(173) *a-pi*          *cʰo a-ki*          *ni*
1SG.POSS-elder.sibling COMIT 1SG.POSS-younger.sibling DU
k-sw-ymw-tso-t-a-ndzì
AOR-CAUS-RECIP-understand-PST:TR-1SG-DU
'I helped my elder and younger brothers/sisters understanding each other.' (elicited)

The semi-object was then reinterpreted as the object, and forms such as *ta-suw-ymw-tso* in (174) were then reinterpreted as meaning ‘cause (words) to be understandable’ rather than ‘cause people to understand (words)’.<fnref n="38" /> The distributed property meaning of *amuw-* was then created by back-formation from this causative form.

(174) *tw-rju*          *ta-sw-ymw-tso*
INDEF.POSS-WORD AOR:3→3' -CAUS-???-understand
'He spoke clearly'. (Literally: 'He made the words understandable'; elicited)

When occurring on other verbs, however, the *amuw-* prefix expresses that the action spreads everywhere (within a particular location), without external agent. The verb *amuw-rmbuw* (derived from *rmbuw* 'heap up') is specifically used to describe food piled up high in a container (bowl or pot) to the point of filling it up completely, as in (175), in particular as the result of cooking.

(175) *fsosoz*          *ndyre, ty-amuw-rmbuw*          *zo.*
next.morning LNK AOR-DISTR-pile.up EMPH
'The next morning, [the bowl] was completely filled [with food].'
(2003kandZislama)

The verb *amuw-zwyr* (from *zwyr* ‘burn’) occurs to refer to the (non-controlled) spread of fire, as in (176).

(176) *taji t-ye*          *tce yndzyβ*          *a-m-y-t-y-luy*
drought AOR-come[II] LNK fire.hazard IRR-NEG-PFV-come.off
ra ma psw-ymw-zwyr mbat
be.needed:FACT LNK IPFV-DISTR-burn be.easy:FACT
'When there is a drought, there should not be a fire as it can spread easily.' (elicited)

<footnote n="38">³⁸Note that the meanings of the causative *sw-ymw-tso* are correlated with different orientation prefixes: EASTWARDS when meaning ‘cause to understand each other’ and ‘up’ when meaning ‘speak clearly’.</footnote>
It is also used metaphorically to describe the spread of information as in (177). This example illustrates two verbs with distinct sub-functions of the distributed property *amu-* prefix occurring with a common subject, suggesting a path of reanalysis from the first sub-function ('be known by everybody' → 'be known to everybody') to the second one ('be Xed everywhere').

(177) kwki yu u-teh'a numu, nwcimma zo rjylkh'yb
DEM.PROX GEN 3SG.POSS-news DEM immediately EMPH kingdom
nwtcu py-k-ymw-zwyr-ci tce py-k-ymw-swz-ci.
DEM:LOC IFR-PEG-DISTR-burn-PEG LNK IFR-PEG-DISTR-know-PEG

'The news about this spread in the whole kingdom like fire and became known to everyone.' (150820 meili de meiguihua-zh) {0006286#S79}

The verb *amuzyut* ‘be evenly distributed’, derived from the motion verb *zyut* ‘arrive’, also illustrates the spatially distributed meaning of the prefix *amu-* (originally ‘reach everywhere’). Note that despite the fact that the root *zyut* generally causes a /u/ → /r/ vowel change on derivational and inflectional prefixes directly attached to it (§14.2.2), it is not the case with *amu-*.

This verb *amuzyut* mainly occurs in a serial verb construction (§25.4.1). In (178), it shares the same subject and TAME category as the following verb *pu-łok* ‘(it) comes out’. It expresses the manner in which the action takes place, and has to be translated as the adverb ‘evenly’.

(178) ty-ndyr numu, [...] nu-βri rcanu,
INDEF.POSS-pustule DEM 3PL.POSS-body UNEXP:DEG
ku-so pu-me zo, pu-ymu-zyut zo
SBJ:PCP-be.empty IPFV-not.exist EMPH IPFV-DISTR-reach EMPH
pu-łok pu-ŋu.
IPFV-come.out SENS-be

'The pustules (...) come out evenly everywhere on their body, without any empty spot.' (27-kharwut) {0003698#S61}

When occurring with a transitive verb in this serial verb construction, the sig-
matic causative form *srymuzyut* ‘do evenly’ is used instead, as in (179) (§25.4.1.3).

(179) tce tamar kumy, nyki tcnorzi nu u-myu me,
LNK butter also FILLER alcohol.jar DEM 3SG.POSS-opening whether
u-qa me nura pu-sw-ymw-zyut zo
3SG.POSS-bottom whether DEM:PL IPFV-CAUS-DISTR-reach EMPH
pu-mar pu-ra

IPFV-smear SENS-be.needed

[The jar maker] also to apply butter evenly to the opening and the bottom of the alcohol jar.' (30-kWrAfcAr) {0003740#S58}

The distributed property amu- prefix is restricted to a handful of very lexicalized verbs. Hence, if the hypothesis of reanalysis from reciprocal presented above is valid, this process must have taken place in the remote past. The opposite hypothesis of reanalysis from the distributed property function to the reciprocal function also deserves to be taken into consideration.

