Olli Salmi

24.1.2010
This is a Web version of my article "Salmi, Olli. 1984. The Aspectual System of Soviet Dungan. Folia
Fennistica & Linguistica. Vuosiartikkelit 1984. Tampereen yliopiston Suomen kielen ja yleisen kielitieteen
laitoksen julkaisuja 11. University of Tampere, Tampere." I have scanned it, run it through an Optical
Character Recoginition program and replaced the transliteration with the standard Dungan orthography.
I have corrected obvious mistakes.

THE ASPECTUAL SYSTEM OF SOVIET DUNGAN 1

1. INTRODUCTION

Dungan is a minority language spoken in Soviet Kirghizia and Kazakhstan. It is based on North-Western
Chinese dialects, but the written language uses the Cyrillic alphabet and has no connection with the
Chinese written language. The Dungan written language is related to the Chinese dialects of the southern
part of the province of Gansu (Zav'jalova 1979:65).

Dungan grammar differs from Chinese chiefly in the richness of its morphology. There are many more
obligatory grammatical markers in Dungan. In fact, Dragunov (1952) claims that Chinese dialects present a
continuum of development and those in North-Western China represent the latest stage in this
development.

The richness in morphology is most immediately visible in the aspectual system of Soviet Dungan. This
question has been treated before, but the system has been regarded as a system of tenses. Kalimov (1968)
gives a short account of three tenses, while Dragunov (1962) discusses some of the forms in more detail.
Imazov (1982) also mentions all the forms discussed in this paper.

This paper sets out to show that the system is basically aspectual. The terminology is mainly Comries
(1976). Another argument in this paper is the division of clauses into stative and action clause types.

The examples have been taken from the short stories in the Dungan newspaper and a few
Dungan books. The numbers after the examples represent the date of the issue, or the number of the book
(given in the bibliography) and the page where the example has been found. If this information is not
given, it has not been noted down. No informant has been available. This is unfortunate, since there
are exceptions to the regular features presented here, but they are not numerous enough to enable
treatment.

The transliteration used in this paper is based on Kahla - Kecskemti (1967), except for a few
changes:

In this Web version a simplified form of this transliteration (without diacritics) is used for names in
the English translation.

for
e
je e
jo

These changes ensure better legibility, but Russian words have an unfamiliar appearance (Brjenjev) and
some of them cannot be unambiguously transcribed back into Cyrillic (rajon). In the bibliography only the
first change is implemented.

2. SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Before we embark on the aspects mentioned in the paper some background information is
necessary.

In this paper, the terms sentence and clause refer to different things. Roughly, a sentence is a unit
usually ending in a full stop in the orthography, whereas a clause is a unit containing a predicate. A
sentence consists of one or more clauses.

The clauses preceding the subject are temporal, concessive and other subordinate clauses. The
subject is followed by a predicate or several predicates expressing successive actions.

Clause, Subj Pred, Pred, Pred.

Fig. 1 Structure of the Sentence

2.1. Aspectual slots

The aspectual system described in this paper uses suffixes and enclitical particles, which occur in
two slots: first, verbal suffixes after the verb, and secondly, enclitical sentence final particles.

Modal
Verbal suffix
Postverbal Aspect particle
Subject +Verb (aspectual
element particle (aspectual
slot)
slot)

Fig. 2 Structure of the Clause

A very significant fact is that (except for the cases listed below p. 8889) every sentence ends in an aspect
particle. Subordinate clauses normally end in a particle as well, but non-final predicates do not have a
particle, they can only have a verbal suffix. (Dragunov A. & K. 1936)

There are cases where final particles occur inside the sentence, but in these cases the predicates are co-
ordinate, referring to simultaneous actions performed by one or two subjects. Normally a predicate chain
refers to successive actions performed by the same subject.

It should be noted here that it is not always clear what a suffix is in Dungan. The orthography treats every
neutral tone element as a suffix and writes them together with the preceding word (Salmi 1980:104). Some
of these elements are really enclitics, not being in construction with the immediately preceding word. The
most important of such enclitics are the attributive particle -, the copula -, and sentence final
particles.

