ESTONIAN ACADEMY
PUBLISHERS
eesti teaduste
akadeemia kirjastus
PUBLISHED
SINCE 1965
 
Linguistica Uralica cover
Linguistica Uralica
ISSN 1736-7506 (Electronic)
ISSN 0868-4731 (Print)
Concerning Inflection Classes in Livonian; pp. 12-26
PDF | doi:10.3176/lu.2012.1.02

Author
Tiit-Rein Viitso
Abstract

Livonian has among the Finnic languages characteristically the ­greatest variety of optional inflectional ending variants and the most complicated system of morphophonological alternations. The present article gives an overview of the repertoire of simple inflectional forms in verbal and nominal paradigms (53 verb forms and 25 nominal forms) and their ending variants, as well as morphophonological alternations. These ending variants and morphemic alternations served as a basis for establishing 62 verb types and 238 nominal types. For this reason, a minimal set of forms of classificatory significance was established, and the types were arranged into classes on the basis of the series of ending variants in the paradigms. The article provides an introduction to this procedure on the basis of verb types; 22 classes and 5 declensions were established.

References

Blevins, J. P. 2007, Conjugation Classes in Estonian. - LU XLIII, 250-267.

Blevins, J. P. 2008, Declension Classes in Estonian. - LU XLIV, 241-267.

Kettunen, L. 1938, Livisches Wörterbuch mit grammatischer Einleitung, Helsinki (LSFU V).

Kettunen, L. 1947, Hauptzüge der livischen Laut- und Formengeschichte. Vervollstän­dig­ter Sonderabdruck aus der grammatischen Einleitung des Livischen Wör­terbuches, Helsinki.

Penttilä, A. 1933, Liivin monikon partitiivista. - Vir., 308-319.

Viitso, T.-R. 2003, Structure of the Estonian Language. Phonology, ­Morphology and Word Formation. - Estonian Language, Tallinn (Linguistica Uralica. Supplementary Series / Volume 1), 9-92.

Viitso, T.-R. 2007, Livonian Gradation: Types and Genesis. - LU XLIII, 45-62.

Viks, Ü. 1992, A Concise Morphological Dictionary of Estonian I. Introduction & Grammar, Tallinn.

Wiedemann, F. J. 1861, Joh. Andreas Sjögren’s Livische Grammatik nebst Sprachproben, St. Petersburg (Joh. Andreas Sjögren’s Gesammelte Schriften. Band II. Theil I).

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