Article

Name: The System of Irrealis Moods in Grammatical Studies of the Altai Language

Authors: A. A. Ozonova

In the section Грамматика

Abstract: In the following article, we analyze the irrealis moods described in well-known Altai grammars such as Altai Grammar (1869), Oirot Grammar (1940), Modern Altai Grammar. Morphology (2017). In all of these works, impera-tive, desiderative, and conditional moods are distinguished. However, there are differences in specific forms attributed to specific moods, as well as in their semantic definition. Among the irrealis moods, the imperative holds a special place due to its semantics, as well as the formal nonuni-formity of its personal-numerical paradigm. According to these grammars, there are some differences in personal-numerical markers of the imperative, which are often related to the shifts occurring in the Altai language. For example, according to the earliest grammar, the first person plural imperative form possesses 6 markers (-ык, -алык, -алы, -алдар, -аҥ, -аҥнар), 4 in the second grammar (-алы, -алык, ак, -алыктар, -аалдар, -актар), and 5 in the third one (-ак, -актар, -алы, -алык, -алыктар). In all these grammars, 2 forms of minimal inclusive are distinguished: -алы and -алык. The -алы, -алык, -алыктар first person plural imperative forms, which are said to be actively used in the first two grammars, are in fact rarely used in the modern Altai language, limited to written texts and official speech. The -алдар form has disappeared completely. The -ак and -актар forms, which are central for the modern Altai language, are described in Oirot Grammar (1940) as solely dialectal. In Altai Grammar (1869), the -зындар is listed as the third person plural imperative form, whereas the newer grammars list the -зын and -зындар forms; the first form is de-scribed as the most frequent one in Oirot Grammar (1940) and as the basic one in Modern Altai Grammar. Morphology (2017). In the two earlier grammars, the -айын form is listed as the first person singular imperative form; in the newest grammar, it is defined as a desiderative form and therefore no longer belongs to the imperative system.

Keywords: Altai language, grammar, mood, imperative, optative, conditional mood

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