Mordvinic languages
Pair of Uralic languages of Russia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mordvinic languages,[4] also known as the Mordvin,[5] Mordovian or Mordvinian languages (Russian: мордовские языки, mordovskiye yazyki),[6] are a subgroup of the Uralic languages, comprising the closely related Erzya language and Moksha language, both spoken in Mordovia.[7]
distributionSouthwestern and Southeastern Russia
- Mordvinic
Previously considered a single "Mordvin language",[8] it is now treated as a small language grouping.[9] Due to differences in phonology, lexicon, and grammar, Erzya and Moksha are not mutually intelligible.[10] The two Mordvinic languages also have separate literary forms. The Erzya literary language was created in 1922 and the Mokshan in 1923.[11]
Phonological differences between the two languages include:[8]
- Moksha retains a distinction between the vowels /ɛ, e/ while in Erzya, they have merged as /e/.
- In unstressed syllables, Erzya features vowel harmony like many other Uralic languages, using [e] in front-vocalic words and [o] in back-vocalic words. Moksha has a simple schwa [ə] in their place.
- Word-initially, Erzya has a postalveolar affricate /tʃ/ corresponding to a fricative /ʃ/ in Moksha.
- Next to voiceless consonants, liquids /r, rʲ, l, lʲ/ and the semivowel /j/ are devoiced in Moksha to [r̥ r̥ʲ l̥ l̥ʲ ȷ̊].
The medieval Meshcherian language may have been Mordvinic or close to Mordvinic.[12]
Classification
Traditionally, Uralicists grouped the Mordvinic and Mari languages together in the so-called Volgaic branch of the Uralic family; this view was however abandoned in the late 20th century.[13] Instead, some Uralicists now prefer a rapid expansion model, with Mordvinic as one out of nine primary branches of Uralic; others propose a close relation between Mordvinic with the Finnic and Saamic branches of Uralic.[14][15][16]