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Chhany Sak-Humphry 1996
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KHMER NOUNS AND NOUN PHRASES:
A DEPENDENCY GRAMMAR ANALYSIS
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTEDTO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THEUNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
LINGUISTICS
AUGUST 1996
By
Chhany Sak-Humphry
Dissertation Committee:
Stanley Starosta, ChairpersonBion Griffin
P. Gregory LeeLawrence A. Reid
David Stampe
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We certify that we have read this dissertation and that, in our opinion, it is
satisfactory in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy in Linguistics.
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
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Chhany Sak-Humphry 1996
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the
support of my professors, friends and family to whom I would like to take this
opportunity to express my heartfelt appreciation.
I would like to express my gratitude to my chairperson, Professor Stanley
Starosta. His uncompromisingly high standards push his students to achieve their
maximum potential. His continuous perseverance and dedication in academic research
coupled with his willingness to help students will always be an inspiring example to me.
I would like to thank my committee members: Professor Lawrence Reid for his
extensive invaluable comments and suggestions; Professor Gregory Lee for his insightful
criticism and helpful comments; Professor David Stampe for sharing his extensive
knowledge of the Austroasiatic language family and his constant encouragement; and
Professor Bion Griffin for his kindness and his dependable support.
My appreciation goes to a number of friends and particularly my Khmer language
students for their comments, support and understanding.
I would like to acknowledge Gary Takeuchi's for his technical help and tireless
efforts in carefully proof-reading the manuscript.
Chhany Sak-Humphry 1996 v
Finally, my academic career and the completion of this dissertation would not be
possible without the love, support and understanding of my beloved husband, Joe
Humphry, my brothers and sisters, particularly my sweet and diligent sister Rathavy, and
my cousin Sochet Vitou.
I would like to dedicate this work to my dearest mother, who constantly
encouraged me to pursue a higher academic career; to my mentor Professor Philip Jenner,
who persuaded me to study linguistics and who taught me Old Khmer; to my precious
daughters Amara and Chandara, who kept asking me to finish this dissertation; and most
of all to my beloved father, who shared his invaluable knowledge of the Khmer language
and culture with me, and whose wisdom, conviction and perseverance kept me plodding
along this winding and seemingly endless road.
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ABSTRACT
This dissertation presents the first application of syntactic-semantic criteria to a
comprehensive analysis of Modem Khmer nouns and noun phrases using the Lexicase
dependency theoretical framework. The focus of this analysis is nouns and the role they
playas one of the two basic elements of sentences. The main content of the dissertation
is a subcategorization of Khmer nouns in terms of the relations they contract with their
dependents (attributes) and regents in the network of binary relationships that constitute
the grammatical structure o( a sentence. To set the foundation of this work a brief
description of the overall structure of sentence patterns of Modem Khmer is presented.
This overall description lists the general syntacticproperties of the Khmer language
which are relevant to a description of the noun-headed constructions.
Khmer is typologically a right-branching language. All noun dependents branch
off to the right except the nominative dependent (subject) of a verb, that is, it is an SVO
Subject-Verb-Object language. Khmer is non-tonal and the words are not inflected for
tense, gender, number or case. Word classes are established on the basis of distribution in
larger structures, rather than on morphology. There are a limited number of basic
pairwise dependency relationships, which may chain together to produce complex
hierarchical structures. Nouns in Khmer, as in many other Southeast Asian languages, do
not require a determiner as a dependent and do not allow any preceding dependent sister.
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A noun phrase is headed by a noun. In nominal attribution, the head noun may have zero,
one or more dependent modifiers. Nouns can be subcategorized in terms of their internal
semantic and grammatical features such as pronominality [:tprnn] and location [:t1ctn],as
well as in terms of potential external connections, such as their ability to cooccur with
verbs, prepositions or other nouns or the requirement that they cooccur with particular
types of sentential attributes.
Based on syntactic function and morphological criteria, seven noun classes can be
distinguished in Khmer: anaphoric nouns, pronouns, classifier nouns, extension nouns,
relator nouns, number nouns and independent nouns (location nouns and ordinary nouns).
