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Adversative constructions in Lao
1 Introduction
The so-called adversative passive has been widely discussed in languages like Mandarin
(Huang 1999; Huang et al. 2009), Vietnamese (Bruening and Tran 2013; Simpson and
Ho 2008), Thai (Kim 2013; Prasithrathsint 2001, 2006; Sudmuk 2003), and Malay
[(Nomoto and Wahab 2012), engendering much debate over its structure, its semantics,
and its status as a passive construction. The less-researched Lao language also has an
adversative construction, formed with the lexeme thùùk, shown in (1).
(1) Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
tam
crash
‘Noy suffered being hit.’1
To date, little to no research has been done on the characteristics of this
construction, and it is unknown whether analyses proposed for the languages above
would be appropriate for the Lao construction. The purpose of this paper is to investigate
the properties of the adversative construction in Lao, and analyze it in light of current
theories of syntax.
I hope to show that the semantics of thùùk are presuppositional rather than truth-
conditional, it is a verb that takes a vP complement, and the subject has a relationship
with an embedded element that is mediated by A’-movement. Section 2 covers the data
being discussed and give an overview of the semantics. In section 3, I discuss the
1 All data are my own unless otherwise noted.
2
structure of the thùùk construction, while section 4 makes the case for the A’-movement
of a null operator. Section 5 looks at future directions for research on this and related
constructions, and section 6 is a conclusion.
2 The data
Lao is a member of the Tai-Kadai language family and is the national language of the
Lao People’s Democratic Republic. It is a close relative of Standard Thai, sharing many
syntactic properties, so analyses of Thai can be a useful starting point when looking at the
Lao data. Lao is an extremely isolating language, there is no overt inflection, case
marking, or agreement on verbs or nouns (Enfield 2007). Lao has been described as a
serial verb language (Enfield 2004), and this makes the differences between subordinate
clauses and mono-clausal multi-verb constructions difficult to tease apart.
In a simple transitive sentence in Lao, the typical word order is SVO; the agent is
preverbal and the patient or object is post-verbal as seen in (2).
(2) lot
car
tam
crash
Nòòj
Noy
‘A car hit Noy.’
The construction under consideration in this paper involves the word thùùk, which
can play a variety of roles in the language. It can function as a main verb in a one-verb
clause, meaning ‘strike’ or ‘bump into’ as in (3), an adjective, meaning ‘cheap’ or
‘correct’ as in (4), or as the first verb in a two-verb clause (1), which is the role under
investigation here.
3
(3) thùùk
strike
bòòn
place
sin-siin
REDUP-meat
‘(It) struck (my rump) in the very meat.’ (Enfield 2007: ex. 678)
(4) Nòòj
Noy
tòòp
answer
kham-thaam
question
thùùk
correct
‘Noy answered the question correctly.’
Thai possess a similar adversative, though as we see later, there are important
differences between the two languages. An example of the Lao thùùk construction being
considered in this paper can be seen in (5) and (6) below.
(5) Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
correct
lot
car
tam
crash
‘Noy suffered a car hitting her.’
(6) Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
correct
tam
crash
‘Noy suffered being hit.’
When discussing similar constructions in Mandarin and Vietnamese, a distinction has
been made between the “long form” and the “short form” of the structures (Bruening and
Tran 2013; Huang 1999; Huang et al. 2009). The Lao example (5), with the overt agent2
in the lower complement, would be considered the long form, while example (6), where
there is no agent present, the short form. Some of the most salient characteristics of thùùk
2I am using the term agent in the general sense of Baker (1997); where the semantic
categories Agent and Causer are collapsed as arguments base-generated in the spec,vP
position.
4
sentences have to do with the adversative semantics generally present in these
constructions.
The adversative readings are transparent in the examples above, as the verb tam
‘crash (into)’ generally brings to mind negative situations. However, the thùùk
construction is not limited to verbs of suffering; it is also compatible with neutral verbs
and even some positive verbs. In those instances, the thùùk construction generally forces
a negative reading, or the idea that the event happened against the subject’s will.
(7) a. qacaan
teacher
beng
look
nak-hian
student
‘The teacher looked at the student’ (Neutral)
b. nak-hian
student
thùùk
suffer
qacaan
teacher
beng
look
‘The student suffered the teacher looking (at him)’ (Negative)
(8) a. Majtii
Maitee
tèèng-gnaan
marry
kap
with
Nòòj
Noy
Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
tèèng-gnaan
marry
kap
with
Majtii
Maitee
‘Maitee married Noy.’ (Neutral/Positive)
b. Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
tèèng-gnaan
marry
kap
with
Majtii
Maitee
‘Noy suffered marrying Maitee (against her will).’ (Negative)
In (7) and (8), one can see that when verbs like beng ‘look (at)’ or teeng-gnaan ‘marry’ are
used in the thu u k construction, the meaning changes dramatically, from a positive or
neutral event, to a negative one.
5
As a rule, the subjects of these constructions must be animate, due to the (affected)
experiencer theta-role assigned to the surface subject of thu u k. Only sentient beings have
the ability to be experiencers, so it is logical that animacy plays a role in restricting the
subject. There are some exceptions to this rule, however. Example (9) below, is
acceptable under two possible scenarios: if the flower is personified, as in a cartoon, or if
it is the speaker who is affected because it is the speaker’s flower.
(9) dòòk-maj
flower
thùùk
suffer
Majtii
Maitee
kêp
pick
paj
go
lèèw
already
‘(The speaker) suffered Maitee picking the (speaker’s) flower.’
This requirement that the flower be possessed by the speaker and not someone else
will be important in §4.2.2, a discussion of thematic roles assigned by the verb thu u k.
Another characteristic of this construction is that the affectedness is semantically
non-truth- conditional, but rather presuppositional; it cannot be negated or project past a
yes/no question. If the negative bo is used, as in (10), only the crashing event represented
by the lower verb can be negated; Noy’s affectedness from the crashing event cannot be.
(10) Nòòj
Noy
bò
NEG
thùùk
suffer
lot
car
tam
crash
‘Noy didn’t suffer a car hitting her.’
The interpretation obtained when a negative particle is used is that the car did not crash,
but if it had, it would have bothered Noy. Crucially it cannot mean that the car crashed,
yet the crashing event did not affect Noy.
