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. Due to differences in phonology, lexicon, and grammar, Erzya and Moksha are not mutually intelligible.[6] The two Mordvinic languages also have separate literary forms. The Erzya literary language was created in 1922 and the Mokshan in 1923.[7]

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

Until ca. 2010s most Finnic linguists considered Mordvinic and Mari languages as a single subdivision of so-called Volga-Finnic branch of the Uralic family. Currently this approach is rejected by most scholars,[8] and Mordvinic and Mari are considered distinct from each other: Mordvinic languages are believed to have a common ancestor with Balto-Finnic languages (Estonian and Finnish), while the Mari languages are closer to the Permic languages.

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. 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. Феоктистов А. П. Мордовские языки. основы финно-угорского языкознания. Прибалтийско-финские, саамский и мордовские языки. М., 1975
  7. Wixman, Ronald (1984). The Peoples of the USSR. M.E. Sharpe. p. A137. ISBN 978-0-87332-506-6.
  8. Piispanen, Peter S. Statistical Dating of Finno-Mordvinic Languages through Comparative Linguistics and Sound Laws: Fenno-Ugrica Suecana Nova Series. 15 (2016). P. 1-18
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