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Subject Linguistics
Principal Investigator Prof. Pramod Pandey
Centre for Linguistics, SLL&CS,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi-110067
011-26741258, -9810979446
Paper Linguistic Typology and Language Universals
Paper Coordinator
Prof. Kārumūri V. Subbāro
University of Delhi (Rtd.), Delhi 110007
Postal address:
13/704 East End Apartments,
MayurVihar Phase I Extension
Delhi 110096
+91-11-4309-4675; 98-688-69904
Module title The Structure of the Mizo Language (Tibeto-Burman, Kuki-
Chin) – Part 2
Module ID Lings_P13_M29
Content Writer Prof. Kārumūri V. Subbāro
University of Delhi (Rtd.), Delhi 110007
Email id [email protected]
Phone +91-11-4309-4675; 98-688-69904
Reviewer
Prof. Probal Dasgupta
Linguistic Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute
203 Barrackpore Trunk Road, Kolkata 700108
Module 29: The Structure of the Mizo Language
(Tibeto-Burman, Kuki-Chin) – Part 2
Aim: The aim of this module is to acquaint the student with the structure of a Tibeto-Burman language that that has rich agreement, incorporation and unique relativizing strategies such as Mizo, which belongs to the Kuki-Chin subbranch of the Tibeto-Burman language family. This Unit is organized as follows: Contents
Contents
29.1 Introduction
29.2 Evidence in support of the notion ‘India as a Linguistic Area’ from Mizo
29.3 Parametric Variation found in Mizo
29.4 Specific Features of Mizo
29.5 Summary
1.3 Evidence in support of the notion ‘India as a Linguistic Area’ (contd)
1.3.1 The quotative
‘Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman, Munda and some Indo-Aryan languages such as Nepali,
Assamese, Bangla, Oriya, Marathi, and Konkani have a post-sentential complementizer
that is normally a form derived from the verb ‘to say’, and it is labeled as the
‘quotative’(Emeneau 1956; Kuiper 1967; Masica 1976; Hock 1975, 1982; Kachru 1979;
Subbarao, ViswanathRao, Rao and Saxena1989). The quotative acquired several other
functions such as a reason marker, purpose marker.’ (Subbarao 2012:27). The quotative
acts as a linker to link the subordinate clause with the main clause and it is an infinitival
or participial form of the verb say in Tibeto-Burman languages. In Manipuri, the
quotative form ishai.ba ‘say. nominalizer’ .
The quotative marker in Mizo is tih ‘say, speak’ which functions as a complementizer. It
is right peripheral, that is, it occurs to the right of the embedded clause and such
occurrence falls inside the pattern of argument licensing in head-final languages,
according to Bayer (2001).
45. [Rini cu- an Min lo tlɔh- dɔn1 tih a sɔi
Rini Def- Erg 1sg towards visit- Fut Comp 3sg say
‘Rini said that she will visit me.’
Just as in Dravidian languages the embedded clause in its in situ position can be
extraposed either to the left of the matrix clause or to the right of the VP of the matrix
clause.
FC IN SITU:
46. [S1- - - [CP S2 COMP] VP1 S1]
Mizo (TB)
47. zova- n [CPnaktuk cu colhni a- ni- aŋ- tiʔ CP]
Zova- erg tomorrow def holiday 3 sg- be- fut- FC
a- hria
3 sg- know
‘Zova knows that tomorrow will be a holiday.’
To the rightof the verb of the matrix clause:
48. [S1- - - VP1 [CP S2 COMP] S1]
49. zova- n a- hria [CPnaktuk cu colni a- ni- aŋ
Zova- erg 3s- know tomorrow def holiday 3s- be- fut
ti? CP]
FC
‘Zova knows that tomorrow will be a holiday.’
To the left of the subject of the matrix clause:
1The future tense marker in Mizo is -aŋ. In a subordinate clause the marker -aŋ takes the
form of –tur or –dɔn. See Subbarao, Lalitha Murthy and Bapui A Grammar of
Mizo (in progress).
50. [S1 [CPS2COMP] - - - VP1 S1]
51. [CPnaktuk cu colni a- ni- aŋ ti? CP]
tomorrow def holiday 3 sg- be- fut comp
zova- n a- hria
Zova- erg 3s- know
‘Zova knows that tomorrow will be a holiday.’
(Subbarao and Lalitha Murthy, ms)
The quotative form of the verb tih ‘say’ functions in naming and labeling.tih ‘say’ has the
interpretation as ‘named’ and it functions like an introducer or identifier.
Naming and Labeling
52. Lala tih mipa naupaŋ min- hmu- turin
Lala Comp Mas child me (OAM) to see in order
a lo- kal
3sg towards
-
go
‘A boy named Lali came in order to see me.’
Such usage of the quotative is also found in all Dravidian languages and some Indo-
Aryan languages such as Marathi and Konkani, It’s also found in Dakkhini Hindi-Urdu, a
transplanted variety of Hindi-Urdu in the southern parts of India.
