1887
Volume 5, Issue 1
  • ISSN 2665-9336
  • E-ISSN: 2665-9344
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

South Central Tibeto-Burman (also known as Kuki-Chin) forms a group of fifty languages spoken in the border area of Bangladesh, India and Burma. Due to their geographic distribution, speakers of South Central (SC) languages are in close contact with the superstrate languages, Bangla, Hindi and Burmese. The inevitable consequence of this longstanding contact on lesser-known languages of this region is understudied, especially structural diffusions. This paper presents a detailed discussion on relative-correlative (RC-CRC) construction in Hyow, a Southeastern SC language spoken by approximately four thousand people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, where they are in close contact with Bangla and Marma (a dialect of Burmese). This empirical study demonstrates how RC-CRC construction in Hyow is structurally and distributionally similar to those in IA languages, taking a critical look at the existing literature on IA languages and using data therein for a comparative study. In doing so, this paper provides examples from Bangla, Hindi and Sanskrit, and refutes some of the observations made in previous scholarly works. This paper also explores how they might have developed in Hyow, which otherwise uses a nominalization as native strategy for forming relative clauses. Even though most part of this paper discusses the RC-CRC constructions in Hyow as a consequence of language contact, this paper presents new insights on RC-CRC constructions in Bangla as well comparing to other IA languages.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/alal.00020.zak
2024-07-05
2025-02-18
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Aikhenvald, Alexandra
    (2002) Language contact in Amazonia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Aikhenvald, Alexandra and Dixon, Robert
    (2001) Areal diffusion and genetic inheritance: problems in comparative linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Andvik, Erik
    (2010) A Grammar of Tshangla. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. 10.1163/ej.9789004178274.i‑490
    https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004178274.i-490 [Google Scholar]
  4. Asher, Ronald
    (1982) Tamil (Lingua Descriptive Studies 7). Amsterdam: North.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Asher, Ronald & Kumari
    (1997) Malayalam. (Descriptive Grammars Series, Descriptive Grammars). London & New York: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Auderset, Sandra
    (2020) Interrogatives as relativization markers in Indo-European. Diachronica, 37(4), 474–513. 10.1075/dia.19030.aud
    https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.19030.aud [Google Scholar]
  7. Bhatt, Rajesh
    (2003) Locality in correlatives. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, 21(3), 485–541. 10.1023/A:1024192606485
    https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024192606485 [Google Scholar]
  8. Brauns, Claus-Dieter & Löffler, Lorenz
    (1990) Mru: Hill people on the border of Bangladesh. Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag. 10.1007/978‑3‑0348‑5694‑2
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-5694-2 [Google Scholar]
  9. Butt, Miriam, King, Tracy & Roth, Sebastian
    (2007) Urdu Correlatives: Theoretical and Implementational Issues. Proceedings of the LFG07 Conference
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Chhangte, Lalnunthangi
    (1993) Mizo syntax. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Oregon.
  11. Cinque, Guglielmo
    (2011) On double-headed relative clauses. Revista de Estudos Linguísticos da Universidade do Porto, 61, 67–91.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Coupe, Alec
    (2018) South Asian perspectives on the relative-correlative construction. Proceedings of the 51st International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. (2007) A grammar of Mongsen Ao. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. 10.1515/9783110198522
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110198522 [Google Scholar]
  14. Dasgupta, Probal
    (1980) Questions and relative and complement clauses in a Bangla grammar. New York: New York University.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. David, Anne
    (2015) Descriptive grammar of Bangla. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. 10.1515/9781614512295
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614512295 [Google Scholar]
  16. Davison, Alice
    (2009) Correlative clause features in Sanskrit and Hindi/Urdu. InPaola Crisma & Giuseppe Longobardi (Eds.) Historical syntax and linguistic theory (pp.271–291). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199560547.003.0016
    https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199560547.003.0016 [Google Scholar]
  17. Dayal, Veneeta
    (1996) Locality in wh-quantification: Questions and relative clauses in Hindi. Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy 62. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. 10.1007/978‑94‑011‑4808‑5
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4808-5 [Google Scholar]
  18. Den Dikken, Marcel
    (2005) Comparative correlatives comparatively. Linguistic Inquiry, 36(4), 497–532. 10.1162/002438905774464377
    https://doi.org/10.1162/002438905774464377 [Google Scholar]
  19. Downing, Bruce
    (1978) Some universals of relative clause structure. Universals of human language, 41, 375–418.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Dryer, Matthew
    (2013) Order of Relative Clause and Noun. InDryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin (eds.) The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. (Available online atwals.info/chapter/90, Accessed on2021-10-04.)
