Nau 2011 - Short Grammar of Latgalian

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A short grammar
of Latgal ian
Nicole Nau
2011
LINCOM EUROPA
Published by LINCOM GmbH 2011.
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Cover photograph: Latgalians celebrating the summer solstice with
bonfire and songs until sunrise, courtesy llze Sperga.
LATGALIAN LW/M482
Contents
Preface ............................ ......................... .......... ................. ............................................ 3
1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 4
J .1 General information .................................................................................................. 4
1.2 History ....................................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Research and description ........................................................................................... 7
1.4 Typological overview ................................................................................................ 8
2. The sound system ..................................................................................................... 9
2. 1 Phonemes, sounds, and letters ................................................................................... 9
2.2 Stress and tone ......................................................................................................... 13
2.3 Phonological processes ........................................................................................... 14
3. Morphophonology ................................................................................................... 15
3.1 Morphophonological harmony ................................................................................ 15
3.2 Morphophonological vowel alternations ................................................................. 16
3.3 Morphophonological consonant alternations .......................................................... 18
3.4 Sets of morphophonological processes ................................................................... 20
4. Nominal morphology ............................................................................................... 21
4.1 Nouns ....................................................................................................................... 21
4.1.1 Stems and declensions ....................................................................................... 21
4.1.2 Diminutives ....................................................................................................... 26
4.1.3 Vocatives ........................................................................................................... 27
4.2 Adjectives ................................................................................................................ 28
4.2.1 Stems and inflection .......................................................................................... 28
4.2.2 On the use of the definite endings ..................................................................... 29
4.2.3 Diminutives ....................................................................................................... 30
4.2.4 Derivation of adverbs from adjectives .............................................................. 31
4.2.5 Comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs .................................................. 32
4.3 Numerals ................................................................................................................. 33
4.3.1 Stems ................................................................................................................. 33
4.3.2 Inflection ............................................................................................................ 34
4.4 Pronouns .................................................................................................................. 35
4.4.1 Personal reflexive and possessive pronouns ..................................................... 35
4.4.2 Anaphoric, logophoric, and demonstrative pronouns ....................................... 37
4.4.3 Interrogative, relative, indefinite, and negative pronouns ................................. 38
4.4.4 Other pronouns .................................................................................................. 41
5. Verbal morphology ................................................................................................ 42
5. 1 Overview: stems, classes, forms ............................................................................. 42
5.2 Conjugation (tense forms) ....... .......... ......... ....... ......... .. ........................................... 45
5.2.1 Simple present ................................................................................................... 46
5.2.2 Simple past ........................................................................................................ 47
LW/M 482 2
LATGALIAN
5.2.3 Simple future ............ ........ ........... ... ................................ ......... .... ...................... 48
5.2.4 Conjugation of byut 'be' and lt 'go' ............. .................................................... .48
5.2.5 Conjugation of reflexive verbs .......................................................... .... ........... .48
5 .2 .. 6 Compound tense forms ........................................................................ 50
5.3 Further verb-forms and verbal categories ................................................................ 51
5.3.1 Imperative ................... .......................................... .... ........... ... .................. .. .... ... 51
5.3.2 Subjunctive .... .................. .......... ........ ..... ...................... . , ... ............... ...... ........ ... 52
5.3.3 Debitive .............................................................................................................. 53
5.3.4 Oblique (renarrative) ............................. .. .......... , ............................................... 54
5.4.5 Passive ............... .. ................. .. ............................ , ..... ... ... .... ........ .... ..... ...... .. ..... 56
5.4 Participles and converbs ................... .. ........ , .... ............................................. .. ..... ... . 57
5.5 Infinitive and supine ... .. ............ .. .............. .... ...................... .... .... .... ........ .. ..... 60
5.6 Verbal noun ............... .... ........... .. ....... ........... ...... .. ... ............. .... ..... ............... ... ........ 61
6. Syntax and discourse ....................... .. ..... ........ ..... ........ ..... .... .. ...... .......... .. ... ...... ... ... 63
6.1 Phrases and constructions .... .... ........... ...... ......................... .. .. .. ................. ... ... ....... .. 63
6.1.1 Noun phrase structure ........................................................................................ 63
6.1.2 Definiteness ............ .............. .... ............. : ........................................................... 65
6.1.3 Syntax of cardinal number + noun .................................................................... 68
6.1.4 Prepositional phrases ............ .... ........ .. ... .......... ........ ....... .. ..... ... ............... ..... ..... 71
6.1.5 Comparison ..................... .......... ............ .... .... ....... .... ... .... .. .......... ..... .... ....... ...... . 72
6.1.6 Coordination ...................................................................................................... 74
6.2 Clause structure ...... ... .................. ...... ... ..... ........... ........ ... ....... .. ............... .. ........ .... .. 76
6.2.1 Clause types and case assignment .................................................................... 76
6.2.1.1 Verbal clauses with a nominative subject.. ................................................................ 76
6.2.1.2 Verbal clauses with a primary dative argument.. ........... .. .... ............ .... .... ..... ......... .... 80
6.2.1.3 Existential and possessive clauses ............................................................................. 81
6.2.1.4 Non-verbal (copula) clauses with a nominative subject (assignment clauses) .......... 83
6.2.1.5 Other non-verbal clauses ................. ... ........................ .... ................... ...... .......... ...... ... 85
6.2.1.6 Case assignment and agreement in debitive and passive constructions .................... 86
6.2.2 Adjuncts ..... ... ............... .. ........................ .......... .. .......... ..................................... . 89
6.2.3 Negation ....... ... ........................ ... ... .. .. ....................................... .. ............. .... .. ..... 90
6.2.4 Questions .......................... .. ..................................................................... .......... 92
6.3 Clause linkage .......................................................... .... ..... ....................................... 93
6.3.1 Participle and converb clauses ........................................................................... 93
6.3.2 Finite clauses .......... .............................................................. ..... ........................ 96
6.4 Particles in discourse .......................... ........ ........................................................... 101
6.5 Represented speech in traditional narratives ......................................................... 105
7. Samples .................................................................................................................. 108
8. Abbreviations .................................................... ..... ............................................... 114
9. Sources .............................................................................. .. .................................... L 15
10. Bibliography ......................... .. ...... ............ .............. ... ..... .. .. ... ................ ... ............ 116
LATGALIAN 3 LW/M 482
Preface
Cikom cylviiks runoj ar cylviiku, ir voliida.
Kod voliida pallk tikai vuordneicii, lementarl
i lyugsonu gruomatel)ii, nav ari voliidys. *) (IS)
The growing interest in Latgalian, in recent years shown especially by scholars of
Baltic and Slavic languages, has created the need for more extensive information on
the structure of this language, accessible also to linguists who do not know Latvian.
The present grammar is no more than a small contribution towards answering this need
and to making Latgalian known to a broader linguistic audience.
The grammar is based on texts of different times and different genres. The vast
majority of examples are taken from texts written in recent years, many of them
published on the Internet. They contain short journalistic prose (squibs), blogs, short
stories and literary self-portraits of contemporary writers. I sometimes refer to these
sources as "modern texts". On the other hand, I used a corpus of traditional narratives,
fairy-tales collected in the 1890s and the 1920s in two villages of Central Latgalia
(referred to as "traditional texts"). By choosing these two kinds of sources, I chose to
document varieties of Latgalian that are planned and elaborated, and at the same time
in many respects close to the spoken language. I thus deliberately neglected more
formal written genres, as newspaper articles, academic prose, religious texts, and the
language of fiction of the 20th century. In my experience, the language of such sources
is often very close to Standard Latvian and contains much less of the phenomena that
make Latgalian special. All examples are cited in the same way that they are written in
the source, which means that at least three different orthographic conventions are used,
the main characteristics of which are briefly explained in Chapter 2.
There are many people who supported and helped me, in one way or the other, in
writing this book and whom I would like to thank sincerely: Alexey Andronov, Bjorn
Wiemer and Peter Arkadiev, who read most parts of the manuscript and whose
comments and questions helped to improve it a good deal; Lidija Leikuma, who was
always willing to answer my questions; Sanita Lazdil)a for comments on the
manuscript (and for more); Ilze Sperga for expert consultations and for producing such
wonderful data (not meant for grammar books in the first place), as well as for
providing me with an image of Latgalia(n) in the literal sense (to be found on the
cover); Mike Hornsby for the labour of proofreading. Ulrike Mosel has always
encouraged me to write grammars and has been a model for me, in this and many other
ways.
My greatest gratitude goes to the speakers who keep this beautiful language alive, for:
*) 'As long as man talks to man, a language exists. When a language resides only in
dictionaries, primers and prayer books, the language is no more.'
LW/M482 4
LATGALIAN
1. Introduction
1.1 General information
Latgalian is a regional language spoken in the Eastern part of Latvia in Central
Europe, the region called Latgalia (Latgola in Latgalian, Latgale in Latvian; both
forms are also found in publications in English). The language belongs to the Eastern
group of the Baltic branch of Indo-European. Within this group it is more closely
related to Latvian than to Lithuanian. On the other hand, there are several lexical and
morphological parallels between Latgalian and Lithuanian not shared by Modern
Latvian. Official language policy in Latvia regards spoken Latgalian as a dialect of
Latvian and written Latgalian as a "historical variety of Latvian" entitled to support by
the state (Valsts valodas likums (Latvian language law), paragraph 3.4). It is possible
that Latgalian will be officially recognized as a regional language in the near future;
such a goal has been pursued by Latgalian activists for several years. Most Latgalians
regard themselves as ethnic Latvians with a separate language.
From a dialectological point of view, the dialects of Latgalian belong to the High
Latvian dialect (see Rudzite 1964; Balode & Holvoet 2001). There is also regional
variation within Latgalian which may be broadly captured by distinguishing a
Northern, a Southern, and a Central-Eastern variant. The sources used for this
grammar reflect mostly the Central-Eastern variant.
The Latgalian Research Institute at Daugavpils University gives an estimated number
of 150,000 - 200,000 speakers who use Latgalian in everyday communication
(Latgale -Latgola). A recent survey of the linguistic situation of Latgalia gives a more
detailed picture of language use within the region (see Suplinska & LazdiQa, eds.
2009; Iannaccaro & Dell' Aquila 2008; LazdiQa 2008; Kjavinska 2008; Poseiko 2010).
In this survey, 9076 inhabitants of the region (= about 3%) from all age groups and
representing various linguistic commumttes answered to a comprehensive
questionnaire about language knowledge and language use. About two thirds of the
respondents claimed to know Latgalian. Their ability to use the spoken language was
judged as good or excellent by about 70% of these respondents, while only 36% gave
their writing skills equally good marks. There are probably no monolingual speakers
of Latgalian. Most speakers are trilingual and regularly use Latvian and Russian in
addition to Latgalian.
1.2 History
1
Latvian and Lithuanian emerged as languages during the Middle Ages as a result of
convergence and divergence of dialects of the Eastern Baltic tribes. In the process, the
1
English sources on the history of written Latgalian are Leikuma (2002) and Stafecka (2004); see also
Le li s ( 1961 ). See also the historical and sociolinguistic overview given in Mercator (2009).
language of the tribe of Latgalians was one of the main sources of Latvian. In later
times, historical factors led to separate developments in the language of Latvians in the
Eastern and the Western part of the territory. For several centuries Latgalia was
politically and culturally separated from the territories where other varieties of Latvian
were used. In 1629, after decades of war, Latgalia was integrated into the Polish-
Lithuanian Commonwealth. The region became known as the Polish Inflants (lnflanty
Polskie in Polish). With the First Partition of Poland in 1772 it became part of the
Russian governorate of Vitebsk, remaining so until the end of the Russian Empire in
1917. During the 17th and the 18th centuries, Polish language and culture became
increasingly influential in the region. Polish missionaries, especially Jesuits, were
active in spreading and stabilizing the Catholic faith, and from that time Catholicism
has always played an important role for Latgalian identity, and it has become a feature
of distinction from Protestant, western Latvia. The Jesuits were also active in the field
of education and the spread of literacy. In the 18th century, the first (religious) books
in Latgalian were printed. The oldest preserved Latgalian book is the Evangelio toto
anno of 1753. The first primers also stem from the 18th century (see Cibujs 2009),
providing proof of early schooling in Latgalian and efforts to raise literacy.
Publications with secular content followed in the 19th century, among them the first
grammars and dictionaries (see below). The orthography used in these early texts is
based on the Polish writing of the time, and the typeface used in print is Antigua. In
contrast, from the 17th to the 19th centuries, Latvian books were printed using
Blackletter (Gothic script), and the orthography was based on German. A consequence
of these differences was that, although the spoken languages were mutually
comprehensible and regarded as dialects of the same language, printed Latvian books
seemed foreign to Latgalian readers (and vice versa), and the two literatures developed
largely independently of each other. Old Latgalian texts display a considerable
influence from Polish in syntax and lexicon; most of the early writers were not native
speakers of Latgalian. In the second half of the 19th century, the Russian Empire
pursued a severe policy of Russification, which greatly impeded the further-
development of written Latgalian. Education was now available only in Russian; the
Catholic Church was persecuted and its activities stopped. In 1865 a ban of printing in
Latin alphabet was issued, which in fact meant the end of printing in Latgalian. Some
attempts to print Latgalian texts in Cyrillic were not successful - readers were too used
to the traditional script, and furthermore, Cyrillic was associated with the Orthodox
Church and therefore unacceptable to the faithful Catholic. Instead, Latgalian activists
copied books manually (in an astonishing amount), and children were taught to read in
Latgalian at home. This dark period lasted until 1904. By that time, the first Latgalian
intellectuals had entered the scene, and the early 20th century was the time of a
national (or rather, ethnic and cultural) Latgalian awakening. By now those who wrote
i'n Latgalian were native speakers of some Latgalian dialect. Books were published, the
LW/M 482 6
LATGALIAN
first Latgalian journals appeared, and the standardization of Latgalian was discussed.
Politically, Latgalian intellectuals strived for an independent Latvia with Latgalia as a
politically and economically-integrated part of the proposed state, with a certain
autonomy only in matters of culture and language. This goal was achieved in 1918. In
the newly founded Latvian republic, Latgalian was used in primary schools and in
local administration. It was acknowledged as one of the ways of using Latvian, the
national language, and Latgalian literature was included in school canons. These
favourable circumstances changed under the authoritarian rule of president Ulmanis
(1934-1940), where Latgalian was marginalized in the name of a unified nation with a
unified language. There were also noticeable Latgalian communities in Soviet Russia,
and in the first, liberal, period of Soviet language policy, Latgalian was acknowledged
as a minority language and used in primary schools in Russia.
During the Second World War, the first Soviet occupation of Latvia (1940-41) is
notable for the persecution of intellectuals, while the German occupation (1941-44),
despite its terror, adopted a liberal policy towards Latgalian (doubtlessly for strategic
reasons, not out of sympathy with minorities), and in this period, a noticeable number
of books, including dictionaries and text books, were published in Latgalian. At the
end of the war, with the beginning of the second Soviet occupation in 1944, many
intellectuals fled to the West, and in the following decades activities based on the
Latgalian language, literature, and culture were mainly carried out in exile
communities in countries such as Western Germany, the USA, or Canada. Munich was
the site of a "Latgalian Research Institute" and a publishing house. In Soviet Latvia,
Latgalian was used in print (rather rarely) until the mid 1960s. Afterwards, although
not officially forbidden, the language did not get any support and its use in public was
discouraged. Only at the end of the Soviet period did Latgalian reappear in books and
periodicals (for example, the popular Catholic monthly Katoju Dzeive that had been
published from 1926 until 1940 was renewed in 1989), a process that continued and
intensified after the restoration of the Latvian Republic.
Spoken Latgalian is used most often in families and among neighbours and friends.
Another traditional domain of the language is the Roman Catholic Church. Services
where Mass is said in Latgalian are offered in Catholic churches even in Riga, the
capital of Latvia. The Latgalian radio station Latgales radeja is now also owned by the
Catholic Church. Recent years have brought about an increasing use of Latgalian in
further public domains, most noticeable on the Internet: the language is used in sites
devoted to Latgalian history, society, or culture, in an on-line newspaper and in several
blogs by ambitious Latgalian writers. Several nongovernmental organizations are
active in supporting Latgalian language and culture, in the region itself as well as in
the capital.
LATGALIAN 7 LW/M482
Despite its well established tradition as a written language, its considerable number of
native speakers and its importance for (regional) cultural heritage, Latgalian to date
has only a marginal place in education (see Mercator 2009 for details).
1.3 Research and description
The first grammars of Latgalian were written in Polish, designed for Catholic priests
who worked among the Latgalian people. The oldest preserved grammar (Kossowski
1853) has only 32 pages and is mostly of historical value. The first grammar published
by a native speaker is Skrinda (1908), written in Russian. The author belonged to the
circle of Latgalian intellectuals who studied and worked in St. Petersburg at the
beginning of the 20th century. His grammar became the basis for discussions about
language reform and standardization that started at that time and intensified after
Latvia had become an independent state. The grammars by Trasuns (1921) and Strods
(1922) are milestones in this standardization process. It is interesting to note that up to
this time, no special name was used for Latgalian: in all titles it is referred to as
"Latvian". The titles of both Trasuns' and Strods' grammar can be translated as
"Latvian grammar for Latgalians", which mirrors the understanding of the status of
Latgalian at that time. During the centuries of separation Latgalians as well as speakers
of other Latvian dialects had regarded their language simply as Latvian. As contacts
were rare, there was no need to distinguish it from other varieties of Latvian. The
situation changed in the newly founded republic, where Latgalians found themselves
and their language confronted by a different Latvian, which was dominant in the
public domain and considered superior by its speakers. This confrontation was the
ground for developing a concept of Latgalian as a language distinct from Latvian.
Plters Strods was also the head of the Orthography Commission in charge with
developing an orthography which was officially adopted in 1929. His dictionary
(Strods 1933) codified this standard. In the 1920s and early 1930s, some practical
grammars and text books for the use in schools were published in Latvia, and also in
Soviet Russia, where Latgalian was a minority language. During the Soviet occupation
of Latvia, Latgalian activists in exile continued the standardization of Latgalian (see
Bukss & Placinskis 1973) and published articles and monographs devoted to several
aspects of the language. Mikelis Bukss' grammar (contained in Bukss & Placinskis
1973) is to this date the most comprehensive description of Latgalian. It is designed as
a practical grammar but contains various remarks from the point of view of historical
linguistics.
In Soviet Latvia, and later continued more intensely in the 1990s in the restored
Latvian Republic, research concerning Latgalian was carried out on Latvian
dialectology and historical (Baltic) linguistics, mostly by linguists who were native
, speakers of Latgalian. An outstanding figure in this context is Antons Breidaks, whose
work includes monographs (academic thesis) on Latgalian lexis and phonetics as well
LW/M 482 8
LATGALIAN
as numerous articles devoted to questions of phonology, morphology, language
contacts, and other topics concerning Latgalian (see the collection in Breidaks 2007).
Dialectologists carried out linguistic fieldwork and published descriptions of
individual subdialects, dialect dictionaries, and collections of transcribed texts (see for
example Jokubauska 1988; Rel}ena 1998; Rel}ena 2008; many descriptions of
subdialects are contained in unpublished theses defended at Latvian universities).
Another, already much smaller area of research was concerned with Old Latgalian
writings. During the 1990s, a commission lead by Antons Breidaks worked on a
reform of Latgalian orthography; the result became official in 2007 (LPN 2008).
In recent years, research on Latgalian has broadened, but it is still a small field.
Currently a corpus of contemporary Latgalian is under construction, which hopefully
will open new possibilities for research. An interesting new area has been found with
the "discovery" of Latgalian speakers in Siberia, the descendants of Latgalian colonists
from the late 19th century (see Andronov & Leikuma 2006).
Nowadays many linguists acknowledge Latgalian as a language distinct from Latvian,
and information on Latgalian as a separate Baltic language is included in reference
books (Brejdak 2006; Andronov & Leikuma 2010; Eckert 2010a). In 2008, the annual
International Conference on Latgalistics was founded as a forum for research on
Latgalian language, literature and culture.
1.4 Typological overview
Like many other languages of Central Europe, Latgalian has free word order, that is,
the order of clause constituents is determined by pragmatic factors rather than
syntactic roles, but SVO may be considered the most neutral order. The order of noun
phrase constituents, on the other hand, is fixed: adjectives and genitive modifiers
precede the head noun. In traditional texts, only prepositions are found. Prepositions
govern case, mainly genitive or accusative. Prepositions governing accusative in the
singular combine with dative noun phrases in the plural.
Latgalian is a dependent marking nominative-accusative language. All nominal
arguments are morphologically marked for case. Direct objects show variation
between accusative and genitive marking. Apart fr:om nominative subjects, dative
arguments may be primary core arguments and display behavioural properties of
subjects. Adjectives and other determiners always agree with the noun they modify.
Grammatical categories are mainly expressed by suffixes. The major parts-of-speech
are clearly distinguished by morphology. Nominal word-forms consist of a stem and
an ending which expresses several categories simultaneously. Nouns are inflected for
case and number, adjectives for case, number, gender and definiteness. The derivation
of diminutives is very common and regular for nouns. Other derivational elements
play a minor role, and in most nominal word-forms in texts the stem consists of the
LATGALIAN 9 LW/M482
root only. Verbs inflect for person in three tenses. The distinction between present and
past tense is made by different stems, while future tense is marked by a special suffix.
In third person forms, there is no distinction of number (3rd singular and 3rd plural
have the same form). Further verbal forms that are used as predicates in independent
clauses are the conditional, the debitive, and the oblique. Latgalian has also a rich
inventory of participles, a monofunctional converb for simultaneous actions, an
infinitive, a supine and a verbal noun. The most important derivational processes in
verbs are prefixing and the building of reflexive verbs. The reflexive marker is put
between prefix and stem, but if there is no prefix it follows the ending or amalgamates
with it.
A remarkable feature of Latgalian is morphophonological harmony: word-forms strive
to contain only sounds of one of the following sets: (i) palatalized consonants and front
vowels, (ii) non-palatalized consonants and back vowels.
2. The sound system
Most of my own research has been conducted using written texts. The current chapter
on the sound system of Latgalian therefore relies heavily on the work of Antons
Breidaks (especially Brejdak 1989 and Brejdak 2006). A good source of examples
relevant for phonology is Cibuls & Leikuma (1992). Phonetic and phonological
analysis of Latgalian as spoken today, using modem methods, is urgently needed for a
more accurate description, but to my knowledge is not being currently carried out.
2.1 Phonemes, sounds, and letters
Vowels
There are short and long vowels; long vowels are additionally characterized as tense,
short vowels as lax. Mid vowels are basically short, a long mid vowel appears only
occasionally in interjections. The resulting gap in the system of long vowels is filled
by the diphthongs /ie/ and /uo/, which are regarded as monophonemic (in contrast to
all other diphthongs). The short high front vowel has a centralized allophone, which in
phonological and morphophonological rules is used as the back alternant of [i].
short vowels long vowels
front I central I back front central 1 back
high i I i
I
u J: u:
mid
I
:) i U:)
low re
I
a re: a:
Since the beginning of the 20th century vowel length is indicated in writing by a
macron: a, e, I, u. In 19th century texts vowel length is occasionally indicated by a
LW/M482 10
LATGALIAN
circumflex (a, 1 etc.), but most often it is not marked at all. The following table shows
some further orthographic conventions:
current
orthography 20th c 19th c
i y y y
E e e e
re e e ia
iE ie e ie, ia
U:> uo I 6 0 0
There are very few minimal pairs for the opposition /El : /re/, an example is:
(jis) cej [ts-icli] '(he) raises': (tu) cej [tsjrelj] '(you (sg.)) raise'.
The difference between mid and low front vowels is not always phonologically
important, and in some dialects these two vowels are positional variants. In general []
has a more restricted distribution than [re], and it basically (though not only and not
always) appears in the environment of alveolar obstruents and before a syllable
containing a high front vowel. In this grammar the mid vowel [] will be indicated as
t> in cases where the difference between mid and low front vowel is
morphologically important, for example in personal forms of certain verbs.
Examples for the two vowels:
mid short [E] low short [re]
?Si [Es.ii] (2sg prs. of 'be') mes [mjres] 'we'
V?CS [ vjEtisj] 'old man' zeme [ziremjre] 'land'
S?Si [s.iEji] 'six' gute!Ja [gu:tjrenja] 'cow (dimin.)'
m?zs [mjEf:] 'wood' diele!JS [djiEJjrenjtj] 'son (dimin.)'
C?/S [tsjEVj] 'way' ceft [tsjreVti] 'to raise (infinitive)'
tu C?pi [ts.iEpii] 'you (sg.) baked' jis cepe [ts.irepire] 'he baked'
Diphthongs ending in a mid vowel (monophonemic diphthongs)
<ie> viejs 'wind' (20th c orthography vejs)
<uo> muote 'mother' (20th c orthography mote, 19th c texts mote)
Diphthongs ending in a high front vowel:
<ai> laiva 'boat'
<ei> = [Ei] peile 'duck' [piiljre]
<ei> = [rei] meita 'daughter' [mireita]
These three diphthongs are very common in the language. In addition <ui> and <oi>
occur occasionally, for example in nui 'yes' (< particles nu and i), puiss 'boy' (loan
LATGALIAN ll LW/M 482
from a Finnic language), vuiceit 'teach' (probably a loan from a Slavic language); voi
'or' (loan from a Finnic language), broilers 'broiler'.
Diphthongs ending in a high back vowel:
<au> saule 'sun'
<iu> giut 'catch'
<yu> byut 'be'
These three diphthongs are very frequent. In addition, <ou> occurs occasionally in
sound-imitating words and in loans, for example poukSet 'to patter', kouldre 'blanket,
quilt' (compare Polish koldra 'blanket'); it occurs also in dialects instead of au (nouda
- nauda 'money'). In some dialects <eu> occurs instead of <iu> and <yu> (ceuka -
cyuka 'pig').
Consonants
Obstruents and sonorants can be palatalized. Alveolar obstruents are palatalized only
in some dialects, the fricatives more often than the affricates. The trill is not
palatalized in modern standard Latgalian and most dialects. According to Breidaks
(Brejdak 1993; 1989), palatalization is phonologically distinctive for sonorants,
voiceless labial obstruents and voiceless dental obstruents, while for all other
obstruents the palatalized consonant is a positional variant. However, in Modern
Latgalian minimal pairs are occasionally found with these sounds also, and there are
grounds for postulating palatalization as phonologically distinctive for all non-alveolar
obstruents (Alexej Andronov, p.c.).
All non-alveolar consonants are palatalized before front vowels, and in these cases
palatalization is not marked in the orthography. In other positions palatalized velar
plosives and dental sonorants are written with the letters < 1}, g, Q, I >, while for other
consonants palatalization is not indicated in current orthography. In 19th c texts
palatalization is indicated by the letter before other vowels (as in Polish) or by an
accent put above or after the letter (for example < s, z, t', d' > ). In this grammar a
superscript < j > will be used to indicate palatalization, when it is important for the
point in question, in those cases when it is not marked by current orthography.
Example: the infinitive of the verb 'to raise' is spelt< celt > in Standard Latgalian and
pronounced [tsjrelitj]. The palatalization of the initial affricate follows from its position
before a front vowel. The palatalization of the sonorant is marked by the letter ,
while the palatalization of the final plosive (the infinitive ending) is not marked. To
indicate the latter, I will use the modified spelling< celti >.
LW/M 482 12
LATGALIAN
Obstruents
labial dental alveolar velar
plosives
p

b b.i t
tj
d
dj k
kj
g
gj
fricatives 'J
V
vj
s
sj
z
zj
f 3
affricates ts tsi dz
dzj
tJ d3
*)Traditional analysis treats [ v] and [ vj] as allophones (consonantal realizations) of phonemes
classified as approximants, see below.
Letters in current and 20th c orthography:
< p, b, v, t, d, k, I} [kj], g, g [gj], s, z, c [ts], dz, s [.11, z [3], c [tfl, dz [d3] >
In older texts alveolar obstruents were symbolized by< sz, z, cz, dz >(as in Polish).
Examples showing the phonological contrast of palatalized I non-palatalized
consonants (from Brejdak 2006):
[p)- [pi] stlp 'pulls, pull' (3.PRS) - stlpi '(you) pull' (2SG.PRS or 2SG imperative)
[t]- [tj] it 'goes, go' (3.PRS) -lti 'go (infinitive)'
[tsj]- [tsi] sauc 'calls' (3.PRS)- saucj '(you) call' (2SG.PRS or 2SG imperative)
The fricatives [f) and [x] (letter <h>) occur occasionally in recent borrowings,
especially learned vocabulary (ortografeja, aforizms, informaceja, humors,
tehnologeja); it is a matter for further research in how far this spelling reflects actual
pronunciation of these words. In most loanwords [f) is replaced by [p] and [x] is
replaced by [k], for example kopejs 'coffee', putbols 'football', kokejs 'hockey'
(pronounced with initial [x] in Standard Low Latvian and Russian; note that
internationalisms are likely to enter Latgalian via one of these languages).
Sono rants
labial dental alveolar
nasal m
mj
n
nj
lateral
l V
trill
r
In current orthography palatalized dentals are written < I, Q > before back vowels, but
< 1, n > before front vowels. In 19th c texts the palatalized lateral was always written
<1>, while the non-palatalized was written <l>.
Approximants
Traditional analysis establishes approximants (semivowels) as phonemes with
consonantal and non-syllabic vocalic allophones. Two places of articulation are
distinguished: labial-velar /w/ (letter <v>, 19th c <w> and sometimes <ii> for vocalic
realization) and palatal /jl. Breidaks (Brejdak 2006: 198-199) has argued that in both
places of articulation, a phonological opposition is found that corresponds to the
opposition palatalized/non-palatalized in other consonants. Phonetically this
opposition is realized as advancement or retraction. According to this analysis the
system of approximants is fourfold:
labial-velar palatal
retracted advanced retracted advanced
w
wj
j
jj
Evidence for this phonological opposition is however scarce, especially for the palatal
semivowel. More research is needed.
2.2 Stress and tone
With very few exceptions, Latgalian words have the main accent on the first syllable.
As in the other Baltic languages, tone (pitch) is distinctive for long syllables, that is
syllables containing a long vowel, a diphthong, or a short vowel plus sonorant.
Latgalian dialects distinguish two tones that are traditionally called falling (marked
U1]) and broken (marked [a]). Based on her experimental phonetic research, Markus
(1998) suggests "level" vs. "sharp" as more adequate labels.
The falling (level) tone is characterized by an even decrease of intensity and pitch.
Syllable nuclei with the falling tone are also pronounced longer than those with the
other tone. Examples for words carrying the falling tone: dina 'day', kruosa 'color',
ceJS ' way, road'' dzimt 'be born'' miert 'die'.
The broken (sharp) tone is characterized by a sudden decrease of intensity and pitch.
Examples: voluda 'language' ,jyus 'you (pl.)' ,jimt 'take'. Case-endings of the locative
also have this tone.
There are only a few minimal (or almost minimal) pairs of words distinguished by
tone, for example:
aussj 'ear'
reitj 'swallow'
aussj 'weave' (third person future)
reft 'tomorrow'
As this grammar is mainly based on written sources, tones will not be marked here.
Tones are not indicated in writing, not even in material made for educational purposes.
LW/M 482 14
LATGALIAN
The only texts where tones are marked are transcripts made by dialectologists (for
example, in the collection of dialect texts edited by Jokubauska 1988).
2.3 Phonological processes
Palatalization (phonetic, positional)
Consonants are palatalized in the following positions (cf. Breidaks 1974 (2007 11:
206)):
before a front vowel or a diphthong beginning with a front vowel, thus { i, i:, i, iu,
, :, re, re:, Ei, rei}: all non-alveolar consonants, in some dialects also alveolar
consonants. Examples: bzzi [bii :3i] 'often', sdi [siEji] 'six', zeme [ziremire] 'land';
before a palatalized consonant (in principal, but with exceptions): all non-alveolar
consonants, with the possible exception of velar plosives in some dialects.
Examples: mijti [miilitii] 'flour', stlpt [stii:piti] or [stii:pti] 'pull' (infinitive);
following a front vowel or diphthong, i.e. { i, i:, i, iu, , re, re:, Ei, rei } : only the
voiceless dental consonants [ti] and [si]. This rule accounts for the palatalized
consonant in nominal and verbal endings, such as -isi = SG.GEN. or PL.NOM and
PL.ACC (muot-isj 'mother'), -itj = 2PL imperative (dor-i# 'do!'), -etj = 2pl in past
tense forms (klldz-etj 'you yelled'). The rule is however not fully productive (cf.
non-palatalized it 'goes, go' (3.PRS), reit 'tomorrow').
Palatalized consonants in other positions are usually the result of retention of
palatalization after some sound change (most often the loss of a front vowel) had
altered the context. This explains, for example, the palatalization of the infinitive
ending [ti]- historically the infinitive ended in [tii].
Final devoicing
Word-finally, obstruents are always voiceless, for example:
moz-a [mna] 'small, little' (adjective, fem.sg.) I moz [m::>s] 'little' (adverb)
Assimilation according to voice
In a sequence of obstruents (usually two, sometimes more), there is regressive
assimilation of voice, the first obstruent becoming voiced or voiceless in assimilation
to the second. This rule works across morpheme boundaries in the case of suffixes and
prefixes, as well as in some compounds. Examples:
zyrga [ztrga] ' horse' (gen.sg.) I zyrgs [zirks] 'horse' (nom.sg.)
atzt [atii:t] 'come' (3rd person present) I atguoja [adguoja] 'come' (3rd person past)
apdumeigs [abdu:mireiks] 'careful' (M.SG.NOM.)
The voiced labial fricative [v] does not take part in this process: a voiceless obstruent
preceding it (as in apvyds 'surrounding') does not become voiced.