52. Lala tih mipa naupaŋ min- hmu- turin
Lala Comp Mas child me (OAM) to see in order
a- lo- kal
3sg- towards
-
go
‘A boy named Lali came in order to see me.’
The following example from Telugu (Dravidian) shows how identical Mizo and Telugu
and the other Dravidian languages are.
Telugu (Dravidian)
53. indira an.ē maniši ikkaḍi-ki vaccindi
Indira quot (say.ē)
(identifier)
person here-to came
‘A person named Indira came here.’
(Subbarao 2012:
1.4 Parametric Variation
What is a parameter ? It is a language specific construction in contrast to a language
universal, which is common to all human languages. A parameter may be specific to a
specific language or to a language family or to some select languages irrespective of
their genetic affiliation.
1.4.1 Null pronominals or the pro-drop parameter
In all South Asian languages the pronoun form of the subject, object, indirect object
or an adverb may optionally be dropped and it is a very productive process. pro in
pro-drop stands for a pronoun, pro-drop is also found in unrelated languages such
as Italian, Thai, Japanese, Korean etc. All these languages are labeled as [+pro-drop]
languages .
In contrast, in English, French and some other languages no item can be dropped.
These languages are labeled as [-pro-drop] languages. Thus, a parameter can always
be viewed as consisting two values: a positive value and a negative value and it can
be characterized in terms of a [+parameter] or [-parameter].
Observe the following conversation in Indian English.
Speaker A: Have you written the letter last night ?
Speaker B: Yes, I wrote.
The object of write it is pro-dropped in the answer of Speaker B. In standard English
such drop is not permitted. The correct answer in standard English is:
Yes, I wrote it.
Mizo and all other Kuki-Chin languages have rich subject, object and indirect object
agreement markers that occur as pronominal clitics on the verb,
The pro-drop parameter
Speaker A:
54. Lali- cu in- Ah a- kal- ang- єm ?
Lali- def house- To 3sg- go- fut- polarity question mkr
‘Would Lali go home ?’
Speaker B:
55. pro a- kal- ang
3sg- go- fut
‘She would.’
The subject of the sentence in (D) is absent.
1. In all Kuki-Chin languages there are no expletive expressions that have the
expletive (null) pronoun it of the null adverb there as in (X) and (Y) below.
(56.) It is raining in Aizawl.
(B) There is a mouse on the table.
it in (A) and there in (B) have no meaning at all. Hence, there are no
corresponding expressions
Mizo
57. aizɔl- ah ruah a- sur
Aizawl- in rain 3sg- rain/shower
‘It is raining in Aizawl’
58. a- vɔt
3sg- cold
‘It’s cold.’
59. a- sa
3sg- hot
‘It is hot.’
60. dɔhkan cung- Ah sazu a- ɔm
table- on- advmkr mouse 3sg- be [+locational]
‘The mouse is on the table.’ = ‘There is a mouse on the table.’
1.4.2 Relatively Free Word Order
Mizo has partial free word order. Word order is relatively free. In Indo-Aryan and
Dravidian languages word order is very free and words can be freely moved. In Mizo
and the other Kuki-Chin languages the direct object can occur to the left of the subject
as in (N) in contrast to (M) which manifests the normal Subject-Object-Verb word order.
In the sentences below, the word order of sentence (c) is such that it makes sense but is
not in a proper way. Hence, the above sentences show that in Mizo, word order is
flexible, but not as much as in Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages.
61. Rini- n tsɔ A Ei
Rini- Erg food 3sg Eat
‘Rini eats food.’
62. tsɔ Rini- n A Ei
food Rini- Erg 3sg Eat
‘Rini eats food.’
63. ?a ei tsɔ Rini- N
3sg eat food Rini- Erg
‘Rini eats food.’
(Khaingte 2015)
A derived direct object can be fronted, as in (65) below.
64.
Lali n (naŋ.cu) a- ṭrhat- pui- aŋ- ce
Lali erg you.def 3sg- good- due to- fut- 2sg
‘You will be the cause/agent of Lali’s cure/wellbeing’
‘Lali will become good/cured due to you.’
65.
(naŋ.cu) Lali- N a- ṭrhat- pui- aŋ- ce
you.def Lali- Erg 3sg- good- due to- fut- 2sg
‘You will be the cause/agent of Lali’s cure/wellbeing’
‘Lali will become good/cured due to you.’
Hindi-Urdu (Indo-Aryan)
66. āp ne kis- ko dekh- ā thā
you
SUBJECT
erg who.obl- dat see-
VERB
perf
AUX1
pst
AUX2
Literally: ‘You whom saw?’
‘Whom did you see?’
The main verb along with AUX1 may be fronted:
67. ?dekh- ā kis- Ko thā āp ne
see-
VERB
perf
AUX1
who.obl- Dat pst
AUX2
you erg
The direct object kis-ko ‘who.obl-dat’ may be fronted:
68. kis- ko dekh- ā thā āp ne
who.obl- dat see-
VERB
perf
AUX1
pst
AUX2
you
SUBJECT
erg
Such movement is due to bringing a specific constituent in a sentence into focus for the
sake of emphasis.
