa, keskav, źepe, ked́ ):

Čavo ………. lamo t ́evt ́ a t ́ejat. Čavo ………. inžeks a mo ĺat. Čavo ………. śt́ado a ašt ́i. Čavo ………. marto e ŕams a staka. Čavo………. si ŕet ́ń eńeń me ĺs a tuji.

Exercise 11 . How do young people today spend their time? The following expressions may help you form your answer: uĺi me ĺest t ́ejems lamo t́evt́, jakams ekše ĺamo /vi ŕev, puromoms kišt́eme-moramo, sams ĺezdamo, mo ĺems /jakams ombo mastorov, t́ejems sport. Say how you are going to spend your summer vacation.

Exercise 12. Visit the following link: view the tradition of Erzya folk singing (performed by the folk group Torama, who use traditional folk instruments). www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOwlUjdxMGQ&feature=related

TEXT 3

Me źe ramit ́? S ńaro pit ́ń eze? – Avaj, me źt́-me źt́ ramit ́?Me źe keskavsot? – Eŕva me źt́. Jarsamope ĺ, oršamot-ka ŕś emat, koct. – Me źeks kocto ńt́ ramik? – Me ĺezem tu ś. Stan me źejak. – Vaj, kodamo mazij! Raužo marto jakst́eŕe, seń; ašo, piže, ožo, t́uža lopińet́. Sńaro pit́ńeze? – A pek pit ́ń ejgak. – Paro. Peket ́ va čś ? – Alamodo va čś . Śimt ́ano čajd́ e, mej ĺe pid́ esi ńek sive ĺeńt́, čokš ńe u ĺi me źe jarsams. – Koso sive ĺeś? – Sajik keskavsto ńt́, son ko ńovo ńt́ potso. – Avaj, kši ramit ́? Koso kši ś? – Vaj, stuvtija ramams…

Exercise 13 . Say what you buy from the store often /sometimes /rarely. Note the use of the verbs ramams and ram śems :

Mon raman kši . I buy bread.

69 Mon ram śan (frequentative) kši śejed́ ste /s ńardo-sńardo / čurosto. I buy bread often /sometimes /rarely.

Say the price of the items you buy, e.g.: kši ńt́ pit́ń eze 1 (vejke) euro.

Exercise 14. Answer the questions:

1. Me źe ka źat t́et ́at ́eń, avat ́eń, sazorot ́eń, jalaksot ́eń, jalgat ́eń, viška ejkakšne ń, ve čkeviks mori ćańeń ša čoma čistenze? (answer choices: kiniga, pa ća, moro ń d́ isk, keskav, oršamope ĺ, šokolad, ćećat, nalkške ).

2. A) S ńardo mo ĺat ĺija mastorov, sajat martot … ? (oršamope ĺt́, kar śemape ĺt́, jarsamope ĺt́, ka źń et ́, ko ńovt, ki ńigat, dokumentt, komputer).

B) Mezeks sajsak / sajsit ́ …? (oršamope ĺt́ń eń, kar śemape ĺt́ń eń, jarsamope ĺt́ń eń, ka źń et ́ń eń, ko ńovt ńeń, kinigat ńeń, dokumenttne ń, komputere ńt́). (Possible answers: eŕavi , -t́ jarsams, sjormadoms jne).

Exercise 15. Translate into Erzya:

Students have a lot of work – during the day they go to lectures and seminars, in the evening they study at home as well. Many study other languages. No one knows how much free time students have. Let’s look at what they do in the summer, when they don’t go to university. Many go abroad, that’s why they learn languages. There are some students who work during the summer. In summer students have time to be with their families. They stay at home in their villages, go to the forest, go to the beach or the river bank. In the autumn and spring come the student days – young people meet at concerts, at sport clubs, play and dance together. Many sing in a choir year-round.

VOCABULARY Valks

andoms to feed oršams to wear ćeća flower oršamope ĺ clothing čaŕko d́ ems to understand pa ńems to bake čavo empty pej d́ ems to laugh čiĺiśema sunrise pe ŕka around emež vegetable pi d́ ems to cook jovks fairy-tale pi t́ńe price jutko gap pot(mo)sto from inside jutkoška free time po t́avtoms to milk kar śems to put on the feet pŕaka patty kar śemape ĺ footwear puromoms to assemble, gather kandoms to carry putoms emež t́ to plant vegetables kaštom oven sajems to take ka źems to give as a gift śkamo(-m) (I) alone ka źń e gift, present sevems to eat up keskav bag sive ĺ meat ki ńiga book sin ś they (themselves) koct fabric so ńś he/she (him-/herself) kodams to knit sovams to enter komputer computer śt́ams to get up ko ńov paper, bill sta/ms, -mo to sew, -ing kši bread stuvtoms to forget

70 kunsoloms to listen šĺams to wash kunška middle, center šĺams-nardams to clean ĺezdams to help ti ńś you (yourselves) lop/a, -ińe leaf ton ś you (yourself) lovso milk tašto old, worn-out maksoms to pay t́er d́ ems to invite ma ŕams to hear udoms to sleep maštoms to know, be able to uštoms to heat mi ńś we (ourselves) vajge ĺ mon ś I (myself) val(n)oms to water mori ća singer valske marto in the morning mu śkems to do laundry važo d́ ems to work nalk śems to play ve čkems to love nalkške toy ve d́ kev, -g- mill nardams to dry vejse together pa ńems to drive away ve t́ams to pull pa ńems kši to bake bread ve t́ams p ŕa to behave ńev t́ems to show źepe pocket

Unit 9 Vejkse će pe ĺks

GRAMMAR

Imperative Mood (Definite Conjugation)

Imperative verb forms appear in the definite conjugation with first-person and third-person objects, as well as with definite and possessive noun phrase objects.

Imperative mood definite conjugation forms ( vet ́ams ‘to take, lead, direct’, učoms ‘to wait’, t́eŕd́ ems ‘to invite’):

ton mo ń ve t́a-mak, u čo-mak, t́eŕd́ e-mak iĺa-mak ve t́a, u čo, t́eŕd́ e mi ńek ve t́a-mi ź, u čo-mi ź, t́eŕd́ e-mi ź iĺa-mi ź ve t́a, u čo, t́eŕd́ e sonze ve t́i-k, u či-k, t́eŕd́ i-k iĺi-k ve t́a, u čo, t́eŕd́ e sinst ve t́i-t́, u či-t́, t́eŕd́ i-t́ iĺi-t́ ve t́a, u čo, t́eŕd́ e ti ń mo ń ve t́a-mi ź, u čo-mi ź, t́eŕd́ e-mi ź iĺa-mi ź ve t́a, u čo, t́eŕd́ e mi ńek ve t́a-mi ź, u čo-mi ź, t́eŕd́ e-mi ź iĺa-mi ź ve t́a, u čo, t́eŕd́ e sonze ve t́i-nk u či-nk t́eŕd́ i-nk iĺi-nk ve t́a, u čo, t́eŕd́ e sinst ve t́i-nk u či-nk t́eŕd́ i-nk iĺi-nk ve t́a, u čo, t́eŕd́ e

As is the case in the indicative mood (see Unit 8), there is considerable overlap between the plural forms. With third-person objects ( sonze, sinst ), the stem vowels a, o, and e are replaced by i. Negative imperatives are formed by affixing the appropriate definite conjugation ending to the negative imperative stem iĺ-, followed by the stem of the main verb.

Examples:

Pat́aj, u čomak, mongak mo ĺan kinov. Sister, wait for me, I’ll go to the cinema, too. Ćori ńem , vet́it́ alašat́ńeń śimeme. My little boy, lead the horses to drink. Sajink ko ńovonk mekev. Take your papers back. Iĺamak t́eŕd́ e – a mo ĺan, škam ara ś. Don’t ask me to come along – I won’t go, I have no time. Iĺink stuvto sajems ko ńovt ́ńeń. Don’t forget to take the papers.

71 Exercise 1 . Complete the text with the appropriate definite conjugation imperative forms:

(Śormadoms) ńe valtne ń. (Lovnoms) t́e jovkso ńt́, son pek mazij. (Morams) vana t ́e moro ńt́, mo ń me ĺs son pek tuji. (Sajems) vi ŕev, ĺeĺaj, mon a karman kudov t ́eŕd́ eme. (Vanoms) ejkakštne ń, udit ́-a udit ́! (Kunsoloms – mo ń), jalgat, i ĺado mo ĺe tov. Vanodo, (tapams: negative ) su ĺika ńt́. (Sajems: negative ) ve śe jarmakot bankasto. (Stuvtoms: negative ) mo ń valon.

Non-Finite Verb Forms

In addition to the infinitive (see Unit 5), Erzya non-finite verb forms include the present and past participle, as well as the gerund. The most common present and past participle endings are -ća and -ź respectively:

mori ća /lovni ća /tonavt ńića ejkakš ‘a singing /reading /studying child’; t́eje ź t ́ev ‘done (finished) work’, pra ź lopa ‘a fallen leaf’.

The ending -ća is added to the third person singular present tense form:

mora-ms, lovno-ms, tonavt ńe-ms: mori-ća, lovni-ća, tonavt ńi-ća.

The present participle is negated by the negation word a, e.g. a tonavt ńića ejkakš ‘the child who isn’t studying’. The ending -ća appears also in agent nouns: mori ća ‘singer’, kunsoli ća ‘listener’, śormadi ća ‘writer’). The past participle in -ź may be used in both passive ( parosto śormado ź śorma ‘a well-written letter’) and intransitive ( si źeź ćora ‘a tired man’) contexts, as in English (but unlike in Finnish and Estonian). The ending -ź is added to the verb stem. The negative past participle is formed by the word apak followed by the verb stem:

purna-ms, śormado-ms, t́eje-ms: purna-ź, śormado-ź, t ́eje-ź; negative : apak purna , apak śormado, apak t́eje .

(There are also less frequently used present and past participle endings, e.g. -i(j), -ks; -ń, -vt, -vt ́, as in mori narmo ń ‘singing bird’, ve čkeviks loma ń ‘beloved person’, iśak saje ń od ́ iŕva ‘the bride taken yesterday (from a folk song)’, ava ń joravt kši ‘bread baked by Mother’, apak śeźń evt́ ‘untorn, unbroken’). As in the example above ( ava ń joravt kši ), the -vt past participle is used when preceded by a modifier in the genitive. Agent constructions consist of agent (in the genitive case) + participle + noun. (Those familiar with Finnic languages will be able to identify very similar structures in Finnish and Estonian). Like other nominals, the present and past participles may receive a) definite and possessive declension case endings, b) uĺems personal endings:

a) si ća-ś, -t́ńe; -m, -nok, -st ‘arriving’; saje ź-e-ś, -t́ńe; saje ź-e-m, -ńek, -st ‘taken’; b) mi ń si ćatano, avo ĺ tuji ćatano ‘we are comers, not goers’; ton ku čoźat t́evs, avo ĺ i śt́ak ‘you’ve been sent for a job, not for no reason’.

There are two gerunds, -msto /-mste and -ź, which serve as time and manner adverbials respectively. The -msto/-mste gerund indicates an action which takes place at the same time as another action; the ź- gerund describes the manner in which something is done:

Vi ŕev mo ĺemste mi ń mori ńek. ‘While going to the forest, we sang.’ Mo ĺińek vi ŕev mora ź. ‘We went to the forest singing.’

72 Both gerund endings are added directly to the verb stem:

morams, lovnoms, mo ĺems: mora-msto, lovno-msto, mo ĺe-mste; mora-ź, lovno-ź, mo ĺe-ź.

The -msto/-mste gerund may be followed by possessive declension endings:

mora-msto-nzo ‘during his /her singing, while he /she is /was singing’ , lovno-msto-nok ‘during our reading, while we are /were reading’, mo ĺe-mste-nk (during your (pl). walking, while you are /were going) ;

Exercise 2 . Translate the following phrases including -ća and -ź participles and -msto /-mste gerunds:

a) tonavt ńića ejkakšozo, u čića loma ńeś, lovsodo śimi ća vaz, si ća ćora ś, ma ŕića śed́ ej, čaŕkod́ ića ava, mi ŕd́ eńeń ĺiśića t ́ejt ́eŕest, kudos sovi ća inže ś, mazijste korti ćaś; b) śormado ź ĺem, makso ź jarmakost, ve ĺeste uskoź uma ŕeńek, seve ź p ŕakat ́ń e, parosto pid́ eź jamo ś, se ńse-jakst ́eŕese vikš ńeź koctozo, mu śke ź oršamo-pe ĺenk ; c) t́eĺevizoro ń vanomsto, t ́eve ńt́ t ́ejemste, jalgam marto kortamsto, ve ĺev tujemste, kudov samsto, mu źejga jakamsto, ejkakštne ń u čomsto, školav pa čkod́ emste.

Exercise 3 . Choose the appropriate gerunds (-ź or -msto/-mste ) to complete the sentences:

Uńiver śit ́etev mo ĺe-… vastija jalgam. Sasti ńe mo ĺe-… pa čkod́ iń U ńiver śit ́ets. Ejkakšo ś sova ś ava ŕd́ e-… . Ńejija ejkakšo ńt́ ava ŕd́ e-… . Ćora ś tu ś kudov čije-… . Son pra ś čije-… .

Exercise 4 . Translate these Erzya proverbs (valme ŕevkst):

Eŕamo ś sokoro ńt́kak ńeji ćaks t ́ejsi. Iĺa ke ńardo, s ńardo mujat, i ĺa ŕizne, s ńardo jomavtat.

CONVERSATION AND READING Kortamo – lovnoma

Visiting the Erzyans Er źat ́ń eń pe ĺe

me ĺ(e ń) mo ĺema longing; boredom me ĺem mo ĺś I got bored; I miss /long for uĺi me ĺ, -em I want koda to ńet́ ma ŕav ś …? How did ... seem to you? ike ĺeń ška the old days jakavtoms to make (someone) go vana vansi ńek look (now), let’s look at them -ńe, -ka, e.g. aši ńe, mazij ńe, t́ej t́eŕka (diminutive suffixes) -j, e.g.: numolkaj, avaj, t́et ́aj, pat ́aj, ĺeĺaj (vocative marker, used when addressing someone)

TEXT 1

Pekka tonavt ́ń eś er źań ke ĺeńt́ kavto ije ń pe ŕt́. U ĺń eś me ĺeze ńejems koda e ŕit ́ erźat ́ń e e ś mastorsost. Kizna son u ĺń eś Saran ošso, koso jaka ś U ńiver śit ́ete ń er źań ke ĺeń kafedrav. Ko ĺĺ egat ́ń e saji ź Pekka ń er źań ve ĺev. Pekka jovt ́ń i Tiina ńeń śeńd́ e, me źe ńej ś, kuva jaka ś.