Affricatization
a) A sequence of dental plosive and fricative is pronounced as dental affricate:
atsagrlzt 'come back', pots 'self', gods [g::>ts] 'year'
- - -
b) Following [n] or [ni] , a word-final dental or alveolar fricative turns into the
respective affricate:
muns 'my' (NOM.SG.M.)
mozeiJS [mnimi!,[J 'small' (diminutive, NOM.SG.M.)
Apart from this paragraph, affricatization is not marked in transcriptions throughout
this book.
Gemination
Suffixation and prefixation often lead to a sequence of two of the same obstruents.
Such a sequence is pronounced as a long (geminated) obstruent; the process often
occurs together with voice assimilation or affricatization:
saus-s [sauss] 'dry' (M.SG.NOM) I saus-a [sausa] 'dry' (F.SG.NOM.)
moz-s [m::>ss] 'small' (M.SG.) I moz-a [mna] ;small' (FEM.SG.)
vacs [vatss] 'old' (NOM.SG.M.)
vecs [ viretsisi] 'old man' (NOM.SG.)
In a few instances this is distinctive, for example
(tu) nes [niresi] 'carry (2sg present)' I (jis) ness [niresisi] 'carry (3rd future)'
For more cases of gemination see Brejdak (1989: 422-423).

3.1 Morphophonological harmony
As a rule, the stems of Latgalian words can be classified as either "soft" or "hard" on
account of their phonological shape. Some stems - mostly verbal stems ending in a
diphthong or a semivowel - are neutral with respect to this opposition. Soft stems
contain palatalized consonants or alveolar consonants (for which palatalization is not
important), while hard stems contain non-palatalized non-alveolar consonants. The
vowels (t], [::>], [a:] (<y, o, a>) are found only in hard stems, while [i]. [E], [re], [re:]
( <i, e, ib) and the diphthong <ie> characterize soft stems. Other vowels may appear in
both kinds of stems.
Examples of hard stems: god- 'year', zyrg- 'horse', vac- 'old' (adj.), iid- 'eat', nas-
'carry' (present stem), dor- 'do' (present stem), maklii- 'search' (Ill stem, hard
, variant)
LW/M 482
16
LATGALIAN
Examples of soft stems: ac- [atsi] 'eye', ziv- [ziivi] 'fish' vec- [ vit:tsi] 'old man' , sd-
[sit:Jl 'six', iedi- 'eat', nes- [niresi] 'carry' (past stem),
mekle- [mirekJire:] 'search' (Ill stem, soft variant)
Neutral stems: runoj- 'speak', dare}- ' do' (past stem)
In the formation of new stems and of word-forms we may observe a strive for
harmony as a strong tendency: as a rule, suffixes with a soft shape combine with soft
stems and suffixes with a hard shape combine with hard stems. Suffixes containing [u]
or [a] count as hard, while suffixes containing [i:] are soft (in stems these three vowels
are neutral). Morphophonological harmony has various effects:
distinction of "hard" and "soft" declension classes; for example, accusative
singular is -u for nouns and adjectives with hard stems (god-u 'year', zyrg-u
'horse', vac-u 'old'), but -i for nouns with soft stems (ac-i 'eye', ziv-i 'fish', vec-i
'old man'); for more details see section 4.1.1;
choice of hard or soft variant of a verbal stem in harmony with the suffix; for
example, the (hard-shaped) supine suffix -tu is combined with the hard shape of the
third stem (makla-tu 'search', nas-tu 'carry'), while the (soft-shaped) infinitive
suffixe -ti combines with the soft variant (mekle-tJ [mireklire:ti] 'search', nes-tJ
[nires.iti] 'carry');
morphonological processes which change hard stems into soft stems (stems of
nouns, adjectives, and verbs) or, less frequently, soft stems into hard stems (stems
of numerals and verbs). For example, hard stems of nouns are subject to vowel and
consonant alternation when combined with the soft-shaped diminutive suffix -etJ-
[gadirenitJl 'year (dim.)', 'horse (dim.)').
Many morphophonological alternations that will be shown in the following paragraphs
can be explained as a means to preserve harmony.
3.2 Morphophonological vowel alternations
Vowel alternation 1: "front" - "back"
The following pairs of phonemes are involved in this alternation:
[E-a], [re -a], [a-::>], [re: -a:], [iE- a:]
In addition, the allophones of the high front vowel [i - i] alternate in the same
environments.
For morphophonological rules, the left member of the pair is classified as "front", the
right member as "back". A phonetically more precise statement is that front vowels
alternate with central vowels, but central [a] alternates with the nearest back vowel.
I
I
!
I
Therefore [a] occurs on both sides of the alternation, while [i, E, re, it:] are always
"front", and [i:], [:>]are always "back". The other vowels(!, u, ii, uo) do not alternate.
short long
front back front back

. .
I--t
mid
/"

low re-- a
re: --a:
This alternation plays an important role in the distinction of hard and soft shapes of
stems. It is therefore frequently encountered in derivation and in verbal inflection. It
occurs in morphological contexts that also trigger palatalization, alveolarization, or
dentalization. For example, the formation of diminutives of hard-stemmed nouns with
the soft suffix -eQ- triggers vowel alternation back > front:
with palatalization: dorb-s 'work' > [darb.irenitJl
with dentalization and palatalization: zyrg-s 'horse' >
with non-alternating consonant: jar-s 'lamb' >
The direction front > back is less often found. Vowels in front stems do not alternate
as predictably as vowels in hard stems (with the exception of the phonological
alternation [i - i]). Examples (with depalatalization):
zivsJ 'fish' > zyv-u (GEN.PL)
acsi 'eye' > ocu (GEN.PL)
Vowel alternation 11: mid -low
[E-re], [it:- re:]
This alternation does not effect morphophonological harmony. It is found in verbal
stems in the formation of the past and future tenses: the forms for lsg and 2sg have the
mid front vowel (here indicated by <y>) or diphthong <ie>, while in the other forms
the stem has the low front vowel. Examples:
nest 'carry'
past stem nes- [niresi], lsg. n(?su [nit:Ju], 2sg n(?si [nit:s.ii], 3rd nese [niresire]
future stem ness- [niresisi], lsg n(?ssu [nit:Jfu], 2sg n(?ssi [[nit:s.isii], 3rd ness [nires.is.i]
est 'eat'
past stem ed- [re:di], lsg ieZ.u, 2sg iedi, 3rd ede [re:dire]
future stem ess- [re:ss], lsg iessu, 2sg iessi, 3rd ess
As can be seen in these examples, vowel alternation 11 is independent of consonant
alternation (lsg past shows alveolarization with depalatalization, but 2sg has no
consonant alternation).
LW/M482 18
3.3 Morphophonological consonant alternations
Palatalization (in morphophonology)
LATGALIAN
A non-palatalized consonant alternates with a palatalized consonant without changing
the place and manner of articulation. While phonetic (positional) palatalization affects
all non-alveolar consonants, morphophonological rules affect only a part. The
following sets can be distinguished:
set 1 (dental obstruents):
set 2 (labials):
set 3 (dental sonorants):
set 4 (velars):
[t- ti], [d- di], [s- si], [z- zi]
[p- pi], [b- bi], [v/w- vi], [m- mi]
[n - ni], [I - Ji]
[k - ki], [g - gi]
Palatalization is regularly accompanied by vowel alternation I (back > front).
Examples: The formation of diminutives from nouns with hard stems using the
suffix -e!J- triggers the palatalization of consonants of sets 1 - 3 (see section 4.1.2),
for example rynda 'row' > rit}die!Ja [rinidia:!nia], slva 'wife' > szvie!Ja, [si:via:!nia], mola
'edge' > malie!Ja [malia:!nia]. The formation of adverbs from adjectives by the suffix -i
selects sets 2 - 4 for palatalizaton (see section 4.2.4): rup-s 'coarse' > rup-i [rupii]
(adverb), tuol-s 'far' > tuol-i [tuolii] (adverb), plyks 'naked, bare' > plik-i [piliikii]
(adverb).
Depalatalization
A palatalized consonant alternates with the same non-palatalized consonant. This
process regularly affects labials, thus the following pairs (the mirror image of set 2)
occur:
set 5 (labials) [pi-p], [bi-b], [vi- v], [mi- m]
Examples: zeme 'land' [zia:!mia:!] > zemu [zia:!mu] (gen.pl.); labi [labii] 'well' > lobuok
'better' (adverb)
Occasionally depalatalization occurs with voiceless dental obstruents, as an exception
from alveolarization with depalatalization, for example zusi-si 'goose' (nom.sg) - zus-u
(gen.pl):
set 6 (voiceless dental obstr.) [ti-t], [si- s], [tsi- ts]
Depalatalization is sometimes accompanied by vowel alternation I (front > back), see
examples zivs > zyvu, acs > ocu above.
Alveolarization
A dental non-palatalized plosive or fricative alternates with an alveolar fricative.
Occasionally, a non-palatalized velar voiceless plosive alternates with an alveolar
affricate
LATGALIAN
set 7 (dentals)
set 8 (velars)
19
[t- J1, [d- 3], [s- J1, [z- 3], [ts- tJ1, [dz- d3]
[k-ill
LW/M482
Examples (derivation of adverbs from adjectives by the suffix -i): rat-s 'rare' > resi,
sovaid-s 'different' > sovaizi, smolk-s 'fine' - smajci
Alveolarization is regularly accompanied by vowel alternation I (back> front).
Alveolarization with depalatalization
A palatalized dental obstruent alternates with a non-palatalized alveolar consonant.
This involves the following pairs:
set 9 ( dentals) [ti- J1, [di- 3], [si- J1, [zi- 3], [tsi- tj], [dzi- d3]
This process is found regularly when a suffix consisting in a "hard" vowel (-a, -u)
combines with a soft stem. Examples: zutj- 'eel' (stem) > zus-a (gen.sg), trusj- 'rabbit'
> trus-a (gen.sg.), raudj- 'weep' (present stem) > rauz-u (lsg.prs), klldzj- 'shout' (past
stem)> klzdz-u (lsg.past).
The fricatives also alternate in a positiOn before a sonorant (palatalized or
depalatalizedl [sni- Jni], [sli- j1i], [zni- 3ni], [zli- 3IJ] and [smi- fm]
Example: dzzsme [dzii:simia:!] 'song'- dzzsmu [dzii:fmu] (gen.pl) (Standard Latgalian).
Other combinations of consonants, most notably [siti], behave less predictably; they
sometimes undergoe alveolarization, sometimes only depalatalization 'pod'
- puoki-u, asifj-e 'tail' (nom.sg)- ast-u (gen.pl)).
Alveolarization does not involve vowel alternation I, which follows from both
members of the process being soft stems.
Dentalization with palatalization
A non-palatalized velar plosive alternates with a palatalized dental affricate:
set 10 (velars) [k- tsi], [g - dzi]
This process is accompanied by vowel alternation (back > front). It is found only in
derivation, for example, in the formation of diminutives:
kuk-s 'tree' > kuc-ei}-S (diminutive)
ug-a 'berry' > udz-el}-a; vonog-s 'hawk' > vanadz-ei}-S
2
' Not in all dialects.
LW/M 482 20
LATGALIAN
Summary of morphophonological consonant alternation (pairs in brackets: marginal)
palatalizati on depalatali zati on alveolari zation
depalatal izati on dentali zati on
with al veolariz. with palatali z.
dental t > ti
(ti > t) t > f ti>J -
obstruents d > di d > 3
di> 3
s >si (si> s) s> f si>f
z > zi Z>3 zi > 3
(tsi > ts) tsi > tf
dzi > d3
velar
k> ki - (k > tf) k > tsi
obstruents
g> gi
g > dzi
labials p >pi pi>p - - -
b > bi bi>b
v/w >vi vi> v
m>mi mi >m
dental n> ni - - -
so no rants l >V
+ vowel altern. +1- vowel alter. + vowel altern. no vowel + vowel altern.
back > front front > back back> front alternation back> front
Stems ending in {r, s, z, c, dz,j, ki, gi} don't show consonant alternation.
3.4 Sets of morphophonological processes
3
MA-l occurs when a soft stem is combined with an ending consisting of a back vowel
(/a/ or /uf) . This situation arises in three independent cases:
masculine nouns of the II declension: formation of genitive (-a) and dative (-am)
singular;
feminine nouns of the V or VI declension: formation of genitive plural ( -u);
past tense of thee-conjugation: formation of lsg ( -u);
present tense of the i-conjugation: formation of lsg ( -u).
Furthermore, MA-l occurs in all case forms in the plural of class II nouns, regardless
of the quality of the vowel in the ending.
The processes found in this alternation are
alveolarization with depalatalization for dental obstruents (as a rule);
depalatalization (with or without vowel alternation) for labial consonants and
(exceptionally) for voiceless dental obstruents.
3
Examples are given in the respective sections of chapter 4 and 5.
The remaining consonants are not subjected to alternation: [V] , [ni], [gi] and [ki] remain
palatalized, [r], [tf) , [d3] remain non-palatalized (other consonants are not found at the
end of a soft stem).
MA-2 occurs in the derivation of adverbs from adjectives by the suffix -i and involves
vowel alternation I (back> front) , together with
alveolarization for dental obstruents;
palatalization for dental sonorants (set 3);
palatalization for labial and velar consonants (sets 2 and 4);
For stems ending in a dental consonant, the change is permanent: adverbs with such
stems retain the fronted vowel and the "softened" consonant also before the
comparative suffix -uok. In contrast, stems ending in labial or velar consonants
alternate into soft stems only before -i, but before -uok these adverbs have a hard stem.
MA-3 is found in derivation, most regularly in the formation of diminutives by the
suffix -eQ-, and involves:
vowel alternation I (back > front), together with
palatalization for non-velar consonants (sets 1, 2, 3);
dentalization with palatalization for velar plosives.
4. Nominal morphology
Nominal inflectional categories are case, number, and gender. There are two numbers
and two genders, masculine and feminine. Five cases are regularly and productively
formed with every nominal stem: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and
locative. The vocative, which is found with some nouns in the singular (see 4.1.3), has
a derivational rather than inflectional character. Some dialects apparently still
distinguish an instrumental (by tone, not by a special ending), but in most varieties this
case has merged with the accusative in the singular and the dative in the plural.
4.1 Nouns
4.1.1 Stems and declensions
Nominal stems always end in a consonant and are either hard or soft (see 3.1). Soft
stems end in a palatalized or an alveolar consonant. The distinction between hard-
stemmed and soft-stemmed nouns is one of the major features determining declension
classes, the second being gender (see Nau, forthcoming b). Feminine soft-stemmed
nouns can further be divided into an e-declension and i-declension, but there is a
tendency to unify these two classes. Some masculine proper names with hard stems
('T!ost prominently Jezus Kristus) are optionally inflected in the singular according to a
further declension (corresponding to the Latvian u-declension), which otherwise is
LW/M482
22
LATGALIAN
obsolete. Thus, Latgalian is somewhere on the scale from a system with six declension
classes as is realized in Standard Latvian, to a system with four classes. The new
system is more advanced in the plural than in the singular, and for masculine nouns
more than for feminine nouns.
Masculine classes, singular
proper names in -us
hard stems (class I) soft stems (class 11) (class Ill)
stem
kiik- 'tree' usL 'ash tree' Jez-
NOM -s, -ys, -s kuk-s -s [si], -is [isi] usi-si [ u: sisi] Jez-us
GEN -a kiik-a +a us-a Jez-us I -a
DAT -am kuk-am +am us-am Jez-um I -am
ACC -u kuk-u -i usi-i Jez-u
LOC -a kuk-a -I usLI Jez-ii I -a
Masculine classes, plural
hard stems soft stems
stem kuk- 'tree' usL 'ash tree'
NOM -i kuk-i us-i
GEN -u kuk-u us-u
DAT -im kiik-im us-im
ACC -us kuk-us us-us
LOC -us kuk-us us-us
Notes
All nouns belonging to these two classes have masculine gender.
The default ending for nominative singular is -s for hard-stemmed nouns and -si for
soft-stemmed nouns (not distinguished in standard orthography). The variants -ys and
-is [isi] are used to avoid consonant clusters, for example in korklys (hard stem)
'willow', efksnis (soft stem) 'alder'. The ending -s is used with some stems ending
in -1- [li] (eelS 'way', some dialects have cefsl) and -Q- [ni], most prominently
diminutives with the suffix -eQ- (hybrid stems, see below).
Hard-stemmed nouns which formerly belonged to the u-declension (class Ill) may
form the genitive singular alternatively with the ending -s ( < -us). In this case, the
genitive is homonymous with the nominative. Examples are ols 'beer', vyds 'middle',
mads 'honey', gods 'year'.
Soft stems undergo morphophonological alternation MA-l in genitive and dative
singular and all plural forms (only consonant alternation, no vowel alternation).
Stems ending in a dental show alveolarization with depalatalization. Examples (forms:
nom.sg, acc.sg, gen.sg, dat.sg, nom.pl):
I
I .
1
LATGALIAN
[ti- s]
[di- z]
[si - s]
[zi- z]
[ci - c]
[dzi- dz]
23
zuts [zutsi] 'eel'' zutji - zusa, zusam, zusi
boliids 'pigeon', boliidi- boliiza, boliizam, boliizi
truss 'rabbit', trusi - trusa, trusam, trusi
ezs 'hedehog', ezi - eza, ef.am, ezi
luocs 'bear', luoci- luoca, luocam, luoCi
vadzs 'peg', vadzi- vadza, vadzam, vadzi
LW/M 482
Soft stems ending in a labial consonants show depalatalization in case forms consisting
in a back vowel (genitive and dative singular, genitive, accusative and locative plural);
the alternation here is thus purely phonological:
uops [uopisi] 'badger' (nom.), uopji (ace.), uopii (loc.) - uopa (gen.), uopam (dat.);
plural: uopu, uopjim, uopus, uopiis
gufbs [gulipisi] 'swan', gufbi [gulibii] (acc.sg)- gufba [guliba] (gen.sg) etc.;
kiirms [kurmisi] 'mole' - kurma [kurma] (gen.sg) etc.
As the example gujba 'swan (gen.sg)' shows, only the last is depalatalized.
The nominative plural of hard-stemmed nouns has the ending -y (instead of -i) in
some dialects, which is in line with morphophonological harmony.
In the accusative plural many dialects show syncope: -us > -s for hard-stemmed
nouns (dais 'son' - dais (acc.pl.)) and -us > -s for soft-stemmed nouns (bruofsj
'brother' - bruofS (ace. pi.)).
Feminine classes, singular
hard stems soft stems vocalic soft stems consonantal
class (class IV) (class V) (class VI)
stem hp- 'linden' eg!i- 'fir' sirdL 'heart'
NOM -a hp-a -e egli-e [<eg!i<e] -s [-si] sirdi-si [siirtsi]
GEN -ys hp-ys -is eg!i-is -s [-si] sirdLsi
DAT -ai hp-ai -ei egli-ei -ei sirdLei
ACC -u hp-u -i egli-i -I sirdLi
LOC -a !Tp-a -e egJi-e -I sirdi-1
Feminine classes, plural
hard stems soft stems vocalic soft stems consonantal
(class IV) (class V) (class VI)
stem
hp- 'linden' eg!i- [ <egli-] 'fir' sirdL 'heart'
NOM=ACC -ys hp-ys -is egli-es -s, -is sirdi-si, sirdLisi
[si, isi]
GEN -u hp-u +u egl-u +u sid-u
DAT -om ITp-om -em egli-em -I m sirdLim
LOC -uos hp-uos -es egli-es -IS sirdi-1s
LW/M 482 24
LATGALIAN
Notes
Theses classes contain mostly feminine nouns, but a few nouns of class IV and V are
masculine. These are common nouns denoting male persons (puika 'boy' (not all
dialects), tete 'daddy') and some male proper names (Aleksandra 'Alexander'). Class
IV nouns denoting persons in general may have masculine or feminine gender
according to the referent, for example sefma 'naughty, mischievous person'.
Class VI is a closed class, it contains neither derivations nor recent borrowings.
In the dative singular, masculine nouns of class IV may take the ending -am
(Aleksandram; sefmam 'naughty person (male)') and masculine nouns of class V the
ending -em (tetem 'daddy'); this rule is optional and mainly found in the standard
written language, while colloquial varieties usually do not use special endings for
masculine nouns of these classes (Aleskandrai, sefmai, tetei).
In the genitive singular as well as nominative and accusative plural northern
dialects and 20 c standard written Latgalian uses the endings -as (class IV) and -es
(class V) instead of -ys and -is.
In the locative singular of class V nouns some dialects and colloquial varieties have -I
instead of -e (for example dzeivlloc. of dzeive 'life'), proof of the tendency to unify
classes V and VI. Some central Latgalian dialects, on the other hand, use the ending -e
for nouns of class IV and V alike, while other dialects show the ending -ie in both
classes.
In the genitive plural soft -stemmed nouns undergo consonant alternation MA -1,
occasionally with vowel alternation front > back, for example acs [atsisi] 'eye' - ocu
[;,tsu] (gen.pl.).
In the dative and the locative plural, some dialects use the endings -om and -uos for
all classes, but may have consonant alternation with soft-stemmed nouns. Example
paradigms for these dialects:
Plural forms of soft-stemmed feminine nouns in some dialects
stem hard soft 'fir' 'heart' 'eye'
NOM=ACC -ys -is egl-is sirdi-(i)s aci-(i)si
GEN -u +u egj-u sirz-u oc-u
DAT -om +om egj-om sirz-om aci-om
LOC -uos +uos egj-uos sid-uos aci-uos
Note: for soft stems ending in [li] like egl-e the alternation is only orthographic (
before , before <u, o> ), while phonologically all forms contain the palatalized
sonorant.
LATGALIAN 25 LW/M482
Hybrid stems
Hard stems and soft stems are distinguished by their phonological shape, and the
choice of ending largely follows morphophonological harmony (see 3.1). Therefore,
given the phonological shape of a stem in addition to the gender of a lexeme, the
inflection of the noun is largely predictable. In particular, accusative and locative
singular are almost entirely triggered by the stem: for both genders, hard stems
combine with -u in the accusative and with -a in the locative, while soft stems have -i
in the accusative and -1 or-e (some dialects: -ie) in the locative. Some stems ending in
a palatalized sonorant ([li] or [ni], the palatalization is invariable) do not obey this
general rule: they have the phonological shape of soft stems but combine with endings
of the "hard" classes I (masculine) or IV (feminine). I call these stems "hybrid stems".
Examples are cef- (masc.) 'way', gaf- (fern.) 'meat', skmJ- (fern.) 'sound', and
diminutives derived by the suffix -eQ.-. Nouns with hybrid stems display variation in
their declension, especially in the accusative and locative singular. The nominative
singular of masculine nouns with hybrid stems has the ending -s ( < s (non-
palatalized)). The nominative singular of feminine nouns has the ending -a, which in
this phonetic environment is pronounced as a fronted [a] close to [re], probably
contributing to the transition of such nouns into class VI (Cibujs&Leikuma 2003: 29),
for example gafa - gale 'meat'. However, variation in the accusative and locative is
found with masculine and feminine nouns alike (for more discussion see Nau,
forthcoming).
Examples from the fairy tales collected by A. Kokalis in the 1920s (the same variation
can be found in modem texts as well):
Accusative -u or -i (gabale!Js (masculine) 'little bit', diminutive of gobols 'piece, bit')
(1) Kaid-u gabal-en-i
some-A bit-DIM-A
vTn-s stabul-eit-i,
one-N.SG.M flute-DIM-A
pagojus-i jT atroda -
PFX:go:PAP-SG.M they.M find:PST:3
atr-is zalt-a
other-N.SG.M gold-G
ku/-eit-i.
sack-DIM-A
(2) Saldats pa-n, pa-n gabal-ei)-U i pa-stabulej
soldier-N PFX-go:PRS:3 PFX-go:PRS:3 bit-DIM-A and PFX-play.flute:PRS:3
'Having walked on a little bit, one found a flute, the other a sack of gold. [ ... ]
The soldier went on a little bit playing his flute' (Ko, 86)
Locative -a or -I (ustabe!Ja (fern) ' little house, hut', diminutive of ustoba 'house, hut')
(3) Pedeigi jis T-goja vrn-a moz-a ustab-en-i,
at.last he:N PFX-go:PST:3 one-L smaii-L house-DIM-L
kur dzeivova tikai vTn-s pat-s vec-eit-s.
where live:PST:3 only one-M EM PH-M old.man-DIM-N
'At last he entered a little hut, where only one old man lived by himself.' (Ko, 87)
LW/M 482 26
LATGALIAN
(4} Jei [ .. . ] r-skriaja ustab-el)-a, bet tr nikas jau na-dzeivova.
she:N PFX-run:PST:3 house-DIM-L but there nobody PTC NEG-Iive:PST:3
'she [ ... ] ran into a little house, but nobody lived there anymore.' (Ko, 1 08}
The paradigms of hybrid stems appear thus (diminutive stems ending on -eQ-):
masc.
fern.
N OM -s
gabaleQ-S -a ustabeQ-a
G EN -a gabaleQ-a -is ustaben-is
D AT -am gabaleQ-am -ai ustabeQ-ai
A cc -i I -u gabalen-i I gabaleQ-u -i I -u ustaben-i I ustabeQ-U
L oc -T /-a gabalen-1 I gabaleQ-a -1 /-a ustaben-1 I ustabeQ-a
4.1.2 Diminutives
The formation of diminutives of nouns is very regular. The most productive
diminutive suffixes are distributed along the parameter hard I soft stem. They do not
change the gender of the noun.
The most common diminutive suffix for hard-stemmed nouns is -eJ,I-. It produces a
soft-shaped hybrid stem (see above). The phonological shape is changed by the
following morphophonological alternations:
vowel alternation I (back >front):
o > a dorb-s 'work' > darb-ef}-S, gobol-s 'piece, bit' > gabal-ef}-s;
ustob-a ' house' > ustab-ef}-a; golv-a 'head' > gajv-ef}-a
a> re mad-s 'honey' > med-ef}-s
a> ie biirn-s 'child' > biern-ef}-s,
y > i (phonological alternation): rynd-a 'row, line' > rind-ef}-a
dentalization and palatalization of velar consonants:
k > ts
g > dz
kiik-s ' tree' > kiic-ef}-S
vonog-s 'hawk' > vanadz-ef}-s; iig-a ' berry' > iidz-ef}-a
palatalization of non-velar consonants (not reflected in modem orthography):
darbLef}-s 'work' , biernj-ef}-S 'child', rinjdj-ef}-a 'row, line' etc.
Some nouns that formerly had belonged to the Ill declension use the allomorph -teJ,I-
nstead of -eQ- (with the same alternations), for example ol-s 'beer' > aj-tef}-s (dim.).
Soft-stemmed nouns mostly combine with the diminutive suffix -eit- followed by the
case endings of class II (masculine) or V (feminine). As both the base and the derived
stem are soft stems, no morphophonological alternation occurs. Examples:
'
bruof-s [bruoVsj] 'brother' > bruol-eit-s [bruoVeitjsi], zac-s 'hare' > zac-eit-s;
zem-e [zjremjre] ' land' > zem-eit-e [zjremjeitjre], las-e 'drop' > las-eit-e
Some masculine soft-stemmed nouns that formerly belonged to a consonantal
declension have irregular diminutives: akmif}s 'stone' > akmistef}s; iudif}s 'water' >
iudisnef}s.
Feminine consonantal soft-stemmed nouns (class VI) are less predictable in their
choice of suffix: they may take -(t)eJ,I-, -sneJ,I- or (least often) -eit-: piert-s ' bath-
house' > piert-ef}-a; giiv-s 'cow' > gii-tef}-a, ac-s 'eye' > ac-tel}-a, sird-s 'heart' >
sir- snef}-a.
Diminutives are very frequently used. They carry various emotional and pragmatic
nuances (affection, irony, respect) that only sometimes are related directly to the
referent of the noun carrying the diminutive suffix, but more often are linked to the
speaker, the addressee, or the text.
(5) Sabr-ys ir universal-a
neighbour-N be:PRS:3 universai-N.F
person-a; jys
person-N he
var tov-us
can:PRS:3 2SG-A.PL.M
barn-us pr-sa-vier-t, tov-u gii-ten-i iz-slauk-t,
child-A.PL PFX-RFX-Iook-1 2SG-A.SG COW-DIM-A PFX-milk-1
to v-u
2SG-.A.SG
cepl-eit-i
oven-DIM-A
iz-kurynuo-t, jys
PFX-heat-1 he
suoja aiz-da-t
and salt-G PFX-give-1
var
can:PRS:3
tev
2SG:D
maiz-eit-is
bread-DIM-G
'A neighbour is a universal person; he may look after your children, milk your
cow, heat your oven, he may lend you bread and salt[ ... ]' (OS)
4.1.3 Vocatives
Some nouns have a special form used in addressing someone or something. In most
cases this vocative consists of the stem of the noun without an ending. With masculine
soft-stemmed nouns also a vocative ending in -i (homonymous with the accusative) is
found, but the form without ending seems to be more common. A general rule not
always observed is that monosyllabic stems build the vocative with -i (Juon-i! of
luof}s 'John' , but we also find Juof}!).
Vocatives are only formed in the singular. The following nouns regularly appear in the
vocative form:
proper names (of female names only polysyllabic stems);
nouns denoting family members (tet! 'daddy', bruof! 'brother', muot! 'mother')
and some social functions;
LW/M482
28
LATGALIAN
diminutives of all kind of nouns; also words of the above mentioned groups are
usually used in the diminutive in addresses: Jureit! (diminutive of furs 'George'),
slvet;z! (dim. of slva 'wife'), muosel}! (dim. of muosa 'sister').
On the whole the use of a special vocative form seems to be more restricted in
Latgalian than in Latvian. More research is needed here.
4.2 Adjectives
4.2.1 Stems and inflection
As a rule, adjectives have hard stems. A small group of derived adjectives have soft
stems, and a few adjectives have hybrid stems (most clearly slapn-is, slapl}-a 'wet').
Adjectives with hard or hybrid stems have two sets of endings: short (indefinite) and
long (definite). The indefinite endings are the same as found with noun classes I
(masculine) and IV (feminine). The definite forms of adjectives are historically
derived from the corresponding indefinite forms and a pronominal element. From a
synchronic point of view, dative and locative forms contain a segmentable
element -aj- (some dialects have -ej-, others -yj- or -uj- instead)
4
followed by the same
ending as in the respective indefinite forms. A similar analysis can be made for
mascutine singular -ai-s. The remaining definite endings are unanalyzable whales.
Adjectives containing the derivative element -ej- in the stem (for example, piidejais
'last', puorejais 'the rest', senejais 'former', lkSejais 'internal', uorejais 'external')
take long endings in the nominative, genitive and accusative, but short endings in the
dative and locative.
masculine masculine -ej- feminine feminine -ej-
indefinite definite masculine indefinite definite feminine
SINGULAR
NOM moz-s moz-ais, I -ts senej-ais moz-a moz-uo senej-uo
GEN moz-a moz-uo senej-uo moz-ys moz-uos senej -uos
ACC moz-u moz-u senej-u moz-u moz-u sene-u
DAT moz-am moz-aj-am senej-am moz-ai moz-aj-ai senej-ai
LOC moz-a moz-aj-a senej-a moz-a moz-aj-a senej-a
PLURAL
NOM moz-i moz-1 senej-1 moz-ys moz-uos senej-is
GEN moz-u moz-us senej-us moz-u moz-us senej-us
ACC moz-us moz-ils senej-us moz-ys moz-uos senej-uos
DAT moz-im moz-aj-im senej-im moz-om moz-aj-om senej-om
LOC moz-ils moz-aj-us senej-us moz-uos moz-aj-uos senej-uos
mozs 'small', senejais 'former'
4
Historically, this segment is the result of reanalysis.
Adjectives derived with the suffix -il}- have soft stems; they combine with the endings
of declension classes 11 (masculine) and V (feminine). They don't have definite
endings. Such adjectives have a referential meaning, they often refer to the material of
an object: kiicil}s 'wooden' (< kiiks 'tree, wood'), dzejzil}s 'iron (adj.)' < dzejzs 'iron
(noun)'. These adjectives are not used in all dialects and are rare in Standard Latgalian,
where reference to the material is regularly expressed by using the genitive of the
corresponding noun, for example kiika kurpe 'wooden shoe'.
4.2.2 On the use of the definite endings
The indefinite ending of adjectives is functionally less marked. Roughly speaking, it is
used whenever there is no reason to use the definite ending. The definite ending has
several functions which largely coincide with the functions of these endings in
Latvian. As in Latvian (cf. Nau 1998: 13), deictic and non-deictic uses can be
distinguished. Differences between Latvian and Latgalian need further investigation
5
and will not be discussed here. The main deictic use is the marking of the definiteness
of the noun phrase (see 6.1.2).
A clearly non-deictic function of the definite ending is emphasis: in an indefinite noun
phrase a qualitative adjective with a definite ending may be used to indicate a high
degree of the designated quality.
(6) Tav-am beja lyl-i pnk-i.
father-D be:PST:3 great-N.PL.M.DEF joy-N.PL
'Father was overjoyed.' (Sus) (literally: "Father had the great joys")
A further example is (149) Tik gordiis blti}U izcapuse. 'She had made such delicious
(definite) pancakes.' (KurS).
Another non-deictic use occurs in lexicalizations. When an adjective is nominalized
and designates a concrete or an abstract entity, it takes the definite ending. These
nominalizations may be more or less stable:
(7) Eistineib-a bedn-i nu
reality-L poor-M.PL.DEF from
/aim-is atsarOn
happiness-G stand:PRS:3
tuoj-uok
far-COMP
nakai
than
bogot-i. Bedn-aj-am ruodrs, ka vys-ys juo
rich-M.PL.DEF poor-DEF-D seem:PRS:3 that aii-N.PL.F his
problem-ys ir nu
problem-PL be:PRS:3 from
nabadzeib-ys
poverty-G
'Actually the poor are farer away from happiness than the rich. A/the poor [man]
thinks that all his problems come from poverty' (VL)
5
,For example, in Latgalian I found the definite ending in specific indefinite noun phrases where
Latvian would use indefinite endings; it also seems to be used more often in non-deictic functions.