The syntactic linear precedence hierarchy of all noun phrases that have more than one
dependent sister can be accounted for by the following three sequential constraints:
1. (COR 1i V rlLOCJ
2. (COR 1i V rl p J
3. (V 1~ rl p J
< (+prdc];
< (COR 1i V r; andl p J
< N
This study contributes to our knowledge of the structure of the Khmer language,
and to comparative syntactic research on the languages of the Mon-Khmer group and of
other neighboring Southeast Asian languages. In addition to the analysis provided, this
work gives enough data and background to serve as a basis for further research on Khmer
grammar.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IV
ABSTRACT vi
LIST OF TABLES... xix
LIST OF FIGURES .xx
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xxi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
Background of the Language 1
Previous Analyses 2
Goals and Objectives of the Study 4
Theoretical Framework: Lexicase Dependency Grammar 6
1.4.1 Syntactic Dependency Relationship 71.4.2 Features ............ ...... ..8
1.4.3 Case Forms and Case Relations 8
1.4.4 Endocentric Constructionsvs. Exocentric Constructions 9
1.4.5 Complements and Adjuncts 9
1.4.6 Lexicase Dependency Stemma Representation 10
1.4.7 Interpretation of the Diagram 10
Data and Orthography 111.5.1 Data .11
1.5.2 Orthographic Representation ..12
CHAPTER 2: AN OVERVIEW OF KHMER CLAUSE-LEVEL STRUCTURE
2.1 Introduction ..16
2.2 Basic Sentence Patterns 17
2.3 Verbless Sentences ..17
2.4 Verbal Sentences .18
Transitive Verbal Sentences 18
Intransitive Verbal Sentences 19
Intransitive Copula Verbal Sentences ..20Intransitive Locational Verbal Sentences 20
2.4.1
2.4.2
2.4.2.1
2.4.2.2
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2.5
2.6
2.4.2.3 IntransitiveNon-Locational or Stative Verbal Sentences 21
Conjoined Sentences .22
Prepositional Phrase Constructions .25
CHAPTER 3: THE GRAMMATICALCLASSIFICATION OF KHMER NOUNS3.1 Introduction .30
3.2 Subcategorization of Nouns in Khmer 30
3.3 Dependency Relationships between Nouns and Other Words 34
3.4 Nouns as Regents of a Verb ..36
3.5 Nouns as Regents of Prepositional Phrases 36
3.6 Nouns as Dependents of Verbs 36
3.7 Nouns as Dependents of Prepositions 38
3.8 Nouns as Dependents of Other Nouns 393.8.1 LOC Locus Case Relation 39
3.8.2 COR Correspondent Case Relation 39
3.8.3 [+prdc] Predicate Nouns. 40
CHAPTER4: ANAPHORICNOUN4.1 Previous Studies ...42
4.2 Definition of Anaphoric Noun 42
4.3 Qaaas the Dependent of Verbs and Prepositions 43
4.3.1 Qaa Occupies Subject and Object Slots 43
4.3.2 Qaa as the Dependent of a Preposition 46
4.4 Qaa as the Dependent of Nouns 47
4.4.1 Qaaas the Dependent of a Pronoun 47
4.4.2 Qaaas the Dependent of a Classifier Noun 48
4.4.3 Qaa as the Dependent of the Extension Nouns 48
4.4.4 Qaa as the Dependent of a Relator Noun 48
4.4.5 Qaa as the Dependent of a Number Noun 49
4.4.6 Qaaas the Dependent of a LocationNoun 49
4.4.7 Qaaas the Dependent of an Ordinary Noun 50
4.4.8 qaa as the Dependent of a Proper Noun 524.4.9 Conclusion 52
4.5 Qaaas the Regent of Other Nouns 52
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4.5.1 Qaaas the Regent of a Pronoun 53
4.5.2 Qaa as the Regent of a Classifier Noun 54
4.5.3 Qaa as the Regent of the Extension Nouns 55
4.5.4 Qaa as Regent of a Relator Noun 55
4.5.5 Qaaas the Regent of a Number Noun 56
