Editing Enets language

{{Short description|Moribund Samoyedic language spoken by Enets people}}
{{distinguish|Nenets languages}}{{Split portions|date=August 2024|Forest Enets language|Tundra Enets language}}{{Infobox language
| name             = Enets
| nativename       = {{lang|mul|Онэй база}} {{tlit|mul|Onei baza}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Сорокина |first1=И. П. |last2=Болина |first2=Д. С. |year=2001 |title=Словарь энецко-русский и русско-энецкий |trans-title=Enets-Russian and Russian-Enets dictionary |location=[[Saint Petersburg|Санкт-Петербург]] |publisher=Филиал издательства «Просвещение» |page=310 |isbn=5-09-002526-6}}</ref>
| states           = [[Russia]]
| region           = [[Krasnoyarsk Krai]], along the lower [[Yenisei River]]
| ethnicity        = 260 [[Enets people]] (2010 census)
| speakers         = 69
| date             = 2020 census, Russia
| ref              = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Итоги Всероссийской переписи населения 2020 года. Таблица 6. Население по родному языку. |trans-title=Results of the All-Russian population census 2020. Table 6. population according to native language. |url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/vpn_popul |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=rosstat.gov.ru |archive-date=2020-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124160257/http://rosstat.gov.ru/vpn_popul |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| familycolor      = Uralic
| fam2             = [[Samoyedic languages|Samoyedic]]
| fam3             = (core)
| fam4             = Enets–[[Nenets languages|Nenets]]
| lc1              = enf
| ld1              = Forest Enets
| lc2              = enh
| ld2              = Tundra Enets
| glotto           = enet1250
| glottorefname    = Enets
| map              = Enets_current.png
| mapcaption       = Current distribution of Enets languages.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rantanen |first1=Timo |last2=Tolvanen |first2=Harri |last3=Roose |first3=Meeli |last4=Ylikoski |first4=Jussi |last5=Vesakoski |first5=Outi |date=2022-06-08 |title=Best practices for spatial language data harmonization, sharing and map creation—A case study of Uralic |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=e0269648 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0269648|doi-access=free |pmid=35675367 |pmc=9176854 |bibcode=2022PLoSO..1769648R }}</ref><ref>Rantanen, Timo, Vesakoski, Outi, Ylikoski, Jussi, & Tolvanen, Harri. (2021). ''Geographical database of the Uralic languages'' (v1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4784188</ref>
| map2             = Lang Status 20-CR.svg
| mapcaption2      = {{center|{{small|Forest Enets is classified as Critically Endangered by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''}}}}
| speakers2        = 18 (2001, Ukraine)
}}

'''Enets''' is a [[Samoyedic languages|Samoyedic language]] of Northern Siberia spoken on the Lower [[Yenisei]] within the boundaries of the [[Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District|Taimyr]] Municipality District, a subdivision of [[Krasnoyarsk Krai]], [[Russia|Russian Federation]].  Enets belongs to the Northern branch of the [[Samoyedic languages]], in turn a branch of the [[Uralic languages|Uralic]] language family.<ref>Siegl, F. (2013). ''Materials on Forest Enets, an indigenous language of Northern Siberia''. Tartu. doi:978-9949-19-673-9, http://dspace.ut.ee/handle/10062/17439?locale-attribute=en</ref> 

==Status==
In 2010 about 40 people claimed to be native Enets speakers, while in 2020, 69 people claimed to speak Enets natively, while 97 people claimed to know Enets in total.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Росстат — Всероссийская перепись населения 2020 |url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/vpn_popul |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=rosstat.gov.ru |archive-date=2020-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124160257/http://rosstat.gov.ru/vpn_popul |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Older generation still speaks their language, but education is in Russian and very little of Enets language is taught and the language is almost unused in everyday life.<ref>[https://goarctic.ru/news/kak-zagovorit-po-enetski/ Как заговорить по-энецки?] (retrieved July 24, 2024)</ref>

== Dialects ==
There are two distinct dialects, {{ill|Forest Enets (Bai)|ru|Лесной энецкий язык}} and {{ill|Tundra Enets (Madu or Somatu)|ru|Тундровый энецкий язык}}, which may be considered separate languages.

