A Grammar of Bantawa : grammar, paradigm tables, glossary and texts of a Rai language of Eastern Nepal
Doornenbal, M.A.
Citation
Doornenbal, M. A. (2009, November 3). A Grammar of Bantawa : grammar, paradigm tables, glossary and texts of a Rai language of Eastern Nepal. LOT dissertation series. LOT,
Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics, Utrecht. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/14326
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Contents
1 Introduction
11.1 This grammar . . . 1
1.1.1 Aims . . . 1
1.1.2 Sources . . . 2
1.1.3 Methodology . . . 4
1.2 The language . . . 5
1.2.1 Language situation . . . 5
1.2.2 Speakers . . . 7
1.2.3 History . . . 8
1.2.4 Dialects . . . 9
1.2.5 The language family affiliation . . . 10
1.3 Overview of the Bantawa language . . . 12
2 Phonology
17 2.1 Consonants . . . 172.1.1 Minimal pairs for the clear-cut contrasts . . . 19
2.1.2 Voiced stops vs. voiced aspirated stops . . . 22
2.1.3 The glottal stop . . . 26
2.1.4 Aspirated glides . . . 31
2.1.5 Vowels . . . 32
2.2 The syllable . . . 34
2.2.1 Syllable onset . . . 35
2.2.2 Syllable final consonants . . . 39
2.3 Allophony . . . 43
2.3.1 Intervocalic consonants . . . 43
2.3.2 Vowel allophony . . . 44
2.3.3 Allophony of the central vowel . . . 45
2.3.4 Weakening of syllable-final /n/ . . . 47
2.4 Nepali influence . . . 47
2.4.1 Dentals, retroflexes, alveodentals or alveolars? . . . 48
2.4.2 Vowels . . . 50
2.4.3 Phonological adaptation in borrowing from Nepali . . . 52
2.5 Selected morphophonological issues . . . 53
2.5.1 Quantity and tone . . . 53
2.5.2 Vowel harmony . . . 54 v
vi Contents
2.5.3 Final remarks . . . 56
3 Nominals
57 3.1 Nominal classes . . . 573.1.1 Nominal subclasses . . . 58
3.1.2 Noun phrase syntax . . . 59
3.1.3 Noun compounding . . . 60
3.1.4 Noun compounding vs. derivation . . . 65
3.1.5 Typology of noun compounding . . . 69
3.2 Nominal morphology . . . 71
3.2.1 Number marking . . . 71
3.2.2 Case suffixes . . . 73
3.2.3 Absolutive and ergative . . . 73
3.2.4 Genitive . . . 76
3.2.5 Vocative prefix and suffix . . . 81
3.3 Non-structural cases . . . 83
3.3.1 Locatives . . . 83
3.3.2 Complex postpositions . . . 86
3.3.3 Ablatives, vialative and comparative . . . 88
3.3.4 Allative . . . 90
3.3.5 Comitatives: Cases starting with -e . . . 91
3.3.6 Other markers . . . 93
3.4 Pronouns and vertical orientation . . . 93
3.4.1 Pronouns . . . 93
3.4.2 Possessive prefixes and pronouns . . . 95
3.4.3 The third person possessive prefix and definiteness . . . 96
3.4.4 Possessive pronouns . . . 101
3.4.5 Third person pronoun morphology . . . 101
3.4.6 Interrogative pronouns . . . 103
3.4.7 Pronominal morphology: Derived deictic adverbials . . . 103
3.4.8 Locational derivations . . . 106
3.4.9 Stacking of pronominal derivations . . . 107
3.5 Reification and slot positions . . . 111
3.6 Counting and classifiers . . . 112
4 Verbs
117 4.1 Introduction . . . 1174.2 Verb classes . . . 118
4.2.1 To be . . . 118
4.2.2 Verb classes by syntactic behaviour . . . 121
4.3 Morphology of verb stems . . . 125
4.3.1 Introduction . . . 125
4.3.2 Phonological structure of the verb root . . . 126
4.3.3 Bantawa verbs grouped by junction type . . . 129
4.3.4 Predictability of conjugation class . . . 131
4.3.5 Phonological justification for conjugation classes . . . 133
4.3.6 Vowel coalescence . . . 135
4.3.7 Tone . . . 139
4.3.8 Accounts for the tonal contrast . . . 141
4.4 Finite verb morphology . . . 143
4.4.1 Person and number categories . . . 143
4.4.2 Stem alternation . . . 144
4.4.3 Agreement paradigms . . . 144
4.5 Morpheme analysis . . . 147
4.5.1 Prefixes . . . 147
4.5.2 Suffixes . . . 153
4.5.3 Negation . . . 161
4.5.4 A slot analysis of suffixes . . . 166
4.5.5 Prefix order in past tense negative forms . . . 167
4.5.6 Reflexives: morphology . . . 172
4.6 Tense, aspect and mood . . . 174
4.6.1 Tense and aspect . . . 174
4.6.2 Explicit aspect marking . . . 175
4.7 Mood . . . 179
4.7.1 Optative . . . 179