In the case of the aspectual markers, the verbal suffix is never preceded by anything but the verb and can
consequently be regarded as a suffix, whereas sentence final particles can also follow objects or other
post-verbal elements.

Both the verbal suffix and the aspect particle slot belong to the same system of aspectual oppositions,
because their fillers are mutually dependent. Only one of the slots is filled at the same time, except for the
perfective, where both have to have a filler in the case of a final predicate.

2.2. Resultative suffixes

The slot of verbal suffix can also be filled by morphemes that are not part of the aspectual system
discussed here. These morphemes form a class of resultative suffixes roughly corresponding to "phase
complements" in Chinese (LiThompson 1981:65, Chao 1968:446).

In Dungan these morphemes have three important characteristics. Firstly, they can be followed by an
object or other postverbal elements. Therefore they can be regarded as suffixes, because the verb can only
be followed by one clause level element in Dungan.

Secondly, they never co-occur with the verbal suffix -. This means that they belong to the same
substitution class.

Thirdly, the resultative suffixes co-occur with all the aspectual sentence particles. This is why they are not
part of the aspectual system described here.

Among the most important of these suffixes are - 'down' and - 'away'. Quite often there is nearly
nothing left of the original meaning and the suffixes merely mean that the action has been completed.

3. ZERO PARTICLE

The most striking difference between Soviet Dungan and Standard Chinese syntax is that in Dungan
aspectual markers are, as a rule, obligatory. In Chinese the speaker seems to have quite a lot of choice in
the use of the particles. This means that in Chinese they are not yet morphological markers.

There are sentences in Dungan without an aspect particle, but these cases can be exclusively listed. Except
for the first case, the absence of the particle (or more exactly zero particle) is formally determined.

1 Imperative sentences and promises.

. 1.53
For your brother write one letter.
Write a letter to your brother.

, .
one:sentence all dont miss all write:Res
Dont miss a single word, write down everything.

. 3.3.
I fast for we make food
I'll soon make food for us.
2 Negative sentences.
. 1.13
I not speak
I didnt say anything.

, . 1.17
eight hour:Mod not see Jinhuar
It was already eight o'clock, but Jinhuar was not to be seen.
3 Stative clauses, including those with the copula -.
. 1.12
two:side:in all:be high mountains
There were high mountains on both sides.

? 4.9.79
your name call:St what
Whats your name?
4 The perfective with a quantified object. For examples see below (6.1).

5 With some auxiliaries, notably 'be able'.

, , . 1.108
if cross:go isnt one:day we every:day can at riverside:on rest
If we cross, we can enjoy the riverside not only once but every day.
6 After the complement of degree. Particles are possible under unknown conditions.
. 28.2.78
House decorated clean
The house was decorated beautiful.
4. THE ASPECTUAL SYSTEM

In figure 3 are set out the aspectual forms that stand in contrast. The figure is meant to illustrate the
oppositions between the aspects in much the same way as the vowel triangle represents the
oppositions between vowels.
 1
habitual past

2 experiential perfect

3 imperfective

4 perfective

5 future

Fig. 3 The Aspectual System

There are several dimensions in the figure. First, the time, expressed by the vertical axis. Second, "internal
temporal constituency" (Comrie 1976:3), expressed by dots and vertical lines. Third, habituality, expressed
by a horizontal line. And last, the relation to the present, expressed by an arrow.

The present time and the time of reference are on the same line in figure 3. This does not mean that they
refer to the same point of time. They often do, but the time of reference can also be the time of the main
clause or the time of the story. On the other. hand, it might be possible to eliminate the present time from
the figure altogether.

The time given after the time of reference is "unreal" in Dungan rather than "future". However, the latter
term will be used because of its greater familiarity.

5. HABITUAL PAST

5.1. Form

There are two variants of the habitual past, - and -. The distribution of these variants seems to be
conditioned by the type of the clause or predicate.