Tundra Enets is the smaller of the two Enets dialects. In the winter of 2006/2007, approximately 35 people spoke it (6 in [[Dudinka]], 20 in  {{ill|Potapovo|ru|Потапово (Таймырский Долгано-Ненецкий район)}} and 10 in [[Tukhard]], the youngest of whom was born in 1962 and the oldest in 1945). Many of these speakers are [[multilingualism|trilingual]], with competence in Forest Enets, [[Tundra Nenets language|Tundra Nenets]] and [[Russian language|Russian]], preferring to speak Tundra Nenets.

The two dialects differ both in phonology and in lexicon. Additional variation was found in early Enets records from the 17th to 19th centuries, though all these varieties can be assigned as either Tundra Enets or Forest Enets.<ref>{{cite book|first=Eugen|last=Helimskij|author-link=Eugene Helimski|contribution=Die Feststellung der dialektalen Zugehörigkeit der encischen Materialen|title=Dialectologia Uralica: Materialien des ersten Internationalen Symposions zur Dialektologie der uralischen Sprachen 4.-7. September 1984 in Hamburg|series=Veröffentlichungen der Societas Uralo-Altaica|year=1985|isbn=3-447-02535-2}}</ref>

Phonological differences:
* In some words, Forest Enets {{IPA|/s/}} corresponds to Tundra Enets {{IPA|/ɟ/}} (from Proto-Samoyedic *ms, *ns, *rs and *rkʲ).
** Forest {{lang|enf-Latn|mese}} — Tundra {{lang|enh-Latn|meɟe}} 'wind' (from *merse < *märkʲä);
** Forest {{lang|enf-Latn|osa}} — Tundra {{lang|enh-Latn|uɟa}} 'meat' (from *ʊnsa < *əmså);
** Forest {{lang|enf-Latn|sira}} — Tundra {{lang|enh-Latn|silra}} 'snow';
** Forest {{lang|enf-Latn|judado}} — Tundra {{lang|enh-Latn|judaro}} 'pike';
** Forest {{lang|enf-Latn|kadaʔa}} — Tundra {{lang|enh-Latn|karaʔa}} 'grandmother';<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Künnap |first=Ago |url=https://theswissbay.ch/pdf/Books/Linguistics/Mega%20linguistics%20pack/Uralic/Enets%20%28K%C3%BCnnap%29.pdf |title=Enets |year=1999}}</ref>
* In some words, Forest Enets word-initial {{IPA|/na/}} corresponds to Tundra Enets {{IPA|/e/}} (from Proto-Samoyedic *a- > *ä-).
* Certain vowel + glide sequences of Proto-Samoyedic have different reflexes in Forest Enets and Tundra Enets.
* Forest Enets word-initial {{IPA|/ɟi/}} corresponds to Tundra Enets {{IPA|/i/}}.

Lexical differences:
* Forest {{lang|enf-Latn|eba}} — Tundra {{lang|enh-Latn|aburi}} 'head'
* Forest {{lang|enf-Latn|baða}} — Tundra {{lang|enh-Latn|nau}} 'word'
* Forest {{lang|enf-Latn|ʃaru}} — Tundra {{lang|enh-Latn|oma}} 'tobacco'
* Forest {{lang|enf-Latn|abbua}} — Tundra {{lang|enh-Latn|miʔ}} 'what'<ref name=":0" />

== Phonology ==
The following phoneme inventories are combined from all of the different dialects of the Enets languages. [[Finno-Ugric Transcription|Uralicist transcription]], often used in literature on Enets, is given below the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] transcription.

=== Vowels ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[High vowel|High]]
|{{IPAlink|i}}<br/>''i''
|{{IPAlink|ɨ}}<br/>''i̮''
|{{IPAlink|u}}<br/>''u''
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPAlink|e}}, {{IPAlink|ɛ}}<br/>''ḙ'', ''e''
|{{IPAlink|ə}}<br/>''e̮'' <small>or</small> ''ə̑''
|{{IPAlink|o}}, {{IPAlink|ɔ}}<br/>''o̭'', ''o''
|-
![[Low vowel|Low]]
|
| colspan="2" |{{IPAlink|ɑ}}<br/>''a''
|}

Vowel length is indicated by a [[macron (diacritic)|macron]], e.g. ''ē'' {{IPA|[eː]}}.

