Wheatley Myanma Language Commission

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