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. The two Mordvinic languages also have separate literary forms. The Erzya literary language was created in 1922 and the Mokshan in 1923.[6]

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,[7] 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. Wixman, Ronald (1984). The Peoples of the USSR. M.E. Sharpe. p. A137. ISBN 978-0-87332-506-6.
  7. 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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