Grammatical Situation

3.0. The division between morphology and syntax can not be made clearly in the analysis of the language. The affixes i.e. the prefixes and suffixes play the most important role in the analysis of the structure of the language both at the morphological and syntactic level. This is a common phenomenon in most of the Tibeto-Burman Languages because of their agglutinative structure type. Therefore, instead of having a clear-cut demarcation between morphology and syntax, it is preferred that the term grammar be used to cover both morphology and syntax and there may be sub-divisions. Thus Grammar includes mainly, i) Morphology and ii) Syntax over and above morphophonemics. There are several misconceptions, inconsistent, inconsiderate, inconceivable, incomprehensible and incongruous conclusions and statements of the grammar of the language. To add to this whenever there is any kind of complication, which has not been able to clarify, then, some other category or class will be brought in for making confusion.

As mentioned above, this Chapter has been divided into two sections. They are:  i) Morphological, and ii) Syntactical.

3.1. Morphological

3.1.1. ROOTS:

There are free and bound roots in the language. The free roots are pure nouns, pronouns, time adverbials and some numerals, because some numerals can be divided clearly. The bound roots are mostly verb roots although there are a few noun and other roots.

3.1.1.1. Free roots:

Pure nouns:  /mi/ ‘man’; /sA/ ‘animal’; /hi/ ‘boat’; /khoy/ ‘bee’; /s«m/ ‘hair’; /khoN/ ‘leg’, /u/ ‘tree’, /wA/ ‘bamboo’, /l«y/ ‘flower’, /nApi/’grass’, etc.

Pronouns: /«y/ ‘I’, /n«N/ ‘you’,/mA/ ‘he’.

Numerals: /m«ri/ ‘four’, /m«NA/ ‘five’ /t«ruk/ ‘six’, /t«ret/ ‘seven’, /nipAn/ ‘eight’, /mAp«n/ ‘nine’, /t«rA/ ‘ten’, /kun/ ‘twenty’, /yANkh«y/ ‘fifty’.

Time Adverbials: /h«yeN/ ‘tomorrow’, /horen/ ‘after sometime’,  /n«hAn/ ‘day-before-yesterday’, /hAkum/ ‘last year’, /noNm«y/ ‘next year’, etc. The following examples will illustrate that these roots are free. Examples:

mi     «m«  l«y ‘There is a man’

man one  live/is

hi     t«ruk  uy ‘Six boats are seen’

boat  six        see.

«y N«rAN        mi   t«rA kAkhib« theNn«y     ‘Yesterday I met ten person climbing’

I    yesterday  man ten   climb   meet/come across

In the above examples it is shown that /mi/, /«m«/, /hi/, /t«ruk/, /«y/, /t«rA/, have occurred independently without the help of any affix or root. So, they are the free roots in Manipuri.

3.1.2.     Bound Roots:

As mentioned above all the verb roots are bound roots. There are also a few bound noun roots, the interrogative and demonstrative pronoun roots, the roots of the numerals one, two and three. They cannot occur without some particle prefixed or suffixed to it or it has been made a compound by the addition of another root. The verb roots are:

/cA-/‘eat’, /in-/‘push’, /ph«N-/ ‘get/receive’,

/tum-/ ‘sleep’, /khok-/ ‘peel’, etc. 

Examples:

m«hAk cAk  cA+y ‘He eats rice/He lives on rice’

he       rice eat+infinitive/habitual

    tomb« gAriin+khi ‘Tomba push vehicle

    definite.’

Tomba vehicle push+definite

mA tum+mi ‘He is sleeping’

    he sleep+continue

n«N u+h«w+re hAy  ‘Reported that you see it’

you see+begin+realization/complete  say/reporting

From the above it can be observed that the verb roots require some affix or some other root to become an independent form.. There are also a number of verb roots, which have been considered free roots by many. This is not correct. This is a case of elision and is a case of merger of the two similar sounds. In other words it may be termed merged into one. They are: /i/ ‘write’, /l«y/ ‘have/live’, /pi/ ‘give’, /hAy/ ‘say’ etc. These roots are in fact i-+i>i; l«i-+y/i or l«i-+i/y or l«y-+i/y>l«y; pi+i>pi; hAi-+i/y or hAy-+i/y. Considering the meaning they convey whenever they occur independently this analogy seems more appropriate. A large number of such examples are available. Many scholars have certain reservations in this analysis although they are not able to provide another alternative. Therefore, we shall be content with what has been stated here.