4.7.2 Imperative . . . 180
4.7.3 Irrealis . . . 180
5 Subordination
183 5.1 Non-finite verb forms . . . 1835.1.1 Active participles . . . 184
5.1.2 Passive participle . . . 186
5.1.3 Purposive nominaliser . . . 186
5.1.4 Infinitives . . . 188
5.1.5 Supine . . . 190
5.1.6 Simultaneous converb . . . 191
5.1.7 Negative perfect converb . . . 194
5.2 Nominalisation . . . 195
5.2.1 Verb nominalisation . . . 195
5.2.2 General nominaliser . . . 195
5.2.3 Perfect and pluperfect . . . 196
5.2.4 Perfect formed by verbal compounding . . . 199
5.2.5 The general nominaliser as subordinator and relativiser . . . 200
5.2.6 Stand-alone nominalisation . . . 203
6 Transitivity Operations
209 6.1 Simple clause syntax . . . 2096.1.1 Grammatical roles, valence and conjugation . . . 209
6.1.2 Transitivity . . . 211
6.1.3 Impersonal clauses . . . 217
6.2 Verb transitivity operations . . . 221
6.2.1 Antipassive and middle verb conjugation . . . 221
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6.2.2 Antipassive: object demotion or omission . . . 222
6.2.3 Explicit antipassive . . . 225
6.2.4 Middle or zero causative derivation . . . 227
6.3 Causative formation . . . 230
6.3.1 Lexical causatives . . . 230
6.3.2 Reflexes of the causativising prefix *s- . . . 235
6.3.3 Complex causative predicates . . . 236
6.4 Valence decreasing operations . . . 243
6.4.1 Passive . . . 243
6.4.2 Reflexives . . . 244
6.4.3 Reciprocal . . . 245
7 Complex Verbs
247 7.1 Introduction . . . 2477.2 Compound verbs . . . 248
7.2.1 Compound verb typology . . . 248
7.2.2 Morphosyntax . . . 250
7.2.3 Morphology . . . 252
7.2.4 Semantic typology . . . 257
7.2.5 Category-selective compound verbs . . . 259
7.2.6 Category-insensitive compound verbs . . . 265
7.3 Verb complements . . . 280
7.3.1 Compound verbs with valency effects . . . 280
7.3.2 Valence decreasing auxiliaries . . . 282
7.3.3 Valence increasing auxiliaries . . . 283
7.3.4 A typological note . . . 285
7.4 Verbs with lexical complements . . . 285
7.4.1 Subclassification . . . 285
7.5 Subject verb complements . . . 286
7.6 Object verb complements . . . 287
7.6.1 Position of complement . . . 288
7.6.2 Semantics of the complement . . . 289
7.6.3 Syntax, morphology or lexicon? . . . 289
8 Other Word Classes
291 8.1 Adjectives . . . 2918.1.1 Derivation and morphology . . . 292
8.1.2 Lexical adjectives . . . 292
8.1.3 Regular adjective formations . . . 293
8.1.4 Syntax and semantics . . . 296
8.2 Adverbs . . . 297
8.2.1 Lexical adverbs . . . 298
8.2.2 Manner adverbs . . . 299
8.2.3 Adverbs of manner . . . 301
8.2.4 Reduplication in adverbs . . . 302
8.2.5 Adverbs of time and location . . . 304
8.3 Particles . . . 306
8.3.1 Topic and focus markers . . . 307
8.3.2 Emphasis and focus markers . . . 309
8.3.3 Epistemic and modal particles . . . 312
8.3.4 Sentence particles . . . 317
8.4 Conjunctions . . . 317
8.4.1 Nominal conjunctions . . . 318
8.4.2 Sentence conjunctions . . . 319
8.4.3 Review of some clause linkers . . . 323
8.4.4 Sentential subordinator <lo> . . . 327
8.4.5 Correlative clauses . . . 329
8.5 Narrative and direct speech marker <ni> . . . 330
8.5.1 Function . . . 330
8.5.2 Syntax . . . 332
8.6 Something kha . . . 335
Appendices
339 A Texts . . . 339A.1 Ganya . . . 339
A.2 Bird song . . . 346
A.3 Hengmawa . . . 347
A.4 Death . . . 352
A.5 About Hatuva and about Kiranti religion . . . 362
A.6 Sumnima . . . 367
B Paradigms . . . 390
B.1 Intransitive agreement . . . 390
B.2 `To walk' . . . 391
B.3 `To walk, progressive' . . . 391
B.4 `To come' . . . 392
B.5 `To need' . . . 393
B.6 Reflexive agreement . . . 394
B.7 The verb `to touch oneself' . . . 395
B.8 The verb `to kill oneself by hanging' . . . 396
B.9 `To take' . . . 397
B.10 `To eat' . . . 401
B.11 `To forget' . . . 404
C Word list . . . 410
D Compound verbs across Kiranti . . . 473
D.1 Kiranti compound verbs: syntax . . . 473
D.2 Kiranti compound verbs: morphology . . . 475
D.3 Kiranti compound verbs: function . . . 481
References
483Index
488x Contents
