Some features of the Indigir dialect in the Northeastern group of Yakut dialects (based on the olonkho of D.M. Sleptsov “The Flying Mulgun”)

This study examines dialectal features of the Indigir dialect within the northeastern group of Yakut language dialects. Dialectal materials serve as unique repositories of linguistic history, migration patterns, and language contact, thereby necessitating thorough documentation and analysis. The texts of Olonkho, traditional heroic epic narratives from various Yakut storyteller schools, represent a valuable but underexplored source of such dialectal data. This research focuses on the Olonkho text “The Flying Mulgun” (Kёtёr Mulgun) by the renowned Moma storyteller D.M. Sleptsov. Employing a comparative method, the study analyses phonetic, grammatical, and lexical distinctions of the Indigir dialect.

Phonetically, the dialect is characterized by akanye (vowel reduction), alternations between diphthongs and long vowels in final syllables of disyllabic and trisyllabic nominal and verbal stems, and consonantal alternations including b-m; g-k; g-ŋ; ҕ-h; dь-nь; r-l; h-s; t-d; t-k; s, t-ch. Features such as regressive assimilation-induced gemination, palatalization, and initial consonant elision were also observed.

Grammatically, archaic forms with double plural suffixes are prominent, as well as the use of suffixes -chcha and -chaan. Compound words formed through contraction appear frequently. Verb forms exhibit contracted structures in the former-past and past resultative tenses, contracted functional auxiliary verbs biër- and këbis-, and omission of infixes -ylyn-, -yn-, and -un- within verb stems. Notably, the dialect employs a second conditional mood form, constructed with a participial suffix -tah, to express the past indicative.

A lexical analysis yielded five categories of dialectisms: words absent in standard Yakut with the given meanings; loanwords from Russian; borrowings from northern indigenous languages; archaic forms; and semantic dialectisms.

This study demonstrates the potential of Olonkho texts from diverse storyteller traditions as valuable resources for the preservation and analysis of Yakut dialects.

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