The bound noun roots are: /-pA/ ‘father’, /-mA/ ‘mother’, /-pu/ ‘grandfather’, /-ben/ ‘grandmother’, etc. These forms cannot occur without the prefix /«-/, /n«-/, /m«-/. Examples: 

/ipA/ ‘my father’, /n«pA/ ‘your father’, /imA/ ‘my mother’, /m«mA/ ‘his mother’, /«bok/ ‘my grandfather’, /ipu/ ‘my grandfather’, /n«pu/ ‘your grandfather’, /m«pubok/ ‘his grandfather’. Etc.

The interrogative pronoun (Noun Substitute) roots :

/k«-/ ‘which’ in  /k«+nA/ ‘which person’ /k«+ri/ ‘which thing’ /k«+yA/ ‘which quantity, etc.

The demonstrative pronoun roots are -  /-chi/ and /-du/. They occur with a prefix /«-/ or /m«-/ in the constructions. They are considered as determiners if they are attached to nominal forms/roots. This also requires careful examination.

The Numeral roots for one, two and three, that is, /-m«/, /-ni/ and /-hum/ cannot occur independently without the prefix /«-/.  Thus we have, /«m«/ ‘one’, /«ni/ ‘two and /«hum/ ‘three’. /-m«/ becomes /-mA/ whenever it occurs in eleven, twenty one, thirty one, and so on.

3.1.2. AFFIXES:

There are a large number of affixes in the language. It has also been stated earlier that the affixes play the major grammatical role in Manipuri language. The affixes can broadly be divided into nominal and verbal affixes. In Manipuri in a Noun Phrase formed with a numeral the nominal suffixes are always attached to the numeral and the noun cannot take the suffixes. Since numerals are considered as adjectives, the position occupied by the numerals in Manipuri may be regarded adjective position. Over and above, the affixes are also attached to the numerals which are considered adjectives the forms which take the suffixes may be considered adjectives in Manipuri. Therefore, it can be concluded that the position of the adjectives in the language is after the nouns.

   3.2. WORD FORMATION IN MANIPURI

3.2.1. Word Classes

This is the most important section in the analysis of Manipuri as well as the languages of the family i.e., Tibeto-Burman Language family. Manipuri is an agglutinative language having simulfixes. It is also necessary to understand the changes in the shape of the morphemes in certain situations. Over and above, the knowledge of semantics in a greater detail will be of great help. Some of the so- called homophonous forms can be described in terms of semantic extensions. Linguistics being a discipline in which hypothesis plays an important role, arguments and counter-arguments always has their own merits, I do not like to go deep into this issue further. Whatever the case may be, take it as different homophonous forms or as a single form; there is always a class of forms to which the word belongs. Words in this language are mostly formed through affixation. Therefore, it is necessary to group the set of affixes according to the form classes. In the traditional grammars we have noticed the following word classes. They are Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Post-positions, Prepositions, Conjunctions and Interjections, etc. These traditional people who wrote the books of grammar of the language gave examples from Manipuri language. It is unfortunate to understand that they do not have the knowledge of the grammatical descriptions. They thought that the grammars of all the languages are the same i.e., the internal structure and behaviour of all the languages are the same.

 Accordingly, they defined the above classes or parts of speech in the traditional terms. The introduction or imposition of the prepositions and post-positions in Manipuri without any basis and without understanding the logic of the use of these classes in English grammar is another blunder committed by these scholars. They translated the English prepositions in /m«nuNd«/, at /-d«/, etc. and posited the name preposition to them. Their prescriptive grammars were  the grammar of English language in whose grammatical frame they provided Manipuri words as examples. These were considered as the best grammar of Manipuri. Some such grammars prepared under the aegis of Sanskrit grammar also exist. These grammars are prescribed as texts books in the syllabus. Still there are a large number of people who defended such grammars and they are arguing in support of these grammars.

 The problem with this group of scholars is a hard task for the language scholars (Linguists). They are the best intellectual of Manipuri literature and of course language to the common people. The general public has a great regard and they have a high opinion about them and what they said are considered correct. They are regarded as the great scholars for Manipuri Language and the authority of the grammar of the language.

   The affixes play an important role in the case of word formation in the language. Again some of the morphemes have grammatical functions. In Manipuri, it will be difficult to have a clear-cut demarcation between Morphology and Syntax. As such in my analysis of the language the term grammar is employed to cover morphology and syntax together.

   A vast majority of the roots are bound in this language. Again the same   root can take the nominal and verbal suffixes, and sometimes it can take both together. As for example – the root {cA-} ‘eat’ can take the verbal completive aspect suffix {–re} and we have /cAre/ ‘completed eating’. But it can also take the nominalizing suffix {-b«} and becomes cAb« ‘something known/call eat’.  cf.   Boro {-nAy} in /zAnAy/ and Rabha  {-kAy} in /sAkAy/ which carries similar meaning as in Manipuri. It is necessary to explain why the meaning is given as something known/call eat? Once the suffix {-b«} is added to the root, or base or stem it no longer remains as verb, because it cannot occupy the verbal position in the sentence (rather another verb is needed to make the sentence complete) nor it can take any of the verb suffixes. Since the gloss has been creating a problem, the meaning is given in such a way that it does not convey any verbal sense. This results to further explanation in derivation.

