Hungarian Studies
Volume/Issue:
Volume 37: Issue 1
An infinitive by any other name: On the non-finites in Hungarian, Finnish and Estonian grammars
Author:
Johanna Laakso Universität Wien, Austria

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4892-9885
Pages:
107–122
Online Publication Date:
21 Oct 2022
Publication Date:
06 Jul 2023
Article Category:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1556/044.2022.00168
Keywords:
non-finites; infinitives; participles; converbs; grammar writing; Hungarian; Finnish; Estonian
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Abstract

Non-finite verb forms, in-between verbs and nouns and also in-between inflection and derivation, pose challenges to grammar writing. In the largely Latin-based European grammar traditions, three or four main types of non-finites are often distinguished: infinitives, participles, verbal adverbs (gerunds, converbs), and – often most closely connected to the participles but classified as derivation rather than inflection – deverbal noun derivatives. Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian, the three Uralic state languages with a strong tradition of written cultivation, are situated at the western end of the language family and display a strong “Europeanization” also in their systems of non-finites. Yet, these systems differ greatly even from each other.

In this paper, the classification and nomenclature of non-finites in Hungarian grammars are compared with Finnish and Estonian. The Finnish grammar tradition is based on morphological substance but, failing to acknowledge the category of converbs, ends up exploiting the term “infinitive” in a way which is syntactically and semantically meaningless. The Estonian grammars vacillate between an opportunistic use of traditional European grammar terms and a simple listing of forms at a minimal level of abstraction. Hungarian grammars, in turn, present the non-finites in a way which is incompatible with other grammar traditions and is internally contradictory.

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Cover Hungarian Studies
Hungarian Studies A Journal of the International Association for Hungarian Studies and Balassi Institute
Print ISSN:
0236-6568
Online ISSN:
1588-2772

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Hungarian Studies
Language English
French
German
Size B5
Year of
Foundation		 1985
Volumes
per Year		 1
Issues
per Year		 2
Founder Nemzetközi Magyarságtudományi Társaság -- International Association for Hungarian Studies
Founder's
Address		 H-1097 Budapest, Tóth Kálmán u. 4. B.8.41.
Publisher Akadémiai Kiadó
Publisher's
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Publisher		 Chief Executive Officer, Akadémiai Kiadó
ISSN 0236-6568 (Print)
ISSN 1588-2772 (Online)

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