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The Mordvinic languages, also known as the Mordvin, Mordovian or Mordvinian languages (, ''mordovskiye yazyki''),
are a subgroup of the
Traditionally, Uralicists grouped the Mordvinic and Mari languages together in the so-called ''Volgaic'' branch of the Uralic family; this view was however abandoned in the late 20th century. Instead, some Uralicists now prefer a rapid expansion model, with Mordvinic as one out of nine primary branches of Uralic; others propose a close relation between Mordvinic with the Finnic and Saamic branches of Uralic.
Uralic languages
The Uralic languages ( ), sometimes called the Uralian languages ( ), are spoken predominantly in Europe and North Asia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian. Other languages with speakers ab ...
, comprising the closely related Erzya language
The Erzya language (, , ), also Erzian or historically Arisa, is spoken by approximately 300,000 people in the northern, eastern and north-western parts of the Republic of Mordovia and adjacent regions of Nizhny Novgorod, Chuvashia, Penza, Sama ...
and Moksha language
Moksha (, ) is a Mordvinic languages, Mordvinic language of the Uralic languages, Uralic family, spoken by Mokshas, with around 130,000 native speakers in 2010.
Moksha is the majority language in the western part of Mordovia.
Its closest relativ ...
, both spoken in Mordovia
Mordovia ( ),; Moksha language, Moksha and officially the Republic of Mordovia,; ; is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, situated in Eastern Europe. Its capital city, capital is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of S ...
.
Previously considered a single "Mordvin language",
it is now treated as a small language grouping. Due to differences in phonology
Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...
, lexicon
A lexicon (plural: lexicons, rarely lexica) is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Greek word () ...
, and grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...
, Erzya and Moksha are not mutually intelligible. The two Mordvinic languages also have separate literary forms. The Erzya literary language
Literary language is the Register (sociolinguistics), register of a language used when writing in a formal, academic writing, academic, or particularly polite tone; when speaking or writing in such a tone, it can also be known as formal language. ...
was created in 1922 and the Mokshan in 1923.
Phonological differences between the two languages include:
* Moksha retains a distinction between the vowels while in Erzya, they have merged as .
* In unstressed syllables, Erzya features vowel harmony
In phonology, vowel harmony is a phonological rule in which the vowels of a given domain – typically a phonological word – must share certain distinctive features (thus "in harmony"). Vowel harmony is typically long distance, meaning tha ...
like many other Uralic languages, using in front-vocalic words and in back-vocalic words. Moksha has a simple schwa in their place.
* Word-initially, Erzya has a postalveolar affricate corresponding to a fricative in Moksha.
* Next to voiceless consonants, liquids
Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...
and the semivowel
In phonetics and phonology, a semivowel, glide or semiconsonant is a sound that is phonetically similar to a vowel sound but functions as the syllable boundary, rather than as the nucleus of a syllable. Examples of semivowels in English are ''y ...
are devoiced in Moksha to .
The medieval Meshcherian language
Meshchera is an extinct Uralic language. It was spoken around the left bank of the Middle Oka. Meshchera was either a Mordvinic or a Permic language. Pauli Rahkonen has suggested on the basis of toponymic evidence that it was a Permic or clos ...
may have been Mordvinic or close to Mordvinic.
Classification
Traditionally, Uralicists grouped the Mordvinic and Mari languages together in the so-called ''Volgaic'' branch of the Uralic family; this view was however abandoned in the late 20th century. Instead, some Uralicists now prefer a rapid expansion model, with Mordvinic as one out of nine primary branches of Uralic; others propose a close relation between Mordvinic with the Finnic and Saamic branches of Uralic.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mordvinic Languages Languages of Russia Mordovian culture