3.2.2.      First of all, the word classes in the language are discussed here. It is claimed that Manipuri has Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Numerals, Conjunctions and Interjections. These form classes, traditionally classified as parts of speech, although they are noticed in the language, shall be examined carefully and critically; so as to enable to understand how far they function independently of each other.

3.2.3.      In Manipuri words are formed in the three processes. They are affixation, derivation and compounding.  The majority of the roots found in the language are bound and the affixes are the determining factor of the class of the words in the language. The three processes of word formation in Manipuri are discussed below.

3.2.3.1 Affixation - In Manipuri there are a large number of suffixes and a comparatively small number of prefixes. More than one suffix can be added to the root or base or stem. As mentioned earlier, the same root can take different shades of suffixes. These suffixes can be grouped according to the shades i.e. the class of forms with which it can attach. Thus, they can be grouped as nominal suffixes, verbal suffixes and modifying suffixes. To make things clear, it is necessary to list them separately.

    3.2.3.1.1. Nominal suffixes  - The suffixes, which are found attached to the nouns, derived nouns, in

the adjectives in noun phrases including numerals, the case markers and the bound coordinators are termed nominal suffixes. Accordingly, the nominal

suffixes are –

           {-gi ~ -ki} ‘possessive/genetive marker’ (case)

           {-d« ~ -t«} ‘locative’ (case)

           {-n«}          ‘nominative’ (case)

           {-bu ~ -pu} ‘accusative’ (case}

           {-siN}          ‘many ‘

           {-yAm}        ‘many’

           {-khoy ~ -hoy} ‘many (inclusive)/collectivity’

           {-m«k}        ‘in person/personification’

           {-rA ~ -lA ~ -r« ~ -l«}   ‘question/interrogative’

           {-d«N ~ -t«N} ‘exclusive/isolating’

           {-ni} ‘copula (functioning as main verb)’    

           {-su} ‘also’

           {-ko} ‘suggestive’

           {-ne} ‘seeking for confirmation/question’

           {-g« ~ -k«} ‘with’

           {-di ~ -ti} ‘particularization

 The occurrence of the suffixes listed above are illustrated below:

 momongi lAyrik tAre ‘Momon’s book fell down’.

tompokki phurit sure ‘Tompok’s shirt wash(complete).

iboton imphAld« c«tkhi ‘Iboton go(definite) to Imphal’.

ito ph«kt« ph«mmi ‘Ito sits on the mat’.

imon« ibobi phure ‘Imo beats Ibobi’.

ibetonn« m«nibu k«wwi‘Ibeton calls Mani’.

mAypAkpu tombin« inkhi‘Tombi pushes Maipak’. uceksiN ud« l«y ‘The bird(many) lives on the tree’. khAwyAm «m« pire ‘Many bags are given.’

itokhoy lAkle ‘Many including Ito has come’.

ibotonkhoy N«rAN c«tkhi ‘Many including Iboton left yesterday’.

 maimum«k tAkhiko ‘Maimu himself heard of it’.

 n«N m«nir« ‘Are you Mani?’

  m«si turell« ‘Is it a riv

  ibetond«N lAkkhi ‘Only Ibeton has come’.

   phuritt«N pukho ‘Take only the shirt.’

   m«hAk ibotonni ‘He is Iboton.’

   ibetombisu lAk.i ‘Ibetombi also come.’

   tAmoko ‘Brother (please agree with me)’

   imuNne “This is the house (inside)’

   imAg« c«tk«ni ‘(I) will go with my mother.’

    These suffixes can occur together as in

    tomb«+d«+gi;

    iboton+gi+n«

    iboton+gi+r«;

    iboton+khoy+rom+d«+gi+di+ne; etc.

   The demonstrative pronoun roots /-du ~ -tu/ and /-si/ also occur with the nouns and nominal roots. Since they have regarded pronominal roots they are not included in the list of suffixes. The prefixes are also not    included in the list.

Verbal suffixes: Those suffixes after whose affixation the verb roots can stand and function as verbs in larger constructions are considered verb suffixes.

