Votian/Infinitives

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Verbal nouns

	Object	Instructive	Inessive	Elative	Illative	Abessive	Translative
Infinitive marker	-tak		-ta'essa				-ta'kse
Infinitive marker			-massa	-masta	-masen	-matta

ta - infinitive

Phonological history

• The Finno-Lappic -tak suffix lost it's t component after unstressed vowels like the suffixes of indefinite voice and partitive due to the consonant gradation in stems and suffixes e.g. uju+tak > ujua ('to swim'), tšüzü+tak > tšüzüä ('to ask').
• The final -k has been preserved only in Eastern Votic dialect e.g. sȫ ̨ äG (" to eat "). All the other dialects both in Ingria and Estonia have lost the phoneme *k in the end of words e.g. süvvä (" to eat ").

Morphophonology

ta - infinitive suffix takes a consonant stem if available.

• The -t component of the suffix has usually been assimilated with preceding dental consonants: l, л, n, r, s, t like in indefinite voice.
  • t + t > t: e.g. avat-aG ('to open' Eastern Votic dialect) < *avat-tak.
  • h + t > h: e.g. teh-ä ('to make') < *teh-tak.
  • s + t > ss: e.g. pes-säG ('to wash' Eastern Votic dialect) < *pes-tak.
  • л + t > лл: e.g. kōл-лa ('to die') < *kōл-tak, jute̮ллa (" to say ") < * jute̮л+tak
  • l + t > ll: e.g. pitel-lä ('to hold') < *pitel-tak
  • r + t > rr: e.g. sur-ra ('to die') < *sur-tak.
  • n + t > nn: e.g. men-nä ('to go') < *men-tak.

• The -t component of the suffix will be assimilated also with preceding stressed long (labialized) vowels: o, u, ö, y like in indefinite voice producing:
  • ō + ta > uvva
  • ū + ta > uvva
  • ȫ + ta > üvvä
  • ǖ + ta > üvvä
    • e.g. jō+taksen > juvva ('to drink').

• The suffix will lose it's t component after unstressed vowels like in indefinite voice and partitive e.g. uju+tak > ujua ('to swim'), tšüzü+tak > tšüzüä ('to ask').
  • In such cases ä and a of the stem melt together with the vowel of the suffix into a single long vowel e.g. väittä+tak > väittǟG (" to drag ") - Eastern Votic dialect.

• Verbal stem is always in the same grade as in present tense indefinite voice and plural of the second person imperative.
  • лuke̮a ('to read') ~ лuke̮assa ('Somebody reads.') ~ лuke̮gā ('Read!' - plural) X лuge̮G ('Read!' - singular)
  • vs. magata ('to sleep') ~ magatassa ('Somebody sleeps.') ~ magatkā ('Sleep!' - plural) X makā ('Sleep!' - singular)

Pronunciation

• The vowel a alternates with ä and e̮ alternates with e according to vowel harmony rules.
  • uppot+tak > upota (" to drown ")
  • üppät+tak > üpätä (" to jump ")
  • suvat+ta'essa > suvate̮za (" loving ")
  • üppät+ta'essa > üpätezä (" jumping ")

1. The final -k is pronounced as -G only in Eastern Votic dialect e.g. sȫ ̨ äG (" to eat "). All the other dialects both in Ingria and Estonia have lost the phoneme *k in the end of words e.g. süvvä (" to eat ").
2. Inessive -ssa component of -ta'essa morpheme is generally pronounced as -zä, -za   ( depending in vowel harmony ).
   1. The -t component of the suffix goes through all the assimilations described above in morphophonology paragraph.
   2. The buffer -e has been usually melt together with the preceding vowel e.g. elä+ta'essa > elǟzä (" living "), pitä+ta'essa > pitǟzä (" keeping "), лaula+ta'essa > лauлāza (" singing ").
      1. but it may be pronounced as i (replacing the last component of the preceding vowel) in some dialects e.g. Lempola elä+ta'essa > eläizä (" living "), pitä+ta'essa > pitäizä (" keeping "), лauлa+ta'essa > лauлaiza (" singing ").
      2. after a consonant stem -e replaces the preceding vowel e.g. jute̮л+ta'essa > jute̮ллe̮za (" saying "), pan+ta'essa > panne̮za (" putting "), men+ta'essa > mennezä (" going "), üpät+ta'essa > üpätezä (" jumping "), suvat+ta'essa > suvate̮za (" loving ").