73 Tiina Mon ma ŕiń ton jakit ́ Saranov. Mejse ardit ́? Pekka Ta ĺĺ innse ozi ń pojezds, konasont ́ ardi ń Moskovov. Tosto tuji ń ĺija pojezdse Saranov. Ardoma ś u ĺń eś vet ́, juta ś pek parosto. Udi ń čevt ́e tarkaso, ojm śiń-t́eji ń, valske marto śiśemste pojezde ś pa čkod́ ś Mordovijav. Ardomsto ńeji ń va ĺmavant ́ t ́ija-tuva ve ĺińet ́. Saranso śeske mujija U ńiver śit ́etent ́, mo ĺiń er źań ke ĺeń kafedrav. Korti ń ko ĺĺ egat ́ń eń marto, mej ĺe si ń sajimi ź jarsamo, sovi ńek kafete ŕijas. Tiina Koda to ńet ́ ma ŕav ś Saran-ošo ś? Tu ś me ĺezet ́? Pekka Ošo ń kunška ś mazijd́ ejak mazij, pek va ńks, e ŕva kuva ćećat. Tiina Lamo er źat vastit ́? Pekka Saranga jakamsto mon er źań-mokšo ń ke ĺ e źiń ma ŕa, śeks tuji ń vejke ko ĺĺ egam marto er źań ve ĺev, Vi ŕeń Tavlav, kona a pek vasolo Saransto. Tarka ś me ĺezem pek tu ś – vi ŕt́, pandi ńet ́. Tašto kudi ńet ́ń eń jutkova ašt ́it ́ od kudot. Ve ĺesent ́ u ĺi viška mu źeje ń ko ńd́ amo etno-kudo. Toso ńeji ń koj-me źt́ ve ĺe loma ńt́ń eń ike ĺeń ška ń e ŕamostost, u ĺi-parostost. Ve ĺesent ́ u ĺi škola, koso tonavtit ́ čuvtosto ke ŕamo ń t ́eve ńt́. Ke ŕićat ́ń e t ́ejit ́ čuvto ń čačot, nalkšket ́. Tiina Sńaro čis jakit ́ ve ĺev? Pekka Kolmo čis. Jakavtimi ź kudosto kudos, e ŕva koso jala jarsi ńek-śimi ńek, korti ńek, loma ńt́ń e morast ́ mo ńeń er źań morot. Vasti ń si ŕe loma ńt́, konat ́ń e jovt ńeśt́ umok ška ń e ŕamodost. Tiina Me źd́ e jarsid́ e? Pekka Eŕva me źd́ e – ŕesta ź sive ĺd́ e, kujardo, pangodo. Me ĺezem pek tu śt́ panžakajt ́ń e čapamo lovso marto. Tiina Mej ĺe sid́ e Saranov? Pekka Saranov tujemado ike ĺe sovi ńek kalmolangs, vi ŕs, ašt ́ińek ĺej čiŕese, mej ĺe ardi ńek a vasolo ve ĺet ́ń eva. Saranso ašt ́eź jaki ń St ́epan Er źań mu źejev, sovi ń isto ŕija ń-etnografija ń mu źejs, ve čokš ńeste u ĺń iń er źań-mokšo ń t ́eatraso. Ška ś juta ś pek kuroksto. Tiina Me ĺet ́ e ź mo ĺe? Pekka Eź, u ĺń eś me ĺem śed́ ejak lamo ńejems. Si ijeste tago mo ĺan er źań jonksov, u ĺi me ĺem pa čkod́ ems Rav čiŕese e ŕićat ́ń eń pe ĺev. Tiina T́ ejit ́ fototkak? Pekka Sńarija, vana vansi ńek.

Exercise 5 . Are the following statements true ( vid́ e) or false (a vid́ e)?

– Moskovsto Saranov ard ś Pekka čit ́. – Pekka pa čkod́ ś Saranov cokš ńe. – Pekka jaka ś vanomo Sarano ń mazij tarkat ́ń eń avo ĺ śkamonzo. – Saranso Pekka korta ś lamo loma ń marto er źaks. – Vi ŕeń Tavla ś ašt ́i vi ŕeń-pando ń tarkaso. – Pekka ń jakavti ź kudosto kudos, son kunsolo ś morot, jovt ́ń emat. – Pekka ve ĺese jarsa ś an śak kaldo. – Ve ĺeste Pekka śeske tu ś kudov. – Pekka ń Saranso ara śeĺ škazo mo ĺems t ́eatrav. – Saranso Pekka ń mo ĺś me ĺeze. – Pekka e ź t ́eje vejkejak foto – me ĺeze ara śeĺ.

Exercise 6. Complete the following sentences (translate the phrases in brackets or add a phrase of your own).

Pekka tonavt ńiźe er źań ke ĺent ́, śeks … (he wanted to meet Erzyan people). Śeske koda Pekka sa ś Saranov, … (he met with colleagues from the University of Mordovia). Ve ĺeń e ŕićat ́ń e kortit ́ er źań ke ĺse, śeks … (Pekka left Saransk for the country). Pekka korta ś si ŕe loma ńt́ń eń marto – … (they spoke about their life in the old days). Pekka ń me ĺezenze tu ś ve ĺese ašt ́ema ś – … (he spoke only Erzya there). Saranso Pekka ń u ĺń eś škazo – …(he went to museums and to the theater). Er źań mastorsto Pekka usk ś s ńarija fotot, … (he showed the photos to Tiina).

74 Exercise 7 . Use the ablative forms of the nouns below, as in the examples given on the top row:

Śimems ve d́ t́e Jarsams topodo Kortams t ́ev d́ e pu ŕe kši ekzamen lovso sive ĺ eŕamo čaj uma ŕ loma ń ĺimonad panžakaj ka źń e kofija kujar ška koj-me źe eŕva me źe me źejak

Exercise 8. Visit the following links: view the scenes of life of the Erzyans displayed in photos and video clips (the video clips were made in the museum of the village of Tavla , which was the cottage of Vladimir Romashkin, the founder of the Torama folk group). http://purgine.livejournal.com/tag/%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%8B http://pik-tanya.livejournal.com/463403.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJWW1IhAY-c&feature=plcp

TEXT 2

A song from childhood, about a rabbit:

– A numolkaj, numolkaj, Meks, numolkaj, mazij ńat? – T́ et ́am-avam mazij ńeĺt́. – A numolkaj, numolkaj, Meks, numolkaj, aši ńat? – T́ et ́am-avam aši ńeĺt́. A ta-t́i, a ta-t́i ... Mo ĺan kši ńem var časa, Pa ŕak, śeje ĺ sali źe – Kapsta pi ŕes kandi źe.

Exercise 9 . Complete the following sentences.

a) …………………………….., śeks son u ĺń eś mazij ńe. b) ……………………………… , śeks son u ĺń eś aši ńe. c) Śeje ĺeńt́ pekeze va čś , śeks ………………………….. d) Sala ź kši ńeńt́ ……………………………….

Exercise 10 . Study the use of the word me ĺ in the fixed expressions me ĺs tujems ‘to be pleasing, appeal to’, me ĺ- (+ genitive) moĺems ‘to get bored, to long for’, me ĺ- (+ genitive) uĺems ‘to want, desire’. Use the appropriate forms of these expressions to complete the sentences below:

Mo ń me ĺs moro ś … . Me ĺezenze t ́e t ́eve ś e ź … . Jarsamope ĺeś me ĺezenk … ? Ma ŕavi, sinst me ĺest … . Čiś paro ĺ, ejkakštne ń me ĺest e ź … . Ombo mastorso me ĺenk …? Mo ń … me ĺem ramams od mašina. Mi ńek ara ś … mo ĺems kafete ŕijav. Ki ń … me ĺeze ńejems od fi ĺma ńt́?

Exercise 11 . Answer the questions:

Jakit ́ kovgak jutkoškasto /t ́eĺń a /kizna? Śkamot /Kije marto jakit ́ ĺembe mastorov? Mejse ardit ́? Busso /pojezdse /mašinaso?

75 Sńars jakit ́ tov? Koso e ŕit ́ /e ŕid́ e? Me źe ńejit ́ / ńejid́ e? Me źd́ e jarsit ́-śimit ́ ki langso? Me ĺezet ́ tu ś tarka ś/ tu śt́ tarkat ńe? Uĺi me ĺet ́ tago mo ĺems tov?

Exercise 12 . Describe a memorable vacation you’ve taken (approx. 150 words).

Useful expressions:

Uĺi me ĺem ńejems lamo tarkat /mastort . Ki langso vastan lamo loma ńt́, mujan jalgat . Ardt ́ń emste mon t ́ejan lamo fotot. Kizna jaki ń …

Exercise13 . Match the Erzya onomatopoetic expressions below with their English equi- valents/explanations, then use them to complete the sentences.

kuldor-kaldor splash, lapping losk-losk warble, chirp, twitter pet́-pet́ movement of a cart or buggy kalck-kalck stomping with feet dubor-dubor muscle twitching nock-nock hitting, striking (wood) ćiv-ćiv throbbing, pulsation šo ĺk-šo ĺk rustle, murmur kaštor-kaštor silence a kuš-a kaš dripping liquid ze ŕt́ rumble, roar

Krandazo ś ardi – … … . Pra ź lopat ́ń e pi ĺge ńek alo – … … . Kudo ś čavo – … … . Narmo ń mori – … … . Alašat ́ń e ardit ́ – … … . Ved́ eś čud́ i – … … . Vi ŕ ke ŕit ́ – … … .

VOCABULARY Valks

ardoms to drive numolo hare, rabbit ard t́ńems to drive (repeatedly) od́ iŕva young wife avar d́ ems to cry oš town ćeća flower ozams to sit čiŕe, ši ŕe bank, edge pa čko d́ ems to arrive čapamo lovso buttermilk pango mushroom čud́ ems to pour, flow panžakaj pie čuvto tree, wood pa ŕak maybe, hopefully čuvto ń kudo wooden house pe ŕt́ through čijems to run pi źeme rain eŕva koso everywhere pi źems to rain eŕva me źe everything pojezd train ike ĺe, -ń in front of /before, previous purnams to gather up inže guest prams to fall jakavtoms to make (someone) go purnavoms to gather (come) jorams to prepare ŕiznems to worry jutams to go, pass by salams to steal jutkoška free time śeje ĺ hedgehog kafedra chair, (sub)department sńarija some, quite a lot kalmolango graveyard sovams to enter

76 kandoms to carry sokor blind ke ńardoms to rejoice, gladden su ĺika glass ke ŕams to cut tago-sńardo sometime(s) ki langso on the way /road tapams to crush koj-me źe something tašto old krandaz cart topo curd cheese kujar cucumber uĺi-paro fortune kunška middle umok, -oń long ago, ancient kurok, -sto quick, -ly uskoms to bring, pull ma ŕams to hear, feel učoms to wait ma ŕavoms to be heard, felt, to seem va ńks clean me ĺe(-m) mo ĺś I got bored, I long for vastoms to meet me ĺmo ĺema boredom, longing var čams to try nalkške toy ve t́ams to pull, send

Unit 10 Keme ńć e pe ĺks

GRAMMAR

Conditional mood

The Erzya verb system features a variety of grammatical moods which express the speaker’s attitude toward the reality /realizability of the activity described. In addition to the conditional mood, these include the conjunctive, conditional-conjunctive, optative, and desiderative. This unit will cover two of these moods: the conditional and the conjunctive. The conditional mood expresses actions or states which are necessary for the future realization of another action or state. The conditional expression forms a subordinate clause, with the verb in the main clause appearing in the present/future tense. An Erzya conditional sentence thus corresponds to an English if sentence with a present-tense verb in the subordinate clause and a future-tense verb in the main clause, e.g.:

Uĺińd́ eŕaj škam, moĺan ve ĺev. ‘If I have time, I’ll go to the country’.

Note that the Erzya sentence above does not include a separate word meaning ‘if’; rather, the meaning of ‘if’ is encapsulated in the conditional verb form.

Conditional (indefinite conjugation) forms:

Past simple first person singular form + -d́ eŕ- + present tense personal ending

Mon jarsi ń-d́ eŕan śimi ń-d́ eŕan Ton jarsi ń-d́ eŕat śimi ń-d́ eŕat Son jarsi ń-d́ eŕaj śimi ń-d́ eŕaj Mi ń jarsi ń-d́ eŕatano śimi ń-d́ eŕatano Ti ń jarsi ń-d́ eŕatado śimi ń-d́ eŕatado Si ń jarsi ń-d́ eŕajt ́ śimi ń-d́ eŕajt ́

The suffix -d́ eŕ- derives from the verb t́eŕavtoms ‘to try’, which historically joined with the preceding verb to make a compound form.

77 Conjunctive mood

The conjunctive expresses an action or state which the speaker considers counterfactual, i.e. unreal or unlikely to take place; conjunctive forms often express the speaker’s desire. The conjunctive marker is the suffix -v(o) ĺ /-v(e) ĺ-. The conjunctive roughly corresponds to English would .

Conjunctive (indefinite conjugation) forms:

stem + -v(o) ĺ/-v(e) ĺ + past simple personal ending

Mon jarsav ĺiń śimev ĺiń Ton jarsav ĺit ́ śimev ĺit ́ Son jarsavo ĺ śimeve ĺ Mi ń jarsav ĺińek śimev ĺińek Ti ń jarsav ĺid́ e śimev ĺid́ e Si ń jarsavo ĺt ́ śimeve ĺt́

The past simple personal endings may be related to forms of the verb uĺems , where the appearance of v in place of u intervocalically is to be expected.

Conditional and conjunctive (definite conjugation ) forms (e.g. morams moro ńt́):

Conditional Conjunctive Mon mori ń-d́ eŕasa mora -vĺija Ton mori ń-d́ eŕasak mora -vĺik Son mori ń-d́ eŕasi mora-vĺiźe Mi ń mori ń-d́ eŕasi ńek mora-vĺińek Ti ń mori ń-d́ eŕasink mora-vĺink Si ń mori ń-d́ eŕasi ź mora-vĺiź

Examples of the use of the conditional and conjunctive, in both the indefinite and definite conjugations, are presented below:

Conditional (indefinite conjugation):

Mo ĺińd́ eŕan Saranov, sovan St ́epan Er źań ga ĺeŕejas. If I go to Saransk, I’ll visit the Stepan Erzya art gallery. Uĺińd́ eŕajt ́ satoška jarmakon, mo ĺan ombo mastorov. If I have enough money, I’ll go abroad.

Conjunctive (indefinite conjugation):

Mo ĺev ĺiń Saranov, sovav ĺiń St ́epan Er źań ga ĺeŕejas. If I went to Saransk, I would visit the Stepan Erzya art gallery. Uĺeve ĺt́ satoška jarmakon, mo ĺev ĺiń ombo mastorov. If I had enough money, I would go abroad.

Conditional and conjunctive (definite conjugation):

Ńeji ńd́ eŕasa, kortan martonzo. If I see him, I’ll speak with him. Ńejev ĺija, kortav ĺiń martonzo. If I saw him, I’d speak with him.

78 Negative forms of both the conditional and conjunctive consist of the negation word a followed by the conjugated verb form; however, in the conjunctive, negation is also possible by means of the word avo ĺ. In this case, avo ĺ- behaves similarly to the past tense negative verb eź-, receiving the appropriate personal endings and being followed by the verb stem.

Conditional (indefinite /definite): A saji ńd́ eŕat jarsamope ĺ /a saji ńd́ eŕasak jarsamope ĺeńt́ martot – ašt ́at va čopeke. If you don’t take any food along, you’ll end up hungry. Conjunctive (indefinite): A sajev ĺit ́ /avo ĺit ́ saje jarsamope ĺ martot – ašt ́ev ĺit ́ va čopeke. If you didn’t take any food along, you’d end up hungry. Conjunctive (definite): A sajev ĺik /avo ĺik saje jarsamope ĺeńt́ martot – ašt ́ev ĺit ́ va čopeke. If you didn’t take the food along, you’d end up hungry.

Derivational Suffixes

Erzya verbal morphology features a number of productive derivational suffixes, including:

– The frequentative suffixes -ś, -n/-ń, -kšn , which express repeated or continuous action: morams – mor śems , jakams – jak śems, kortams – kort ńems, vanoms – vannoms, sams – sak šnoms ; – The reflexive / passive suffix -v: purnams ‘to collect, gather’ – purnavoms ‘to come together, gather (intr.)’, šĺams ‘to wash’ – šĺavoms ‘to be washed’, ńejems ‘to see’ – ńejavoms ‘to be seen, be visible’; – The causative suffix -vt /-vt :́ karmams ‘to start doing something’ – karmavtoms ‘to make someone do something’, sovams ‘to enter’ – sovavtoms ‘to let in, insert, include’, jomams ‘to disappear’ – jomavtoms ‘to lose’, ńejems ‘to see’ – ńevt ́ems ‘to show’.

Exercise 1. Conjugate the verbs jutams, ku źems, pa čkod́ ems, and sovams in the conditional and conjunctive.

Exercise 2 . Add the appropriate adverbials ( t́ese /toso, t́eze /tozo, t́ej /tov, t́ija /tuva ) to the following conditional and conjunctive verb forms, e.g. sovav ĺiń tozo :

sovav ĺiń sovi ńd́ eŕat tujev ĺiń tuji ńd́ eŕat jutav ĺiń juti ńd́ eŕat mo ĺev ĺiń mo ĺińd́ eŕat jakav ĺiń jaki ńd́ eŕat aš t́ev ĺiń aš t́ińd́ eŕat ojm śev ĺiń ojm śińd́ eŕat

Exercise 3 . Form sentences by joining the phrases on the left with the appropriate continuations on the right.