LW/M 482
(8) Rokstu viQ
write:PRS:1SG only
par
about
sev
RFX:D
30
aktua/-0.
relevant-A.SG.DEF
' I only write about what is relevant to me' (Sus)
LATGALIAN
The definite ending is also used when an adjective or participle and a noun express one
concept and thus form a lexical unit. This may be a proper name, for example:
(9) Jo sauk-us-i vis-i par Gar-ii ubog-u,
he:G caii-PAP-PL aii-PL for taii-A.SG. DEF beggar-A.SG
'Everybody called him Tall Beggar[ ... ]' (Ko)
In other cases the noun phrase containing such a lexicalization may be indefinite; note
that in the following two examples the first modifiers (atnastys, !cierstu) have
indefinite endings.
(1 0) atnas-t-ys [nacenuo-t-uos gruomot-ys]
PTC bring-PPP-A.PL.IDF reduce.price-PPP-A.PL.DEF book-A.PL
(In this shop one could buy new) 'as well as [price-reduced books] that were
brought there' (Sus)
Participles may have further complements, as in [molkys skoldomais] ciervs 'wood-
cutting axe' (as a special type of axe) in the following example:
(11) Voi calm-a T-ciers-t-u [[molk-ys sko/d-om-0] cierv-ij].
or log-L PFX-CUt-PPP-A.IDF wood-G chop-PP-A.DEF axe-A
( ... can be more dangerous than a knife.) 'Or a [wood-cutting axe] that has been
stuck into a log.' (IS)
In deictic uses the definite ending of an attributive adjective marks the noun phrase as
definite (or sometimes as specific) and contrasts with the indefinite ending. It may be
the sole indicator of definiteness or appear together (in agreement) with determiners
such as demonstrative or possessive pronouns or genitive modifiers.
(12) Tan napTtn-uo daj-a.
now serious-N.SG.F.DEF part(F]-N.SG
'Now for the serious part.' (Sus)
(13) [ ... ] zuol-e beja palykuse mun-a orani-uo maik-a
grass-L be:PST:3 stay:PAP:SG.F my-N.SG.F orange-N.SG.F.DEF shirt-N.SG
'I had left my orange T-shirt in the grass' (IS)
More examples in 6.1. 2 Definiteness.
4.2.3 Diminutives
Adjectives also have diminutive forms, but these are not as frequent as diminutives of
nouns and are regularly formed only from a rather small set of adjectives, most often
from mozs 'small '. The suffix employed with hard-stemmed adjectives is -e1,1-, as with
hard-stemmed nouns; it triggers palatalization or (for velar consonants) dentalization
with palatalization of the final consonant:
moz-s 'small ' > moz-eJ;Z-s (diminutive)
seik-s ' (very) small, little' > seic-eJ;Z-S
smolk-s 'fine' > smafc-eJ;Z-S
Other than with nouns the suffix does not always trigger vowel alternation with
adjectives (mozeJ;Zs < mozs 'small ' as opposed to darbeiJS < dorbs 'work' (noun)) .
Possibly vowel alternation is restricted to cases where dentalization occurs (smafceJ;ZS),
but data is sparse.
Adjectives with the diminutive suffix do not take definite endings and usually appear
in predicative function, though the attributive function is possi ble. For example:
(14) saprati- cik paffseib-a tev-e ir moz,
and understand:PRS:2sG how truth-L 2SG-G be:PRS:3 little
cik vuoreig-s i moz-el)-5 vyss ir.
how weak-M and small-DIM-M everything-N be:PRS:3
'And you understand - how little of you there actually is, how weak and small
everything is.' (IS)
(15) Staiguoja vys-u laik-u ar moz-ei)-U radiv-eQ-U leidza.
walk:PST:3 all-A time-A with small-DIM-A radio-DIM-A thereby
'He walked about with a small radio all the time.' (VL)
4.2.4 Derivation of adverbs from adjectives
Adverbs are regularly derived from ajdectives and adjectival participles with a suffix.
either -i or -ai, added to the stem. The choice between -ai and -i largely depends on
regional and individual preferences; -ai is less widespread, but may be found alongside
-i in the same text. Examples:
(16) a varbyut suok-s-u rakstei-t
but maybe begin-FUT-1 SG write-1
"sprost-uok"
simply:COMP and
na
NEG
abstrakt-ai i atraut-ai nu sudin-ej-uos dzeiv-is,
abstract-ADV and detaiched-ADV from today-ADJ-G.F.DEF life-G
tik
so
'but maybe I'll start to write "simpler" and not in such an abstract way and
detached from today's life' (Sus)
(17) Ka tik pos-i lob-i cylvaki, tod i apleik vyss lab-i.
if only EMPH-N.PLgood-N.PLperson-N.PL then PTC around aii-M.SG good-ADV
'If only you are good people, everything around you also is o.k. ' (IS)
LW/M 482
32
LATGALIAN
The suffix -i triggers morphonological vowel and consonant alternation (MA-2),
altering the shape of hard-stemmed adjectives into that of a soft stem:
vowel alternation back > front
6
o >a lob-s 'good' > lab-i 'well'
a> ie liin-s 'slow' > lien-i 'slowly'
y > i tyv-s 'near, close' > tiv-i
alveolarization of dental obstruents:
t>s gryuts 'difficult' > gryus-i; slikt-s 'bad' > sliks-i
s > s eis-s 'short' > eis-i
d > z sovaid-s 'different' > sovaiz-i
z > z dreiz-s 'soon' > dreiz-i
Some exceptions are found, for example parosti 'usually', pareizi 'right (adv.)';
also, past participles with the suffix -t- usually don't undergo alternation:
napuortraukti ' uninterruptedly'.
palatalizaton of dental sonorants:
I > V viil-s 'late' > vieU-i
n > ni liin-s 'slow' > lieni-i
sn > sni taisn-s 'right' > taisnl-i
These two consonant alternations have a permanent effect: the soft shape of the adverb
is kept also before the comparative suffix -uok- (slikSuok 'worse', dreizuok 'sooner,
rather', vie]uok 'later' etc.). Stems ending in other (= not dental) consonants, in
contrast, change into a soft shape only with the suffix -i, but show a hard stem with the
suffix -uok: lob-s 'good' > labi-i 'well' but lob-uok 'better (adv.)', smolk-s 'fine' >
smaUki-i (or smaUc-i) but smolk-uok.
4.2.5 Comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs
A form used in comparisons is built from adjectives and adverbs with the suffix -uok-
( orthographic variants: 20th c Latgalian <-6k->, earlier texts <-ok-> ). Adjectives add
case endings, while adverbs have no further suffix:
slikt-s 'bad' > slikt-uok-s (idf.) I slikt-uok-ais (def.) 'worse' (adjective)
lob-s 'good' > lob-uok-s (idf.) I lob-uok-ais (def.) 'better' (adjective)
sliks-i 'badly'> slikS-uok 'worse' (adverb)
lab-i 'well'> lob-uok 'better' (adverb)
6
It seems that the phoneme /a/ in the stem of an adjective does not alternate with Ire/ in the formation
of adverbs: gars 'long' > gari; zams ' low' > zami (or zemli, with another suffix).
-
There is only one suppletive form: vairuok 'more' as comparative of daudz 'much'
(regular daudzuok also appears, and there is an adverb vaira meaning '(any) more').
Forms with -uok- may have both a comparative and superlative meaning, but there are
also ways to mark a superlative explicitly, for example with the emphatic pronoun
pats. When used as comparatives, adjectives more often have an indefinite ending,
while superlatives usually have a definite ending (in modern Latgalian, while in 19th
century texts superlatives with indefinite endings are frequent).
(18) Zyl-uos gav-s to
PTC
breineigys,
wonderfui-N. PL. F .I DF
Fore
4.3N
4.3.1
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
blue-N.PL.F.DEF COW-N.PL
a Latvej-is bryun-uos lob-uok-ys, tok pos-ys
but Latvia-G brown-N.PL.F.DEF good-COMP-N. PL. F .I DF PTC EMPH-N.PL.F
/ob-uok-uos ir malnraib-uos gav-s
good-COMP-N.PL.F.DEF be:PRS:3 black_and_white- N.PL.F.DEF COW-N.PL
'The blue cows (a species typical for Courland) are wonderful, but Latvia's
brown cows are better, still, the black-and-white (Holstein) cows are the best'
(IS}
omparative and superlative constructions see 6.1.5.
umerals
Stems
ordinal cardinal
vTn-s, -a 'one' 1. pyrm-ais, -uo 'first'
div(i) I divej-i, -is 'two' 2. iitr-s, -a /-ais, -uo 'second'
treis 3. tres-s, -a /-ais, -uo
cetr-i, -ys 4. catiirt-...
pTc-i, -ys 5. pTkt-
ses-i, -ys 6. sast-
septen-i, -is 7. septeit-
oston-i, -is 8. ostoit-
deven-i, -is 9. deveit-
desmit [diesimiiti] 10. dasmyt-
11-19: stem+ padsmiti (cardinal) I+ padsmyt- (ordinal): vlnpadsmit,
divpadsmit, treispadsmit, cetr( u)padsmit, p/cpadsmit, SeSpadsmit, septel}padsmit,
ostm;zpadsmit, deveiJpadsmit; vlnpadsmytais, divpadsmytais etc.
20, 30 ... 90: stem + desmiti (cardinal) I+ dasmyt- (ordinal): divdesmit, treisdesmit, ...
devef}desmi; divdasmytais, treisdasmytais, ... devef}dasmytais
21, 22 ... divdesmit v/ns, divdesmit div(i) ...
LW/M482 34
100 symts (masculine noun, hard stem), ordinal symt-ais, -uo
LOOO tyuksti/sa (feminine noun, hard stem), ordinal tyukstfis-ais, -LW
4.3.2 Inflection
LATGALIAN
Ordinals are inflected like adjectives. The numerals pyrmais 'first', symtais 'lOOth'
and tyukstiisais 'lOOOth' have only definite endings, while ordinals from '2nd' to
'99th' are used with definite or indefinite endings without any difference in meaning.
The indefinite ending is preferred in traditional texts, while in Modern Standard
Latgalian definite endings appear more often, probably under the influence of Latvian.
Like most other adjectives, the words for ordinal numbers have a hard stem, while the
words for cardinal numbers (except for 'one') have a soft or hybrid shape; this is best
seen in the shapes of the stem for '10': ordinal dasmyt- [dasmit], but cardinal desmit
[djsimjiV].
The word for the cardinal number '1', vln-s, inflects like an indefinite adjective in the
singular. The words for the numbers from 4 to 9 inflect like indefinite adjectives in the
plural. '1 0' desmit and compounds with -desmit or -padsmit are indeclinable.
The words for '2' and '3' have several forms:
'2', invariant form for both genders and all cases: divi or div
'2', long form inflected for gender and case: divej-i, divej-ys etc. (indefinite
endings)
'2', short form inflected for gender and case (not Standard Latgalian): div-i, div-ys
etc. (indefinite endings)
'3', invariant form for both genders and all cases: treis
'3', form inflected for gender and case (except nominative): trej-u (gen. m and
gen.f), trej-im (dat.m), etc.
Example:
(19) Kur divej-i latvTs-i, tT treis partej-is. [ ... ]
where two-N.M Latvian-N.PL there three party-N.PL
Kur div tatgaffs-i, tT vysmoz div radej-is.
where two Latgalian-N.PL there at.least two radio-N.PL
Niu ari divej-is "Latgolys Radej-is" satys/op-ys
now also two-N.F "Latgolys Radeja-G" homepage-N.PL
'Where there are two Latvians, there are three parties. [ ... ]Where there are two
Latgalians, there are at least two radio stations. And now "Latgolys Radeja" also
has two homepages' (IS)
For the syntax of cardinal number+ see 6.1.3.
4.4 Pronouns
4.4.1 Personal pronouns (1st and 2nd person), reflexive and possessive pronouns
The pronouns for first and second person singular and the reflexive pronoun are
inflected in the same way. The nominative differs from the other case forms, and the
dative can be seen as basic, as it is formed by the bare stem without ending. These
stems are soft.
lSG 2SG reflexive
NOM esl as tu -
OAT ma!J tev sev
GEN man-e I man-i tev-e I tev-i sev-e I sev-i
ACC man-i tev-i se v-i
LOC
man-f tev-1 sev-f
Notes
Standard Latgalian has lSG nominative es, but the form as is often found in traditional
texts and colloquial Latgalian.
1SG dative is also found with a non-palatalized [n]. The orthographic form man was
written standard in the 20th c.
The two genitive forms shown in the table are both accepted in Standard Latgalian. In
dialects more variants are found, with the endings -a and -s (mm;a, mw;s, tava etc.). In
20th c. (written) Standard Latgalian the forms manis, tevis, sevis were used (= the
same as in Latvian), they still show up in modern texts.
The pronouns for first and second person plural have short and long variants in the
genitive, dative, and accusative. For the standard language, the long form of the
genitive and the short form of the dative and the accusative were chosen (marked bold
in the following table). In traditional texts, all forms given in the table are found, as
well as some further variants. In modern texts (blogs) there is a clear preference for the
long forms, at least for the lPL.
IPL 2PL
NOM mes jius
GEN my us myus-u jius jius-u
DAT mums myus-im jums jius-im
ACC my us my us-us jius jius-us
LOC my us-us jius-iis
There are special possessive pronouns for first and second person singular and for the
They have short and long forms. The short forms are inflected as indefinite
adjectives, while the long forms- as all stems ending on -ej-- take definite endings in
LW/M482
36
LATGALIAN
the nominative, genitive, and accusative, but indefinite (short) endings in the dative
and locative. There are also corresponding long forms for lPL and 2PL.
short form long form
lsg 'my' mun-s, mun-a munej-ais, munej-uo
2sg 'your' tov-s, tov-a tovej-ais, tovej-uo
rfx. poss. sov-s, sov-a sovej-ais, sovej-uo
lpl 'our' -
musej-ais, musej-uo
2pl 'your' - jiusej-ais, jiusej-uo
Use of the reflexive pronouns
The reflexive pronoun sev- and the reflexive possessive pronoun sovs usually relate to
the subject of the clause, for all persons:
(20} pyrm-om kuort-om rokst-u dej
first-D.PL.F order-D.PL write:PRS-1 SG for
'first of all I am writing for myself' (Sus)
sev-e
RFX-G
(21) 1991. god-a suocu iz-du-t sov-ys ail-is proz-u
1991 year-L start:PST: 1 SG PFX-give-1 RPO-A.PL.F poem-A.PL and prose-A
' In 1991 I started to publish my poems and prose' (Sus)
(22) Kai Tu raksturoj sov-ys attTceib-ys ar religej-u?
how 2SG characterize:PRS:2SG RPO-A.PL.F relation-A.PL with religion-A
'How do you characterize your relations with religion?' (Sus)
In addition, reflexive pronouns may also relate to:
implicit subjects of imperatives,
(23)
implicit subjects in constructions with a general reading ('one'),
implicit subjects of infinitives and nominalizations (ex. 23),
dative debitors in the debitive construction (ex. 24),
dative possessors in possessive clauses (ex. 25),
dative experiencers in clauses without nominal subjects (ex. 26).
Myuieig-uo dilem-a- voi rakstei-son-a ir
eternai-N.F.DEF dilemma-N QU write-VN-N BE:PRS:3
reagie-son-a iz se v-i voi iz apleicTn-i
react-VN-N to RFX-A or to environment-A
'The eternal dilemma- is writing reacting to oneself or to the environment?' (Sus)
(24) Ka mal) sev-i juo-raksturoj sudiQ, tod [. .. ]
if 1 SG:D RFX-A DES-characterize today then
'if I had to characterize myself today, then ( ... ]' (Sus)
(25) Barn-im sov-a dzeiv-e, vac-ajim sov-a.
child-D.PL RPO-N.F life-D old-D.PL.M.DEF RPO-N.F
'Children have their life, elder [people] have theirs.' (IS)
(26) Mal) hroniski tryukst sov-ys sat-ys.
1 SG:D chronically lack:PRS:3 RPO-G.F home-G
' I'm missing my home all the time.' (IS)
4.4.2 Anaphoric, logophoric, and demonstrative pronouns
The anaphoric (3rd person personal) pronoun }is, the logophoric pronoun sys, and the
demonstrative pronouns tys ' that' and itys 'this' are inflected in the same way.
m.sg ('he') m.sg LOG m.sg. DEM f.sg ('she') f.sg LOG f.sg DEM
NOM jis sys (i)tys jej sei (i)tei
GEN juo suo (i)tuo juos suos (i)tuos
DAT jam sam (i)tam jai sai (i)tai
ACC jii su ( i )tit
-
su ( i )tii JU
LOC*) jimii symii (i)tymii jimii symii (i)tymii
m.pl ('they' ) m.pl LOG m.pl DEM f.pl ('they') f.pl LOG f.piDEM
NOM
fi
sT ( i)tf juos suos (i)tuos
GEN jiis siis ( i )tiis jiis siis ( i )tiis
DAT jim sim (i)tim jom so m (i)tom
ACC jfis siis ( i)ttls juos suos (i)tuos
LOC*) jimiis symiis (i)tymiis jimuos symuos (i)tymuos
*) In the locative several variants are found that differ in the vowel preceding -m-, for
example loc. sg. masculine and feminine of the demonstrative pronoun: tymii, tamii,
tumii. In earlier stages of the language the forms with -a- (jama, sama, tama, jamus
etc.) were feminine, while masculine forms had -i/y- (jima, syma, tyma, jimus etc.). In
modern texts, the vowel found most often is -y/i- for both genders as shown in the
table.
Other demonstrative pronouns are taids 'such (as that)' and itaids 'such (as thi s)'; they
are inflected, like indefinite adjectives and mainly used attributively.
The pronoun sys is sometimes used as a demonstrative pronoun, as a synonym of itys.
This use is however very rare in traditional texts, where only lexicalizations or fixed
patterns like sudln ' today', da sam 'until now' show the demonstrative meaning. In
traditional texts sys functions as a logophoric pronoun: it refers to the author of a
reported or represented speech. The addressee of the represented dialogue is marked
second person. Note that this use of second person is not a mark of direct speech and
that speech reports with a logophoric pronoun are neither direct nor indirect speech,
LW/M 482 38
LATGALIAN
but may contain characteri stics of either (see 6.5; see Nau 2006 for more details and
examples from Latgalian dialects). Examples from Kokala' s collection of fairy-tales :
(27} Bet veir-s atsacej-a, ka sts barn-u naasat
but husband-N answer:PST-3 that LOG:N.SG.M child-A NEG-be:PA[IDCL]
redzejs, jo tu posa barn-u aiznasusia.
see:PAP:SG.M for you PRO-SG.F child-A carry.away:PAP:F.SG
'The husband answered: I didn't see the child, you carried him away yourself'
or:
'The husband; answered that he; hadn't seen the child, she (=addressee)
herself had carried him away.' (Ko)
(28} Polsan-s stostejs,
Polsans-N teii:PAP:SG.M
ka
that
pec so
after LOG:G.SG.M
zyrg-a bejs J-leids valn-s
horse-L be:PAP:SG.M PFX-creep:PAP:SG.M. devii-N
dDm-om
thought-D.PL
'Polsans; told [me] that in his; opinion the devil had crept into the horse' (Ko)
I haven't found the logophoric pronoun in the modern texts investigated here. It seems
that it has been lost in written Latgalian, although it still can be found in spoken
dialects and is an important characteristics of represented speech in traditional
narratives (see 6.5).
4.4.3 Interrogative, relative, indefinite, and negative pronouns
There is no special relative pronoun; interrogative pronouns are used in relative
clauses (see 6.3.2). Interrogative pronouns are also the basis for indefinite and negative
pronouns.
The most general interrogative/relative/indefinite pronoun is kas 'who, what'. The
inflection of kas is similar to that of the anaphoric, the logophoric and the
demonstrative pronoun in the masculine singular. We also find the same variation in
the locative; moreover, there are also locative plural forms (given in Cibuls&Leikuma
2003: 52; not yet found in texts).
' who/what'
NOM kas
GEN kuo
DAT kam
ACC kU
LOC kima I kama
LOC.PL kimUs (m) I kamuos (f)
The non-distinction of 'who' and ' what' is a typologically rare feature shared by all
three Baltic languages. The translation equivalent in each case is largely dependent on
the context. Compare:
(29} A, kas to pi vys-a vaineig-s?
PTC WH-N PTC to aii-G to.blame-N.SG.M
'But who is to blame for everything?' (OS)
(30) A, kas beja ar Latgol-ys Televizej-u?
PTC WH-N be:PST-3 with latgalia-G television-A
'And what happened to Latgalian Television?' (OS)
(31) Kam tys vys-s vadzeig-s?
WH-D DEM:N.SG.M aii-N.SG.M necessary-N.SG.M
'What good is all this for?' (OS)
(32) TO vJn-s OJv-s vif) zyna,
DEM:A.SG.M one-N.SG.M God-N PTC know:PRS:3
kam paffseib-a, kam mal-y.
WH-D truth-N WH-D lie-N
'Only God alone knows who tells the truth and who is lying.' (OS)
The pronoun kur-s 'which' is inflected as indefinite adjectives. In the locative, forms
with an element -ym- are found as variants: kurymii (loc.sg), kurymus (loc.pl.m),
kurymuos (loc.pl.f).
(33) lr taid-i punkt-i, kurymiis tu bezkusteig-i
be:PRS:3 such-PL point-PL which:L.PL.M 2SG motionless-ADV
atsa-rDQ, bet cylvak-i pos-t da-rt pi
PFX:RFX-find:PRS(3) but person-PL EMPH-PL PFX-go:PRS:3 to
tev-is.
2SG-G
'There are places where you stand without moving, and people come to you on
their own.' (VL)
As an interrogative pronoun, kurs can have the meaning 'who' (but not 'what'), if it
does not refer to something given in the text (in which case it means 'which'):
(34) Kur-s to itaid-a muldeison-a Jgujdeis sov-u naud-u?
WH-N.SG.M PTC SUCh-L twaddle-L invest:FUT(3) RPO-A money-A
'Who would invest money in such twaddle?' (OS)
A third interrogative pronoun is kaid-s 'which, what kind of'; it inflects like indefinite
adjectives. Used as independent indefinite pronoun, it means 'someone', but used as a
modifier its English translation equivalent is some, some kind of, or the indefinite
article.
In the function of an indefinite pronoun we often find a combination of an
interrogative pronoun with some particle. They constitute a series which includes
indefinite adverbs ('somewhere', 'sometimes' etc.). The choice of particle for this
function is extensive, especially among the dialects:
LW/M 482 40
LATGALIAN
the most lexicalized and the most frequent are combinations with naz ( < nazyn
' don't know' ): nazkas 'someone/something', nazkaids 'some, any', nazkur
'somewhere', nazkad 'sometime' , nazkai 'somehow, anyhow' , nazcik 'to some
amount'.
Alternatives to naz- are kazyn ( < ' who knows'), koc, kod; they construct the same
kind of series, but are not equally frequent in modern texts (although koc
corresponds to Latvian kaut, which may further its use in the future) .
Particles posed after the interrogative are nabejs and navil} (or na vil}): kas nabejs,
kas navil} ' someone/something', kur nabejs, kur navil} 'somewhere' etc.
In some dialects the clitic =ta is placed after an interrogative: kastii, ace. kiita
'someone/something' , kaidsta 'some (kind of)' etc. (also written in two words).
Another construction consists of the juxtaposition of an interrogative and the
corresponding negative word: kas nakas 'someone/something', kod nakod
'sometimes' etc.
A functional differentiation of these many ways to form indefinite pronouns is not
easy to detect, and more research is needed here. Examples:
(35) Runuo-t ir vTn-s, rakstei-t -nazkas cyt-s.
talk-1 be:PRS:3 one-SG.M write-1 something:N other-sG.M
'Speaking [a language] is one thing, writing is something else.' (VL)
(36) vyspyrms vajag lab-i pa-dumuo-t,
first need:PRS:3 good-ADV PFX-think-1
kai var kii-ta
how can:PRS:3 WH:A-PTC
na-darei-t
NEG-d0-1
'First one has to consider well how one may avoid doing something' (VL)
(37) Vltej-Ds Latgol-ys laikrokst-Ds kod nakod pasaruoda
locai-L.PL Latgalia-G journai-L.PL when NEG-when appear:PRS:3
kaid-s rakst-ef)-S latgaliski.
PTC some-M.SG.N article-DIM-N in.latgalian
'In the local press of Latgalia some small article written in Latgalian appears
sometimes I from time to time.' (VL)
(38) A, ka
PTC if
as
1SG
byu-s-u mu/dei-dam-s
be-FUT-1 SG twaddle-CV-SG.M
kii na vil)
WH:A NEG PTC
lob-u pasaciejs par kii to na vil) [ ... ]
good-A.SG.M express:PAP:SG.M about WH:A PTC NEG PTC
'But, when 1 have, by talking nonsense, expressed something good about some
special thing [ ... ]' (OS)
Furthermore, the numeral vfns ' one' and the pronoun cyts (basic meaning ' other' ) are
also used as indefinite pronouns.
Negative pronouns are built from indefinite pronouns and the negative element ni :
niv'ins ' no one', nikas 'no one/nothing', nikaids ' no, (not) any' (as modifier); see also
6.2.3.
4.4.4 Other pronouns
Other pronouns are inflected as indefinite adjectives: vyss 'everything, all ' , kotrys
'each, any', sevkurs 'each' , abi (plural only) ' both', cyts ' other (of more than two)'.
The emphatic pronoun (intensifier) pats, posa has an irregular form in the masculine
singular nominative, while all other forms are regularly built from the stem pos- with
adjectival indefinite endings. This pronoun signals identity (English translation
equivalents depending on the construction are self, own, same) and ultimate extension
(the very, the most). The latter meaning is seen in its use as a marker of the superlative
(see 4.2.5 and 6.1.5) and in local and temporal constructions, for example posii ceja
vydii (VL) 'right in the middle of the road', da posys Elizabetis 'ilys (IS) 'up to
Elizabeth Street', nu posys Latvejis vajsts dybynuosonys (IS) 'from the very [moment
of the] founding of the Latvian ~ t a t e . Signalling identity, pats may occur with (ex. 39,
40) or without (ex. 41) an anaphor.
(39) A byu-t pos-a es var-u tikai latgaliski.
PTC be-l EMPH-F.SG.N 1 SG:N can:PRS-1 SG only in.latgalian
'Only in Latgalian can I be myself.' (female speaker) (IS)
(40) Mes pos-i gryb-om, kab myusus
1 PL:N EMPH-M.PL.N want:PRS-1 PL that 1 PL:A
'We ourselves want to be deceived.' (VL)
apmuona.
deceive:PRS:3
(41) Da-guoj-a gol-s got-a krug-a i autobus-a dzTduo-t pos-im.
PFX-go:PST-3 end-N end-L pub-L and bus-L sing-1 EMPH-PL.D
'In the end it was up to [our]selves to sing in the pub and in the bus.' (IS)
The meaning ' own' arises in constructions with the reflexive possessive pronoun. Note
that the two pronouns receive their case, number, and gender from different sources -
in ex. ( 42) so vu agrees with kodu and is thus marked accusative, but posa behaves like
an anaphoric pronoun (that is, noun-like) and is assigned genitive; in ex. (43) sova
agrees with atbijdeiba (genitive, feminine) , but posam has the same case (dative) as its
eo-constituent kotram.
LW/M 482
42
LATGALIAN
(42) Jau nazcik minot-i juo ac-s veres
already some minute-N.PL he-G eye-N look:PST:3
iz sov-u pos-a person-ys kod-u.
on RPO-A.SG EMPH-G.SG.M person[F]-G.SG code-A.SG
'For several minutes already his eyes had been looking at his own person
identification number.' (VL)
(43) Kotr-am pos-am sov-a atbqdeib-a
each-D.SG.M EMPH-D.SG.M RPO-N.SG.F responsibility-N
pret sev-i cyt-im, na cyt-im pret tev-i.
against RFX-A and other-D.PL NEG other-D.PL against 2SG-A
'Each [of us] has their own responsibility for themselves and others, it's not the
others who are responsible for you.' (IS)
5. Verbal morphology
5.1 Overview: stems, classes, forms
Verballexemes have three stems, which will be called here the present (or first) stem,
the past (or second) stem, and the third stem. The third stem is not associated with a
tense. It is not the case that for all words all three stems are different. Prefixes do not
change the characteristics of stems. The part of a stem between prefixes and
inflectional ending will be called the base. Stems can be classified (i) as hard or soft
(see 3.1), and (ii) as short or long. Other than with nouns, the first criterion is not used
for classifying verbal lexemes; a given verb may have a hard present stem and a soft
past stem, and third stems may have both a hard and a soft shape, chosen in harmony
with the ending. There are also neutral stems. Short stems have a monosyllabic base,
consisting only of the root, while long stems have a base with more than one syllable,
containing a stem-building suffix in the form of a long vowel, a diphthong, or a vowel
plus semivowee. In the two latter cases the stem is neutral with respect to
morphophonological harmony, while short stems and stems ending in a long vowel
may be soft or hard. Examples:
short
stem
long
stem
hard stem
dor- 'do' (present stem)
nas- ' carry' (present stem)
makla- 'search' (third stem)
soft stem
gribL 'want' (present stem)
nesj- 'carry' (past stem)
mekle- 'search' (third stem)
neutral stem
darei- 'do' (third
stem)
runoj- 'speak' (first,
second, third stem)
7
Derivational suffixes between root and stem-building suffix sometimes occur, but are not frequent.
I
Stem length is used to distinguish three classes of verbal lexemes, which in traditional
Latvian linguistics are called "conjugations". This use differs from the internationally
more widespread use of the term and is therefore avoided here. In this grammar the
term conjugation is used for inflectional patterns distinguished by the choice of
personal endings, while for "conjugations" in the Latvian sense I will use the term
class, or speak of short verbs (class I), long verbs (class 11), and mixed verbs (class
Ill). For verbs of the first class all three stems are short, for the second class all three
stems are long, and verbs of the third class have a short present stem, while past stem
and third stem are long. This classification is however not very helpful for determining
how the forms of a given lexeme are built, it is used here mainly for readers used to
the Latvian tradition
8
.
Verbs are inflected for person & number, tense, and "mood" (in a broad sense,
including various modal meanings and evidentiality). There is a rich system of
participles and converbs, which may inflect for gender and number and of which
several are also used as predicates in simple sentences, thus the function typically
reserved for finite forms. In addition to the infinitive there is a further infinite verb-
form, the supine. Finite forms basically consist of the stem and one ending. Only
future forms (and in some dialects also the subjunctive which occupies the same slot as
the future suffix) have separate markers for tense/mood and person&number. Apart
. from the base a stem may contain the reflexive marker and/or prefixes. The reflexive
marker is posed (i) after the ending for non-prefixed verbs, (ii) between prefix and
base for prefixed verbs. Negation is expressed by a prefix which appears at the very
beginning of a finite verb form. The same position is used by the debitive prefix;
debitive forms don't combine with the negative prefix. Examples of finite verb-forms:
NEG/DEB PFX RFX BASE FUT/SUB PERS&NR RFX
na
eel
eel s im
cat tu
cal tu - s
na - sa eel - it
pt sa eel - e
na
pl sa eel s im
juo
pi sa eel
nacej 'doesn't raise', cefsim 'we will raise', caltu 'would raise', caltus 'would rise',
nasacelit 'don't rise!' (2pl), plsacele 'he/she/they got up', naplsacefsim 'we will not
get up', juoplsacej 'must get up'
8
L,elis & Zeps ( 1965) present a classification of verbs that combines the traditional classes with four
ways each of forming present and past tense, arriving at 11 types.
LW/M482
44
LATGALIAN
Overview of forms built from the three stems of a verballexemes
mekli!t 'search' (class II- three long stems)
I stem meklej-, II stem meklej-, Ill stem mekle- [mjxkjVx:] - maklii- [makla:]
FIRST (PRESENT) STEM SECOND (PAST) STEM
THIRD STEM
INFINITE
mekle-t INFINITIVE
FORMS
maklii-tu SUPINE
TENSE
PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE FUTURE TENSE
lSG meklej-u mekliej-u meklie-s-u
2SG meklej
mekliej-i meklie-s-i
3 meklej
meklej-a mekle-s
lPL meklej-am mekliej-om mekle-s-im
2PL meklej-at mekliej-ot mekle-s-it
MOODS meklej-it IMP.2PL makla-tu SUBJUNCTIVE
juo-meklej DEBITIVE
CON-
maklii-dam-s, -a
VERB
ACTIVE meklej-iit mekle-s-ut (FUT)
PARTIC. meklej-s, -iite (f), -iits (pl) meklej-s,-use, -usi, -iisas mekle-sk-ys,
meklej-iis-s, -a, -i, -as -iite, -iits (FUT)
PASS. meklej-am maklii-t-s, -a (PST)
PART! C. meklej-am-s, -a
nest 'carry' (class I- three short stems)
I stem nas-, II stem nesj-, Ill stem nes- [njxs-i] - nas- [nas]
FIRST (PRESENT) STEM SECOND (PAST) STEM THIRD STEM
INFINITE nes-t INFINITIVE
FORMS nas-tu SUPINE
TENSE PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE FUTURE TENSE
lSG nas-u nd-u [njcfu] nes-s-u [njcffu]
2so nes [nicesj] ne s-i [njsii] nes-s-i [njsisii]
3 nas ne s-e [nhesice] ne s-s [njresisi]
lPL nas-am nes-em [nhesiim] nes-s-im [ njresjsiim]
2PL nas-at ne s-et [ njresireti] nes-s-it [njresjsW]
MOODS nes-it [njresiiti] IMP.2PL nas-tu SUBJUNCTIVE
juo-nas DEBITIVE
CONY. nas-dam-s, -a ... (PRS)
ACTIVE nas-iit nes-s-ut (FUT)
PARTIC. nas-iits, -iite, -iits nes-s, nas-use, -usi, -iisas nes-sk-ys, -iite ... (FUT)
nas-iis-s, -a, -i, -as
PASS. nas-am
nas-t-s, -a ...