=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! colspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! <small>plain</small> || <small>[[Palatalization (phonetics)|pal.]]</small>
! <small>plain</small> || <small>[[Palatalization (phonetics)|pal.]]</small>
! <small>plain</small> || [[Palatalization (phonetics)|<small>pal.</small>]]
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}<br/>''m''
| mʲ<br/>''ḿ''
| {{IPA link|n}}<br/>''n''
| nʲ<br/>''ń''
|
|
| {{IPA link|ŋ}}<br/>''η''
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Stop consonant|Stop]]/<br>[[Affricate]]
! <small>voiceless</small>
| {{IPA link|p}}<br/>''p''
| pʲ<br/>''ṕ''
| {{IPA link|t}}<br/>''t''
| tʲ<br/>''ť'' <small>or</small> ''tʹ''
|{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}<br/>''č''
|t͡ʃʲ<br/>''č́'' <small>or</small> ''čʹ''
| {{IPA link|k}}<br/>''k''
| {{IPA link|ʔ}}<br/>''ˀ'' <small>or</small> ''ʼ''
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| {{IPA link|b}}<br/>''b''
| bʲ<br/>''b́'' <small>or</small> ''bʹ''
| {{IPA link|d}}<br/>''d''
| dʲ<br/>''ď'' <small>or</small> ''dʹ''
|
|
| {{IPA link|g}}<br/>''g''
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Fricative]]
! <small>plain</small>
|
|
| {{IPA link|ð}}<br/>''δ''
|
|
|
| {{IPA link|x}}<br/>''χ''
| {{IPA link|h}}<br/>''h''
|-
! <small>sibilant</small>
|
|
| {{IPA link|s}}<br/>''s''
| sʲ<br/>''ś''
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}<br/>''š''
| ʃʲ<br/>''š́'' <small>or</small> ''šʹ''
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|
| {{IPA link|r}}<br/>''r''
| rʲ<br/>''ŕ''
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant]]
| {{IPA link|w}}<br/>''w''
|
|{{IPA link|l}}<br>''l''
|lʲ<br/>''ľ'' <small>or</small> ''lʹ''
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|j}}<br/> ''j''
|
|
|}

* There is partial or complete vowel reduction in the middle and at the end of a word
* Consonants preceding ''i'' and ''e'' become palatalized<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://proalki.uni-leipzig.de/wiki/Enf/Phonology|title=Enf/Phonology - ProAlKi|website=proalki.uni-leipzig.de|language=en}}</ref>

=== Stress ===
The type of stress in Enets is quantitative. Stressed vowels are pronounced relatively longer than unstressed vowels. Based on the available data, the stress is not (as a rule) used as a feature for distinguishing the meaning. The stress in a word usually falls on the first vowel. The primary stress usually falls on the first syllable and is accompanied by a secondary stress, which falls on the third and the fifth syllable. Sometimes the stress distinguishes the meaning, e.g. in mo·di ('I') vs. modi· ('shoulder'). (The primary stress is marked by ·).<ref name=":0" />

== Orthography ==
Enets is written using the [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] alphabet, though it includes the letters ''ԑ'', ''ӈ'', and ''ҫ'' which are not used in the [[Russian alphabet]].
{| style="font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF; text-align:center;"
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | А а
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Б б
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | В в
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Г г
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Д д
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Е е
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Ё ё
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | [[Ԑ]] ԑ
|-
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Ж ж
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | З з
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | И и
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Й й
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | К к
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Л л
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | М м
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Н н
|-
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | [[En with hook|Ӈ]] ӈ
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | О о
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | П п
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Р р
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | С с
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | [[Ҫ]] ҫ
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Т т
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | У у
|-
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Ф ф
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Х х
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Ц ц
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Ч ч
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Ш ш
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Щ щ
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Ъ ъ
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Ы ы
|-
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Ь ь
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Э э
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Ю ю
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" | Я я
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |
|}

