Methods of Encoding Direct Evidentiality in the Vakh-Vasyugan Dialect of Khanty

Methods of Encoding Direct Evidentiality in the Vakh-Vasyugan Dialect of Khanty

Vorobeva V.V. (ISP RAS, Moscow, Russia)
Fedorinova Z.V. (ISP RAS, Moscow, Russia; TPU, Tomsk, Russia)

Abstract

This article examines methods of encoding direct evidentiality in the Vakh-Vasyugan dialect of Khanty, based on corpus data from the Lingvodoc platform. The aim of the study is to identify and describe lexico-syntactic means of encoding information source in a dialect with weak grammaticalization of this category. The methodological foundation is a hybrid approach that combines traditional linguistic analysis with corpus linguistics tools and fieldwork methods. The analysis reveals that direct evidentiality is marked primarily through lexical means–specifically, sensory perception verbs (wuta/unta ‘see’, ķolta ‘hear/feel’, läɣtä ‘look’), which function in various tense forms and syntactic constructions. Particular attention is given to the verb ķolta, which demonstrates cross-modal semantics and the ability to encode not only auditory but also tactile, thermal, and interoceptive perception. It is shown that ķolta also functions in reportative and inferential contexts, signalling indirect knowledge and frequently co-occurring with markers of reduced epistemic certainty (kim, wiḷḷä). The study demonstrates that the act of perception often precedes the description of an event, creating an evidential frame of reliability. The findings confirm that in the Vakh-Vasyugan dialect, evidentiality operates as a flexible lexico-syntactic system that allows speakers to modulate their degree of epistemic responsibility. The results contribute to the typology of evidentiality in Uralic languages and illustrate a continuum of strategies for encoding attestation–ranging from morphological to lexical means.

Keywords

Vakh-Vasyugan Khanty; field data; text corpora; LingvoDoc; data analysis; language documentation; direct evidentiality; visual evidentiality; auditory evidentiality.

Edition

Proceedings of the Institute for System Programming, vol. 38, issue 6, part 1, 2026, pp. 203-218

ISSN 2220-6426 (Online), ISSN 2079-8156 (Print).

DOI: 10.15514/ISPRAS-2026-38(6)-13

For citation

Vorobeva V.V., Fedorinova Z.V. Methods of Encoding Direct Evidentiality in the Vakh-Vasyugan Dialect of Khanty. Proceedings of the Institute for System Programming, vol. 38, issue 6, part 1, 2026, pp. 203-218 DOI: 10.15514/ISPRAS-2026-38(6)-13.

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