Article

Name: Field studies of the Forest Nenets language: an expedition to the Purovsky District in 2024

Authors: O. K. Agicheva, A. A. Kozlov, S. Yu. Toldova

Free researcher, Tarko-Sale, Russian Federation; National Research University “Higher School of Economics”, Moscow, Russian Federation

In the section Полевые исследования

Abstract:

This article outlines the results of linguistic fieldwork on the Forest Nenets language conducted in the Purovsky District of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The research stems from collective expeditions carried out in 2023 and 2024 by researchers and students from HSE University and Lomonosov Moscow State University in the town of Tarko-Sale and the village of Kharampur. The study describes the fieldwork principles and methods developed by A. Kibrik, highlighting the advantages of a collective approach that allows for a broad thematic range through daily workshops and data exchange. Regarding the sociolinguistic context of the mission, it is noted that although close to 50 speakers were interviewed, their considerable movement during the summer period presented particular difficulties in ensuring consistent documentation. In the realm of phonology, the article describes the morphophonological alternations associated with the mid-open front vowel /æ/. Based on original observations, the authors also analyze the realization of the “almost always soundless” phoneme postulated by T. Salminen for Samoyedic languages. In the field of lexical semantics, we examine lexemes within the semantic field of “density—thickness—rarity.” Furthermore, the article features a primary text in Forest Nenets by Oktyabrina Kytymovna Agicheva, provided with interlinear morphemic glossing and linguistic commentary. This work contributes to the ongoing documentation of Forest Nenets as an endangered language.

Keywords: Forest Nenets, endangered language, field research, language documentation, expeditions

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