## 18.8 Proprietive

The proprietive *sr-* prefix<fnref n="39" /> derives stative verbs from verbs of perception, feeling or some verbs of involuntary action. Table 18.10 presents representative examples of this derivation, which include some loanwords from Tibetan (*scit* ‘be happy’, *rga* ‘like’ and *βzi* ‘get drunk’ from skīd ‘be happy’, ḏ *dga* ‘like’ and ḏess *bzi* ‘be drunk’, respectively), showing that the proprietive prefix is productive.

The base verbs are mainly intransitive (proprietive verbs derived from semi-transitive and transitive verbs are treated in §18.8.3 and §18.8.4), and encode as subject the experiencer (*mu* ‘be afraid’, *scit* ‘be happy’) or a patientive argument suffering from the action (*cke* ‘get burned’, *ŋgio* ‘slip’).

The proprietive derivation removes this experiencer or patientive argument from the argument structure and promotes instead the stimulus to subject status. Compare for instance the base verb *mu* ‘be afraid’ whose subject is the experiencer feeling fear (180) with the proprietive *srγmu* ‘be frightening’ (181) whose subject is the entity causing fear to people.

(180) *nuz* rgγtpu *nuz* pjγ-mu tce,
DEM old.man DEM IFR.IPFV-be.afraid LNK

‘The old man was afraid.’ (140426 xiaohaizi he hua de shizi-zh)

{0003832#S10}

Example (181) also shows that the subject of the proprietive verb *srγ-mu* is the same referent as the object of the applicative verb *nuz-mu* ‘be afraid of’ derived from the same verb root (§17.4.1).

<footnote n="39">³⁹This category was previously referred to as ‘deexperiencer’ in previous publications, such as Jacques (2012c).</footnote>
<table><caption>Table 18.10: Examples of proprietive verbs in Japhug</caption><thead><tr><th>Base verb</th><th>Derived verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><i>mtsur</i> 'be hungry'</td><td><i>svmtsur</i> 'be a famine'</td></tr><tr><td><i>ngio</i> 'slip'</td><td><i>svŋŋio</i> 'be slippery'</td></tr><tr><td><i>audrt</i> 'slip'</td><td><i>saudrt</i> 'be slippery'</td></tr><tr><td><i>ke</i> 'get burned'</td><td><i>svke</i> 'be burning'</td></tr><tr><td><i>scit</i> 'be happy'</td><td><i>svscit</i> 'be pleasant'</td></tr><tr><td><i>βzi</i> 'get drunk'</td><td><i>svβzi</i> 'be very intoxicating'</td></tr><tr><td><i>nat</i> 'be tired'</td><td><i>svγnat</i> 'be exhausting'</td></tr><tr><td><i>mu</i> 'be afraid'</td><td><i>svγmu</i> 'be frightening'</td></tr><tr><td><i>duy</i> 'have enough of'</td><td><i>svγduy</i> 'be unpleasant'</td></tr><tr><td><i>rga</i> 'like'</td><td><i>svrga</i> 'be adorable'</td></tr><tr><td><i>tso</i> 'know, understand'</td><td><i>svtso</i> 'be understandable'</td></tr><tr><td><i>nyz</i> 'dare'</td><td><i>svnyz</i> 'be such that people dare to'</td></tr><tr><td><i>cʰa</i> 'can'</td><td><i>svcʰa</i> 'be such that people can'</td></tr><tr><td><i>mto</i> 'see'</td><td><i>svmto</i> 'be visible'</td></tr><tr><td><i>swz</i> 'know'</td><td><i>svswz</i> 'be known'</td></tr><tr><td><i>spa</i> 'be able'</td><td><i>svspa</i> 'be known'</td></tr><tr><td><i>mtsʰym</i> 'hear'</td><td><i>svmtsʰym</i> 'be audible'</td></tr><tr><td><i>rndu</i> 'obtain'</td><td><i>svrndu</i> 'be easy to find'</td></tr><tr><td><i>nuzduy</i> 'worry about'</td><td><i>svnuzduy</i> 'causing people to worry'</td></tr></tbody></table>

(181) *swŋgi numu pjγ-sγγ-mu* tce pjγ-nuy-mu
lion DEM IFR.IPFV-PROP-be.afraid LNK IFR.IPFV-APPL-be.afraid
*puŋ-ŋu*.

SENS-be

‘The lion<sub>i</sub> was terrifying and [the old man] was afraid of it<sub>i</sub>.’ (shizi yu nongfu-zh)

A minority of proprietive verbs allow the demoted experiencer to be encoded with the genitive, for instance *svscit* ‘be pleasant’ (from *scit* ‘be happy’) in (182), which takes as oblique experiencer *azuy* 1SG:GEN.