The written form of the Enets language was created during the 1980s and has been used to produce a number of books. During the 1990s there was a local newspaper with insert in local languages (including Enets language), Советский Таймыр (Soviet Taimyr, modern simple ''[[Taymyr (newspaper)|Taymyr]]'') published and brief Enets broadcasts on local radio, which shut down in 2003,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Siegl |first=Florian |date=2017-04-24 |title=The fate of Forest Enets – a short comm ent |url=https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ura-list/2007-April/000698.html}}</ref> served as supplements for speakers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Enets language, alphabet and pronunciation |url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/enets.htm |website=www.omniglot.com}}</ref>

In 2019, the Enets alphabet was reformed, and in April 2020, the Enets primer was published in a new version of the alphabet. The alphabet contains the following letters:<ref>{{cite web |date=2020-04-09 |title=Буквари и рабочие тетради на энецком языке выпущены тиражом в 200 экземпляров |url=https://ru.arctic.ru/population/20200409/936493.html |accessdate=2020-05-24}}</ref>

{| style="font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF; text-align:center;"
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |А а
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Б б
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |В в
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Г г
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Д д
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Е е
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Ԑ ԑ
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Ё ё
|-
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Ж ж
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |З з
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |И и
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Й й
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |К к
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Л л
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |М м
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Н н
|-
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |[[Ӊ]] ӊ
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |О о
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |[[О̂]] о̂
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |П п
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Р р
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |С с
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Т т
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |У у
|-
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Ф ф
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Х х
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Ц ц
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Ч ч
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Ш ш
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Щ щ
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |ъ
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Ы ы
|-
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |ь
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Э э
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Ю ю
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |Я я
| style="width:3em; padding: 3px;" |[[ˮ]]
|}

== Grammar ==
Enets nouns vary for number, case, and person-number of the possessor. There is also an intriguing nominal case in which ‘destinativity’ determines the entity is destined for someone. Possessor markers are also used for discourse related purposes, where they are completely devoid of the literal possessive meaning. Enets postpositions are marked for person-number; many postpositions are formed from a small set of relational nouns and case morphology.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leipzig |first=Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology |title=Former Dept. of Linguistics {{!}} Documentation of Enets |url=http://www.eva.mpg.de/linguistics/past-research-resources/documentation-and-%20description/documentation-of-enets.html?Fsize=0 |website=www.eva.mpg.de |language=en}}</ref>

=== Morphology ===
The parts of speech in Enets are: nouns, adjectives, numerals, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, postpositions, conjunctions, interjections and connective particles.<ref name=":0" />

The grammatical number is expressed by means of the opposition of the singular, dual and plural forms. There are three declensions, the main (non-possessive), possessive and desiderative declensions, and seven cases in Enets: the nominative, genitive, accusative, lative, locative, ablative and prolative case. The meaning of those cases is expressed by means of suffixes added to nouns, adjectives, pronouns and substantivized verbs. In their fixed forms they also belong to adverbs and postpositions. The possession is expressed by means of the genitive case or possessive suffixes.<ref name=":0" />

Local orientation is based on the three-member distribution: the suffixes of local cases of nouns, adverbs and postpositions are divided among the [[Lative case|lative]] (''to where?''), [[Locative case|locative]] (''where?'') and [[Ablative case|ablative]] (''from where?''). The [[Prolative case|prolative]] case (''along what?'' or ''through what?'') expresses an additional fourth local characteristic.

The verbal negation is expressed by the combination of the main verb with a preceding auxiliary negative verb. The auxiliary verb is conjugated according to general rules, but the main verb is in a special inconjugated negative form. There are also some verbs of absence - non-possessiveness. Six moods are contrasted in the Enets language: indicative, conjunctive, imperative, optative, quotative and interrogative.  There are three tenses: [[aorist]], [[preterite]] and [[Future tense|future]].<ref name=":0" />

The category of person with nouns is expressed by means of possessive suffixes, differing in all three numbers of all three persons and used in nouns, pronouns, substantivized verbs, adverbs and postpositions. The category of person with verbs is expressed by means of particular personal suffixes of the verb, differing in all three numbers of all three persons.

