Adverbial modifier of time in the Nanai and Orok languages: structural and semantic aspect
In the Tungus-Manchu languages, the adverbial modifiers of time tend to be expressed by case forms of the noun, postposition constructions, by possessive constructions with active participles-nouns in case forms or verbal names of complex semantics (concessive, simulnanive), and by adverbs of time, reflexive-possessive adverbial participles. The semantics of adverbial modifiers of time: (duration (when) - a certain time interval, an indefinite-long time interval, the amount of time (how much time, how long), frequency, repetitiveness of actions (how many times), are expressed by case forms of nouns or adverbs of time. This semantics is determined by: 1) verb-predicate semantics; 2) aspectual characteristics of the verb-predicate defining the time boundaries, the time characteristics of the action; 3) structural and morphological characteristics of units expressing the adverbial modifiers of time. While being noted in Orok, the case forms of the accusative and directive-dative cases as a tense circumstance have no formal correspondences in the Tungus-Manchu languages. The functional features of using case forms are due to the differences in the structure of case systems (the Nanai language having 7 cases, the Orok language having 10, the languages of the northern group having up to 12 cases) and the discrepancy in the semantics of case word forms. Possessive constructions with a concessive and a simulnanive in the function of the adverbial modifiers of time in a simple sentence, semantically equivalent to the Russian temporal clauses, are special means of expressing temporal semantics in the Nanai and Orok languages, with no correspondences in the Russian language.