6
To say that the affectedness cannot project past polar interrogatives means that a
simple yes or no answer does not change the affectedness of the clause, illustrated in
(11).
(11) a. Majtii
Maitee
thùùk
suffer
Nòòj
Noy
hêt
make
haj
cause
lot
car
phêê
break
bòò
QUES.PART
?
‘Did Maitee suffer Noy breaking his car?’
b. bò
NEG
‘No, (Noy did not break Maitee’s car, and therefore Maitee did not
suffer).’
*‘Noy broke Maitee’s car, but Maitee wasn’t affected by the event.’
Whether or not Noy broke the car in (11), it is understood that Maitee was, or would have
been, affected by the breaking. If the listener knows that Noy broke the car, but that it did
not affect Maitee, additional explanation is necessary; a simple yes or no response will
not suffice. The fact that this affectedness cannot be negated and it does not project past
polar interrogatives suggests that the meaning of thu u k is non-truth-conditional, or more
specifically, presupposition.
3 The structure of thùùk
Determining the lexical category of thu u k and its argument structure is essential to
completing a picture of the construction. There are several syntactic tests that can be
useful in determining the behavior of this lexeme, and those will be the subject of this
section.
7
3.1 The lexical category of thùùk
The thu u k construction in Lao has not been the focus of much research, but similar
adversative constructions have been analyzed in Thai (Filbeck 1973; Jenks 2011; Kim 2013;
Lekawatana 1979; Prasithrathsint 2001, 2004, 2006; Sudmuk 2003), Khmer (Kim 2012), and
Kam Dong (Gerner 2003). Accounts also exist for more distantly related constructions in
Chinese (Huang 1999; Huang et al. 2009), Vietnamese (Bruening and Tran 2013), and
Malay (Nomoto and Wahab 2012).
One of the first questions that must be addressed is the category status of thùùk. In
the Thai literature, there have been several differing accounts as to what the lexical class
of the Thai adversative marker is. According to Chaiyaratana (1961), thuuk3 is simply a
passive morpheme, and not a true verb. In contrast, Filbeck (1973) classifies thuuk5 as a
verb which is marked [+PASSIVE], but a full verb nonetheless.
Recently, Kim (2012, 2013) has suggested that adversatives in Thai and Khmer
are functional projections, in line with recent work on applicative constructions (Bosse et
al. 2012; Pylkkanen 2008). Although there are obvious similarities in the semantics
between this construction and affected experiencers in other languages, if thu u k is a
lexical verb, an analysis with applicative arguments is not necessary. Inherent to the very
definition of applicative argument is the understanding that the added element is non-
3Thai has two adversative markers thuuk and dòòn. The lexeme thuuk in Thai is
phonetically very similar to thùùk in Lao, the difference being that thùùk in Lao is formed
with a high, back, unrounded vowel (phonetically: /ɯ/, ù in my transcription system),
while the Thai version is formed with its rounded counterpart (/u/).
8
core, or not selected by the predicate. Any element licensed by a verb, then, cannot be a
non-core argument. If the verb-hood of thu u k can be firmly established, the most
parsimonious explanation is one which posits that all arguments present are selected by
this verb.
A majority of Thai researchers (Jenks 2011; Sudmuk 2003; Wongbaisaij 1979)
believe the adversative is in fact a predicate which can subcategorize for either an NP,
when used as a single main verb, or a larger complement, when used in the affected
construction under discussion. Jenks (2011) lists two diagnostics for verbs in Thai
syntax, negation and the availability of preverbal aspect and modality marking. The
following examples show that these are reliable tests for verb-hood in Lao as well.
(12) Majtii
Maitee
bò
NEG
thùùk
suffer
Nòòj
Noy
hêt
make
haj
cause
lot
car
laaw
3SG
phêê
break
‘Maitee didn’t suffer (because) Noy didn’t break his car.’
(13) Nòòj
Noy
si
IRR
thùùk
suffer
lot
car
tam
crash
‘Noy will suffer a car hitting her.’
(14) khòòj
1SG
thùùk
suffer
toq
table
‘I (accidentally) bumped into the table’ (Enfield 2007: 439)
According to Enfield (2007), all verb subclasses in Lao can be directly preceded by the
negative marker bo. The fact that thu u k shares this characteristic, as seen in (12), suggests
that thu u k is occupying a syntactic position reserved for verbs (Enfield 2007; Jenks
9
2011). However, as mentioned earlier, the semantic affectedness of thu u k is not negated.
Additional evidence for the verb-hood of thu u k comes from the fact that thu u k can take
aspect-modality marking such as the irrealis si, shown in (13), and can also stand alone as a
main verb, (14).
Furthermore, new evidence from the prosody of Lao supports an analysis of thùùk
as a lexical verb. Cole (2013) shows that Lao has a strong preference for iambic feet by
looking at evidence from regular processes of glottal stop epenthesis and vowel
shortening that repair degenerate feet. Iambic rhythm is characterized by metrical feet
which are L(ight)-H(eavy) or H. When words are compounded in Lao and the
components consist of two heavy syllables, the vowel of the first syllable is shortened
and the tone is neutralized so that the output forms an iambic foot. Cole (2013) also
shows that function words in Lao do not project their own prosodic structure, but rather
adjoin to lexical words to form canonical iambic feet. Prototypical function words like
the negative marker and the topic linker in Lao are both shortened and their tone is
neutralized in connected speech, as shown in (15) and (16).
(15) a. bo o ‘NEG’ → bo
b. bò
NEG
khaaj
sell
‘(I) didn’t sell (them).’
10
(16) a. ko o ‘T.LNK’ → ka
b. khòòj
1SG
ka
T.LNK
khit
think
va
COMP
Nòòj
Noy
tii
hit
Majtii
Maitee
‘I also think that Noy hit Maitee.’
The prosody of the word, then, can be used as a diagnostic for whether it a functional or
lexical status. The fact that the vowel in thùùk does not shorten and the tone is not
neutralized when to the left of a lexical word, demonstrated in (17), argues against claims
that this is a function word.
(17) a. thùùk ‘suffer’ → *thùk
b. khon-khi-lak
thief
* thùk
suffer
tamluat
policeman
cap
catch
‘The thief suffered the policeman catching him.’