There are three conjugations in Enets: subjective, objective and reflexive. These conjugations differ from each other by personal suffixes. Additionally, the objective conjugation uses numerical suffixes, referring to all three numbers of the object. In the case of the reflexive conjugation, the person of the subject and object is the same and a separate suffix indicates reflexivity.<ref name=":0" />

==== Nouns ====
Depending on the final sounds of the word stem, nouns can be divided into two groups: 
# nouns with a final sound other than a laryngal plosive stop, e.g. ''dʲuda'' 'horse'
# nouns with a final laryngal plosive stop, e.g. ''tauʔ'' 'Nganasan'
Either group uses variants of suffixes with a different initial sound (e.g. Loc ''dʲuda-han'', ''tau-kon'').

There are seven cases in Enets: the nominative, genitive, accusative, lative, locative, ablative and prolative case. The case suffixes are combined with numeral markers, often in a fairly complex manner.<ref name=":0" />

{| class="wikitable"
!
!Singular
!Plural
|-
|'''Nominative'''
| style="text-align:center" | -
| style="text-align:center" | -ʔ
|-
|'''Genitive'''
| style="text-align:center" | -ʔ
| style="text-align:center" | -ʔ
|-
|'''Accusative'''
| style="text-align:center" | <nowiki>-</nowiki>
| style="text-align:center" | -ʔ
|-
|'''Lative'''
| style="text-align:center" | -d/-t
| style="text-align:center" | -hɨð/-gɨð/-kɨð
|-
|'''Locative'''
| style="text-align:center" | -hVn/-gon/-kon
| style="text-align:center" | -hɨn/-gɨn/-kɨn
|-
|'''Ablative'''
| style="text-align:center" | -hVð/-gɨð/-kɨð
| style="text-align:center" | -hɨt/-gɨt/-kɨt
|-
|'''Prolative'''
| style="text-align:center" | -on/-mon
| style="text-align:center" | -ɨn/-on
|}

The dual case forms are produced on the basis of an uninflected dual form with the suffix ''-hɨʔ/-gɨʔ/-kɨʔ'' by adding the respective singular case endings of some postpositions (mainly ''nə-'') in local cases.<ref name=":0" />

==== Adjectives ====
There are a number of adjectives that have no specific suffixes, e.g. ''utik'' 'bad', ''sojδa'' 'good', ''lodo'' 'low' and ''piδe'' 'high'.

Alongside these, there are various suffixal adjectives, e.g. ''buse̮-saj ne̮'' 'a married woman', ''bite-δa'' 'waterless', ''uδa-šiδa'' 'handless', ''mȯga-he'' 'belonging to the forest', ''same-raha'' 'wolf-like', ''narδe-de̮'' 'red', ''polδe-de̮'' 'black'.

The adjective does not agree with its head either in number or case, e.g. ''agga koja'' 'big sterlet', ''agga koja-hone'' (locative), ''agga koja-hi̮t'' (plural ablative). As an exception, we can refer to the use of the adjective instead of an elliptical noun and as a predicate in the nominal conjugation.

To strengthen a possessive connection, sometimes a respective possessive suffix may be added to the head of an attribute, e.g. ''<u>keδerʔ</u> '''koba-δa''' ŋul'ʔ mujuʔ'' 'the wild reindeer skin is very strong' ("'''its-skin''' <u>of-the-wild-reindeer</u>...").

The comparative degree is formed by means of an adjective in the positive degree (in the nominative form) with the word to be compared in the ablative form.<ref name=":0" />

==== Verbs ====
The verbs in Enets can be distributed into two groups in principally the same manner as the noun depending on the final sounds of the word stem. Either group uses the variants of suffixes with different initial sounds.

