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Article published In: Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area
Vol. 37:2 (2014) ► pp.151–180

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Reconstruction of Proto-Tai negators

 | Chulalongkorn University
Published online: 1 December 2014
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ltba.37.2.01pit
Based on comparative data from 64 modern Tai varieties, we propose that Proto-Tai had three distinct negators, namely *ɓawB, *mi and *pajB. These morphemes were distinguished from each other in terms of aspect. Moreover, we show that the Old Thai language represented by the literary classic Lilit Phra Lo, and the modern Tai dialect of Bao Yen are attestations of the reconstructed system. PT *ɓawB and *mi were probably used to negate stative verbs and dynamic verbs with volitional and habitual reading. In contrast, *pajB probably co-occurred with dynamic verbs as well as stative verbs interpreted as change of state. It is however unclear what the difference between *ɓawB and *mi was.
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