Ways of expressing abstract concepts in the Tuvan language: nouns with the component čoruq

Language contact contributes to the enrichment of vocabulary in any language, encompassing lexical borrowing, semantic evolution, emergence of novel formal structures, and activation or creation of word-formation patterns. In Tuvan, abstract noun formation involves three primary ways: using derivational affixes, adding the third-person possessive affix, and compounding with the component čoruq. The latter two methods are specifically used to convey abstract concepts characterizing a person, such as “resourcefulness,” “arrogance,” and “pretense.” This paper analyzes the Tuvan word-formation model, focusing on čoruq, the component that has seen increased usage because of the influence of the Russian language. This structural component originates from the lexeme čoruq constructed using the word-formation affix -k from the stem čor(u)- (to go, to walk, to move, to live) and expresses the following abstract meanings: “journey,” “action,” and “gait” (of a horse). The analysis reveals that when the subject of the action is a specific person, abstract nouns are rendered in Tuvan using the possessive affix (e.g., tїvїnγїrї (resourcefulness) < tїvїnγїr (resourceful) + POSS.3 (-Ï)). Given a generalized subject, abstract nouns are translated by compound stems with a structural component čoruq (tїvїnγїr čoruq (resourcefulness) < tїvїnγїr (resourceful) + čoruq). Lexemes containing the component čoruq are primarily indicative of the bookish style.

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