(PST)
PARTIC. nas-am-s, -a, -i, -as
LATGALIAN 45
dareit 'do' (class Ill- one short, two long stems)
I stem dor-, II stem darej-, Ill stem darei-
FIRST (PRESENT) STEM SECOND (PAST) STEM
INFINITE
FORMS
TENSE
PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE
!SG
dor-u darej-u
2SG
dor-i darej-i
3
dor-a darej-a
IPL
dor-om darej-om
2PL
do r-at dare j-ot
MOODS dor-it IMP.2PL
juo-dor DEBITIVE
CON-
VERB
ACTIVE dor-iit
PARTIC. dor-s, -iite (f), -iits (pi) darej-s,-use, -usi, -iisas
dor-iis-s, -a, -i, -as
PASS. dor-om
PARTIC. dor-om-s, -a
5.2 Conjugation (tense forms)
LW/M482
THIRD STEM
dare i-t INFINITIVE
darei-tu SUPINE
FUTURE TENSE
darei-s-u
darei-s-i
dare i-s
darei-s-im
dare i-s-it
darei-tu SUBJUNCTIVE
darei-dam-s, -a
darei-s-iit (FUT)
darei-sk-ys,
-iite, -iits (FUT)
darei-t-s, -a (PST)
In all forms marked for person, there is no distinction of number for the third person.
Paradigms thus contain five forms distinguished by personal endings. In the present
tense the 3rd person sometimes has zero ending, 2sg zero ending with stem alternation
(hard > soft). In Standard Latgalian the following personal endings are used in tense
forms of non-reflexive verbs (dialects have further variants for lpl and 2pl):
present past future
I so u u u
2so (i) i i
3 (a) a,e -
lPL am, im,om om,em im
2PL at, itj, ot ot, eti iti
The palatalization of tj after front vowels (itj, etj) follows a phonological rule (cf. 2.3)
and will not be marked in the paradigms below.
According to the vowel in the endings of 1 pl and 2pl, three conjugations can be
distinguished in the present tense and two in the past tense, as presented below. It
should however be noted that this system is an idealization for the standard language-
not only in dialects and other colloquial variants, but we also find in written
- ....---
LW/M 482
46
LATGALTAN
standardized texts considerable variation in the choice of ending for
1 pl and 2pl; see
Cibujs & Leikuma (2003) for the main variants.
5.2.1 Simple present
Present tense forms are built from the present stem. Short stems end in a consonant
and may be hard or soft. Long stems end in a short vowel+ j (either -oj- or -ej-), they
are neutral (neither hard nor soft). In some dialects we find variants ending in a
diphthong and palatalized sonorant: runoij-u, runoi1;1-u (lsg of runuot 'speak'), such
forms are also sometimes found in modern texts.
The a-conjugation is used with all long stems (class 11) and with all short stems of
short verbs (class I). These short stems are basically hard, but get a soft shape in the
form of the 2sg, historically triggered by the ending -i, which then was lost. As a
result, the final consonant of the 2sg form is palatalized. In addition, some mixed verbs
(class Ill) build the present tense according to the a-conjugation; these verbs have the
ending -i for 2sg plus stem alternation
9
.
long stem short stem (I) short stem (I) short stem (I) short stem (Ill)
lSG runoj-u khdz-u sadz-u valk-u tak-u
2SG runoj khdz [klii:tsi] sedzi vejci teci-i
3 runoj khdz sadz valk tak
lPL runoj-am khdz-am sadz-am valk-am tak-am
2PL runoj-at kiTdz-at sadz-at valk-at tak-at
runuot 'speak' klfgt 'scream' segt 'cover' vi/kt 'pull' tecet 'run'
The short present stems of the majority of mixed verbs (class Ill) can be divided into
soft stems (i-conjugation) and hard stems (o-conjugation). Soft stems undergo
morphophonological alternation MA-l in lsg (depalatalization or alveolarization with
depalatalization, vowel alternation front > back). During the 20th century there was a
tendency to give up soft stems, and verbs of the i-conjugation were inflected according
to the a-conjugation (like tecet in the table above). In the following table this is shown
by the alternative patterns for the verb redzet 'see', which also illustrate the difference
between soft and hard stems and the working of morphophonological rules
10
.
9
Readers familiar with Latvian may note that class I verbs in Latgalian never have -i in 2sg, for
example tu priitj (Latvian tu proti) 'you know, are able'.
10
The forms for I sg and 2sg are identical in both patterns, but are arrived at in different ways. In the i-
conjugation the 2sg shows the unaltered soft stem, but I sg is the result of depalatalization and vowel
alternation front > back, but in the a-conjugation the 1 sg shows the hard stem and the 2sg is the result
of alternations.
....
LATGAL IAN 47 LW/M 482
i-co njugation
i-conjugation o-conjugation i-conjugation a-conjugation
)SG dzi er:l.-u gryb-u dor-u radz-u radz-u
2SG
dzi erdi-i gribLi dor-i redzi-i redzLi
3
dzi erdj
gribi dor-a redzi radz
IPL
dzi erdi-im gribi-im dor-om redzi-im radz-am
2PL
dzi erdi-it gribi-it dor-ot redzi-it radz-at
dzi erdet 'hear' gribet 'want' dareit 'do' redzet 'see'
5.2.2 Sim pie past
Past tens e forms are built from the past stem. Short stems can be divided into soft
ation) and hard (o-conjugation). Long stems are neutral, they end in -oj-
ve: -ov-), -ej-, or -ej-, and always combine with endings of the a-conjugation.
s undergo morphophonological alternation MA-l in the forms of the lsg. In
ms containing [re] <e> this vowel alternates with [E] (here in the
2sg, and correspondingly in short stems containing [re:] <b this vowel
with the diphthong /ie/ (vowel alternation mid - low)
11
In long stems
n -ej- the long vowel alternates with /ie/ also in other personal forms, the
form being a matter of dialectal variation. The current standard orthography
nds <ie> for all forms except the third person, as in the table below (for
ant').
(e-conjug
(alternati
Soft stem
short ste
lsg and
alternates
ending o
choice of
recomrne
gribet 'w
lSG
2SG
3
IPL
2PL
o-c onjugation
g stem -oj- Ion
run oj -u
run oj-i
run oj-a
run oj-om
run oj-ot
ru nuot 'speak'
alternative: -ov-
runov-u
runov-i
runov-a
runov-om
runov-ot
e-conjuga tion (only short stems)
ISG kiT dz-u lyudz-u
2sa kiT dzi-i lyudzi-i
3
kh dzLe lyudzi-e
IPL
kh dzi-em lyudzi-em
2PL
kh dzi-et lyudzi-et
kll gt 'scream' lyugt 'beg'
o-conjugation o-conjugation
long stem -ej- long stem -ej-
darej-u gribiej-u
darej-i gribiej-i
darej-a gribej-a
darej-om gribiej-om
dare j-ot gribiej-ot
dareit 'do' gribet 'want'

sedzi-e me ti-e
sedzi-em meti-em
sedzLet meti-et
segt 'cover' mest 'throw'
11 '
The verb al suffix <ej> always contains the mid vowel [], it is not marked here.
o-conjugation
short stem
prot-u
prot-i
prot-a
prot-om
prot-ot
prast 'know'
iez-u
iedi-i
edLe
edLem
edi-et
est 'eat'
LW/M 482
48
LATGALIAN
5.2.3 Simple future
Future tense forms are formed from the third stem in its soft shape (as in the infinitive)
and the future suffix -s.i- (in lsg -s-): All verbs build the future in the same way, there
are no conjugations. As in the past tense, lsg and 2sg have a front mid vowel where
the other forms have a low mid vowel.
runuo-t 'speak' darei-t 'do' gribe-t 'want' seg-t 'cover' es-t 'eat'
lSG runuo-s-u darei-s-u gribie-s-u sttg-s-u ies-s-u
2SG runuo-s-i darei-s-i gribie-s-i sttg-s-i ie-s-i
3 runuo-si darei-si gribe-si seg-si es-si
lPL runuo-s-im darei-s-im gribe-s-im seg-s-im es-s-im
2PL runuo-s-it darei-s-it gribe-s-it seg-s-it es-s-it
5.2.4 Conjugation of byut 'be' and ft 'go'
As in most Indo European languages, the conjugation of the verb 'be', byut, differs
from that of other verbs, mainly by showing suppletion. In Standard Latgalian only the
present tense has irregular forms, while past and future are formed regularly. The same
is found with the verb 'it 'go'. The following table gives the forms of Standard
Latgalian, followed by variants most often found in modem texts. There are however
many more variants, also for the past and future tenses (see Cibuls & Leikuma 2003:
62-63).
byut 'be' 'it 'go'
present past future present past future
lSG asmu I asu bej-u byu-s-u 1mu I eimu I guoj-u I-s-u
eju
2so esi bej-i byu-s-i ej guoj-i 1-S-i
3RD ir I ira I irajd bej-a byu-si 1t guoj-a 1-si
lPL asam bej-om byu-s-im 1mam guoj-om 1-s-im
2PL a sat be j-ot byu-s-it ejat I eite guoj-ot 1-s-it
The negative form of 3rd person present tense of the verb byut 'be' ('is/are not') has
the variants nav, navii, navajd, navaida.
5.2.5 Conjugation of reflexive verbs
In non-prefixed reflexive verbs the reflexive marker amalgamates with the personal
ending of lsg, 2sg and 3rd person. For lpl and 2pl it is added to the personal ending as
-esi (standard variety) or -Isi (dialectal variant often found in modern texts). The
resulting reflexive endings may be grouped into the following conjugations:
a-conjugation
e-conjugation i-conjugation o-conjugation
tense
present past present, future present, past
ISG
-us -us -us -us
2SG
-I si -Isi -Isi -I si
3RD
-as -esJ -Isi -uos
IPL
-am-esi /-1si -em-esi /-1si -im-esi /-1si -om-es.i /-Isi
2PL
-at -esi I -1si -et -esi I -1si -it-esi /-Is.i -ot-es.i /-Isi
The palatalization of si after front vowel follows a phonological rule (cf. 2.3) and will
not be marked in the paradigms below.
The conjugations are distributed as with corresponding non-reflexive verbs. Examples:
a-conjugation, present e-conjugation, past
ISG jamu jam us jiemu jiemus
2SG jem jem1s jiemi jiem1s
3RD jam jam as jeme jemes
lPL jamam jamames I jamam1s jemem jememes I jemem1s
2PL jamat jamates I jamatis jemet jemetes I jemet1s
jimt 'take' jimtfs 'undertake' jimt 'take' jimtzs 'undertake'
i-conjugation, present o-conjugation, past
ISO turu turiis turieju turiejus
2SG turi tuns turieji turiej1s
3RD tur tuns tureja turejuos
lPL turim turimes I turim1s turejom turejomes I -1s
2PL turit turites I turit1s turejot turejotes I -Is
turet 'hold' turet'is 'hold on' turet 'hold' turetls 'hold on'
Note that these paradigms are an idealization of the standard variety. In actual texts,
the distribution of endings often does not follow this principle. Often one finds forms
of the a-conjugation instead of the i-conjugation (for ex. turam'is 'we hold on (OS) pro
turimes) and forms of the o-conjugation, especially for 3rd person, instead of the a-
conjugation (kautrejuos 'is timid' (VL) pro kautrejiis, cef)suos 'tries' OS pro censiis).
If the verb contains a prefix (a lexical prefix, the negative or the debitive prefix), the
reflexive marker -sa- (dialectal variant -za-) is put between prefix and base and the
endings are the same as with non-reflexive verbs. Compare the positive and the
negative form of the verb vert'is 'to watch' in the following example:
(44) I ver-iis, a ka gryb-u, na-sa-veru.
PTC watch:PRS-1 SG PTC if want:PRS-1 SG NEG-RFX-watch:PRS-1 SG
'So I watch (television), but if I [don't] want [to], I don't watch.' (VL)
LW/M 482 50
LATGALIAN
With the prefixes aiz- and iz- the reflexive marker melts into the respective forms aiza-
and iza-.
(45) Te ari aiza-suoc stuost-s.
here also PFX:RFX-begin:PRS:3 story-N
'And that's where the story begins.' (IS)
5.2.6 Compound tense forms
For all three tenses, a compound (perfect) form is built with the auxiliary byut in the
respective simple tense, inflected for person, and the past active participle of the main
verb, inflected for gender and number, for example: asmu redzejs 'I (male speaker)
have seen', beja aizmyguse '(she) had fallen asleep', byus izavuicejusi '(they) will
have finished their studies'. See 5.4 for the formation of the participle.
There are two more compound tense constructions; neither is very frequent: (i) a
compound past with the past active participle and the auxiliary tikt in the simple past;
it is mostly used in the negative:
(46) Vaira jis na-tyka nikuo sacleJs
more he NEG-AUX:PST:3 nothing:G say:PAP:SG.M
'He didn't say anything more' (KurS)
(47) Tik gord-u bfff)-U tik
so delicious-G.PL pancake-G.PL so
lob-a
good-L
kompanej-a
company-L
na-tyku aduse i na-zynu, kod ies-s-u.
NEG-AUX:PST:1 SG eat:PAP:F.SG and NEG-know:PRS: 1 SG when eat-FUT-1 SG
'I hadn't eaten such delicious pancakes in such nice company (before) and
don't know when I'll do (again).' (IS)
(ii) A possessive perfect formed with the past passive participle, the auxiliary byut
'be', and the actor/possessor in the dative:
(48) Vit-ai ir sataiseits cTsi interesn-ys drnrokst-s "Sauve".
Vita-o be:PRS:3 make:PPP:SG.M very interesting-sG.M blog-N "Sauve"
'Vita has created (= has) a very interesting blog called "Sauve"' (IS)
(49) pasmiariaja ar dziejw-u jiudin-i,
apply:PST:3 with alive-A water-A
kur-s jam bieja butieJ-a pajimts lejdza
which-N.M he:D be:PST:3 bottle-L PFX:take:PPP:SG.M along
'he applied (to the corpse) the water of life, which he had taken along (=which
he had with him) in a bottle' (UP)
LATGALIAN 51
5.3 Further verb-forms and verbal categories
5.3.1 Imperative
LW/M 482
There is no special form for the imperative of 2sg, and the present tense form is used
in commands: runoj! 'speak!', naklldz! 'don't scream!', vefc! 'pull!', esi lobs! 'be
good!'.
For 2pl an imperative is formed based on the 2sg present tense with the ending -it [iti]
runojit, naklldzit, vefcit! This rule applies also to the verbs 'be' and 'go': esit, ejit! A
variant of -it is -te, most frequently found with the verb 'go': eite! 'go!'. Reflexive
verbs without prefix have the ending -itesi (dialectal variant: -itiesi): klausites! ' listen'
(with prefix: nu-sa-klaus-it). Examples:
(50) Verifies, Vi f) Lenin-a i Stalin-a na-vejcit uora
watch:IMP.2PL PTC Lenin-G and Stalin-G NEG-puii:IMP.2PL out
nu aiz-puteFas-Ds plaukt-u
from PFX-rot-PA-G.PL shelf-G.PL
'Just be careful and don't pull out Lenin and Stalin from their rotting shelves'
(OS)
(51) Jyus tik pa-sa-verit iz teidzsinej-D
2PL PTC PFX-RFX-Iook:IMP.2PL at previous-A.SG
politisk-D praks-i Latvej-a!
politicai-A.SG practice-A Latvia-L
'Just take a look at the previous political practice in Latvia!' (OS)
However, the distinction of 2pl imperative and indicative present is an idealization of
the Standard Language. In both traditional and modern texts we find the "imperative"
form also as a variant of the indicative for verbs of all conjugations. Examples:
(52) Diimojit - na-asu pejnejs?
think:PRS:2PL NEG-be:PRS:2SG earn:PAP:M.SG
'You think I haven't earned it?' (OS) (Standard: dDmojat)
(53) Cytvak-i, nu kD jius dorit?
person-PL.N PTC WH:A 2PL do:PRS:2PL
' People, what are you doing?' (IS) (Standard: dorot)
(54) Jius tok na-esit nu
2PL PTC NEG-be:PRS:2PL from
nakunn-is.
nowhere-G
Jius
2PL
esit
be:PRS:2PL
Latgol-ys. Tod i rokstit sov-a
latgalia-G then PTC write:IMP.2PL RPO-L
vo/Dd-a kai
language-L as
lel-i cylvak-i, na napraskys barn-i.
big-PL.N person-PL.N NEG ignorant child-PL.N
nu
from
LW/M 482
52
LATGALIAN
'You are not from nowhere. You are from Latgalia. Then write your language
like adults, not like ignorant children.' (IS) (Standard: esat)
5.3.2 Subjunctive
The subjunctive is formed from the third stem in its hard variant with the suffix -tu:
caltu 'would raise', makliitu 'would search', runuotu 'would talk' , dareitu 'would do',
byutu 'would be'. This form is homonymous with the supine (see 5.5). For non-
prefixed reflexive verbs the suffix is -His: caltus ' would rise', turetus 'would hold on',
vuiceitus 'would learn'; prefixed reflexive verbs: pz-sa-caltu 'would get up' etc.
In modern texts this form is usually used for all persons and has been approved for the
standard variety. Besides, also forms with personal endings, which can be found in
sourthern dialects and in older written texts, are accepted in Standard Latgalian.
e ndings example reflexive endings example
INVARIANT
tu caltu -tus caltils
OR3RD
lSG turn caltum -tu m us caltumils
2sG (soft) tim ce!tim -timis ce!timis
IPL tu m em caltumem -tumemes caltumemes
2PL tu met caltumet -tu metes caltumetes
cejt 'raise' cejtls 'rise'
Note: The personal endings and examples in this table are taken from Cibujs &
Leikuma (2003: 78); they are in general not used by authors from Central Latgalia.
Curiously, I found some of these forms in other functions: variitum 'would be able' for
2sg (in one paragraph with the same form used for 1sg, VL), also for 3rd person (Sus),
byutumet 'would be' for 3rd person (Sus). The following example for the canonical
use of the personal endings of the subjunctive comes from the Evangelium toto anno
of 1753 and shows both a non-reflexive verb (mzjuot 'love') and a reflexive verb
(przcuotzs 'be glad, rejoice'):
(55) Kad m ilo-tumet m ani, tod pryco-tumetes,
if lo ve-SUB:2PL 1SG:A then be.glad-SUB:2PL
kad im u uz Taw-u
that g o:PRS:1SG to father-A
'If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father' (John 14: 28)
In dialects and traditional texts further endings are found, for example -tib for
2sg, -tulam for lpl, and -tulat for 2pl in UP.
A compound form is built with the auxiliary byut in the subjunctive plus the past
active participle of the main verb, inflected for gender and number: byutu guojis
' would have gone (m.sg)', byutu guojuse (f.sg) etc.
...
The subjunctive is used mainly in subordinate clauses: conditional clauses with the
subordinators ka and kab, and final clauses with kab or lai (see 6.3.2). In simple
sentences it appears most often with verbs expressing modality (neccessity, possibility,
desiderative): variitu 'could', vajiidziitu 'should', grybiitu 'would like to' etc.
(56) Diej kuo Aizsardzeib-ys ministrej-a na-vara-tu
for wh:G defence-G ministry-N NEG-can-sus
atsaras-t Rezekn-e?
be.located-1 Rezekne-L
'Why couldn't the ministry of defence be located in Rezekne?' (OS)
(57) Tev par
ita vys-u vajadza-tu sa-rakstei-t roman-ut
2SG:DAT about this:A aii:A must-sus PFX-write-1 novel-A
'You should write a novel about all this!' (VL)
5.3.3 Debitive
The debitive form is built by prefixing juo- to the 3rd person present tense form:
juorunoj 'must talk', juovalk 'must pull' , juodzierd 'must hear', juodora 'must do',
juojamiis 'must undertake', juoturzs 'must hold on', juovuicuos 'must learn'. The
standard debitive form of the verb byut 'be' isjuobyut, variants arejuobyun andjuoir.
The debitive form is used as a predicate and may be accompanied by the auxiliary byut
(in any tense, also in the subjunctive (ex. 61) and as a participle). In traditional texts
forms with the auxiliary are rare and in modern texts, too, the debitive is more often
found without auxiliary.
In constructions with the debitive the underlying subject (nominative subject of the
verb in the indicative) is expressed as an argument in the dative:
(58) Nu, te DTv-am juoraud i Vain-am juomierst nust nu smTklu;
PTC here God-D DEB:cry and Devii-D DEB:die down of laughter-G
'Well, here God must cry and the Devil must die of laughter' (OS)
(59) Diej kuo Reig-a juobyun vys-uom ministrej-uom!
for WH:G Riga-L DEB:be aii-D.PL.F ministry-D.PL
'Why do all ministries have to be in Riga?' (OS)
A direct object that in the indicative would be in the accusative is expressed in the
nominative (except for first and second person pronouns and the reflexive pronoun) in
the standard variety, but accusative and genitive marking are also found (see 6.2.1.6).
(60) SOdTI) kotr-am juodybynoj
today each-D DEB:found
partej-a
party-N
'Today everybody has to found a party' (OS)
~ 6 1 Voi na-byu-tu juopiketej i juodauza tag-i
au NEG-be-sus DEB:demonstrate and DEB:smash window-N.PL
LW/M 482
54
pi sov-uom posvajdeib-uom pa vys-u Latgo/-u?
at RPO-D.PL.F municipality-D.PL over all-A Latgalia-A
LATGALIAN
'Shouldn't we demonstrate and smash windows at our local governments all
over Latgalia?' (OS)
Some linguists hold that the use of the debitive is not characteristic for Latgalian but is
due to influence from Latvian (Cibu[s & Leikuma 2003: 83). It is true that in dialects
and in traditional texts constructions with the verb vajadzet 'need' (for examples see
6.2.1.2) are more frequent for the expression of necessive modality than the debitive.
However, the debitive is not rare in such texts, and it is surely not a recent innovation.
5.3.4 Oblique (renarrative)
The oblique or renarrative is a form traditionally counted among the moods, a
classification that does not corresponds to its functions. Formally it consists of the use
of participles in the place of finite verb-forms. The following participles may be used
in this function (forms in brackets are less frequent variants):
non-reflexive: dare it 'do' (present stem dor-, past stem darej-, third stem darei-)
m.sg. f.sg m.pl f. pi indeclinable
present dor-s dor-ut-e dor-ut-s dor-ut-s dor-ut
(dor-us-i) (dor-us-ys)
future darei-sk-ys darei-sk-ut-e darei-sk-ut-s darei-sk-ut-s darei-s-ut
(darei-sk-us-i) (darei-sk-us-ys)
past darej-s darej-us-e darej-us-i darej-us-ys -
reflexive: turetis 'hold on' (present stem tur-, past stem turiej-, third stem ture-)
m.sg. f.sg m.pl f.pl indeclinable
present tur-ts tur-ut-es tur-ut-ts tur-ut-ts tur-utts
(tur-us-Ts) (tur-us-uos)
future ture-sk-ts ture-sk-ut-es ture-sk-ut-ts ture-sk-ut-ts ture-s-utTs
(ture-sk-us-Ts) (ture-sk-us-uos)
past turiej-ts turiej-us-es turiej-us-ts turiej-us-uos -
The indeclinable forms of the present and future tenses are found more often in
modern texts, while in traditional texts the declinable present and future participles
prevail. In UP only the declinable forms of the above table are used as oblique (cf. Nau
2008). In addition, in UP and other traditional texts indeclinable present and future
participles with the suffix -am(a) ("passive" participles) are occasionally found in
represented speech.
The oblique is used most often in contexts of reported speech. In traditional narratives,
especially fairy tales, it marks predicates belonging to speaker and addressee (less
often to third persons) of a represented dialogue (for more examples see section 6.5,
sample text l, and Nau 2008).
(62) A Jakup-s soka, ka na-laiskis,
PTC Jakups-N say:PRS:3 that NEG-Iet:FAP:M.SG
koliaidz pasceiskis, kur bejs.
until teii:FAP:M.SG where be:PAP:M.SG
'But Jakups said that [he= Jakups] wouldn't let go, until [he= addressee] would
say where [he= addressee] had been.' (Ko)
In modern texts the oblique is also used to mark reported speech, but it is not frequent.
The indicative is used much more often in speech reports, especially when they are
introduced explicitly by a verb of saying. The oblique may also mark information
obtained by hearsay, by any spoken or written source. When there is no explicit
mention of a speaker, the border between reported speech and reported evidentitality is
often not clear, as in the following examples:
(63) Par pyrm-ajim rokst-im sajiem-u aizruodiejum-us -
for first-D.PL.M article-O.PL recieve: PST -1 SG reproach-A.PL
asiisi par garu, par gar/aiceigu, par latgalisku.
be:PA:PL.M too long too boring too Latgalian
'For my first articles I got reproaches- [they said] they were too long, too
boring, too Latgalian.' (IS)
(64) Latgaffsu ortografej-a asiite lob-s biznes-a projekt-s.
buisness-N project-N Latgalian orthography-N be:PA:SG.F good-M
Puor-skaitiej-u itaid-u komentar-u, pa-sa-breinuoj-u.
PFX-read:PST-1 SG such-A coment-A PFX-RFX-wonder:PST-1 SG
'Latgalian orthography is (said to be) a good business project. I read such a
comment and wondered.' (IS)
What reported discourse and reported evidentiality have in common is the introduction
of another "voice" into the text. In example (63) this voice can be heard quite literally
- reading this sentence aloud, the second clause would be marked by intonation as
reported (represented) discourse. In example (64), on the other hand, it is only the
content of the clause, the statement expressed by it, that is attributed to another voice.
As the oblique is not used often in the modern texts I investigated, I cannot give a
more accurate account of its functions, thus further research is needed.
In traditional texts, especially legends, folk beliefs, sayings the oblique marks
information as obtained by tradition, by "what people say". It is also used in retelling
the personal experience of another person.
(65) Vac-i jaud-s stosta, ka ir pavysam trejs Laim-as.
Old-N.PL.M people-N teii:PRS:3 that be:PRS:3 in.all three Laima-N.PL
Pyrm-o Laim-a viiliit vys-/ob-ok-0,
first-F laima-N wish:PA[IDCL] PFX-good-COMP-A.DEF
LW/M482
56
atr-ei tik lob-u, un tres-o tikai
second-F only good-A and third-F only
slykt-u.
bad-A
KO sit-os Laima-s
wH:A this-F.PL Laima-PL
sokiis, tys iz
say:PA[PL] DEM:N on
mat-a
hair-G
LATGALIAN
niiteikiit.
happen:PA[IDCL]
'Old people say that there are all together three laimas. The first Laima wishes
the very best, the second just something good, and the third only bad things.
Whatever these Laimas say happens exactly.' (Varkava I, 87) (Laima- goddess
of fate)
5.3.5 Passive
The passive voice is expressed by the past passive participle and by (but not always
obligatorily) an auxiliary. The past passive participle is formed from the third stem in
its hard variant with the suffix -t- and an agreement marker for number and gender
(see 5.4). Two auxiliaries are regularly used: tikt (basic meaning 'get (to)') and byut
'be'. The construction with tikt expresses a process, while with by ut or without an
auxiliary the focus is on a state.
(66) Es tik veras, kai
I PTC observe:PRS:1 SG how
ranas
arise:PRS:3
teik radei-t-ys tem-ys.
AUX:PRS:3 create-PPP-N.PL.F topic[F]-N.PL
i
and
'I just observe how topics arise and are being created' (IS)
(67) svatdrn-is ir radei-t-ys pastaig-om
Sunday[F]-N.PL AUX:PRS:3 create-PPP-N.PL.F walk-D.PL
'Sundays are made for a walk with the camera.' (IS)
(68) Pajdis DTv-am i muokslinTk-am,
thank God-o and artist-o
obroz-s (ir) sataisei-t-s ar
picture-N be:PRS:3 make-PPP-N.SG.M with
ellis kruos-u
oii-G paint-A
ar fotoaparat-u.
with camera-A
'Thank God and the artist, the picture is made with oil paint' (context: so
splashes of water won't damage it) (IS)
12
The differentiation between process and state by use of different auxiliaries is however
not as regular as in Latvian (or German). According to Cibuls & Leikuma (2003: 84)
the use of the auxiliary tikt is due to influence from Latvian and not typical for
Latgalian dialects, where the passive is usually formed with byut or without an
auxiliary.
12
The text where this sentence is taken from is published on the Internet at various places.
Interestingly, in some versions the auxiliary iris found, in others it is omitted.
The past passive participle may be formed from transitive and intransitive verbs, from
the verb byut 'be', from prefixed reflexive verbs and even from non-prefixed reflexive
verbs. Passive constructions with reflexive verbs are however rare, the following
example is taken from Cibu!s & Leikuma (2003: 84):
(69) SeQ nav radza-t-is.
long NEG:be:PRS:3 see-PPP-SG.M.RFX
'We (inclusive) haven't met for a long time.' (said when people meet)
A marginal passive construction is formed with the present passive participle.
Usually this participle has a modal meaning (possibility, more rarely necessitiy); it is
used with the auxiliary byut 'be':
(70) Cikom vo!Od-a ir runoj-am-a i skait-am-a,
as.long.as language-N be:PRS:3 speak-PP-F.SG and read-PP-F.SG
na tikai skait-am-a.
NEG only read-PP-F.SG
'As long as a language is still /may still be/ spoken and read, not only read.' (IS)
The various meanings of passive constructions are a matter of further research. On the
possessive perfect see 5.2.6. For more on the syntax of passive constructions see
6.2. 1.6.
5.4 Participles and converbs
Several non-finite forms marked for tense are built from verballexemes. They contain
a stem-building suffix (dropped in masculine singular forms in some instances),
usually followed by agreement markers for gender and number. Some participles are
fully declinable like adjectives with long and short forms for all cases. Forms without
agreement markers are called indeclinable participles
13

Present participles are built from the present stem by three different suffixes: (i) -us-
( variant with short vowel: -us-) or -eis-, (ii) -fit- or -eit-, (iii) -am- or -om-. For the
first two types, the second variant ( -eis- and -eit-) originally was used with verbs
which build the present tense according to the i-conjugation and have infinitives
ending in -et (gulet 'sleep', gribet 'want'), but often the dominant variant (-us-, -ut-) is
used with these verbs, too; on the other hand forms with -eis- or -eit- occasionally
occur with other verbs. With the third type, the variant -om- is used with verbs which
build finite present tense forms according to the a-conjugation and have infinitives
ending in -eit (dareit 'do' , skaiteit 'read'). The participles have several functions, the
13
forms with agreement markers that do not inflect for case are called "partly declinable participles"
in the Latvian tradition.
LW/M482 58
LATGALIAN
names in the table below only serve for orientation (the "oblique" participles are used
in the function of oblique, or renarrative, see 5.3.4). The attributive and the passive
participles are fully declinable, they also inflect for case and definiteness (like
adjectives).
Examples: degt (present stem dag-) 'burn', gutet (guf-) 'sleep', dare it (dor-) 'do'
name
suffix m.sg f.sg m.pl f.pl id cl
present
-us- (-us-), dag-us-s dag-us-a dag-us-i dag-us-ys
active
-eis-
gul-eis-s gul-eis-a gul-eis-i gul-eis-ys
(attributive)
present
-ut- dor-s dor-ut-e dor-ut-s dor-ut-s do rut
oblique
(-eit-)
present
-am-, dor-om-s dor-om-a dor-om-i dor-om-ys dorom(ula)
passive -om-
The attributive participle is not frequent and not fully productive (not built from all
verbs).
Future participles are only used in the function of the oblique (see 5.3.4). Forms with
agreement markers are built from the third stem plus future suffix -sk- and participle-
building suffix -fit- (except for masculine singular). The indeclinable form of this
participle in Standard Latgalian uses the future suffix -s-. In dialects, another
indeclinable future participle is found with the future suffix -sk- plus suffix -am, -amu,
or -ama.
name suffix m.sg f.sg m.pl f.pl id cl
future -s(k)-ut- darei-sk-ys darei-sk-ute darei-sk-uts darei -sk -uts darei-s-ut
oblique -sk -am( u/a)
darei -sk -am( u)
The two past participles are fully declinable (inflect for gender, number, case, and
definiteness). The past active participle is built from the past stem with the
suffix -us- (feminine singular nominative -us-), which triggers morphophonological
harmony: the soft stems of the e-conjugation are turned into a hard shape. This suffix
does not appear in the masculine singular nominative, which therefore retains a soft
shape. The past passive participle is built from the third stem (hard variant) and the
suffix -t-, all forms are regular.
