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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Chhany Sak-Humphry 1996 11

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

~~~~~Chairp on /J. .

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f6~4~ Lf1-(/

0f1.0 cI OO/1fNp~

Chhany Sak-Humphry 1996

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IV

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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Chhany Sak-Humphry 1996 VI

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

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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

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LIST OF TABLES

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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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