Semantics and pragmatics of verbal forms expressing simultaneity in the Moksha Mordovian, Komi-Zyrian and Khanty idioms

Introduction. The work considers the problem of the functioning and interpretation of taxis forms with semantics of simultaneity in the languages of the Finno-Ugric group. The existing description of these forms mostly refers to the formal side of the issue, while the semantics and pragmatics that underlie their competition have not received sufficient coverage so far. The purpose of the article is to provide a semantically and pragmatically oriented description of forms and refinement of existing typological classifications. The subject of the study is the converb forms in three languages: Moksh, Komi-Zyrian and Khanty. The results of the research can be used for the textbooks on grammatical semantics, as well as in the field studies. Materials and Methods. The analysis of the forms was carried out on the basis of the data obtained in the survey of the speakers reside in the villages of Lesnoye Tsibaevo and Lesnoe Ardashevo of the Republic of Mordovia (2013-2015); Muzhi, Vosyakhovo, and Ovgort of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District (2016, 2017). Results and Discussion. The paper makes a brief semantic description of the forms, and then it examines sequentially their use according to three typologically relevant parameters: the view of the situations, the pragmatic inclusion of situations and the pragmatic status of the dependent situation. Based on the distribution of forms for these parameters, it distinguishes three types of simultaneity: vague standard simultaneity forms, strict standard simultaneity forms and accompanying circumstance forms. Conclusion. The discussed converb forms with the semantics of simultaneity show that the extracted parameters (viewpoint of the events, pragmatical inclusion of the events and pragmatical role of the dependent event) provide a clearer picture of the functioning and distribution of such forms in the Finno-Ugric languages and typology.