Examples: dare it (past stem dare}-, Ill stem darei-) 'do', cejt (past stem cef-, Ill stem
cef-- cal-) 'raise'
name suffix m.sg f.sg m.pl
f. pi id cl
past active -us- darej-s darej-us-e darej-us-i
darej-us-ys -
ce)-s cal-us-e cal-us-i
cal-us-ys
past -t- darei-t-s darei-t-a darei-t-i
darei-t-ys -
passive cal-t-s cal-t-a cal-t-i
cal-t-ys
A converb for simultaneous actions is built from the third stem (hard shape) with the
suffix -dam- plus agreement markers:
name
suffix m.sg f.sg m.pl f.pl id cl
con verb -dam- darei-dam-s darei-dam-a darei-dam-i darei-dam-ys -
cal-dam-s cal-dam-a cal-dam-i cal-dam-ys
Most of these participles are also built of reflexive verbs: present and future oblique
participles, past active and past passive participle, and converb. The past passive
participle occurs in one invariant form (formally the masculine singular), the other
participles have agreement markers. The reflexive endings can be derived from the
respective non-reflexive endings:
m.sg m.sg f.sg f.sg pi m.pl f.pl
non- -s -ys -a -e -s -i -as
reflexive
reflexive -Is I -us -IS -uos -es -IS -Is -uos
Example: cejtls 'rise'
name m.sg f.sg m.pl f.pl id cl
present cal-us I eel-Is cal-ut-es cal-iit-Is cal-ut-Is cal-iit-Ts
oblique (ca!UsTs) ( caliisuos)
future eel-sk-Is ce[-sk-ut-es cel-sk-ut-Is ce[-sk-ut-Ts cej-s-iitTs
oblique
past active eel-Is cal-us-es cal-us-Ts cal-us-uos -
past - - - - cal-t-Is I cal-t-us
passive
con verb cat-dam-Is cal-dam-uos cal-dam-Is cal-dam-uos -
Prefixed reflexive verbs place the reflexive marker -sa- before the base and use the
same endings as non-reflexive verbs, for example, pl-sa-ciil-us-e (past active participle
feminine singular of plsacelt 'get up').
Participles are used in various functions.
The present active (attributive) participle, present passive participle, past active and
past passive participle are used like adjectives as modifiers of nouns. This function is
most frequently found with passive participles. The present passive participle almost
always carries some additional modal meaning (necessity or possibility).
(71) Nu barn-a kuoj-is asu mTiejuse rakstei-t-tl vuord-u.
from child-G leg-G be:PRS:1 SG love:PAP:F.SG write-PPP-A.SG.DEF word-A
'From early childhood I have loved the written word.' (Sus)
LW/M482
60
LATGALIAN
(72) vadej-u tehnikum-a rokst-iis-us jaui-u literar-0 apvTneib-u
lead:PST-1 SG polytechnic-G write-PAA-G.PL people-G literary-A.DEF union-A
'I was in charge of the polytechnic's literary circle of people interested in writing'
(literally: 'the polytechnic's literary society of writing people') (Sus)
(73) real-i taust-am-uos (dzierd-am-uos, radz-am-uos,
see-PP-L.PL.F reai-ADV touch-PP-L.PL.F hear-PP-L.PL.F
sajyut-am-uos) fft-uos
feei-PP.L.PL.F thing-L.PL
'in things one can touch (hear, see, smell) for real' (OS)
Like adjectives, these participles may also build comparative and adverbial forms, may
be nominalized (for example, cytaiz diimojiisl 'dissidents', literally 'otherwise thinking
(N.PL.M.DEF)' (IS)), and are used in the predicate of copula clauses and as eo-
predicates in verbal clauses. The present active participle is rare in predicate functions,
but constructions like the following can be found in traditional texts:
(7 4) TO ffp-u es atgodoju vej zajoj-os-u.
DEM:A linden-A 1SG remember:PRS:1SG still green[VERB]-PA-A.SG
'I remember this linden tree when it was still in leaf' (Varkava)
As predicates of verbal clauses we find the present and future oblique participles and
both past participles. The latter appear with or without an auxiliary (see 5.3.4 and 6.5
on the oblique, 5.2.6 on compound tenses, 5.3.5 on the passive).
Several forms are used as subordinate predicates: the converb with the suffix -dam-
(used only in this function), the indeclinable present oblique participle, the
indeclinable present passive participle, the past active and past passive participle and
occasionally the future active oblique participle (see 6.3.1).
5.5 Infinitive and supine
Infinitive and supine are both built from the third stem, but the infinitive (ending -ti <
ti) takes the soft shape, the supine (ending -tu) the hard shape of this stem. The
respective reflexive endings are -tisi and -tfis.
gloss Ill stem infinitive supine
' be' byu- byu-ti byu-tu
'go' T- 1-ti 1-tu
'eat' es- - as- es-ti as-tu
' dig' rak- - rok- rak-ti rok-tu
'see' redze- - radza- redze-ti radza-tu
'raise' eel-- eal- eel-ti
cal-tu
'rise' eel- - cal- [ + rfx] cel-t!si
cal-tils
'get up' p1-sa-ee1- - -cal- pT-za-cel-ti p1-za-eal-tu
LATGALIAN
61 LW/M 482
In dialects where a final -u tends to be dropped, the infinitive and the supine are
distinguished only by the opposition soft vs. hard shape (expressed by consonant and
vowel alternation), as in the following examples:
(75) VTn-u reiz-i Polsan-s nO-dOmoj-a T-t vac-os naud-ys rokt.
one-A time-A Polsans-N PFX-think:PST-3 go-1 old-G.SG.F.DEF money-G dig:SUP
'Once Polsans decided to go [and] dig [up] old money.' (Ko)
14
(76) NO-gojs uz zyn-om-0 vTt-u, jis sok-a rakt. [rakti]
PFX-go:PAP:M.SG to know-PP-A.SG.DEF place-A he start:PST-3 dig:l
'He went to a certain place and began to dig. ' (Ko)
The supine is used after verbs of movement associated with a purpose. A direct object
governed by a verb in the supine is in the genitive case and usually precedes the verb,
while a direct object of an infinitive is in the accusative and usually follows the verb:
(77) VTnu drnu beja lets soltums, a rogona izsyuteja borineiti drebu valat. Borineitia,
nOgojusia uz perti, soka viajat driabis un raudot par sovu gryuta dzeivi un
borgo pamoti.
'One day it was very cold, but the witch sent out the orphan to beat clothes. The
orphan girl went to the bath-house and began to beat the clothes and to weep
about her hard life and her cruel stepmother.' (Ko)
(77a) rogon-a iz-syuteja bOrineit-i dreb-u valat [vala:t]
witch-N PFX-send:PST:3 orphan-A cloth-PL.G beat: SUP
(77b) borineit-ia soka viajat driab-is [viceliad]
orphan-N begin:PST:3 beat:INF cloth-PL.A
In modern texts the supine is often replaced by the infinitive, and also in traditional
texts the infinitive is sometimes found instead of the supine.
5.6 Verbal noun
A verbal noun is formed with the suffix -son- followed by the case endings of the
femi nine hard declension. The suffix is attached to the front variant of the third stem
(the alveolar fricati ve [J1 blocks vowel alternation). Examples:
byut ' be' > byusona
it 'go' > lsona
est 'eat' > essona
ce{t 'raise' > cejsona
redzet 'see' > redzesona
14
"Old money" - a treasure that had been burried in ancient times, a frequent topic in Latgalian and
I'.atvian fairy-tales. Ex. (75) and (76) are actuall y from two different tales.
LW/M 482
62
LATGALIAN
Verbal nouns derived from non-prefixed reflexive verbs have special endings. They
lack dative and locative forms . The case-forms of non-prefixed reflexive verbal nouns
are as follows :
singular plural Examples:
NOM -son-uos -son-uos cejtfs ' rise' > cefsonuos
GEN -son-uos -son-us klauseitrs ' listen' > klauseisonuos
ACC -son-us -son-uos
Prefixed reflexive nouns have the reflexive marker -sa- between prefix and base; with
the prefixes iz- and aiz- it melts into iza- and aiza-, respectively:
(78) At-sa-zei-son-a ir cej-5 iz iza-lobuo-son-u. :)
PFX-RFX-know-VN-A be:PRS:3 way-N to PFX:RFX-improve-VN-A
'Acknowledging is a way towards improvement:)' (IS)
The verbal noun is frequently found in both traditional and modern texts. It forms part
of idiomatic expressions. In constructions with the verbal noun, both subject and
direct object of a verb appear as genitive arguments.
(79) Taid-a mal) bej-a juton-e, kod tyma bezmTga nakt-T
such-SG.F 1 SG:D be:PST-3 feeling-N when DEM:L without.sleep night-L
pa-sa-mad-u nu leit-a
PFX-RFX-wake:PST-1SG of rain-G
sis-son-uos pa jumt-u
beat-VN-G:RFX on roof-A
i iudiQ-a sveikstei-son-ys aiz tag-a
and water-G whoosh-VN-G behind window-G
'Such were my feelings when I woke up during this sleepless night from the
rain's beating on the roof and the water's whooshing beyond the window.' (IS)
(80) Tok taid-a trok-a puosok-u skaitei-son-a na-var
PTC such-N.SG.F mad-N.SG.F tale-PL.G read-VN-N NEG-can
palik-t bez sek-u.
stay-i without consequence-G.PL
'However, such mad reading of fairy-tales will not remain without
consequences.' (IS)
LATGALIAN
6. Syntax and discourse
6.1 Phrases and constructions
6.1.1 Noun phrase structure
63 LW/M 482
Determiners, numerals and other quantifiers, adjectives, adjectival participles, and
most noun phrases in the genitive precede the noun they modify. Genitives dependent
on nouns of measurement follow the head (for example gabale!Js maizis 'a small piece
of bread'). Other postmodifiers are noun phrases in the dative and in the locative,
prepositional phrases, infinitives, and finite relative clauses. There is usually only one
ei ther determinating or quantifying modifier in a noun phrase, but there may be several
qualifying (descriptive) modifiers. A preliminary analysis leads to the postulation of
three structural positions for qualifying modifiers (with further research being needed
in this area). Adjectives and adjectival participles appear in all three of these positions,
but show different behaviour with respect to definiteness marking. In the middle
position (QUAL-2 in the table below) the choice between long and short ending
depends on the definiteness of the NP (comparable to the choice between definite and
indefinite article in other languages). Adjectives in position QUAL-3 take the long
ending independently of definiteness; they form a fixed expression together with the
noun (for example socialais statuss 'social status' in (86)). Adjectives in position
QUAL-I are inherently definite; ordinal numbers belong to this group (they may have
short endings, with no influence on the definiteness of the noun phrase). There is
usually only one modifier in the positions QUAL-I and QUAL-3. In position QUAL-2 we
can have several adjectives as well as elaborate participle phrases (non-finite relative
clauses). Examples of noun phrases found in modern texts follow:
DET/QUANT QUAL-1 QUAL-2 QUAL-3 HEAD POSTMOD. EX.
taidi
cylviiki , kuri (81)
atkluoti
struodoj
sev
vlns
naviereigs sufs (82)
m una
meifuokuo stykla kruska (83)
muojeigs gruomotu veikalit}S (84)
pyrmii brlsmeigii vijsonus mflesteibii (85)
pavysam
socialais statuss (86)
cyts
vysu puorejii alfabetu (87)
piideju Jiirmalys vijcini (88)
jaunuo spolgajii
bolsa (89)
gailiina
kotra arheologu
pijskolna Latgolii (90)
izroktii

LW/M 482
64
LATGALIAN
(81) taid-i cylvak-i, kur-i atkluoti
openly
struodoj sev
(82)
(83)
such-N.PL.M person-N.PL REL-N.PL.M
work:PRS:3 self:o
'such persons who openly work for their own good' (OS)
vTn-s
one-N.SG.M
na-viereig-s saj-s
NEG-carefui-N.SG.M.IDF step-N.SG
'one careless step' (VL)
m un-a meij-uak-ua styk/-a
my-N.SG.F dear-COMP-N.SG.F.DEF glass-G.SG
'my favorite glass cup' (cup of glass) (VL)
krusk-a
cup-N.SG
(84) muajeig-s gruamat-u veikal-iQ-5
shop-DIM-N.SG cosy-N.SG.M.IDF book-G.PL
'a cosy bookshop' (Sus)
(85) pyrm-a brfsmeig-a vijsan-as mTiesteib-a
first-A.SG terrible-A.SG.DEF disapointment-A.SG love-L.SG
(I experienced) 'the first terrible disappointment in love' (Sus)
15
(86) pavysam cyt-s sacial-ais status-s
completely other-N.SG.M sociai-N.SG.M.DEF status-N.SG
'a completely different social status' (VL)
(87) vys-u puarej-a alfabet-u
aii-A.SG remaining-A.SG.DEF alphabet-A.SG
(then I wrote down) 'all the rest of the alphabet' (Sus)
(88) padej-0 Jarmal-ys vijcin-i
last-A.SG JOrmala-G train-A.SG
(I took) 'the last JOrmala-bound train' (Sus)
(89) jaun-ua gailan-a spalg-aja bals-a
young-G.SG.M.DEF young.cock-G shriii-L.SG.DEF voice-L
(the chicken started to sing) 'in the shrill voice of a young cock' (IS)
(90) katr-a arhealag-u izrokt-a pijskaln-a Latgal-a
each-L.SG archaeologist-G.PLexcavate:PPP-L.SG.IDF hillfort-L.SG Latgalia-L
'in every hillfort in Latgalia that has been excavated by archaeologists' (VL)
Genitive modifiers are found in positions QUAL-1 and QUAL-3. In the latter case they
are conceptually closer to the noun; they denote characteristics of the referent (stykla
kruska 'glass cup', gruomuotu veikals 'book shop') and do not affect the definiteness
15
The verbal noun vilsoniis, accusative vilsoniis is derived from a reflexive verb (see 5.6).
status of the noun phrase. Genitive modifiers in positiOn QUAL-1 usually denote
possessors and make the noun phrase definite (ex. 89).
Noun phrases may contain chains of genitive modifiers. These are typically found in
names of institutions and in written texts, for example:
(91) vairuak-i
severai-N.PL.M
desmit-i
ten[NOUN]-N.PL
Prterpij-s latgaffsu Muzikalisk-uas bTdreib-ys teatr-a trup-ys
Petersburg-G Latgalian:G.PL musicai-G.SG.F.DEF society-G theatre-G staff-G
akter-u
actor-G.PL
'several dozen actors of [the staff of the theatre of the Latgalians' musical
society of St. Petersburg]' (OS)
In traditional narratives, in contrast, noun phrases are typically short, rarely containing
more than two simple modifiers. In 19th century texts genitive modifiers are
sometimes found after the head. Whether this is the result of interference from Polish
or a genuine characteristic of the older language is a question for further research.
6.1.2 Definiteness
The majority of noun phrases in a text is not marked for definiteness. Only in noun
phrases containing a descriptive adjective in position QUAL-2 do we find a
grammaticalized device for marking definiteness in the choice between long and short
adjectival ending. Noun phrases consisting of a single noun or noun phrases containing
only a modifier in position QUAL-1 can be indefinite or definite. For noun phrases with
a determinating modifier this element, for example, a demonstrative or indefinite
pronoun, marks the definiteness status of the noun phrase (more research is needed
here). The following beginning of a fairytale illustrates the cases just mentioned:
(92) Kaida para mala dzeivojusi divi brali Jezups un Savers. Pi jus bejusia serma
cyuka. VTnu drnu tavs saceja dalym, ka reit jokaun cyuka, ja zrmys laika beja
pTsnidzs tik daudz snTga, ka sermo cyuka soka kopiajat pa jumtym.
'At some edge of a swamp there lived two brothers, Jezups and Savers. They
had a grey pig. One day father told [his] sons that the next day [the] pig had to
be slaughtered, for so much snow had fallen during winter that the grey pig
started to clamber about [the] roofs. (Ko)
The indefinite pronoun kaids 'some; a certain' marks the first noun phrase as
indefinite:
LW/M482
66
LATGALIAN
(93) Kaid-a par-a mol-a
some-L.SG swamp-G.SG edge-L.SG
literally 'at some swamp-edge' => 'somewhere at the edge of a swamp'
The numeral vlns 'one' can have a simi lar effect, as in vlnu dlnu 'one day, on a certain
day' and example (104) below. The next noun phrase, divi broli Jezups un Savers 'two
brothers (called) Jezups and Savers', introduces new referents and therefore appears at
the end of the sentence; it contains no marker of definiteness. Another discourse
referent, the pig, is introduced in this story with a noun phrase containing a descriptive
adjective with an indefinite ending:
(94) Pi jus bejusia serm-a cyuk-a.
at they:G be:PAP:SG.F grey-N.SG.F.IDF pig[F)-N.SG
'They had a grey pig.'
Once introduced, the pig is identifiable in this story, and m later mentions the
descriptive adjective takes the definite ending:
(95) serm-6 cyuk-a soka kopiaja-t pa
grey-N.SG.F.DEF pig[F)-N.SG start:PST:3 clamber-1 about
'the grey pig started to clamber about the roofs'
Without such an adjective, the definiteness status remains unmarked:
(96) reit jo-kaun
tomorrow DES-slaughter
cyuk-a
pig-N
'tomorrow we must slaughter [a/the] pig'
jumt-ym
roof-D.PL
The remaining noun phrases that are contextually definite in this story, denoting the
father, the sons, and the roof, are likewise unmarked, they consist of the bare noun.
As described in 4.2.2, the definite ending is also used when adjectives are norninalized
and denote entities. The following fairytale shows how the functions of norninalization
and definiteness marking may overlap: the two heroes are identified as the rich and the
poor (neighbour) and referred to throughout the story by the adjective with definite
ending, contrasting with the same adjectives with indefinite ending used as
predicates
16
:
(97) Reizi dzeivojusi divi kaimini. VTns bejs bogots, a atrys nabadzeigs. Reizi
bogotais, atgojs da nabogajam, soka, "No mot Ts naudys maklatu, muni daly
Ts, tod tu ari vari riazr ar jim Tt, mat i atrassit." A nabogajs atsoka: "Navajag mal)
va/na naudys, a jo Drvs dos, tod i pa tagu Tsvrss." Bogota daly Tt, Tt un rrauga uz
ceja nDsprogusu suni. A jT sarunoj pajimt to suni nDQast un TsvTst nabogo
ustoba. Kai damots, tai dareits, pajam sun, nanas un Tsvrt ustoba pa tagu.
16
The adjective 'poor' has two variants, nabogs and nabadzeigs.
LATGALIAN
67 LW/M 482
Skandys vTn saskaQ, un suns porsavers par naudu. Nu to laika nabogais palics
bogots.
there were two neighbours. One was rich and the other was poor. Once
the nch [man) went to the poor [man) and said: 'Well , maybe you'll go to
search for money, my sons will go, so you may go with them, maybe you'll find
But the poor [man] answered: "I don't need the devil's money, and
1f God g1ves [money], than he'll throw it through the window." The rich [man]'s
sons went along and on the road they found a dead dog. They agreed to take
this dog and throw it into the hut of the poor [man]. No sooner thought than
done, they took the dog, carried it and threw it through the window into the hut.
A clinking, a clanking, and the dog turned into money. From this time on the
poor [man] was rich.' (Ko)
(98) VTn-s bejs bogot-s,
a Otr-ys nabadzeig-s.
one-N. SG.M be:PAP:SG.M rich-N.SG.M.IDF
and second-N.SG.M poor-N.SG.M.IDF
'One was rich and the other was poor.'
(99) Reizi bogot-ais, atgojs da nabog-aj-am, soka
once rich-N.SG.M.DEF come:PAP:SG.M to poor-DEF-D.SG.M say:PRS:3
'Once the rich [man] came to the poor [man] and said'
(1 00) Nu to la,k-a b na og-ats palics bogot-s.
from DEM:G.SG.M time-G poor-N.SG.M.DEF become:PAP:SG.M . h ne -N.SG.M.IDF
'From this time the poor [man] has been rich.'
This story also contains an example of the definite pronoun tys 'that, this' used in a
noun phrase denoting a referent that has been introduced before and is therefore
identifiable:
(1 01) Trauga uz cej-a nusprogus-u sun-i
see:PRS:3 on road-G dead-A.SG.M.IDF dog-A.SG
'they found a dead dog on the road'
(1 02) A jT sarunoj pajim-t tii sun-i
PTC they agree:PRS:3 take-1 DEM:A.SG dog-A.SG
'And they agreed to take this dog'
The use of tys in this function is common enough in narratives, but it does not go as far
as in Latvian, where it begins to grammaticalize into a definite article (cf. Nau 1998:
22-23 for Latvian examples).
The use of the indefinite pronoun kaids ' some' or the numeral vTns 'one' in noun
phrases introducing a new referent in a narrative is rare in UP but quite often found in
Ko. Compare the following variants of a typical beginning of fairytales:
~ W M 4 8 2
:1 03) Bieja taw-am trejs
be:PST:3 father-D.SG three
'A father had three sons' (UP)
68
dal-i
son-N.PL
( 1 04) VTn-am ta v-am
one-D.SG father-o.sG
beja trejs dal-i.
be:PST:3 three son-N.PL
'A father had three sons' (Ko)
LATGALIAN
These examples show the most typical word order for such introductory clauses, but
there are also other variants: a noun phrase containing vlns 'one' may also follow the
verb, and a noun phrase without determiner may also stand at the beginning of the
clause.
6.1.3 Syntax of cardinal number or other quantifier + noun
There are several models for the combi nation of a cardinal numeral with a noun that is
counted, and the association of a class of numerals with a certain model is a matter of
much variation.
Numerals with agreement markers (referring to numbers from 1 to 9, also as last part
of a compound, as divdesmit plci ' twenty five' etc.) act as modifiers of the noun and
agree with it in gender and case. The position of the numeral in the noun phrase is
QUALl. Cardinal numerals have only short endings and are neutral with respect to
definiteness. The indeclinable forms for '2' and '3' behave syntactically in the same
way. Examples follow:
(105) aiz septev-u aizslag-t-u durov-u
behind seven-G close-PPP-G.PL door-G.PL
'behind seven closed doors' (IS)
(1 06) piec pTc-Tm
after five-o.M
'i n five years' (OS)
(1 07) ap ses-om
about six-D.F
god-Tm
year[M]-D.PL
stuQd-em vokor-a
hour[F]-D.PL evening-L
'at about six o'clock in the evening' (IS)
For vlns '1' this rule always works, but for the words for numbers from 2 to 9 there are
two alternatives. First, numeral and noun may be marked nominative (masculine for
the numeral) in syntactic functions which otherwise demand accusative (sometimes
also other cases). This model is often found in traditional texts; in modern texts it is
attested mostly in adverbials of extension instead of accusative (' how long', ' how
far').
(1 08) Kaid-s satdat-s, nO-dTnejs divdesmit pic-i god-y,
PIDF-M.N soldier-N PFX-serve:PAP:M.SG twenty five-N year-PL.N
goj-a uz sat-u.
go:PST-3 to home-A
'A soldier, who had served in the army for twenty five years, was on his way
home.' (Ko)
Second, in traditional texts numeral and noun are sometimes marked genitive (plural)
in syntactic functions which otherwise demand accusative or nominative. Genitive
plural of nouns is also found with compound numerals in modern texts.
(1 09) Tod valn-s dabov-a
then devii-N get:PST-3
deveif)-U buc-u -
nine-G barrei-G.PL
aizdiadzia un svTd-ia.
light:PST:3 and fling:PST:3
'Then the devil got nine barrels- he set them on fire and flung them.' (Ko)
(11 0) Jupiter-am ir sesdesmit treis pavodiif)U
Jupiter-o be:PRS:3 sixty three satellite:G.PL
'Jupiter has sixty three moons' (Bic)
With the indeclinable words desmit '1 0' and compounds with desmit and padsmit, as a
rule the noun is in the genitive in syntactic functions that demand the nominative or
the accusative (but not the dative or the locative).
(111 ) Paguojus-a god-a sa-guoja desmit broi/er-u.
lasH year-L PFX-go:PST:3 ten chicken-G.PL
'Last year the outcome was ten chickens.' (IS)
(1 12) Daleib-ys moks-a ir picpadsmit lat-u
participation-G fee-G be:PRS:3 fifteen lat-G.PL
'the participation fee is fifteen lats' (IS)
(113) iza-cej augst-a pij-s ar divpadsmit tiirn-im
PFX:RFX-raise:PRS:3 high-N.SG.F castle-N with twelve tower-D.PL
'a high castle with twelve towers arises' (IS)
However, the nominative and the accusative also appear after these numerals,
especially in those cases where the noun phrase contains a modifier with agreement
marker:
(114) lnteresejos par to jau kaid-us 10 god-us
be.i nterested:PRS:1SG about DEM:A.SG PTC some-A.PL.M 10 year-A.PL
'I have already been interested in this for about 10 years.' (IS)
Symts 'hundred' and tyukstusa 'thousand' are heads of a noun phrase, they show the
respective case assigned to the noun phrase and govern the genitive plural of the noun
expressing what is counted.
LW/M 482 70
(115} PTterburg-a pyrms symt-a god-u
Petersburg-N before hundred-G.SG year-G.PL
Latgol-ys i latgaffsu gaism-ys pijsat-a.
Latgalia-G and Latgalian:G.PL light-G city-N
beja
be:PST:3
LATGALIAN
'One hundred years ago St. Petersburg was the city of light (= a centre of
education) for Latgalia and the Latgalians.' (IS}
The forms symts and symtu 'hundred' are also used as indeclinable forms, in which
case their syntactic behaviour is that of indeclinable numerals like desmit 'ten'. A
similar behaviour is also observed with indeclinable quantifiers such as puors 'couple',
daudz(i) 'much, a lot of', moz 'little, few'. In functions demanding the dative or the
locative, the quantifier does not influence the choice of case:
(116} antologej-a [ ... ] nOpierk-am-a puors veikat-as
anthology-N buy-PP-SG.F couple shop-L.PL
'the anthology can be bought in a couple of shops" (IS)
In functions demanding nominative or accusative the quantifier governs the genitive.
(117) Ak jau byu-s
PTC be-FUT(3)
tikai
only
puors trok-Os
couple crazy-G.PL.M.DEF
'There surely will be only a couple of fools' (IS)
(118) Es
I
crsi gryba-tu
very.much want-sus
rsavuicei-t
learn-1
koc puors vuord-u bab-ys vo/Od-a.
if.only couple word-G.PL granny-G language-L
'I really want to learn at least a couple of words in granny's language.' (IS)
However, nominative and accusative are also found with quantifiers, especially when
there are modifiers with agreement markers in the noun phrase:
(119) lai var sapras-t tuos puors vrt-ys
PTC can:PRS:3 understand-! DEM:A.PL.F couple place[F]-A.PL
'in order to be able to understand those few passages' (of a film) (IS)
Of the quantifiers mentioned above, puors '(a) couple (of)' is the most frequent. It
always combines with nouns in the plural, while daudz(i) 'much, a lot of' is used with
singular and plural nouns (daudz dorba 'much work', daudz cylviiku 'a lot of people').
There is also a declinable word (adjective) daudz-i, daudz-ys 'many' with plural
adjectival endings, both indefinite and definite. Like other adjectives, this word agrees
with the head noun in gender, number and case, and is preferred in noun phrases in the
dative and the locative.
The variation in constructions with cardinal numerals deserves further investigation.
6.1.4 Prepositional phrases
In traditional texts only prepositions are found, there being no postpositions. The
cognate of the Latvian postposition del 'for, because of' (Standard Latgalian de/) is
used only as a preposition, for example def tuo 'therefore' (compare Latvian tiideJ
' therefore'). In modern texts de/ is found both as a preposition and a postposition, for
example karjerys del (IS) 'because of (my) career, for (my) career', de/ skofnlkim
(VL) 'for pupils', tuo def (IS) I del tuo (VL) 'therefore'. If used as a postposition, the
genitive is always used in both numbers (as in Latvian).
The cases governed by prepositions are the genitive, accusative (including former
instrumental), and the dative for singular noun phrases, and the genitive and dative
(including former instrumental) for plural noun phrases. No preposition governs the
locative. The different case assignment according to number is a result of a
restructuring following the merging of the instrumental with the accusative in the
singular and the dative in the plural. In Latvian this process has led to a state where all
prepositions govern the dative in the plural, regardless of the case governed in the
singular. Latgalian has not gone that far, but variation in case assignment in traditional
and modern texts show that the process is still active. As a rule, prepositions governing
the accusative in the singular govern dative in the plural, while prepositions governing
the genitive are used most often with this case in both numbers; however, the dative is
found with plural noun phrases with increasing frequency. Several examples of
prepositions with plural noun phrases can be found in the previous section (6.1.3). The
following two examples are taken from two different authors of which one (IS) almost
always uses the genitive in both numbers, while the other (VL) consistently uses dative
in the plural with all preposition:
(120) Nu tav-a muot-is pus-is,
from father-G.SG and mother-G.SG side-G.SG
nu divej-u dzed-u divej-u bab-u,
from two-G grandfather-G.PL and two-G grandmother-G.PL
nu cetr-u prodzed-u cetr-u probab-u
from four-G greatgrandfather-G.PL and four-G greatgrandmother-G.PL
'from the side of my father and my mother, from two grandfathers and two
grandmothers, from four greatgrandfathers and four greatgrandmothers' (IS)
(121) nu televizej-is, radej-is, gazet-om i iurnal-im
from television-G.SG radio-G.SG newspaper-D.PL and journai-D.PL
'from television, radio, newspapers and journals' (VL)
Prepositions governing the genitive are most numerous and include: aiz 'behind', bez
'without', da '(up) to' (also used with dative), de/ 'for', iz 'on', nu 'from, of', pi 'at',
plec 'after', pyrms 'before', zam 'under'.
LW/M482
72
LATGALIAN
Prepositions governing the accusative in the singular include: ap ' about, around, by',
ar 'with', pa ' by, along', par 'about', pret 'against', iz/uz ' to' .
A preposition governing the dative in the singular is pa (with different uses than pa
with accusative), mostly found in idiomatic constructions as pa munam ' in my eyes',
pa ratam 'rarely', pa eistam 'for real', ik pa pusgodam 'every six months'. The
preposition da '(up) to' is used with the dative in some regions and by some individual
speakers, but more often it is used with the genitive.
6.1.5 Comparison
In constructions with the comparative form of adjectives or adverbs there are different
ways to mark the standard of comparison:
kai (basic meaning 'as'): most frequent marker in UP, rarely used in Modern Standard
Latgalian
(122) es tagad biediejg-ok-s, kaj biej-u sieni-ok!
1 SG now poor-COMP-N.SG.M.IDF than be:PST-1 SG early(ADV)-COMP
'I am poorer now than I was before!' (UP)
na (basic meaning negation): frequent in traditional texts, is rarely found in Modern
Latgalian
( 123) rejt-s byu-s gudr-ok-s na wokor-s
morning-N be-FUT(3) wise-COMP-N.SG.M.IDF than evening-N
'The morning will be wiser than the evening.' (UP)
(124) sieni-ok bieja ciszi daiJdi kienini-u, wajrok na
early(ADV)-COMP be:PST:3 very much king-G.PL more than
'in earlier times there were very many kings, more than today' (UP)
tagad!
today
nakai (= na + kai): frequent in modern Latgalian, is found less in traditional texts (not
in UP)
(125) "Sadarina-s-im, ka jius-u sTv-ys ir
bet-FUT-1 PL that 2PL-G wife-PL.N be:PRS:3
paklauseig-ok-is nakai mun-a."
obedient-COMP-N.PL.F.I DF than my-N.SG.F
'Let's bet that your wives are more obedient than mine.' (Ko)
( 126) Mat) jau ruodis, ka bierneib-a vairuok
1 SG:o PTC appear:PRS:3 that childhood-L more
skaitiej-u nakai
read:PST-1SG than
runuoj-u
talk:PST-1SG
'lt even seems to me that as a child I read more than I talked.' (Sus)
par (basic meaning 'over, about'
17
): frequently found only in contemporary texts
(probably under the influence of Standard Latvian)
(1 27) Paslapyl) nOglobuo-t-s nDITg-t-s eilyn-s ir
secretly keep-PPP-N.SG.M and deny-PPP-N.SG.M awi-N be:PRS:3
beistam-uok-s par sauv-e tura-t-u naz-i
dangerous-COMP-N.SG.M than palm-L hold-PPP-A.SG.M knife-A
'An awl kept secretly and denied is more dangerous than a knife held in the
hand.' (IS)
In the superlative construction the emphatic pronoun pats is often posed before an
adjective with comparative suffix and definite ending; pats and the adjective are
inflected for the same agreement categories (except for definiteness, which is inherent
in the pronoun):
(1 28) Kas Tov-a dzeiv-e ir pat-s svareig-uok-ais?
what:N your-L.SG life-L be:PRS:3 EMPH-N.SG.M important-COMP-N.SG.M.DEF
'What is the most important (thing) in your life?' (Sus)
This construction is frequently found in both traditional and contemporary texts.
Another construction, available with both adjectives and adverbs, uses forms of the
pronoun vyss 'all': vysu (gen.pl.), nu vysu 'of all (pi)', par vysu ' over all (sg.)', par
vysim 'over all (pi.)'. Before adverbs, and in the modern language also before
adjectives, these forms are shortened to vys, which becomes first a particle, then a
prefix
18

biej-a skajst-ok-a (129) par
over
wys-im
aii-D.PL.M be:PST-3 beautifui-COMP-N.SG.F.IDF and
driab-is nu wys-u
cloth-N.PL of aii-G.PL
szmuk-ok-ys jej
pretty-comp-N.PL.F.IDF she:o
biej-a
be:PST-3
'she was the most beautiful among them (lit.: more beautiful than all) and she
had the prettiest clothes (lit.: prettier of all)' (UP; note the use of indefinite
endings, typical for this text)
17
This preposition also has some of the meanings of English for (Latin pro), for example in contrast to
'agai nst' , or in 'to vote for ', 'to fight for' or ' in exchange for'. It thus partly overlaps with the
meanings of Lithuanian uz (but does not share the local meaning ' behind', nor the temporal 'after '),
which is commonly used in comparative constructions.
18
Note that the construction vis+stem+comp+definite ending is the most frequent means of forming
the superlative in Latvian, which certainly favors the spread of thi s construction in Modern Latgalian.
