The syntax and morphology of the verb in Chepang

Abstract

Chepang is a Tibeto-Burman language of Nepal with a complex verb morphology of a type that has been described as 'pronominalized'in the relevant literature on languages of the area. This morphology includes the crossreferencing of up to two participants in the clausal situation by means of affixes related to the independent pronouns. Usually one or other of the subject and object (strictly,Actor or Goal) participants,but not both, can be crossreferenced in this way, so that it is necessary to choose which of these will be so represented. The case role of the chosen participant may be indicated by a verbal affix. Certain of the affixes may be reduplicated once or even twice, and the possessor of a participant can also be crossreferenced in the verb. The result is a verb of considerable complexity, a feature which is, however, not unique to Chepang but is found in various other Tibeto-Burman and non-Tibeto-Burman languages of the south Asian region. This thesis represents an attempt to fully investigate and describe the structure, function and origins of this morphology in Chepang. In seeking to achieve this goal the study is not limited simply to a description of the affixation and grammatical categories that are involved, but rather extends to the total relationships of the verb. This investigation is carried out within a functional framework - that is, the verb, together with the constructions it enters into and its own constituents, is examined in relation to the various functions it performs in speech. These functions, and the notions associated with them, are defined and discussed in the introductory chapter ( chapter 1), in relation to relation to language in general. This is dealt with under the broad heading of content (especially role and referential content), context and cohesion. The three chapters following the introduction describe the part played by the verb with respect to indicating role and reference ( chapter 2), the context, especially the speaker's relation to the content (chapter 3), and the cohesive relations holding within the speech (chapter 4) - the last being particularly concerned with the marking of previous reference and of interclausal relationships. The remaining two chapters examine the verbal morphology from a historical and comparative point of view. In chapter 5 a possible method of development for the verbal affixation is suggested, together with postulated original forms of the pronominal elements . The proposed develpoment is shown to account for a number of otherwise unexplained features of the verbal paradigm. The last chapter looks at the Chepang verb against the wider linguistic background, first of all comparing the main dialect described in the thesis ( that of Maiserang village) with other Chepang dialects. The verbal morphology of Chepang is then compared with that of other Tibeto-Burman and non-Tibeto-Burman languages in the linguistic area .