A Syntax of the Nivkh Language

“ A Syntax of the Nivkh Language written by the leading typologist Vladimir P. Nedjalkov and native speaker Nivkh specialist Galina A. Otaina, and thoroughly edited by another leading typologist Emma Geniušienė together with Nivkh expert Ekaterina Gruzdeva is the first fully-glossed grammar of Nivkh to be published in English. Moreover, unlike previous grammars of Nivkh which paid more attention to morphonological aspects of the language, the present work is focused on syntax. Being a truly typologically-informed and typology-oriented description, A Syntax of the Nivkh Language will significantly contribute to the advancement of knowledge in general linguistics as well. Nivkh possesses a number of typologically interesting phenomena such as morphonological changes in the syntactic complexes “direct object + verb” and “attribute + head noun”, the lack of (person) agreement in the finite indicative forms but its presence in the imperative paradigm, the existence of over 20 converbal forms etc. presenting many challenges to standard linguistic assumptions. As a language isolate, which is presumably a remnant of some very old language family, Nivkh will allow us to peel back beyond our current view of Northeast Asia to make visible earlier stages of its human past.”

“This is an invaluable piece of work which resulted from a fruitful collaboration between one of the leading linguists of the time and an unparalleled native talent. The authors would be appreciated for generations for leaving this work to the academics, and the editors making it accessible to broader public.”