Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area - Volume 46, Issue 1, 2023

This brief note proposes a new Proto-Sino-Tibetan etymon for FIELD-DIKE, the dike between irrigated paddy fields, and provides an etymology relating Chinese and Lahu forms. It also discusses related etymologies with similar rhymes in Lahu and their reflexes in Burmese. There is also a postscript on the Written Burmese rhyme -añ.

This article deals with elevational deixis in Kiranti languages, a feature which is pervasive in these languages in both the verbal and nominal domains. The system of elevation is described in most grammars of these languages as tripartite, following the typologically common system comprising up(wards), same level/across, down(wards) elevations.

This work reviews the available data on elevational deixis in the verbal system, and has two main contributions. First, it shows that motion verbs unspecified for elevation are an essential part of the elevation marking paradigm, and are obligatory in some specific elevational configurations. Second, it argues that on the one hand elevationally marked motion verbs are cognate as whole sets across Kiranti, and probably reconstructible to proto-Kiranti and beyond, and on the other hand that a subgroup of Kiranti including Chintang, Athpare, Belhare and Yamphu have innovated a second set of elevationally-marked motion verbs.

Evidentiality has often been described in narrow terms as an independent grammatical category denoting an overt source of information (e.g., perception, inference, assumption and hearsay). Drawing on fieldwork data, this paper explores how evidentiality is encoded at the copula level in Chhitkul-Rākchham (West Himalayish). In doing so, it is argued that the relevant evidentials, part of a comparatively complex scheme consisting of nine elements, together with a negative sub-system, fall under the broader umbrella of epistemic modality. The contention finds an illustration in an egophoric marker following two inflectional tracks with two resulting degrees of assertiveness, and in a handful of combinatorial constructions. Evidentiality as expressed by copulas points to the self, which builds bridges with the study of consciousness. The latter term is underappreciated within linguistics and this work emphasizes the need for a broader cross-disciplinary outlook.

This paper presents a comprehensive description of the serial verb construction (henceforth SVC) in Tujia. It shows that serial verbs or verb phrases in Tujia are linked by the particle lie⁵⁵. lie⁵⁵ does not contribute any semantic content to the construction, but only functions as a linking particle. lie⁵⁵ is not used for any other purpose in any other structure. SVCs in Tujia can be classified into two types: non-symmetric and symmetric, depending on argument sharing. Symmetric SVCs can be further divided into three types according to how the arguments of the verb are shared: those which share both agents and patients, those which share only agents and those which do not share any arguments. SVCs in Tujia can be used to indicate various types of semantic relations: most frequently this involves sequentiality, but also action-result, cause-effect, and action-purpose. The use of a linking particle in SVCs is rarely reported in the existing literature, so that the present research contributes to the general typology of SVCs.

This article presents a frequently used versatile classifier və¹³ in the endangered Ngwi language Zauzou. After investigating seven morphosyntactic contexts in which və¹³ may occur, this classifier exhibits considerable syntactic and semantic overlaps with ordinary classifiers and the inanimate plural quantifier in this language. və¹³ is used as the only classifier for unclassified nouns (i.e., some abstract and count nouns) and an alternative classifier for nearly all kinds of ordinary sortal or mensural classifiers for inanimates, especially when the canonical classifier is not known to the speaker. It shares a wide range of distributions with ordinary numeral classifiers and the plural quantifier and parallels these two classes of determiners in marking various referential values in different noun phrases. However, və¹³ is semantically special in that it may classify nouns of various semantic classes, including abstract and mass nouns, and is underspecified in number. It is compatible with singular, plural and mass interpretations. The final quantity in the reference must be determined in the context. Moreover, və¹³ is a lexical item involved in marking partitives, the function that is not found in ordinary classifiers and the plural quantifier. This study is a systematic description of an under-studied type of versatile classifier, highlighting the internal complexity of a classifier system in Tibeto-Burman languages.

This contribution introduces Suansu, an endangered Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Manipur, northeastern India. Suansu is virtually undescribed in the linguistic literature, and no previous attestations are known to date. This field report provides a first sketch of Suansu sociolinguistic profile, phonology and phonotactics, as well as basic information on Suansu nominal and verbal morphology. A preliminary comparative look at the languages spoken in the area suggests that Suansu does not align neatly with the set of traits commonly attested in the region, confirming the high linguistic diversity of the area and setting up the stage for further research.