18 - Tibeto-Burman affixes (special)

Summary

The study of TB morphology is in large measure simply the study of those prefixed and suffixed elements which can be shown to be of some antiquity. Certain of these prefixes (*g-, *b-, *l-, *d-) have already been pointed out in connection with the numerals. In many instances, as here, no function can be assigned these elements, i.e. loss of morphological utility had already occurred in proto-TB times. A few suffixed elements can be readily analyzed. They include the ‘gender’ suffixes *-ma (fem.) < *ma ‘mother’, and *-pa (masc.) < *pa ‘father’, as well as *-la (masc), used with words for animals (in Tsangla, Digaro, Nung, Kachin, Burmese-Lolo, Konyak, Garo-Bodo, Mikir, and Meithei); also the verbal noun (infinitive) suffix -pa∼-ba ‘that which is’ (in Tibetan, Bahing, Meithei, Garo-Bodo, Burmese-Lolo); cf. T khyi smyon-pa ‘mad dog’, lit. ‘a dog, one which (-pa) is mad’ (see Wolfenden, Outlines, p. 75); Lahu qai-pa mâ- ‘there is no one to go’, lit. ‘one-to-go there-is-not’. This suffix is probably connected with the masculine noun suffix -pa mentioned above; note that Meithei sometimes distinguishes between -ba (masc.) and -bi (< Kuki-Naga *pwi) (fem.) in adjectival forms, paralleling the distinction occasionally made in Tibetan, e.g. dma-mo ‘low’ but mthon-po ‘high’, rgad-po ‘old man’, rgad-mo ‘old woman’ (rgad-pa∼rgan-pa ‘old’).

The negative elements *ma and *ta precede the verb in Tibeto-Burman (*ma is often prefixed, as in Burmese).