The Status of the Non-Finite - OmstO Morpheme in Erzya

This article approaches the +OmstO formative used in deverbal inflection from a concatenational perspective. It describes the morphological distinction between the elative-case non-finite in +Om+stO (sams [right arrow] samsto 'to arrive'; oznoms [right arrow] oznomsto 'to pray'; mol'ems [right arrow] mol'emste 'to go') and its counterpart the elative-case deverbal noun in +OmA+stO (sams [right arrow] samosto 'to arrive'; oznoms [right arrow] oznomasto 'to pray'; mol'ems [right arrow] mollemasto 'to go'). These parallel forms are then subjected to further morphological and semantic inspection: (1) compatibility with the three declination types, indefinite (zero), possessive (cross-referential adnominal person morphology) and definite (determiner) marking, and (2) compatibility with functions attributed to the elative case of other common nouns. Finally, a tendency is discerned according to which both inflection types can be regarded as elativecase nouns distinguished by a [[+ or -]PROGRESSIVE] parameter, whereby the so-called gerund is indicates a process, and the so-called deverbal noun a result. Keywords: Mordvin, Erzya, non-finite, noun, elative case, possessive marking, temporal construction. [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII.]