The more restricted variant is -. It occurs in the following cases:

1 Clauses with - 'be' and 'work as, be'.

. 3.10.80
It:was exactly noon:HP
It was exactly at noon.

. 4.3.80
Besides my father also:was cook:HP
Besides, my father also used to be a cook.

1950 . 29.12.78
This:was 1950 years January:in occur matter :HP
This was a thing that happened in January 1950.
, 21.8.79
young time had:not think:EP be technology craftsman:HP
--When I was young I hadnt thought of becoming a technician,--
2 Clauses with - (X years) old.
, 1.12.81
At:that:time my father twenty eight years:old:HP
At that time my father was twenty-eight years old.
3 Clauses with nonfinal 'have (not)'.
. 19.11.82
I have five sons:HP
I used to have five sons.

. 15.5.81
At:that:time there:was one old:man:HP
There used to be an old man.

, . 14.8.79
but Dungan peoples hundred year thousand year:of history:on has:not own letters:HP
During the hundreds and thousands of years of their history, the Dungan people had no alphabet of their
own.

. 15.5.81
Dungan people earlier even own letters all had:not:HP
--formerly, the Dungan people didnt even have their own alphabet.
The above sentence is somewhat exceptional in that is directly attached to . Normally, takes
the suffix whenever it occurs finally.
, . 4.13
In:summer deep:blue sky:on even one:lump cloud all there:wasnt
In summer, there wasnt a single cloud in the blue sky.

. 3.8.79
They inside even one women all there:wasnt:HP
There wasnt a single woman among them.
4 Stative adjectives.
, . 26.2.82
except this shortcoming then Soviet Dungans' literature language:of level also low:HP
In addition to this shortcoming, the level of the literary language of the Soviet Dungans was low at that
time.
Stative adjectives quite often have the suffix 'very'. Also verbal predicates with this suffix take
.
. 1.19
Head first:year Uzbek language to Sherba:on too difficult:very:HP
In the first year the Uzbek language was very difficult for Sherba.
5 Clauses with the predicate 'be somewhere'.
, . 19.3.82
twenty two:years ago I come this family:in:of time this one:pair bottle exactly was here:HP
Twenty two years ago when I first came to this house, this pair of bottles was exactly here.
6 Clauses with the predicate in the stative form.
-, a . 3.8.
This brigade only also not grow tobacco also grow:St ten hectares vegetables:HP
This brigade not only grows tobacco, it also used to grow ten hectares of vegetables.
The more basic variant of the habitual past is , which occurs elsewhere. The main contexts are listed
below.

1 Transitive and intransitive action predicates.

. 4.30
he at pond side:on angle fish:HP
He was fishing in the pond.

, . 8.6.79
at:first I towards this:way thought:Pfv with them laughed:HP
At first I used to think like that, too, and laughed together with them.
The above example can also serve to illustrate the fact that it is the last predicate in a series that is in the
habitual past form.
.
because young:of time Obj these words I learn:HP
The reason was that I had learnt these words when I was young.
2 Non-stative adjectives.

Baker from home come:out time weather just hot:HP
The weather was (at the moment) hot when Baker came out of his home.
3 Predicates negated with .
1909 5-6 . 17.10.78
1909 year:on for 5-6 thousand desjatina land Obj water yet not bring:HP
In 1909 there were 5-6,000 desjatinas of land that were not yet irrigated.
Dragunov (1952:114, 132) claims that verbs of action require -, whereas verbs of non-action use plain
, but it is unlikely that the rule is so simple. 'know' is classed by Dragunov (1952:113) as a verb of
non-action, but it still takes -:
,
. 3.95
Obj Manvazy not obey agriculture regulations follow himself direct economy these behaviour district:on early
already.
know: HP
It was quite early known to the district authorities that Manvazy did not follow the regulations on
agriculture and ran the kolkhoz all on his own.
5.2. Stative clauses

It is proposed here that Dungan clause types can be divided into two classes, stative and action clause
types. Stative clauses are inherently imperfective and only have a defective range of aspects. There are
four types of stative clauses. First, clauses in the stative form -. Secondly, clauses with certain non-
action predicates such as 'know', 'have, there is'. These use the form of the future to express an
imperfective meaning. They never co-occur with the imperfective -. They are used in the perfective,
but only with an inchoative meaning. A third type has an adjective as predicate. Adjectives can freely be
used in stative and action clauses. In the first case they take only. the habitual past aspect, in the second
they occur freely with any aspect. The difference between stative and action adjectives is much the same
as between hes nice and hes being nice. A fourth type is comprised of sentences with the copula and
nominal predicates.