Si ńd́ eŕaj śimemat, eźeme ś čavo, ozak, ojmsik Va čińd́ eŕaj peke t́, ke čeś onot koso, śim t́ Si ńd́ eŕaj udomat, sovak klubs, toso sval e ŕśit́ stu d́ entt Śiźińd́ eŕaj t́ pi ĺge t́, panžakaj t́ńe onot kosot, jarsak Uĺińd́ eŕaj meĺet́, tarka ś aca ź – aźo, ma d́ t́ Juti ńd́ eŕaj udomat, saj t́ ki ńiga, lovnok Sovi ńd́ eŕat vi ŕs, iĺa puto lamo sal Pi d́ ińd́ eŕat jam, iĺak jomavto ki ńt́

79 Exercise 4 . Put the infinitives in brackets into the conditional to complete the sentences.

(Tujems ) té kiva ńt́, pa čko d́ t́ado parko ńt́eń. (Sams ) parkov, ńeji t́ toso e ŕva-kodamo ćećat. (Uĺems ) me ĺenk kortams ki ńgak marto, mo ĺed́ e čok šńe parkov. Parko ś loma ńd́ e pešk śe. (Sams ) śimemank, (va čoms ) pekenk, sovado kafete ŕijas. (Śiźems ) – parkso ńt́ eŕva kuva aš t́it́ eźem t́. Ozak, alamos ojm śek. Parkso ńt́ uĺit ́ nu ŕamot. (U ĺems) me ĺenk, nu ŕatado.

Exercise 5 . Translate the following sentences into English, paying attention to the use of derivational suffixes:

Mi ń jak śińek vi ŕev I ńečiste, toso mor śińek, kort ńińek. Mon vanni ń ve śe fotot ́ńeń. Ava ś karma ś tujeme – karmavtin źe ejkakštne ń kudo ń t ́eve ń t ́ejeme. Inže ńt́ jakavti ź kudodo kudos. Ćori ńeś sovavti źe kiska-ĺevkse ńt́ kudi ńeńt́eń. Sa ś pokš čiś. Mi ń purnavi ńek vejs. Al će ošo ś ńejavi parosto pando p ŕasto ńt́. Mon ńevt́iń mazij tarkat ́ń eń. Va ĺmat ́ń e š ĺavst ́, ńej alamodo ojm śet ́ano. Pa ćam juma ś. Jumavtija pa ćam.

CONVERSATION AND READING Kortamo – lovnoma

Saranso In Saransk

inže ń kudo guest house al će / ve ŕće ošo ń pe ĺks upper / lower part of a city vaksso, vakss, vakska: uĺems vaksso to be next to (smth) mo ĺems vakss to go next to (smth) jutams vakska to pass, go past kunška (tarka) center ma ŕavi … it seems … ńejavi … it appears … ono / onot koso look, there it is... kize ń pe ŕt́ all summer long ĺijat-me źt́ other things mekev samsto-+-m, -t, -nzo, -nok, -nk, -st on (my) coming back udoma-+-m, -t, -zo, -nok, -nk, -st si / sa ś (I, you, etc) fall / fell asleep śimema-+-m, -t, -zo, -nok, -nk, -st si / sa ś (I, you, etc) get / got thirsty peke-+-m, -t́, -ze, -ńek, -nk, -st va či / va čś (my, your, etc stomach) get / got hungry

TEXT 1

Isto ŕija ń-etnografija ń mu źej

Sarano ń alće ošso ńt́ 1918 ijeste panžov ś isto ŕija ń, etnografija ń, pe ŕt́-pe ĺkse ń mu źej. Saranov si ćat ́ń e, eŕićat ́ń ejak paro me ĺse sovit ́ mu źejs. Mon ejkakšpingste lamok śt́ jaki ń tov škola ń jalgat ́ń eń marto, sńardo-sńardo śkamomgak. Kuvat ́ ašt ́iń śe tarka ńt́ ike ĺe, koso u ĺń eśt́ ike ĺeń ška ń oršamot ́ń e- kar śemat ́ń e, e ŕamokudo ś. Mu źejse ńt́ ašt ́eśt́ kevste, kš ńiste, śovo ńste, su ĺikasto, čova ĺasto t ́eje ź eŕva- me źt́. Arheologija ń, isto ŕija ń sodi ćat ́ń e śormad́ śt́ kosto si ń sajev śt́. Ejkakštne jala vanno śt́ rakša ń-

80 narmu ńeń ša čot ́ń eń. Ćori ńet ́ń e jaka śt́ vanomo keze ŕeń ška ń naltne ń, u źeŕt́ń eń, ušmano ń oršamot ́ńeń. Mo ĺińd́ eŕan Saranov, tago sovan mu źejs. Nejev ĺija śeń, me źeś u ĺń eś toso ejkakšpingstem, śeńgak, me źeś puto ź ods.

Exercise 6 . Answer the questions:

Sńardo panži ź isto ŕija ń, etnografija ń, pe ŕt́-pe ĺkse ń mu źeje ńt́ Saranso? Koso ašt ́i mu źeje ś? Me źt́ u ĺit ́ mu źejse ńt́ ? Me źeś tuji śed́ e pek me ĺs ejkakštne ńeń, ćori ńet ́ń eńeń? Mo ĺińd́ eŕat S aranov, sovat mu źejs? Me źt́ vanov ĺit ́ toso?

Exercise 7. Visit the following link: view the history museum with the help of the visitor’s guide provided on the website. www.mrkm.ru/main/virt_ekskurs/

TEXT 2

Saranso

Aniko sa ś Saranov stud́ ente ń konfe ŕen ćijav. Inže ń kudoso sonze vasti źe Pietro, stud́ ent Ita ĺijasto. Songak sa ś finne ń-ugra ń ke ĺeń konfe ŕen ćija ńt́eń. Od loma ńt́ń e tu śt́ jalgo u ńiver śit ́etev. Pietro u ĺń eś Saranso śed́ e ike ĺejak, son parosto sodi ĺiźe ki ńt́. Inže ń kudo ś ašt ́i al će ošso ńt́. Si ń juta śt́ mu źeje ń vakska, pa čkod́ śt́ pokš parko ń vakss, mej ĺe ku źś t́ ve ŕev, oš-kunška ńt́ vid́ s. Toso si ń alamos ašt ́eśt́, alov vano ź ńej śt́ mazijd́ ejak mazij pe ŕt́-pe ĺks. Ke ĺej uĺć ava si ń tu śt́ u ńiver śit ́ete ńt́ pe ĺev.

Aniko Vant, ta-kodamo mu źej. Pietro T́ e isto ŕija ń-etnografija ń mu źeje ś. Aniko Ton u ĺń it ́ toso? Pietro Uĺń iń, an śak śeste škam alamo ĺ. Paro me ĺse sovav ĺiń odov. Valske u ńiver śit ́etev mo ĺemado ike ĺe sovan, u ĺińd́ eŕaj škam. Aniko Śeste mongak mo ĺev ĺiń martot. Pietro Paro, mo ĺt́ano veise. Aniko Ma ŕavi, Sarano ś a pek umoko ń oš. Pietro Vid́ e, son ušodov ś 1641 ijeste saje ź. Śeste t ́ija juta ś ruzo ń mastortne ń pi ŕavks jono ś, Sarano ś u ĺń eś vanstoma ošoks. Vana t ́ese čud́ eś Saranka ĺej, son ko śkś. Toso u ĺń eś ke ĺej na čko tarka. Od škasto t ́ija nolda śt́ čud́ ike ŕks, vet ́aśt́ vijev fontant-ĺiśmap ŕat, tarka ńt́ ve ĺt́iź kevse, gra ńitse. Aniko Mon lovni ń, Sarano ń malava čud́ i Insar-ĺej. Pietro Vant tona pe ĺev, onot koso, alamodo ńejavi. Aniko T́ e mazij parko ś, u ĺema, umoko ń. Pietro Parko ś botanika ń pi ŕeń ko ńd́ amo, son umoko ń, pek parosto vansto ź. Sarano ń e ŕićat ́ń eńeń son ve čkeviks tarka. Kize ń pe ŕt́ lamot sit ́ t ́ej jutkoškasto. Čokš ńe ńejat parkso an śak od loma ńt́. Aniko Paro me ĺse sovav ĺiń vanomonzo. Pietro Mekev samsto sovatano, u ĺińd́ eŕaj me ĺet ́. Aniko Ono tona pe ĺe ńejavi Disneylando ń ko ńd́ amo tarka – vant, pokš-čarij, ĺijat me źt́… Pietro Śe tarka śkak ńeje ń škasto i śt́amoks t́eje ź. Kuvat ́ t ́ese ašt ́eś an śak stad́ ion. Ńesak, ono toso. Śed́ e tašto stad́ iono ś ašt ́i ošo ńt́ ve ŕće pe ĺksse, u ńiver śit ́ete ńt́ vaksso. Mi ń ńej ku źt́ano ve ŕev, gra ńitse ve ĺt́aź kijava ńt́, kuva nolda ź čud́ ike ŕkse ś. Pa čkod́ t́ano ošo ńt́ kunškas. Aniko Mo ń me ĺs pek tuji t ́e tarka ś. U ńiver śit ́ete ś vasolo t ́este? Pietro A vasolo. Śiźit ́? Aniko Eźiń. Ašt ́et ́ano alamoška t ́ese, vantano. Malaso ńejavi od ćeŕkova ń p ŕa.

81 Pietro T́ e oznoma kudo ś śt́avto ź meje ĺć e škasto. Saranso śed́ e ike ĺe u ĺne śt́ pek lamo oznoma ń tarkat – ćeŕkovat, monasti ŕt́. Sinst mej ĺe kalavti ź, kona ń-konań t ́eji ź mu źejeks-me źeks. Saranso tago-sńardo e ŕaśt́ śupav mikš ńićat, ije ń pe ŕt́ juta śt́ najmant-jarmunkat. Ja, mi ń pa čkod́ ińek ke ĺej tarka ńt́eń ošo ńt́ kunškaso, koso e ŕśiśt́ pokš jarmunkat ́ń e. Aniko Sodat, mon ramav ĺiń ĺit ́eratura er źań ke ĺse, kodatkak suve ńirt. Pietro T́ este a vasolo u ĺi vejke ki ńiga ń lavka, koso s ńardo-sńardo er śit ́ er źań-mokšo ń ke ĺse śormado ź ki ńigat, pa ŕak me źejak ramatano.

Exercise 8 . Mark the following statements true or false ( vid́ e /a vid́ e):

a. Aniko Pietro marto sa śt́ Ita ĺijasto. b. Si ń tu ŕistt, ńej mo ĺit ́ ekskur śijav. c. Aniko u ĺń eś Saranso ike ĺejak. d. Sarano ń malava čud́ i Saranka-ĺej. e. Insar-ĺeje ś Saransto vasolo. f. Sarano ń kunška tarka ś ašt ́i pando p ŕaso. g. Pando p ŕasto parosto ńejavi al će ošo ś. h. Ošso ńt́ tago-sńardo e ŕaśt́ śupav mikš ńićat. i. Sarano ń kunškaso e ŕśiśt́ pokš jarmunkat. j. Sarano ś pek umoko ń oš.

Exercise 9. Make a short oral presentation about your hometown or the place where you currently live. You should mention: how old the place is, its development, noteworthy facts about its past and present, your favorite places, the population (demographics, characteristics etc), famous people from there, etc.

TEXT 3

Konfe ŕen ćijado

Finne ń-ugra ń ke ĺt́ńed́ e e ŕśit ́ stu d́ ente ń konfe ŕen ćijat, konat juti t́ eŕva ijeste ĺija tarkaso. U ĺńeś konfe ŕen ćija Saransojak. Koda e ŕśi sval, konfe ŕen ćija ś juta ś śek ćijava. Korta śt́ fonet ́ikado, morfologijado, śemant ́ikado, sotsiolingvistikado. Lamot sa śt́ śek ćijas, koso kortamo t́ńe mo ĺś t́ śormadoma ( ĺijaks me ŕems, ĺit eraturá ń) ke ĺt́ńed́ e. Er źań, mokšo ń, ĺija ra śket ́ńeń ke ĺse śormadoma luvo ś a pek umoko ń, son vejs puto ź 1920-će ije t́ńeste saje ź. Er źań ke ĺeń śormadoma luvo ńt́ vejs putomsto pokš ĺezeks u ĺń eśt́ sodaviks er źań ĺingvisttne M. E. Jevsevjev, A. P. Ŕabov*. Konfe ŕen ćijaso ńt́ korta śt́ ke ĺt́ńeń isto ŕijadost, pek lamo kevks t́emat u ĺń eśt́ śeńd́ e, koda ki ŕd́ ems e ś ke ĺeńt́. *Makar E. Jevsevjev (1864–1931), Anatolij P. Ŕabov (1894-1938) ĺingvistt; er źań ke ĺd́ e, ku ĺturado śormadi ćat.

Exercise 10. Translate Text 3 into English.

82 VOCABULARY Valks

čova ĺat pearls nu ŕamo swing čud́ ems to pour, flow odov again čud́ ike ŕks flowing water oš town , city dušman enemy, foe oznoms to worship eŕavoms to be needed /necessary parolgadoms to get better eŕśems to happen pa čko d́ ems to arrive eźem bench par śej silk fontan foun tain pe ŕt́-pe ĺks nature, surroundings iśt́amo this /that kind of pešk śe full jarmunka market pi ŕavt jonks endline jomavtoms, ju - to lose pokš -čarij big wheel jutkoška free time potso inside kalavtoms to demolish, tear down putoms to put karšo against , opposite rakša animal kaštaz wreath śija silver ke d́ skin si rńe gold ke ĺej, -gadoms wide, to widen śiźems to become tired ko śkems to dry up sovams to enter kudopotmo interior of a building śovo ń clay ku źems to go up śupav rich ĺem d́ ems to name sval always ĺijakstomoms to become different, change ša čo form, figure, face, image ĺijanaz linen ta -kodamo a kind of ĺiśmap ŕa source, spring t́uŕems to fight, battle luv custom uĺć a street ma d́ ems to go to bed uskoms to bring, pull na čko tarka swamp, bog ušman warrior mikš ńića seller, trader ušodoms to begin nal arrow vanstoms to protect, guard najman marketplace uźeŕe axe narmu ń bird vaks/so,-s, -sto beside, to the side, from the side ńevt ́ems to show va ĺma window, vitrine noldams to free, let g o veise together nu ŕams to swing ve ĺt́ams to cover vi d́ s until

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Saransk?

83 Appendix I. Standard Written Erzya – The Cyrillic Alphabet

The Erzya written language was developed in the 1920s. Since that time, standard Erzya has been written in the Cyrillic alphabet:

Аа Бб Вв Гг Дд Ее Ёё Жж Зз Ии Йй Кк Лл Мм Нн Оо Пп Рр Сс Тт Уу Фф Хх Цц Чч Шш Щщ Ъъ Ыы Ьь Ээ Юю Яя

The following letters represent consonants:

б в г д ж з й к л м н п р с т ф х ц ч ш щ b v g d ž z j k l m n p r s t f h c č š šč

The vowels of the Cyrillic alphabet also reflect the palatalization (or lack thereof) of the preceding consonant. Each of the five vowels of Erzya ( a, e, i, o, u ) is represented by two different letters, which serve to denote the preceding palatalized and unpalatalized consonants.

и/ы е/э ю/у ё/о я/а i e u o a

In each of the pairs above, the letter on the left indicates that the preceding consonant is palatalized. Compare for example the verbs стамс (stams ) and стямс (śt́ams ). Observe how palatalization is reflected in the spelling of the following proper nouns:

Тюштя T́ ušt ́a, Турпур Turpur , Паксяй Pak śaj , Сырнява Sir ńava , Сюмерьге Śume ŕge , Ламзурь Lamzu ŕ, Паруш Paruš , Пуреш Pu ŕeš , Лёса Ĺosa , Охрем Oh ŕem , Литова Ĺitova , Татю Tat ́u.