Thus, there seems to be ample evidence to claim that thùùk is a verb. However the
selectional properties of this verb must be determined before making any claims about its
structure.
3.2 The selectional properties of thùùk
There are two types of complements that thu u k subcategorizes for, a DP and a verbal
complement akin to a small clause. The cases where thu u k selects for a DP, as in (14) above,
are straightforward and will not be addressed here. However, the story is more complicated
with the version of thu u k which selects for a verbal complement because the characteristics
of the selected constituent are not as transparent. One issue is the size of the complement. In
11
the long form of these constructions, the agent remains in its preverbal position, which
means that at a minimum the complement is a vP. There is no consensus in the literature
as to whether this complement is a full clause (CP or TP) or something smaller like a vP.
Filbeck (1973), Wongbaisaij (1979), and Sudmuk (2003) all analyze the complement of
thu u k in Thai as a full sized clause, either an S node or an IP node. A Lao example modeled
after Sudmuk (2003: 420) is shown in (18) below. No strong claims about the exact nature
of the relationship between the matrix subject and the embedded object are being made
here. The details of this dependency will be addressed in §4.
(18) a. Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
lot
car
tam
crash
‘Noy suffered a car hitting her.’
b.
Others analyze the complement as a small clause. Jenks (2011) concludes that in a
similar construction in Thai, the complement is a vP because aspect-modality marking is
not allowed in the lower complement, and Nomoto and Wahab (2012) claim that a
12
similar predicate in Malay also selects for vP rather than a CP or TP. A Lao example of
the structure given in Jenks (2011: 27) is shown in (19) below.
(19) a. nak-hian
student
thùùk
suffer
qacaan
teacher
beng
look
‘The student suffered the teacher looking (at him)’
b.
There is evidence, however, which convincingly shows that the embedded complement is
not a full clause, and I will look at each of these diagnostics in turn in the following
section.
3.3 Embedded complement size
There are two syntactic tests which, when taken together, corroborate the claim that the
embedded complement is a vP, and not a CP or TP. The aspect-modality test and the
13
disjoint time-adverbials test. Before looking at those diagnostics, however, it is important
to show that the complement is actually a full-fledged predicate.
One characteristic of verb-hood in Thai is the ability to host negation. Following
Visonyanggoon’s (2000) and Jenks’s (2011) analyses of Thai, I assume that negation in
Lao can occupy the specifier position of any verbal projection, either VP or TP, as seen in
(20) and (21) below.
(20) a. b. (Jenks 2011:282 ex. 42)
Having a negation phrase in a spec,VP is possible because of the lack of ditransitive
verbs in Lao. In order for three-place predicates to be expressed, one of the arguments
must either be in an “extra-clausal position,” or a second verb is added to form a serial
verb construction (Enfield 2007). And, like Jenks (2011), I must assume that T has
multiple specifier positions to provide a landing site for the subject when NegP is in
spec,TP.
Assuming that negative markers can target spec,VP positions, negation, then, is a
reliable test for verb-hood in Lao as well. In the thùùk construction, either the matrix
verb, the embedded verb, or both can be negated. Thus, is grammatical when both
14
instances of bò occur, but recall that because thùùk only contributes presuppositional
meaning, the interpretation of the sentence does not change when the negation occurs
twice rather than just once.
(21) Majtii
Maitee
( bò
NEG
) thùùk
suffer
Nòòj
Noy
( bò
NEG
) hêt
make
haj
cause
lot
car
laaw
3SG
phêê
break
‘Maitee didn’t suffer Noy breaking his car.’
Example (21) establishes that the lower clause is indeed a predicate but offers no insight
into the size of the clause. As Jenks (2011) suggests for Thai, if this is a full clause, we
expect it to display the entire range of aspectual-modal marking characteristics of verbs.
The irrealis (IRR) markers si or ca are possible in prototypical non-finite clauses in Lao,
as (22) and (23) show for the control verbs jaak ‘want’ and phanyaanaam ‘try’.
(22) Nòòj
Noy
phanyaanaam
try
si
IRR
paj
go
talaat
market
‘Noy will try to go to the market.’
(23) man
3sg
jaak
want
ca
IRR
paj
go
‘She wants to go.’ (Enfield 2007: ex. 1227)
However, absolutely no aspectual-modal marking is possible in the lower complement of
the thùùk construction.
(24) * Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
lot
car
si
IRR
tam
crash
Noy suffers the car will hit her.’
15
(25) * Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
lot
car
ca
IRR
tam
crash
Noy suffers the car will hit her.’
(26) Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
lot
car
kamlang
PROG
tam
crash
‘Noy suffers the car hitting her.’
In (24) and (25), the irrealis markers si and ca are used in the lower complement and the
sentences are ungrammatical. The same is true with the progressive, kamlang, shown in
(26). This is expected if the lower complement is a vP, but incompatible with an analysis
which posits that the lower complement is a CP or TP. This is not due to general
restrictions on irrealis modality in the adversative construction, however. Irrealis markers
are perfectly grammatical when following the matrix subject (27).
(27) Nòòj
Noy
si
IRR
thùùk
suffer
lot
car
tam
crash
‘Noy will suffer the car hitting her.’
A second, albeit weaker, diagnostic for complement size is the disjoint time-
adverbial test. Fukuda (2008), while arguing that aspectual verbs in English are
functional heads, notes the well-documented fact that infinitives can have two
mismatched time-adverbials, modifying both the matrix event and the non-finite event, as
in (28) below.
(28) a. Yesterday, John decided to leave tomorrow. (Fukuda 2008: ex. 11)
b. Today, John hopes to win someday.
16
These conflicting time-adverbials are not compatible with aspectual verbs (29), however,
and Fukuda (2008) takes that as evidence that the complement size for English aspectual
verbs is smaller than a TP.
(29) a. ??Yesterday, John began to leave tomorrow. (Fukuda 2008: ex. 12)
b. ??Today, the law ceased to have its effect tomorrow.
Although complements formed with the verbs try and force pose serious problems for
this analysis of English, this syntactic test is suggestive of, and consistent with, there not
being a T node in the complement, and has been used as evidence of the presence or
absence of a TP (Polinsky and Potsdam (2008) for Indonesian and Nomoto and Wahab
(2012) for Malay). The prediction is that if the complement is at least a TP, disjoint time-
adverbials should each be able to target individual T nodes and be grammatical in these
constructions. However, if Nomoto and Wahab (2012) and Jenks (2011) are correct, and
the complement of these adversative constructions is a vP, mismatched time-adverbials
should cause the derivation to crash. The data are consistent with the later analysis.