It is true that all the predicates that occur with - are stative. It is possible that in the example above,
is used inchoatively ('got to know, learned') and is therefore not regarded as a stative predicate.

Thus it can be regarded as a rule that - is used in stative clauses and - in non-stative clauses. The
distribution is complementary.

5.3. Meaning

The habitual past is almost exclusively used at the beginning of stories about the past. It very often occurs
with the word 'at that time', or some expression of the past. Sentences with this aspect provide a
sort of background, a point of departure for the story.

The imperfective also describes background, but it describes events, whereas the habitual past describes
the state of affairs obtaining at the time of the beginning of the story.

6. PERFECTIVE
6.1. Form

There are a few variants of the perfective aspect. The basic variant is V O, that is, the suffix - after
both the predicate and the object (as well as any other postverbal element).

It can happen that the two aspectual slots are next to each ether. In the case of the perfective aspect,
where both slots are filled, the resulting - is always simplified to -.
. 1.68
I with Rakhim draw:Pfv idle chat:Pfv
I chatted with Rakhim.

, . 1.71
And:so Zukhars image also arrive:Pfv me in: front:of:Pfv
And Zukhars image appeared before me.
There are two cases where the final - is not used. The first case is when the clause is not the final one in
the sentence.
, , . 3.106
also not sleep he for father help whittle:Pfv reed boil:Pfv glue:Pfv
Salir didnt sleep either, he helped his father cutting reeds and boiling glue.
This same rule also holds for ether sentence final aspect markers.

The second case is when the object has a modifier expressing quantity. Quite often the modifier is simple
the enclitic - 'a, one'.
, . 3.106
just that night Mafuchyn not sleep for Salir glue:Pfv:a kite
That night Mafuchyn didnt sleep, but mode a kite for Salir.

.
past this half:year in Davur for home write:Pfv can be ten width letter
During the past half year Davur sent home perhaps as many as ten letters.
Non-final - is not dropped in conditional clauses:
, .
you if respect masses:Pfv masses also love you:Fut
If you respect the masses, the masses will love you as well.
The verb is regularly without the suffix -, if it has a resultative suffix of any sort. It is therefore possible
that the perfective form has not a single -.
, .
ugh frighten:dead me:Pfv
Oh, you frightened me to death.

, , , . 3.106
Obj Salir glued kite hold-up look:Pfv one:moment slowly take away erect:to wall root: at:Pfv
Salir held up the glued-up kite, watched it for a while, they slowly took it away and stood it against the
wall.
The negative of the perfective is formed with 'not'. There is no -.
, . 3.105
who all not not:be:nice also not take two
No ones teased me, nor did I fail in the exam.
6.2. Meaning

The perfective aspect has the classical perfective meaning: it describes an event as a single entity without
duration. Occasionally it has an inchoative meaning. It is quite often associated with past time, and that is
why it has been called the past tense.
, . 1.3
Kolkhoz:of chairman Vonjinguj in office inside sit:Impfv enter:Pfv one young man
As Vonjinguj, the chairman of the kolkhoz, was sitting in his office, a young man came in.

, .
good I Obj him forgive:Pfv
Alright, I'll forgive him.

, . 15.7.77
correct immediately we immediately know:Pfv
Right, we'll know in a minute.

