Typology of Negation in Ob-Ugric
and Samoyedic Languages (NOS)

Nganasan

Standard Negation 

Example sentences are available both in html and in pdf format.

Existential Negation 

Type B:

Negative existential verb or predicate

Past/Future tense: negative existential verb

  Negative Prediacte Locative Negative Existential
  T Cop L T L Cop L T Cop Cop L T L Cop T
Feature of Theme [+definite] [+definite] [-definite] [-definite] [-definite]
Negative Element ďaŋku
ďaŋgujśa
ďaŋku
ďaŋgujśa
ďaŋku
ďaŋgujśa
ďaŋku
ďaŋgujśa
ďaŋku
ďaŋgujśa

Example sentences are available both in html and in pdf format.

Negative Imperative 

common negative auxiliary (ńi-) in imperative form + main verb in connegative form

Example sentences are available both in html and in pdf format.

Other Types of Non-Standard Negation 

  1. other types of non-standard negation
    Gloss Word order Negative Auxiliary
    not able to Neg.Aux+VerbCn ləðiʔśi
    nearly Neg.Aux+VerbCn kasaďa
    almost Neg.Aux+VerbCn ŋuəlɨ-
      VerbCn+Neg.Aux əku-
  2. lexically negative verb: ďerusa ‘not.know’

Example sentences are available both in html and in pdf format.

Negation of Predicate Possession 

Type B2: Nganasan has two predicate possessive constructions, one transitive and one intransitve, the transitive construction is negated using the standard negation, the intransitive through the neg.ex.

Type Construction
transitive Have-Poss. affirm. PoRNom + PoMAcc + hon-
neg. PoRNom + PoMAcc + ńi- + honəɁ
intransitive Nominative Poss. affirm. PoRNom + PoMPx + təi-
neg. PoRNom+PoMPx + ďaŋku
PoRNom + PoM(Px) + ďaŋguj-
PoRNom + PoMCar + i-
PoRNom + PoMCar + ďaŋku
PoRNom + PoMCar + ďaŋguj-
Lokative Poss. affirm. PoRGen + PpLoc + təi- + PoM
neg. PoRGen + PpLoc + ďaŋku + PoM
PoRGen + PpLoc + ďaŋguj- + PoM
Verbalization affirm. VerbPoss
neg. ńi- + VerbPoss in connegative form (no data)

Example sentences are available both in html and in pdf fomrat.

Non-Verbal Predicate Negation 

  First Way Second Way Third way
Standard Non-Verbal Existential Locational Possessive
Present ńisɨ + Lexical Verb ńintuu +
N-V.Pred.
ďaŋku + Subject/Theme ďaŋku + Location ďaŋku + Possessum
Past/Future ńisɨ + Lexical Verb ńisɨ +
N-V.Pred. + Copula
ďaŋgujśa + Subject/Theme ďaŋgujśa + Location ďaŋgujśa + Possessum

Example sentences are available both in html and in pdf format.

A list of abbreviations used can be found here.