LW/M482
74
LATGALlAN
(130} Tai kai jaun-ok-6 miait-ia at-skriaj-a vys dreii-ok,
so as young-comp-N.F.DEF daughter-N PFx-run:PST-3 PTC soon-caMP
tod ari naud-a pTdariaj-a jaun-Ok-os miait-ys veir-am.
then also money-N belong:PST-3 young-coMP-G.F.DEF daughter-G husband-o
'As the youngest daughter had come running soonest, the money belonged to
the husband of the youngest daughter.' (Ko)
In both traditional and modern texts superlative meaning is often not specially marked.
In the modern language (like in modern Latvian), adjectives with the comparative
suffix and definite ending are used as superlatives as in the following example; in
traditional texts, the definite ending is found most often with the words 'young' and
' old', as in the previous example 'the youngest daughter'.
(131) Lel-uok-ii Tspaid-u pamat-us-e Regin-ys Ezer-ys "Nodevrba"
big-COMP-A.SG.DEF impression-A leave-PAP-F.SG Regina-G Ezera-G (title)
'Regina Ezera's novel "Nodevfua" has left the greatest impression (on me)'
(Sus)
Also the comparative form of adverbs without furher marking can be understood as
superlative:
(132) Wajaga win-u ap-as-t', - klik-s-im,
need:PRS:3 one-A PFX-eat-1 scream-FUT-1 PL
kas
who:N
cisz-ok ajza-klik-s, tu
hard-COMP PFX:RFX-scream-FUT(3) DEM:A.SG
pa priszku
first(ADV)
es-s-im!"
eat-FUT-1 PL
'We have to eat one [of us]. Let's scream, and whoever will scream out harder
(=the hardest, of a group of more than two) will be the one we'll eat.' (UP)
6.1.6 Coordination
Words, phrases and clauses are coordinated most often by using conjunctions or
connective particles. The same elements are often also used as focus particles, and
many of them are borrowed. There are several largely synonymous connectors,
di stributed according to regional and individual preferences:
' and' i, un, da, da i
' but' a, bet, da, no
'or' voi, ci; aba (in older texts)
In traditional texts we find two further means for the coordination of words and
phrases: juxtaposition and the use of the preposition ar ' with'. The latter is used most
often for natural coordination, the paradigm example is 'father and mother' = 'parents'
(there is no traditional simple expression for 'parents' in Latgalian). Compare the
following variants of typical beginnings of fairytales:
LATGALIAN 75
(133} Dzeivova tav-s un mot-ia,
live:PST:3 father-N and mother-N
jim beja vrn-a
they:o be:PST:3 one-N.SG.F
moz-a
little-N.SG.F
miait-iQ-a.
daughter-DIM-N
LW/M482
'Once upon the time there was a couple who had a little daughter.' (Ko)
(134) Dzeivoja tav-s, mot-e un jim beja trejs dal-y.
live:PST:3 father-N mother-N and they:o be:PST:3 three son-N.PL
'Once upon the time there was a couple who had three sons.' (Ko)
(135) Dziejwoja tau-s ar mot-i bieja jim dai-s
live:PST:3 father-N with mother-A and be:PST:3 they:o son-N.SG
'Once upon the time there was a couple who had a son' (UP)
The construction with the preposition ar 'with' is treated as a plural noun phrase with
respect to agreement:
(136) Un viac-eit-ia ar sov-u miait-i
daughter-A.SG and old.woman-DIM-N.SG with RPO-A.SG
fJU beja vysod paad-us-is.
now be:PRS:3 always eat.one's.fiii-PAP-PL.F
'And from that time on the old woman and her daughter always had enough to
eat.' (Ko)
The connective i 'and' (in older texts also its synonym un) is also used in a bisyndetic
construction, where it is put in front of each of the coordinartts (i X i Y). This
construction contains a notion of emphasis. It is often found with more than two
coordinants, and for the last coordinant another connective may be used.
(137) Dzeivoja
Jl laimeig-i,
live:PST:3 they:N happy-ADV
beja jim portyk-as, i apvolk-a
be:PST:3 they:o and food-G.SG and cloth-G.SG
'They lived happily, they had food as well as clothes' (Ko)
(138) Tei pTdDd jam dreb-es del jiuz-u,
she give:PRS:3 he:o and cloth-G.SG for trousers[PL]-G
i gal-is, i maiz-is, i naud-ys.
and meat-G.SG and bread-G.SG and money-G.SG
'She gave him cloth for trousers and meat and bread and money.' (Ko;
emphasis: "she gave him everything")
(139) 1 ronuos
i/uzej-a, ka
tu vari tai moment-a
and arise:PST:3
illusion-N
that 2SG can:PRS:2SG DEM:L.SG.F moment-1
LW/M482 76
cylvak-us uorste-t, ; tutbol-a
and human-A.PL cure-1 and footbaii-G
da i par ministr-u
and for minister-A
byu-t.
be-1
LATGALIAN
komand-u trene-t,
team-A train-1
'And the illusion arises that at this moment you are able to cure people, to train
a football team, and (even) to be minister.' (VL)
6.2 Clause structure
6.2.1 Clause types and case assignment
Different structural types of clauses may be distinguished along the following
parameters:
(a) whether the predicate is a lexical verb, the existential verb byut 'be' , or a non-
verbal lexical element (with or without a verbal copula);
(b) whether the primary core argument is a nominative subject or a dative-marked
argument; a third rather small group is formed by clauses without primary core
argument.
The types distinguished by these criteria show differences with respect to agreement
marking and behavioural properties of the primary core argument and case marking in
negated clauses.
Word order in simple sentences is pragmatically governed, the basic rule being "topic
before comment". There are no syntactic restrictions, in principle any constituent may
be topic and thus precede other constituents. Some constituents are however more
likely to be topics. Details will be given in the following subsections.
6.2.1.1. Verbal clauses with a nominative subject
Most verbs in Latgalian combine with a nominative subject. Depending on the verb-
form there is agreement between subject and predicate with respect to either
person&number or number and gender; some verb-forms don' t have agreement
markers. The subject may be omitted if it is recoverable from the context; first person
subjects are often omitted. Otherwise clauses without an overt subject and the finite
verb in 3rd person form have a general reading of 'human actor' (as English one) . This
is a technique for agent defocussing functionally equivalent to the passive, with which
it may be combined in one sentence.
(140) Kod roksta par ap katuoju fft-om, cytu reiz
when write:PRS:3 about and around Catholic matter-D.PL sometimes
ari teik izmontuo-t-a latgaffsu rokst-u vo/Od-a.
also AUX:PRS:3 use-PPP-F.SG Latgalian writing-G.PL language-N
'When [someone] writes about and around Catholic matters, the Latgalian
written language is also sometimes used.' (VL)
(141) Ar mel-i nakaun vaira jauiu kai ar zObyn-u
with tounge-A kiii:PRS:3 more people:G.PL than with sword-A
'One kills more people with the tongue than with the sword.' // 'More people are
killed by tongue than by sword.' (IS)
An overtly expressed subject is often the topic and therefore the first argument in
linear order. It controls the reflexive pronouns (see 4.4.1) and the dam-converb (see
6. 3.1). The nominative subject of an active clause is deleted in the passive construction
(see 5.3.5 and 6.2.1.6) and becomes a dative argument in the debitive construction (see
5.3. 3 and 6.2.1.6). Direct objects are marked accusative or genitive. They are
promoted to nominative subjects in the passive construction and become nominative
arguments in the debitive construction (see 5.3.3, 5.3.5, 6.2.1.6). Other core
arguments found with verbs with a nominative subject are noun phrases in the dative,
noun phrases in the locative, prepositional phrases, infinitival and finite complement
clauses.
The least marked word-order in transitive clauses is SVO.
The choice between accusative and genitive for direct objects depends on a variety of
factors and needs further investigation. Here, only some general observations will be
made and typical examples will be given.
Lexical genitive: Some verbs with nominative subjects may select genitive objects
independently of other factors. Examples are meklet 'search, look for', gaideit and
sagaideit 'wait (for)', gribet 'want', prase it 'ask for', klauseit 'listen to, obey'.
However, the same verbs are also found with objects marked accusative (note that in
Latvian the equivalents of these verbs govern accusative). Examples with genitive
marking include:
(142) Sudil) pTc-Ds nu
today five-L.PL of
reit-a stuovieju vqan-u
morning-G stand:PST: 1 SG Vifani-G
gaidieju vijcil)-a.
Wait: PST: 1 SG trai n-G
staceja i
station-Land
'This morning at five o'clock I was standing at the station of ViJani and was
waiting for the train.' (IS)
(143) Taipat kai pi uobej-u kast-is, kur meklej
same as at apple-G.PL box-G where search:PRS:3
tuo vTn-a, sov-a.
DEM:G.SG.M one-G.M RPO-G.SG.M
'it's like standing in front of a box of apples, where you are looking for the very
one that will be right for you.' (IS)
LW/M 482
(144) Ka
if
gribi ilyugum-a,
want:PRS:2SG invitation-G
78
vys-s, kas Tev juo-dora-
aii-N WH:N 2SG:D DEB-dO
pareizi juo-atbijd iz 3 vaicuojum-u.
right:ADV DEB-answer to 3 question-G.PL
LATGALlAN
'If you want an invitation, all you have to do is to answer correctly 3 questions.'
(IS)
Some reflexive verbs govern a genitive object that does not have the characteristics of
direct objects (behaviour in passive and debitive constructions), for example beitzs
'fear, be afraid of' . With these verbs accusative marking is not found, instead, the
genitive competes with a prepositional phrase (beitzs nu ' be afraid of').
Genitive of negation: Objects marked accusative in affirmative clauses receive
genitive marking when the clause is negated. This is the norm for the standard
language, but is not always followed in actual texts.
(145) Voi na-zynat viestur-is?
QU NEG-know:PRS:2PL history-G
'Don't you know the history?' (OS)
(146} Piec tehnikuma beigsonys piec nusyutiejuma braucu struoduot iz Rezeknis
sovhozu, a tT mane napijeme, kai izzynova, ka mani Tsauks dinet armeja.
Atsagrfzu iz tehnikumu, i mani pijeme dorba par laukstruodnTku augjkupeibys
brigade.
'After finishing studies at the polytechnic I went after BEING orderED to work at
the Sovhoz of Rezekne, but they didn't accept me [genitive] there when they
heard that I would be called into the army. I returned to the polytechnic and they
accepted me [accusative] as an agricultural worker in the fruit-growing brigade.'
(Sus, OS)
Genitive of indefinite quantity: Mass nouns as direct objects often appear with
. . ki 19
gemtlve mar ng :
(147) par to naud-u pT-perk soj-a, maiz-is,
for DEM:A money-A PFX-buy:PRS:3 salt-G bread-G
pT-vard gal-is un dzeivoj nedeli
PFX-cook:PRS:3 meat-G and live:PRS:3 week-A
'for this money he bought salt and bread, cooked meat and lived on it for a
week' (Ko)
19
Note that in these examples the verb selecting a direct object has a prefix whi ch also indicates
coll ectivity of objects. The interplay of verbal prefixes and case marking of obj ects needs further
investigation.
LAluALlAI'i /';I L VV /l.Vl ~ O L
(148} PT-vuoreja keisej-a i caj-a vys-i dzeiv-i palyka.
PFX-cook:PST:3 jelly-G.SG and tea-G.SG and aii-N.PL alive-N.PL stay:PST:3
(before there was modern medication) 'They prepared jellies [from certain
berries] and [herbal] teas and everybody stayed alive.' (KurS)
Also plural objects appear with genitive marking in the meaning of indefinite quantitiy
or when only part of the designated group is affected by the action:
(149) Tik gord-Os bffQ-U iz-capuse.
SO delicious-G.PL.M.DEF pancake-G.PL PFX-bake:PAP:SG.F
'[Grandma] had made such delicious pancakes.' (KurS)
Genitive with non-finite verb-forms: If the verb is in the supine, a direct object is
usually in the genitive (see 5.5). Also with infinitives used instead of the supine after
verbs of movement genitive marking is found as an alternative to accusative
marking
20
, for example:
(150) Jei aizguoja iz k/avu da-cierp-t padej-Os vusk-u.
she go.out:PST:3 to barn-A PFX-shear-1 last-G.PL sheep-G.PL
'She went out to the barn in order to shear the last sheep.' (KurS)
A case probably related is genitive marking of objects of infinitives as complements of
the verb gribet 'want', again competing with accusative marking (cf. the variants 152
and 153 from the same text; the variation in case assignment is not provoked by the
different forms of the verb 'want'):
(151) voi tuo Tu gribi dabuo-t?
QU DEM:G 2SG want:PRS:2SG get-1
'Is that what you want to get?' (IS}
(1 52) Jis sulej tieu
he promise:PRS:3 2SG:o
miejtu,
daughter-A
a grib toii-ys dwiasial-is dabo-t'!
but want:PRS:3 your-G soui-G get-1
'He promises you his daughter, but he wants to get your soul!' (genitive) (UP)
(153) a tieu byus stikti, ka gribieszkys toii-u dwiasia/-i pa-jemt!
but 2SG be:FUT:3 bad:ADV as want:FAP:M.SG your-A soui-G PFX-take-1
(she said) 'it will be bad for you, he will want'to take your soul' (accusative) (UP)
20
Bukss (Bukss & Placinskis 1973: 296) holds that it is the meaning of the construction, not the form
of the verb (supine) that triggers genitive marking. He also includes cases like atnest maizes 'to bring
bread (genitive)' into the group "verbs denoting going after something or bringing something" ("verbi,
kas izsoka TSonu pec kaut k6 voi kaut ko atnessonu", ibd.), which could as well be explained as
pattiti ves.
LW/M482
80
LATGALIAN
6.2.1.2. Verbal clauses with a primary dative argument
Several verbs select a dative argument as the primary core argument. These verbs
denote states, often emotions, where the dative expresses the experiencer: maiJ pateik
'I like' (lit. "me pleases"), maiJ suop 'hurts me', maiJ gribzs 'I desire, I like to have',
ma!J vajag 'I must, need; it is necessary for me', maiJ (pl)tryukst 'I miss; is lacking',
ma!J pzteik ' I have enough', maiJ ruoduos 'I think, it seems to me'. The dative
argument is usually the topic and thus the first argument in unmarked word-order. It
may control reflexive pronouns, as in the following example(= 26):
(154) Mal) hroniski tryukst sov-ys sat-ys.
1 SG:D chronically lack:PRS:3 RPO-F.G home-G
'I'm missing my home all the time.' (IS)
Just like nominative subjects, these datives are often omitted if the experiencer is the
speaker or the addressee or otherwise clearly recoverable from the context. In other
cases, the omission of the dative argument, just as omission of a nominative subject,
gives a 'general human actor' reading. The functional similarity of nominative subjects
and datives as primary core arguments can further be demonstrated by sentences where
both types of clauses are combined:
(155) Gondreiz voi saTt- ka eistyn kuo gribi tuo
almost PTC happen:PRS:3 if really WH:G want:PRS:2SG and DEM:G
tyma sajt-r vajag, iys pisapylda i ir.
DEM:L moment-L need:PRS:3 DEM:N come.true:PRS:3 and be:PRS:3
'lt almost comes to this- if [you (nom.)] really want something and [you (dat.)]
need it at that moment, it comes true and exists.' (IS)
With respect to further arguments verbs with a dative experiencer vary. With patikt
'please/like' and suopet 'hurt' the stimulus is expressed by a nominative argument
which has the marking properties of a subject (case, agreement). Constructions with
these verbs are thus a border case between the two major types of verbal clauses
distinguished here. With other verbs we find variation in case marking of the argument
expressing the stimulus. Genitive marking as in ex. (156) - (158) seems to be most
common, but it competes with accusative and nominative marking.
(156) Cisi jau gribis gaism-ys mir-a.
very PTC desire:PRS:3 light-G and peace-G
'[I] much desire light and peace.' (VL, the clause is a quotation)
(157) A vajdeib-a kffdz, ka tryukst naud-ys
PTC government-N shout:PRS:3 that lack:PRS:3 money-G
'But the government laments that [they] lack money I that money is lacking'
(OS)
LATGALIAN
(158) Ka maf) juo
that 1 SG:D he:G
81 LW/M482
idej-u na-vajag,
idea-G.PL NEG-need:PRS:3
ka maf) pos-am plan-u piteik iz desmit dzeiv-em.
that 1 SG:D EM PH-D plan-G.PL be.enough:PRS:3 to ten life-D.PL
That I don't need his ideas, that I myself have plans enough for ten lives.' (VL)
With vajag 'need' accusative marking is found rather often in modem texts, though
genitive marking (the suggested norm for Standard Latgalian) seems to be still more
common; note that the accusative is used with this verb in Latvian.
Several of these verbs may also take verbal complements- infinitives or finite clauses.
A direct object contained in an infinitive complement again shows variation in case
marking between the genitive and the accusative. With vajag 'need' genitive marking
of a direct object in a complement clause (159) is suggested as the norm of the
standard language; nominative marking is attested in dialects (Cibu}s & Leikuma
2003: 83). However, in modem texts one most often finds accusative marking (161),
even with negated objects (162).
(159} Vajag atras-t skaiteituoj-a, kas spiej,
need:PRS:3 find-1 PTC read er-G WH:N be.able:PRS:3
muok gryb skaitei-t /atgaliski.
be.able:PRS:3 and want:PRS:3 read-1 Latgalian:ADV
(it's not enough to write in Latgalian.) 'One has to find also a reader[= genitive]
who is able and knows how to read in Latgalian and wants to do it.' (IS)
(160) a itii vajdeib-u vag atlais-t
PTC DEM:A government-A need:PRS:3 suspend-1
myusus
and 1PL:A
vys-us apsau-t
aii-A.PL shoot-1
(someone working at the tax office shouted out:) 'one has to suspend this
government[= accusative] and shoot down all of us[= accusative]' (OS)
(161) I vyspuor, ir loba tradiceja, par kuru runova vej Valdis Zeps,
ka
that
vitvuord-us na-vajag
place.name-A.PL NEG-need:PRS:3
tulkuo-t,
translate-1
'In general, it is a good tradition, Valdis Zeps still talked about it, that one
doesn't have to I should not translate place names[= accusative]' (VL)
6.2.1.3. Existential and possessive clauses
Existential clauses differ from verbal as well as non-verbal clauses with respect to
subject properties. The existential verb is by ut 'be'. It most often appears in the third
person, where it has several variants: ir, irii, iraid(a), negated nav, navii, navaida and
others. Under certain circumstances the verb may be omitted.
LW/M 482
82
LATGALIAN
The subject usually belongs to the comment and thus follows the verb. In affirmative
clauses without quantification it is marked nominative; with a quantifier or in negated
clauses it is marked genitive:
(162) lr cylvak-i, kur-i kota jaun-u
be:PRS:3 person-PL REL-PL.N IDF:A new:A
pataisa es-t
make:PRS:3 eat-1
piec recept-em.
after recipe-D.PL
'There are people who prepare new kinds of food following recipes' (VL)
(163) Cisi moz ir cylvak-u, kur-i prot
very few be:PRS:3 person-G.PL REL-N.PL know:PRS:3
/atga/Tsu rokst-u vo!Od-u
Latgalian writing-G.PL language-A
'There are very few people who know the Latgalian written language[= who
know how to write in the Standard language].' (VL)
(164) navaida ni-vTn-ys masyn-ys, a jis stuov gaida
NEG:be:PRS:3 NEG-one-G car-G but he stand:PRS:3 and wait:PRS:3
'there isn't a single car (on the road), but he stands and waits (at the traffic
light)' (VL)
(165) Parto ka sajtim ruodis-
for that sometimes seem:PRS:3
kuo nav teikl-a, tuo nav pasaui-T.
WH:G NEG:be:PRS:3 net-L DEM:G NEG:be:PRS:3 PTC world-L
'For sometimes it seems- what's not on the Net, isn't in the world.' (IS)
(166) Taid-u gadiQ-u nava daudz, no ira.
SUCh-G.PL case-G.PL NEG:be:PRS:3 much but be:PRS:3
'There are not many such cases, but they do exist.' (VL)
In the last two examples the subject is the topic and appears before the verb.
The debitive construction turns the subject into a dative:
(167) Sok, ka jau es to izdomuoju, tam ir juo-byut.
PTC if PTC DEM:A invent:PST:1 SG DEM:D be:PRS:3 DEB-be
'Like, if I invented it, it has to exist.' (IS)
The existential verb is sometimes omitted when the clause contains a quantifier (daudz
' much, a lot of', moz 'little, few', gona 'enough') or the negative particle na:
(168) Dziji sirdi asu optimists i idealists, parto pasau/i grybatu izkruosuot dzaltonu-
jima jau tai
3SG:L PTC PTC
palakum-a
grayness-G and
dryumum-a gona,
somberness-G enough
a saul-is, gaism-ys i syltum-a na-var byu-t par daudz.
but sun-G light-G and warmth-G NEG-can:PRS:3 be-1 too much
'Deep in my heart 1 am an optimist and idealist, therefore I want to paint the
world in yellow- there is already enough grayness and somberness in it, and
there can't be too much sun, light, and warmth.' (Sus)
(169) Kab na vusk-u i Raibal-is, zam pensej-is din-ys
if NEG sheep-G.PL and Raibale-G under retirement-G day-G
skn-tu pa pasaul-i kai Kapust-Tn-e.
run-sus around world-A as Kapusts-DERI-N
'If the sheep and [the cow] Raibale weren't there[= if she hadn't the sheep and
the cow], being retired she would dash around the world like Mrs. Kapusts.'
(KurS)
There is no verb ' to have' in Latgalian. The possessive construction is based on the
existential construction, with the possessum in the nominative or the genitive (in the
case of quantification or negation). The possessor is expressed by an argument in the
dative that often is the topic and thus preceeds the verb and may control reflexive
pronouns (see 4.4.1 and example (25) repeated below). The subject properties are thus
split between the possessor and the possessum (the same situation is found in Latvian,
cf. Nau 1998: 55-58).
(170) Ar humor-u myusim vys-im ir problem-ys.
with humor-A we:o aii-D.PL be:PRS:3 problem-N.PL
'We all have problems with humor.' (VL)
In the possessive construction the existential verb may also be omitted in affirmative
clauses without quantification. Recall example (25):
(25) Barn-im sov-a
child-D.PL RPO-N.F
dzeiv-e,
I if e-o
vac-ajim sov-a.
old-D.PL.M.DEF RPO-N.F
'Children have their life, elder [people] have theirs.' (IS)
6.2.1.4 Non-verbal clauses with a nominative subject (assignment clauses)
The most typical instances of this type are clauses where the predicate consists of a
copula and a predicative noun (phrase) or adjective (phrase). There is agreement in
case, number and, if possible, gender. The copula byut ' be' has the same forms as the
existential verb (see above). Another copula sometimes used in assignment clauses is
palikt 'become'.
(171) Es asu latvrt-e.
I be:PRS:1 SG Latvian(F)-N
'I (female speaker) am a Latvian.' (IS)
LW/M 482 84
LATGALIAN
(172} /atgafTsu literatur-a ir dzeiv-a
Latgalian literature[F]-N.SG be:PRS:3 alive-N.SG.F
'Latgalian literature is alive' (IS)
(173) Gai/-eit-s tyuleQ palyka dzeiv-s
cock-DIM-N at.once become:PST:3 alive-N.SG.M
'at once the little cock became/was alive again' (Ko)
Negation does not alter the case assignment (nominative). Quantified subjects with
genitive marking are rare; if they appear, the predicative is usually in the nominative,
thus does not agree in case:
(174} Cik daudz barn-u i jaunis-u Latvej-a Latgo/-a
how much child-G.PL and youngster-G.PL Latvia-L and Latgalia-L
ni-vTn-am nav vajadzeig-i.
NEG-one-D NEG:be:PRS:3 necessary-N.PL.M
'How many children and youngsters in Latvia and Latgale are not needed by
anyone.' (lit. "are not necessary to anybody") (IS}
In the debitive construction, both subject and predicative noun or adjective receive
dative marking:
(175) Novembr-T met-am juo-byut tuks-am.
november-L wood[M]-D.SG DEB-be empty-D.SG.M
'In November the wood must be empty.' (IS)
The copula is not obligatory. Clauses with a particle (focusing i, topicalizing to,
negative na) often lack the copula, which may give rise to reanalysis of the particle as
a copula. However, particles may also appear in clauses containing a copula (more
research is currently undertaken). Examples:
(176} A mote vys-s i sovaiduok.
but maybe aii-N.SG PTC different
'But maybe everything is different.' (VL)
(177) DTv-s na moz-ais barn-s
God-N NEG smaii-N.M.DEF child-N
'God is not a small child' (a saying meaning 'your deeds won't go unnoticed')
(IS)
(178) A Kvap-s to moz-ef)-S, vej god-a nav.
but Kvaps-N PTC smaii-DIM-N still year-G NEG:be:PRS:3
'But Kvaps (a cat) is very small, not yet a year old.' (IS)
Assignment clauses with neither copula nor particle are found most often as part of
complex sentences:
(179) Jis jurist-s, damoj pljemson-ys! lobuojum-u kategorej-uos.
he lawyer-N and think:PRS:3 accepting-G correction-G.PL category-L.PL
'He is a lawyer, and he thinks in categories of accept/correct.' (VL)
(180} Ni-vTn-am nav juo-skoloj smadzin-is, cik es lob-a.
no-one-o NEG:be:PRS:3 DEB-wash brain-N how I good-N.F.SG
'I don't have to wash anybody's brain [convincing them] how good 1 am.' (IS)
The predicate of an assignment clause may also consist of a prepositional clause (ex.
118), an infinitive, and some other constructions. The same rules of copula omission
and particle use seem to apply, but as these constructions are not frequent, further
research is needed.
(181) Tuol-u i eksotisk-u zem-u apsavier-son-a na dej manis
far-G.PL and exotic-G.PL land-G.PL look.at-VN-N NEG for 1 SG:G
'Visiting far and exotic lands doesn't interest me ("is not for me")' (VL)
6.2.1.5 Other non-verbal clauses
Another type of clause is built with invariable predicates: adverbs, predicatives, or
nouns in the nominative. As other non-verbal clauses, they are found with and without
the copula. Apart from byut 'be', I found palikt 'become' and tikt 'get, become' as
copulas, but they are rare. A dative argument expresses an experiencer; it has the same
characteristics as the dative primary core argument in verbal clauses (cf. 6.2.1.2).
Without such an argument, these clauses express a general judgment, for example ( ir)
kauns 'it's a shame' I maiJ (ir) kauns 'I am ashamed'. Some typical examples:
(182) lr vys-Tm prTc-a taid-us jaud-s satik-t
be:PRS:3 aii-D.PL joy-N such-A.PL.M people-A.PL meet-1
'Everybody enjoys meeting such people' (OS)
(183) Tei ir rrt-a, par kO maQ nav kaun-s.
DEM:N.F be:PRS:3 thing-N about WH:A 1 SG:D NEG:be:PRS:3 shame-N
'This is something I am not ashamed of.' (IS)
(184) Tok mani gryus-i Tkjau-t kaid-as kanon-as.
but 1 SG:A hard-ADV include-1 some-L.PL canon-L.PL
'However, it is difficult to fit me into some (literary) canon.' (Sus)
(185) Dzed-s to pats lizeik-u na-taisa,
Grandpa-N PTC EMPH:SG.M spoon-G.PL NEG-make:PRS:3
nav bejs okuot-s.
NEG:be:PRS:3 be:PAP:SG.M desire-N
'Grandpa doesn't make spoons himself, he hasn't been in the mood.' (KurS)
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As the two last examples show, negation does not change the case marking:
predicative nouns such as kauns 'shame' and okuots 'desire, inclination' in this clause
type are always in the nominative. This distinguishes this type from existential clauses,
where negation triggers genitive marking. Nouns typically used as predicates denote
feelings and states of mind, further examples include izbreins 'astonishement' and
dusmis 'anger'.
An infinitive complement as in example (182) and (184) is the most usual type of
complement in clauses of this type. The predicatives ziil ' pity, sorry' and bais 'afraid'
may also have nominal complements in the genitive and prepositional complements,
respectively:
(186) Piter-am ial
PTters-o pity
dzed-a ar bab-u.
grandpa-G with grandma-A
'PTters feels sorry for his grandparents.' (KurS)
( 187) Maf} ir bais nu jaui-u jaunum-a.
1 SG:D be:PRS:3 afraid of people[PL]-G malice-G
'I am afraid of people's wickedness.' (IS)
6.2.1.6 Case assignment and agreement in debitive and passive constructions
As has been shown in the previous sections, there are several constructions which
change the case assignement of arguments corresponding to the subject or the direct
object of the basic construction (where the predicate is a finite, indicative, active
verbal form). The following table presents a summary of the main options:
Subject of Subject of Subject of Direct object
verbal clause existential clause assignment clause
basic nominative nominative nominative accusative
negated nominative genitive nominative genitive
debitive dative dative dative nominative
passive -(not --(no passive) --(no passive) nominative
expressed)
Note that arguments in the dative (primary arguments as well as indirect objects) are
not affected by any of these processes.
In the debitive construction, the nominative marked argument which corresponds to
the direct object in the basic construction has only partial subject properties and should
be rather considered a nominative object than a subject (in contrast to the passive
construction, where it has all subject properties). Recall also that first and second
LATGALIAN
87 LW/M 482
person personal pronouns and the reflexive pronoun as objects should be in the
accusative in the debitive construction (I have so far not found an example in texts).
Accusative marking of this argument is occasionally also found in other cases, for
example:
(188) da 9. august-a juo-at-syuta
to 9. August-G DEB-PFX-send
sov-u CV
RPO-A.SG CV
'(applicants) have to send in their CV BY August 9th' (IS)
(189) Dvesel-i juo-pa-laii T-t juos cej-u,
PRO:G.SG.F way-A soul-A DEB-PFX-Iet go-1
kod daguojs juos laik-s.
when come:PAP:SG.M PRO:G.SG.F time-N
'One has to let the soul go its way when its time has come.' (IS)
Furthermore, genitive marking can be found in functions where direct objects, but not
subjects of verbal clauses may be marked as genitive
21
:
(190) skol-a juo-veic /ob-uok-a dorb-a juo-daboj.
schooi-N DEB-do and good-COMP-G.SG.M work-G DEB-get
'one has to do school (nominative) and get some better job (genitive)' (KurS)
In the passive construction, in contrast, the nominative argument has clear subject
properties. The passive participle (and a participle form of the auxiliary) agrees with
this subject in number and gender, a finite auxiliary agrees with the subject in person;
first and second person subjects are however very rare. An exception with respect to
agreement are cases where the subject is a singular noun of measurement and the
participle is marked plural in agreement of what is measured, for example:
(191) Parta ka daj-a akjau nazkod
because part[F]-N.SG PTC sometimes
ir bejus-i publiceit-i.
be:PRS:3 be:PAP-PL.M publish:PPP-PL.M
'Because a part [of these songs and aphorisms] has certainly already been
published sometimes.' (IS)
When the predicate is negated, the subject (the patient) may appear in the genitive, and
the participle is marked with the default agreement values masculine singular
22
:
2 1
However, the few examples of negated debitive constructions with a direct object I have found so
far have nominative marking.
~ Cf. Holvoet (200 l: 269); the example from "Latvian" Holvoet cites (after Endzelin 1951) is actually
in Latgalian.
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LATGALIAN
(192) a nikuo pruoteig-a radza-t-s to gon nav nikod.
but nothing:G reasonable:G see-PPP-SG.M PTC PTC NEG:be:PRS:3 never
'but anyhow he never saw anything reasonable' (literally "nothing reasonable
haseverbeenseenl(KurS)
Nominative subjects, however, are probably more frequent in negated passive
constructions (as negated passives are rare in my texts, more research is needed here).
Genitive subjects with default agreement marking also occur in case of quantification
with a quantifier (daudz 'much, a lot of', maz ' little, few', cik 'how much, how many')
or without a quantifier, as in the followi ng example with a prefixed reflexive verb as
predicate (from Cibuls & Leikuma 2003: 84):
(193) Molk-ys pi-sa-grfz-t-s dej treju zTm-u
firewood-G PFX-RFX-chop-PPP-SG.M for three:G winter-G.PL
'[Enough] firewood has been chopped for three winters.'
Only direct objects are promoted to the level of subjects in the passive construction,
indirect objects are not affected. Word order follows pragmatic rules, and indirect
objects may be topics in clauses with passives, too, as in the following example with
the dativejim '(to) them':
(194) Jim tyka atlais-t-i
they:D AUX:PST:3 forgive-PPP-PL.M
vys-i grak-i,
aii-PL.M sin-PL
tik Tsacei-t-s na-sede-t iz
PTC teii -PPP-SG.M NEG-sit-1 on
svat-as trep-eis-u [ ... ]
holy-G.PL step-DIM-G.PL
'They were forgiven all their sins, but told not to sit on the holy steps' (IS)
With a passive predicate, the agent cannot be expressed. An agent phrase (in the
genitive) is found only in noun phrases with the past passive participle as a modifier:
(195) Ka kuk-s, dzejz-s stykl-s ir
if wood-N iron-N and glass-N be:PRS:3
cylvak-a puorveiduo-t-T dob-ys material-i,
man-G transform-PPP-N.PL.M.DEF nature-G materiai-N.PL
to plastmas-a ir cylvak-a pruot-a gryb-ys
PTC plastic-N be:PRS:3 man-G mind-G and wiii-G
radei-t-s material-s
create-PPP-N.SG.M.IDF materiai-N
'Whi le wood, iron and glass are natural materials transformed by man, plastic is
a material created by man's mind and will .' (VL)
6.2.2 Adjuncts
All types of clauses may further contain adjuncts- adverbials of time, place, manner,
cause, etc. They are expressed by noun phrases, prepositional phrases, adverbs, or
finite or non-finite subordinate clauses. Cases used for noun phrases as adjuncts are the
dative, accusative, and the locative.
