Brief overview Lahu grammar is highly
analytic. The basic word order is verb final. Particles carry much of the language's grammatical information, occurring at the end of phrases and both subordinate and main clauses, marking both clause type, as well as various aspectual and modal meanings. Multiverb constructions are frequently used to express complex events, and also have aspectual or valency altering functions.
Nouns and the noun phrase Nouns may be
monomorphemic, or be composed of a root plus an affix, such as gender marking suffixes, and several noun forming prefixes, which in some cases
derive a noun from a verb root. The most common of these prefixes is
ɔ̀-, which may historically have functioned as a more productive nominaliser, and also a marker of possession. Reduplication of nouns can have a few different meanings, such as indicating collectivity (all), emphasis, or
distributivity. Nouns do not inflect for
number or
case, though pronouns make a three way number distinction between singular, dual, and plural. Nouns, pronouns, and
demonstratives may be modified by a following
numeral+
classifier; classifiers are almost always used with numerals, the only exceptions being counting in the abstract, and doing maths. Classifiers encode information about the kind of noun being counted, or the measurement/quantity of it. For example,
g̈â is the classifier used when counting people,
câʔ is used for string-like objects, and
khɛ̂ for cupfuls of a substance. Round numerals like
chi "ten", and
ha "hundred", are also classifiers, as are some units of time, like
ni "day", and
qhɔ̀ʔ "year". Demonstratives distinguish three degrees of
deixis, and there are also two which encode either high or low elevation. There is also a demonstrative
chi which functions similarly to a
definite article.
Adjectives are a type of verb in Lahu, and cannot directly modify a noun as they do in English, instead, a
relative clause must be used, so instead of
good seats, a structure similar to
seats that (are) good would be used. Within the noun phrase, possessors precede
possessums, separated from them by the
particle ve, though the particle may sometimes be omitted, and this is always possible when the possessor is pronominal. Sometimes, an
ɔ̀- prefix on the possessum may also be omitted. There is a particle that follows
objects,
thàʔ, which is optional, usually used to clear up ambiguity or add emphasis. It may also follow
complement clauses, and it is common after
recipient objects, as these are usually human, and prone to being interpreted as the verb's agent. To specify locations,
spatial nouns or locative particles may be used.
Verbs and the verb phrase Verb phrases consist of at least one verb, though many consist of
two or more. Multiple verbs in sequence in a single verb phrase can encode distinct actions seen as part of a complex event, indicate both an action and its result (e.g.
g̈ɔ̀ tɔ̂ʔ "pull emerge", meaning "pull out"), add aspectual information such as with
pə̀ "finish", and can be used for meaning encoded with
subordinate clauses which use
to in English, like
help to or
teach to. They can also increase a verb phrase's
valency, by adding a
causee with a verb such as
cɨ "send on an errand" or
pî "give", though
pî "give" may also add a
third person benefactor, while
lâ "come" adds a first or second person benefactor. Some verb roots are historically related to other verb roots, one being a causative of the other, such as
dɔ̀ "drink" and
tɔ "give to drink", similar to English verb pairs like
sit and
set. Particles come at the end of the verb phrase, and can mark direction of movement,
reciprocity, and
aspectual or
modal meanings like completion, ongoing duration, desire, beginning,
future/
irrealis, and various particles that make a statement into a command. Unlike particles, adverbs precede the verb(s) in the verb phrase, and include the
negator mâ. As
mâ can be used to negate
adjectives, they are considered a subclass of verbs in Lahu.
Structure of the simple clause The verb phrase comes at the end of the
clause, and is the only obligatory element of a Lahu clause; overt arguments are often
dropped if obvious from context, and their order relative to each other is somewhat fluid. Locational or temporal reference usually precede noun phrases functioning as
arguments, and
content interrogative words normally come directly before the verb phrase. The word
yɔ̂/yò is used for
equational nominal predicates, while to form a negative equational predicate,
mâ hêʔ is used. Sentence final particles are extremely common, and often multiple occur. They can mark a sentence as being a statement, a request, or a question, with different particles being used for
polar vs
content questions, along with particles expressing doubt that the statement is true, or marking it as having been said by someone other than the speaker.
Complex clauses In addition to the noun forming prefixes mentioned earlier, Lahu also has
nominalising particles, which follow a clause, allowing it to function like a noun. Different particles make the nominalised clause refer to different participants, such as the performer of the action, the location, the time, or something used for carrying out the action. There is also a particle which renders a nominalisation referring to the event itself,
ve, the same morpheme used in adnominal possession. Clauses nominalised by it modify a noun in a noun phrase, functioning as a
relative clause. Nominalised clauses functioning as relative clauses usually precede the noun, though they may follow it if the verb has an adjectival meaning. Clauses nominalised with
ve also function as
complement clauses.
Coordinated or
adverbial clauses are also linked to a following clause with a final particle, encoding
conditional, temporal, and causal linkage, among others. == Vocabulary ==