4.5.6 Qaaas the Regent of a Location Noun 56
4.5.7 Qaa as the Regent of an OrdinaryNoun 56
4.5.8 Qaaas the Regent of a Proper Noun 57Conclusion 574.6
CHAPTER 5: PRONOUNS IN MODERN KHMER5.1 Previous Studies ..60
5.2 Definition .61
5.3 Syntactic Subcategorization of Pronouns .....64
5.4 Pronouns as Dependents of Verbs and Prepositions 68
5.5 Pronouns as Dependents of Nouns 78
5.5.1 Pronouns as Dependents of the Anaphoric Noun qaa 78
5.5.2 Pronouns as Dependents of Other Pronouns 79
5.5.3 Pronouns as Dependents of Classifier Nouns 83
5.5.4 Pronouns as Dependents of Extension Nouns 83
5.5.5 Pronouns as Dependents of Relator Nouns 85
5.5.6 Pronouns as Dependents of Number Nouns.. ..87
5.5.7 Pronouns as Dependents of Location Nouns 88
5.5.8 Pronouns as Dependents of Ordinary Nouns 89
5.6 Pronouns as Regents of Other Nouns 90
5.6.1 Pronouns as Regents of the Anaphoric Noun qaa 90
5.6.2 Pronouns as Regents of Other Pronouns 91
5.6.3 Pronouns as Regents of Classifier Nouns 91
5.6.4 Pronouns as Regents of Extension Nouns .91
5.6.5 Pronouns as Regents of Relator Nouns 93
5.6.6 Pronouns as Dependents of Number Nouns 93
5.6.7 Pronouns as Regents of Location Nouns 94
5.6.8 Pronouns as Regents of OrdinaryNouns 955.7 Conclusion .95
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5.8 Justification of Compound Pronouns .965.8.1 Substitution Test ..96
5.8.2 Relative Clause Test.. .97
5.8.3 Classifier Construction Test 97
5.8.4 Substitution Test ...98
5.8.5 Relative Clause Construction Test 98
5.8.6 Classifier Construction Test 100
CHAPTER 6: CLASSIFIER NOUNS
6.1 Previous Studies l05
6.2 What Word Class do Classifier Words Belong to? 106
6.2.1 Classifiers Function as the Predicate Dependents of
the Anaphoric Noun qaa. 106
6.2.2 Classifiers Function as Predicate Dependents of Number Nouns. 111
6.3 Syntactic Relationship Between Classifier Nouns and Number Nouns 114
6.4 Syntactic Relationship Between Classifier Nouns, Number Nouns
and Regent Nouns .1196.5 Conclusion ..121
6.6 Classifier Nouns Function as Dependents of Other Nouns 122
6.6.1 Classifier Nouns as Dependents of
the Anaphoric Noun qaa 122
6.6.2 Classifier Nouns as Dependents of Pronouns 122
6.6.3 Classifier Nouns as Dependents of Extension Nouns 123
6.6.4 Classifier Nouns as Dependents of Relator Nouns 124
6.6.5 Classifier Nouns as Dependents of Location Nouns 125
6.6.6 Classifier Nouns as Dependents of Ordinary Nouns 1256.7 Conclusion 126
CHAPTER 7: EXTENSION NOUNS7.1 Relative Nouns ...128
7.1.1 Previous Studies .128
7.1.2 Definition .128
7.1.3 Justification that daae1is a Relative Noun 129
7.1.3.1
7.1.3.2
Daae1Occupies the Subject Slot ..129
Daae1Occupies the Object Slot 132
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7.2
7.1.3.3 Daaelas the Dependent ofthe Copula Verb kfy 134
7.1.4 Daael as the Regent of a Verb 135
7.1.4.1 Daaelas the Regent of an Intransitive Verb 136
7.1.4.2 Daaelas the Regent of a Transitive Verb 138
7.1.5 Daael as the Regent of OtherNouns 141
7.1.6 Daael as the Dependent of Other Nouns 143
7.1.6.1 Daaelas the Dependent of the Anaphoric Noun qaa 143
7.1.6.2 Daaelas the Dependent of a Pronoun 147
7.1.6.3 Daael as the Dependent of a Classifier Noun 149
7.1.6.4 Daaelas the Dependent of the ExtensionNon-Relative Noun kaar 149
7.1.6.5 Daael as the Dependent of a Relator Noun 149
7.1.6.6 Daael as the Dependent of a Number Noun 149
7.1.6.7 Daaelas the Dependent of a Location Noun 150