Noun phrases in the locative mark place (where?) and time (when?), for example:
(196) Gruomot-ys ir mun-i sarun-u bTdr-i
book-N.PL be:PRS:3 my-N.PL.M conversation-G.PL companion-N.PL
klus-as vokor-as
silent-L.PL.M.IDF evening-L.PL and
val-uos nakt-s
late-L.PL.F.IDF night-G
stuQd-es.
hour-L.PL
'Books are my companions on silent evenings and late at night.' (Sus)
Noun phrases in the accusative may also express time (when?), more often they
express extension (how far? for how long?):
(1 97) Jov 34 god-us asu lauleib-a ar sov-u sTv-u lren-u.
already 34 year-A.PL be:PRS:1 SG marriage-L with RPO-A wife-A lrena-A
'My wife lrena and I have been married for 34 years already.' (Sus)
Noun phrases in the dative may express a purpose or goal; they are most usual with
(de)verbal nouns:
(1 98) Pajdis latgaffsu
thanks Latgalian
muzykant-im, [. .. ]
musician-D.PL
kas spielej
WH:N play:PRS:3
lobdareib-ys koncert-us naud-ys salasei-son-ai.
charity-G concert-A.PL money-G collect-VN-D
'Thanks to Latgalian musicians who give charity concerts in order to collect
money.' (IS)
Very common are noun phrases in the dative expressing a peripheral participant (often
a person, but also objects are possible referents); they can have a wide range of
semantic roles, among others beneficient, experiencer, possessor. Two examples:
(199) Kas Tev ir lob-a literatur-a?
WH:N 2SG:D be:PRS:3 good-N.SG.F literature-N
'What is good literature to/for/according to you?' (Sus)
(200) Vysu besu pats muociejs sastrojet-
skap-am durov-ys T-lik-t voi tejvizer-am kuoj-u da-skryuve-t,
cupboard-D door-A PFX-put-1 or television-D leg-A PFX-screw-1
syvan-am sil-i sa-sis-t voi jumt-am diel-eis-us na-mainei-t.
piglet-o manger-A PFX-strike-1 or roof-o board-DIM-A.PL PFX-change-1
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' He knew to do all kinds of handicrafts himself- put a door into the cupboard or
fix a leg on the television set, hew a manger for the piglet or change the
clapboards of the roof.' (KurS)
6.2.3 Negation
Three morphemes are used for expressing negation in Latgalian: nii, na and ni:
(201) a autors na-soka ni nui, ni na.
PTC author-N NEG-say:PRS:3 NEG yes NEG no
'and the author says neither yes nor no' (VL)
The particle nii is always a free form, it is used as the answering particle 'no' and as
negative anaphora of a verb phrase or a complete clause, for example:
(202} Ka boguot-s, to dzeivoj ar gad-u,
if rich-N.SG.M PTC live:PRS:2 with dignity-A
na- e/n-is gun-T deg-s-i
no heii-G fire-L burn-FUT-2SG
' If [you are] rich, live with dignity, if you don't, you'll burn in hell' (OS)
The morphemes na and ni are used both as free forms and as prefixes. For clause
negation, na- is prefixed to the finite verb or finite auxiliary of the predicate. It is
always the first prefix. With the third person present tense form of the verb but ' be'
(existential verb, copula, auxiliary) we find suppletive forms: nav, navii, navaid and
others 'is/are not'.
(203) Pretim na-pa-sa-smeja mvm-s.
back NEG-PFX-RFX-Iaugh:PST:3 nobody-N
'nobody smiled back' (IS)
(204) Pat-s /ob-oik-Ts vysod ir tys,
PRO-M.SG good-COMP-N.SG.M.DEF always be:PRS:3 DEM:N.M.SG
ka vej na-asu lasiejuse.
WH:A yet NEG-be:PRS:1 SG read:PAP:SG.F
'The very best [reading matter] is always what I haven't read yet' (Sus)
Clause negation also combines with negative pronouns and adverbs ('nobody',
'nothing', 'never' etc.):
(205) ta, kas nutik-s nuokatn-e,
DEM:A wh:N happen-FUT(3} future-L
precJZI nivin-s nikod na-zynuo-s
precisely nobody-N never NEG-know-FUT(3)
'nobody will ever know precisely what will happen in the future' (Sus)
As described above (6.2.1.1, 6.2.1.3) the genitive is used to mark the subject in
negated existential clauses and the object in negated transitive clauses:
(206}Mam-ys pap-a jis na-atguodoj,
mommy-G and daddy-G he NEG-remember:PRS:3
varbyut jus nimoz nav bejs.
maybe they:G at.all NEG:be:PRS:3 PTC be:PAP:SG.M
'He doesn't remember his parents, maybe they haven't existed at all.' (KurS)
The prefix na- is also attached to infinitives and converbs as predicates.
(207} Doru ta par ta,
do:PRS: 1 SG DEM:A for DEM:A
kab
that
na-palik-t par dogmatik-i
NEG-become-1 for dogmatist-A
' I do that in order not to become a dogmatist' (VL)
The free form na is sometimes used in negated existential and non-verbal clauses
instead of a negated form of the existential verb or copula but 'be' (see examples in
6.2.1.3, 6.2.1.4 above). Otherwise the free forms are used to negate only a part of the
clause, which may be the predicate, but more often is some smaller constituent. In
most instances these particles additionally carry emphasis or contrastive focus. Single
constituents are negated by na, while ni is used in coordination:
(208} Tys lai ir radz-am-s
DEM:N PTC be:PRS:3 see-PP-N.SG.M
mun-as dorb-as, na vuord-as.
my-L.PL work-L.PL NEG word-L.PL
'This shall be apparent in my deeds, not my words.' (Sus)
(209) Tai dzeivoju-
SO PTC live:PRS:1SG
rokstu, na skaitu. lzdamoju, na stuostu.
write:PRS:1 SG NEG read:PRS:1 SG invent: PAS: 1 SG NEG narrate:PRS: 1 SG
'So that's how I live- I do write, not read. I do invent, not narrate.' (IS)
(21 0) ni sat-ys, ni boguot-a veir-a, ni karjer-ys nava
NEG home-G NEG rich-G.M.SG husband-G NEG career-G NEG:be:PRS:3
'I have neither a home nor a rich husband nor a career' (Sus)
(211) Nu publicitat-is ni bagu,
from publicity-G NEG flee:PRS:1 SG
ni pakaj tai skrfnu.
NEG after DEM:D.SG.F run:PRS:1SG
'As for publicity, I'm neither running away from it nor chasing it.' (VL)
Both prefixes are also used in derivation. The prefix ni- is found in negative pronouns
and adverbs derived from indefinite pronouns and adverbs: nivlns 'no one', nikas
' nobody, nothing' , nikod ' never', nikur 'nowhere' and a few others. The prefix na- is
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92
LATGALIAN
used with nouns, adjectives, adjectival participles, and adverbs derived from adjectives
and participles, for example: navaineigs 'innocent' , nalrosts ' unusual ' , naapzynuoti
'unconsciously' , nadorbs 'misdeed' , nallteiba 'villainy'.
6.2.4 Questions
Yes/No-questions are formed with a question particle preceding the clause. There are
two question particles, voi and ci. Both are also used as disjunctive coordinators ('or').
The particle voi (Latvian cognate vai) goes back to a loan from a Finnic language,
while ci is borrowed from a Slavic language (Belarusian or Russian dialect). The
choice between voi and ci follows regional and individual preferences; voi is more
frequent in modern texts.
(212) Voi zynit, kas ir Kristaps Morbergs?
au know:PRS:2PL WH:N be:PRS:3 Kristaps Morbergs
'Do you know who Kristaps Morbergs is?' (VL)
(213) Ci gribi nO-bo/suo-t par myusu idej-om?
QU want:PRS:2SG PFX-vote-1 on 1 PL:G idea-D.PL
'Do you want to vote on our ideas?' (http://lgsc.lv/pruoata-vatra-tonis-biroja)
It is also possible to form questions without a particle, by intonation alone.
Question words are kas 'who/what', kurs 'which; who', kaids 'which, what kind of',
kai 'how', kod 'when' , kur 'where', kam (>dative of kas) 'why' , and cik 'how much'.
In conversations questions often begin with the emphatic particle a, for example:
(214) jis brfsmeig-a bols-a aiza-kffdzia ':.4 kam
he terrible-L.SG voice-L PFX:RFX-shout:PST:3 PTC why
tu sacej!"
2SG say:PST(2)
'He shouted out in a terrible voice: 'Why did you say [that]!" (Ko)
This emphatic particle may also take the place of the question particle voi or ci:
(215) ,A tu zyni, kas ir Vinsents van Gogs?" ,Nui".
PTC 2SG know:PRS:2SG WH:N be:PRS:3 Vincent van Gogh yes
'Do you know who Vincent van Gogh is? Yes.' (VL)
Another emphatic particle often found in questions is to or ta (Latvian equivalent tad),
which follows a question particle or a question word:
(216) Cik to ijgi
how PTC long
mes jauk-s-im
we confuse-FUT -1 PL
vo/Od-u ar
language-A with
'For how long will we confuse a language with a dialect?' (OS)
dialekt-u?
dialect-A
6.3 Clause linkage
The four structural types of clause linkage - relativization, complementation,
subordination, and coordination - are not strictly distinguished formally, especially in
traditional narratives. Also, dependent clauses are often only loosely integrated into a
complex sentence. The following features, among others, reflect this situation:
the same element (conjunction) is used as complementizer and adverbial
subordinator; subordinators and relative pronouns are etymologically related;
free relative clauses and adverbial subordination show parallel structures
(correlative constructions);
linking a (subordinate) participle clause to a finite clause, coordinating
conjunctions may be added;
clauses headed by an adverbial subordinator as well as clauses with a converb are
not always integrated prosodically and often presented as independent sentences in
written texts.
6.3.1 Participle and converb clauses
Participle clauses as modifiers of nouns (non-finite relative clauses) are found most
often with the past passive participle; agents are expressed by a noun phrase in the
genitive:
(217) [mun-a dzed-a stuosteit-aja] puorsok-a
my-G.M.SG grandpa-G teii:PPP-L.SG.DEF tale-L.SG
par
about
catart-u
forth-A
tav-a
father-G
dal-u
son-A
'in the fairy-tale about the fourth son [told by my grandpa]' (VL)
These clauses always precede the head (see 6.1.1 on noun phrases; for other participles
as modifiers see 5.4).
Within complements of verbs of perception and feeling ('see/hear/ ... someone doing
something'), as well as some other verbs ('find', 'leave') the indeclinable form of the
present oblique participle (suffix -ilt or -ejt) is used in traditional narratives:
(218) Traudzej-a [muiinTk-a sTv-u
notice:PST-3 [farmer-G wife-A
[runoj-Ot
talk-PA[IDC]
ar
with
celinTk-u]].
wanderer-A]
'(he) caught sight of [the farmer's wife [talking to a wanderer]]' (Varkava)
(219) a trod-a ti [barn-u, pujszki-nieni-u, [ziam-ia gul-ejt1]
find:PST-3 there [child-A boy-DIM-A ground-L sleep-PA[IDC]
'there they found [a child, a little boy, [lying on the ground]]' (UP)
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In modern texts, we find the indeclinable form of the present passive participle
(suffix -am I -om) in such constructions (the cognate of this participle is used in this
function in Latvian):
(220) Na-jiut-u [to "blog-u" [as-am dzeiv-u]] .
NEG-feei:PRS-1 SG [DEM:A blog-A [be-PP[IDC) alive-A])
'I don't feel [that this "bl og" [is alive]].' (IS)
23
In traditional narratives the indeclinable present oblique participle is also used in
constructions which are between modification and adverbial subordination
(comparable to non-restrictive relative clauses). The participle clause follows the noun
or pronoun it relates to, which usually is not the (nominative) subject of the sentence:
(221) tim [zam cepj-a sez-afj aus-s dag nu korstum-a
DEM:D.PL under oven-G sit-PA[IDC] ear-N.PL burn:PRS:3 from heat-G
'those [sitting under the oven] got their ears burnt by the heat' I
'[sitting under the oven] they got their ears burnt by the heat' (Ko)
(222) Brauk-dam-i jT dadzyn-a Andriv-u [brauc-at kung-a zyrg-a] .
drive-cv-PL.M they catch.up:PST-3 Andrivs-A drive-PA[IDC] lord-G horse-L
'On the road they caught up with Andrivs [(who was) driving with the
gentleman's horse].' (Ko)
In modern texts this participle is also frequently used as a converb for adverbial
subordination (i n traditional texts such a use is rare), expressing a simultanous action
or a manner in which something is done, and relating to the subject of the sentence:
(223) [t,aun-at atsateistei-t Latgo/-ys latgalisk-ajai ku/tur-a1] ,
allow-PA[IDC) develop-! Latgalia-G Latgalian-D.F.DEF culture-D
[atbolst-at latgalisk-a Latvej-u],
support-PA[IDC] Latgalian-A.DEF Latvia-A
mes nature-s-im sag/obuo-s-im latvysk-u Latgol-u.
we support-FUT-1 PL and preserve-FUT-1 PL Latvian-SG.A Latgalia-A
'[(By) allowing Latgalian culture to develop in Latgalia], [(by) supporting a
Latgalian Latvia], we will support and preserve a Latvian Latgalia.' (IS)
More typical in adverbial subordination, especially in traditional texts, is the converb
with the suffix -dam- , which is specialized for this function; it marks actions
simultaneous to the main predicate. Both predicates must relate to the same subject -
see example (222) above, where the form braukdami (converb of braukt 'drive, ride')
23
As Peter Arkadiev remarked in a comment, in this example the use of the accusative may be a hint
that tu blogu 'this blog' belongs into the participle phrase, for a direct object of the negated verb
nejiutu 'I don't feel' would be expected to be in the genitive.
relates to the subj ect (jf 'they'), while the form brauciit (indeclinable present oblique
participle of the same verb) relates to the object of the main clause (Andrivu).
Examples from modern texts:
(224) [UpTt-e vuicei-dam-Ts] suok-u sacere-t ailen-is
UpTte-L learn-cv-sG.M start:PRS-1 SG compose-1 poem-A.PL
i eis-stuost-us.
and short-story-A.PL
'[While studying at UpTte]l started to write poems and short stories.' (Sus)
(225) [Dzeiv-a byu-dam-a] tok jei jObej-a zam vokor-a at-r-t gost-as
alive-F be-cv-sG.F PTC she like:PST-3 under evening-G PFX-go-1 guest-L.PL
i, [taipat stuova-dam-a ustob-ys pnska],
and same stand-CV-SG. F house-G in .front
puorrunuo-t sov-ys dzel-ys.
PFX-talk-1 RPO-A.PL.F matter-A.PL
'After all, [when she was alive] she liked to visit in the evening and, Uust
standing in front of the house], to talk about her concerns.' (IS)
(226) Sanakt liduoj-a zas-s prOm. Nakt-T aiz Jag-a aiza-klig-dam-ys.
tonight fly:PST -3goose-PL away night-Lbehind window-G PFX:RFX-cry-cv-PL.F
'Tonight the geese took off. Shouting their calls beyond the window in the night.'
(IS)
The converb with -dam- is also (rarely) found relating to a dative experiencer; in such
case it is marked dative in agreement:
(227) Donco-dam-am jam tyk-a korst
dance-CV-D.SG.M he:D get:PST-3 hot[ADV]
'dancing he got hot I he got hot from the dancing' (Ko)
The past active participle is used as an anterior converb. It is very frequent in
traditional narratives, but also found in modern texts.
(228) Anne, [panamusi nu gold-a maiz-is naz-1],
Anne PFX-take:PAP:SG.F from table-G bread-G knife-A
puor-gnze mu n-u nob-ys sait-i.
PFX-CUt:PST:3 my-A navei-G cord-A
'Anne, [having taken the bread knife from the table] , cut my umbilical cord.' I
'Anne [took the bread knife from the table and] cut my umbilical cord.' (Sus, OS)
The relation between the converb clause and the finite clause is often rather loose, and
may resemble coordination. In traditional narratives, the addition of a coordinating
or particle is not uncommon, for example:
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LATGALIAN
(229) a fops-a, [da-skrij-dam-a pi j6] ; soka
PTC fox-N PFX-run-CV-SG.F to he:G and say:PRS:3
'and the fox [(came) running towards him] and said' (UP)
(230) A Pafnuruszk-a [at-gojis] prosas
PTC Palnuruska-N PFX-go:PAP:SG.M and ask:PRS:3
'and John from the Ashes [came near] and asked' (UP)
A clause with the dam-converb may also be linked to a finite clause with a sub-
ordinator:
(231) Ti1reiz iz
then to
sa t-u
home-A
at-guoja pat-s,
PFX-go:PST:3 EMPH-N
koc knapi kuoj-is vylk-dam-s.
although hardly leg-A.PL puii-CV-SG.M
'At that time he came home on his own, although he could hardly walk.' (IS;
about a dog who got shot by a neighbour)
Other participles used in clause-combining (adverbial subordination) are the past
passive participle (occasionally in traditional and modern texts), and the future active
oblique participle (occasionally in UP).
6.3.2 Finite clauses
Finite relative clauses as modifiers in noun phrases are linked to the head noun by an
interrogative pronoun functioning as a relative pronoun; they always follow the head.
There is no formal difference between restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses.
The most usual pronoun in this function is kurs ' which' , it is used in both genders and
numbers and all case forms, also with prepositions, with all kinds of antecedents.
(232) kotr-s cylvak-s, [kur-s tik satyka], baga voi kffdzia
each man-N which-N.M PTC meet:PST:3 flee:PST:3 or cry:PST:3
' Every man [who ever met (him)] ran away or cried' (Ko)
24
(233) Tav-s pajamia sTv-u rogon-u,
father-N take:PST:3 wife-A witch:A
kur-ai beja ari sov-a miait-a.
which-D.F be:PST:3 too RPO-N.F daughter-N
' Her father married a witch(,) who also had a daughter.' (Ko)
24
Thi s sentence is ambi guous, the relati ve clause can also be interpreted as a juxtaposed free relati ve
cl ause: 'every man, whoever met him, ran away'.
(234) Jis rt,
rt vrn-s
pat-s, redz uz cej-a
he:N go:PRS:3 go:PRS:3 one-N.M EMPH-N.M see:PRS:3 on road-G
le t-u dom-u,
big-A house-A
kur-a
which-G.M
tyma
DEM:L
vrt-a nikod nav bejis.
place-L never NEG:be:PRS:3 be:PAP:SG.M
'He goes on and on alone, at the road he sees a big house that hasn't been at
that place ever before.' (Ko)
(235) Sun-eit-s, [ar kur-u broj-s staigova medeib-os],
dog-DIM-N with which-A brother-N walk:PST:3 hunting-L
soka grauz-t sTn-u, [kur-a beja Tspraus-t-a odot-a].
start:PST:3 chew-1 hay-A which-L be:PST:3 stick.in-PPP-SG.F needle-N
'The little dog [with which the brother went hunting] began to chew the hay [into
which a needle had been stuck].' (Ko)
The pronoun kas ' who/what' is used mainly with a pronoun, very rarely with a noun as
antecedent (in contrast to Latvian, where kas is the usual relative pronoun):
(236) Kad ap-jes-s-it [tu wys-u, kas ira sa-fyk-t-s],
when PFX-eat-FUT-2PL DEM:A all-A WH:N be:PRS:3 PFX-put-PPP-SG.M
to du-sz-u miejt-u
PTC give-FUT-1 SG daughter-A
'When you'll have eaten up [all that has been put together here], I'll give you my
daughter' (UP)
The question word kur ' where' is used in this meaning in relative clauses in all
varieties (as English where). In traditional texts (UP) and non-standard varieties this
word is also used as a relativizer in the function of subject and direct object, thus
instead of a relative pronoun in the nominative or accusative (but not the dative, and
not with prepositions).
(237) i tyka tama wit-a, [kur Aleksandr-a gu/aja]
PTC get:PST:3 DEM:L place-L where Alexander-N lie:PST:3
'and he came to the place [where Alexander was lying]' (UP)
(238) Mun-s wiejr-s, [kur bieja izgajss],
my-N.M husband-N REL be:PST:3 disappear:PAP:SG.M
sat-a at-gojis!
home-L PFX-go:PAP:SG.M
' My husband, [who had disappeared], has come home!' (UP)
{239) nu-sit' tu man tu zyrg-u, [kur tau-s
kiii :PRS:2SG 2SG:N 1 SG:D DEM:A horse-A REL father-N
'kill for me the horse [your father has left you]' (UP)
tieiJ pamiatia]
2SG:D leave:PST:3
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LATGALIAN
Free relative clauses usually have a correlative demonstrative pronoun. This structure
is very common in traditional narratives, but also found in modern texts. A free
relative clause has the same form as a relative clause modifying a noun, but differs
slightly in the choice of pronoun: here, kas 'who/what' is used more often, and kurs is
used with reference to humans. In UP the indeclinable form kur is also found in free
relative clauses.
(240) Bet durak-s, kai durak-s byu-dam-s,
but simpleton-N as simpleton-N be-cv-sG.M
kii tik sateik tam stosta
WH:A PTC meet:PRS:3 DEM:D PTC teii :PRS:3
'but the simpleton, being a simpleton, told whoever he met' (Ko)
(241) ku kung-s lyka tu wajadzieja muiik-am klausie-t'
wH:A master-N command:PST:3 DEM:A need:PST:3 farmer-o obey-1
'a farmer had to obey whatever the master demanded' (UP)
(242) "Saunit, a kur-s iz kur-u pus-i
shoot:IMP:2PL PTC which-N.SG.M to which-A.SG direction-A
iz-sau-s lud-i, tys nu
PFX-shoot-FUT(3) bullet-A DEM:N.SG
siw-u sieu
PTC wife-A RFX:D
pa-jim-s!"
PFX-take-FUT(3)
tos pus-is
from DEM:G.SG.F direction-G
'Shoot! But whose bullet is shot in a certain direction, will take his wife from this
direction' (a father to his sons, who then follow their bullets in their search for a
wife)
Complement clauses and adverbial subordinate clauses are introduced by a
subordinati ng conjunction. The following are the most frequent:
ka 'that' (complementizer), 'if', 'when', 'because', 'as' (causal/temporal)
kab ' that' (complementizer), 'if' (counterfactual), 'so that', 'i n order to',
kam 'because'(< kam 'why'< dative of kas 'who/what')
koc 'although'
kai 'as', 'when'
cikom 'until', 'as long as', 'while';
other conj unctions with these meanings: koleidz, kuojS
par tii ka, die/ tuo ka ' because' (literally like French par-ce-que)
Ka ' that' is the most common complementizer used for finite complements of verbs
of sayi ng, mental states, perception, judgment, etc. Kab ' that ' is used in complements
of volitional verbs with a different subject, with the predicate in the indicative or
subjunctive (when the subject of the complement is eo-referent with the subject of the
main clause, an infinitive clause is used):
(243) Mes pos-i grybom, kab myusus apmuona.
we EMPH-N.PL.M want:PRS:1 PL that we:A betray:PRS:3
'We want to be betrayed.' (''We want ourselves that they betray us.") (VL)
(244) A tau-s na grib, kab jis zog-tu
PTC father-N NEG want:PRS:3 that he steal-SUB
'But the father doesn't want him to steal' ("does not want that he would steal")
(UP)
Another element used in complement clauses is lai (more common as a modal
particle), used occasionally in reported requests:
(245) Praseja, lai paiJceju 80 lat-us.
ask:PST:3 PTC borrow:PST:1 SG 80 lat-A.PL
'[He] asked [me] to lend [him] SO lats.' (VL)
In conditional clauses ka 'if' is used for both factual and counterfactual conditionals.
For factual conditionals the verb is in the indicative; usually a correlative construction
is used, with the particle to or tod (< tod 'then') as correlate:
(246) Koc stuosts par Latvejis valatuojim i Tdzeivuotuojim ir stuosts par vardivem, kas
dzeivoj klusef)om.
Ka veicas izbeg-t, to dzeivoj. Ka na, ap-ad stark-s.
if be.lucky:PRS:3 flee-1 PTC live:PRS:3 if not PFX-eat:PRS:3 stork-N
Bols-u pa-dad tikai tod, ka kaid-s izmyn viersa.
voice-A PFX-give:PRS:3 only PTC if someone-N step:PRS:3 upon
'Although the story of the voters and inhabitants of Latvia is the story of frogs
that live in silence. If they manage to run away, they survive. If not, they are
eaten by the stork. They only speak out (vote) if someone steps upon them.'
(IS; "give voice" = 'to vote')
Counterfactual conditional sentences with the conjunction ka always refer to the
present (a situation marked as counterfactual (unreal) for the present time or in
general). The subjunctive is used in both parts of the sentence:
(247) a ka byu-tu jus vrt-a,
PTC if be-suB they:G place-L
darei-tu taipat laikam kai JT.
do-suB same probably as PTC they
'but if they were in their place, they would probably do just the same.' (VL)
Conditional clauses with the conjunction kab are always counterfactual. They may
relate to the present or to the past (a situation that has not been the case). There are
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LATGAUAN
several possibiliti es to mark the predicate in both parts of the sentence. First, the
compound form of the subjunctive unambiguously marks a counterfactual situation of
the past :
(248) Na-byu-tu atroduse ituo rokst-a, kab pyrms puors drn-u
NEG-be-SUB find:PAP:SG.F DEM:G.M article-G if before couple day-G.PL
Googl-is
Google-G
cioc-e najausi na-byu-tu atroduse cyt-a rokst-a.
aunt-N by.chance NEG-be-SUB find:PAP:SG.F other-G.M article-G
'I wouldn't have found this article if, a couple of days ago, auntie Google hadn't
found another article by chance.' (IS)
Second, in the clause introduced by kab the verb may take the form of the past active
participle. Thi s happens most often with the verb byut 'be' , examples with other verbs
are rare (but exi st). If the compound form of the subjunctive is used in the second part
of the sentence, reference is unambiguously to the past, while with the simple form of
the subjunctive the sentence may refer either to the past or the present:
(249) Kab tai na-bejs, mes byu-tu pa/yk-us-i
if SO NEG-be:PAP:SG.M we be-SUB remain-PAP-PL.M
pi pyrmatnej-Os cy/vak-u fosilej-u.
at primitive-G.PL human-G.PL fossii-G.PL
'If it hadn't been that way, we would have remained at the stage of primitive
human fossils.' (IS)
(250) Dzed-s saceja, ka vara-tu parak-t gruov-eit-i voi kO,
grandpa-N say:PST:3 that can-SUB dig-1 ditch-DIM-A or DEM:A
kab laik-a bejs.
if time-G be:PAP:SG.M
'Grandpa said he could dig (could have dug) a ditch or whatever if he had (had)
time.' (KurS)
Thus, the construction kab bejs is potentially ambiguous ('if there were' I 'if there had
been'). It seems, however, that reference to the past is the more common reading,
which leads to a situation where ka + subjunctive (counterfactual present conditional)
is opposed to kab +participle (counterfactual past conditional). The following minimal
pair illustrates thi s
25
:
(251) Ka es na-byu-tu tik slink-a, es da-/yk-tu karten-is
if I NEG-be-SUBSO lazy-N.F I PFX-put-SUB picture-A. PL
nu puors padej-os latgalisk-os pasuokum-u
from couple last-G.PL Latgalian-G.PL event-G.PL
25
This is similar to the situation in Old Lithuanian, cf. Holvoet (20 I 0: 81 ).
'If I weren't so lazy 1 would add pictures from a couple of the latest Latgalian
events' (== here, in my blog) (IS)
(252) Kab es na-bejuse tik slink-a,
if I NEG-be:PAP:SG.F SO lazy-N.F
es izdomuo-tu sov-u
I invent-SUB RPO-A
vo/Od-u.
language-A
'If I hadn't been so lazy I would have invented my own language.' (== at that
time, as a child) (IS)
A negated counterfactual condition with reference to the present may also be
expressed by kab +negation na without the verb 'to be'. This construction seems to be
quite conventionalized, especially for existential clauses (see ex. 169 above), but it is
al so found with assignment clauses:
(253) Kab jis na rikteig-s veir-s, voi ta bab-a juo sat-a pacTs-tu.
if he NEG proper-N.M man-N au PTC granny-N he:G home:L tolerate-suB
'If he (== grandpa) weren't a proper man, granny would hardly tolerate him in her
home.' (KurS)
In purpose clauses, the conjunction kab is used with either the subjunctive or the
infinitive (subjunctive seems to be a bit more common):
(254) Kab pajim-tu sauv-e vTn-u uobel-i, tJtr-ys juo-nOffk atpakaj.
so.that take-SUB palm-L one-A apple-A other-N.M DEB-put back
'In order to take one apple into your hand, you have to put back another.' (IS)
(255) Puordeve sat-ys, kab ntJpierk-t
seii:PST:3 home-A.PL so.that buy-1
itOs nu Turcej-is atvas-t-Os breinum-us.
DEM:A.PL from Turkey-G bring-PPP-A.PL.M.DEF wonder-A.PL
'They sold their houses in order to buy these marvels imported from Turkey.'
(VL, talking about the tulip boom in 17th century Holland)
For coordinating conjunctions see 6.1.6 Coordination.
6.4 Particles in discourse
Latgalian has a rich inventory of particles with discourse structuring functions. Such
particles have been described very infrequently, as current grammars and dialect
descriptions offer no more than some lists of particles with a few comments on
individual items. Much further research is needed, and this section aims to provide
only a first glance at the phenomenon.
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LATGALIAN
In the inventory of particles there are many synonymous items, or particles with
largely overlapping functions. New items are easily borrowed (there are many loans
from Slavic languages), or derived from content words or from existing particles.
There is also significant regional and individual variation, of which speakers seem to
be conscious, as the following example shows:
(256) Viin-aa viit-aa soka ta, uutr-aa
other-L
tai. Ci tai nav?
one-L place-L say:PRS:3 so so PTC SO NEG:be:PRS:3
Voi tai nav? Mozh tai nav?
PTC so NEG:be:PRS:3 PTC so NEG:be:PRS:3
1/i tai nav? Varbyut tai nav? ....
PTC so NEG:be:PRS:3 maybe so NEG:be:PRS:3
'At one place they say it this way, at another place that way. Isn't it so (5 x)?'
(comment in a discussion about what is "proper Latgalian";
http://www.lakuga.lv/lg/news/comments?id=3238)
In the above example, five synonyms are given for the initial particle that marks the
clause as a question. The first two, ci and voi, are both accepted for the standard
variety as question particles and as the disjunction 'or'; both are old loan words (see
6.2.4). The fourth variant, ili, is a more recent loan from Russian, where it has the
meaning 'or'. The word mos or maze, borrowed from a Slavic language (Polish or
Belarusian or Russian, multiple borrowing likely), is widespread in Latgalian and has
the basic meaning 'maybe', but it is also used in several patterns where it loses this
meaning, polite questions being one example (see Nau, forthcoming a). The meaning
'maybe' is also expressed by varbyut (var 'can' + byut 'be). The example thus shows
very nicely the main techniques for renewing particles.
The classification of particles according to their function requires more research. It is
made difficult, among other factors, by the fact that many particles have several
functions and their meaning varies according to the linguistic context. Furthermore, it
is not uncommon that several particles are combined in a clause, and the exact
meaning of an individual item of such a combination is hard to grasp. The following is
a typical example:
(257) Tok tai vot i dzeivojam. So v-s pTn-eQ-5, svTst-eQ-5.
PTC so PTC PTC live:PRS:3 RPO-N.SG.M milk-DIM-N butter-DIM-N
Sov-a gal-eit-e. Sov-a votad-a.
RPO-N.SG.F meat-DIM-N RPO-N.SG.F language-N
'But/so that's how we live. Our own milk and butter. Our own meat. Our own
language.' (IS)
The particle tok that appears in this example marks a speaker's statement that is
resuming a previous discussion and presenting an argument that is in (slight) contrast
to what someone else may think (similar to English 'after all'). The particle vot
(borrowed from Russian) is a presentative particle with quite a generalized function of
bringing something to the attention of the hearer, while i may be classified as an
additive focus particle.
The class of presentative particles (see Petit 2010) includes vot, ot, dze, sa, among
others. A special presentative particle is sok (derived from a present tense form of the
verb 'to say'), which introduces a statement that expresses a supposed opinion that is
not shared by the author. It may also mark a popular saying expressing received
wisdom (again, the content is rather in opposition to the author's own view).
(258) Tei ir latgalrsu vTnajdzeiba i naticeisona, naTsakjausona sabTdreiba- pasaverit
koc voi padejuo referenduma rezultatus.
Sok, kai jau DTv-eQ-5 de vs, tai juo-dzeivoj. A ka
PTC as PTC God-DIM-N give:PAP:SG.M so DEB-Iive PTC WH:A
jau tT izmaineisi, lai jT tT pa Reig-u ptiesas.
PTC there change:FUT:2SG PTC they there in Riga-A tussle:PRS:3
'lt is the Latgalian indifference and scepticism, the unwillingness to integrate
into society- just look, for example, at the results of the latest referendum. Sok,
we have to live as Our Good Lord has granted. And what can you do about it,
let those in Riga tussle over it.' (IS)
Particles with mainly focusing function are i (additive focus), a (contrastive focus), az
('even'), to, and the negative particle ni (see 6.2.3 for the latter). While i and a are
placed before the word or phrase that is highlighted, the particle to follows that
expression.
(259) Voi jiusim ir gade]Ts, ka akmif)S nasavej nu sirds? GadejTs?