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Emeneau, Murray
    (1956) India as a Lingustic Area. Language, 32(1), 3–16. 10.2307/410649
    https://doi.org/10.2307/410649 [Google Scholar]
  22. Enfield, Nick
    (2005) Areal linguistics and mainland Southeast Asia. Annual Review of Anthropology, 341, 181–206. 10.1146/annurev.anthro.34.081804.120406
    https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.34.081804.120406 [Google Scholar]
  23. Genetti, Carol, Coupe, Alexander, Bartee, Ellen, Hildebrandt, Kristine & Lin, You-Jing
    (2008) Syntactic Aspects of Nominalization in Five Tibeto-Burman Languages of the Himalayan Area. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman area, 31(2), 97–143.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Givón, Talmy
    (2001) Syntax: An Introduction. John Benjamins Publishing, Amsterdam.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Harvey, Goldfrey
    (1925) History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Haspelmath, Martin & Tadmor, Uri
    (2009) Loanwords in the world’s languages: A comparative handbook. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110218442
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110218442 [Google Scholar]
  27. Heine, Bernd, Tania Kuteva, Salikoko S. Mufwene, Robert Chaudenson, Braj Kachru, Lesley Milroy, Shana Poplack & Michael Silverstein
    (2005) Language contact and grammatical change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511614132
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511614132 [Google Scholar]
  28. Heine, Bernd and Kuteva, Tania
    (2006) From question to subordination. InHeine, Bernd & Kuteva, Tania (Eds.) The changing languages of Europe (pp.204–243). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297337.003.0006
    https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297337.003.0006 [Google Scholar]
  29. Hock, Hans
    (1989) Conjoined we stand: Theoretical implications of Sanskrit relative structures. Studies in the Linguistic Sciences, 19(1), 93–126.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. (2015) Some issues in Sanskrit syntax. Sanskrit syntax, 1–52.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. (2016) Finite and non-finite subordination. InBashir, Elena & Hock, Hans (Eds.) The languages and linguistics of South Asia: A comprehensive guide. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. 10.1515/9783110423303
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110423303 [Google Scholar]
  32. Huziwara, Keisuke
    (2005) Correlative construction in Cak. Paper presented at11th Himalayan Language Symposium. Bangkok: Thailand.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. (2008) An overview of grammatical particles in Marma. Paper presented at41st International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics. London: SOAS.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. (2015) Nominalization and Related Phenomena in Marma. North East Indian Linguistics, 31, 105–119.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Jenny, Mathias
    (2015) Foreign influence in the Burmese language. InInternational Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges (pp.1–21). Chiangmai: Thailand.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Johanson, Lars
    (2002) Contact-induced change in a code-copying framework. InMari Jones & Edith Esch (Eds.) Language Change: The Interplay of Internal, External and Extra Linguistic Factors (pp.285–314). Berlin, New York: De Gruyter Mouton. 10.1515/9783110892598.285
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110892598.285 [Google Scholar]
  37. (2013) Written language intertwining. InBakker, Peter and Matras, Yaron (Eds.) Contact Languages, (pp.273–332). Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. 10.1515/9781614513711.273
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614513711.273 [Google Scholar]
  38. Keenan, Edward & Comrie, Bernard
    (1977) Noun phrase accessibility and universal grammar. Linguistic Inquiry, 8(1), 63–99.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Kellogg, Samuel
    (1972) A grammar of the Hindi language. Рипол Классик.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Kim, Amy, Roy, Palash & Sangma, Mridul
    (2011) The Kuki-Chin Communities of Bangladesh: A sociolinguistic survey. SIL International.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju
    (2003) The Dravidian languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511486876
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486876 [Google Scholar]
  42. Koptjevskaja-Tamm, Maria and Dahl, Östen
    (2001) Circum-Baltic Languages. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
    [Google Scholar]
  43. LaPolla, Randy
    (2008) Relative Clause Structures in the Rawang Language. Language and Linguistics, 9(4), 797–812.