(30) * mùù-nii
today
nòòng
y.sister
khòòj
1SG
thùùk
suffer
hua-naa
boss
daa
insult
mùù-vaan-nii
yesterday
‘Today my sister suffered her boss insulting her yesterday.’
As seen in the examples above, the ungrammaticality of (30) suggests that the
complement of thùùk is smaller than a TP or CP, which is consistent with a vP analysis of
the lower complement (Jenks 2011; Nomoto and Wahab 2012).
17
3.4 Verbs compatible with the thùùk construction
There are selectional restrictions on verbs appearing in the complement of a thùùk
construction in Lao; notably verbs of state and unaccusative verbs are disallowed. These
same restrictions are found in Thai (Lekawatana 1979) and Malay (Nomoto and Wahab
2012). Nomoto and Wahab (2012) claim that the ban on stative verbs participating in
these affected constructions is a natural result of stative verbs being low in the
affectedness hierarchy, shown in (31) below.
(31) The Affectedness Hierarchy (Beavers 2011 as cited in Nomoto & Wahab 2012)
The result is that dynamic verbs like beng ‘look’ and hien ‘learn’ are compatible
with thùùk, but stative verbs like hên ‘see’ and huu ‘know’ are not.
(32) nak-hian
student
thùùk
suffer
qacaan
teacher
beng
look
‘The student was negatively affected by the teacher’s staring.’
(33) * nak-hian
student
thùùk
suffer
qacaan
teacher
hên
see
‘The student was negatively affected by the teacher’s seeing’
quantized change > non-quantized
change
> potential for
change
> unspecified for
change
accomplishments/
achievements
degree
achievements/
cutting
surface
contact/
impact
other
activities/
states
(break, shatter) (widen, cool, cut) (wipe, hit) (see, smell)
18
(34) sudaa
Suda
thùùk
suffer
bang-khap
compel
hien
learn
nang-sùù
book/subject
‘Suda was compelled to study the book/subject.’
(35) * sudaa
Suda
thùùk
suffer
haj
cause
huu
know
nang-sùù
book/subject
‘Suda was made to know the book/subject.’
Furthermore, unaccusative verbs are incompatible with thùùk constructions in Lao. This
contrasts with what Bruening and Tran (2013) report for a similar construction in
Vietnamese. This can be seen in (36) and (37).
(36) * Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
hu-nuak
ear-deaf
‘Noy suffered being deaf.’
(37) * Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
ta-bòòt
blind
‘Noy suffered being blind.’
As (38) and (39) demonstrate, unergative verbs like haak ‘vomit’ are possible in the
embedded complement.
(38) Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
haak
vomit
‘Noy suffered vomiting.’
(39) khòòj
1sg
thùùk
suffer
Nòòj
Noy
haak
vomit
saj
on
sùa
shirt
‘I suffered Noy vomited on my shirt.’
(based on Bruening and Tran (2013:26 ex. 90))
19
Thus, the verbal restrictions on the thùùk construction are comparable to
adversative constructions in some other languages (e.g. Thai and Malay, noted above). I
propose that the incompatibility of unaccusative verbs and the thùùk construction is due
to the structural properties of unaccusatives. Assuming that unaccusatives in Lao do not
project a vP functional head, the minimum-sized complement that thùùk requires is a vP.
4 Movement or no movement?
In all of the Lao adversative constructions seen so far, there has been a relationship
between an argument slot in the lower verb and the subject of thùùk (40).
(40) Nòòji
Noy
thùùk
suffer
lot
car
tam
crash
ei
‘Noyi suffered a car hitting (heri).’
As demonstrated by (40), the transitive verb tam ‘hit’ generally requires an object, yet
there is not object present in the thùùk construction above. A variety of explanations for
the relationship between the matrix subject and this gap in the complement have been
proposed for the Thai adversative, most relying on some type of movement. Some of the
earliest analyses of the adversative construction in Thai, in keeping with the idea that this
is an English-like passive construction, proposed an A-movement account (Chaiyaratana
1961) of the relationship between the matrix subject and the gap in the complement.
Others, Sudmuk (2003) and Kim (2013), have made the case for A’-movement, in the
spirit of Huang’s of the long bei construction in Mandarin (Huang 1999; Huang et al.
2009). Finally, arguments for a non-movement account of the data have been made,
which is the analysis Wongbaisaij (1979) and Jenks (2011) adopt in their accounts of the
20
thuuk5 construction in Thai, and what Bruening and Tran (2013) argue is the case the
Vietnamese adversative. In this section I will consider the Lao data in light of these
different approaches and see which has more explanatory power.
An A(rgument)-movement analysis of the thùùk construction can quickly be ruled
out for several reasons. First of all, NP movement should leave a gap in all instances; the
presence of a resumptive pronoun would be unexpected if the operation involves A-
movement (Huang 1999). However, resumptive pronouns, and even R-expressions
functioning as pronouns, are free to alternate with a gap in both short and long thùùk
constructions in Lao, as seen in (41).
(41) a. Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
lot
car
tam
crash
laaw
3SG
‘Noy suffered the car hitting her.’
b. Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
tam
crash
laaw
3sg
‘Noy suffered something hitting her.’
Secondly, long distance movement should not be allowed in this account, due to Rizzi’s
(1990) notions of relativized minimality which prohibits A-movement from occurring
when there are intervening elements.
(42) a. Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
Còòj
Joy
vaaw
say
vaa
comp
lot
car
tam
crash
‘Noy suffered Joy saying that the car hit her.’
21
b. Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
Còòj
Joy
vaaw
say
vaa
comp
tam
crash
‘Noy suffered Joy saying that something hit her.’
(43) lot
car
khan
CLF
nan
TOP
, khòòj
1SG
khit
think
vaa
COMP
Nòòj
Noy
vaaw
say
vaa
COMP
laaw
3SG
mak
like
( man
3SG
)
‘That car, I think that Noy said he liked (it).’
In (42), the matrix subject Nooj ‘Noy’ is co-referential with the object of the embedded
verb across a clause boundary, while (43) is an example of long distance topicalization in
Lao, and topicalization is considered prototypical A’-movement.
