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A Grammar of Beserman
Volume 2
Series: - Grammars and Sketches of the World's Languages, Volume: 20/2
- Indigenous Languages of Russia, Volume: 20/2
The Soviet authorities denied the Besermans the right to self-identify. For decades, their language was dismissed as merely a dialect of Udmurt, a closely related language spoken by a different ethnic group. Only in 2021 was Beserman officially recognized as a separate languageâby then, some fifteen years had already passed since intergenerational transmission had come to an end.
This grammar demonstrates why such recognition matters. Drawing on many years of fieldwork within the Beserman community, it offers a comprehensive portrait of the language: its phonology, morphology, syntax, vocabulary, information structure, and pragmatics. More than 3,700 carefully selected examples bring these features to life and show that Beserman is, beyond doubt, a language worthy of study in its own right.
This grammar demonstrates why such recognition matters. Drawing on many years of fieldwork within the Beserman community, it offers a comprehensive portrait of the language: its phonology, morphology, syntax, vocabulary, information structure, and pragmatics. More than 3,700 carefully selected examples bring these features to life and show that Beserman is, beyond doubt, a language worthy of study in its own right.
Timofey Arkhangelskiy, Ph.D. (2012), is a research fellow at the University of Hamburg. He has conducted fieldwork- and corpus-based research on the Volga-Kama languages, with a focus on Udmurt and Beserman. His other interests include the development of linguistic corpora for language documentation.
Maria Usacheva, Ph.D. (2012), is an independent researcher. Since 2004, she has participated in fieldwork on Beserman as well as three other Uralic languages. She is the editor of a Beserman thesaurus (2017) and a leading member of an informal collaboration dedicated to the documentation of Beserman, which resulted in this grammar.
Maria Cheremisinova is pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin (since 2023). After gaining experience in two fieldwork projects on other Uralic languages as a student, she took part in several Beserman fieldwork trips, where she worked on conditionals, comparative/attenuative polysemy, and verbal actionality.
Maria Usacheva, Ph.D. (2012), is an independent researcher. Since 2004, she has participated in fieldwork on Beserman as well as three other Uralic languages. She is the editor of a Beserman thesaurus (2017) and a leading member of an informal collaboration dedicated to the documentation of Beserman, which resulted in this grammar.
Maria Cheremisinova is pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin (since 2023). After gaining experience in two fieldwork projects on other Uralic languages as a student, she took part in several Beserman fieldwork trips, where she worked on conditionals, comparative/attenuative polysemy, and verbal actionality.
VOLUME 1
Tables, Charts and Maps
1 Introduction
2 Beserman and Its Speakers
3 Phonology and Morphophonology
4 Parts of Speech
5 Nominal and Adjectival Morphology
6 Pronominal Morphology
7 Morphology of Numerals
8 Verbal Morphology
9 Word Formation
10 Semantics and Functions of Nominal Categories
11 Tense and Evidentiality
12 Illocution
13 Modality
14 Conditional Constructions
15 Actionality
16 Valency and Role Mapping
17 Aspectual Derivation: Iterative
18 Voice Derivations
VOLUME 2
19 Syntax of Noun Phrases
20 Syntax of Relational Nouns and Postpositions
21 Comparative Constructions and Attenuative Marker =ges
22 Tautological Constructions
23 Agreement
24 Coordination, Negation, NPIâ¯s and Quantifiers
25 Non-Verbal Predication
26 Existential Clauses and Predicative Possession
27 Finite and Infinitival Complementation
28 Nominalizations
29 Finite Relative Clauses
30 Participles and Non-Finite Relative Clauses
31 Adverbial Clauses and Depictives
32 Converbs and Non-Finite Adverbial Clauses
33 Reported Speech
34 Anaphora and Syntax of the Reflexive Pronoun
35 Discourse Particles, Clitics and Clitic Clusters
36 Word Order and Information Structure
37 Politeness, Formulas and Taboos
38 Lexicon
39 Kinship Terms
40 Addressing and Referencing People
41 Text Samples
Appendix 1: List of Glosses
Appendix 2: Actional Classes of a Sample of Verbs
Appendix 3: Map of Shamardan and Nearby Villages
Appendix 4: Correspondence between Beserman and Russian Place Names
Appendix 5: List of Consultants in Shamardan
References
Index
Tables, Charts and Maps
1 Introduction
2 Beserman and Its Speakers
3 Phonology and Morphophonology
4 Parts of Speech
5 Nominal and Adjectival Morphology
6 Pronominal Morphology
7 Morphology of Numerals
8 Verbal Morphology
9 Word Formation
10 Semantics and Functions of Nominal Categories
11 Tense and Evidentiality
12 Illocution
13 Modality
14 Conditional Constructions
15 Actionality
16 Valency and Role Mapping
17 Aspectual Derivation: Iterative
18 Voice Derivations
VOLUME 2
19 Syntax of Noun Phrases
20 Syntax of Relational Nouns and Postpositions
21 Comparative Constructions and Attenuative Marker =ges
22 Tautological Constructions
23 Agreement
24 Coordination, Negation, NPIâ¯s and Quantifiers
25 Non-Verbal Predication
26 Existential Clauses and Predicative Possession
27 Finite and Infinitival Complementation
28 Nominalizations
29 Finite Relative Clauses
30 Participles and Non-Finite Relative Clauses
31 Adverbial Clauses and Depictives
32 Converbs and Non-Finite Adverbial Clauses
33 Reported Speech
34 Anaphora and Syntax of the Reflexive Pronoun
35 Discourse Particles, Clitics and Clitic Clusters
36 Word Order and Information Structure
37 Politeness, Formulas and Taboos
38 Lexicon
39 Kinship Terms
40 Addressing and Referencing People
41 Text Samples
Appendix 1: List of Glosses
Appendix 2: Actional Classes of a Sample of Verbs
Appendix 3: Map of Shamardan and Nearby Villages
Appendix 4: Correspondence between Beserman and Russian Place Names
Appendix 5: List of Consultants in Shamardan
References
Index
This book will be of interest to typologists; specialists in Udmurt and Uralic linguistics; scholars working on the Volga-Kama area or the languages of the former USSR; and anyone interested in the Beserman language, history, or culture.