(182) *numu w-tcwn* nu fso tʰu-wxti tce tʰa azuy
DEM 3SG.POSS-SON DEM in.the.future AOR-be.big LNK later 1SG:GEN
*my-sγ-scit*

NEG-PROP-be.happy:FACT

‘When his son has grown up, it will not be a pleasant situation for me.’
(28-smAnmi) {0004063#S17}
In the case of the intransitive verbs *mtsur* ‘be hungry’ and *craik* ‘be thirsty’, the
proprietive derivation removes the experiencer from the argument structure of
the verb without adding a stimulus and the resulting proprietive verbs *srmtsur*
‘be a famine’ and *srccraik* ‘be a lack of drink’ have dummy subjects, as in (183).

(183) *tw-xpa tce, wuma pjy-sy-mtsur*
one-year LNK really IPFV.IFR-PROP-be.hungry
‘One year, there was a famine.’ (elicited)

**18.8.1 Allomorphy**

The main allomorph of the proprietive prefix is *sr-*. The variant *sa-* occurs when prefixed on a verb stem containing a cluster with a uvular preinitial (§3.5.4).

The proprietive prefix, like other derivations (§17.2.1.4)), had at an earlier stage
the allomorph *srγ-* with intrusive -y, but it ceased to be productive and remains
on only three verbs: *srγpat* ‘be exhausting’, *srγmu* ‘be frightening’ and *srγduy* ‘be
unpleasant’.

**18.8.2 Proprietive derivation and generic marking**

With verbs that can undergo proprietive derivation (see above), the generic in-
transitive subject *kuu-* form and proprietive have overlapping uses.

In (184), the generic form *ku-ŋgio* ‘one will slip’ expresses a potential consequence of the state described by the proprietive verb *puu-sr-akdγt* ‘it is slippery’. A semantic commonality between generic and proprietive verb forms in this example is that both refer to an action to which all humans (including speaker and addressee) are potentially subjected.

(184) *nunwucu pjúw-wy-rγtcau a-pw-ŋu tce, [...] zgrwy zo*
DEM:LOC IPFV-INV-tread IRR-IPFV-be LNK certainly EMPH
*ku-ŋgio cti ma, nunw puu-sr-akdγt*
GENR:S/O-ACAUS:glide be.AFF:FACT LNK DEM SENS-PROP-slip
*ku-fse.*
SBJ:PCP-be lik e
‘If one walks on [the moss], one will certainly slip, as it is slippery.’
(03-zhenzhuquan-zh) {0003386#S25}

With experiencer and modal verbs, the semantic closeness of generic and pro-
prietive is even more obvious, if one compares for instance the generic of *nyz*
‘dare’ (185) with the proprietive *srnyz* ‘be such that people dare to’ in (186): the
18 *Valency-decreasing derivations*

experiencer argument of the base verb that has been demoted by the proprietive
derivation is by default interpreted as generic, unless it can be recovered from
the context, or expressed by an oblique case as in (182) above.

(185) [k-ndza] mɔ̈u-pẅu-kwu-nyz ma sɔ̈ndyy
INF-eat NEG-PST.IPFV-GENR:S/A-dare LNK be-poisonous:FACT
tu-ti-nẅ p̈u-ŋu.
IPFV-say-PL SENS-be

‘We/people would not dare to eat it, because they say that it is
poisonous.’ (19-khWlu) {0003540#S79}

In (186), note that generic reference is expressed by the proprietive derivation
on mɣ-sɣ-nɣz ‘one does not dare to…’ and by the generic possessor on tu-jaɣ ‘one’s
hand’ in the immediately following clause.

(186) tce [kɣ-nyjaɣ] mɣ-sɣ-nyz

żo ma tur-jaɣ
LNK INF-touch NEG-PROP-dare:FACT EMPH LNK GENR.POSS-hand
ku-otsa cti tce mŋy̤m.
IPFV-prick.into be.AFF:FACT LNK hurt:FACT

‘It is such that people do not dare to touch it, as it pricks in one’s hand
and it hurts.’ (15-babW) {0003512#S52}

In addition, both the generic and the proprietive can serve as a indirect way to
express first person (§14.6.1.4), as shown by examples (187) and (188), where the
generic p̈u-kü-duy and proprietive p̈u-sγy-duy have exactly the same meaning
‘be fed up with X, don’t feel like X’. In both cases, the implicit experiencer is the
1SG referent mentioned in the previous clause.

(187) nɔ̈fse kʷi-ny-ŋkʷi-ŋke ce-a ma tce kʰa kɣ-ryzi
like.that SBJ:PCP-DISTR:walk go:FACT-1SG LNK LNK house INF-stay
ntsw p̈u-kü-duy
always SENS-GENR:S/O-have.enough.of
‘I go to walk (without a special reason), because I don’t feel well staying
at home all the time.’ (conversation, 2013-12-24)

(188) kutcu azo-sti p̈u-cti-a tce
DEM:PROX:LOC 1SG-alone SENS-be.AFF-1SG LNK
p̈u-sγy-duy
SENS-PROP-have.enough.of
‘I am here alone, and I am fed up of [being alone].’ (07-deluge)
{0003426#S41}
18.8.3 Proprietive derivations from semi-transitive verbs

The proprietive derivation takes some semi-transitive verbs such as *duy* ‘have enough of’, *tso* ‘know, understand’ or *rga* ‘like’ (§14.2.3) as input. In such cases, the intransitive subject of the proprietive verb corresponds to the semi-object of the base verb. For instance, in (189), the infinitival complement clause *nw ku-fse kɔ-rɔzi* ‘staying like that’ is semi-object of *duy* ‘have enough of’, while in (190) the complement clause is the intransitive subject of *sɔ-y-duy* (the experiencer being unexpressed in this clause).