1965 . 15.9.78
son Huva with his wife from 1965 year since for kolkhoz herd:Pfv sheep:Pfv
The son Huva and his wife have been herding sheep for the kolkhoz since 1965.
In temporal clauses the perfective indicates an event previous to the main clause.
, . 23.1.76
water boil:Pfv old:man for pot:in lower:Pfv:some dry noodles
After the water had started boiling, the old man put some dry noodles in the pot.
6.3. The modal particle -.

There is a modal particle, which also has the form -. It is here considered to be a modal particle, mainly
because it occurs in negative sentences. As a rule, aspect particles do not occur in negative sentences. That
is why if - nevertheless occurs finally in negative sentences, it is regarded as filling the next slot, which
normally is filled by modal particles such as - 'question particle', - 'and what about' and - 'I
wonder'.

The decision to treat this - as a modal particle is somewhat questionable, so its main uses are listed
here. It is used in somewhat restricted contexts. The basic meaning is the same as that of the
corresponding particle in Chinese, that is 'a new situation'.

The most important case where the modal - is used is in negative sentences with both 'not' and
'not'. The meaning of the particle is 'any more'.
, .
aunt you again dont cry:Mod
Auntie, dont cry any more.

.
Far:away also it:all look:not:see what:Mod
Nothing at all could be seen in the distance any more.

.
Why he for me not write letter:Mod
Why doesnt he write to me any more?
The second case of - 'new situation' is in expressions of duration. In Chinese the corresponding
construction can be viewed as an object. In Dungan the nature of the construction is somewhat different,
mainly because it can appear also in positions typical for adverbs. Consequently, it is best treated as a
separate expression of duration.
50 .
Dungan peoples school open 50 years:Mod
It is 50 years since Dungan schools were opened.
 . 7.9.79
My mother two days:Mod one:mouth not eat
My mother hasnt eaten a mouthful for two days.

. 4.39
in:a:row a:few days:Mod they disperse:Pfv school immediately arrive here:Mod
For a few days in a row they've come here right after school.
Thirdly, - occurs in nominal predicates.
. 10.7.78
he this:year 48:Mod
Hes forty-eight this year.

-, ? 1.83
Oh already evning:Mod:?
Oh dear, is it evening already?
There is another case where - is used after a noun. In this usage, the noun is preceded b a verb-derived
preposition-like word, such is 'as regards', 'not to mention', 'unfortunately for'.
. 3.39
about Ismar:Mod you dont worry
Dont worry about Ismar.

, . 1.88
pity my precious foot:Mod tread:Pfv your cheap theeshold:Pfv
A bad thing for my precious foot, it trod on your worthless threshold.
Here - is merely a marker for the construction and has no independent meaning of its own.

Finally, sentence final - also occasionally occurs with a quantified object or without the verb having any
suffix. It is not clear though that these sentences describe a new situation. Sentences with a quantified
object probably have a perfect aspect meaning.
? ! 1.64
can:it:be I also hurt you:Mod:? who say you hurt:Pfv me:Pfv
Can I have hurt you? Who says you've hurt me!

17.2.76
past that one week in he participate congress :Mod
During the past week he has been to a congress.

. 26.6.79
you look pass:Pfv fifty years:Mod
Look, fifty years have passed.
Unfortunately, the expressions described here are so rare that it is difficult to say whether they ought to,
in the final analysis, be treated as aspects on a par with the aspects discussed en this paper.

A noteworthy fact is that modal - only occurs when the aspect particle slot is empty it does not co-
occur with - or any of the other aspects. This could be a reason for arguing that it belongs to the system
of aspects.

In any case, two aspects at least ought to be established to account for the modal - ("new situation" and
"perfect") and the distribution would be rather limited (in negative sentences, with a quantified object,
and with a suffixless verb).

7. EXPERIENTIAL PERFECT

Dungan shares with Standard Chinese the aspect of experiential perfect. It is expressed by the verbal suffix
- . The use of this aspect in Dungan seems to be exactly the same as it is in Chinese. It refers to an action
that has been experienced at least once. The negative uses in addition to the suffix.
. 3.108
His father Obj starlings these advantage say:EP
His father had told him about the good sides of starlings.