Seven moods are contrasted: indicative, conjunctive, imperative, optative, quotative and interrogative. There are three tenses: aorist, preterite and future. (These tenses exist practically only in the indicative mood.) The verb has three conjugations: subjective, objective and reflexive. These conjugations differ from each other by personal suffixes. In addition to this the objective conjugation uses numerical suffixes, referring to all three numbers of the object. In the case of reflexive conjugation a separate suffix indicates reflexivity.<ref name=":0" />

===== Finite forms =====
The aorist is either unmarked or with the marker ''-ŋV-/-V-''. The temporal meaning of the aorist depends on the aspect of the verb. A prolonged or recurrent action should be understood as taking place in the present, a short-time or single action as having taken place in the past, whereas the influence of the latter is still felt in the present. A distinctly past action is expressed by the preterite with the marker ''-ś/-š/-d'/-t'/-č'', whereas the marker is placed after personal suffixes. The future action is expressed by the future marker ''-d-/-dV-/-t-/-tV-'' before personal suffixes.

The objective conjugation uses one type of personal suffixes when the object is in the singular and another type of them with the object in the dual or the plural. In the case of the dual object the dual marker ''-hu-/-gu-/-ku-'' precedes the dual personal suffixes of the second type, whereas in the case of the plural object, the rise of the stem vowel can be observed. The marker of the reflexive mood is ''-i-'', which is standing before personal suffixes.<ref name=":0" />

=== Syntax ===
The [[syntax]] of Enets is typical for the family and the area. The Enets language follows [[Subject-object-verb]], [[head marking]] in the [[noun phrase]], both head and [[dependent marking]] within the clause, non-finite verbal forms used for clause combining. Consequently, the finite verb form (the [[Predicate_(grammar)|predicate]]) is always at the end of a sentence. The negative auxiliary verb immediately precedes the main verb. The object of a sentence always keeps to the word it belongs to.<ref name=":0" />

== Vocabulary ==

=== Numerals ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ <ref name=":0" />
|-
! Numeral !! Cardinal !! Ordinal
|-
| 1 || ŋōʔ || orðede̮
|-
|2 || siðe || ne̮kujde̮
|-
|3 || nehuʔ || ne̮hode̮
|-
|4 || teto || tetode̮
|-
|5 || sobboreggo || sobode̮
|-
|6 || mottuʔ || motode̮
|-
|7 || seʔo || se̮ʔode̮
|-
|8 || sidiʔeto || siðetode̮
|-
|9 || nēsā || ne̮satode̮
|-
|10 || biwʔ || biwde̮
|-
|11 || ŋoʔbodade ||
|-
|12 || side bodade ||
|-
|13 || nehuʔ bodade ||
|-
|14 || teto bodade ||
|-
|20 || sidiuʔ ||
|-
|21 || sidiuʔ ŋōʔ ||
|-
|30 || nehibiʔ ||
|-
|40 || tetujʔ ||
|-
|50 || sobboreggujʔ ||
|-
|60 || motujʔ ||
|-
|70 || seʔujʔ ||
|-
|80 || siðetujʔ ||
|-
|90 || nēsauʔ ||
|-
|100 || juʔ || dʲurde̮
|}

Collective numerals are formed combining a separate word namely a form ''e̮ʃ'' of the auxiliary verb 'to be' with cardinal numerals, e.g. ''siðe e̮ʃ'' 'we two, the two of us'.

Distributive numerals are postpositional constructions of cardinals, combined with the postposition ''loð'', e.g. ''siðeʔ loð'' 'by (in) twos'.

Iteratives are the plural forms of cardinals, e.g. ''ŋobuʔ'' 'one time, once'.

Fractional numerals are cardinals that are combined with the word boʔ 'a half', e.g. ''nehuʔ boʔ'' 'one-third'.

Temporal numerals are formed from cardinals by means of the suffix ''-ʔ'', e.g. ''orðede̮ʔ'' 'the first time'.<ref name=":0" />

=== Pronouns ===

==== Personal pronouns ====

Two-member constructions are used to decline personal pronouns. The second member of these constructions is either an independent word stem ''si-'' or a postpositional stem ''no-''. The first member may be absent.<ref name=":0" />