Palatalization is also marked by the letter ь, which is used to mark a palatalized consonant at the end of a syllable (or word) or before an unpalatalized consonant, e.g. Сюмерьге Śume ŕge . When two palatalized consonants appear consecutively, the letter ь is used only once, after the final consonant, e.g. умарь ‘apple’ – умарть ‘apples’. The only exception to this rule is the consonant л; palatalized л (ĺ in Latin transcription) is always marked with a ь sign, even when followed by another palatalized consonant, e.g. кель , кельть ‘language, languages’. Some Russian loanwords also include the letter ъ, which marks an unpalatalized consonant on a morpheme boundary, e.g. подъезд (prefix pod - + -jezd) ‘staircase’. At the beginning of a syllable, the letters и, е, ё, ю, and я represent the combinations ji , je , jo , ju , ja , e.g. якамс jakams ‘to go, visit’, ваямс vajams ‘to sink’, ёвтамс jovtams ‘to say’, юр jur ‘root’, мии miji ‘sells’, саемс sajems ‘to take, get’. When following a vowel, the consonant j in the combinations ji and je may partially or even completely disappear, e.g. mi(j)i ‘sells’, sa(j)ems ‘to take, get’. The combinations ji and je do not appear word-initially. In earlier loans, je is replaced by e, o or jo , e.g. eš čo, oš čo ‘still’ (Russian ещё , ješčo); Oĺona , Ohrem , Jogor (Russian Елена , Je ĺena ; Ефрем , Jefrem ; Егор , Jegor ). In modern loanwords, word-initial je may be preserved, e.g. jed́ instva (Russian единство ‘unity’). The phoneme e in word-initial position is marked by the letter э, e.g. эрзя ( erźa) ‘Erzya’ (in other positions, the letter э indicates a preceding unpalatalized consonant). By contrast, word-initial i is marked by the letter и, e.g. инже inže ‘guest’ (in other positions, the letter и indicates a preceding palatalized consonant). Note that words beginning with jo-, ju-, ja-, and je- appear in dictionaries under the letters ё, ю, я and e respectively. You may also encounter the handwritten , which in addition to being used in handwriting, also appears when word-processed text is italicized. There are several letters that look quite different in the handwritten (italicized) script than in the printed script. To help resolve this confusion, the Cyrillic alphabet in italics is presented below:

84

Аа Бб Вв Гг Дд Ее Ёё Жж Зз Ии Йй Кк Лл Мм Нн Оо Пп Рр Сс Тт Уу Фф Хх Цц Чч Шш Щщ Ъъ Ыы Ьь Ээ Юю Яя

Example:

Покш Толкан веле

Покш Толкан велень эрзятне састь Самара ёнов , Рав чирес 18-це пингестэ . Эрзятнень мельс тусть кавто лей ( Покш Кинель , Вишка Кинель ) ютксо сравтозь модатне . Пандызь те тарканть кисэ эрявикс ярмаконть – ведьгемень целковойть сиясо . Тесэнь таркатне мазыйдеяк мазыйть – вирь , пандо , латкт , лисьмапрят . Эрицятне сокасть -видесть , кассть эмежть . Паксятне макссть сюпав товзюро , розь , пинеме . Иеде иес кудотне ламолгадсть . Теке пангот кепедсть лия велетнеяк . Те шкас ванстовсть кезэрень кудо юртт , ашо кевстэ теезь ведьгев . Ведьгевесь канды лезэ те шкас . Покш Толкансо чачсть -кассть содавикс эрзянь сермадыцятне Тимофей Раптанов , Василий Радаев , Числав Журавлёв .

(see http://vaigel.ru/article/all/2 for more details)

Source: http://uralistica.com/photo/1884-1884?context=user ; http://uralistica.com/photo/erzyan-lovmat?context=user

85 Appendix II. Key to Answers

Introduction: Overview of Pronunciation and Phonology

Exercise 3

ćorat kuzt sazort kalt ĺepe t́ śed́ ej t́ ke d́ t́ loma ńt́ t́ej t́eŕt́ ke ĺt́ peš t́t́ tumot kudot ŕive źt́ vazt

Exercise 4

voiceless consonant + voice d consonant + vowel + -kak -gak -jak jarmak kak ke ĺgak ava jak śok śkak ve d́ gak kudo jak tumotkak ve ŕgak kši jak loma ńt́kak lov gak t́eš t́ejak val gak makso jak ŕive źgak peš t́ejak śed́ ej gak ve ĺejak

Introduction: Word Stock

Exercise 5

śed́ ej, san, mo ĺems, kal, ej, śeĺme, ńiĺe, kolmo, vet ́e, koto, śiśem, kavkso, keme ń

Unit 1

Exercise 4

eŕams: e ŕan, e ŕat, e ŕi, e ŕatano, e ŕatado, e ŕit ́ ašt ́ems: ašt ́an ašt ́at, ašt ́i, ašt ́et́ano, ašt ́et́ado, ašt ́it ́ ńejems: ńejan, ńejat, ńeji, ńejt́ano, ńejt́ado, ńejit́

Exercise 6

– Kijat? – Stud́ entan. – Ton er źat? – Avo ĺ, mon estonan. Ton er źat? – Avo ĺ, mon finnan. – Kije t ́e? – Vengra. – Son stud́ ent? – Stud́ ent .

Exercise 7

mon stu d́ entan ton stu d́ entat son stu d́ ent mi ń stu d́ enttano ti ń stu d́ enttado si ń stu d́ entt

86 Exercise 14

T́ e – uńiver śit ́et. Ńet ńe – stud́ entt: kavto finnt, vejke vengra, vejke ruz, kolmo estont. T́ e – professor Kask, songak eston. Ilona avo ĺ eston, son vengra. Imrejak vengra. Ann paro stud́ ent. Son korti parosto angla ń, ruzo ń, finne ń ke ĺse, tonavt ńi vengra ń ke ĺ. Mi ń tonavt ńet ́ano er źań ke ĺ. Si ń kortit ́ er źań ke ĺse.

– Šumbratado! Ti ń stud́ enttado? – Avo ĺ. – Šumbratado! Ti ń vengratado? – Avo ĺ, mi ń a vengratano. Mi ń ńeme ćt́ano. – Koda e ŕat? – Sasti ńeste. – Paro či! – Ńejemazonok!

Unit 2

Exercise 3

Where From where To where Through where Saranso Helsinkiste Ame ŕikav Estonijava Udmurt ́ijaso Moskovsto Germanijav Rigava Oslosto Rakverev Vengrijava Pärnusto Tartuv Ta ĺĺ innste

Exercise 5

eŕams + c, mo ĺems + b, ńejems + a, jakams + e, kortams + d

Exercise 6

a1, b3, c2, d4, e6, f5

Exercise 8

Kosat ? – T́ esan. Kov mo ĺat? – Kinov. Kijat? – Stud́ entan. Koso e ŕat? – Ve ĺese. Kodamo son? – Pek paro. Kije son? – Stud́ ent. Kosto ńat? – Naimanstan.

Exercise 11

kijat, koso, me źe, tonavt ńan, ton, tonavt ńat, kortat, alamodo, parosto, mo ĺan

Exercise 12

kije, kosat, avo ĺ, avo ĺ, me źe, tonavt ńan; kortat, kudosto, lovnan, ara ś, u ĺi

Exercise 13

a). Mon mo ĺan kudov . T́ eči mon a mo ĺan kovgak. Mon mo ĺan kinov. Tiń jakatado /Ton jakat kinov? Son e ŕi ve ĺese. Kosto ńt́ado /Kosto ńat? Si ń tonavt ńit ́ u ńiver śit ́etse. Koso ton tonavt ńat? Mi ń sodatano lamo morot. Ton sodat kodamojak moro? Mon śormadan śorma. Me źe ton śormadat? T́ e mazij tarka. Kodamo mastorso ton e ŕat? Ti ń kortatado lamo ke ĺse. Kijak korti er źań ke ĺse? Mon a ńejan me źejak. Me źe ton ńejat? Si ń er źat. Kijet́ado ti ń /Kijat ton? Mi ń e ŕatano parosto. Koda ti ń eŕatado /ton e ŕat?

b). Veiko finn. Son tonavt ńi estono ń ke ĺ Tartu ń U ńiver śit ́etse. Veiko paro ćora, son tonavt ńi parosto. Veiko korti estono ń ke ĺse. Son jaki Veng ŕijav, koso korti vengra ń ke ĺse. Ńej Veiko tonavt ńi

87 er źań ke ĺgak. Son lovni er źań ke ĺse. Tartu ń U ńiver śit ́etse tonavt ńi er źań t ́ejt ́eŕ, Nata ĺ. Son tonavt ńi angla ń ke ĺ. Nata ĺ er źań ve ĺeste. Son mazij t ́ejt ́eŕ. Nata ĺt́-Vejkot kortit ́ estono ń, angla ń ke ĺse. Ńej Vejko korti alamodo er źań ke ĺsejak. Mon ruzan. Mon Moskovstan. Mon tonavt ńan estono ń, finnenj ke ĺ Tartu ń U ńiver śit ́etse.

Unit 3

Exercise 9

a) a e ŕan, u ńiversit ́etse, Tartuso, ve ĺev; b) jarsan, stud́ enteń, kudoso, kaloń, kudoń, t́eatrav; c) ĺek ćijav, keme ńste, busso, raman, kudo ń; d) mo ĺat, ekskur śijav, a mo ĺan; e) kortit́, a kortit́; f) čis, ekskur śijav, čis; g) sńaroška

Exercise 10

Me źe t́ejat mej ĺe? Me źe t́ejat čokš ńe? Jakat t ́eatrav(gak)? Mo ĺat kinov? Kuvat ́s mo ĺat ve ĺev?

Exercise 12

korti , vanit́; maksan; t́eĺeńek; jakst́eŕe.

Exercise 13

Kadrit ́-Mikkt ́ stud́ entt. Si ń t ́eči a mo ĺit ́ u ńiver śit ́ete ń kafete ŕijav, toso lamo loma ńt́. Si ń jarsit ́ Kadri ń ked́ se (kudoso). Kadri t ́eji kalo ń jam. Čokš ńe t ́eatraso od opera. Mikk mo ĺi čit ́ t ́eatra ń kassav, rami bi ĺett.

Mikk mo ĺi ve ĺev t ́eči. Son mo ĺi busso. Mikk ašt ́i ve ĺese a kuvat ́s – kavtoška či. Son t ́eji kudo ń t ́evt ́. Kadri mo ĺi ekskur śijav mašinaso. T́ eči uĺi buso ń ekskur śija Ta ĺĺ inev.

Ton t ́eči kuvat ́ u ĺat bib ĺiot ́ekaso? Koso jarsat čit ́ / čokš ńe? Ton t ́ejat lamo kudo ń t ́evt ́? Ton jakat t́eatrav? Ton mo ĺat t ́eči ekskur śijav? Ton mo ĺat ve ĺev?

Unit 4

Exercise 3

a) pokš ve ĺeś, tant́ej uma ŕeś, eś ra śke ń muzika ś, teatra ń bi ĺete ś, od mašina ś, śok śeń ška ś; b) t́ejt́eŕt́ń e pi ŕeset́, loma ńt́ń e pak śasot, avat́ń e kudosot, ćorat́ń e mašinasot, ĺek ćijat ́ń e univer śit́etset́, stud́ enttne kafete ŕijasot

Exercise 9

kortit ́, mon, od, jakan, s ńardo-sńardo, koda, sasti ńeste, mi ńgak, t ́ejt ́ano, vi ŕev, čokš ńe, pak śaso

88 Exercise 13

Kize. Med́ kov. Mon mo ĺan Saaremaav, u ĺan toso keme ńška či. T́ e mazijd́ ejak mazij tarka Esto ńijaso. Toso u ĺan jalga ń kudoso. Mi ń t ́ejt ́ano pi ŕeń, pak śań t ́evt ́, čokš ńe ašt ́et ́ano ĺija od loma ńt́ń eń marto. Mi ń kunsolotano, moratano Saaremaa ń morot. Si ŕe loma ńt́ń e morit ́ pek parosto. Saaremaa ń loma ńt́ń e kortit ́ e ś kortavksso.

Unit 5

Exercise 3

ojm śems, ojm śeme; panžoms, panžomo; morams, moramo; kišt́ems, kišt́eme; ve čkems, ve čkeme; tujems, tujeme; vikš ńems, vikš ńeme; śormadoms, śormadomo; kunsoloms, kunsolomo; śiźems, śiźeme; sodams, sodamo

Exercise 4

1f., 2b., 3e., 4d., 5c., 6a

Exercise 7

a) ni ĺeće loma ńeś, b) ombo će čiste ńt́, c) ombo mastorso, d) kolmo će kurso ś, e) va śeńć e ijeste ńt́

Exercise 13

Eŕan Tartuso va śeńć e ije. Tonavt ńan Tartu ń U ńiver śit ́etse, koso kem śiśemge t ́ože ńška stud́ entt. T́ ese u ĺit ́ stud́ entt Fin ĺand́ ijasto, Veng ŕijasto, Ruzo ń Mastorsto, Šved ćijasto, Germa ńijasto. Mon tonavt ńan finne ń-ugra ń ke ĺt́. Jakan finne ń, vengra ń, er źań, ma ŕiń ke ĺeń śeminarov. Kunsolan ĺek ćijat. Čokš ńe ojm śan kudoso, s ńardo-sńardo jakan teatrav, kafete ŕijav, d́ iskot ́ekav. I śak jalga marto jaki ńek Ta ĺĺ innev. U ĺń ińek ekskur śijaso. Ta ĺĺ inn Tartudo śed́ e pokš. Mi ń ńeji ńek lamo mazij tarkat. Čit ́ jarsi ńek kafete ŕijaso. Čokš ńe 7 čassto tuji ńek mekev Tartuv. Kudoso u ĺń ińek 9 čassto. Vani ńek t ́eĺevizor, korti ńek śeńd́ e, me źe ńeji ńek Ta ĺĺ innse. Kizna mo ĺt́ano Fin ĺand́ ijav tonavt ńeme finne ń ke ĺ.

Unit 6

Exercise 2

a) ked́ em, surot, čeŕem, sanot, pejem ; b) mastorozo, ĺejeze, vi ŕeze , uńiver śit ́eteze ; c) jalaksonok, ĺeme ńek, sazoronok, u ŕaže ńek; d) skalonk, sarazonk, ŕevenk, pursozonk ; e) pi ĺeksest, e ŕgest, surksost, pulajest

Exercise 4

ava ńt́ pa ćazo ćora ńt́ – kemenze stu d́ enttne ń śeminarost stu d́ ente ńt́ jalgazo t́ej t́eŕeńt́ čeŕenze ejkakštne ń kudost ra śke ńt́ eŕamozo t́et́ańt́ ejkakšonzo er źava t́ńeń pulajest uŕaže ńt́ parijazo od́ iŕva ńt́ eŕgenze loma ńt́ńeń ar śemast

Exercise 10

pango – pŕaso pi ĺekst – pi ĺese

89 eŕgt́ – kirgaso, kirgava śulgamo – mešt ́ese, ked́ kst – ked́ ga, surks – surso, surkst – surga, ka ŕt́-prakstat, kemt́ – pi ĺgse

Exercise 11

ĺemem, estonan, Ta ĺĺ innse, sazorom, ĺemeze, Veng ŕijaso, sazorom, ijenze, ijesan, Veng ŕijav, Veng ŕija ś, sazorom, jarsan /jarsatano, ĺemeze, pi ŕeń

Exercise 13

Proverbs: An empty stomach is the best cook. What is learned is never forgotten. Her hands are soft, but her nails are sharp. (She says one thing to your face and another thing behind your back).