(189) [nɔ ku-fse kɔ-rɔzi] pɔ-du-y-a.
DEM SBJ:PCP-be like INF-stay SENS-have.enough.of-1SG
'I am fed up of living like that.' (140426 jiagou he lang-zh) {0003804#S31}

(190) [kɔ-rɔzi] wuma zo pj-s-y-duy.
INF-stay really EMPH IFR.IPFV-PROP-have.enough.of
'Living [there] was very difficult to endure.' (150827 taisui-zh)
{0006390#S12}

The semi-transitive modal verbs *cʰa* ‘can’ and *nɔz* ‘dare’ also have proprietive forms *sɔ-cʰa* ‘be such that people can’ and *sɔnɔz* ‘be such that people dare to’ which select the same types of complement clauses as those selected by their base verbs, as illustrated by (191) (see also 185) and (186) in §18.8.2 above). These complement clauses are the intransitive subject of the proprietive verbs.

(191) tw-sŋi [mɔntɔk ɪnɔz χswɪ jamar lʊ-wy-taŋ]
one-day flower two three about IPFV:UPSTREAM-INV-weave
pɔ-s-y-cʰa
SENS-PROP-can
'In one day, it is possible to weave two or three patterns (on the belt).'
(2011-06-thaXtsa)

However, the complement clauses can be elided, and the subject participle forms of the proprietive verbs can refer to an argument (generally object) of the (elided or overt) verb in the complement clause. For instance in (192), the participle *ku-s-y-cʰa* can be translated as ‘(the mice) that can be (caught)’ (an elided infinitive form such as *kɔ-ndo* INF-grab is implicit in this example).
18 Valency-decreasing derivations

(192) βzw [...], kw-sv-cʰa nwra azo pju-sat-a ŋu,
mouse SBJ:PCP-PROP-can DEM:PL 1SG IPFV-kill-1SG be:FACT
mv-kw-sv-cʰa jv-kw-v<nw>ri nwra nwzora kw
NEG-SBJ:PCP-PROP-can AOR-<AUTO>go[II] DEM:PL 2PL ERG
pw-sat-nw ra ny
IMP-kill-PL be.needed:FACT SFP

'The mice, I will kill the ones that (I) can (get), but the one that [I] cannot [get] and have gone away, you will have to kill them.' (150831 BZW kAnArRaR) {0006378#S28}

18.8.4 Proprietive derivations from transitive verbs

The proprietive prefix occurs with some transitive verb stems, removing the tran-
sitive subject and converting the object argument to intransitive subject status,
like the passive, anticausative and object-oriented facilitative (§18.9.2) deriva-
tions. Proprietive verbs derived from transitive verbs are rare: the derivational
sv- prefix on verbs is more often interpreted as an object-suppressing antipassive
(§18.6.2).

In the case of the labile perception verb *mto* ‘see’, one could propose that the
proprietive form *symto* ‘be visible’ derives from the stative intransitive use of this
verb (meaning ‘have sharp eyesight’, §14.5.1), but this is unlikely from a semantic
point of view (the meaning of *symto* is not ‘be such that people have sharp eyes-
sight’). The other transitive verbs deriving proprietive forms in Table 18.10 are
not labile, and no such ambiguity exists.

The transitive verbs that can be subjected to the proprietive derivation belong to four related semantic classes: verbs of perception (*mto* ‘see’, *mtsʰv)m* ‘hear’), of cognition (*suz* ‘know’, *spa* ‘be able’), of obtaining (*rndu* ‘obtain’) and of evaluation (*nuzdwy* ‘worry about’, *saxpa}* ‘respect’). All of these verbs have experiencer or experiencer-like transitive subjects.

The proprietive of verbs of perception and obtaining such as *symtsʰv)m* ‘be audible’ (193) and *svrndu* ‘be easy to find’ (194) express a potential state, semantically close to the object-oriented facilitative (§18.9.2).

(193) tce swŋgw ku-rvzi cti tyya kV-mto
LNK forest IPFV-stay be.AFF:FACT in.the.open OBJ:PCP-see
me. ri [tu-mbri] nw sv-mtsʰv)m.
not.exists:FACT LNK IPFV-make.noise DEM PROP-hear:FACT

'It stays in the forest and is never seen in the open, but it can be heard
singing.' (23-scuz) {0003612#S109}
(194) *tw-mu* *múj-lšt* *tce tyjmy* *múj-sy-rndu*
INDEF.POSS-sky NEG:SENS-release LNK mushroom NEG:SENS-PROP-obtain
'It is not raining, and so it is not easy to find mushrooms.' (elicited)

The proprietive of *swuz* 'know' and *spa* 'be able' both mean 'be (widely) known',
and mainly occur with the noun *ty-rmi* 'name', as in (195) and (196).