1.4.3. Absence of tense and person harmony in complement clauses
Like many other South-Asian languages, Mizo exhibits a form where the tense and the
person as well of the main clause and the embedded clause do not necessarily agree
with each other. Note that the verb in the embedded clause is in future tense and the
future tense marker is –tur. The verb of the main clause is in past tense. Thus, there is
no tense harmony between the main clause and the subordinate clause.
69. Rini- n naktuk- a a- lou- kal
Rini- Erg Tomorrow Adv 3sg- towards go
tur/dɔŋ thu] a- sɔi- toh
Fut word 3sg- say- pst
‘Rini said that she will come tomorrow.’
Mizo has some syntactic/grammatical features which many South Asian languages do
not share.
1.5 Some special features of Mizo
(i) Adjectives follow the noun that they modify.
70. mipanaupaŋ.te zɔŋzoŋ
Children All
‘All children’
71. lehkhabu ṭhra
book good
‘good book’
(ii) Finite and Non-finite verbs and adjectives
Mizo and most other Kuki-Chin languages have distinct [+finite] and [-finite]
forms for a select group of verbs and adjectives. Such distinction is generally
labeled as
Stem 1 and Stem 2 distinction in the existing literature on Kuki-Chin
languages.
(iii) Backward Control
Backward and Forward Control: The case of duh ‘want’-type verbs
The verb duh ‘want’ can take a simple object as in (72) below or it can take an object
that is an infinitival clause as in (73) below.
With a simple object
72. Rini- n in ṭhra a- duh
Rini- erg house beautiful 3sg- want
‘Rini wants a beautiful house.’
With an infinitival clause
Forward Control
73. zova- n [PRO ṭšutleŋ- ah ø- ṭšut] a- duh
Zova- erg bench on sit [-fin] 3sg- want
‘Zova wants to sit on the bench.’
(Subbarao and Lalitha Murthy ms.)
74. mipanaupaŋ.te zɔŋzoŋ nak.tuk.ah ṭšutleŋ- ah an- ṭšu-aŋ
children All tomorrow bench- on 3 pl- sit [+fin]-fut
‘All the children will sit on the bench tomorrow.’
Note that the main verb in this sentence is duh ‘want’ and the verb ‘to sit’ is its infinitival
form. Mizo and many other Kuki-Chin languages have two forms for a select set of
verbs: One is a [+finite] form and the other is a [-finite] form. In (2a) below, ṭšut‘sit’ is a
[-finte] or infinitival form. The finite form of the verb is ṭšu ‘sit’ as in (2b). Since there
are two verbs in (2°), each verb requires a subject either overtly or covertly. While the
subject of duh ‘want’ in (2a) Zova is overtly present, the subject of the verb ṭšut‘sit’ is
not overtly present. Since the subject is not overtly present, the verb is in its non-finite
or infinitival form. This type of non-finite form of the verb occurs in many languages of
the world. It is worth noting that Mizo and many other Kuki-Chin languages have a
distinct/separate form for the non-finite form which is different from the [+finite] form.
The verb sit has two forms in Mizo: One for the [+finite] form and the other for [-finite]
form..
Table
[+finite] [-finite]
ṭšu ṭšut
‘sit’
[+fin]
‘sit’ [-fin]
We shall label sentences of the type (73) as instances of Forward Control in Mizo.
In Mizo, there is a construction/sentence type as in (75) that has the same
interpretation as (73), but with a crucial difference, The verb ‘sit’ is in its [+finite] form,
namely, ṭšu. For the sake of convenience, we shall label sentences of the type (75) as
Backward Control sentences.
Backward Control
75. [Zova ṭšutleŋ- ah a- ṭšu] ø- duh
Zova bench on 3s- sit [+fin] 3s- want
‘Zova wants to sit on the bench.’
(Subbarao and Lalitha Murthy 1996. Subbarao 2012)
For the sake of convenience, we shall label sentences of the type (73) as instances of
Forward Control.
In the example of Backward Control given in (75), the matrix subject is not overtly
present and the DP zova ‘Zova’ occurs as the embedded subject. Since Zova is the subject
of a subordinate clause containing an intransitive verb, it is not ergative case-marked.
indicates the position in which the matrix subject normally occurs. Since it is not
present, it is a null element
Note that in (75) the matrix verb duh ‘want’ does not carry any subject agreement
marker (indicated by ø), as the matrix subject is not overtly present. In contrast, it is the
embedded verb that carries the 3 person singular agreement marker a- (in bold italics)
in (75).
The crucial point to which we wish to draw the attention of the reader is that it is the
embedded verb in Backward Control in Mizo that is [+finite] carrying the agreement
marker and the matrix verb does not carry agreement features.
With the matrix verb tum ‘try’ Forward Control is permitted as in (3a) and Backward
Control is permitted as in (3b). The verb for write of English has two forms in Mizo --
one for the finite (ziak ‘write’) and the other for the non-finite (ziah ‘write’) – just as the
verb sit has.