7.1.6.8 Daael as the Dependent of an Ordinary Noun 151
7.1.7 Daael as the Dependent of a Verb 1537.1.8 Conclusion .155
Non-Relative Nouns , """"" """ ..156
7.2.1 Previous Studies ..156
7.2.2 Definition .156
7.2.3 Justification that kaaris a Non-Relative Noun 157
7.2.3.1 KaarOccupies the Subject or Object Slot 157
7.2.3.2 Kaaras the Dependent of a Copula Verb 159
Syntactic Differences Between kaarand daael 161
7.2.4.1 KaarDoes not Require a Gap 161
7.2.4.2 KaarFunctions as a Regent of rbah2 162
7.2.4.3 KaarFunctions as a Regent of daael 163
Kaaras the Dependent of the Anaphoric Noun qaa 166Conclusion .168
7.2.4
7.2.5
7.2.6
CHAPTER 8: RELATOR NOUNS
8.1 Relator Nouns 171
8.1.1 Previous Studies 171
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8.2
8.1.2 Definition of Relator Nouns .172
8.1.3 Identification ofLocational Words 173
8.1.3.1 Location Nouns [+lctn] 173
8.1.3.2 Locational Relator Nouns [+lctn, +r1tr] 174
8.1.3.3 Prepositions ..176
8.1.3.4 Summary ..178Identification and Justification ofLocational Relator Nouns 179
8.2.1 Stranding Test ..179
8.2.2 Preposing Test .180
8.2.3 Clefting Test ..181
8.2.4 Summary .1838.2.5 Justification that Locational Relator Nouns are Nouns 183
8.2.5.1 Locational Relator Nouns Function as Nom-PAT 183
8.2.5.2 Locational Relator Nouns Function as Acc-PAT 190
8.2.5.3 Summary " ...192
8.2.5.4 Complex Word (khaag-x) as a Compound Location Noun..1938.2.5.4.1 Omission Test 194
8.2.5.4.2 Insertion Test 195
8.2.5.4.3 Conclusion .198
8.2.6 Locational Relator Nouns and Their Dependents 198
8.2.6.1 Locational Relator Nouns as Dependents of Verbs 1988.2.6.1.1 Intransitive Verbs.. ..199
8.2.6.1.2 Transitive Verbs ..200
8.2.6.1.3 Impersonal Verbs """ ..2018.2.6.2 Locational Relator Nouns as
Dependents of Prepositions .202
8.2.6.3 Locational Relator Nouns as Dependents of Other Nouns...2048.2.6.3.1 Locational Relator Nouns as
Dependents of the Anaphoric Noun qaa 2048.2.6.3.2 Locational Relator Nouns as
Dependents of Pronouns 2048.2.6.3.3 Locational Relator Nouns as
Dependents of Classifier Nouns 2048.2.6.3.4 Locational Relator Nouns as
Dependents of Extension Nouns 205
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8.2.6.3.5 Locational Relator Nouns as
8.2.6.4
Dependents of Number Nouns 2058.2.6.3.6 Locational Relator Nouns as
Dependent of Location Nouns 2058.2.6.3.7 Locational Relator Nouns as
Dependents of OrdinaryNouns .206
Locational Relator Nouns as Regents of Other Nouns 2068.2.6.4.1 Locational Relator Nouns as
Regents ofthe Anaphoric Noun qaa 207Locational Relator Nouns as
Regents of Pronouns.. .207Locational Relator Nouns as
Regents of Classifier Nouns 208Locational Relator Nouns as
Regents of Extension Nouns .208Locational Relator Nouns as
Regents of Number Nouns 208Locational Relator Nouns as
Regents of Location Nouns .208Locational Relator Nouns as
8.2.6.4.2
8.2.6.4.3
8.2.6.4.4
8.2.6.4.5
8.2.6.4.6
8.2.6.4.7
8.3
of Regents Ordinary Nouns 209
8.2.6.5 Summary .210Non-Locational Relator Nouns or Possessive Nouns 211
8.3.1 Previous Studies .211
8.3.2 Definition ofIndirect Possessive Noun Phrases 213
8.3.3 Identification ofthe Words rbahJ and rbah2 215
8.3.3.1 Dependents of Verbs .215
8.3.3.2 Test with Location Verb n.iwJ .2198.3.3.3 Conclusion .220
8.3.4 Identification ofthe Non-Locational Relator Nouns rbah2 and n.ij 2208.3.4.1 Test with Verbal Clause .224
8.3.4.2 Deletion Test .226