The similarities between the thùùk construction and topicalization do not end
here; we will see later that this construction is also sensitive to island violations, and
while I assume that both A and A’-movement are sensitive to islands, A-movement out of
islands is generally blocked by intervening arguments, and therefore difficult to observe.
The thùùk construction also allows long distance dependencies in both the long and short
form, and patterns with topicalization. Finally, an A-movement analysis predicts that the
subject position must be non-thematic and that thùùk has only one Θ-role to assign.
However, in the following section I discuss the thematic role assigned to the subject of
thùùk, which also argues against this account. Next, I will look at how a non-movement
analysis might handle the Lao data.
4.1 Non-movement
A non-movement account of the thùùk construction would be similar to what has been
called prolepsis (Davies 2005; Higgins 1981). The matrix subject must be base-generated
22
in the matrix clause and then be coindexed with a pronoun (either null or overt,
depending on the language) in the complement. A representative structure is in (44).
(44)
Bruening and Tran (2013) give a comprehensive non-movement account for the similar
bi construction in Vietnamese. They propose that there is a lambda operator in spec,vP
(VoiceP in their terminology) which binds a pronoun somewhere in the lower clause.
They call this pronoun a variable, and it can be overt or null but it must be present or the
derivation crashes. While the authors do not use the term prolepsis in their discussion, the
parallel behavior and analysis reveal that they are comparable approaches. The two
primary characteristics Bruening and Tran (2013) note as evidence for non-movement
are: immunity from island effects and a non-thematic matrix subject. They also claim it is
a more parsimonious solution for “possessive constructions.” I will look at Bruening and
Tran’s (2013) arguments for a non-movement analysis in Vietnamese and show that these
cannot account for the Lao data.
23
4.1.1 Islands
First of all, Bruening and Tran (2013) argue that the bi construction in Vietnamese is
immune from island effects. One of the examples they give is similar to the Lao example
in (45), and they claim that the variable in the complement is bound while inside a
coordinate island.
(45) Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
laaj
many
khon
people
daa
insult
laaw
3SG
kap
with
phua
husband
‘Noy suffered many people insulting her and (her) husband.’
On the surface, Lao also seems to be binding a possessive pronoun inside a coordinate
island. But similar behavior in topicalized constructions make these data unconvincing
evidence for a non-movement analysis. Topicalized constructions also allow this type of
island “violation,” which is problematic for non-movement accounts. Bruening and
Tran’s (2013) solution was to propose that there are multiple types of topicalization in
Vietnamese, one of which does not involve movement.
(46) Nòòj
Noy
han-laq
TOP
laaj
many
khon
people
daa
insult
*( laaw
3SG
) kap
with
phua
husband
‘Noy, many people insulted her and (her) husband.’
The apparent island violations seen in (45) and (46) above are due to language specific
facts about Lao genitives. Overt genitive markers are often dropped in Lao, and the
possession relation can be interpreted even across coordinated elements as (47)
demonstrates.
24
(47) Nòòj
Noy
kap
with
phua
husband
( khòòng
POSS
laaw
3SG
) paj
go
talaat
market
‘Noy and (her) husband went to the market4.’
The thùùk construction is clearly sensitive to other types of islands, however. (48)
and (49) show that when the variable is inside of a DP island, the clause is
ungrammatical, and (50) shows the same for adjunct islands. Here the facts about Lao
diverge from what Bruening and Tran (2013) report for Vietnamese, where sentences
similar to (48)-(50) were found to be grammatical. These judgments are not
uncontroversial, however, as Simpson and Ho (2008) do find sensitivity to islands in
Vietnamese adversatives.
(48) * Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
tamluat
policeman
bò
NEG
cap
catch
phuu
person
thii
REL
pun
rob
(laaw)
3SG
‘Noy suffered the police not catching the person who robbed her.’
(49) ? Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
tamluat
policeman
sang
order
khon
people
sòòk
search
hên
see
phuu
person
thii
REL
suaaj
help
(laaw)
3SG
‘Noy suffered the police ordering people to look for the person who helped her.’
(50) * Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
thuk-thuk
every
khon
person
tii
hit
Còòj
Joy
nyòòn
due.to
( laaw
3SG
)
Noy suffered everyone criticizing Joy due to her.
More convincing, perhaps, is the fact that topicalized constructions show the same
patterns of ungrammaticality in islands.
4 This could also mean someone else’s husband, so there are multiple interpretations
available, although the most salient is the translation presented in (52).
25
(51) * Nòòj
Noy
han-laq
TOP
tamluat
policeman
bò
NEG
cap
catch
phuu
person
thii
REL
pun
rob
( laaw
3SG
)
‘Noy, the police did not catch the person who robbed her.’
(52) ?Nòòj
Noy
han-laq
TOP
tamluat
policeman
sang
order
khon
people
sòòk
search
hên
see
phuu
person
thii
REL
suaaj
help
(laaw)
3SG
‘Noy, the police ordered people to look for the person who helped her.’
(53) * Nòòj
Noy
han-laq
TOP
thuk-thuk
every
khon
people
tii
hit
Còòj
Joy
nyòòn
due.to
( laaw
3SG
)
'Noy, everyone criticized Joy due to her.'
Although at first glance these constructions do not appear to be sensitive to island
constraints, when language specific facts about Lao are considered, the evidence is
clearly supports an A’-movement analysis. A further blow to the non-movement analysis
for the Lao data is the fact that the matrix subject is thematic.
4.1.2 Non-thematic subjects
The issue of whether the subject of these constructions is thematic or non-thematic will
also provide an indication of the structure of this thùùk construction. When Huang (1999)
argued for an A’-movement account of bei in Mandarin, he stated that bei gives the
thematic role of ‘experiencer’ to its subject. Bruening and Tran (2013) make the case that
the related verb bi in Vietnamese has a non-thematic subject. They reason that
experiencer theta roles can only be assigned to sentient beings and these argument slots
must therefore be restricted. For example, the English verb fear cannot have a non-
sentient subject like rock because it assigns an experiencer theta role. (Bruening and Tran
26
2013) argue that because the verb bi allows non-sentient subjects, bi cannot give an
experiencer theta role. Inanimate subjects are also allowed in the Lao thùùk construction
as (54) demonstrates.