-, . 1.43
Oh Allah oh I yet not see:EP so obedient daughter
Oh my God, I've never before seen such a nice daughter.

8. IMPERFECTIVE
8.1. Form

The basic form of the imperfective is sentence final -. The non-final form seems do be -, bud this
form only occurs when the verb is rod follower by any other element. Only certain kinds of verb appear
with - preceding an object. They are treated below in the chapter for stative form (8.3).
, . 3.105
village:in:of children Prep daily in full street:in cry:Impfv let kite: Impfv
The children in the village wre shouting and flying kites all over the streets.
The negative form of the imperfective is V O. In contrast to Chinese, - (-zhe in Chinese) follows the
object.
, . 15.6.79
who also nod laugh you:Impfv also not dread :badly you:Impfv
No one is laughing at you or dreading you badly.
8.2. Meaning

The imperfective is user to describe an action viewed as having a duration. Its function is mainly to
provide background information to the main event line. It is also used to describe generic action.
. 3.110
his companion Sumar already in here wait him:Impfv
His friend Sumar was already waiting for him here.

. 29.9.78
he usually according:to fairness solve various problem:Impfv
He usually solved all sorts of problems fairly.
It should be noted here that also the future can refer to generic action.

It is possible that the negative for generic - is simply formed with , the basic negative word. The
main reason for this conclusion is the rarity of V O.

In temporal clauses the imperfective refers to an action simultaneous to the main clause. If simultaneity is
stressed, - is attached to -:
, . 4.45
he just cry:Impfv:Sa his two pigeon descend rack:on:Pfv
He was just crying when his two pigeons sat onto the rack.

, . 1.13 - 14
we talk sheep:of business:Impfv from distance one girl riding horse towards we come:Impfv
As we were talking about the sheep, a girl came riding towards us from a distance.
The imperfective is also used with verbs that have a resultative suffix. From the point of view of Chinese
this is very surprising, because resultative suffixes usually require the equivalent of - in Chinese (Chao
1968:438). In Dungan, resultative suffix + - are used to describe a continuing situation resulting from
the action. It usually carries the connotation that the object of the action is ready to be used in some way.
. 1.17
Chynva Obj ticket buy:Res:Impfv
Chynva has bought the ticket (and it is ready for use).

, .
sleep:Res:Impfv although his face:on smiling perhaps do dream
Although he had fallen asleep, there was a smile on his face; perhaps he was dreaming.

. 31.10.78
my mother also dress:Res:Impfv
My mother had also dressed up (and was ready to go).
A very disturbing thing is that the combination - also exists. All but one recorded example have an
embedded clause with or 'think erroneously' as the main verb. In the one exceptional example
- could be treated as a verbal suffix.
. 1961 .
M. Sushonlo 1961 year:on written book:on Obj history also write:X
Byjjanhus history is also written in M. Sushonlos book in 1961.
This solution, however, is impossible for the one example where - does not immediately follow the
verb. It seems to fill the aspect particle slot.
, , . 18.7.78
Obj he frighten even think his partridge from cage:in fly:out arrive:Pfv outside :X
He got so frightened that he even thought his partridge had flown out of the cage (and got outside).
According to Imazov (1982:105) this form expresses the recent past. He gives no examples of its use. The
available examples are more suitable for a perfect of result. It is possible that in the final analysis, a perfect
of result has to be set up, but because of the paucity of examples with - this question is left open in
this paper.
8.3. Stative form

There is a very problematic verbal form in Dungan. According to Dragunov (1952:153) the impirfective has
developed from the Chinese form Vzhe One. The intransitive variant (with no intervening object) has been
generalised. The trouble with this explanation is that Dungan also has the construction V O. This form is
here called the stative form, because it is used in inherently stative clause types.