8.3.5 Non-Locational Relator Nouns rbah2and n.ij as
Dependents of Nouns .226
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8.3.6
Rbah2 and n:5jas Dependents of the Anaphoric Noun qaa ..227
Rbah2 and n;}jas Dependents ofPronouns 228
Rbah2 and n;}jas Dependents of Classifier Nouns 228
Rbah2 and n:5jasDependents of Extension Nouns 228
Rbah2 and n;}jas Dependents ofLocational Relator Nouns .229
8.2.5.6 Rbah2 and n;}jas Dependents of Number Nouns 230
8.3.5.7 Rbah2 and n;}jas Dependents of Location Nouns 230
8.3.5.8 Rbah2and n;}jas Dependents of Ordinary Nouns 2318.3.5.9 Conclusion .231
Non-Locational Relator Nouns rbah2and n;}jas Regents ofNouns 232
8.3.6.1 Rbah2 and n:5jas Regents ofthe Anaphoric Noun qaa 232
8.3.6.2 Rbah2 and n;}jas Regents of Pronouns 232
8.3.6.3 Rbah2and n:5jas Regents of Classifier Nouns 233
8.3.6.4 Rbah2and n;}jas Regents of Extension Nouns 234
8.3.6.5 Rbah2 and n;}jas Regents ofLocational Relator Nouns 234
8.3.6.6 Rbah2 and n;}jas Regents of Number Nouns 234
8.3.6.7 Rbah2 and n;}jas Regents of Location Nouns 235
8.3.6.8 Rbah2and n:5jas Regents of Ordinary Nouns 2368.3.6.9 Conclusion .237
Differences Between Non-Locational Relator Nouns rbah2 and n:5j...238
8.3.5.1
8.3.5.2
8.3.5.3
8.3.5.4
8.3.5.5
8.3.7
CHAPTER9: NUMBER NOUNS
9.1 Previous Studies .241
9.2 What Word Class do Number Words Belong To? 2419.3 Further Grammatical Evidence that Number Words are Nouns 245
9.3.1 Numbers as Heads of SubjectNPs 245
9.3.2 Numbers as Heads of Object NPs 2479.3.3 Numbers as Heads of PredicateNoun Phrases 248
9.3.4 Conclusion .250
9.4 Prepositions as Regents of Number Nouns 250
9.5 Number Nouns as Dependents of Other Nouns 252
9.5.1 Number Nouns as Dependents ofthe Anaphoric Nouns qaa 252
9.5.2 Number Nouns as Dependents ofPronouns 253
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9.6
9.5.3 Number Nouns as Dependents of Classifier Nouns 254
9.5.4 Number Nouns as Dependents of Extension Nouns 255
9.5.5 Number Nouns as Dependents of Relator Nouns 255
9.5.6 Number Nouns as Dependents of Location Nouns 256
9.5.7 Number Nouns as Dependents of Ordinary Nouns 256
Number Nouns as Regents of Other Nouns 257
9.6.1 Number Nouns as Regents ofthe Anaphoric Noun qaa 257
9.6.2 Number Nouns as Regents ofPronouns 257
9.6.3 Number Nouns as Regents of Classifier Nouns 259
9.6.4 Number Nouns as Regents of Extension Nouns 260
9.6.5 Number Nouns as Regents of Relator Nouns 261
9.6.6 Number Nouns as Regents of Location Nouns 261
9.6.7 Number Nouns as Regents of Ordinary Nouns 2619.6.8 Conclusion .262
CHAPTER 10: INDEPENDENT NOUNS10.1 Location Nouns """"""""""""""""""""""""""'" 264
10.1.1 Previous Studies ..264
10.1.2 Definition of Locational Nouns [+lctn] ...26410.1.3 Identification of the Locational Word Class 265
10.1.3.1 Differences Between Locational
Words and Non-Locational Words .266
10.1.3.2 Conclusion , ..269
10.1.3.3 Differences Between Locational Words that Don't RequireDependents VS.Those that Must Have Dependents 269
10.1.3.3.1 Application of the n§wj Test 27010.1.3.3.2 Omission Test 273
10.1.3.3.4 Conclusion 277
Syntactic Category of the Free Locational Words 27710.1.4.1 Location Nouns Function as Nom-PAT 278
10.1.4.2 Location Nouns Function as Acc-PAT 280
10.1.4.3 Location Nouns Function as LaC Complements 28010.1.4.4 Conclusion " .281
Location Nouns as Dependents of Prepositions 282
