Chapter published in:
Give Constructions across LanguagesEdited by Myriam Bouveret
[Constructional Approaches to Language 29] 2021
► pp. 175–194
Chapter 7
The semantics of the verb give in
Tibetan
The development of the transfer construction and the honorific domain
Eric Mélac | University of Montpellier 3, EMMA EA
741
This paper aims to examine the behaviour of
the equivalents of ‘give’ in Lhasa Tibetan in order to confirm,
qualify or invalidate the universal tendencies that previous
cross-linguistic research has unveiled (Newman 1996, Ed., 1997). We will first explore the semantic
relations between the various forms that can express ‘give’ in
Tibetan: SPRAD, BTANG,
GNANG and PHUL, on the basis
of previous lexicographic and descriptive research on Lhasa Tibetan,
as well as a corpus of spoken Lhasa Tibetan (TSC). We will see that
the most basic term (SPRAD) has not developed much
beyond its literal meaning, whereas the hypernymic
BTANG is used as a light verb whose
constructions can be divided into several categories of meaning.
GNANG is the honorific form of
SPRAD, and PHUL is its
humilific form. While SPRAD is not used as a light
verb, its honorific and humilific counterparts are very productive
light verbs. To explain this phenomenon, we will explore the
honorific domain, and its systematisation in Lhasa Tibetan (Hajime, 1975; Rdorje et al.,
1993; DeLancey,
1998; Tournadre
& Sangda Dorje, 1998; Dorje & Lhazom, 2002). We will see that
the humilific plane is not the symmetrical opposite of the honorific
plane. We will also explore the productivity of
GNANG and PHUL, which can be
explained by the fact that giving is one of the most basic
interpersonal actions of the human behavioural repertoire. It
therefore establishes a link between two humans, which is essential
in order for the honorific and humilific notions to emerge.
Keywords: give, Tibetan, light verbs, honorific, humilific
Article outline
- 1.The polyfunctionality of give
- 2.The various lexical items corresponding to give
in Tibetan
- 2.1 The polysemy of give
- 2.2‘Tibetan’ and the tibetic language family
- 2.3 Give in Old and Classical Tibetan
- 2.4 Give in standard spoken Tibetan
- 2.5 Give as a light verb
- 3.The distribution of
sprad
,
gnang
and
phul
in standard spoken Tibetan
- 3.1The Tibetan verb sprad
- 3.2The Tibetan verb gnang
- 3.3The Tibetan verb phul
- 4.Give and the honorific domain
- 4.1The honorific domain in Tibetan
- 4.2The functioning of give in the Tibetan honorific system
- 4.3The emergence of gnang and phul as light verbs of the honorific domain
- 5.Conclusion
-
List of abbreviations -
Notes -
References
Published online: 10 March 2021
https://doi.org/10.1075/cal.29.07eri
https://doi.org/10.1075/cal.29.07eri
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