Table 2
Ziak Ziah
write
[+fin]
write
[-fin]
76. Lali- n [PRO lekhabu ø- ziah] a- tum
Lali- erg Book 3s- write[-fin] 3s- try
‘Lali tried to write a book.’
(Subbarao and Lalitha Murthy ibid )
(iv) Non-nominative subjects
In a non-nominative subject construction, the subject is not nominative
marked, but, it is case-marked by a non-nominative case marker such as
the ergative, dative or locative. Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages
exhibit such constructions. The only non-nominative construction that
Mizo has is the ergative case-marked subject, where the subject in spite of
being the ergative case, still possesses almost all the conditions required
for subjecthood. Some of these include: an antecedent to an anaphor and
controller of PRO in complement clauses and in the conjunctive participial
constructions. Mizo doesn’t have any other type of non-nominative
subjects.
In (77) below the subject and object are non-identical.
Ergative Subject
77. Lali- n Lali (cu) a- hmaŋaih
Lali- erg Lali- (def ) 3sg- love
‘Lali loves Lali.’
Though the verb hmaŋaih ‘love’ is [+transitive], the subject Lali in (78) below
does not carry the ergative marker, as the reflexive a-mahleh a-mah ‘ herself ’
occurs in direct object position in (78) below. The reason for this is when the
verbal reflexive is coindexed with a direct object, the verb is detransitivized,
and, hence, neither the verbal reflexive nor the verbal reciprocal are permitted
to occur. See Subbarao 2012 for details.
As an antecedent to an anaphor
With the nominal reflexive and the verbal reflexive –in-.
78. Lali (a- mah Leh a- mah) a- in- hmaŋaih
Lali 3sg- Emph And 3sg- Emph 3sg- VR- love
‘Lali loves herself.’
Since the predicate hmaŋaih ‘love’ can potentially take an ergative case marker
with the subject, we treat the subject in (78) above as an ergative subject.
As a controller of PRO in [-finite] complement clause
79. Lali – n ram –ah thiŋeŋ.emokih a- duh
Lali –erg forest – adv tree some cut [-fin] 3sg-
want
‘Lali wants to cut some trees in the forest.’
Locative Adverb and DO fronted
80. ram -a thiŋeŋ.emoLali –n kih a- duh.
forest-adv tree some Lali-erg cut 3sg-want
‘Lali wants to cut some trees in the forest’
As a controller of PRO in a [-finite] complement clause
81. Lali ram –ah thing eng-emo kit tur-in a kal
Lali forest adv tree some cut for 3s go
‘Lali went to the the forest to cut some trees.’
Alternate orders permitted
82. Thing engemo kit turinLaliramah a kal
83. Ramah thing engemo kit turinLali a kal
(v) Nominalization
In Mizo, when nominalizer like tu and na are added to a verb/adjective, it becomes a
noun as shown in examples below. When –tu ‘agentive marker’ occurs with a verb, the
verb is in its [+finite] form. The reason for the occurrence of the [+finite] form is the
following: All agentive nominal constructions are underlyingly relative clauses
modifying a subject. When the subject is modified by an Externally-Headed relative
clause or an Internally-Headed relative clause, the embedded verb must be in its
[+finite] form. Thus, when the subject is modified by an embedded relative clause, it is
the embedded subject that is a null variable and in such cases, there is a short term
movement of the embedded null variable and hence, the verb retains its finiteness.It
may be noted that –tu ‘agentive marker’ does not occur with an adjective.
In contrast, when a non-subject is modified, the embededded verb is invariably in its [-
finite] form. Since the nominalizer –na is an Oblique Relativizer, and it occurs only
when an oblique NP is modified,when–na occurs with a verb or an adjective, the verb
must be in its [-finite] form. –na occurs with verbs as well as adjectives.
84. thu- sɔi- tu
word say doer/Nmz
‘Preacher’
85. hmaŋaih na
love Nmz
‘Love (N)’
(Fanai 1992:142)
86. moi- na
beautiful- Nmzr
‘Beauty (N)’
There is however a basic difference in the form of the predicate (adjective/verb) when
the nominalizer is attached. While -tu ‘the agentive suffix’ takes the Stem 1 or the
[+finite] form of the predicate, the nominalizer –na takes the Stem 2 or the [-finite] form
of the predicate. The nominalizer –na performs several functions, which we shall
discuss below in brief.
All the languages of the South Asian subcontinent have Externally Headed Relative
Clauses (EHRCs), and many of the Tibeto-Burman languages have Internally Headed
Relative Clauses (IHRCs). We shall now discuss the nature of EHRCs and IHRCs in Mizo.
(v) Internally-Headed relative Clauses
IHRC are found only in Tibeto-Burman languages (Subbarao 2012) and hence, Mizo, a
Kuki-Chin language of the Tibeto-Burman language family, has IHRCs with no overt
case marker on the internal head. To enable the reader to see the difference between an
EHRC and IHRC, we first provide below an example of an Externally-Headed relative
clause with the Comitative PP as Head.
