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Volume 6, Issue 1
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Abstract

Abstract

Classical Tibetan exhibits extensive use of proper names, predominantly referencing religious/historical figures and geographical locations. At the noun phrase level, honorific markers demonstrate fixed postpositional placement when modifying proper names, contrasting with their prefixal usage with common nouns. Demonstratives co-occurring with proper names serve multiple functions: beyond their classificatory and emotive roles, demonstratives in Asian languages such as CT also have the functions of achieving rhythmic regularity and emphasizing spatial distance indication, which have not been addressed in previous typological studies. Coordinative strategies for proper names encompass four structural types: asyndeton, monosyndeton, polysyndeton, and summary conjunction. Appositional constructions reveal information-structure governed ordering, wherein common nouns typically precede proper names. However, when common nouns are placed postpositively, it forms an appellation. Syntactically, proper names in CT can serve various argument roles, and both personal names and place names can occupy a wide range of argument positions. When relative clauses modify proper names, there are both syntactic gap and gapless types, aligning with the General Noun-Modifying Clause Construction (GNMCC) observed pan-Asiatically, thereby reflecting information-packaging strategies divergent from Indo-European models. Passivization permits proper name subjects through syntactic displacement, though patient-positioned personal names display non-compulsory agent animacy hierarchy effects modulated by pragmatic constraints. Lexically marked naming expressions contrast with syntactically flexible vocative forms, demonstrating morphosyntactic demarcation between nomination and address protocols.

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2025-08-19
2026-04-19

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The grammar of proper names in Classical Tibetan
Asian Languages and Linguistics 6, 34 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1075/alal.25009.bi
/content/journals/10.1075/alal.25009.bi
/content/journals/10.1075/alal.25009.bi
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Classical Tibetan; morphosyntax; noun phrase; proper names; typology

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