Dvojstvennoe tshislo v juzhnych i tsentral´nych dialektach sel´kupskogo jazyka
The Dual Number in the Southern and Central Dialects of Selkup

Summary/Abstract: The article addresses the category of dual number and the ways to express ­duality in the Southern and Central Selkup dialects. The study is based on material recorded between the 1960s and 1980s, when many middle-aged and even young Selkups still maintained their native language. The article argues that in its most developed form the category of dual can be found in the Southern and Central dialects of Selkup, where the morphological markers of DU occur with noun stems (mostly kinship terms), possessive suffixes, and personal verbal suffixes. Morphological DU appears also in 3rd person forms of the subjective conjugation. In addition the dual is expressed with personal pronouns, which are sometimes used with the numeral šitti ’two’.

• Details
• Contents