(195) *w-rmi* *pw-sy-swuz*
3SG.POSS-name SENS-PROP-know
'His name is well-known.' (elicited)

(196) *myzw w-rmi* *my-ku-sy-spa* *xcat*
again 3SG.POSS-name NEG-SBJ:PCP-PROP-be.able be.many:FACT
*cti*
be.AFF:FACT
'There are many other [plants] whose name is not known.' (08-tWrgi)
{0003464#S51}

The case of the verb *swuzduy* ‘causing people to worry’, which is derived
from applicative verb *nuzduy* ‘worry about’ (§17.4) is treated in §18.8.6.

18.8.5 Lexicalized proprietive

The meaning of some proprietive verbs is not entirely predictable from their base
verbs.

The verb *cke* ‘get burned’ encodes as subject the entity that suffers from burning, as in (197). The expected meaning of its proprietive *swcke* would be ‘be burning’. While this meaning is indeed attested as in (198), *swcke* can also simply mean ‘be hot’, concerning for instance the weather as in (199), without the implication that people subjected to this weather suffer from burns.

(197) *a-jaw* *pw-cke*
1SG.POSS-hand AOR-burn
'My hand was burnt.' (elicited)

(198) smi *th*a-*blw-nw* ri, *pjy-sy-cke* *qhe*, zakastaka
fire AOR:3→3'-burn-PL LNK IFR.IPFV-PROP-burn LNK each.their.own
*jo-nw-rvci-nw* *qhe*,
IFR-AUTO-pull-PL LNK

‘They made a fire (and used their legs as tripods to make tea), but since
it was burning, and each of them pulled [their legs] (and were not able
to prepare food).’ (2014-kW1AG)
18 *Valency-decreasing derivations*

(199) <diandian> zo ku-rṣi ṛu-muṣṭaḳ, tu-ku-ŋke tce
shop EMPH GENR:S/O-stay SENS-be.cold IPFV-GENR:S/O-walk LNK
pū-sy-ke
SENS-PROP-burn
‘Staying in the shop it is cold, but walking [on the street] it is hot.’
(conversation, 14-05-10)

18.8.6 Compatibility with other derivations

The proprietive derivation can take as input anticausative verbs (§18.5.6). For in-
stance, *sṛŋgio* ‘be slippery’ comes from *ŋgio* ‘slip’, itself from *kio* ‘cause to glide’.
The proprietive verb *sṛŋgio* expresses that the action of the base verb *kio* is pos-
sible due to the nature of the ground, as shown by (200).

(200) ṛt-ẖo
pū-sy-ŋgio
tce tcoṣṭsi pū-wy-kio
3SG.POSS-ground SENS-PROP-ACAUS:glide LNK table IPFV-INV-glide
pū-kḥu
SENS-be.possible
‘The ground is slippery, and one can move the table by making it glide
on it.’ (elicited)

The verb *nuzduy* ‘worry about’ (which could be analyzed as a lexicalized ap-
plicative of *zduy* ‘suffer’, §17.4.1.5) has the *sṛ-* proprietive *sṛnuzduy* ‘causing peo-
ple to worry’, as shown by example (201), homophonous with an antipassive verb
meaning ‘worrying about people’.

(201) nṛ-wa nutḥamtcxt zo tḥu-wxti tce, nu ku-fse
2SG.POSS-father so.much EMPH AOR-be.big LNK DEM SBJ:PCP-be lik e
[...] cw-kṛ-ylwlyt [...] cḥa ci kuma, pū-sy-nu-zduy
TRAL-INF-fight can:FACT QU SFP SENS-PROP-worry.about
‘Your father has become so old, can he go to war like that? He is cause of
worry [for all of us].’ (150828 huamulan-zh) {0006396#S19}

Proprietive verbs cannot be subjected to (sigmatic *su*- or velar γρ- causative derivations. On the other hand, they can take the tropative *nγ-* prefix, as shown by the common verbs *nγsγscit* ‘find pleasant’ and *nγsγduy* ‘find unpleasant’ derived from *sγscit* ‘be pleasant’ and *sγγduy* ‘be unpleasant’, respectively (§17.5.4).
### 18.8.7 Relationship with other derivations

The proprietary *sɣ̣-*, like several other voice prefixes (§20.10), is related to the denominal *sɣ̣-* derivation (§20.10.2). It has a common origin with the antipassive *sɣ̣-* (§18.6.2; see in particular the propensitive function of the antipassive).

The proprietary and the *sɣ̣-* antipassive are however synchronically quite distinct. While only the former can have intransitive or semi-transitive verbs as input, both can occur on transitive verbs, in which case the former is object-oriented (§18.8.4), while the latter is subject-oriented (§18.6.2).

## 18.9 Facilitative

Japhug has two productive facilitative derivations, the *ɣ̣-* and *nuɣu-* prefixes, deriving stative verbs whose subjects correspond to the subject and the object (or goal) of the base verbs, respectively. Cognates of both prefixes are found in Tshobdun (*wɔ-* and *nwɔ-*), with an identical functional constrast (Sun 2014a)

These prefixes are only valency-decreasing when prefixed to transitive verbs, and do not change transitivity when the base verb is intransitive.