In (87) below, the head of the relative clause nulakha ‘girl def/def’ (in bold) is outside
the subordinate clause.
Externally-Headed relative clause (EHRC) with the Comitative PP as Head
87. [Lali- n dɔr en- tur-a2
Lali- Erg market/shop go- in order to
a- kal- pui] nula kha ka- bial.nu a-ni
3sg- Go with girl Def my- girlfriend 3sg-be.pres
‘The girl with whom Lali went to see the market/shop was my girl friend.’
Since the Comitative PP is not thematically linked to the embedded verb in contrast to
the Postpostiona Phrases which are thematically linked.
In (88) below in an IHRC , the head of the relative clause hmeichenaupang‘girl’ (in
bold) is inside the subordinate clause.
Sentence (88) is an example of an IHRC where the Direct Object is relativized.
Internally-Headed relative clause (IHRC) with the Direct Object as Head
88. nimin- a Lali -n hmeichenaupang a- in.hmuh.pui kha voin- ah
Yesterday adv Lali- erg girl 3sg vr.meet [-fin].with def today adv
voiin- ah khua- ah a- kal
Today adv village at 3sg- go
‘The girl whom Lali met yesterday went to the village today.’
We shall not go into the details here. The interested reader may refer to
Subbarao (2012) for details.
We shall demonstrate in the Table below how productive the Oblique Relativizer –
na
is in the formation of compounds in Mizo.
Table: Mizo compounds with the Oblique Relativizer –na
Compound Gloss Meaning
2Note that the adverbial marker –aoccurs and it is a [-finite] form of the adverb –ah. Further, we noticed
thatthe purposive adverb tur-in ‘in order to’ cannot occur here. At present, we do not know the reason for its
non-occurrence.
1. caŋ-ur-na bread-bake- loc (place) ‘bakery’
2. khonvar.dah.na lamp.keep. loc (place) ‘lamp stand’
3. pān.tuam.na wound.wrap.Instr(instrument)
‘bandage’
4. chuat.noʔ. na floor.mop.instr (instrument) ‘mop’
5. lehkhabu.dah.na book.keep.loc (place) ‘library’
6. lehkhabu.zorh.na book.sell.loc (place) ‘bookshop’
7. lehkha.tar.na paper.putup.loc (place) ‘notice board’
8. thosi.reh.na mosquito.quiet.instr (instrument) ‘mosquito repellant’
9. kuhva.cheh.na betelnut.cut.instr (instrument)
‘a betel nut cutter’
10. kut.sil.na hand.wash.locinstr (place)/
(instrument)
‘a wash basin’ or
‘a soap for washing
hands’
11. co.ei.na rice.eat.loc/instr
(place)/(instrument)
‘hotel’ or
‘spoon/plate/fork etc.’
Note that na could have ambiguous interpretation with regard to a place or
instrument.
(Subbarao 2017)
(vi) Incorporation: The verb in Kuki-Chin languages exhibits a very rich agreement
pattern. Subject, Object, and Indirect Object are Pronominal suffixes are incorporated in
the verb as pronominal prefixes or infixes.
The verb agrees with the subject and the pronominal suffix of 1 and 2 person objects
which are manifested as pronominal suffixes (clitics) in the verb. Thus, Kuki-Chin
languages are split ergative in person.
In Mizo the Principle of Pronominal Strength Hierarchy operates with regard to the
occurrence of agreement clitics. Thus, 1 person DO and IO agreement clitics are
stronger than third person subject agreement clitics. Hence, 3 person DO and IO clitics
are not permitted, when 1 person DO or IO occurs with a 3 person subject. (Subbarao
2012). In Hmar, a sister language of Mizo, in contrast, this Principle does not operate.
We’ve indicated the absence of the third person subject agreement clitic in Mizo in (89)
below by ø.
Mizo (Kuki-Chin)
89. Lali- n lekhabu ø- min- pe- toh
Lali- erg book 3sg- 1sg (IO)- give- pst
‘Lali gave a book to me.’
Hmar (Kuki-Chin)
90. Lali- in lehkhabu a- mi- pek- tah
Lali- erg book 3sg- 1 sg (IO)- give- pst
‘Lali gave a book to me.’
2 person direct object pronominal direct object clitic –ce is incorporated in the verb in
(91) below and 1 person pronominal clitic min- is incorporated in the verb in (92). The
postposition pui ‘with’ too is incorporated in verb.
91a. Lali- N pro a- ei- pui- aŋ- ce
Lali- Erg (with you) 3sg- eat- with- Fut- 2sg
‘Lali will eat with you.’
1 person pronominal clitic min- is incorporated in the verb
91 b. Lali- N ø- min- ei- pui- aŋ
Lali- Erg (SAM)- me (1 sg DO) eat- with- Fut
‘Lali will eat with me.’
In (92a) the subject is in 1 person plural and the conjoined direct object is Lali
and naŋ-cauh ‘Lali and you only’, which is a conjoined NP consisting of a third
peron and second person singular objects. The verb ţhut ‘sit’ is in its [finite] (Stem
2 form), as it is followed by the postposition pui ‘with’.