(54) dòòk-maj
flower
thùùk
suffer
Majtii
Maitee
kêp
pick
paj
go
lèèw
already
‘(The speaker) suffered Maitee picking (the speaker’s) flower.’
When there is no overt genitive marker on the subject, the inanimate object is interpreted
to be possessed by the speaker and therefore the speaker is affected in the scenario. If the
inanimate subject is possessed by someone else, then the possessor is the one who is
affected, and it is impossible for the speaker to be affected.
(55) tang
chair
Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
Majtii
Maitee
hêt
make
haj
cause
phêê
break
‘Noy suffered Maitee breaking her chair.’
In (55), the only person that can be affected by the breaking event is Noy because it was
Noy’s chair and not the speaker’s. In Lao, then, possessed objects must be seen as
extensions of the possessor, and that is why they are able to take an experiencer thematic
role. The final argument for a non-movement account of this construction is the
explanatory power it has for an interesting variant which I will call the “possessive
construction,” following Bruening and Tran (2013).
4.1.3 Possessive constructions
Possessive varieties of the adversative construction exist in Lao, Thai, Vietnamese, and
Mandarin. As noted above, in typical thùùk constructions, an overt or covert pronoun in
27
the complement is coindexed with the matrix subject. In possessive constructions, the
relationship between the matrix subject and embedded element is one of possession, not
co-indexation. They are characterized by the matrix subject being a possessor of an
element in the lower clause as in the following Lao examples.
(56) Majtii
Maitee
thùùk
suffer
Nòòj
Noy
hêt
make
haj
cause
lot
car
phêê
break
‘Maitee suffered Noy breaking (his) car.’
(57) laaw
3SG
thùùk
suffer
phua
husband
paj
go
nòòn
sleep
kap
with
phu-ùùn
CLF.person-other
‘She suffered (her) husband sleeping with someone else.’ (Based on Enfield
2007:1267)
Bruening and Tran (2013) argue that possessive constructions similar to these in
Vietnamese are evidence against a movement account. In Vietnamese, possessor
extraction is not possible in cleft constructions, and there is no external possessor
construction that could explain why they are permitted in the bi construction. Therefore,
positing that extraction out of possessives in the bi construction is allowed, but extraction
out of possessives in all other cases is ungrammatical is a problematic feature of a
movement account. The situation in Lao, however, is much different. It is perfectly
acceptable to extract out of possessives in cleft constructions, as seen in (58), and
topicalized structures, as in (59), as well as in the thùùk construction seen in (57) above.
(58) ( men
COP
) phuu
person
saaj
man
nan
TOP
thii
REL
caaw
2SG
lak
steal
vên
glass
taa
eye
( laaw
3SG
)
‘(It) was the man whose glasses you stole.’
28
59) dek
child
nòòj
small
han-laq
TOP
, caaw
2SG
sùù
buy
kaaj
chicken
( khòng
poss
laaw
3SG
)
‘The child, you bought (his/her) chicken.’
In (58), the clefted element phuu saaj ‘man’ has a possessive relationship with the object
vên taa ‘glasses,’ though I am assuming that the former has undergone A’-movement,
following the structure proposed for Thai clefts in Ruangjaroon (2005). Similarly in (64),
dek nòòj ‘child’ is interpreted as the possessor of kaaj ‘chicken.’ Therefore, because Lao
seemingly allows A’-movement out of genitives, the possessive thùùk construction
described above does not preclude a movement analysis. In this next section, I will look
at an A’-movement analysis, and show that it is the best fit for the Lao data.
4.2 A’-movement: (Kim 2013; Sudmuk 2003)
Both Sudmuk (2003) and Kim (2013), in their analyses of the adversative construction in
Thai, argue that the obligatory co-reference between the matrix subject and the gap in the
complement is obtained through A’-movement. This analysis borrows heavily from
Huang’s (1999) analysis of the Chinese bei construction, which shares properties with the
Thai and Lao adversative constructions. Huang (1999) and Huang et al. (2009)5 note that
long bei constructions in Chinese have some properties of movement as well as
properties of non-movement. The compromise solution is similar to Chomsky’s (1977)
analysis of tough movement constructions in English. In this proposal, the movement
characteristics of the structure are captured by the fact that there is A’-movement of a
5 Recall that Huang et al. (2009) analyze the short form of bei as A-movement and the
long form as A’-movement
29
null operator, and the non-movement characteristics are explained by the fact that there is
no overt movement of the matrix subject. The structure that I propose for the thùùk
construction in Lao is in (60) below.
(60) a. Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
lot
car
tam
crash
‘Noy suffered a car hitting her.’
b.
In this Null Operator (NOP) account, we expect not only the sensitivity to islands and
long distance dependencies observed in the data above, but also evidence of the subject
being base generated in the matrix clause.
30
Kim (2013) argues that idiom chunks and asymmetrical quantifier scope are two
diagnostics arguing for the surface subject being base-generated in the matrix clause.
Assuming that idioms retain their idiomatic interpretation only when they are base-
generated as a unit, the lack of reconstruction effects when idiomatic expressions are used
in thùùk constructions is telling. In (61), the Lao phrase paj thaaj naa lùùm khuaj has the
idiomatic meaning of ‘forgetting the most important thing,’ but this meaning is
disallowed inside thùùk constructions, as shown in (63).
(61) Nòòj
Noy
paj
go
thaaj
plow
naa
field
lùùm
forget
khuaj
buffalo
Literally: ‘Noy went to plow the field but forgot the buffalo.’
Idiomatic: ‘Noy forgot the most important thing.’
The idiomatic meaning is preserved when used with a typical raising verb like khùù-siq
‘seem.’
(62) Nòòj
Noy
khùù-siq
seem
paj
go
thaaj
plow
naa
field
lùùm
forget
khuaj
buffalo
Idiomatic: ‘Noy seemed to forget the most important thing.’
But, in thùùk constructions, the idiomatic meaning is unavailable. The only interpretation
of (63) is that Noy forgot an actual buffalo when leaving to plow the field and it
negatively affected her. This sentence would not be able to spoken about people in other
situations who forgot the most important tool to doing their job, such as a teacher
forgetting his or her pen, or a soldier forgetting his or her gun. Under the assumption that
idiom chunks retain their idiomatic meaning only when base-generated together as a unit,
31
the lack of idiomatic meaning in thùùk constructions suggests that the idiom chunk is not
base-generated together.
