Abstract
As a vast and diverse linguistic grouping, Tibeto-Burman languages vary in their usage of time constructs, both morphologically and semantically. Even between genetically related languages within the Tibeto-Burman language family, approaches to elements such as suffixation vary widely, while vocabulary from Indo-Aryan and distantly related Sinitic languages is differently incorporated and borrowed. In this article, we identify trends that only become apparent through the process of data collation and the careful comparison of numerous grammatical sketches and dictionaries. We further expand this rich, if understudied, area through the incorporation of original fieldwork data from the Thangmi/Thami-speaking communities of Nepal undertaken by one of the co-authors, and supplemented by the researcher's residence in the Himalayan region from 1996 to 2009. The literature review and linguistic scope of this survey includes multiple grammars of languages spoken across the Greater Himalayan region, with specific emphasis on the Rai-Kiranti sub-branch of languages autochthonous to eastern Nepal. In our comparative analysis, we focus on apparent cognates and shared paradigms with an emphasis on systems of segmental time measurement (e.g. two days hence,‘ this year‘) rather than on relative ones (e.g. now,‘ then‘). Through this compilation, the relationship between Tibeto-Burman languages and their often-dominant regional Indo-Aryan counterparts becomes more visible, mediated by a better understanding of the shared yet conflicting epistemological, astrological, and organisational views of time held by the communities who speak Tibeto-Burman languages.
Highlights
As a vast and diverse linguistic grouping, Tibeto-Burman languages vary in their usage of time constructs, both morphologically and semantically
It is our observation that in Tibeto-Burman languages, Indigenous concepts, categories and classifications of time are usually grammatically encoded in adverbial forms, while the influential Indo-Aryan languages of the region mostly make use of nominal morphology in order to express temporal concepts
We present and compare the time systems of thirteen Tibeto-Burman languages, which constitute a subgroup of the greater Sino-Tibetan family through a careful analysis of lexicon and grammar
Summary
As a vast and diverse linguistic grouping, Tibeto-Burman languages vary in their usage of time constructs, both morphologically and semantically. We present and compare the time systems of thirteen Tibeto-Burman languages, which constitute a subgroup of the greater Sino-Tibetan family through a careful analysis of lexicon and grammar (van Driem 2011). Many Tibeto-Burman languages—and certainly those spoken in Nepal—borrow lexical terms from socially dominant and politically standardised languages such as Nepali, an Indo-Aryan language which is constitutionally enshrined as the official language of Nepal. In the context of the Tibeto-Burman languages spoken in Nepal, the most salient of the factors outlined above to explain borrowing is the ―political or cultural dominion of one people by another‖ (Fritz 1988: 1622 as cited by Grzega 2003: 23). In the comparative analysis that follows, we focus on similarities, trends and differences in the temporal systems of Tibeto-Burman languages, making reference to loaned terminologies when relevant to the social and linguistic context
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