Unit 7

Exercise 1

eź, e źińek, e źt́, e źit ́, e źiń, e źid́ e, eźiń, e źińek, e źt́, e ź

Exercise 2

eź, a, avo ĺ, a, a, e źińek

Exercise 3

1f, 2g, 3d, 4c, 5b, 6a, 7e

Exercise 4

Mon s ńardojak e źiń korta er źa loma ń marto sonze ke ĺse. T́ ese kijak a e ŕi. Mi ń kovgak te či a mo ĺt́ano. Si ń me źejak e źt́ rama ombo mastorsto. Mon kostojak a mujan śed́ e paro tarka. Son kodamojak ve ĺev eź jaka.

Exercise 5

Ozak! Sak t ́ej! Kunsolok! Sovak! Ašt́ed́ e-ašt ́ed́ e! Śimt́! Jarsado! I ĺado pe ĺe! Aźodo! Užo-užo!

Exercise 11

Ve ĺese. 54/53/20/30/18. E źiń. Me ĺat. E ŕavi. A pek. Jaki ń.

Exercise 12

ĺemem, ĺemeze, St ́opa ńize, pat ́aj, ijese, ve ĺeńt́, tarkaso, p ŕevejt ́, Moskovsot, kavtot ́ń e, t ́ejt ́eŕeś, mastorov, ve ĺese, ejkakšonzo, ked́ se, Moskovsto

Unit 8

Exercise 1

mu śkems, sevems, tonavt ńems, sodams, ve čkems, maksoms, ramams, kandoms

90 Exercise 4

Son lovni ńź e jovkstne ń. Śormadsa śorma ńt́. T́ ejit ́ t ́evt ́ń eń? Vikš ńik panaro ńt́? Pa ńinek kši ńt́. Mi ń ma ŕińek vajge ĺeńt́. Ńejija e ŕke ńt́.

Exercise 5

sodasak, sodasa, sodasi, tonavt ńesink, kortams, ve čksi ń, kortatano, mo ĺems, čaŕkod́ eme, śormadoms

Exercise 10

peke, ked́ , keskav, p ŕa, kudopotmo

Exercise 15

Stud ́ enttne ń lamo t́evest – čit́ si ń jakit́ ĺek ćijava, śeminarga, čokš ńe kudosojak tonavt ńit́. Lamot jakit́ tonavt ńeme e ŕva-kodamo ke ĺt́. Kijak a sodi s ńaroška stud ́ entne ń jutkoškast. Vansi ńek me źe si ń t́ejit́ kizna, s ńardo si ń a jakit́ uńiver śit́etev. Lamot mo ĺit́ ombo mastorov, śeks si ń tonavt ńit́kak ĺija ke ĺt́. Uĺit́ stud ́ entt, konat kizna važod ́ it́. Kize ń škasto stud ́ enttne ń u ĺi škast ašt́ems kudora śkest marto. Si ń veise e ŕit́ ve ĺeń kudosost, jakit́ vi ŕev, i ńeved ́ eń, ĺeje ń čiŕev. Śok śń a, tunda sit́ stud ́ ente ń čit́ńe – od loma ńt́ńe vastovit́ kon ćerte ń škasto, sporto ń zalso, jakit́ nalk śeme, kišt́eme. Konat-konat ije ń pe ŕt́ jakit́ veise moramo.

Unit 9

Exercise 1

śormadik / śormadink, lovnik /lovnink, morik /morink, sajemak, vanit́ /vanink, kunsolomi ź, i ĺink tapa, i ĺit ́ saje, i ĺit ́ /i ĺink stuvto

Exercise 3 mo ĺemste, mo ĺeź; ava ŕd́ eź, ava ŕd́ emste; čije ź, čijemste

Exercise 4

Life makes even a blind man see. Don’t rejoice when you find something, don’t lament when you lose something.

Exercise 9

T́ et ́anzo-avanzo mazij ńeĺt́, … T́ et ́anzo-avanzo aši ńeĺt́, … … son kši ńeńt́ sali źe … son kapsta pi ŕes kandi źe

Exercise 10

tu ś, tuje, tu ś, mo ĺś , mo ĺe, mo ĺś , u ĺi, me ĺeńek, u ĺi

Exercise 13

kuldor-kaldor movement of a cart or buggy losk-losk throbbing, pulsation pe t́-pe t́ dripping liquid

91 kalck -kalck hitting, striking (wood) dubor-dubor stomping with feet nock-nock muscle twitching ćiv -ćiv warble, chirp, twitter šo ĺk- šo ĺk splash, lapping kaštor-kaštor rustle, murmur a kuš-a kaš silence ze ŕt́ rumble, roar

Krandazo ś ardi – kuldor-kaldor . Pra ź lopat ́ń e pi ĺge ńek alo – kaštor-kaštor. Kudo ś čavo – a kuš-a kaš. Narmo ń mori – ćiv-ćiv. Alašat ́ń e ardit ́ – dubor-dubor. Ved́ eś čud́ i – šo ĺk-šo ĺk. Vi ŕ ke ŕit ́ – kalck- kalck.

Unit 10

Exercise 2 sovav ĺiń – sovi ńd́ eŕat t́eze /tozo tujev ĺiń – tuji ńd́ eŕat tov; t́ija /tuva jutav ĺiń – juti ńd́ eŕat tov; t́ija /tuva mo ĺev ĺiń – mo ĺińd́ eŕat tov; t́ija /tuva jakav ĺiń – jaki ńd́ eŕat tov; t́ija /tuva aš t́ev ĺiń – aš t́ińd́ eŕat t́ese /toso ojm śev ĺiń – ojmśińd́ eŕat t́ese /toso Exercise 3

si ńd́ eŕaj śimemat – ke čeś onot koso, śim t́; va čińd́ eŕaj peke t́ – panžakajt́ńe onot kosot, jarsak; si ńd́ eŕaj udomat – tarka ś aca ź, a źo, mad́ t́; śiźińd́ eŕaj t́ pi ĺget́ – eźeme ś čavo, ozak, ojmsik; uĺińd́ eŕaj me ĺet́ – sovak klubs, toso sval e ŕśit́ stu d́ entt; juti ńd́ eŕaj udomat – sajt ́ ki ńiga, lovnok; sovi ńd́ eŕat vi ŕs – iĺak jomavto ki ńt́; pid́ ińd́ eŕat jam – iĺa puto lamo sal

Exercise 4

tuji ńd́ eŕatado, si ńd́ eŕaj t́, u ĺińd́ eŕaj, si ńd́ eŕaj, va čińd́ eŕaj, si źińd́ eŕat, uĺińd́ eŕaj

Exercise 5

We used to go to the forest on Easter, to sing and talk there. I looked through all the pictures. The woman (mother) started to leave – she made the children do their homework (housework). The guest was taken from house to house. The little boy let the puppy into the house. It was a holiday. We gathered together. The lower part of the city is visible from the top of the mountain (hill). I showed the beautiful places. The windows got cleaned, now let’s rest a little. My headscarf has disappeared (is missing). I lost my headscarf.

Exercise 8

a. – a vid́ e, b. – a vid́ e, c. – a vid́ e, d. – a vid́ e, e. – a vid́ e, f. – vid́ e, g. – vid́ e, h. – vid́ e, i. – vid́ e, j. – a vid́ e

92 Exercise 10

Conferences

There are regular student conferences on Finno-Ugric languages, held in a different place each year. The conference has been held in Saransk, too. As always, the conference was divided into different sections. There were talks concerning phonology, morphology, semantics, and sociolinguistics. Many people attended the section on written (in other words, literary) language. The literary language of Erzya, Moksha, and others is not very old, it was initiated in the 1920s. The famous Erzya linguists M. E. Jevsevjev and A. P. Rjabov helped greatly in the development of the Erzya written language. At the conference, people talked a lot about the history of these languages; there were a lot of questions about how to preserve one’s language.

93 Appendix III. Erzya-English Glossary

A a no, not, un- aparo bad (not good) a pit ́ńej cheap arams to occupy space, position, to become a sodan, azdan I don’t know ara ś, -t́ (there) is /are not missing acamo, -t, acamope ĺ, -t́ coverings, bedsheets aravtoms to place, set acams to cover, spread ardoms to ride, drive ad́ a, -do Come, let’s go! (sg. /pl.) ardt́ń ems to ride, drive (repeatedly) al egg ar śema thought, wish alamo little, few ar śems to think, believe alamo/do, -ška a little art, -ovks embroidery alga beneath artoma painting alijams to lay eggs artoms to paint alk/a, -ińe low aš/o, -ińe white, -diminutive alks basis, base ašolgadoms to become white alo under, lower ašt ́ems to stand in place, hang out alo pe (kuro) lower end of the village at ́a man; old man altams to promise at ́akš cockerel altavks promise at ́ama ŕ cherry Ame ŕika, -ń America, -genitive at ́avt father-in-law ańd́ amo man ( in folk poetry ) aud ́ ito ŕija auditorium andoms to feed ava woman, mother angla, -ń English, -genitive ava-, t ́et ́a-ĺevks child taken after his mother angla ń ke ĺ English (language) /father Ang ĺija England ava-loma ń female person ́ anok ready ava ŕdems to cry avat -t́ejt ́eŕt́ mother and daughter anokstams to prepare avavt mother-in-law an śak only, but avo ĺ no, not apak (t́eje, soda) un-(done, known); without aźo, -do Go! (sg. /pl.) (doing, knowing) azor, -ava host, -ess

B baba, -j grandmother, -vocative be ŕań, -ste bad, badly bajaga (church) bell bib ĺiot ́eka, lovnoma kudo library ba ĺaga, ćeća flower bi ĺet ticket ba ĺć an china bĺid ́ a dish ba ńa, š ĺamo kudo sauna bod ́ a, -j grandfather, -vocative ba śams, kortams to converse, talk buje kin, tribe baška separate, apart buka ox, bull bazar market square bus bus bažams to intend, want butra, -v murky, dark, dirty

Ć

ćanav swallow (bird) ćeŕkova church ćarahman hail ćet ́ve ŕk Thursday ćeća flower ćid ́ ardoms to bear, withstand

94 ćiĺd́ ordoms to glitter ćolak (p ŕa) foolish (head) ćiĺem pipe ćora man, boy ćiĺem pej wisdom tooth ćora-loma ń male person ćipaka chick ćori ńe small boy ćokov nightingale ćotmar bludgeon

Č

čačk across čiĺiśema sunrise, east čačo, ša čo form, figure čiń karšo against/in front of the sun čačoma, ša čoma ije birth year čińe odour, smell čačoms, ša čoms to be born (či/ ń, -nze) čop the entire day čačtoms, ša čtoms to give birth to čiŕ curved, skewed čadived ́ flood water čiŕe, -se bank/edge, on the bank čadoms to boil over, flow čiste every day čakš, -ke pot čit ́ in the daytime čalgams to step on čivaldo daylight čama face čivalgoma sunset, west čapaks dough čokš ńe evening čapamo sour čopoda, topoda dark čapamolovso buttermilk, yogurt čopodasto in the dark, at a dark time čarams to turn, revolve čov/a, -ińe thin, fine, weak, -diminutive čarij wheel čova ĺat pearls čaŕkod ́ ema understanding, comprehension čovar mortar čaŕkod ́ ems to understand čovor together čaŕkod ́ ića intelligent čožda, šožda light, easy čas hour čud ́ ems to pour, flow čavo empty čud́ i ved́ flowing water čavolgadoms to become empty čud́ ike ŕks stream čavoms to hit čumo reason čeje ŕ mouse čumondoms to blame čeme ń rust čumovtomo innocent čeŕ, -t́ hair čuŕka onion čeŕbulo (-pulo) pigtail čuro rare čevt ́e soft čurosto rarely či day, sun čuvoms to dig čijams to propose (marriage) čuvto tree, wood (material) čijems to run

D davol storm domka deep di and d́ ošova, a pit ńej cheap doktor doctor dubor-dubor sound of feet trampling dokument document, paper, bill dušman enemy, foe

E ečke thick ejkakš či childhood ej ice ej/s, -se, -ste into, in, from inside ejd ́ e infant ej źuro (-śuro) icicle (-horn) ejkakš child ekše cool

95 ekše ĺams to bathe er źa, -ń Erzya, Erzyan eĺe lap er źava Erzyan woman emež vegetable eŕva each, every emežpi ŕe vegetable garden eŕva čiste every day eńaldo/ms, -ma to ask, request eŕva koso everywhere eno well, so eŕva me ź/e, -t́ everything eŕ so eske nail eŕamo life eś own eŕams to live eston, -oń Estonian, -genitive eŕaza lively, healthy, vivid Esto ńija Estonia eŕavi, -t́ must, is necessary eź no ( past negation ) eŕavoms to be needed/necessary eźem bench eŕge, e ŕgt ́ pearl, pearls ezga along, by eŕića inhabitant ežd ́ ems to warm eŕke lake ežems to warm up (v.i.) eŕśems to happen Evropa, -ń , -an

F faku ĺt́et faculty fontan fountain fi ĺma film foto photo Fin ĺand ́ ija Finland Fran ćija France finn, -eń Finnish, -genitive francuz, -oń French, -genitive folklor folklore

G gajgems to clang, jingle ga źet magazine gajt ́ noise, sounds Germa ńija Germany -gak, -jak, -kak too, also gor ńipov buttercup, water lily gala, giga, diga goose guj, kuj snake

I id́ em rakša wild animal ińeved́ sea, ocean id ́ emev ś evil spirit info-lopa fact sheet id ́ emka wild bird (duck) ińź ej raspberry id ́ ems to free, save, rescue inže guest ije year inže ń kudo guest house ike ĺe earlier, in front of/before iŕd́ eks rib ike ĺks front part iŕed́ ems to get drunk iĺa, -do don't! (sg. /pl.) iśak yesterday iĺov birch, twig iśako ń, i śeń yesterday ( genitive ) iĺt́ams to escort iśt́a so, thus iĺved ́ e/ms, -vks to be lost, being lost iśt́amo this/that kind of imbi ĺav butterfly izams to harrow ińazor czar, emperor iźń ams to win Ińeči Easter Ita ĺija Italy

96 J ja well; oh jomavtoms (ju-) to lose jakams to go, visit jon line, side jakavtoms to make (someone) go, visit jon dexterous, bold jakst ́eŕe red jonov to the side jakšamo cold, frost jondol (-tol) lightning (fire) jala still, continually jorams to prepare jalaks younger brother jorok, (-či) skill, ability jalat ́eke however, nevertheless jortoms to throw jalga friend jožo feeling jalgaks či friendship jožov clever, sneaky jalgo on foot jovks fairy-tale jam soup jovtams to say jan path jovt ńems to tell jarmak money juk śems to release, open, let go jarmunka marketplace jumavtoms,jomavtoms to lose jarsamope ĺ food, something to eat jur root jarsams to eat jutams (vakska) to pass by jažams to grind, break jutko gap javoms to split jutkoška free time jolga ńa scrawny, slender jutkso amongst, amidst

K ka čamo smoke ka ŕt́-prakstat footwear kadoms to leave karvo, karuv fly kafedra chair, (sub)department kasoms to grow (v.i.) kajams to pour (water) kastoms to grow (v.t.) kajams to take off, take away kaša porridge kajga zither, kantele kaštaz wreath kal fish kaštom(o) oven kaladoms to wear off, decay ka źems to give as a gift kalavtoms to demolish, tear down ka źń e gift, present kalgodo tough, hard kažo calamity kalmams to bury katka cat kalmo grave kava ńams to treat kalmolango graveyard kavkso eight ka ńa (oh) really kavto two kandoms to carry kavtoldoms to hesitate, waver ka ńt́vetka sweet ke ćams to rejoice, gladden kapšams to hurry ke če ladle, dipper kardams to forbid, stop ked́ hand; skin kardaz (court)yard ked ́ ks bracelet kardo barn kekšems to hide ka ŕel Karelian ke ĺ language, tongue Ka ŕeĺija ke ĺa supposedly kargo crane ke ĺe width karks belt ke ĺej wide karmams to begin ke ĺejgadoms to widen ka ŕś emape ĺt́ footwear, shoes ke ĺme cold ka ŕś ems to wear on the feet ke ĺmems to freeze karšo against, opposite kem, -t́ boot, boots karšo val objection kemema belief