92 a. pro Lali leh naŋ cauh kan- ţhut- pui- ang-ce
(we) Lali and you only 1 pl- sit [-fin]- with- fut-2 sg
‘We will sit with Lali and you only.’
In (92b) the subject is pro, which is in second person singular. Since Lali is in third
person, it canot trigger agreement, as 2 person pronoun is stronger than 3 person
proper noun Lali.
Hence, to indicate the dual nature of the subject, the 2 peron agreement marker is in the
plural.
92 b. Pro Lali- nen in- ţhru- aŋ
(you (sg.)) Lali- with 2 pl- sit [+fin]- fut
‘You (sg) andLali will sit.’
(viii) Adverb incorporation
Another crucial feature of Mizo in particular and many other Tibeto-Burman languages
in general is the incorporation of adverbs. The adverb is incorporated to the right of the
adjective which functions like a verb in Kuki-Chin languages as shown below.
93. Lali- Cu a- tlai- Ziah
Lali- Def 3sg- late- always
‘Lali is always late’
94. he sakɔr hi a- tlan- tsak
Dem horse Dem 3sg- run- fast
‘This horse runs fast.’
Adjunct (adverb) Incorporation: In Mizo theadverb ‘certainly’ is incorporated in the
verb.
95. vɔiin.ah zova- cu sikul- (ah) a- kal ŋei- aŋ
today.adv Zova- foc school- to 3 sg- go certainly- fut
‘Zova certainly will go to school today.’
The adverb reŋ ‘always’ is incorporated in the verb.
96. Lali- N eŋ.kim trha tak- in a- hre- reŋ
Lali- Erg thing.all well Int- Adv 2sg- know- always
‘Lali always remembers everything well.’
(Lydia Khaiangte 2015)
97. Lali cu Lala cuŋ- ah a- thinrim- reŋ
Lali Def Lala on- Adv 3sg- angry- always
‘Lal is always angry at Lala.’
(ix) Negative Polarity Items
Every language has some items whose occurrence in a sentence requires the negative to
occur. Such items are called Negative Polarity Items (NPIs). In English the adverbs yet,
at all, even, any body, any thing etc. are NPIs that invariably require a negative.
98. The children haven’t reached home yet.
In (1) the lexical item yet is a Negative Polarity Item (NPI). If yet is dropped, the
sentence is ungrammatical as in (2). An ungrammatical sentence is indicated by a
*.
99.*The children have reached home yet.
Mizo, like any other language, too has NPIs. In Mizo they are: la ‘yet’, reŋ-reŋ ‘at all’
eŋmah ‘any thing’, takŋial ‘even’ etc. The following data are illustrative.
In (98)eŋ.mah ‘any thing’ is an NPI. In the expression eŋ.mah, eŋis a question
expression as the following question expressions indicate.
eŋ.ŋe ‘what’, tu.ŋe ‘who’. In tu.ŋe,tu stands for person. ŋeis the question indicator.
‘Like in Dravidian languages , in Mizo too indefinite pronouns and wh-question words
share a common base, ‘ (Subbarao &Lalitha Murthy 1996:91). Thus, tu.emɔmeans
‘some one’ and eŋ.emɔ means ‘some thing’. In Dravidian languages question words and
interrogative expressions share a common base.
100. Lali -n he thu Hi eŋ.mah a- la- hre- lou
Lali Erg this matter Def any thing 3sg- yet- know- neg
‘Lali does not know any thing yet about this matter.’
101
.
Lal
i
Tih (hming.pu
)
tu.poh mi i- hria- em
Lal
i
Sai
d
name.bear Anybod
y
(person
)
2sg
-
know
-
q
mk
r
‘Do you know anybody with the name Lali?’
102
.
hmeiche.naupang.t
e
Cua
n
het
i
hia
n
an sↄi lou re
ŋ
re
ŋ
Girls Def this like 3p
l
tel
l
ne
g
at- all
‘The girls did not say/tell like this at all.’
103. he pa hian kↄr hak tur takŋial pↄh a nei lou
this man def shirt wear for even also 3s has neg
‘This man does not even have clothes to wear.’
104. tu.mah -in engmah min hrilh lou
any body erg any thing me tell neg
‘No one tells me anything’
105. tuma -n engmah An ti lou
none -erg any thing 3p do neg
‘No one has done anything’
106. cuticuan Lali -n a sↄi lou reŋ.reŋ
like that Lali erg 3s Tell neg at all
‘Lali did not say like that at all’
107. mipanaupang.te in- Ah an- la- lou.kal- lou
Children home- To 3pl- yet- come back neg
‘The children have not come back home yet.’
(x) Reflexives and reciprocals
Mizo like many other Kuki-Chin languages has a nominal reflexive and nominal
reciprocal form and also, a verbal reflexive and reciprocal form.
In Mizo the form corresponding to self as in myself, ourselves, yourself, herself,
themselves etc. in English is pronominal clitic + mah. The following examples from
English are illustrative.