A cegl-s? Akmii)-S to vTgl-i vejas, pa-gryud-
PTC brick-N stone-N PTC easy-Aov roii:PRS:3 PFX-push:prs:2sg
mTr-s! A cegl-s kai vejas?
and peace-N PTC brick how roii:PRS:3
'Have you ever experienced a stone rolling off your heart? You have? But what
about a brick? A stone rolls easily, give it a gentle push and - peace and
quiet. But a brick, how does that roll?' (VL) ('a stone rolling off one's heart' is
an idiom meaning 'a load being taken off one's mind')
In the above example there is a contrast between the two elements highlighted by the
particles a and to, respectively, but this is not a necessary condition for the use of to.
This particle lays emphasis on an element within the topic of a clause. It thus has a
topicalizing function (in the sense of explicitly marking the topic). The highlighted
element is often a noun, but may also be a verb, an adjective, or any other part-of-
speech (recall its use after a question word described in 6.2.4). Two further examples:
LW/M482
(260) Viestur-i
history-A
104
to roksta tr,
PTC write:PRS: 3 DEM:N.PL.M
kur-i zamu klonuos var-ai, a na taut-ai.
REL-N.PL.M IOW-ADV bow:PRS: 3 power-D PTC NEG people-D
LATGALIAN
'History is written by those who bow to the power, not to the people.' (OS)
("as to// speaking of history, it is written ... ")
(261) Beg-t to maf) nav kur!
flee-1 PTC 1 SG:D NEG:be:PRS:3 where
'As to getting away, there is no place where to!' = There is no place I could
escape to' (with 'getting away' being the topic) (IS)
As mentioned above (6.2.2.3, 6.2.1.4), the existential verb or the copula ' be' may be
omitted in existential, possessive, and non-verbal clauses, and this seems to be more
often the case when a particle is used in the clause. In such clauses the particle to looks
like an element connecting subject and predicate, as in the following possessive clause
(another example was given in 6.2.1.4):
(262) Saimineic-ai to vuord-s Roza.
farmer[FEM)-o PTC name-N Roza
'The farmer (the farmer's wife) has the first name Rose' (context: The author
invents a reason why a homestead is called Roilejas 'valley of roses', and her
idea is that the name is not motivated by the flowers, but by the farmer's name;
thus, saimineicai is an emphasized topic) (IS)
The particle to is also used clause-initially, referring to the content of the previous
clause and preparing a new statement on its base (approximate explicite English
translations are 'in this case', 'given this state of affairs').
(263) A skoluos latgaju mieli i patTsu latgalisko kulturviesturi navuica.
To ir myusTm sov-ys taut-ys var-a
PTC be:PRS:3 we:o RPO-G.SG.F people-G power-N
sov-ys tautsko/-ys voi nav?
and RPO-G.SG.F people-schooi-G.SG or NEG:be:PRS:3
'But neither the Latgalian language nor proper Latgalian cultural history are
taught in schools. Now then, do we have the power of the people and the
people's schools or not?' (OS)
The particle to is derived from the adverb tod 'then', but its functional development
has most probably been influenced by the homophonous particle to in Polish, Russian,
and Belarusian. It is certainly worth further investigation.
6.5 Represented speech in traditional narratives
In Latgalian traditional stories, dialogues between heroes often play an important role.
An example of such a typical dialogue is given in the first sample text in section 7. The
represented (constructed) speech of a character of a story may be distinguished from
the narration not only by prosody, or by using quotation marks in writing, but also by
grammatical means: the logophoric pronoun (see 4.4.1) and the use of participles
instead of the finite indicative verb-forms (see 5.3.4 and 5.4) as well as the use of the
infinitive instead of a finite imperative. These are traditional devices used for
"voicing", for distinguishing between the voice of a character and that of the narrator
(cf. Nau 2008), and at the same time to distinguish between a constructed speech act as
part of a story and a real speech act. The following example illustrates these
techniques:
(264) Jis tiD/en iz-lii1 nu zam tylt-a klidz:
he at.once PFX-creep:PRS:3 from under bridge-G and shout:PR
"Ajz-mokso-t szam, a ka na, to du-szkys sud-a!"
PFX-pay-1 LOG:D.SG.M PTC if NEG PTC give-FAP:SG.M COUrt-L
'At once he comes out from under the bridge and shouts: "Pay me
compensation, or else I'll take you to court!"' (UP)
In this example, the infinitive aizmoksuot 'to pay (compensation)' is used in the
function of an imperative and the future participle diiskys is used instead of the finite
indicative form of the verb 'to give'. The logophoric pronoun sys refers to the reported
speaker. Outside of a story, the speech act represented in (xx l) would have the
following form:
Ajz-moksoj man, a ka na, to du-sz-u sud-a!
PFX-pay:2SG 1 SG:D PTC if NEG PTC give-FUT:1 SG COUrt-L
'Pay me compensation, or else I'll take you to court!'
While a represented speech act may also appear in an unmarked form like this, the
techniques described in this section are regular features of traditional narratives. The
participles used in this function are the "oblique" participles given in sections 5.3.4
and 5.4. They are used very frequently in the traditional fairytales that I have
investigated systematically (UP and Ko). The following example shows two rarer
variants of the oblique future participle:
(265) tiejra-dam-a i atrun jej tu gradzyn-u ziwi-aj wadar-a:
clean-CV-SG.F PTC find:PRS:3 she DEM:A.SG ring-A fish-D belly-L
"Ak, itajd-s szmuk-s gradzyn-s! tz-lik-szkiejtia
oh SUCh-N.SG.M nice-N.SG.M ring-N.SG PFX-Iay-FAP:SG.F
iz laktienis,
byii-szkama
szos miejt-aj!"
on kerchief-G.SG
be-FAP(IDCL)
LOG:G.SG.F daughter-D
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106
LATGALIAN
'When gutting the fish she found the ring in its belly [and exclaimed]: "Oh, such
a nice ring! I' ll lay it on my kerchief, it will be for my daughter! " (UP)
The use of the infinitive instead of an imperative is not as frequent, but is attested in
various sources. In general, forms marked for mood or modality (imperatives,
subjunctives, and debitives) are used without limit in represented speech al ongside the
participles that stand for indicative forms.
(266) A jej i-dud' jam kukl-is i soka taj:
and she PFX-give:PRS:3 he:o kokle-G and say:PRS:3 so
"Ej i spialaj, da-i-szkys wysur!"
go:IMP.2SG and play: IMP:2SG PFX-go-FAP:SG.M everywhere
'And she gives him a kokle (= a music instrument) and says: "Go and play, and
you'll get everywhere!"' (UP)
Future and past oblique participles are the most frequent, present participles are found
only occasionall y, for example:
(267) sa-skrifl waln-i i wajcoj: "Nu, k6 tu grib-s?"
PFX-run:PRS:3 devii-PL and ask:PRS:3 PTC wh:G 2SG want-PA:SG.M
"Szys to grib-s, kab sz6 siw-a [. .. ]"
LOG:N.SG.M DEM:G want-PA:SG.M that LOG:G.M.SG wife-N
'the devil came running and asked: "What do you want?" "I want that my wife
[ ... ]"(UP)
(268) Nu, iz-lejda jis nu to ciepl-a i soka taj
PTC PTC PFX-creep:PST:3 he from DEM:G.M oven-G and say:PRS:3 so
it tu ka/w-i [. .. ]: ,Mote ass ku as-t' i-dud' szam?"
to DEM:A smith-A maybe be:PA:SG.M WH:A eat-1 PFX-give:l LOG:D.SG.M
Kalw-s soka na ass, siw-a wyss
smith-N say:PRS:3 NEG be:PA:SG.M wife-N always
slym-a gul ni-kam iz-woriej-t'
sick-N.SG.F lie:PRS:3 and NEG-WH:D PFX-cook-1
'Well , he crept out of the oven and said to the smith: "Maybe there is something
to eat that can be given to me?" The smith said there wasn't, his (my) wife is
always lying around sick and there is nobody to cook [a meal]." (UP)
The second part of the above example al so shows that there is no strai ghtforward
distinction between direct and indirect speech (while in the English translation we
have to choose, for example, between "my wife" and " hi s wife" and adj ust the tense
form) . The use of quotation marks may be taken as a criterion, but we often find
characteristics of direct and indirect speech mixed in one sentence. In the following
exampl e, the l ack of quotation marks and the presence of a complementizer are
features of indirect speech, while the use of a vocative form, the second person
pronoun for the reported addressee, and the exclamation mark may be associated with
direct speech.
(269} jis rakstieja taj, ka szam, ciszi griiJt-s, diel-efl ,
he write:PST:3 so that LOG:D.SG.M very hard-N.SG.M son-DIM:voc
a tieD utra cik byiJs griiJt-ok-s!
but 2SG:D two. times much be:FUT:3 hard-COMP-N.SG.M
literally: 'he wrote that for him (me) life was (is) very hard, sonny, but for you it
will be two times harder!' (UP)
If reference to the reported speaker is taken as the criterion, three types of reported
discourse may be di stingui shed (cf. Nau 2006), depending on whether the reported
speaker i s treated as being in the first person (as in English direct speech), as being in
the third person (as in English indirect speech), or referred to by the logophoric
pronoun. While respecting verbal agreement, the logophoric pronoun is treated as a
third person, it is functionally closer to the first person. The reported addressee is most
often treated as being in the second person:
(270) i nu-syiJta jam gromot-u, ka toii-aj siw-aj
and PFX-send:PsT:3 he:o letter-A that 2SGPOS-D.SG.F wife-D
na barn-s pidzyms ira, bet kucalan-s!
NEG child-N be.born:PAP:SG.M be:PRS:3 but pup-N
'She sent him; a letter [telling him] that his; (literally: your) wife had born not a
child, but a pup.' (UP)
The use of the techniques described here is largely confined to the representation of
acts of communication (speaking or writing); only occasionally it is extended to the
representation of thoughts. They may be tightly connected to the oral deliverance of a
story and for this reason are hardly ever found in stories that were composed in
writing.
LW/M482
108
LATGALIAN
7. Samples
The first sample represents traditional narrative fiction, told in a Latgalian subdialect
before the standardization of Latgalian, transcribed by an ethnographer. The subdialect
is that of Vijani, a parish in Central Latgalia in the region of Rezekne. The second
sample represents contemporary Standard Latgalian (which is sti ll in the process of
being codified). The writer comes from Vijani, too.
Samplel: From Ulanowska 's collection of fairytales (UP), published in 1895.
The texts of this collection were written down using the writing system that was
common in the 19th century. It is based on Polish orthography. Not that vowel length
is not indicated and that <o> may indicate !:J! as well as /uo/, while is used as a
marker of palatalization. For the interlinear translation I rewrote the text in current
standard orthography, without changing the forms of the words. The dialect is very
close to Standard Latgalian, only a few forms in this fragment differ from forms
accepted for the standard variety. These are the reduced forms for the accusative
plural: pur-s <pur-US, mez-s < mez-us, maiset;z-C < maiset;z-US.
Text in original orthography (fragment of the fairytale "Ap Zierniejti' ')
Nu, jau niko dariejt, it jail jis, it, it, cik wierstus porgoja, cik godu jis goja, - i miezsz
porgoja, i purs i cik tiejrumu porgoja, - igoja jis, kur nawa nikajdu dzierauniu, ni
mujzu, tik wina baznijca, radz, ti stow', - a jis sadumoja tu, ka iszkys pi to
baznijckunga, stoszkys par kolpu iz gods. Igoja wyda, a ti jau ba:Znijckungs soka taj:
"Stoj pi mania par kolpu!" - Jis soka taj: "Stoszkys jau pi tiewa!" - "A cik ta tu
moksys jimsi iz gods?"- "Szys dorgi na jimszkys nu tiewa, baznijckungs!"- "Nu, cik
tu jimsi nu szo?" - "A ku ta szys nu tiewa jimszkys? Ka atdziejwoszkys jaii godu,
iszkys iz satu, tu man pibiersi tu capuri naiidys i winu majsieniu man rudzu i utru
mizu!" -A jis dumoj, tys baznijckungs: "Kas itys ir man pibiert' jam tus diu majsiencz
i tu naiidys capuri?" - Nu, jis soka: "Labi, szys tieii ajzmoksoszkys, tolki dziejwot'
jaii!"- Jis i dastoja ti i dziejwoj [ ... ]
Free translation
Well, nothing doing, he leaves and walks on and on. Many versts (miles) he measured,
many years he walked, and he crossed forests and swamps and many fields. Then he
came to a place where there was neither village nor manor, only, behold, a single
church. And he figured he'll go to the priest and enter into service for a year. He went
inside, and there the priest said at once: "Enter into service with me as a farmhand!"
He said: "I'll do that!"- "But how much will you take as your pay for a year?"- "I
won't take much from you, priest!"- "Well , how much then will you take from me?''
-"Well, what shall I take from you? When I'll have finished the year, when I will go
home, you will fill me this cap with money, and one little sack with rye and another
one with barley!"- And he thinks, the priest: "What is that to me to fill him these two
LATGALIAN
109
LW/M482
little sacks, and the cap of money?" - So he says: "All right, I'll pay you, just start
living here now!"- And he entered into service and started his life there.
Interlinear translation
(1) Nu, jau ni-kuo darei-t,
PTC PTC NEG-WH:G do-l
(2) Tt jau jis, Tt, Tt,
go:PRS:3 PTC he go:PRS:3 go:PRS:3
(3) cik verst-us puor-guoj-a,
how.much verst-A.PL PFX-go:PST-3
(4) cik god-u jis guoj-a,-
how.much year-G.PL he go:PST-3
(5) mei-s puor-guoj-a por-s
PTC forest-A.PL PFX-go:PST-3 PTC swamp-A.PL
(6) cik teirum-u puor-guoj-a, -
(7)
(8)
(9)
PTC how.much field-G.PL PFX-go:PST-3
T-guoj-a jis,
PFX-go:PST-3 he
ni muii-u,
NEG manor-G.PL
tik vTn-a
only one-N.SG.F
kur nava ni-kaid-u dzerauf)-u,
where NEG:be:PRS:3 NEG-which-G.PL Village-G.PL
bazneic-a, redz, tT stuov, -
church-N.SG see:PRS:2sg there stand:PRS:3
(10) a jis sa-domuoj-a to,
PTC he PFX-think(PST)-3 DEM:A.SG
(11) ka T-sk-ys pi tuo bazneic-kung-a,
church-lord-G.SG that go-FAP-SG.M at DEM:G.SG.M
(12) stuo-sk-ys par kolp-u iz god-s.
enter-FAP-SG.M for farmhand-A.SG on year-G.SG
(13) T-guoj-a vyd-a,
PFX-go:PST-3 inside[NOUN]-L.SG
(14) a tT jau bazneic-kung-s soka tai:
PTC there PTC church-lord-N.SG say:PRS:3 so
(15) , Stuoj pi man-e par kolp-u!"-
enter-IMP .2SG at 1SG-G for farmhand-A.SG
(16) Jis soka tai:
he say:PRS:3 so
(17) ,Stuo-sk-ys jau pi tev-e!''-
enter-FAP-SG.M PTC at 2SG-G
LW/M482
110
LATGALIAN
(18) ,A cik ta tu moks-ys jim-s-i
iz god-s?"-
PTC how.much PTC 2SG pay[NOUN]-G.SG take-FUT -2SG on year-N.SG
(19) ,Sys duorg-i na-jim.:sk-ys nu tev-e,
LOG:SG.M expensive-ADV NEG-take-FAP-SG.M from 2SG-G
(20) bazneic-kung-s!"-
church-lord-N
(21) ,Nu, cik tu jim-s-i nu suo?"-
PTC how.much 2SG take-FUT -2SG from LOG:G.SG.M
(22) ,A kO ta sys nu tev-e jim-sk-ys?
PTC WH:A PTC LOG:N.SG.M from 2SG-G take-FAP-SG.M
(23) Ka at-dzeivuo-sk-ys jau god-u, r-sk-ys
when PFX-Iive-FAP-SG.M PTC year-A.SG go-FAP-SG.M
(24) tu mal) pT-bier-s-i to capur-i
2SG:N 1SG:D PFX-pour-FUT-2SG DEM:A.SG cap-A.SG
(25) vTn-u mais-ef)-u mal) rudz-u
PTC one-A.SG sack-DIM-A.SG 1SG:D rye-G.PL
(26) Otr-u mTz-u!"-
PTC other-A.SG barley-G.PL
(27) A jis dOmoj, tys bazneic-kung-s:
PTC he think:PRS:3 DEM:N.SG.M church-lord-N.SG
(28) ,Kas itys ir mal)
WH:N DEM:N.SG.M be:PRS:3 1SG:D
(29) pT-ber-t jam tos div mais-eQ-6
PFX-pour-1 he:o DEM:A.PL.M two sack-DIM-A.PL
(30) to naud-ys capur-i?"-
PTC DEM:A.SG money-G.SG cap-A.SG
(31) Nu, jis
PTC he
soka:
say:PRS:3
(32) ,Lab-i, sys
good-ADV LOG:N.SG.M
(33) tojki dzeivuo-t jau!"-
just live-1 PTC
(34) Jis da-stuoj-a
tev aiz-moksuo-sk-ys,
2SG:D PFX-pay-FAP-SG.M
tT dzeivoj
he PTC PFX-enter:PST-3
there PTC live:PRS:3
iz sa t-u,
to home-A.SG
naud-ys
money-A.SG
Sample 2: from llze Sperga's electronic diary
(In http://lv.wordpress.com/tag/wwwdienalv/ on 1011112008 at 00:22; also available at
the portal www.lakuga.lv)
Comment: As in many other places in Central Europe, mushroom picking is very
popular in Latgalia and a frequent topic of conversations.
Free translation
The first and the last mushrooms [of this year] - the chanterelles of July 18th and those
of November 6th.
When, on July 19th, I met friends at the concert "Made in Latgalia" in Preili and told
them that I had mushroom sauce the day before, they didn't believe me - are there
[mushrooms] already [they asked]? Too early, isn't it? It was only St. John's day not
so long ago, St. Peter's day. What mushrooms?
When on November 6th I went to Rezekne for the broadcasting of "Latgalian
language on television" on the Regional Television of Latgalia, again they didn't
believe me. Mushrooms? In November? After the frost? Surely they are frozen and
old. If not already poisonous ....
Nothing doing. Such a winter and such a summer.
I wouldn't even have gone into the wood, but I read in the e-diary of a friend that
mushrooms were on offer at the market of Vilani. Then I couldn't leave the matter
alone. I had to go and check.
And there they were. At the beginning it was like a shock, but then it became a
challenge to look for them. It's so strange to walk through the November woods,
where birds' voices are no longer to be heard, and let your eyes wander over the moss.
In November that's untypical. In November the wood should be empty. It's the half-
light that suits November, shades of grey, it's getting rid of everything superfluous-
the advent of winter's lucidity.
Then I remembered what two Russians had said in a train on their way from Riga in
summer. That there are a great many mushrooms this year. Plenty of mushrooms. That
in years of famine, plenty of mushrooms grow. The active person gathers [mushrooms]
and eats [them] in winter. Because mushrooms grow in the wood so that all the poor
could eat their fill. God is not a small child - by one hand He takes away, but by the
other He gives.
Interlinear translation
( 1 ) Pyrm-uos i padej-uos sieQ-S -
first-N.PL.F.DEF and last-N.PL.F.DEF mushroom-N.PL
(2) 18. juj-a gailin-is 6. novembr-a gailin-is.
18th July-G chanterelle-N.PL and 6th November-G chanterelle-N.PL
LW/M 482
112
LATGALIAN
(3} Kod 19. jui-T satyk-u draug-us Preij-u koncert-a
when 19th July-L meet:PST-1SG friend-A.PL Preii -G concert-L
(4) ''Taisei-t-s Latgol-a" i saciej-u, ka vakar jau iei-u
make-PPP-SG.M latgalia-L and say:PST-1 SG that yesterday PTC eat:PST-1 SG
(5} sieQ-U
mushroom-G.PL
(6) voi ta jau
PTC PTC QU
me re-i, m a f)
sauce-A.SG 1 SG:D
as-os-ys.
be-PA-PL.F
Par
for
na-ticej-a -
NEG-believ:PST-3
agr-i tok.
early-ADV PTC
(7) Napasenim
not.long.ago
tik Juof)a-drn-a cauri,
PTC John:G-day-N.SG through
Prter-drn-a.
Peter-day-N.SG
(8) Kaid-ys sieQ-s?
which-N.PL.F mushroom-N.PL
(9) Kod 6. novembr-T
when 6th November-L
aiz-brauc-u iz
PFX-ride:PST-1SG to
Rezekn-i,
Rezekne-A
(1 O) iz raidiej-um-u "Latgaffs-u vo/Od-a televizej-a"
to show[VERB]-DER-A.SG Lagalian-G.PL language-N.SG television-L.SG
(11) Latgol-ys Regional-aja televizej-a, mal)
1SG:D
otkon na-ticej-a.
Latgalia-G regionai-L.SG.DEF television-L again NEG-believe:PST-3
(12) SieQ-s? Novembr-T? Piec so/n-u?
mushroom-N.PL November-L after frost-G.PL
(13) Da gof) jau sa-sol-us-ys vac-ys.
PTC PTC PTC PFX-freeze-PAP-PL.F and OLD-N.PL.F
(14) Ka tik vej na iQd-eig-ys .. .
if PTC already NEG poison-DER-N.PL.F
(15) A ko pa-darei-s-i.
PTC WH:A PFX-dO-FUT -2SG
(16) Taid-a zTm-a taid-a vosor-a.
such-N.SG.F winter-N.SG and such.N.SG.F summer-N.SG
(17) Na-byu-tu ni-moz iz mei-u guoj-us-e,
NEG-be-SUB NEG-Iittle[ADV] to forest-A.SG go:PST-PAP-SG.F
(18) a vTn-ys
but one-G.SG.F
pazin-is e-drn-ys-gruomot-a
acquaintance-G.SG e-day-G.SG-book-L
tierg-a var nO-pierk-t sieQ-S.
puor-skaitiej-u,
PFX-read:PST-1 SG
(19) ka
that
Vijan-u
Vijani-G market-L.SG can:PRS:3 PFX-buy-1 mushroom-A.PL
(20) Tai to fft-u na-varej-a pa-mes-t.
SO DEM:A.SG matter-A.SG NEG-can:PST-3 PFX-throW-1
LATGALIAN
{21) Vajadzej-a r-t
must:PST-3 go-1 and
(22) beja.
and be:PST-3
11 3
puorbaude-t.
control- I
LW/M482
(23) Nu suok-um-a sok-s, a tod
from begin[VERB]-DER-G.SG shock-N.SG but then
azart-s mekle-t.
exitement-N.SG search-!
(24) lr tik jOc-eig-ai T-t pa novembr-a
be:PRS:3 so joke-DER-ADV go-1 along November-G
met-u,
forest-A.SG
(25) kur vaira na-skaf)
where more NEG-sound:PRS:3
putyn-u bols-i,
bird-G.PL voice-N.PL
(26) a ar ac-im lais-t pa syun-u.
and with eye-D.PL let-1 over moss-A.SG
(27) Novembr-T
November-L
tai nav.
SO NEG:be:PRS:3
(28) Novembr-T met-am juo-byut
November-L forest-D.SG DEB-be
tuks-am.
empty-D.SG.M
(29) Novembr-am pT-stuov
November-o PFX-stand:PRS:3
mikriesl-is,
twilight-N.SG
palak-T ton-i
grey-N.PL.M.DEF hue-N.PL
(30) at-sa-breiv-uo-son-a nu ffk-uo -
and PFX-RFX-free-DER-VN-N.SG from superfluos-G.SG.M.DEF
(31) at-eim-08-a zrm-ys skaidr-eib-a.
PFX-go-PA-N.SG.F.IDF winter-G.SG clear-DER-N.SG
(32) Tod es at-guoduoj-u, kO vosor-a vijcrn-T runuoj-a
then 1SG PFX-remember:PST-1SG WH:A summer-L train-L talk:PST-3
(33) divej-i krfv-i, kas brauc-e nu Reig-ys.
two-N.M Russian-N.PL WH:N ride:PST-3 from Riga-G
(34) Ka
that
ita-god cTsi daudz sieQ-U.
this:A.SG-year very much mushroom-G.PL
(35) Oplom daudz sieQ-U.
mushroom-G.PL very much
(36) Ka
that
daudz sieQ-U ir
much mushroom-G.PL be:PRS:3
(37) Kur-s
REL-N.SG.M
cakl-s, tys
active-N.SG.M DEM:N.SG.M
{38} i
and
zTm-u ad.
winter-A.SG eat:PRS:3
bad-a
hunger-G.SG
pT-Ios-a
PFX-gather:PRS-3
god-Os.
year-L.PL
LW/M 482
114
LATGALIAN
(39) Par-to ka sieQ-s aug mei-a,
for-DEM:A.SG that mushroom-N.PL grow:PRS:3 forest-L.SG
(40) kab vys-i nabog-i byu-tu pa-ad-us-i.
that aii-N.PL.M poor-N.PL.M.IDF be-SUB PFX-eat-PAP-PL.M
(41) or v-s na moz-ais barn-s-
God-N.SG NEG smaii-N.SG.M.DEF child-N.SG
(42) ar vTn-u rOk-u jem, ar Otr-u dud.
with one-A.SG hand-A.SG take:PRS:3 with other-A.SG give:PRS:3
8. Abbreviations used in interlinear translations
l, 2, 3 first, second, third person
A accusative
ADV adverb
AUX auxiliary
COMP comparative
CV con verb
D dative
DEB debitive
DEF definite
DEM demonstrative (pronoun)
DER derivational suffix
DIM diminutive
EMPH emphatic pronoun
F feminine
FAP future active participle
FUT future tense
0 genitive
IDCL indeclinable
IDF indefinite
IMP imperative
infinitive
L locative
LOG logophoric pronoun
M masculine
N nominative
NEG negation
PA
present active participle
PFX prefix
PAP past active participle
PFX prefix
PL plural
pp
present passive participle
PPP past passive participle
PRS present tense
LATGALIAN
PST
PTC
QU
REL
RFX
past tense
particle
interrogative particle
relative pronoun
reflexive
RPO reflexive possessive pronoun
SO singular
SUB subjunctive
SUP supine
v vocative
115
VN verbal noun (derivational suffix)
WH interrogative pronoun 'who/what'
9. Sources
LW/M 482
Bic = texts from Laura Bicane's blog "dumu pylni pogolmi", available at the portal
www.lakuga.lv
IS = texts from Ilze Sperga's blog at www.naktineica.lv, also available at the portal
www.lakuga.lv.
Ko = Feima1;zu draudzes pasakas. Tautas dziesmas un pasakas Rezeknes novada
Feima/;zu un Sila}iifJu pagasta. Pierakstljis Antons Kokalis. Sastadltajs Ojars
Sparltis. Rlga: Nacionalais apgads, 2009.
KurS = "Kur sauleitei sata", short story by Ilze Sperga published on her former web-
site at http:/ /saprge. wordpress.com
OS =texts written by Ontons Slisans, published in a Latvian magazine (Republika.lv)
and on the Internet, available at the portal www.lakuga.lv.
Sus = Autobiographic texts written by contemporary Latgalian poets, published in the
volume Susatlvs. Myusdlnu Latgallsu dzejis antologeja, ed. by Ilga Suplinska.
Rezekne: Latgolys Studentu Centrs, 2008.
UP = Ulanowska, Stefania. 1895. Lotysze Inflant polskich, a w szczeg61nosci gminy
Wielonskiej , powiatu Rzezyckiego. Obraz etnograficzny. Czysc Ill. Zbi6r
wiadomosci do antropologii krajowej, t. XVIII, 232-406.
Varkava = Varkavas novada mutvardu daifrades piirs. Sast. Janlna Vilmane. Rezekne:
Latgales Kulturas centra izdevnieclba, 2006. (A collection of folklore texts from
Varkava)
VL = texts written by Valentins Lukasevics, published in a Latvian newspaper
(Latvijas Avlze) and on the Internet, available at the portal www.lakuga.lv.
LW/M482
116
LATGALIAN
10. Bibliography
This bibliography includes some further references on Latgalian not cited in the text.
Andronov, A[leksej] V. & L[idija] Leikuma. 2006. Latysi i latgal'cy Sibiri: jazyk i
kul'tura. In: Vj. Vs. Ivanov et al. eds. Balto-slavjanskie issledovanija. XVII.
Sbornik nauycnych trudov. Moskva: Indrik, 476-482.
Andronov, A[leksej] V. & L[idija] Leikuma. 2010. Latgal'skij jazyk. In: Bol 'saja
Rossijskaja encyklopedija, tom 17. Moskva: Bol'Saja Rossijskaja encyklopedija,
41-42.
Balode, Laimute & Axel Holvoet. 200 l. The Latvian language and its dialects. In: b.
Dahl & M. Koptjevskaja-Tamm, eds. Circum-Baltic Languages. Volume 1: Past
and Present. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 3-40.
Brejdak, Anton = Breidaks, Antons
Brejdak, Anton. 1989. Fonetika latgal'skich govorov latysskogo jazyka: diachronija i
sinchronija. Disertacija na soiskanie ucenoj stepeni doktora filologiceskich nauk.
Riga 1989. (Published in Breidaks 2007, Vol. 1, 239-482.)
Breidaks, Antons. 1993. The development of the subsystem of consonants in the
Latgalian tribal language. Linguistica Baltic a 2, 183-187. (Reprinted in Breidaks
2007, Vol. 2, 88-90.)
Brejdak, A[nton]. 2006. Latgal'skij jazyk. (Artikel edited by A. V. Andronov and L.
Leikuma). In: Jazyki mira: Baltijskie jazyki. Moskva: Acadernia, 193-213.
Breidaks, Antons. 2007. Darbu izlase. 2 sej. Rlga: LU Latviesu valodas institiits.
Bukss, [1943] 1969. Latgaju-vocu un vocu latgaju vordneica 11 Latgalisch-
deutsches und Deutsch-latgalisches Worterbuch. Unveranderter Nachdruck.
[Miinchen:] Latgaju izdevnlceiba.
Bukss, & Jurs Placinskis, J. 1973. Latgaju voliidas gramatika un
pareizraksteibas vi5rdneica. [Second edition] [Miinchen:] Latgalischer Verlag VI.
Locis.
Cibujs, Juris. 2009. Latgaliesu abeces 1768- 2008. Rlga: Zinatne.
Cibujs, Juris. 2011. Purlovas gramata. Rlga [published by the author].
Cibujs, Juris & Lidija Leikuma. 1992. Latgallsu Abece (lementars) 2. Lielvarde:
Lie1vards. [available at: http://www.lu.lv/filol!dialekt/publikacijas/LgABC2.pdf]
Cibujs, Juris & Lidija Leikuma. 2003. Vasals! Latgaliesu valodas maclba. [Riga:]
n.i.m.s. [available online at: http://www.lu.lv/filol/dialekt/publikacijas.htm#vasals]
Eckert, Rainer. 2010a. Die baltischen Sprachen in Europa. In: U. Hinrichs ed.
Handbuch der Eurolinguistik. Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz, 247-261.
Eckert, Rainer. 2010b. Lettgallisch - eine ba1tische Regionalsprache. Humanitiiro
ZiniitJJU Vestnieks 17. Daugavpils: Daugavpils UniversiHite, 52-59.
LATGALIAN
LW/M 482
Evangelia toto anno 1753. Pirmii latgalieu griimata. Reprinted 2004, Rlga: LU
Latviesu valodas instiruts.
Holvoet, Axel. 2001. Impersonals and passives in Baltic and Finnic. In: b. Dahl & M.
Koptjevskaja-Tamm, eds. Circum-Baltic Languages. Volume 2: Grammar and
Typology. Amsterdam: Benjarnins, 363-389.
Holvoet, Axel. 2010. Notes on complementizers in Baltic. In: N. Nau & N. Ostrowski,
eds. Particles and Connectives in Baltic. Vilnius: Vilniaus Universitetas &
Asociacija ,Acadernia Salensis", 73-101.
lannaccaro, Gabriele & Vittorio Dell' Aquila. 2008. Jazyki v vostocnoj Latvii:
metodologiceskie voprosy. In: S. Lazdir,m, ed. Etniskums Eiropa: Socialpolitiskie
un kultiiras procesi. Rezekne: Rezeknes Augstskola, 5-31.
Jokubauska, N. ed. 1988. Augszemnieku dialekta teksti. Latgaliskas izloksnes. Rlga:
Zinatne.
Kjavinska, Antra. 2008. Polietniskums un daudzvalodlba Latgale. In: S. Lazdir;m, ed.
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Aaron Sonnenschein
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N ishi yama & 11 . Kelen
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Pochtrager (eels.)
is a regional language of Latvla in Central Europe, regularty used
estimated number of 150,000 .-ens. Genetically it belongs to the
....... ,'" Baltic branch of lndo-European. While its close relationShip to
is apparent in basic vocabulary and inflectional morphemeS, there
also significant differences in the phonology, morphology and syntax of
two languages, due to divergent de'lelopment during the 17th - 19th c.,
Latgalia was politically and culhnlly HP8f'8ted from other Ullvlan
l torr;tnri<D .. Furthermore, contact with Slavic lqueges (Polllh, Belaluslen,
Russian) has played an important role In the hl8toryofl.lltgelen.
Typologically salient features of LatgdM lrtclude rnorphophonolog
harmony with an opposition of back vs. IroN VOMII and 10ft (p1f1111118d or
alveolar) vs. ard consonants, a large invenlory of non-ftnlt verb fonnl,
genitive vs. accusative marking of direct dltiM nwtcil'l of prtmery
core arguments in a variety of IMt.,.. of,......,.. predk:llllil
in represented speech, and the existence of a dlllncl '"*""
referring to the speaker of a reported discourle.
Nicole Nau is professor of Baltic languages and llniiJflfae ..._
Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland. She 11 .., .,. ....., fl
217: Latvian.
LINCOM EUROPA
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