97 kemems to believe kolmo ńgeme ń thirty keme ń ten komoro handful ke ńardoms to rejoice, gladden kom ś twenty ke ńarks joy, gladness kona which ke ńeŕe elbow ko ńa forehead ke ńeŕems to ripen, reach (a condition) kona śkak some (of them) kenkš one ko ńd́ amo like, similar kenže (finger)nail ko ńov document, paper, bill keped́ ems to lift kopo ŕ back kepe-štapo barefoot, naked kor character, personality ke ŕ tree bark ko ŕas according to ke ŕams to cut, chop kortams, baśams to speak ke ŕks ball of yarn kortavks dialect kerš (pe ĺ) left (side) ko śke dry keskav bag ko śkems to dry up keze ŕ czar koso where keze ŕeń ška ńe, -sto in the old times kosojak somewhere /anywhere /nowhere kež, -ej anger, angry kostojak from somewhere /anywhere /nowhere kev stone kosto ń from where kevkst́ema question košt air, steam kevkst́ems to ask ko źa rich ki path, road kozo where to ki lang/o, -so the way/road, on the way/road kozojak to somewhere, to nowhere kijak someone /anyone /no-one kozoma cough kijaks floor kozoms to cough kije who kota shoe ki ĺej birch koto six ki ń whose kov moon, month ki ńiga book kov to where kirda once, time kovgak somewhere, nowhere ki ŕd́ ems to keep kovol cloud ki ŕe ball of yarn krandaz, karandaz cart kirga neck kravtoms to drive away, stave off kirgapa ŕ throat ksnav pea kirva źems to catch fire kstij, kistij strawberry kise for kši bread kiska dog kšna, kšna ń karks strap kišt ́ema dance (k)šnams to praise, thank kišt ́ems to dance kš ńi iron kize summer ku čoms to send (a letter) kizna in summer kudazor, -ava landlord, -lady klub club kudike ĺks entryway ko čkams to choose, collect kudo home, house koct fabric kudopotmo interior of a building koda how kudora śke family kodajak somehow/anyhow/in no way kujar cucumber kodamo what kind kuloms to die kodamo knitting kulov ash kodams to knit kuma(n)ža knee kofija coffee kundams to capture, seize koj, -se custom; according to kunsoloms to listen koj-kona some kunška middle, centre kojme shovel kurgo mouth koj-me źe something kurgo me ńeĺ palate kolams to ruin, break kuro street kolmo three kurok, -sto quick, -ly

98 kuz spruce kuvajak somewhere, anywhere, nowhere ku źems to go up kuvaka long kužo square, lea, clearing kuva-kuva in some places kutmordavks hug kuvalt because of, through, along kutmo ŕams to hug, embrace kuvat ́, -s for a long time kuva where (along /through what/)

L Ĺ lajšems to grieve ĺet́ke tarka swamp, bog lakams to boil (v.i.) ĺevks young animal; child lambamo sweet ĺezdams to help lamo a lot ĺeze help lamo či multitude ĺezks means of help lamok śt́ many times ĺija other lamo ńest many people together, amongst ĺijakstomoms to change (v.i.) themselves ĺijanaz linen langa off of, from ĺiśems to exit, go out lang/s, -so on to, on ĺiśems mi ŕd́ eńeń to get married (to go to a laz plank man) laznoms (pengt ́) to chop wood ĺiśma well lazoms to split, break ĺiśmap ŕa source, spring, well latiž Latvian ĺišme, alaša horse Latvija ĺitov Lithuanian lav ś cradle Ĺitva Lithuania lavšo weak ĺivt ́ams to fly lavtov, -t shoulder, -s loma ń person ĺed ́ ems to shoot; to mow ĺom źor bird cherry ĺej river lopa leaf ĺek ćija lecture lotkams to stop, end, cease (v.i.) ĺek śems to breathe lov, -ov snow, -y ĺeĺa older brother; uncle lovnoma reading ĺeĺat-sazort brother and sister lovnomakudo library ĺem name lovnomape ĺ something to read ĺembe warm lovnoms to read ĺemd ́ ems, putoms ĺem to name, denominate lovoms to read, count ĺepe alder lovso milk ĺet́ke damp luv custom, order

M mad́ ems to lie down, go to sleep ma ŕi ke ĺ mad ́ ś t́ems to switch off, put to bed, delete marto with makso liver mastor land, country maksoms to give mastorlango world maksoms val to promise, give one’s word mašina car malaso, -v close/near, (to) close/near maštoms to know, be able to; to kill, end ma ńams to deceive maštovoms to be suitable, appropriate, to befit; ma ńej clear (day) to be killed manit ́ in previous years mazi či beauty mar hill mazij beautiful ma ŕams to hear mazijka decoration, picture ma ŕavoms to be heard, felt, to seem mazilgavtoms to beautify

99 mat ́ed ́ evems to doze, slumber me źe what med ́ honey me źejak something, anything, nothing meje ĺć e last, most recent me źeks what for meje ĺks next me źekskak for something/anything/nothing mej ĺe after, later mijems to sell mekev back, again mik even mekevlank the other way around, on the mikš ńića seller, trader contrary mi ń we mekev-vasov back and forth mi ńek our meks why mi ńś we (ourselves) mekskak for some reason mi ŕd́ e man, husband mekš bee moda land, earth me ĺ mind modama ŕ potato me ĺ vit ́ems to raise one’s spirits mokšava Mokshan woman me ĺat last year mokšo, -ń (ke ĺ) Mokshan (language) me ĺavks worry mo ĺems to go me ĺavtoms to worry mon I me ĺga after, following (spatial) mo ń my, mine me ĺmo ĺema boredom, longing mon ś I (myself) me ĺs ĺed ́ ems to come to mind, be remembered moramo singing me ĺs tujems to please, appeal to morams to sing me ĺsparo joy, contentment mori ća singer me ńč ems to bend, twist moro song me ńd́ ams to bend mor śekš ńems to sing (repeatedly) me ńeĺ sky Moskov Moscow me ńeĺks air mujems to find me ńems to escape mu śkems to do laundry ́ me ŕems to say muzika, śed amo music mešt ́e chest

N Ń na čko wet, damp ńejemazonok! Goodbye! See you ( liter. na čko tarka swamp, bog us) later! na čkoms to get wet ńejems to see najman marketplace, fair ńeme ć German ńaka doll ńeške beehive naksado rotten ńeške-pi ŕe apiary nal arrow ńeže support nalk śems to play ńežed ́ ems to support nalkstams to get bored ńet ́ks stem (of a plant) nalkške toy ńevt ́ema exhibition, show narams to shave ńevt́ems to show nardamo towel ńi wife, woman nardams to dry ńik śems to smell, huff narmu ń, -o- bird ńiĺe four navams to dip (into water) ńiĺems to swallow navolo slippery ńimi ĺav butterfly ńe,(-t́ń e) these nolams to lick ńed ́ handle, stem nolaža slippery (road) ńed ́ ĺ a week noldams to let go, free ńed ĺači Sunday nolga ŕ, nolgo tulo snot-nosed ńej now nolgo snot norov fertile, fruitful

100 norovava goddess of fertility nu ŕamo swing nu ćka grandchild nu ŕams to swing nud́ ej reed pipe nurdo sleigh nujems to reap nu ŕk/a, -ińe short nula rag, tatter nurt ́ams to pour (into a glass) numolo hare, rabbit nusma ńa sad, grey, bleak, dreary (day) nupo ń moss nu źaks, -či lazy, -ness

O obe źgan monkey onsto- (+possessive genitive) in a / one’s od new, young dream odar udder opa ńa close air odava stepmother orgat yeast od ́ iŕva bride orgod́ ems to flee, escape odks či youth orma sickness, illness odov again ormalgadoms to fall ill ods again, in a different way ormame ńks medicine odsto when young oršamo(-pe ĺ) clothing oj butter oršams to wear ojmams to rest, calm down oš town, city ojme soul, breath ozado sitting ojm śems to rest ozams to sit okoj ńiki at last oźaz sparrow olgo straw ozks worship, devotion ombo other oznoms to worship ombo mastor foreign country oža sleeve ombo će second ožo yellow on dream ote ĺ (inže ń kudo) hotel, guesthouse ongoms to bark ovto bear onks measure, weight ovto ĺevks bear cub onkstams to measure, weigh ovtor ńik Tuesday ovtuma ŕ brier, dog-rose

P pa ća towel pango mushroom pa ćińe handkerchief panžado open pa čk through; always panžakaj pie, pizza pa čkod ́ ems to arrive panžo/ms, -ź to open, -ed pa čt́ams val to notify pa ŕak hopefully, maybe pak śa field parija husband’s sister pal piece paro me ĺse gladly, with pleasure palams to kiss Paro od ije! Happy New Year! paloms to burn (v.i.) Paro Roštova! Merry Christmas! panar shirt, tunic par/o, -ińe good, -diminutive pando mountain, hill paro či goodness pandoms to pay; to patch parolgadoms to get better pandoms val to respond, answer ( liter. pay a parosto well word) par śej silk pa ńems to drive away, stave off paz god pa ńems kši to bake bread pazava goddess pango bonnet pat ́a older sister, aunt

101 pat ́at-jalakst older sister and younger brother piže green pe end piž ńems to shout, scream pe ća Friday pit ́ń e price pe čkems (kši, sive ĺ) to cut (bread, meat) pit ́ń ej expensive pej tooth pojezd train pejd ́ ems to laugh pokš, -ke big peje ĺ knife pokš-čarij ferris wheel pek very pokš či holiday, celebration peke stomach pokšt ́at-babat grandfather and -mother pe ĺ; -pe ĺ side, half pona wool; strain, fibre pe ĺems to fear ponasu ŕe woollen yarn, worsted pe ĺems to bore, drill po ńd́ eĺń ik Monday pe ĺev to the side pondo (old unit of mass, 16 kg) pe ĺeve midnight po ŕems to chew, eat pe ĺka thumb porksams to crush pe ĺks part potmo the inside pen č spoon pot(mo)s into pe ńeŕva youngest son’s wife pot(mo)so inside pen śija pension pot(mo)sto from inside pe ŕka around potmova along the inside pe ŕt́ through pot ́avtoms (skal) to milk (a cow) pe ŕt́-pe ĺks nature, surroundings pŕa, pi ŕa head pešk śe full pŕadoms to end (v.t.) pešt́e nut pŕaka patty pezems p ŕa to wash the head; to scold prams to drop, fall pežet́ sin pŕavt boss, leader pet́-pet́ the sound of water dripping pŕev(t ́) brain, sense pevt́eme endless pŕevej wise pi če pine pŕevej či wisdom pi čkams to get better, recover pŕevejka clever Dick pid ́ ems (jam) to cook, boil (soup) pśi hot pijems to boil, ripen pškad ́ ems to bid, express piks rope pulaj back-apron pi ĺe ear pulo tail pi ĺekst earrings purdams to turn pi ĺge leg, foot pu ŕe kvass, mead pi ńe dog pu ŕgi ńe thunder, rumble pinge lifetime, century purnams to gather pi ŕams to restrict, bar purnavoms to gather (v.i.) pi ŕavks garden, fence puromoms to assemble, gather (v.i.) pi ŕe garden, fence pursoz piglet pize nest putoms (vejs) to put (together) pi źeme rain putoms či to set a date pi źems to rain putoms emežt ́ to plant vegetables pi źol rowan putoms ĺem to name, denominate

R Ŕ rakams to laugh raužo black rakša animal Rav Volga ramams to buy ŕed ́ ams to notice rangoms to shout, scream ŕestams to fry ra śke people ŕeve sheep raštams to multiply, grow in numbers ŕiśme chain

102 ŕizks concern, pain rudaz dirt, mud ŕiznems to worry rungo chest, body ŕive ź fox ruz Russian Roštova Christmas ruzava Russian woman ro ź rye Ruzo ń mastor Russia ru ća robe, gown

S Ś Š

śado hundred śeste then sajems to take, get, receive śeźems to tear, rip sal salt seznems to delay salams to steal set ́me quiet, peaceful salava in secret śet ́ń e those (it, that, plural ) salmuks needle sevems to eat up salov salty si ijeste next year sams to come sij rotten san vein śija silver sapo ń soap śimems to drink Saran (oš) Saransk si ń they saraz chicken si ńś they (themselves) sasams to gain, catch up si ŕe old sasti ńeste slowly, steadily si ŕed ́ ems to grow old sasto slowly sir ńe gold śatko spark śiśem seven satoms to suffice śiźems to become tired satoška sufficiently sive ĺ meat sazor (younger) sister skal cow śe it, that śkamo(-m, possessive ) alone sed ́ bridge sńardo, źardo when śed ́ ams to play an instrument sńardo-sńardo sometimes śed ́ amo, muzika music sńarija, źarija some, quite a lot śed ́ ej heart sńaro, źaro how much śeh(-t́e) the most sńars, źars how long, until when śejed ́ e dense sodamojovks riddle śejed ́ ste often sodams to know śeje ĺ hedgehog sodaviks familiar, famous śeks this is why, (because) soda ź familiar, known śeĺge saliva, spit sodoms to bind, tie śeĺgems to spit sokor blind śeĺme eye soks ski śeĺmukšt eyeglasses śok ś autumn śeĺved́ tear drop śok śń a in autumn seme brush solams to melt se ń blue śolgoms to close sepe gall śolmo wing sepej bitter son he/she se ŕ height so ńś he/she (him-/herself) se ŕa acorn śorma letter śeŕada Wednesday śormadoms to write se ŕej tall śormav mottled, patterned śeŕka shin sovams to enter śeske at once śovo ń clay śeśke mosquito śt́ado standing staka hard, difficult

103 stakasto with difficulty surb ŕa fingertip stamo sewing su ŕe yarn stams to sew surks ring śt́ams to get up śuro horn stud ́ ent student sur śeme comb stuvtoms to forget suskoms to bite subuta Saturday suv fog, mist sudo nose sval always śudoms to curse šabra neighbour sud ŕams to comb ša čo form, figure śuko ńams to bow, greet ša čoms to be born śukoro bun ša čtoms to give birth to śuk-pŕa bow, thank you ška time suks worm, maggot škastonzo at the right time su ĺej shadow šĺams to wash śulgamo brooch šĺams-nardams to clean su ĺika glass, bottle šo ĺk-šo ĺk the sound of water lapping śulmams to bind, tie šožda light, easy śulmavks, śulmo side šukštorov currant śulmo knot šumbra healthy su ńd́ eŕks dusk šumbra či health śupav rich Šved ćija Sweden sur finger šved Swede

T T ˊ tago again t́ija-tuva here and there tago-sńardo sometime, once t́ikše grass, hay ta-kodamo a kind of ti ń you (pl.) tandadoms to be startled ti ńś you (yourselves) ta ńt́ej, -ste tasty; tastily todov pillow tapams to crush, trample t́okš tip, treetop tarad branch tol fire targo week tolba ńd́ a (pand ́ a ‘plant bed’) log fire tarka place tolga feather tarvaz sickle tombams to hit, injure taštams to store, conserve ton you (sg.) tašto old, worn-out tonadoms to get used/accustomed to t́e this tonavt ́ń ems to learn t́eči today tonavtoms to teach t́ed ́ ed ́ e this year to ńś you (yourself) t́ej to here, hither topo cottage cheese t́ejems to do toso there t́ejt́eŕ, -ka girl, daughter tože ń, tiš ča thousand t́ej-tov here and there tov to there, thither t́eke same tov źuro wheat t́eĺe winter tŕams, t ́iŕams to raise (a child) t́eĺń a in winter tujems to leave t́eŕd́ ems to invite tumo oak t́ese here tunda in spring t́este from here tundo spring t́ešks sign t́uŕems to fight, battle t́ešt́e star turva lip t́et ́at-ćorat father and son t́us colour, appearance t́ev work

104 t́uža brown tuvo pig tuva through there tuvtal reason, cause

U učoms to wait ur squirrel udal će rear, hind (adj.) uŕaž sister-in-law udalo, -v behind uŕe slave ud ́ em brain uroz orphan udoma tarka sleeping place uŕva daughter-in-law udoms to sleep uŕvaksto/ms, -ź to get married (to take a wife), ujems to swim married ukštor maple uŕvi ńe youngest son’s wife uĺć a street uśija island uĺema(-t) maybe, presumably uskoms to bring, pull uĺems to be ušo air, outside uĺi-paro fortune ušodoms to begin uma ŕ apple uštoms to heat umok, -oń long ago, way back, ancient uźeŕe axe uńiver śit ́et university užo, -do! Wait ! (sg. /pl.)