Usage

-tak morpheme may express

1. object - e.g. aлke̮   tšüzüä   (" She started to ask. "), piäp ̮ tehä   (" She has to do. "), väsü mäntšiä   (" She has got tired of playing. " ? Russian influence: устал играть vs. Finnish: väsyi leikkimästä )

-ta'essa morpheme may express

1. time of an simultaneous action - e.g. elǟzä en e̮лe̮ nähnü nī üvǟ lehmǟ   (" I haven't seen such a good cow in my lifetime . ").
2. description of an assistant action - e.g. лauлāza mentī kotōsē̮   (" They went home singing. "), tȫtä tehezä e̮лe̮n ain elännü   (" I have lived my life working all the time . ")

• In runic songs it may occur with a possessive suffix , which marks the agent of the action - e.g. süvvezäzi (" while you are eating "), antāzani (" while I shall be giving ")

-ta'kse morpheme with a possessive suffix , which marks the agent of the action, may express

1. an option or a possible action - e.g. anna tupa tuллasse̮ni, rihi sōja e̮ллasse̮ni, лautad ̮ лahti tšävvässeni   (" Give me a chamber where I could come, a warm room where I could be, open byres where I could go . ").
   1. It occurs in runic songs only. Even though Ahlqvist describes it in his grammar as an ordinary feature.
   2. Similar constructions are used in Finnish also e.g. Vene oli kevyt soutaaksemme.   ("The boat was easy (light) for us to row." ) .

Dialectal alternatives

• Votic of Ingria
  • Eastern Votic dialect
    • The final -k is pronounced as -G in Eastern Votic dialect. All the other dialects both in Ingria and Estonia have lost the phoneme *k in the end of words e.g. tō ̨aG (" to bring "), väittǟG (" to drag "), pannaG (" to put "), sitoaG (" to tie "), avataG (" to open ").
  • Western Votic dialects
    • s + t > s: e.g. väris-ä ('to tremble') < *väris-tak.

Other Finnic dialects

• Standard Finnish : luke-a ("to read")
• Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : lugi-e ("to read")
• Central Vepsian dialects : luge-da ("to read")
• Hevaha Ingrian dialects : lukke-aG ("to read")
• Standard Estonian : luge-da ("to read")
• Räpina South Estonian dialects : luk̆ke̮-ʔ ("to read")
• Eastern Livonian dialects : lu ̉ggə̑   ("to read")

ma - infinitive

Pronunciation

• Pronunciation of ma infinitive suffix varies according to vowel harmony e.g. tšüsümǟ (" to ask "), jōnitte̮лe̮mā (" to run ")
• -sē, -sē̮   may be added as a duplicate to an illative suffix.

Morphophonology

ma - infinitive suffix takes a vowel stem.

Thus any verbal stem of ma infinitive is always in the strong grade.

• лuke̮mā ('to read' illative) ~ лuke̮a ('to read') ~ лuke̮assa ('Somebody reads.') ~ лuke̮gā ('Read!' - plural) X лuge̮G ('Read!' - singular)
• vs. makāmā ('to sleep' illative) ~ makā ('Sleep!' - singular) X magatkā ('Sleep!' - plural) ~ magata ('to sleep') ~ magatassa ('Somebody sleeps.')

Phonological history and usage

ma - is a Uralic verbal noun derivation suffix , which marks

1. a process, a result or an object - e.g. surma   (" death " notice the consonant stem), jōma   (" a drink "), vajoma   (" a soft place in a swamp ").

-masen illative may express

1. destination, goal - e.g. meni kaлā pǖtämǟ   (" He went fishing. " kuhē̮ ?), jōhse̮vad ̮ vāttamā   (" They run to see it. "), issūmma ōkauttamā jaлkoi   (" We'll sit down to rest our feet. "), ne̮istī tšüsümǟ   (" They started to ask. ")
2. uncertainty, probability ( partitivus cum infinitivo ) like a present participle - e.g. jue̮лtī tuлe̮mā tuhkapǟn   (" He was told to come on Monday. "), eb ̮ näü tšävelemǟ   (" She does not seem to walk. "), näin tätä e̮лe̮mā   (" I saw her being (there). " ~ Estonian dialects : nägin teda tulema )

-massa inessive may express

1. situation - e.g. isä on sȫmäzä   (" Father is eating. " kuza ?), e̮limma spektaklia vāttamaza   (" We were watching a performance. "), e̮лtī   tšäümäzä   (" They went wooing. ")

-masta elative may express

1. departure - e.g. tulin tšüntämässä   (" I came from ploughing. " kussa ?), unohtīn tšüsümässä   (" I forgot to ask. ")

-matta abessive may express

1. undone action - e.g. pe̮лto jäi tšüntämättä   (" The field remained unploughed. " ), ve̮rkko on paratamattaG   (" The net is not repaired. " Eastern Votic dialect), ope̮n on sȫmättä   (" The horse has not eaten. ")

Other Finnic dialects have used more cases of ma infinitive like external locative cases and translative .