:{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="text-align:center" | Case !! Singular !! Dual !! Plural
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Nominative || ''modi, mod''' 'I' || ''modiniʔ'' 'we two' || ''modinaʔ'' 'we'
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Genitive || ''mod' siń'' || ''modińʔ siδińʔ'' || ''modinaʔ siδnaʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Accusative || ''mod' siʔ'' || ''modińʔ siδińʔ'' || ''modinaʔ siδnaʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Lative || ''mod' noń'' || ''modińʔ nońʔ'' || ''modinaʔ nonaʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Locative || ''mod' none̮ń'' || ''modińʔ none̮ńʔ'' || ''modinaʔ nonnaʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Ablative || ''mod' noδoń'' || ''modińʔ noδońʔ'' || ''modinaʔ noδnaʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Prolative || ''mod' noone̮ń'' || ''modińʔ noone̮ńʔ'' || ''modinaʔ noone̮naʔ''
|}

:{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="text-align:center" | Case !! Singular !! Dual !! Plural
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Nominative || ''ū'' 'you' || ''ūdiʔ'' 'you two' || ''ūdaʔ'' 'you'
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Genitive || ''ū sit'' || ''ūdiʔ siδtiʔ'' || ''ūdaʔ siδtaʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Accusative || ''ū sit'' || ''ūdiʔ siδδiʔ'' || ''ūdaʔ siδδaʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Lative || ''ū nod'' || ''ūdiʔ nodiʔ'' || ''ūdaʔ nodaʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Locative || ''ū none̮d'' || ''ūdiʔ nondiʔ'' || ''ūdaʔ nondaʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Ablative || ''ū noδod'' || ''ūdiʔ noδdiʔ'' || ''ūdaʔ noδdaʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Prolative || ''ū noone̮d'' || ''ūdiʔ noone̮diʔ'' || ''ūdaʔ noone̮daʔ''
|}

:{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="text-align:center" | Case !! Singular !! Dual !! Plural
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Nominative || ''bu'' 'he/she' || ''budiʔ'' 'they two' || ''buduʔ'' 'they'
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Genitive || ''bu sita'' || ''budiʔ sitiʔ'' || ''buduʔ siδtuʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Accusative || ''bu sita'' || ''budiʔ siδδiʔ'' || ''buduʔ siδδuʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Lative || ''bu noda'' || ''budiʔ nodiʔ'' || ''buduʔ noduʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Locative || ''bu nonda'' || ''budiʔ nondiʔ'' || ''buduʔ nonduʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Ablative || ''bu noδda'' || ''budiʔ noδdiʔ'' || ''buduʔ noδduʔ''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | Prolative || ''bu noone̮da'' || ''budiʔ noone̮diʔ'' || ''buduʔ noone̮duʔ''
|}

==== Other pronouns ====

Reflexive pronouns are pairs of words whose first component consists of personal pronouns, the second is a separate word stem ''ker-'', combined with their respective possessive suffixes, e.g. ''mod' keriń'' 'I myself', ''ū kerit'' 'you yourself', ''bu kerta'' 'she herself/he himself' or ''modiń keriń'' 'we two ourselves'.

Interrogative pronouns are ''kurse̮'' 'which?', ''sēa'' 'who?' (used only for humans) and obu 'what?' (used for animals and lifeless objects).

Negative pronouns are formed from interrogative pronouns by adding the suffix -hȯru, e.g. obuhȯru.<ref name=":0" />