V va čkams to stack, place, put in order, pile va ńks clean va čoči hunger va ńś kavtoms to clean va čodo hungry vannoms to inspect, look through va čoms to be hungry vanoms to look, watch vad ́ ems (ojse) to slather (butter) vanoms me ĺ to respect, hold in regard vad ŕa, paro good vanovks look, outlook vadŕalgavtoms vanstoms to protect, guard vad ŕasto, parosto well vanta! Look! vaj oh va ŕa hole vajams to sink, drown varaka crow vajge ĺ voice var čams to try vajge ĺbe (-pe) kilometre, verst ( liter. voice va ŕga mitten, glove end) varma wind vakan bowl, pelvis varsod́ ems to cast, push vehemently vaks span (old unit of length, 12 to 23cm) varštams to take a glance at vakska past va śeńć e first vakss to the side va śń a in the beginning, at first vaksso beside vasolbaba maternal grandmother val word vasolo, -v far vala ńa smooth vaso ńbeje ĺt́ (-p-) scissors valdo light; light, bright vastoma meeting valdo-se ń light blue vastomazonok! Until we meet! Good-bye! valdomoms to become light vasto/ms, -ma to meet, meeting valgoms to land, come down vašo fawn valks dictionary vaz calf va ĺma window, vitrine važo worker valme ŕevks proverb važod ́ ems to work valoms to spill, pour vatkams to peel valnoms to water vatrakš frog valske (marto) morning, in the morning ve night vana look here

105 ve(jke) me ĺse unanimously ve śe all ve čkema love ve śemeze everything /everyone together ve čkems to love ve śt́ once ve čkeviks dear, darling ve śt́kak not once, never ved ́ water vešems to ask, require ved ́ ava mermaid, water-nymph veškems to whistle ved ́ gev (-kev) mill ( liter. water stone) veš ńems to look/search for ved ́ me tie, rope, lead vežen će younger vejke one vet́ at night vejket ́ equal, alike vet́ams to pull vejkse nine vet ́ams p ŕa to behave vejse together vet ́e five ve ĺams to go round, rotate vet ́ića leader, guide ve ĺavtoms to turn, return vet ́ke Chuvash ve ĺd́ e via, by, vid ́ e true, right vid ́ eči truth ve ĺe village vid ́ e-paro exactly like, as ve ĺks cream (of milk) vid ́ ems to seed, sow ve ĺks/ka, -se across, above vid ́ me seed ve ĺmems to recover, come to life, awake vid́ s until ve ĺtams to cover ́ vid́ ste straight ve ĺt́amo, -pe ĺ cover, blanket vij strength, force veluv together, jointly vijev, -ste strong, -ly ven č boat vikš ńems to crochet, embroider vengra Hungarian vikš ńevks embroidery Veng ŕija Hungary vi ŕ forest ve ńś t́ams to stretch, hold out vi ŕez lamb vepe ĺe at a distance viška, viši ńe, viški ńe small ve ŕ blood vi źd́ ems to feel ashamed ve ŕe pe upper end (of the village) vi źks, -ś- shame ve ŕek raw, not ripe vit ́ (pe ĺ) right (side) ve ŕev up vit ́ems to fix ve ŕga up, high vit ́ev, vit ́ pe ĺev to the right vit ́kstams to confess ve ŕgiz wolf ve ŕks upper part, top

Z Ž

zal hall zijan accident, mishap zeme force, essence, substance zij ńems to drone, whine źepe pocket žoj ńems babble, sound ze ŕt́ rumble

106 Appendix IV. English-Erzya Glossary

A ability, skill jorok, -či amongst, amidst jutkso able jorokov ancient umoko ń to be able to maštoms and di absent, missing, not (sg, pl) ara ś, -t́ anger, angry kež, -ej accident, mishap zijan animal rakša according to ko ŕas to answer, respond pandoms val acorn se ŕa anyhow kodajak across čačk anyone kijak to address, bid pškad ́ ems anything me źejak after, following (spatial) me ĺga anywhere kosojak, kuvajak after, later mej ĺe apart baška again odov, tago apiary ńeške-pi ŕe again, in a different way ods to appeal to me ĺs tujems against, opposite karšo appearance, colour t́us against/in front of the sun čiń karšo apple uma ŕ air me ńeĺks around pe ŕka air, outside ušo to arrive sams, pa čkod ́ ems air, steam košt arrow nal alder ĺepe ash kulov alike vejket ́ to ask kevkst ́ems, vešems, e ńaldoms all ve śe to assemble puromoms (I) alone śkamo(-m, possessive) auditorium aud ́ ito ŕija along the inside potmova aunt, elder sister pat ́a along, by ezga autumn śok ś also, too -gak, -jak, -kak to awake sirgo źems, ve ĺmems always sval axe uźeŕe America, -genitive Ame ŕika, -ń

B to babble, sound žoj ńems to be uĺems back (body part) kopo ŕ bear ovto back and forth mekev-vasov to bear ćidardoms back, again mekev bear cub ovto ĺevks back (thigh) cover, apron ( ethnographic ) pulaj beautiful mazij bad (not good) aparo beauty mazi či bad, badly be ŕań, -ste to beautify mazilgavtoms bag keskav because, that’s why śeks to bake bread pa ńems kši because of, through, along kuvalt ball of yarn ke ŕks, ki ŕe to become arams bank/edge, on the bank čiŕe, -se to become drunk iŕedems to bar pi ŕams to become empty čavolgadoms, čamoms barefoot, naked kepe-štapo to become light valdomoms to bark ongoms to become tired śiźems barn kardo to become white ašolgadoms basis, base alks to go to bed mad ́ ems to bathe ekše ĺams bedsheets, coverings acamo, -t to battle t́uŕems bee mekš

107 to befit maštovoms book ki ńiga before ike ĺe boot, boots kem, -t́ to begin karmams, ušodoms to be bored nalkstams to behave vetams p ŕa boredom, longing me ĺmo ĺema behind udalo, -v to be born ša čoms beehive ńeške boss, leader pŕavt belief kemema bottle su ĺika to believe kemems to bow śuko ńams belt karks bowl, pelvis vakan bench eźem boy ćori ńe to bend me ńč ems, me ńd́ ams bracelet ked ́ ks beneath alga brain ud ́ em beside vaksso brain, sense pŕev(t ́) big pokš, -ke branch tarad big wheel pokš-čarij bread kši to bid pškad ́ ems breath ojmekošt, ĺek śema, ĺek śtamo bill document, ko ńov to breathe ĺek śems to bind sodoms, śulmams bride od ́ iŕva birch (tree) ki ĺej bridge sed ́ birch, twig iĺov brier, dog-rose ovtuma ŕ bird narmu ń, -o- bright valdo bird cherry ĺom źor to bring tujems, uskoms birth; to give birth to čačoma; čačtoms brooch śulgamo birth year čačoma ije brother and sister ĺeĺat-sazort to bite suskoms brown t́uža bitter sepej brush seme black raužo bull buka to blame čumondoms bun śukoro blind sokor to burn (v.i.) paloms blood ve ŕ to bury kalmams bludgeon ćotmar bus bus blue se ń butter oj boat ven č buttercup, water lily gor ńipov body rungo butterfly imbi ĺav bog ĺet ́ke tarka, na čko tarka butterfly ńimi ĺav to boil pijems buttermilk, yogurt čapamolovso to boil (v.i.) lakams to buy ramams to boil over čadoms by, via ezga bold jon by foot jalgo bonnet pango

C calamity kažo to catch up sasams calf vaz to cease (v.i.) lotkams to calm down ojmams celebration pokš či to capture kundams centre kunška car mašina century pinge to care for vanoms me ĺ chain ŕiśme to carry kandoms chair, (sub)department kafedra cart krandaz, karandaz to change (v.i.) ĺijakstomoms cat katka to change (v.t.) polavtoms to catch a flame kirva źems character, personality kor

108 cheap a pit ́ń ej, d ́ ošova to comb sud ŕams chest mešt ́e a comb sur śeme chest, body rungo come, let’s go! ad́ a, -do! chick ćipaka to come down valgoms chicken saraz to come to life ve ĺmems child ejkakš concern, pain ŕizks child taken after his mother/father ava-, t ́et ́a- contentment me ĺsparo ĺevks continually, still jala childhood ejkakš či on the contrary mekevlangk to chop ke ŕams to converse kortams, ba śams to chop wood laznoms (pengt ́) to cook (soup) pid ́ ems (jam) Christmas: Merry Christmas! Roštova: Paro cool ekše Roštova! cottage cheese topo church ćeŕkova cough, to cough kozoma, kozoms church bell bajaga to count lovoms Chuvash, -genitive vet ́ke, -ń country mastor city oš courtyard kardaz to clang gajgems to cover acams, ve ĺt́ams clay śovo ń cow skal clean va ńks cradle lav ś to clean šĺams-nardams crane kargo clear (day) ma ńej cream (of milk) ve ĺks clever Dick pŕevejka to crochet vikš ńems clever, sneaky jožov crow varaka close air opa ńa to crush porksams, tapams close/near (beside), close/near (toward) to cry avard ́ ems malaso, -v cucumber kujar to close pekstams curd cheese topo clothing oršamo(-pe ĺ) currant šukštorov cloud kovol curved, skewed čiŕ club klub custom, order luv cockerel at ́akš custom; according to koj, -se coffee kofija to cut ke ŕams cold ke ĺme to cut (bread, meat) pe čkems (kši, sive ĺ) cold, frost jakšamo czar keze ŕ to collect ko čkams, purnams czar, emperor ińazor colour, appearance t́us

D damp ĺet ́ke decoration, picture mazijka to dance, a dance kišt ́ems, kišt ́ema deep domka dark , in the dark (/at a dark time) čopoda, to delay seznems topoda, -sto to delete nardams darling ve čkeviks to demolish kalavtoms daughter t́ejt ́eŕ, -ka to denominate ĺemd ́ ems, putoms ĺem daughter-in-law uŕva dense śejed ́ e day, sun či department kafedra daylight čivaldo to determine the day putoms či dear, darling ve čkeviks devotion ozks to decay kaladoms dexterous, bold jon to deceive ma ńams dialect kortavks to decide sajems me ĺ dictionary valks

109 to die kuloms door kenkš difficult staka dough čapaks to dig čuvoms (night)dream on to dip (into water) navams to drill pe ĺems dipper ke če to drink śimems dirt, mud rudaz to drive ardoms dirty rudazov, a va ńks to drive (repeatedly) ardt ńems at a distance vepe ĺe to drive away kravtoms, pa ńems to do t́ejems to drone zij ńems doctor doktor to drop pravtoms document, paper, bill document, ko ńov to drown vajams dog kiska, pi ńe dry, to dry, get dry ko śke, ko śt́ams, ko śkems dog rose ovtuma ŕ (ovto uma ŕ) to dry up nardams doll ńaka dusk su ńd́ eŕks don’t! (sg./pl.) iĺa, -do!

E each, every eŕva the entire day (čiń, -nze) čop ear pi ĺe entryway kudike ĺks earlier, in front of/before ike ĺe equal, -ly vejket ́, -ste earrings pi ĺekst Erzya, -genitive er źa, -ń earth moda Erzyan language er źań ke ĺ east čiĺiśema Erzyan woman, man er źava, er źań ćora Easter Ińeči to escape orgod ́ ems easy čožda, šožda to escort iĺt́ams to eat jarsams, po ŕems essence zeme to eat up sevems Estonia Esto ńija egg al Estonian, -genitive eston, -oń eight kavkso estono ń ke ĺ elbow ke ńeŕe Europe Evropa to embrace, embrace (repeatedly) kutmordams, even mik kutmo ŕams evening čokš ńe to embroider vikš ńems every eŕva embroidery vikš ńevks every day čiste, e ŕva či(ste) empty čavo everything eŕva me ź/e, -t́ end pe altogether ve śemeze, ve śemest to end, stop (v.i.) lotkams everywhere eŕva koso, e ŕva kuva to end, complete (v.t.) pŕadoms evil spirit id ́ emev ś endless pevt́eme exhibition, show ńevt ́ema enemy, foe dušman to exit ĺiśems England Ang ĺija expensive pit ́ń ej English, -genitive angla, -ń eye śeĺme English (language) angla ń ke ĺ eyeglasses śeĺmukšt to enter sovams

F fabric koct fairy-tale jovks face čama to fall prams fact sheet info-lopa to fall ill prams se ŕed ́ eme, ormalgadoms faculty faku ĺt́et familiar, famous sodaviks

110 familiar, known soda ź fog, mist suv family kudora śke, buje folklore folklor far vasolo, -v food, something to eat jarsamope ĺ father and son t́et ́at-ćorat foolish ćolak (p ŕa) father-in-law at ́avt foot pi ĺge fawn vašo footwear (ethnographic) ka ŕt́-prakstat to fear pe ĺems footwear, shoes ka ŕś emape ĺt́ feather tolga for kise to feed andoms for a long time kuvat ́, -s to feel ashamed vi źdems for some reason mekskak feeling jožo for something/anything/nothing me źekskak female person ava-loma ń to forbid kardams fence pi ŕavks, pi ŕe force, essence, substance zeme ferris wheel pokš-čarij forehead ko ńa fertile, fruitful norov foreign country ombo mastor fibre koct forest vi ŕ field pak śa to forget stuvtoms to fight t́uŕems form, figure čačo, ša čo figure čačo, ša čo fortune uĺi-paro film fi ĺma fountain fontan to find mujems four ńiĺe fine, thin čova, čovi ńe fox ŕive ź finger sur France, -genitive Fran ćija, -ń fingertip surb ŕa to free noldams Finland Fin ĺand ́ ija free time jutkoška Finnish, -genitive finn, -eń to get free me ńems finne ń ke ĺ to freeze ke ĺmems fire tol French, -genitive francuz, -oń first va śeńć e French language francuzo ń ke ĺ at first va śń a Friday pe ća fish kal friend jalga five vet ́e friendship jalgaks či to fix vit ́ems from here t́ešt ́e to flee orgod ́ ems from inside pot(mo)sto flood water čadived ́ from somewhere/anywhere/nowhere kostojak floor kijaks from where kosto ń to flow čudems front part ike ĺks flower ba ĺaga, ćeća frost jakšamo flowing water čud ́ i ved ́ fruitful norov fly karvo, karuv to fry ŕestams to fly ĺivt ́ams full pešk śe foe, enemy dušman

G to gain, catch up sasams German language ńeme ćeń ke ĺ gall sepe Germany Germa ńija gap jutko to get accustomed to tonadoms garden, fence pi ŕavks to get better, recover parolgadoms, pi čkams garden, fence pi ŕe to get bored nalkstams to gather, collect purnams to get to pa čkod ́ ems to gather (v.i.) purnavoms, puromoms to get up śt́ams German, -genitive ńeme ć, -eń to get used to tonadoms

111 gift, present; to give as a gift ka źń e,ka źems goodness paro či girl /daughter, -diminutive t́ejt́eŕ, -ka gown ru ća to give maksoms grandchild nu ćka to give one’s word maksoms val grandfather and -mother pokšt ́at-babat to gladden ke ćams, ke ńardoms grandfather, -vocative bod ́ a, -j gladly, with pleasure paro me ĺse grandmother, -vocative baba, -j gladness ke ćamo,ke ńarks grass, hay t́ikše glass, bottle su ĺika grave kalmo to glitter ćiĺdordoms graveyard kalmolango to go jakams, mo ĺems green piže to go out ĺiśems to grind jažams go! (sg./pl.) aźo, -do grey (day) nusma ńa to go to bed mad ́ ems to grow (v.i.) kasoms to go up ku źems to grow (v.t.) kastoms god paz to grow in numbers raštams goddess, icon pazava to grow old si ŕedems goddess of fertility norovava to guard vanstoms gold sir ńe guest inže good par/o, -ińe; vad ŕa guest house inže ń kudo Good-bye, see you ( liter. us) later! guide vet ́ića ńejemazonok!

