Nyelvtudományi Közlemények 84. kötet (1982)

Tanulmányok - Riese, Timothy: The Conditional Sentence in the Ostyak Language 229

The Conditional Sentence in the Ostyak Language* 1. The amount and type of research done on the two Ob-Ugrian languages, Vogul and Ostyák, is for all practical purposes the same. This is, of course, no wonder when we consider that research intő both languages began at the same time and has been carried out for the most part by scholars of the same nations and of the same hnguistic background. As is the case with Vogul, research on the Ostyák language has centered primarily on its phonetic, phonological, and morphological aspects with much attention also being paid to etymological questions. Less work has been done on Ostyak syntax, on the structure of the Ostyák sentence. As regards the Ostyák conditional sentence, the starting point is exactly the same as for its Vogul counterpart. On examining the various works published, one finds scattered références under various headings. To date, though, there has been no publication with the conditional sentence as its specific topic. In this study I should like to examine the Ostyák conditional sentence, using the knowledge obtainable from previously published works but in the main basing my observations upon and drawing my conclusions from the conditional sentences gathered by myself from various collections oí Ostyák texts. It is not my intention to give an exhaustive account of every variant encountered but rather to présent a survey of the structure of the major types of Ostyák conditional sentences. It became apparent at the very beginning that it would be necessary to discuss the three major Ostyák dialect groups separately due to the large différences to be founcl in the structure of their conditional sentences. This results in a certain amount of overlap but is nevertheless to be preferred for the sake of clarity. The dialects will be treated in the following order: the northern dialect group (osN), the southern dialect group (csS), and the eastern dialect group (osE). In the discussion of each dialect group my remarks fall into two sub-categories, firstly, the linear arrangement of the conditional sentences along with the usage of conditional conjunctions and/or particles, and secondly, the usage of tense and mood in the conditional sentence. •• 2. As regards their linear arrangement, two major types of conditional sentences can be distinguished in osN: 1) protasis with the conditional particle M (M, kë) -f- apodosis, and 2) protasis with neither a conditional particle nor conjunction -f apodosis. The frequency of thèse two types is, however, by no means the same, the apodoses containing the enclitic particle' cccurring * With the best of thanks to Károly Eédei and László Hcnti fer their ldnd aid and assistance in the préparation and editing of this study.