The following are the main uses of the stative form:

1 Verbs of riding and driving: 'drive', 'travel in', 'ride'.

2 Verbs of holding: 'hold in arms', 'lift', 'have along', 'hold', 'wear', 'wear over
shoulders'.

3 Verbs of calling and regarding: 'regard as', 'call', 'work as', 'to be called'.

4 Existential sentences:
.
table:on put:St book
Theres a book on the table.
5 An action with a quantified object performed within a specified period of time:
3-4 29.6.79
Obj one sheeps wool he at most shear 3-4 minutes
It takes him 3-4 minutes at the most to shear a sheep.
6 For some kinds of generic action:
. 29.9.79
now he in here for children teach:St English language
Now he teaches English to children here.
7 Verbs of saying: 'ask', 'answer'. These verbs have a sentential object, which does not
necessarily follow the verb.

8 Another case where an object does not follow is that of polite imperatives. The verb is in-
transitive.
, . , - 5.47
sit:St sit:St I soon come:Fut
You just sit there. I'll be there in a minute.
Imazov (1982:104) regards the stative form as a variant of the present tense (i.e.. imperfective), expressing
protracted action (durative present). It is, however, best to regard it as a special verbal form, partly
because it co-occurs with the habitual past. The clauses with the stative form are inherently imperfective
in the same way as the other stative clause types. If it is necessary to express a perfective meaning, the
form of the verb has to be changed.

It is not surprising that stative clauses have no perfective (Comrie 1976:50). What is somewhat unusual is
its being a clause level feature. In Dungan aspect has to be considered a clause level feature, because aspect
is expressed by both a verbal suffix and a sentence particle.
9. FUTURE

For want of a better term the form with - is called the future. This is probably not a prospective aspect
(Comrie 1976:64), because it does not necessarily relate a state to a subsequent situation. On the other
hand, it is not a pure tense, because it can also refer to unreal situations.

Again there is no particle in non-final and negative clauses. The basic use of the future is to express an
action that has not yet taken place.
? 1.13
when cut wool:Fut
When are the sheep going to be shorn?

, . 1.14
You come:Pfv now work likely as:consequence arrive place:on:Fut
Now that you've come, we'll probably get the work done properly.
The future can also be used for intention in the past.
, . 17.5.83
we stop hotel:Pfv reason:is second day go mountain:in:Attr cave:in go:Fut
We stopped at a hotel, because we wanted to go to the caves in the mountains the next day.
Quite often the sentence has an auxiliary expressing intention, such as 'want, have to', 'intend'.
Apparently also 'know how to' belongs to this group.
, . 29.5.79
from this:on Obj it have:to tidy clean:Fut have:to decorate beautiful:Fut
Thats why you have to clean it and decorate it beautifully.

, , . 30.10.79
short say Mamar father what work all know:how do:Fut what machine all can drive:Fut
In short, Mamars father can do any work and can drive any machine.
There is a special class of non-action verbs that take the future with de imperfective meaning. These verbs
include at least 'know', 'have, there is', '(somewhere) is' and 'be afraid' (which also occurs
with -). These verbs manifest the predicate in one type of stative clause.
, . 24.8.76
villages all people all know:Fut Madanzy old:man Obj grandson with labour educate:Impfv
Everyone in the village knows that old Madanzy educates his grandson with the help of work.

. 19.4.77
they perhaps afraid gadflies:Fut
They are perhaps afraid of gadflies.

? . 1.13
lost lamb be:Fut:? be:Fut
Have any lambs been lost? Yes.

, :
seeing my eyes all is she:on:Fut girl then ask:Pfv
Seeing that my eyes were directed an her, she asked:--
Except for , these verbs can all be used with - to express is inchoative meaning.
. . 20.12.81
I afraid:Pfv precisely afraid:Pfv
I got frightened. Thats it, I got frightened.
The future in also used with 'hasnt yet'. This fits the basic meaning of the aspect, because an
action that has not yet taken place i going to take place is the future.
.
we yet not meet:Fst
We havent met yet.
There are other cases where the future is used for unrealized or unreal actions. One is in the main clause
following a conditional clause.
, . 1.67
if isnt children I and Shchime certainly quarrel: start:Fut
If it wasnt for the kids, I would certainly have started fighting with Shchime.
Another case is imagined comparison ("as if" and "nearly").
. 15.5.81
he felt face:on as:if:is whip knock:Fut
He felt as if he had been hit with a whip on the face.