H hail ćarahman to hesitate kavtoldoms hair čeŕ, -t́ to hide kekšems hall zal high se ŕej half, -suffix pe ĺ, -pe ĺ hill mar hand, arm ked ́ hole va ŕa handful komoro holiday, celebration pokš či handkerchief pa ćińe home, house kudo handle, stem ńed ́ honey med ́ Happy New Year! Paro od ije! hopefully, maybe pa ŕak hard, difficult staka horn śuro hard ( adv. ) stakasto horse ĺišme, alaša hare, rabbit numolo host, -ess azor, -ava hay straw hot pśi he /she son hotel, guesthouse ote ĺ, inže ń kudo he /she (himself/herself) so ńś hour čas head pŕa, pi ŕa how koda health šumbra či how far kona vid ́ s healthy šumbra how long, until when sńars, źars to hear ma ŕams how much sńaro, źaro to be heard ma ŕavoms however, nevertheless jalat ́eke heart śed ́ ej hug kutmordavks to heat ežd ́ ems to hug, hug (repeatedly) kutmordams, hedgehog śeje ĺ kutmo ŕams height se ŕ hundred śado help, to help ĺeze, ĺezdams Hungarian, -genitive vengra, -ń her, his sonze vengra ń ke ĺ here t́ese Hungary Veng ŕija here and there (toward) t́ej-tov hunger va čoči here and there (across) t́ija-tuva hungry va čodo

112 to be hungry va čoms, va čomoms husband mi ŕd́ e to hurry kapšams husband’s sister parija

I J

I mon in winter t́eĺń a I (myself) mon ś infant ejd ́ e ice ej inhabitant eŕića icicle (-horn) ej źuro (-śuro) to injure kolams icon pazava innocent čumovtomo illness orma, se ŕed ́ ema inside pot(mo)so to be ill, sick se ŕed ́ ems to inspect vannoms in(side) pot(mo)so intelligent čaŕkod ́ ića in a (my) dream (possessive) onsto/-m to intend sajems me ĺ in autumn śok śń a interior of a building kudopotmo in front of ike ĺe into pot(mo)s in no way kodajak into, in, from inside ej/s, -se, -ste in previous years manit ́ to invite t́erd ́ ems in secret salava iron kš ńi in some places kuva-kuva is necessary, must (do) eŕavi, -t́ in spring tunda island uśija in summer kizna it, that śe in the beginning, at first va śń a Italy, -genitive Ita ĺija, -ń in the daytime čit ́ Italian language ita ĺija ń ke ĺ in the morning valske marto job t́ev in the old times keze ŕeń ška ńe, -sto joy, contentment me ĺsparo in the previous years manit ́ joy, gladness ke ńarks

K

Karelia, -genitive Ka ŕeĺija, -ń a kind of ta-kodamo Karelian, -genitive ka ŕel, -eń to kiss palams ka ŕele ń ke ĺ knee kuma(n)ža to keep kird ́ ems knife peje ĺ to keep an eye on vanstoms to knit kodams kilometre, verst (liter. voice end) vajge ĺbe (- knitting kodamo pe) knot śulmo to kill tapams, čavoms to know sodams kin, tribe buje kvass, mead pu ŕe

L ladle, dipper ke če last, most recent meje ĺć e lake eŕke Latvia, -genitive Latvija, -ń land, country mastor Latvian, -genitive latiž, -eń land, earth moda Latvian language latiže ń ke ĺ landlord, -lady kudazor, -ava to laugh pejd ́ ems language, tongue ke ĺ laundry mu śkema lap eĺe to do laundry mu śkems at last okoj ńiki lazy, -ness nu źaks, -či last year me ĺat to lay eggs alijams

113 leader, guide vet ́ića to listen kunsoloms leaf lopa Lithuania, -genitive Ĺitva, -ń lecture ĺek ćija Lithuanian, -genitive ĺitov, -oń to learn tonavt ńems Lithuanian language ĺitovo ń ke ĺ left (side) kerš (pe ĺ, jon) little, few alamo leg, foot pi ĺge a little alamo/do, -ška to let go noldams to live eŕams Let’s go! ad ́ a, -do (sg. /pl.) lively, healthy, vivid eŕaza letter śorma liver makso library bib ĺiot ́eka, lovnomakudo log fire tolba ńd́ a (pa ńd́ a ‘bed for plants’) to lick nolams long kuvaka life eŕamo long ago, way back, ancient umok, -oń lifetime, century pinge look here vana to lift keped ́ ems to look vanoms light (či) valdo look! vanta! light, easy čožda, šožda to look for veš ńems light; light, bright valdo to lose jumavtoms, jo- lightning jondol (-tol) a lot lamo like, similar ko ńd́ amo to love ve čkems line, side jon love ve čkema linen ĺijanaz low alki ńe lip turva lower end of the village, street alo pe, kuro

M magazine ga źet mill ved ́ gev (-kev) male, man, boy ćora mind me ĺ male (person) ćora-loma ń mist suv male, small boy ćori ńe Moksha, -genitive mokšo, -ń male, old man at ́a Mokshan language mokšo ń ke ĺ man, husband mi ŕd́ e Mokshan woman mokšava man ( in folk poetry ) ańd́ amo Monday po ńd́ eĺń ik many people together, -possessive lamo ńe/-st money jarmak many times lamok śt́ monkey obe źgan maple ukštor moon, month kov Mari language ma ŕi ke ĺ morning, in the morning valske (marto) to marry (to go to a man) ĺiśems mird ́ eńeń mortar čovar to marry (to take a wife) uŕvakstoms Moscow, -genitive Moskov, -oń market square, place bazaar, jarmunka mosquito śeśke marketplace, fair najman moss nupo ń maternal grandmother vasolbaba mother, -vocative ava, -j maybe, presumably (sg. /pl.) uĺema(-t) mother and daughter avat -t́ejt ́eŕt́ means of help ĺezks mother-in-law avavt measure, weight onks mottled, patterned śormav to measure onkstams mountain, hill pando meat sive ĺ mouse čeje ŕ medicine ormame ńks mouth kurgo meeting vastoma mud rudaz to melt solams multitude lamo či Merry Christmas! Paro Roštova! murky, dark, dirty butra, -v middle, centre kunška mushroom pango midnight pe ĺeve music śed ́ amo, muzika milk lovso must, is necessary eŕavi to milk (a cow) pot ́avtoms (skal) my, mine mo ń

114 N nail (finger-) kenže at night vet́ nail eske nightingale ćokov naked štapo nine vejkse name ĺem no (past negation ) eź to name ĺemd ́ ams, putoms ĺem no, not avo ĺ nature, surroundings pe ŕt́-pe ĺks no, not, un- a near, (to) near malaso, -v nose sudo neck kirga to notice ŕed ́ ams, ńejems to be needed /necessary eŕavoms to notify pa čt́ams val needle salmuks nothing me źejak neighbour šabra not once ve śt́kak nest pize never sńardojak new, young od now ńej next meje ĺks nowhere kosojak next year si ijeste nut pešt́e night ve

O oak tumo once (one time) kirda objection karšo val one vejke ocean ińeved ́ onion čuŕka odour čińe only, but an śak off, of, from langsto open panžado often śejed ́ ste to open panžoms oh vaj opposite karšo old si ŕe orphan uroz old, worn-out tašto other, different ĺija older brother; uncle ĺeĺa other, another ombo older sister and younger brother pat ́at-jalakst our mi ńek older sister, aunt pat ́a outside ušoso on foot jalgo oven kaštom(o) on to, on lang/s, -so own eś once ve śt́, tago-sńardo ox, bull buka

P pain se ŕed ́ ks peaceful set ́me to paint artoms pearl, pearls eŕge, e ŕgt ́ painting artoma pearls čova ĺat palate kurgo me ńeĺ pension pen śija paper ko ńov people ra śke part pe ĺks person loma ń past (time) ike ĺeń, juta ź (ška) photo foto past, by vakska pie panžakaj path jan to pick keped ́ ems path, road ki picture mazijka, kart ́ina patty pŕaka piece pal to pay pandoms, maksoms pig tuvo pea ksnav piglet pursoz

115 pigtail čeŕbulo (-pulo) to pour valoms, kajams pillow todov to praise (k)šnams pine pi če to prepare jorams pipe ćiĺem present ńeje ń (ška ń) place tarka presumably pa ŕak to place, put putoms price pit ́ń e to plant vegetables putoms eme źt́ to promise altams plank laz, planka promise altavks to play nalk śems proverb valme ŕevks to play (an instrument) śed ́ ams to pull targams pocket źepe to push tulkad ́ ems porridge kaša to put to bed, turn off mad ́ ś t́ems pot čakš, -ke to put (together) putoms, aravtoms (vejs) potato modama ŕ to put on oršams

Q question kevkst́ema quiet, peaceful set ́me quick, -ly kurok, -sto

R rabbit numolo to rest ojm śems rag, tatter nula to return, come back mekev sams,ve ĺavtoms rain pi źeme to revolve čarams to rain pi źems rib iŕd́ eks to raise (a child) kastoms rich ko źa, śupav rare čuro riddle sodamojovks rare, -ly čuro, -sto right (side) vit ́ (pe ĺ) raspberry ińź ej ring surks to read lovnoms to ripen ke ńeŕems reading lovnoma river ĺej ready anok road ki really (oh, really) ka ńa robe, gown ru ća rear, hind ( adj. ) udal će root jur reason čumo rope piks reason, cause tuvtal rotten naksado to recover pi čkams rowan pi źol red jakst ́eŕe rumble ze ŕt́ reed pipe nud ́ ej Russia(-n land) Ruzo ń mastor to rejoice ke ćams Russian, -genitive Ruz, -oń to release noldams Russian woman ruzava to remember me ĺse kird ́ ems rust čeme ń to replace, change polavtoms rye ro ź to request kevkst ́ems, vešems

S sad (day) nusma ńa ( či) Saransk (city) Saran (oš) salt, -y sal, -ov Saturday subuta same śeke sauna šĺamo kudo, ba ńa

116 to say (a word) me ŕems (val) sleeve oža scissors vaso ńbeje ĺt́ (peje ĺ) sleigh nurdo to scold mur ńems slender čovi ńe sea ińeved́ slippery nolaža, navolo to search for veš ńems slowly, steadily sasto, sasti ńeste to scream rangoms, piž ńems small, few alamo second ombo će small viši ńe, viška, viški ńe to see ńejems to smell ńik śems seed vid́ me to smell, to feel smell ma ŕams čińe to seed vid́ ems smoke ka čamo to seem: it seems ńejavi smooth vala ńa to sell mijems snake guj, kuj seller miji ća snot nolgo to send ku čoms snot-nosed nolga ŕ, nolgo tulo sense me ĺ snow, -y lov, -ov separate baška so eŕ seven śiśem so, thus iśt́a to sew stams soap sapo ń sewing stamo soft čevt ́e shadow su ĺej some koj-kona shame vi źks, -ś- some (of them) kona śkak to shave narams some, quite a lot sńarija, źarija she, he son somehow/anyhow/in no way kodajak sheep ŕeve someone/anyone/no-one kijak shin śeŕka something koj-me źe shirt, tunic panar something to read lovnomape ĺ shoe kota something, anything, nothing me źejak to shoot ĺed ́ ems sometime, once tago-sńardo short nu ŕk/a, -ińe sometimes sńardo-sńardo shoulder, -s lavtov, -t somewhere, anywhere, nowhere kuvajak, to shout rangoms, piž ńems kosojak shovel kojme somewhere, nowhere kovgak show ńevt ́ems son ćora-ejkakš sickle tarvaz song moro sickness, illness orma soul, breath ojme side, location pe ĺks, čiŕe sound gaj sign t́ešks to sound gajgems, kajavoms silk par śej sound of feet trampling dubor-dubor silver śija soup jam sin pežet́ sour čapamo to sing, sing (repeatedly) morams, mor śems source, spring ĺiśmap ŕa singer mori ća span (old unit of length, 12–23 cm) vaks singing moramo spark śatko sister (younger sister) sazor sparrow oźaz sister-in-law uŕaž to speak kortams to sit, take a seat ozams to spit śeĺgems sitting ozado spoon pen č six koto spring tundo ski soks spruce kuz skill, ability jorok square, lea, clearing, union kužo skin ked ́ squirrel ur sky me ńeĺ to stand in place, be ašt́ems slave uŕe standing śt́ado to sleep udoms star t́ešt́e sleeping place udoma tarka to steal salams

117 stem (of a plant) ńet ́ks sufficiently satoška to step on čalgams suits ka čamo stepmother odava summer kize still, continually jala sun, day či stomach peke Sunday ńed ĺači stone kev sunrise, east čiĺiśema to stop (v.i.) lotkams sunset, west čivalgoma storm davol support ńeže straight vid ́ ste supposedly ke ĺa (leather, genitive ) strap (kšna ń)karks swallow (bird) ćanav straw olgo swamp, bog ĺet ́ke tarka strawberry kstij, kistij swamp, bog na čko tarka stream čud ́ ike ŕks Swede, -genitive Šved, -eń street kuro Sweden Šved ćija street pe, u ĺć a, sweet, candy ka ńt́vetka strength, force vij sweet lambamo strong, -ly vijev, -ste swing nu ŕamo student stud ́ ent to switch off, put to bed, delete mad ́ ś t́ems to suffice satoms

T tail pulo to throw jortoms to take sajems thumb pe ĺka to talk kortams, ba śams thunder, rumble pu ŕgi ńe tall se ŕej Thursday ćet ́ve ŕk tasty; tastily ta ńt́ej, -ste thus iśt́a to teach tonavtoms ticket bi ĺet tear (drop) śeĺved́ to tie śulmams to tear śeźems time: at the right time ška: škastonzo to tell jovtams tip, treetop t́okš ten keme ń to become tired śiźems Thank you! śuk-pŕa! today t́eči that śe together vejse then śeste tongue ke ĺ there toso too -kak /-gak /-jak these ńe,(-t́ń e) tooth pej they si ń to touch tokams they (themselves) sin ś tough kalgodo, vijev thick ečke towel nardamo thin, fine, -diminutive čova, čovi ńe town oš to think ar śems toy nalkške thirty kolmo ńgeme ń train pojezd this t́e to treat kava ńams this year t́ed ́ ed ́ e tree, wood (material) čuvto this/that kind of iśt́amo tree bark ke ŕ those (it, that, plural ) śet ́ń e treetop čuvtop ŕa thought, wish ar śema tribe, family buje thousand tože ń, tiš ča true vid́ e three kolmo to try t́eŕavtoms, var čams throat kirgapa ŕ Tuesday ovtor ńik through pe ŕt́, pa čk tunic panar through there tuva to turn purdams,

118 to turn, return ve ĺavtoms twig iĺov to turn, revolve čarams two kavto twenty kom ś

U udder odar until vid ́ s unanimously ve(jke) me ĺse Until we meet! vastomazonok! uncle ĺeĺa up (to) ve ŕev under, lower alo up, high (across) ve ŕga to understand čaŕkod ́ ems upper end of the village, upper street ve ŕe pe, understanding (n.) čaŕkod ́ ema kuro (old ) unit of mass (16 kg) pondo upper part, top ve ŕks university uńiver śit ́et

V vegetable emež village ve ĺe vegetable garden emežpi ŕe voice vajge ĺ vein san Volga Rav very pek, ve ĺt́

W to wait učoms to warm up ( v.i.) ežems Wait! (sg. /pl.) užo, -do to wash šĺams warm ĺembe to wash the head; to scold pezems p ŕa to warm ežd ́ ems

Appendix V. Audio-materials

University of Tartu, Archives of Estonian Dialects and Kindred Languages; www.murre.ut.ee/arhiiv , search: DS0169-01 through DS0169-24.

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