108. Mary admires herself.
109. We like ourselves.
110. They praised themselves.
Note that the forms ourselves, himself and yourself in (4)- (6) are not reflexives. They are
called emphatics, as they provide emphasis to the noun that they are following.
111. We ourselves can do the job.
112. John himself went there.
113. You yourself can lift it.
The reciprocals are each other, one another as in (7) and (8).
114. We praised each other.
115. The are fighting with each other.
The following quote from Lalitha Murthy and Subbarao (2000: ) concerning reflexives
is illustrative:
‘There is a composite/reduplicated form of amah which is manifested as amah leh amah,
which literally means ‘self and self’. In general, a reflexive is formed as:
[pronoun +mah ‘emphatic’+leh (‘and’)+pronoun+mah ‘emphatic’]. ‘amah’ will have one
‘a’ only. Similatly in ‘keimah’ ‘nangmah’ etc.
The first part of the form is linked with the second by the conjunction leh ‘and’.
Table 4. Nominal Reflexive forms in the singular in Mizo
1p kei.mah leh kei.mah
I self and I self
2p nang.mah leh nang.mah
you self and you self
3p a.mah leh a.mah
he self and he self
A reflexive form occurs in the direct or indirect object position in Mizo and it does not
carry any case marker such ashnenah ’to’.
In Kuki-Chin languages there occurs a specific form with the verb that functions like a
reflexive or reciprocal. It is called a verbal reflexive or verbal reciprocal form. It is –
in- in Mizo , and this form is the same in all three persons. It occurs as an infix to the
right of the agreement marker and to the left of the main verb.
Another significant point to be noted is that the occurrence of the nominal anaphor
(reflexive or reciprocal) is optional, while the occurrence of the verbal reflexive or
reciprocal is obligatory.
Reflexives and reciprocals together are labeled as anaphors. The phenomenon is called
anaphora. Anaphora means back reference. An anaphor always refers back to the
subject in South Asian languages , and Kuki-Chin languages such as Mizo, Hmar,
Thadou, VaipheiPaitetoo observe this rule.
When the reflexive or reciprocal occurs in the direct object position, ergative case
marking on the subject is not permitted. (See Subbarao 2012 for a discussion). Recall
that when the verb is [+transitive], the subject in Mizo and the other Kuki-Chin
languages carries the ergative marker, as in (116) below.
116. Lali- N Lala (cu) a- hmaŋaih
Lali- erg Lala- (def ) 3sg- love
‘Lali loves Lala.’
Though the verb hmaŋaih ‘love’ is [+transitive], the subject Lali in (117) below
does not carry the ergative marker, as the reflexive a-mahleh a-mah ‘ herself ’
occurs in direct object position in (117) below.
With the nominal reflexive and the verbal reflexive –in-.
117. Lali (a- mah leh a- mah) a- in- hmaŋaih
Lali 3sg- Emph and 3sg- Emph 3sg- VR- love
‘Lali loves herself.’
The nominal reflexive may optionally be dropped and the verbal reflexive –in- alone
may be overtly present.
117. Lali a- in- hmaŋaih
Lali 3sg- VR- love
‘Lali loves herself.’
The nominal reciprocal in 3 person in Mizo is:
118. an- mah.ni leh an- mah.ni
3sg- Emph.pl and 3sg- Emph.pl
In (120) below the nominal reciprocal and the verbal reflexive –in- are both overtly
present.
120. Lali- leh Rini (an- mah.ni leh an- mah.ni) an- in- hmaŋaih
Lali- and Rini 3sg- Emph.pl and 3pl- Emph.pl 3sg- VREC- love
‘Lali and Rini love each other.’/‘Lali and Rini love themselves.’
In (121) below, the nominal reciprocal is not present and the verbal reciprocal –in-
alone is overtly present. In (121) below, another reciprocal form tↄn also occurs. only
when the subject is in the dual. It cannot occur with a plural subject. The occurrence of
tↄn however is optional, and we’ve indicated it in parentheses.
121. Kimi leh Rini (cu) an in- hmaŋaih (tɔn)
Kimi and Rini Def 3pl VREC- love VREC.dual
‘Kimi and Rini love each other.’
Some of the predicates that permit a reciprocal include: in-nei ‘marry’ (cf. nei ‘have’), in-
sual‘fight with each other’, (cf. sual ‘fight), in-fop ‘kiss each other’ (cf. fop ‘kiss’) etc. In
fact, it is the occurrence of the verbal reciprocal –in-that imparts the reciprocal
interepretation.
Nouns are derived from the verbs wiha verbal reciprocal marker by suffixing the
Oblique Nominalizer –na to the reciprocal verb.
Reciprocal verb Meaning Derived Noun Meaning
1. in-nei ‘marry’ in-nei-na ‘marrige’
2. in-sual ‘fight’ (verb) in-sual-na ‘fight’
(noun)
3, in-do ‘make war’
(verb)
in-do-na ‘war’ (noun)
(xii)Adposition incorporation in Mizo
An adposition of a PP phrase can be incorporated in the verb which consequently
enhances the valence of the [-transitive] predicate by one resulting in ergative case
marking of the subject and incorporation of I and 2 person pronominal suffixes in the
verb.
