the rather complex embedding patterns of natural Burmese by developing the terms “inside the phrase” and “outside the phrase” to refer to the lowest level of immediate constituents in
the former and then, in the latter, to the construction in which the first pattern is a constituent structure. These patterns typically refer to the structured use of particles. “Outside the phrase”
refers also to the sentence-final pragmatic particles “suffixes” in Okell’s system. The example in table 10, adapted from Okell 1994d:212–213 demonstrates this way of handling
some of the recursive embedding structures of the Burmese sentence.
Outside :
Noun phrase 1 suf
fix Verb
Phrase suffix
Inside: Noun phrase 1
Noun phrase 2 Verb phrase
noun
suffi x
noun suffi
x verb
suffi x
noun noun noun
noun verb
noun
usaemfh rdwf aqG vJ
syef
\
ynf vm
wf
av`
kya.nau mit hcwe lai: gya.pan
pyany
-ka. la
-tai - le
I male love relative also Japan country S come
NomSf Sf
“My friend comes from Japan, as well, you know.” Table 10. Representation of Okell’s insideoutside phrase structure
Okell’s presentation of the generalized phrase structure rather than the role a specific constituent plays in the sentence i.e., complement clause, derived noun reflexive
complement is an advance toward generalizations of the type drawn in this study. By naming a construction by its lexical form e.g., noun phrase or verb phrase the role of the particles is
missed. The example in table 10 shows that the particle is the unit structuring the embedding. One solution is to recognize that the lexical form is not the head of the construction, but
rather, the particle. What appeared as a linear stacking up of particles at the end of a noun or verb phrase is as Okell demonstrates a higher level of constituency. By taking a non-linear
view of constituency beyond the immediate phrase, we find a repeated order, or rule of ordering, of the Burmese sentence as a whole. These ordering patterns extend not only to the
sentence, but also beyond and represent a conceptual framework which operates as a default pattern of Burmese grammar.
3.4.9 Wheatley
Wheatley 1982, conducted field research in Myanmar to produce a doctoral dissertation on Colloquial Burmese grammar. He divides Colloquial Burmese words into two classes: lexical
and functional words. The following chart summarizes his classificatory schema.
Lexical Words
Functional Words
1 Nouns Particles
2 Pronouns Intermediate
Forms 3 Verbs
4 Adverbs 5 Interjections
Table 11. Word classes of Burmese Wheatley 1982 The basis of classification is unapologetically justified as circular, with lexical
categories based upon the type of functional word with which they occur and functional words classified according to the lexical class they accompany. Additionally, function in
constructions is also a basis for categoriality. For instance, for nouns, “a word that can stand as head of any constituent other than a manner adverbial or verb phrase” 1982:84. Further
empirical tests of nounhood are the capacity to be followed by a quantifier phrase or a nominal postposition. Similar tests are made for pronouns, verbs, and adverb. No category of
adjective is posited, since verbs account for this type of modification of nouns. Wheatley determined five categories of lexical words and two of functional words.
Wheatley’s categorization does not limit his observing the cross-categorical nature of Burmese word forms. Words classified as adverbs in Burmese are typically derived from
verbs via a deverbalizing process of either repetition or prefixing with the nominalizing prefix
t-
a-. Recognizing the intermediate status of the adverb between the noun and the verb,
Wheatley notes that it has the status similar to “gerunds and other derived nominals in European languages, which behave like nouns in their ability to be the head of a noun phrase,
but verbs in their ability to take complements” 1982:87. It is just this intermediate status between word forms that nominalization captures.
3.4.10 Myanma Language Commission
The government-authorized Myanma Language Commission MLC, Department of Higher Education produces in Myanmar a series of Burmese graded grammar booklets for Myanmar
schools. Using their grammar of Volume 1, No 1 1999, and Volume 2, Number 5 1994, the following classifications of parts of speech are taught to Myanmar schoolchildren:
Part of Speech Burmese
Types
1 Noun
emrf
singular, plural, abstract, mass, natural, compound, verbal, and attributive
2 Pronoun
emrfpm:
personal, demonstrative, interrogative, and numeral
3 Verb
judm
action, eventequative, quality, existence 4 Adjective
emr0daooe
qualitative, demonstrative, enumerative, interrogative
5 Adverb
judm0daooe
manner 6 Division
Particle
0dbwf
sentence final, phrase or clause final
Part of Speech Burmese
Types
7 Conjunction
orå
coordinate and subordinate 8 Function
Particles
ypPnf:
plural, relative clause, restriction on an object, restriction on an action,
demonstrates speaker’s bravery, interrogative, negative
9 Exclamation Interjection
tmarÉdwf
emotive words registering shock, pity, surprise, wonder, fear, unexpected
events. Table 12. Parts of Speech Recognized by the MLC
It should be noted that the official Myanmar position on parts of speech follows Indo- Aryan, Pali traditional categories generally. This may be due to the prestigious position of
Pali scholarship historically and to a European educational cultural overlay where similar types of linguistic categories are preferred. The Myanma Language Commission’s categories
basically agree with Taw Sein Ko’s 1891 analysis.
3.4.11 Myint Soe