10.1.5.1 Location Nouns as Dependents of the Prepositionpii 282
10.1.4
10.1.5
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Location Nouns as Dependents of the Preposition n§w2 282
Location Nouns as Dependents of the Preposition qaae 283
Location Nouns as Dependents of DoubleExocentric Constructions .284
10.1.6 Location Nouns as Dependents of Nouns 285
10.1.6.1 LocationNouns as Dependents of
the Anaphoric Noun qaa.. ...285
10.1.6.2 Location Nouns as Dependents ofPronouns 285
10.1.6.3 LocationNouns as Dependents of Classifier Nouns 285
10.1.6.4 LocationNouns as Dependents of Extension Nouns 286
10.1.6.5 Location Nouns as Dependents of Relator Nouns 286
10.1.6.6 LocationNouns as Dependents of Number Nouns 286
10.1.6.7 LocationNouns as Dependents of Location Nouns 286
10.1.6.8 LocationNouns as Dependents of Ordinary Nouns 288
10.1.7 Location Nouns as Regents of Nouns 289
10.1.7.1 Location Nouns as Regents of the Anaphoric Noun qaa 289
10.1.7.2 LocationNouns as Regents ofPronouns 290
10.1.7.3 Location Nouns as Regents of Classifier Nouns 291
10.1.7.4 LocationNouns as Regents of Extension Nouns 291
10.1.7.5 Location Nouns as Regents of Relator Nouns 292
10.1.7.6 Location Nouns as Regents of Number Nouns 293
10.1.7.7 Location Nouns as Regents of Other Location Nouns 294
10.1.7.8 Location Nouns as Regents of Ordinary Nouns 294
10.1.8 Location Nouns as Regents of Verbs 29410.1.9 Location Nouns Function as Predicate Nouns 29510.1.10 Conclusion .296
10.2 Ordinary Nouns .29710.2.1 Definition ..297
10.2.2 Syntactic Dependency of Ordinary Nouns [-lctn] 29710.2.3 Conclusion................. .................. ............300
10.1.5.2
10.1.5.3
10.1.5.4
CHAPTER 11: MULTIPLE DEPENDENTS OF NOUNS11.1 Introduction .303
11.2 Noun Dependent with Other Nouns as Its Co-Dependents 305
11.2.1 Correspondent Dependent with Nouns as Its Co-Dependents 305
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11.2.2 Predicate Dependent with Nouns as Its Co-Dependents 314
11.2.3 Locus Dependent with Nouns as Its Co-Dependents 31711.2.4 Conclusion 320
11.3 Noun Dependent with a Verb as Its Co-Dependent 320
11.3.1 Correspondent Dependent with a Verb as Its Co-Dependent 320
11.3.2 Predicate Dependent with a Verb as Its Co-Dependent 324
11.3.3 Locus Dependent with a Verb as Its Co-Dependent 326
11.4 Noun Dependent with a Prepositional Phrase as Its Co-Dependent 328
11.4.1 Correspondent Dependent with a Prepositional Phrase as
Its Co-Dependent 328
11.4.2 [+N] Predicate Dependent with a Prepositional Phrase asIts Co-Dependent 331
11.4.3 Locus Dependent with a Prepositional Phrase as Its Co-Dependent 332
11.5 Verb Dependent with Nouns as Its Co-Dependents 334
11.5.1 Verb and Correspondent Co-Dependents 334
11.5.2 Verb and Predicate Co-Dependents 334
11.5.3 Verb and Locus Co-Dependents 336
11.5.4 Verb, Predicate and Locus Co-Dependents 33611.5.5 Conclusion 339
11.6 Prepositional Phrase Dependent with Nouns as its Co-Dependents 339
11.6.1 Preposition and Correspondent Co-Dependents 339
11.6.2 Preposition and Predicate Co-Dependents 339
11.6.3 Preposition and Locus Co-Dependents 342
11.6.4 Preposition, Predicate and Locus Co-Dependents 34211.7 Conclusion ...343
CHAPTER 12: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
12.1 Summary of Study ...345
12.2 Contributions """""""""" ..349
REFERENCES .. 351
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Table
1.1
1.2
1.3