The meaning of these prefixes is very similar to that of complement clauses headed by the stative verb *mbat* ‘be easy’ (§24.5.8). For instance, (202b) was provided as a gloss for (202a) during an elicitation session.

(202) a. *pu-nuwu-βzjoz*
SENS-FACIL-learn

b. *kʷ-βzjoz pu-mbat*
INF-learn SENS-be.easy

‘It is easy to learn.’ (elicited)

A third way of expressing facilitative meaning is by verb compounding; the only example of this type is *apu-mbat* ‘be easy to do’ from the transitive verb *pa* ‘do’ and the stative verb *mbat* ‘be easy’ (§20.12).

### 18.9.1 Subject-oriented facilitative

The prefix *γ̣-*, homophonous with the velar causative *γγ̣-* (§17.3), generally derives stative verbs meaning ‘become/get X easily’, ‘tend to become/get X’. For instance, from *wxti* ‘be big’ one can derive the stative verb *γγwxti* ‘become big easily’, as illustrated by (203).
18 Valency-decreasing derivations

(203) si kw-wxtw~wxti p̥w-βze cʰa ma wuma zo
 tree SBJ:PCP-EMPH~be.big IPFV-grow[III] can:FACT LNK really EMPH
 p̥w-y̥-wxti.
SENS-FACIL-be.big
'It can grow into a hug tree, as it easily becomes huge.' (07-Zmbri)
{0003438#S9}

The facilitative prefix γγ- is very productive on stative verbs, including on loanwords from Tibetan. For instance, rgγz 'be old' (from ṣṇ ṛgas 'get old') has a facilitative form γrrgγz 'age quickly', attested in (204).

(204) twrme mɣ-ku̥-p̥fwr, n̥wnu mɣ-ku̥-γγ-rgγz tce tce
people NEG-SBJ:PCP-change DEM NEG-SBJ:PCP-FACIL-be.old LNK LNK
n̥wnu tγtʰo tu-sγrmi-nu̥ γu.
DEM ANTHR IPFV-call-PL be:FACT
'Persons who don't change, who don't age quickly, people call them
'pines'.' (07-tAtho) {0003432#S23}

Some dynamic intransitive verbs are also attested with the γγ- derivation, with meanings such as ‘X quickly/early/easily’ or ‘X often’. For instance, *mda* ‘be the time’ derives the form *γγ*-*mda*, which can mean ‘be the time (ripen) earlier’, as in (205), and *rγru* ‘get up’ has the facilitative *γrrγru* ‘getting up early’, ‘getting up easily’ (as soon as one wakes him/her up).

(205) n̥ura izo ji-ji p̥w-ky-z-mγku n̥u izo
DEM:PL 1PL 1PL.POSS-field AOR-OBJ:PCP-CAUS-be.first DEM 1PL
u̥-pʰu̥t ku-z-mγku-j ma
3SG.POSS-BARE.INF:cut IPFV-CAUS-be.first-1PL LNK
p̥w-γγ-mda
SENS-FACIL-be.the.time
'Our fields, that have been [sowed] first, we harvest they first, because
the [crops] ripen earlier [than in other places, higher up in altitude].'
(2010-09)

It also occurs on some anticausative verbs (§18.5); for instance, the intransitive
NGRU 'break' has the facilitative form γγ-NGRU 'easily break', which has the same
meaning as the object-oriented facilitative nuyu-qru of the transitive base verb
qru 'break' (§18.5.6). It is also attested with denominal verbs such as sγmbru 'get
angry' (§20.3.1), whose facilitative is γγsγmbru 'get angry easily'.
The γγ- prefix is also found on intransitive verbs that only occur in colloca-
tion with a particular noun, for instance *nmu* ‘shake (of earthquakes)’ (on which
see §19.7.1) or the collocation *u-wo+mbi* ‘be discouraged’ (§18.5, §22.4.3.2), from
which γγ-nmu or *u-wo+γγmbi* ‘be easily discouraged’ can be derived (examples
206 and 207).

(206) icqʰa sycqʰa nq wajq p̱u-ɣɣ-nmu.
the aforementioned place dem earthquake sens-facil-shake
'Earthquakes are frequent in this place.' (elicited)

(207) nɣ-wo w-tu-ɣɣ-mbi nu!
2SG.POSS-discourage(1) 3SG-NMLZ:DEG-FACIL-ACAUS:discourage(2) SFP
'You are so easily discouraged!' (elicited)

With the dynamic motion verb ᶜe ‘go’, the facilitative γγ-ɛe only occurs in col-
location with tɣ-rẓaɣ ‘time’ in the meaning ‘pass quickly (of time)’), as in (208). In
this example, the facilitative applied to the whole collocation tɣ-rẓaɣ+ɛe ‘spend
(one’s time)’ (§22.4.1)

(208) nɣ-tɣ-rẓaɣ w-pu-γɣ-ɛe
2SG.POSS-INDEF.POSS-time qu-SENS-FACIL-go
'Is the time passing quickly for you?' (elicited)

The facilitative γγ- is also attested on a handful of transitive experiencer verbs, where it has an antipassive-like valency-decreasing function: ɛuftaɣ ‘remember’ and jmut ‘forget’ derive the stative verbs γγɛuftaɣ ‘to have a good memory’ and γγjmut ‘be forgetful’, respectively (209).

