Mordvinic languages

The Mordvinic languages,[1] also known as the Mordvin,[2] Mordovian or Mordvinian languages (Russian: мордовские языки, mordovskiye yazyki),[3] are a subgroup of the Uralic languages, comprising the closely related Erzya language and Moksha language, both spoken in Mordovia.[4]

Mordvinic
EthnicityMordvins
Geographic
distribution		Southwestern and Southeastern Russia
Linguistic classificationUralic
Subdivisions
Glottologmord1256

Previously considered a single "Mordvin language",[5] it is now treated as a small language grouping.[6] Due to differences in phonology, lexicon, and grammar, Erzya and Moksha are not mutually intelligible.[7] The two Mordvinic languages also have separate literary forms. The Erzya literary language was created in 1922 and the Mokshan in 1923.[8]

Phonological differences between the two languages include:[5]

  • Moksha retains a distinction between the vowels /ɛ, e/ while in Erzya, both 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.

Classification
Further information: Uralic languages § 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.[9] 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.[10][11][12]

References
  1. Bright, William (1992). International Encyclopedia of Linguistics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-505196-4.
  2. Mordvin languages @ google books
  3. Dalby, Andrew (1998). Dictionary of Languages. Columbia University Press. p. 429. ISBN 9780231115681. Erza.
  4. Grenoble, Lenore (2003). Language Policy in the Soviet Union. Springer. p. A80. ISBN 978-1-4020-1298-3.
  5. Raun, Alo (1988). Sinor, Denis (ed.). The Uralic languages: Description, history and foreign influences. BRILL. p. A96. ISBN 978-90-04-07741-6.
  6. Hamari, Arja; Ajanki, Rigina (2022). "Mordvin (Erzya and Moksha)". In Marianne Bakró-Nagy; Johanna Laakso; Elena Skribnik (eds.). The Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages. Oxford University Press. pp. 392–431.
  7. Феоктистов А. П. Мордовские языки. основы финно-угорского языкознания. Прибалтийско-финские, саамский и мордовские языки. М., 1975
  8. Wixman, Ronald (1984). The Peoples of the USSR. M.E. Sharpe. p. A137. ISBN 978-0-87332-506-6.
  9. Abondolo, Daniel (1988). The Uralic Languages. London & New York: Routledge. p. 4. [...] the idea, once widely-held, that there was a common Mordva-Mari protolanguage (so-called 'proto-Volgaic') is now out of favour.
  10. Nichols, Johanna (2021). "The Origin and Dispersal of Uralic: Distributional Typological View". Annual Review of Linguistics. 7: 351–369. doi:10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011619-030405. S2CID 234179048.
  11. Saarikivi, Janne (2022). "The divergence of Proto-Uralic and its offspring: A descendant reconstruction". In Marianne Bakró-Nagy; Johanna Laakso; Elena Skribnik (eds.). The Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages. Oxford University Press. pp. 28–58.
  12. Piispanen, Peter S. (2016). "Statistical Dating of Finno-Mordvinic Languages through Comparative Linguistics and Sound Laws" (PDF). Fenno-Ugrica Suecana Nova Series. 15: 1–58.
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