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Lehmann, Christian
    (1984) Der Relativsatz: Typologie seiner Strukturen, Theorie seiner Funktionen, Kompendium seiner Grammatik. Tübingen: G. Narr.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Lipták, Anikó
    (2009) Correlatives cross-linguistically (Vol.11). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing. 10.1075/lfab.1
    https://doi.org/10.1075/lfab.1 [Google Scholar]
  46. Mahajan, Anoop
    (2000) Relative asymmetries and Hindi correlatives. InArtemis Alexiadou, André Meinunger, Chris Wilder & Paul Law (Eds.) The syntax of relative clauses (pp.201–229). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/la.32.06mah
    https://doi.org/10.1075/la.32.06mah [Google Scholar]
  47. Masica, Colin
    (1976) Defining a Linguistic Area: South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. Matisoff, James
    (1972) Lahu Nominalization, Relativization, and Genitivization. InKimball, JohnSyntax and Semantics (Vol11), 237–257. Leiden: Brill.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Matras, Yaron
    (1996) Prozeduralwe Fusion: Grammatische Interferenzschichten im Romanes. STUF-Language Typology and Universals, 49(1), 60–78. 10.1524/stuf.1996.49.1.60
    https://doi.org/10.1524/stuf.1996.49.1.60 [Google Scholar]
  50. (1998) Utterance modifiers and universals of grammatical borrowing. Linguistics, 36.2: 281–331.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. (2020) Language contact. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/9781108333955
    https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108333955 [Google Scholar]
  52. McCawley, James
    (2004) Remarks on adsentential, adnominal, and extraposed relative clauses in Hindi. InDayal, Veneeta, and Anoop Mahajan (eds.) Clause structure in South Asian languages (pp.291–311). Dordrecht: Springer. 10.1007/978‑1‑4020‑2719‑2_10
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2719-2_10 [Google Scholar]
  53. Montaut, Annie
    (2009) Réduplication et constructions en écho en hindi/ourdou. Faits des langues, 9–45. 10.1163/19589514‑034‑02‑900000002
    https://doi.org/10.1163/19589514-034-02-900000002 [Google Scholar]
  54. Nadkarni, Mangesh
    (1975) Bilingualism and syntactic change in Konkani. Language, 51(3), 672–683. 10.2307/412892
    https://doi.org/10.2307/412892 [Google Scholar]
  55. Noonan, Michael
    (1997) Versatile nominalizations. In Honour ofT. Givón, J. Bybee, J. Haiman & S. Thompson (Eds.) Essays of Language Function and Language Type (pp.373–394. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/z.82.21noo
    https://doi.org/10.1075/z.82.21noo [Google Scholar]
  56. Okell, John
    (1965) Nissaya Burmese: A Case of Systematic Adaptation to A Foreign Grammar and Syntax. Lingua, 151, 186–227. 10.1016/0024‑3841(65)90013‑6
    https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-3841(65)90013-6 [Google Scholar]
  57. Otsuka, Kosei
    (2019) The Influence of Burmese on Asho Chin Grammar. Paper presented atNanyang Technological University, Singapore.
