This paper examines the fact that the words for ‘bone’ in Mongolic and Tungusic belong to a formal class containing a marker that normally refers to uncountable homogeneous substances, especially liquids. While there may be several factors underlying this curious situation, some possible light is shed on the issue by Turkic data, which suggest a semantic confusion between ‘bone’ and ‘bone marrow.’ Another phenomenon that deserves attention in this context is the use of the concept of ‘bone’ to indicate genetic lineages or ‘tribes’ in the nomadic society.
This paper considers the nature of compounding in Sakha (Yakut), a Turkic language spoken in north-eastern Siberia (Russian Federation), and provides both descriptive and theoretical grounds for classifying nominal compounds in Sakha. The focus of the study is on primary compounds and therefore synthetic, deverbal compounds are left out of consideration. Arguments are offered for a mixed classification of nominal compounds in Sakha based on both semantic and formal features. The main reason for the necessity of a mixed approach lies in the discrepancy between semantic and formal characteristics of a compound. Although a compound can be endocentric (having a head) from a formal point of view, it can nevertheless be exocentric (without a head) on semantic grounds. The following three types of nominal compounds will be distinguished - root compounds, possessive compounds and dvandva compounds. It will be argued that even though a compound has a complex syntactic makeup consisting of more than one word, nevertheless it functions as a single lexeme/word and also denotes as such.
Yakut writing has changed its graphic basis several times and has been repeatedly reformed. At present, it is based on the Cyrillic alphabet. In the history of Yakut writing four stages are recognized: 1. up to the early 1920s - writing using the Cyrillic alphabet; 2. 1917 to 1929 - S. A. Novgorodov’s alphabet based on the Roman alphabet; 3. 1929 to 1939 - the unified alphabet based on the Roman alphabet; 4. since 1939 - writing based on the Cyrillic alphabet. The graphic system of the Yakut literary language is considered to be quite well developed.