(63) Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
paj
go
thaaj
plow
naa
field
lùùm
forget
khuaj
buffalo
Literal: ‘Noy suffered going to plow the field and forgetting her buffalo.’
Idiomatic: *‘Noy suffered forgetting the most important thing.’
Secondly, as Kim (2013) shows for Thai, asymmetrical quantifier binding is
further evidence that the surface subject is not derived through movement, but rather
base-generated in the matrix clause. Quantifiers are able to have scope over elements that
they c-command, but not over nonc-commanded elements. For example, the sentence in
(64) means that each child read a book different from what the other children read.
(64) Jonny said every child read some book.
In (64), every has scope over the DP some book. Typically, A’-movement shows
evidence of reconstruction effects in quantifier scope. Or, quantifiers can bind elements
that they don’t appear to c-command. In (65), the quantifier every still binds the DP some
book, though the DP has been topicalized and is now no longer c-commanded by every.
The same is true of wh-movement, shown in (66), where which book is still bound by
every.
(65) [Some book]i, Jonny said every child read ti.
(66) [Which book]i did Jonny say every child read ti?
32
The reasoning is that quantifiers are able to bind unpronounced copies or traces because
these copies are still c-commanded by the quantifier. The c-command relation is
reconstructed and allows the sentences to be grammatical. In thùùk, however, this
reconstruction effect is not observed, which is expected if the subject is base-generated in
the matrix clause.
(67) a. thuk-thuk
every
khon
person
thùùk
suffer
mêê
mother
khòòng
POSS
laaw
3SG
tii
hit
'Every person was hit by their mother.' Based on Kim (2013:21)
b. * luuk
child
khòòng
POSS
laaw
3SG
thùùk
suffer
thuk-thuk
every
mêê
mother
tii
hit
‘His child was hit by every mother.’
The fact that the matrix quantifier can bind the c-commanded DP mêê khòòng laaw ‘his
mother’, as in (67a), but not bind luuk khòòng laaw ‘his child’, (67b), shows that
reconstruction is not possible in this construction. While the lack of reconstruction effects
do not completely eliminate the possibility of overt A’-movement, they are consistent
with an analysis proposing that this is a case of NOP movement in the complement, not
overt A’-movement of an element in the complement to an A’-position in the matrix
clause.
The NOP account is also able to explain data where the matrix subject is co-
referential with something other than the object of the complement. Examples of these
are the possessive constructions discussed above (repeated in (68)) and constructions
where the matrix subject is co-referential with the complement agent as in (69).
33
(68) laaw
3SG
thùùk
suffer
phua
husband
paj
go
nòòn
sleep
kap
with
phu-ùùn
CLF.person-other
‘She suffered (her) husband sleeping with someone else.’
(69) nèè-nòòn
definitely
haw
1SG
tòòng
oblig
thùùk
suffer
son
fight
‘I will definitely have to fight (against my will).’ (Enfield 2007:ex. 1267)
The null operator in the possessive construction, as in (68), is base-generated as an
external possessor and then moves up to spec,vP; the same landing site occupied by the
NOP in a typical thùùk construction. This is in line with an analysis of external
possession proposed by Tellier (1991) where the anaphoric possessor element is a null
operator. A diagram of the proposed structure of (68) is in (70) below.
(70)
34
Similarly, when the co-indexed argument is the agent of the lower phrase rather than the
patient, the NOP is base-generated in the spec,vP position and is available for co-
indexation with the matrix subject, as (71) shows below.
(71)
Note that there is no A’-movement of a NOP in this structure, because there is no
evidence for movement occurring. However, this point is not essential to the analysis. If
future work reveals evidence of movement, it can be modified accordingly.
In thùùk constructions which contain resumptive pronouns rather than a gap, as in
(72), I assume that A’-movement is still occurring but the lower copy rather than the
higher copy is being pronounced at spell-out.
35
(72) Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
lot
car
tam
crash
laaw
3SG
‘Noy suffered the car hitting her.’
Next, I investigate differences between the long and short thùùk construction in
Lao in terms of the logical subject or agent of the lower verb.
4.3 Long and short forms of thùùk
When agents are present in the long form form of the thùùk construction, they are not
prepositional arguments. In example (73) below, the agent of the phrase remains in its
unmarked preverbal position. When a prepositional agent is used, as in (74), the sentence
becomes ungrammatical.
(73) Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
laaw
3SG
cup
kiss
‘Noy suffered him kissing her.’
(74) * Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
duaj
by
cup
kiss
laaw
3SG
‘Noy suffered being kissed by him.’
The Lao data above contrast with Prasithrathsint’s (2006) work on the adversative
construction in Thai, where she argues that thuuk has become a fully grammaticalized
passive morpheme. She speculates that this possibly happened through language contact
with English during the British colonial period. The Thai example in (75) below shows
that it is acceptable for an agent to be demoted to a prepositional argument.
36
(75) rook
disease
chanit
kind
nii
this
thuuk
suffer
khon-phop
discover
dooy
by
nak-wittayaasaat
scientist
chaaw-ciin
Chinese
‘This kind of disease was discovered by a Chinese scientist.’
(Prasithrathsint 2006: ex. 18)
In the short form of the thùùk construction, however, it does appear that the agent is
obviated and not syntactically present, rather than being a null pronominal. I assume that
the implicit arguments found in Lao adversatives are interpreted as existential quantifiers.
Evidence for this comes from the fact that agent-oriented adverbs are ungrammatical with
the short form, and that quantifiers cannot bind the null agent as a pro. As Pimsawat
(2011) shows for Thai, and I demonstrate in the Lao data below, agent-oriented adverbs
are incompatible with the short form of thùùk (76) and (77), but grammatical with the
long form (78).
(76) * Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
tam
crash
bòò
NEG
samuncaaj
willingly
‘Noy suffered something hitting her unwillingly.’
(77) * Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
tang
intentionally
tii
hit
‘Noy suffered someone intentionally hitting her.’
(78) Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
Còòj
Joy
tang
intentionally
tii
hit
laaw
3SG
‘Noy suffered Joy intentionally hitting her.’