    [Google Scholar]
  58. Ozerov, Pavel
    (2022) Alternatives to QUD: Alternatives to questions. Functions of Language, 29(1), 86–115. 10.1075/fol.00039.oze
    https://doi.org/10.1075/fol.00039.oze [Google Scholar]
  59. Patnaik, B. N. & Pandit, Ira
    (1986) Englishization of Oriya. InBhadriraju Krishnamurti, Colin P. Masica, Anjani Kumar Sinha (Eds.) South Asian languages: structure, convergence and diglossia (pp.232–243). Motilal Banarsidass.
    [Google Scholar]
  60. Peterson, David
    (2008) Nominalization in Kuki-Chin and Mru. Paper presented at41st International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics. Lodon: SOAS.
    [Google Scholar]
  61. Peterson, John
    (2011) A grammar of Kharia. Leiden: Brill. 10.1163/ej.9789004187207.i‑474
    https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004187207.i-474 [Google Scholar]
  62. Pfaff, Carol
    (1982) Constraints on language mixing: Intrasentential code-switching and borrowing in Spanish-English. Spanish in the United States, 26497.
    [Google Scholar]
  63. Phayre, Arthur
    (1883) History of Burma, including Burma proper, Pegu, Taungu, Tenasserim, and Arakan. From the earliest time to the end of the first war with British India. London: Trübner & Co.
    [Google Scholar]
  64. Post, Mark
    (2007) A Grammar of Galo. PhD Dissertation. Melbourne, LaTrobe University.
  65. Puri, Vandana
    (2011) The influence of English on the history of Hindi relative clauses. Journal of Language Contact, 4(2), 250–268. 10.1163/187740911X589299
    https://doi.org/10.1163/187740911X589299 [Google Scholar]
  66. Roy, Gargi, Kumar, Rajesh & Subbarao, Kārumūri
    (2020) Kokborok Relative Clauses-A Case Of Syntactic Convergence. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342707178
    [Google Scholar]
  67. Salmons, Joe
    (1990) Bilingual discourse marking: code switching, borrowing, and convergence in some German-American dialects.
    [Google Scholar]
  68. Sridhar, Shikaripur
    (1990) Kannada: Descriptive Grammar. London & New York: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  69. Srivastav, Veneeta
    (1991) The syntax and semantics of correlatives. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, 9(4), 637–686. 10.1007/BF00134752
    https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00134752 [Google Scholar]
  70. Subbarao, Kārumūri
    (1984) Complementation in Hindi syntax (Vol.11). Academic Publications.
    [Google Scholar]
  71. Subbārāo, Kārumūri
    (2012) South Asian languages: A syntactic typology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9781139003575
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139003575 [Google Scholar]
  72. Thampoe, Harold
    (2016) Sinhala and Tamil: a case of contact-induced restructuring. Doctoral dissertation, Newcastle University.
  73. Thomason, Sarah & Terrence Kaufman
    1988Language contact, creolization, and genetic linguistics. Berkeley: University of California Press. 10.1525/9780520912793
    https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520912793 [Google Scholar]
  74. Vittrant, Alice and Watkins, Justin
    (2019) The Mainland Southeast Asia Linguistic Area. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton 2019 10.1515/9783110401981
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110401981 [Google Scholar]
  75. Zakaria, Muhammad
    (2017) Contact-induced changes: structural convergence in Hyow, a Tibeto-Burman language of Bangladesh. ENH Seminar Series, Brac University, Bangladesh.
    [Google Scholar]
  76. (2018) A grammar of Hyow. Doctoral dissertation, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
  77. (2021) Lexical and grammatical borrowings and replications in Hyow, a language of the Bangladesh-Myanmar border area. Paper presented at the2nd Workshop on Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in the Northeast India – Myanmar– Southwest China Region, Tokyo, Japan.
    [Google Scholar]
  78. (2022) Relative-correlative clauses in Hyow (Khyang): evidence of contact-induced changes. International Conference on Language Documentation focusing on the Internal Structures of Languages, International Mother Language Institute (IMLI), Bangladesh.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/alal.00020.zak
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/alal.00020.zak
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error