(209) p̱u-cqraɣ tce p̱u-ɣɣ-cuftaɣ
SENS-be.intelligent lnk sens-facil-memorize
'He is intelligent, he has a good memory.' (elicited)

This derivation demotes the object, and the intransitive subject of the facilitative verbs γγɛuftaɣ and γγjmut corresponds to the transitive subject of the base verb. In order to build a stative verb expressing a property of the stimulus/object ‘to be easy to remember/forget’, the other facilitative prefix nuyu- is used instead (§18.9.2). Hence, the prefix γγ- can be described as a subject-oriented facilitative, following Sun’s (2014a) description of the cognate prefix wu- in Tshobdun.
18.9.2 Object-oriented facilitative

The facilitative *nuyu-* prefix is one of the rare disyllabic derivational prefix in Japhug. Like γ- (§18.9.1), it is used to build stative verbs meaning ‘be easy to X’. It is most commonly prefixed to transitive action verbs: a typical example is for instance *nuyu-krγy* ‘be easy to shear’ from *krγy* ‘shear, mow’, as in (210). Additional examples are found in Table 18.11.

(210) tce qaẓo ku-wxti nwa γu qʰe, nu-rme pu-rŋi
LNK sheep SBJ:PCP-be.big DEM:PL GEN LNK 3PL.POSS-hair SENS-be.long
qʰe pu-nuyu-krγy, ku-xtci nwa γu, nu-rme
LNK SENS-FACIL-shear SBJ:PCP-be.small DEM:PL GEN 3PL.POSS-hair
pu-xtu-t qʰe, mu-j-nuyu-krγy.
SENS-be.short LNK NEG:SENS-FACIL-shear

‘The big sheep, their wool is long and thus easy to shear, the small ones, their wool is short and difficult to shear.’ (160712 smAG) {0006073#S25}

When the base verb is transitive, the *nuyu-* prefix is a valency-decreasing derivation, removing the transitive subject, and turning the object into an intransitive subject. In (211) for instance, *nuyumto* ‘be easy to see’ appears in the Factual third singular without stem III alternation, showing that it is an intransitive verb (§14.3.1).

(211) ci nux xcaj u-mdoɣ tsa u-ku-ndo nu
INDEF DEM grass 3SG.POSS-colour a.little 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-take DEM
mɣ-nuyu-mto. tce wuma ẓo
NEG-FACIL-see:FACT LNK really EMPH
mu~mu-pu-ku-tso ny mɣ-wɣ-mto
COND-NEG-PST.IPFV-GENR:S/O-understand LNK NEG-INV-see

‘The other one, which has the colour of grass, is not easy to see; unless you know it very well, you won’t see it.’ (07-Cku) {0003424#S56}

Among the verbs in Table 18.11, the facilitative *nuyujpa* ‘be convenient’ is particularly lexicalized, with both an irregular -j- element occurring between he prefix *nuyu-* and the root |pa|, and a non-predictable meaning derivation.

In the case of the verb *ti* ‘say’, the facilitative *nuyuti* can either mean ‘be easy to pronounce’ or ‘be easy to express’, as in example (212), uttered by Tshendzin during an elicitation session.
(212) *nú* *múj-núyú-ti*
DEM NEG:SENS-FACIL-say
‘This [meaning] is difficult to express (in Japhug).’ (heard in context)

<table><caption>Table 18.11: Examples of the facilitative *núyu-* prefix in Japhug</caption><thead><tr><th>basic verb</th><th>derived verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>ŋke 'walk'</td><td>núyuŋke 'be easy to walk (on)'</td></tr><tr><td>ŋga 'wear'</td><td>núyuŋga 'be nice to wear'</td></tr><tr><td>ndza 'eat'</td><td>núyuŋndza 'be easy/nice to eat'</td></tr><tr><td>ntɛ́h̥oz 'use'</td><td>núyuŋtɛ́h̥oz 'be easy to use'</td></tr><tr><td>mto 'see'</td><td>núyuŋmto 'be easy to see'</td></tr><tr><td>ti 'say'</td><td>núyuŋti 'be easy to say'</td></tr><tr><td>ɛ́uftaɛ́ 'remember'</td><td>núyuŋuftaɛ́ 'be easy to remember'</td></tr><tr><td>jmut 'forget'</td><td>núyuŋmut 'be easy to forget'</td></tr><tr><td>pa 'do'</td><td>núyuŋpa 'be convenient'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Some intransitive verbs are attested with the *núyu-* prefix. The only common one is *núyuŋke* ‘be easy to walk (on)’ (from *ŋke* ‘walk’); the *núyu-* derivation appears to be possible on a few other motion verbs and verbs of location (such as *rúuy* ‘run’ or *rɔ́zi* ‘stay’), though their acceptability has to be rechecked. The subject of the facilitative verbs derived from such intransitive verbs corresponds to the locative adjunct (213) or goal (214) of the base verb.

