Code-switching in infinitive constructions: Russian — Nanai

The paper deals with a pattern of codeswitching in infinitive constructions attested in the speech of Nanai-Russian bilinguals. In these constructions, the matrix predicate is in Russian; the embedded verb comes from Nanai and takes the Nanai present tense suffix and the Russian infinitive suffix; the arguments of this verb come from Nanai. The mixed morphology of the embedded verb is the most intriguing. In the paper, I analyze Russian-Nanai infinitive constructions in terms of Myers-Scotton’s model of intrasentential codeswitching. The data contribute to a more general problem of verb integration in mixed clauses.