On the discourse functions of the enclitics ꞊ma and ꞊mʔ in Tundra Nenets

The paper discusses two enclitics, ꞊ma(꞊wa) and ꞊mʔ(꞊wʔ), which occur in the finite predicate in Tundra Nenets. Both forms are usually described in the literature very briefly and vaguely, and their functions remain obscure. In some contexts, these functions seem to overlap. For example, Tereščenko just mentioned the form ꞊ma among other “assertive suffix particles” [Tereščenko 1973: 88]. Nikolaeva, who also treats ꞊ma as an assertive clitic, considers its central function to express certainty [Nikolaeva 2014: 120]. However, this does not answer the question why, if this form expresses certainty, it can combine with the non-indicative moods. The form ꞊mʔ is considered “an affirmative suffix particle” in the section on affirmative sentences in [Tereščenko 1973], but in the section on interrogative sentences it is referred to as “a special marker used to emphasize the interrogative intonation”. In the table of contents in [Nikolaeva 2014], the section on the enclitic ꞊mʔ is entitled “Affirmative ꞊m°h”, but further in the text this section is entitled “Dubitative ꞊m°h”. The ambiguous interpretation of the forms under discussion is apparently due to the fact that each of them can be used in different contexts, and the features of a context are often attributed to the enclitic itself.

The analysis undertaken in this paper takes into account both “narrow” (a wordform or syntactic construction) and wide contexts of use of the enclitics ꞊ma and ꞊mʔ. This analysis shows that a fundamentally important feature of both enclitics is their relation to the discourse structure. At the same time, these forms have different functions. A predicate marked with ꞊ma introduces a piece of information {B} that is associated with the previous or subsequent context {A}. By the speaker’s assumption, {B} may not be known to the addressee, but it is important for the addressee to build the correct knowledge of {A} or to choose the right behavior pattern. The main semantic component of the enclitic ꞊mʔ is an indication of an alternative. As is the case with ꞊ma, a predicate marked with ꞊mʔ also introduces a piece of information {B} that is associated with the previous or subsequent context {A}, but in the case of ꞊mʔ, the speaker considers {B} to be known to the addressee. At the same time, the speaker believes that the addressee may also have an alternative piece of information {B₁}. By using ꞊mʔ(꞊wʔ) the speaker returns the addressee to the relevant information {B}, which helps to make the necessary association with {A}.