On the syntactic structure of exceptive constructions in Finno-Ugric languages

In the paper, I examine the syntax of exceptive constructions (‘everyone left, except Peter’) in Finno-Ugric languages using two diagnostics: (1) case marking of nominal exceptions (fixed case vs. derived case) and (2) the possibility of non-nominal exceptions. Phrasal exceptives are expected to be restricted to NPs with fixed case, unlike clausal exceptives. The analysis shows that Kazym Khanty, Northern Mansi, Mari, and Mordvin exhibit phrasal exceptives, with markers selecting NPs in fixed case. In Finnish, constructions with paitsi are clausal, combining with NPs in derived case, as well as with finite clauses and other constituents. By contrast, the distribution of Karelian paič(č)i, Estonian välja arvatud, Hungarian kivéve, Udmurt s'ana, and Komi-Zyrian kəndzi is more restricted. These items can be used with derived case and allow non-nominal exceptions, such as postpositional phrases or converbs, but not finite clauses. With the exception of Komi-Zyrian, these markers allow finite clauses only in combination with subordinating conjunctions (‘except that’), reflecting their identical position within the clause.