Morphonological Features in the Paradigm of the Main Declension in the Suzgar Type of Moksha Dialects in the Ruzaevsky Area

Introduction. The Moksha dialects of the Ruzaevsky district in the Republic of Mordovia are unique in their composition, as they encompass all three types of dialects – äkaing, ekaing, and ikaing – within a relatively small geographical area. To date, the dialects of the Ruzaevsky region have not been studied in depth, and there is a notable absence of research focused on morphonological features in the paradigm of nominal declension. The aim of this study is to examine the paradigm of the primary declension in the Moksha dialects of the Suzgariy type and identify their morphonological characteristics. Materials and Methods. The study was based on dialectal speech samples collected by the authors during field expeditions to the Ruzayevsky district of the Republic of Mordovia, as well as data from the dictionary collection of the Department of Mordvin Languages at the Philological Faculty of National Research Mordovia State University. The dialectal material was analyzed using a combination of synchronic-descriptive, comparative-historical, and structural research methods. Results and Discussion. The analysis of the available dialectal material has shown that the Suzgar type of speech is an “eka” dialect. It is less archaic compared to the “äka” dialects of the Levzhin region. In the dialects under study, within the paradigm of the primary declension, under the influence of certain phonetic processes during the agglutination of relational affixes, the initial noun stems exhibit varied behavior: in some cases, the stem is preserved, in others, there is lengthening or shortening. Historical stems may be restored, there can be a systematic voicing of the final voiced consonant of the stem, the vowel of the stem is preserved in some phonetic positions, and in others, it is reduced to a mid-height vowel, with shifts in the articulation of the final vowel towards the back of the mouth. Conclusion. For the first time in Mordovian linguistics, the authors explore the morphonological features of the dialects from this region. The study of the features of the Suzgar dialects within the paradigm of the primary declension will reveal the distinguishing characteristics of this dialect type in the area of nominal inflection and, to some extent, contribute to the understanding of the development of the dialectal system of the Ruzaevsky region. This article contributes to the study of the dialectal morphonology of the Moksha language and enriches the general theory of this linguistic phenomenon.