Predicate derivations in Thulung

Aimée Lahaussois

doi:10.1515/jsall-2021-2024

Article

Predicate derivations in Thulung

Published/Copyright: February 22, 2021

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From the journal Journal of South Asian Languages and Linguistics Volume 7 Issue 1

Abstract

In this article, I describe a subset of complex predicates in Thulung (Kiranti, Nepal) which I call “predicate derivations” (after Post, Mark. 2010. Predicate derivations in the Tani languages: root, suffix, both or neither? In Mark Post & Stephen Morey (eds.), North East Indian linguistics, 175–197. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press India). I argue that these constructions in Thulung are built on grammaticalized elements that can be synchronically considered to be derivational. I focus on their morphology, placing it within the context of simplex verbs, and highlighting certain features – multiple exponence, allomorphy of the derivational suffixes similar to that of simplex verbs – which suggest strongly a development from serial verb constructions. I discuss their functions, which cover valence changes, as well as the marking of associated motion and aspect/Aktionsart. Complex predicates are seen as a feature of South Asian languages, but the types found in Tibeto-Burman languages appear to be quite different, morphologically, from what is found in Indo-Aryan or Dravidian languages. This article therefore represents a language-specific description as a contribution to cross-linguistic research on the topic.

Keywords: complex predicates; derivational morphology; Kiranti; multiple exponence; serial verbs

Corresponding author: Aimée Lahaussois, Laboratoire Histoire des Théories Linguistiques UMR CNRS 7597, Université de Paris, Case 7034, 5 rue Thomas Mann, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France, E-mail: aimee.lahaussois@cnrs.fr

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank the editorial team of JSALL, as well as anonymous reviewers, for their constructive input on this article. I also wish to acknowledge Mark Post and Guillaume Jacques for useful comments on an earlier draft.

Appendix Inflectional paradigms

Intransitive paradigm: Non-past (middle column) and past (right column) indexes (all suffixal).^[15]

	NPST	PST
1SG	ŋu	ŋoro/ŋro
1DI	tsi	tsi/ttsi
1DE	tsuku	tsoko/ttsoko
1PI	i∼ɖi ^a	ɖi/iri
1PE	ku	toko/ttoko
2SG	na	na/nna
2DU	tsi	tsi/ttsi
2PL	ni	ni/nni
3SG	-	ɖa/ira
3DU	tsi	tsi/ttsi
3PL	mi	miri/mri

^aSee Lahaussois (2011: 199) for details.

Transitive paradigm: Non-past indexes^a (all suffixal).

A/P	1SG	1DI	1DE	1PI	1PE	2SG	2DU	2PL	3SG	3DU	3PL
1SG						ni	niʦi	nini	u ∼ pu ^a	uʦi ∼ putsi	umi ∼ pumi
1DI									ʦi		ʦimi
1DE						ʦuku					ʦukumi
1PI									i ∼ ɖi ^a	iʦi	imi
1PE						ku				kuʦi	kumi
2SG	ŋi		ʦiki		ki				na	naʦi	nami
2DU	ŋiʦi		ʦiki		kiʦi				ʦi		ʦimi
2PL	ŋini		ʦikini		ki				ni	niʦi	nimi
3SG	ŋi	sa	ʦiki	sa	ki	na	ʦi	ni	ʉ ∼ ɖʉ ^a	ʉʦi ∼ ɖʉtsi ^a	ʉmi ∼ ɖʉmi ^a
3DU	ŋiʦi	saʦi	ʦiki	saʦi	kiʦi	naʦi	ʦi	niʦi	ʦi		ʦimi
3PL	ŋimi	sami	ʦikimi	sami	kimi	nami	ʦini	nimi	mi	miʦi	mi

^aWhat is shown separated by/are variant forms (across or within speakers); markers separated by ∼ are used by different verb classes. Allomorphy is not shown in these tables, but is as follows: ɖ-initial markers change their initial to t/_s, k, p; to r/_r; to l/_l. Other markers do not undergo allomorphy.

Transitive paradigm: Past indexes (all suffixal).

	1SG	1DI	1DE	1PI	1PE	2SG	2DU	2PL	3SG	3DU	3PL
1SG						ni/nni	nitsi/nniʦi	nini/nnini	to/uto	totsi/utotsi	tomi/utomi
1DI									ʦi/ttsi		tsimi/ttsimi
1DE						tsoko/tʦoko					tsokomi/ttsokomi
1PI									ɖi	ɖiʦi	ɖimi
1PE						toko/ttoko				tokotsi/ttoko(tsi)	toko/ttoko
2SG	ŋiri/ŋri		tsiki/tʦiki		tiki/ttiki				na/nna	natsi/nnatsi	nami/nnami
2DU	ŋiritsi/ŋriʦi		tsiki/tʦiki		tikitsi/ttikiʦi				tsi/tʦi	tsi/ttsi	tsimi/ttsimi
2PL	ŋirini/ŋrini		ʦikini/ttsikini		tikini/ttikini				ni/nni	nitsi(mi)/nnitsi(mi)	ni/nni
3SG	ŋiri/ŋri	saɖɖa	tsiki/tʦiki	saɖɖa	tiki/ttiki	na/nna	tsi/tʦi	ni/nni	ɖʉ	ɖʉʦi	ɖʉmi
3DU	ŋiriʦi/ŋriʦi	saɖɖaʦi	ʦiki/tʦiki	saɖɖaʦi	tikiʦi/ttikiʦi	natsi/nnaʦi	tsi/tʦi	nitsi/nniʦi	ʦi/ttsi	tsi/tʦi	ʦimi/ttsimi
3PL	ŋirimi/ŋrimi	saɖɖami	tsikimi/tʦikimi	saɖɖami	tikimi/ttikimi	nami/nnami	tsimi/ttsimi	nitsi(mi)/nnitsi(mi)	miri/mri	miritsi/mritsi	miri/mri

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Published Online: 2021-02-22

Published in Print: 2020-03-26

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/jsall-2021-2024

Keywords for this article

complex predicates; derivational morphology; Kiranti; multiple exponence; serial verbs