4.1
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
6.1
7.1
7.2
8.1
8.2
9.1
10.1
10.2
12.1
XIX
LIST OF TABLES
Page
Khmer Consonants, Monophthongs and Diphthongs 13
Phonemic Transcription of Khmer Consonants 14
Phonemic Transcription of Khmer Vowels 15
Syntactic Dependency of the Anaphoric Noun qaa 59
Pronouns as Dependents of Nouns 101
Pronouns as Regents of Nouns 102
Pronouns as Regents of Other Pronouns 103
Pronouns as Dependents of Verbs and Prepositions 104
Syntactic Dependency of Classifier Nouns 127
Syntactic Dependency of the Extension Relative Noun daae1 169
Syntactic Dependency of the Extension Non-Relative Noun kaar 170
Syntactic Dependency of Locational Relator Nouns .239
Syntactic Dependency ofNon-Locational Relator Nouns 240
Syntactic Dependency of Number Nouns ..263
Syntactic Dependency of Location Nouns ..301
Syntactic Dependency of Ordinary Nouns 302
Syntactic Dependency of Khmer Nouns 350
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Figure
2.1
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
5.1
8.1
11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4
11.5
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xx
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Prepositional Phrase Construction 25
Subcategorizations of Nouns in Khmer 32
Dependency Relationships Between Nouns and Other Words 35
Nouns as Dependents of Verbs ..36
Nouns as Dependents of Prepositions 38
Nouns as Dependents of OtherNouns 39
Subcategorization of Khmer Pronouns 67
Indirect Possessive NP .213
Noun Dependent with Other Nouns as Its Co-Dependents 304
Noun Dependent with a Verb as Its Co-Dependent 304
Noun Dependent with a Prepositional Phrase as Its Co-Dependent 304
Verb Dependent with Nouns as Its Co-Dependents 304
Prepositional Phrase Dependent with Nouns as Its Co-Dependents 305
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Chhany Sak-Humphry 1996 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
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Acc Accusative foot foot
actr Actor frnt front
Adj Adjective lctn location
Adv adverb LOC Locus
AGT Agent LR Linking Rule
anmt animate mnnr manner
assn association MNS means
clsf classifier mprs impersonal
con] conjuncti N noun
COR Corresponden ndex index
cpla copula neg. negation
CR Chaining Rule nmbr number
crsp correspondent Nom Nominative
Det determiner nphr anaphoric
dfnt definite Nrs relator nouns
dmns demonstrative ntrg interrogative
drcn direction ntrr interior
fint finite open open
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P preposition rltv relative
PAT Patient root root
plrl plural S sentence
PP prepositional phrase sorc source
prdc predicate spcf specific
prnn pronoun sttv stative
prpr proper Thm theme
prsl personal tip tip
pssd possessed Top topic marker
pssn posseSSIOn trmn terminus
Ques word signifying question tms transitive
rltn relational V verb
rltr relator xtns extension
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Chhany Sak-Humphry 1996 1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Language
Modem Khmer or Cambodian is the official language used in Kampuchea or
Cambodia. According to Judith Jacob (1960:351; 1965:143),Modem Khmer is
considered to extend from about AD 1800to the present. Khmer is a member of the
Mon-Khmer subgroup of the Austroasiatic family of languages. Khmer is spoken by
