Nyelvtudományi Közlemények 94. kötet (1994-1995)

Kisebb közlemények - Sherwood, Peter: Ob-Ugrian ’consume’ 119

124 PETER SHERWOOD (or outside) the animacy hierarchy; (2) genuine (literary) metaphor, which allèges that (unpleasant) créatures low or very low on the animacy hierarchy are 'eating' a HUMAN, although it is universally known that they are not the créatures' normal source of nourishment. A(1)PASS soàt khum-ne të-wa-s-en! WW 637a du sollst von sieben Männer gefickt werden! A(2)PASS nag âmp-nê voss të-wê-n! WW 636b der Hund soll dich fressen! (du sollst vom Hund gefressen werden!) kul'-nè voss të-wê-n! WW 636b der Teufel soll dich fressen! köl-na tewma-s-aj-an! DEWOS 713 Fluch (du sollst vom Teufel gefressen werden!) täxem-ne ju-täjänt-iu-m WW 637a ich werde von den Läusen aufgefressen mä cuncd-na cdk3 li-s-uj-em DEWOS 713 die Flöhe bissen mich sehr Parallel to these last is an example from Vax (Eastern) Ostyak, in which the verb is not in the 'passive' but rather agrées with the -N-marked Agent; this example should be borne in mind when discussing the links between passive and ergative in Ob-Ugrian: köjyi-n mänt li-w- alt Gulya: 137 mosquito-N I-ACC eat-PRES-INDEF/p3 the mosquitoes are biting me To demonstrate the importance of the animacy hierarchy, we may point to the fact that evén a one-placed verb may have its Subject marked with -Na: sali änt+mürä- na nëyley- t WW 336a reindeer soft+antler-na become visible-PRES-INDEF/p3 the reindeer's soft antlers are showing through Antlers (soft antlers are an Ob-Ugrian delicacy) are normally low on the hierarchy, as inanimate objects; here, however, they are exceptionally marked as Agent, since animacy is involved in an Agent-like initiation of a process of growth. Nyelvtudományi Közlemények 94. 1994-1995.