Article published In: Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area
Vol. 49:1 (2026) ► pp.1–17
De-intensifying intensifiers in North Khiamniungan
Published online: 16 February 2026
https://doi.org/10.1075/ltba.25012.tha
https://doi.org/10.1075/ltba.25012.tha
Abstract
This paper investigates the occurrence of ABB modifier patterns in Wolam Ngio (Glottolog:
wola1254), a North Khiamniungan variety, along with the closely related standard Thang variety which
serves as the standard dialect in India, as well as Kingphu Ngio spoken in neighbouring Myanmar. North Khiamniungan shows the ABB
pattern as one of many productive uses of reduplication. This paper builds upon previous work on the occurrence of reduplicated
modifiers in languages of Northeast India in which the bare stem A is followed by an often reduplicated morpheme B~B, which may or
may not be semantically transparent.
Keywords: Khiamniungan, reduplication, intensifiers
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1Data collection
- 2.Defining the pattern
- 3.Basic colour terms in northern Khiamniungan
- 4.Notable features of ABB modifiers in Khiamniungan
- 5.False ABB candidates
- 6.Sample word list
- 7.Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Notes
References
References (16)
Benedict, Paul K. 1972. Sino-Tibetan: A
conspectus. James A. Matisoff (ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Berlin, Brent & Paul Kay. 1969. Basic
color terms: Their universality and
evolution. Berkeley: University of California Press. (reprinted 1991)
Burling, R. 2004. The
language of the Modhupur Mandi (Garo) (Vol. 1). New Delhi: Bibliophile South Asia.
van Dam, Kellen Parker. 2018. A cross-varietal
description of modifiers of basic colour terms in Tangsa-Nocte. North East Indian
Linguistics 81, 47–64. Delhi: Cambridge University Press India.
. 2020. The syntax of intensifiers
in Muishaung. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman
Area 43(1). 19–36.
van Dam, Kellen Parker. (in
press). Patkaian (Northern
Naga). In Kristine Hildebrandt, Yankee Modi, David Peterson & Hiroyuki Suzuki (eds.), The
Oxford Handbook of the Tibeto-Burman
languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
van Dam, Kellen Parker & Bishakha Das. 2021. Reduplication
of intensifiers in Ollo (Laju) and Kasik (Khapa) Nocte. Workshop on ideophones and
interjections. Paris.
van Dam, Kellen Parker & Nora Muheim. 2023. Reduplicated
intensifiers in Tibeto-Burman and Tai: A possible Northeast areal feature. 3rd International
Conference of Tibeto-Burman Linguistics Association of North East India (ICTiBLANEI-3), 19-20 January,
2023, Silchar.
van Dam, Kellen Parker & Keen Thaam. 2023. A
first description of Wolam Ngio, a Khiamniungic language of Nagaland and Myanmar. 56th
International Conference on Sino–Tibetan Languages and Linguistics (ICSTLL56), 10-12 October
2023, Chulalongkorn
University, Bangkok.
. 2025. Wolam
Ngio, a Khiamniungic variety of Nagaland & Myanmar. Lesser Known Languages of Northeast
India. New Delhi: Mittal Publications.
Dixon, Robert M. W. 1977. Where have all the adjectives
gone?. Studies in
Language 1(1). 19–80. ([Reprinted
1982 in R. M. W. Dixon: Where have all the adjectives gone and other essays in syntax and semantics, pp.
1–62. Berlin: Mouton.]).
Kumar, Braj Bihari, T. P. Metha & S. Zen. 1974. Hindi
Khiamngan English dictionary. Kohima: Nagaland Bhasha Parishad.
Matisoff, James A. 2003. Handbook of Proto-Tibeto-Burman: System
and philosophy of Sino-Tibetan
reconstruction. Berkeley: University of California Press. [URL]