22 - Tibeto-Burman prefixed *s-

Summary

TB prefixed *s- in verb roots is directive, causative, or intensive. It plays a prominent role in Tibetan (s-), Gyarung, Kachin (ś∂-∼dź∂-), and Nung (ś∂-), as well as in Lepcha (in the form of palatalization) and Burmese (in the form of aspiration or surdization of the initial); cf. T ʾkhor-ba ‘turn round’, skor-ba ‘surround’; K dam ‘stray’, ś∂dam ‘lead astray’; thum ‘to be ended’, dź∂thum ‘to end’ (dź∂- for ś∂- before surd stops); Nung ∂nem ‘to be low’, ś∂nem ‘make low, lower’; Lepcha thor ‘escape, get free’, thyor ‘let go, set free’ (T thar-ba ‘become free’); rop ‘stick, adhere’, ryop ‘affix, attach’; nak ‘to be straight’, nyak ‘make straight’; B pyauk ‘disappear, be lost’, phyauk ‘cause to be lost, destroy’; lwat ‘to be free’, hlwat ‘free, release’ (cf. the discussion in §8). Maru li ‘come’, ś∂li ‘bring’ (‘cause to come’), cited only by Abbey, lends support to our interpretation of the Burmese data, although it must be pointed out that Maru has come under direct Kachin influence. Prefixed *s- with verbs appears only sporadically elsewhere, e.g. Kanauri stam<snam ‘give forth smell’, an intransitive rather than transitive form (T snam-pa is tr.); G stu ‘spit’ (see n. 189).