Other Finnic dialects

• Standard Finnish : luke-maan ('to read' illative )
• Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : luge-mah ('to read' illative )
• Vepsian dialects : luge-maha ('to read' illative )
• Ingrian dialects : luGo-mān ('to read' illative )
• Standard Estonian : luge-ma ('to read' illative )
• South Estonian Räpina dialects : luGe̮-ma ('to read' illative )
• Eastern Livonian dialects : lu ̉ggə̑-m ('to read' illative )

miine' - gerund

Phonological history and morphophonology

• The miine' suffix is composed of ma - suffix and a descriptive noun derivation suffix *-inen .
  • Short vowel has regularily disappeared in front of the -i- or melt together with it into a long ī like in plural vanapa+i+лē̮ > vanapīлē̮ ('to elders').
  • The final *n of this suffix blocked the protofinnic sound change * e > i in the end of a word like a possessive suffix after translative marker, but disappeared later.
• The second part of mii'se suffix may be derived of something like *-ńt́śen e.g. Sami -ńtš , Erzya -ńt́śe .

Pronunciation of miine' gerund suffix varies according to vowel harmony -mine̮ , -mine e.g. terppimine (" long-suffering "), e̮mpe̮лe̮mine̮ (" sewing ")

• The final vowel of the suffix may be omitted e.g. sȫmin (" eating ").
• The long ī of this morpheme may be preserved (after any stem) in some dialects e.g. jōmīn (" drinking "), makāmīze̮ллa (" sleeping " inessive ), e̮mpe̮лe̮mīn (" sewing ").
  • In some dialects the long ī has been preserved only in syllables of secondary stress e.g. luke̮mīn (" reading "), antamīn (" giving ")).
  • In some dialects i of this suffix is never long e.g. tetšemis̄   ("doing" partitive).

miine' - gerund suffix takes a vowel stem.

Thus any verbal stem of miine' gerund is always in the strong grade.

• лuke̮mine̮ ('reading') ~ лuke̮a ('to read') ~ лuke̮assa ('Somebody reads.') ~ лuke̮gā ('Read!' - plural) X лuge̮G ('Read!' - singular)
• vs. makāmine̮ ('sleeping') ~ makā ('Sleep!' - singular) X magatkā ('Sleep!' - plural) ~ magata ('to sleep') ~ magatassa ('Somebody sleeps.')

Declension

miine' - gerund is declined like the XII Declension: -nen consonant stems i.e. it is replaced with mii's ~ mii'se in front of case or plural suffixes e.g. tetšemis̄   ("doing" partitive), makāmīze̮ллa (" sleeping " inessive ).

Usage

-mii'sella adessive + possessive *-hen may express

• action of immediate future - e.g. sȫmizellǟ   (" (?will be) eating in a moment "), tuлe̮mīze̮ллā   (" (is) coming ~ about to come "), antamīze̮ллā   (" (is) giving ~ about to give "), staruχa on kōлe̮mīze̮ллā   ("The crone is dieing ~ about to die."), e̮лin tuлe̮mīze̮ллā teilē vē̮razī, kui poika tuli läsivässi   ("I was about to come to visit you, when my son fell ill.").
  • Similar constructions are used in Finnish also e.g. Hän oli kuolemaisillaan.   ("He was about to die." ) .

Other Finnic dialects

• Standard Finnish : anta-minen ("giving") - anta-misen ( genitive )
• Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : šüö-mińe ("food")
• Vepsian dialects : kudo-mińe ("weaving")
• Ingrian dialects : sȫ-minen ("food") - sȫ-miZen ( genitive )
• Standard Estonian : ela-mine ("living (-room etc.)") - ela-mise ( genitive )
• Livonian dialects : jelà-mi ("life")

See also

• Grammar of Votian dialects (syllabus)
• Indefinite voice
• Derivation of verbal nouns
• Object
• Instructive
• Inessive
• Elative
• Illative
• Abessive
• Translative

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