      Here it must be noted that the derivative suffix {-b« ~ -p«} shall not be confused with complements, etc.  This will be discussed in detail later. The verb suffixes are listed below:

    {-i ~ -li}                                         habitual/infinitive

  {-li ~ -ri ~ -pi ~ -mi ~ -wi ~ -Ni}  continue/realize

  {-le~-re~-pe~-me~-Ne~-e}   completive/realization

  {-khi ~ -kh«-}                                    definitive

  {-te ~ -de ~ -t«- ~ -d«-}                   negative

  {-ke ~ -ge ~ -k«- ~ -g«-}                   non-realization

  {-l«m-~-r«m-~-m«m-~-p«m-~-N«m-}continue

   unknown start

  {-l«k-~-r«k-~-p«k-~-m«k-~-N«k-}   continue known

    start

  {-si}                                                   start (together)

     {-s«-}                                                  accept/wish

  {-s«n-}                                                               inward

     {-loy~-roy}                                       dissent

  {-u ~-w~-lu~-pu~-mu~-Nu}               command

     {-lu~-ru~-pu~-mu~-Nu}          command but action

       elsewhere

   {-lo~-ro~-po~-mo~-No}     command instant/force

   {-lo~ -ro~ -po~-mo~-No}                  come for the act

      {-ko}                           desiderative/suggestive/solicit

   {-n«-}                                     reciprocative/purposive

   {-ne}                                                     together with

   {-ne}                                                   declarative

   {-nu}                                                    let/wish

   {-nu}                                                    prohibitive

   {-min-}                                                 together

   {-dAy}                                                             performing

   {-se}                                                    intentive

   {-ye}                                     participation/indulgence

   {-h«n-}                                                 causation

   {-c«- ~ -j«-}                                       polite

   {-c«- ~ -j«-}                                        reflexive

   {-boy ~ -poy}                                   uncertain/hardly

The occurrence of the verb suffixes listed above are illustrated below:

tomb« cak ca+y ‘Tomba eat rice’

Tomba rice eat+infinitive/habitual

tomb« cAk  cA+ri ‘Tomba continue eat rice’

Tomba rice eat+continue

tomb« cAk   cA+re ‘Tomba complete eat rice’

Tomba rice eat+complete

tomb« cAk   cA+khi ‘Tomba definite eat rice’

Tomba rice eat+definite

tomb« cAk   cA+de ‘Tomba not eat rice’

Tomba rice eat+negative

«y cAk cA+ge ‘I want eat rice’

I   rice  eat+non-realization (not perform)

noN tA+r«m+mi It’s raining’

rainfall+unknown start time+realization/continue

noN tA+r«k+le ‘It has started raining’

rain fall+start known+realization(complete start)

   m«hAk cA+h«w+re ‘He start eating’

   he        eat+start+realization

t«w+ge t«w+s«+nu ‘Do whatever they like’

do+non-realize do+intentive+let

   m«+nuN+d« in+sil+lu  ‘Push inside’

distal+in+locative push+inside+command

mA cA+g«+nu hAy+yu ‘Tell him not to eat’

he eat+non realize+prohibit say+command

n«N c«t+lu ‘You go’

you go+command

t«w+ro yeN+N«+ge ‘Start, want to see’

do+command see+realize+nonrealize

n«N N«rAN lAk+khi+ko‘You came yesterday. Isn’t’

You yesterday come+definite+desiderative

Prefix:  As already mentioned there are a few prefixes in Manipuri. These prefixes are mostly attached to the verb roots. They can also be attached to the derived nouns and bound noun roots. There are also a few prefixes derived from the personal pronouns. The prefixes are:

            {«-}                           proximal

            {«-}                           numeral prefix

            {«-}                              derivative prefix

            {m«-}                        distal

            {khut-}                    manner

            {«- ~ i-}                   1^st Personal pronoun

            {n«-}                         2^nd Personal Pronoun

            {mA-}                         3^rd Personal Pronoun

3.2.3.2.Derivation: In Manipuri there are cases of derivation of nouns from verbs by the addition of the derivative suffix {-b« ~  -p«} to the verb root directly or in the verb stem. Once this suffix is added to the verb root or to the verb stem or form nor more verb suffixes can be added to it and cannot occupy the position occupied by the verb in the sentence. Rather it requires another verb to complete the sentence. The following examples will illustrate the derivation:

   tomb«   cAk cA+y ‘Tomba eats rice’

Tomba rice eat+habitual/infinitive

   m«hAk tum+khi ‘He sleep definitely’

he        sleep+definite

   cAwb«      cel+li ‘Chaoba is running’

   Chaoba  run+ continue

In the examples above, cay, tumkhi, celli are verbs. If we added the   {-b«} either to their root or the forms wherever applicable, they no longer remain as verb. They cannot any of the verb suffixes, nor can occupy the position occupied by the verbs in sentences rather they can take the nominal suffixes and also require another verb for completing the sentence or the copula -ni as in the case of nouns. Illustration:

*tomb« cAk cA+b«

*m«hAk tum+b« or tum+khi+b« 

*cA