The Structure of the Noun Phrase in Northern and Southern Ewenki Dialects

Abstract

The paper investigates the structure of Ewenki noun phrases, dealing with both their semantics and syntax. Whereas semantics are rather uniform cross-dialectally, there is considerable variation in syntax, especially regarding agreement patterns. As a rule, the more northern a dialect is the less agreement it exhibits within the noun phrase; besides that, cardinal numerals greater or equal to ‘2’ call for the modified noun in plural in rather Southern dialects, but for its unmarked form in rather Northern dialects. From a comparative point of view, it can be shown that the areal-typologically unexpected agreement within the noun phrase is probably the inherited pattern in (Northern) Tungusic languages, whereas the relevant Ewenki dialects lost it secondarily due to Turkic (Dolgan and Sakha) influence.