These data show that existential quantifiers are incompatible with agent-oriented adverbs
in Lao, but pronominal arguments, realized or covert, are not. The same behavior can be
seen in topicalization. In (79), an overt pronoun is filling the subject slot, and therefore
37
the adverb tang ‘intentionally’ is possible. However, in (80), only the readings where the
gap is interpreted as a pro rather than an existential quantifier are allowed. So (80) can
mean that a previously mentioned he or she intentionally stole the car, but not that an
existential someone intentionally stole it.
(79) lot
car
ni
TOP
, laaw
3SG
tang
intentionally
lak
steal
qaw
take
( man
3SG
)
‘The car, he intentionally stole (it).’
(80) lot
car
ni
TOP
, pro tang
intentionally
lak
steal
qaw
take
‘The car, (*someone/he or she/the speaker) intentionally stole (it).’
The thùùk data above contrast with English passives. Baker et al. (1989) showed
that English passives are possible with agent-oriented adverbs as in (81), and used that
fact as evidence for the syntactic presence of the logical subject.
(81) This bureaucrat was bribed deliberately. (Baker et al. 1989: ex. 8)
Further evidence for an obviated agent comes from quantifier binding. As Kim
(2013) shows for Thai, a universal quantifier in the matrix clause can bind the existential
quantifier in the embedded complement but not a pro. Examples (82) and (83) are Lao
equivalents of Kim’s (2013) Thai data.
(82) thuk-thuk
every
khon
person
jaak
want
haj
for
Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
tii
hit
‘Every person wants for Noy to suffer someone hitting her.’
*‘Every person wants for Noy to suffer them hitting her.’ (Based on Kim (2013))
38
When there is an implicit subject, as in (82), the only interpretation available is one with
an existential pronoun, and the reading with a null pro is unavailable.
(83) thuk-thuk
every
khon
person
jaak
want
haj
for
Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
ka-caaw
3PL
tii
hit
‘Every person wants for Noy to suffer them hitting her.’
In the long form version in (83), the quantifier is able to bind an overt pronoun. The
structure that I propose for the short form of this construction is in (84).
(84) a. Nòòj
Noy
thùùk
suffer
tam
crash
Noy suffered being hit.
b.
39
5 Conclusion
In this paper I have argued that the subject of thùùk receives an affectee thematic role that
is non-truth conditional; it cannot be negated and does not project past yes/no questions.
Using novel data from negation, modality marking, and prosody as evidence, I have made
a case for thùùk being a full lexical verb which selects for a vP complement and is not a
functional head, as proposed by Kim (2013) for a similar construction in Thai. I have also
analyze the obligatory co-reference between the matrix subject and the embedded
element as instances of A’-movement of a null operator (NOP), similar to Chomsky’s
(1977) account of tough movement in English and Sudmuk’s (2003) and Kim’s (2013)
accounts of adversative constructions in Thai. The embedded element is sensitive to
island violations and allows long-distance dependencies which is indicative of A’-
movement. However, asymmetrical quantifier scope and the lack of idiom reconstruction
effects provide evidence for an analysis in which the subject of thùùk is base-generated in
the matrix clause.
There are also several important distinctions between Thai and Lao with regard
to the thùùk construction. The Thai and Lao thùùk verbs have diverged and the Thai
construction shares many` characteristics with a more typical passive. Prasithrathsint
(2006) examined the development of the thùùk marker over time in Thai, and
demarcates its transformation into eight stages. Stage 6 is described as an “adversative
passive marker” (p. 123) while stage 7 is a “neutral passive marker” (p. 124).
Prasithrathsint (2006) argues that the force behind the change in thùùk towards a neutral
passive marker is language contact with English during the British colonial era.
40
If it is the case that the use of thùùk as a passive marker in Thai developed
through exposure to English, then why has the thùùk marker in Lao not changed in a
similar way? One culprit might be the fact that Thai actually has two verbs which can be
used a construction similar to the Lao thùùk construction discussed above. The verb
thùùk, which it shares in common with Lao, and doon, which also means ’to suffer, or
undergo’ (Kim 2013). Thai might have co-opted the thùùk as a neutral passive because
the more affected versions of the constructions could still be formed with doon. In fact,
Prasithrathsint (2006) states that 90% of the instances of thùùk today are as a neutral
passive marker, while Prasithrathsint (2001) shows that doon is now replacing thùùk as
the affected marker of choice in Thai. Because Lao has only the single verb that is able
to form this affected construction, it might be more resistant to changing thùùk into a
passive marker.
Because this construction appears to be common to several SE Asian and East
Asian languages, e.g. Thai, Vietnamese, Khmer, Malay, and Mandarin, the area seems
ripe for further research to uncover exactly what the constructions have in common, but
also what differences are present. Prasithrathsint (2004: 584) notes that Thai,
Vietnamese, Khmer, and Malay all have constructions which bear considerable
resemblance to the thùùk construction in Lao.
(85) khaaw
3SG
thuuk
ADVRS
khaa
kill
‘S/he was killed.’ Thai (Prasithrathsint 2004:584)
41
(86) Quang
Quang
bi
ADVRS
( bao
Bao
) ghet
detest
‘Quang is detested (by Bao)' Vietnamese (Keenan 1985, 260-261)
(87) ki
3sg
trəw
ADVRS
wəy
beat
‘S/he was beaten.’ Khmer (Prasithrathsint 2004:585)
(88) budak
boy
jahat
naughty
itu
the
kena
ADVRS
pukul
beat
‘The naughty boy was beaten.’ Malay (Sulaiman 1995:121)
Similar to what I propose for Lao, researchers have claimed that the internal complement
is a vP for most of these languages Jenks (2011) and Kim (2013) for Thai, Bruening and
Tran (2013) for Vietnamese, and Nomoto and Wahab (2012) for Malay. The semantics of
the verbs used in these constructions cross-linguistically are much the same as well.
According to Prasithrathsint (2004), thùùk in Thai, bi in Vietnamese, trw in Khmer, and
kena in Malay all mean ’to come into contact with or undergo.’ This is very close to the
meaning of thùùk in Lao, which I translated as ’to hit or touch.’ But while this type of
construction seems to qualify as an areal feature of languages in mainland SE Asia, we
cannot assume that these constructions have no differences.
42
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