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Künnap |first=Ago |year=1999 |title=Enets |publisher=Lincom Europa |location=München}}
* Haig, G. L., Nau, N., Schnell, S., & Wegener, C. (2011). Achievements and Perspectives. ''Documenting Endangered Languages,'' 119-150. {{doi|10.1515/9783110260021.vii}}
* Khanina, O. (2018). Documenting a language with phonemic and phonetic variation: the case of Enets. ''Language Documentation & Conservation'' 12. 430-460. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/24772
*Khanina, O., & Shluinsky, A. (2008). Finites structures in Forest Enets subordination: A case study of language change under strong Russian influence. ''Subordination and Coordination Strategies in North Asian Languages Current Issues in Linguistic Theory,'' 63-75. {{doi|10.1075/cilt.300.07kha}}
* Khanina, O., & Shluinsky, A. (2013). Choice of case in cross-reference markers: Forest Enets non-finite forms. ''Finnisch-Ugrische Mitteilungen Band, 37'', 32-44. Retrieved from <nowiki>http://iling-ran.ru/Shluinsky/ashl/ChoiceOfCase_2013.pdf</nowiki>
* {{cite journal |last1=Khanina |first1=Olesya |last2=Shluinsky |first2=Andrey |title=A rare type of benefactive construction: Evidence from Enets |year=2014 |journal=Linguistics |volume=52 |issue=6 |pages=1391–1431 |doi=10.1515/ling-2014-0025|s2cid=199575745 }}
* Mikola T.: Morphologisches Wörterbuch des Enzischen. Szeged, 1995 (= Studia Uralo-Altaica 36)
* Siegl, F. (2012). More on Possible Forest Enets – Ket Contacts. ''Eesti ja Soome-Ugri Keeleteaduse Ajakiri, 3''(1), 327-341. {{doi|10.12697/jeful.2015.6.3.00}}
* Siegl, F. (2012). Yes/no questions and the interrogative mood in Forest Enets . ''Per Urales ad Orientem. Iter polyphonicum multilingue,'' 399-408. Retrieved from <nowiki>http://www.sgr.fi/sust/sust264/sust264_siegl.pdf</nowiki>
* {{cite book|last=Siegl |first=Florian |year=2013 |title=Materials on Forest Enets, an Indigenous Language of Northern Siberia |series=(Mémoires de la Société Finno-Ougrienne, 267) |location=Helsinki |publisher=Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia |url=https://www.sgr.fi/sust/sust267/sust267.pdf |accessdate=5 November 2021}}
* Siegl, F. (2015). Negation in Forest Enets. ''Negation in Uralic Languages Typological Studies in Language,'' 43-74. {{doi|10.1075/tsl.108.02sie}}
* Vajda, E. J. (2008). Subordination and Coordination Strategies in North Asian Languages. ''Current Issues in Linguistic Theory,'' 63-73. {{doi|10.1075/cilt.300}}  
* Болина, Д. С.: ''Русско-энецкий разговорник.'' Санкт-Петербург: Просвещение, 2003, 111p. {{ISBN|5-09-005269-7}}
* Сорокина, И. П.; Болина, Д .С.: ''Энецкий-русско и русско-энецкий словарь.'' Санкт-Петербург: Просвещение, 2001, 311p. {{ISBN|5-09-002526-6}}
* Сорокина, И. П.; Болина, Д .С.: ''Энецкие тексты.'' Санкт-Петербург: Наука, 2005, 350 p.. {{ISBN| 5-02-026381-8}}. [https://iling.spb.ru/nord/materia/ency_tit.html Online version].
* Сорокина, И. П.; Болина, Д. С.: ''Энецкий словарь с кратким грамматическим очерком: около 8.000 слов''. Санкт-Петербург: Наука 2009, 488p. {{ISBN|978-5-98187-304-1}}
* Сорокина, И. П.: ''Энецкий язык''. Санкт-Петербург: Наука 2010, 411p. {{ISBN|978-5-02-025581-4}}
{{refend}}

==References==
<references>
<!--unused<ref name=RedBook>{{cite web |title=The Enets |work=The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire |url=http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/enets.shtml |author1=Margus Kolga |author2=Igor Tõnurist |author3=Lembit Vaba |author4=Jüri Viikberg }}</ref>-->
</references>

==External links==
{{incubator|enf}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080119143810/http://www.tooyoo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/Russia/bibl/Enets.html Enets bibliography]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080602053011/http://lepo.it.da.ut.ee/~flos/Enets_bibliography.htm Bibliography] on Enets studies
*[http://www.nganasanica.de/enets.html Linguistic items] (Texts, vocabularies, links, ...)
*ELAR archive of [http://elar.soas.ac.uk/deposit/0302 Enets language documentation materials]
*[https://hdl.handle.net/11022/0000-0007-FE1D-C INEL Enets corpus]
*[https://inel.corpora.uni-hamburg.de/EnetsCorpus/search INEL Enets corpus (online search)]
*http://www.siberianlanguages.surrey.ac.uk/summary/

{{Uralic languages}}

[[Category:Northern Samoyedic languages]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of Siberia]]
[[Category:Krasnoyarsk Krai]]
[[Category:Subject–object–verb languages]]
[[Category:Endangered Uralic languages]]