123. Lalikeimahnen-ah/bul-ah cauh a-ṭhru
Lali (nom) my- with/near only 3sg-sit
‘Lali sat only with me’
POSTPOSITION hnen-ah/bul-ah‘with’ INCORPORATED INTO THE VERBAS –pui
124. Lali -n keimahcauh min ţhrut – pui
Lali -erg I- only I DO sit [-fin] –with
‘Lali sat only with me’
In sentence (124) the following are worth noticing:
(i) Postposition incorporation increases the valance of the verb by one
argument in (124) and consequently, the intransitive verb ṭšuŋ gets
‘transitivized’ and hence, the subject is ergative case-marked.
(ii) 1 person pronominal clitic mi is incorporated and it occurs to the left of the
verb ṭšuŋ‘sit’, and
(iii) The pronoun kei‘I’ in (124) is accusative case-marked, and it is not a
comitative PP unlike in theunderived structure in (123).
ANOTHER EXAMPLE ON POSTPOSITION INCORPORATION
Mizo
‘The girl with whom Lali went to the forest is his daughter.’
(xi) Agreement in relative clauses
Two Types:
(i) Full Agreement-type
(ii) Null Agreement-type
In Kuki-Chin languages , the ergative marker and consequently, the corresponding
agreement marker can be deleted in relative clauses, clefts and passives. (Subbarao
2012). Thus, (126)-(127) are an option. Such deletion of the ergative marker and the
subject agreement does not affect the [+transitive] nature of the embedded verb, nor
does it affect its interpretation.
125. ramhnuai- a Lali- n hmeiche
a- kal- pui- cu
forest- to Lali- erg girl 3sg- go- with- def
a- fanu a- ni
his- daughter 3sg- is
Mizo
Type I: Full Agreement-type
126. [zovi- N lehkahbu a- lei- tur cu] Lali- n a- chiar- aŋ
Zovi- erg book 3 sg- buy- fut def Lali- erg 3 sg- read- fut
‘Lali will read the book that Zovi will buy.’
Type II:Null Agreement-type
127. [zovi Ø lehkahbu ø lei- tur cu] Lali- n a- chiar- aŋ
Zovi (erg) book (SAM) buy- fut def Lali- erg 3
sg-
read- fut
‘Lali will read the book that Zovi will buy.’
1.5 Conclusion
In this paper we’ve discussed some word order universals that Mizo shares with other
verb-final languages. We provided evidence in support of the notion ‘India as a
Linguistic Area’ from Mizo. We discussed some parametric variation observed in Mizo.
We then focused our attention on some very special features of Mizo, some of which are
very unique in Kuki-Chin languages.
Select References
To be added:
1. Adjectives as verbs
2. [+finite] and [-finite] distinction - Non-finite Percolation
3. A note on deixisis
Compounds with –tu, the agentive marker.
Compund Gloss Meaning
1. nei ‘have’ nei-tu ‘have-agentive
suffix’
‘possessor’
(the one who
has/possesses
some thing’
2. thei ‘can, able to’ thei-tu ‘can, able to-
agentive suffix’
‘the one who
can/the one
who is able to
do some thing’,
‘that is, ‘an able
person’
3. zui ‘follow’ zui-tu ‘follow-
agentive suffix’
‘the one who
follows’, that is,
the follower’
4. ti – ‘do’ ti-tu ‘do-agentive
suffix’
‘the one who
does, that is,
‘the doer’
5. thlem ‘tempt,accost, beg
fervently’
thlem-tu ‘tempt, accost,
beg fervently-
agentive suffix’
‘the one who
tempts’, that is,
‘the tempter’
6. riŋ ‘believe’ riŋ-tu ‘believe-
agentive suffix’
‘ the one who
believes’ that is
‘a believer’
6. in-nei in-nei-tu ‘house-have-
agentive suffix’
‘the one who
has a house’,
that is. ‘house
owner’ or ‘host’
7. in-kol‘keep, oversee,
nurture, care’
in-kol-tu ‘keep, oversee,
nurture, care-
agentive suffix’
‘the one who
keeps some
thing’ that is ‘ a
keeper’, ‘the
one who
nutures’ the one
who takes care
‘, that is ‘ a care
giver’
Note that: (i) the form of the verb in all the above cases is [+finite], that is Stem 1.
(ii) No adjective can take the agentive uffix –tu. To the best of our knowledge,
this is the only case where adjectives and verbs differ.
The aim of this module was to acquaint the student with the structure of a Tibeto-Burman language that that has rich agreement, incorporation and unique relativizing strategies such as Mizo, which belongs to the Kuki-Chin subbranch of the Tibeto-Burman language family. We’ve provided evidence in support of the notion ‘India as a Linguistic Area’ from Mizo. we discussed Parametric Variation found in Mizo, followed by some specific features of Mizo.