, . 1.111
I didnt believe but heart jump nearly from mouth:in come:out:Fut
I didnt believe it but my heart jumped so that it nearly came out of my mouth.
Yet another case of unrealized action:
. 15.6.7
I hate:not:able on:the:spot immediately run:to university:Fut
I wished very much that I could run to the university at once.
The future is also used to express habits is the name way as the English would. It was noted earlier that
generic action takes -.
. , ,
. 18.11.75
young teacher often with own classs children chat. rest time with children play:Fut sing:Fut jump:Fut
The young teacher often chatted with the children of his class. Outside class, he would play, sing, and
dance with the children.
In temporal clauses, - refers to actions that have not yet taken place, that is, it follows the main rule.
, ... 4.34
fall first:ground snow:Fut yellow snake not see:Mod
When the first snow was about to fall, the yellow snake disappeared.
The future is also used in some concessive clauses:
a , : ? 4.41
children say:Fut no:one not believe so swift water leopard drag one sheep still can swim:across:go:?
Even though the children told us about it, no one believed it: as the current was so strong, how could a
leopard swim across carrying a sheep?
10. Summary

The first main argument in this paper is that Soviet Dungan has a system that is basically aspectual and
not a tense system. The core of the system is the typically aspectual opposition between the perfective and
the imperfective.

The second main argument is that clauses can be divided into stative and action types. The stative clause
types are characterized by not having the full range of aspects and by being inherently imperfective. The
postulation of stative clauses simplifies the description of the aspectual system, because exceptions to the
basic system can be explained by the inherent imperfectivity of stative clauses.

Dungan aspects have throughout been regarded as a clause level feature. This is because the system
utilizes two slots, a verbal suffix and a sentence final particle.

ABBREVIATIONS
Att. attributive particle
EP experiential past
Fur future
HP habitual past
Impfv imperfective
Mod modal particle
O object
Obj object marker
Pfv perfective
Prep preposition
Res resultative suffix
St stative form
V verb
? question particle

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1= , 1973. . :
3= , 1975. . : .
4= , . 1976. . : .
. A biweekly newspaper. .

Chao, Yuan Ren 1968. A Grammar of Spoken Chinese. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Comrie, Bernard 1976. Aspect. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Dragunov 1952= Dragunov, A&K. 1936. ber die dunganische Sprache. Archv Orientln 8:1, 3438.

Dargunov 1952= , . . 1952. .

I. : .

Imazov 1982= . 1982. . :

.

Kahla, Martti - Kecskemti, Istvn 1967. Neuvostoliiton kielten kirjaimistojen translitteroinnista.

Neuvosto-liittoinstituutin vuosikirja 1518, 145155. Helsinki.

Kalimov 1968= . 1968. . , . V. , -

. .

Li, Charles N. - Thompson, Sandra A. 1981. Mandarin Chinese. A Functional Reference Grammar.
Berkeley: University of California Press.

Salmi, Olli 1980. Tone and Stress in Soviet Dungan. In: Hurme, P. (ed) Voice, Speech and Language: Reports
and Reviews. Papers in Speech Research, 2, 89105. Publications from tie Institute of Finnish Language and
Communication, 19. University of Jyvskyl.

Zav'jalova 1979 = , . . 1979. . : .

1 Artikkelin englanninkielisen asun on tarkistanut lehtori Roger O. Luke. Esitn hnelle parhaat kiitokset.

POSTSCRIPT
There are some points where I have changed my opinion.
1. I would use the term irrealis instead of future.
2. I have presented particles like - and - as unit morphemes, but they may be treated as
compounds. However, I am not sure what benefits that would have.
3. At the time of writing I believed that what I call stative form is - , but it is quite likely that it is
actually -< - , which occurs in the Shaanxi dialect of Dungan.