Keywords: Livonian, Finnic languages, spoken language, dialogues, discourse particles
The article is focused on offering the first possible classification of Livonian discourse particles based on the spontaneous speech material of recorded Livonian conversations held at the University of Tartu Archives of Estonian Dialects and Kindred Languages. Based on 17 recordings from six native Livonian speakers the main discourse particle groups were distinguished according to Tiit Hennoste’s classification of discourse particles (2000). Thereafter seven particles (si’z ‘then’, ne’i ‘so’, nu and no ‘well’, agā ‘but, perhaps, maybe’, and the tonal particles ju and jo) frequently occurring in the material were analyzed more precisely to specify their different functions in spoken discourse.
Marili Tomingas (b. 1993), MA, University of Tartu, Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics, Junior Researcher of Livonian (Jakobi 2, 51005 Tartu), marili.tomingas@ut.ee