people who live in Cambodia and by sizable communities who live in the Mekong Delta
area of southern Vietnam, and in northern Thailand. In the last twenty years, the majority
of Khmer speakers outside of the country are in America, France and Australia.
Khmer language has a long literary tradition of 1,500years. Native Khmer words
are monosyllabic or disyllabic. Words ofIndic origin tend to be polysyllabic. The
Cambodian language has been subjected to the influence of Sanskrit, Pali, Thai,
Vietnamese, Chinese, French and English, just to name a few. Most of the colloquial
speech relies on native Mon-Khmer words, but any elevation in style or discussion on
topics of a political, cultural, economic or environmental nature and technological words
bring in many words borrowed from Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese, French, and more recently
English. The majority of Cambodians are monolingual; however, in the last twenty
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years, many of the Khmer population bordering Thailand, Laos and Vietnam have
become bilingual. Since the 1993Cambodian election, French and English are the
dominant foreign languages in the city for the educated, but in local Khmer life, Thai,
Chinese and Vietnamese have an advantage over the other two. The Khmer language,
like its country, is in a state of shock with rapid changes.
1.2 Previous Analyses
Very limited linguistic research has been done on Khmer phonology, morphology,
semantics, and grammar, especially in the area of syntax.
I will briefly present a general overview of the previous works on Khmer
grammar.
Maspero's work (1915) Grammaire de la Langue Khmere was one of the earliest.
It is based on the traditional European grammar approach which relies on semantics to
establish word classes. In addition, much of the vocabulary and style are no longer in
common use.
Gorgoniev's work (in Russian) is unavailable, thus I am unable to make any
comparative analysis.
From the point of view of generative grammar, the structuralist analyses by
linguists such as of Huffman (1967) An Outline of Cambodian Grammar, Noss (1966)
Cambodian Basic Course, Jacob (1968) Introduction to Cambodian, and Ehrman (1972)
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Contemporary Cambodian: GrammaticalSketch are inadequate in the following
respects:
(1) They focus mostly on morphology and are not explicit. Thus they cannot be
objectively tested;
(2) Most are pedagogical materials for language teaching and learning rather
than systematic descriptions of the structures of the language; and
(3) They are in some ways too narrow and specific in the sense that they provide
only prose statements about the individual patterns observed in a particular corpus. They
achieve only language-internal generalizations, and since they are not designed to be
consistent with any general linguistic theory, they have no cross-linguistic implications.
In addition these works on syntax are inadequate in the following ways:
(1) There is no comprehensive detailed analysis of the internal structure of
phrases and clauses;
(2) No language-internalor cross-linguistic predictions were made and none
could therefore be tested; and
(3) Most importantly, none of them has done a comprehensive analysis of
modem Khmer nouns and noun phrases.
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