(213) tcʰeme núnti tʰylwa rúyrúy zu to-ce qʰe, maka
girl DEM earth IDPH(II):soft LOC IFR:UP-go LNK at.all
ú-rɔ́-tw-rúyú-ŋke pjɔ́-saχaɛ́ zo,
3SG.POSS-NEG-NMLZ:DEG-FACIL-walk PST.IPFV-be-extremely EMPH
‘The girl went up the [path made of] soft earth, and it was extremely
difficult to walk on it.’ (2014-kWlAG)

(214) tšu ú-rkú ú-rɔ́mbat tce, ú-rúyú-ce
path 3SG.POSS-side SENS-be.close LNK SENS-FACIL-go
‘[This place] is close to the road, it is easy to go there.’ (elicited)

The semi-transitive *tso* ‘know, understand’ (§14.2.3) can also undergo the facilitative derivation to *núyutso* ‘easy to understand’. Semi-transitive verbs in *a-*,
18 Valency-decreasing derivations

such as *aše* ‘have to eat/drink’ or *atuy* ‘meet’, are not compatible with *nuyu*-, which appears to lack an allomorph with vowel fusion; a form †*nuyuyše* for instance (intended meaning: ‘easy to get to eat’) is utterly inacceptable.

Since semi-objects, goals and some locative adjuncts do have partial objec-
tal properties (§8.1.5, §8.1.8, §8.1.6, §23.5.4, §23.5.5), it is nevertheless appropriate
to describe *nuyu-* as an object-oriented derivation, following Sun (2014a). The
contrast between *nuyu-* and subject-oriented *uy-* is clearest with the transitive
verbs *jmut* ‘forget’ and *suftaš* ‘remember’, which can be subjected to both deriva-
tions: compare object-oriented *nuyujmut* ‘be easy to forget’ and subject-oriented
*uyjmut* ‘be forgetful’ (§18.9.1).

It is possible to apply the facilitative derivation to an intransitive verb al-
ready derived by the sigmatic causative, for instance *nuyu-*-*suγ-παχ* (*FACIL-CAUS-*
*be.black*) ‘be easily blackened’. It is also possible to causativize a facilitative verb
(with the *z-* allomorph of the sigmatic causative, §17.2.1.1). For example, the causa-
tive of *nuyuntɛ̈ h̄oz* ‘be easy to use’ is *z-*-*nuyu-*-*ntɛ̈ h̄oz* (*CAUS-FACIL-use*) ‘make easy
to use’. The relative order of the facilitative and of the causative prefixes thus
reflects their semantic scope (§17.2.8).
# 19 Other verbal derivations

## 19.1 Autive

The autobenefactive-spontaneous or autive<fnref n="1" /> prefix *nuu-* is one of the most productive voice prefixes in Japhug.

In this section, I first present the morphological properties of this prefix (allomorphy and position in the template), and then describe its three main functions: autobenefactive/self-affectedness, spontaneous and permansive (previously identified in Jacques 2015e). Finally, I discuss cases of lexicalized autives and propose historical pathways between the autive and other derivations such as the vertical and the anticausative.

The anticausative derivation in Japhug does not cause any stem alternation, unlike in other languages such as Bragbar (Zhang 2020).

### 19.1.1 The autive prefix and verb transitivity

Unlike most voice markers, the autive prefix *nuu-* neither increases nor decreases verb valency: whether the base verb is morphologically intransitive, transitive or labile, *nuu-* prefixation has no effect on any of the seven transitivity criteria (§14.3.1).

For instance, transitive verbs with *nuu-* still have stem III alternation (§12.2.2.1, for instance -ndo → -ndym in 1) or the past tense -t suffix (§11.3, see *ty-nuu-ndo-t-a* in 2).

(1) laŋjuy nzyo ty-nu-ndym je
staff 2SG IMP-AUTO-take[III] SFP
'Take the staff.' (2005 khu)

(2) nzyo nykinu, ty-tu-nuwrdoŋ, aj ty-nu-ndo-t-a me
2SG FILLER AOR-2-pick.up 1SG AOR-AUTO-take-TR:PST-1SG not.exist:FACT
'It is you who collected [the fruits], I did not take them.' (IWlu 2002)

<footnote n="1">¹I adopt the concise and elegant term “autive” from Gong (2018) instead of “autobenefactive-spontaneous” used in previous publications (Jacques 2015e).</footnote>
19 Other verbal derivations

Conversely, intransitive verbs taking the autive prefix present neither stem III alternation nor the -t suffix. The autive derivation differs in this regard from the homophonous *nu*- applicative prefix (§17.4).

The autive is compatible with valency-decreasing derivations, including passive (example 4, §19.1.2), reflexive (8) and antipassive (3 below and §18.6.9).

(3) *lu-nu-r-y-ji-nu*      *tce, nu-k-y-ndza*      *nura zara*
IPFV-AUTO-APASS-plant-PL LNK 3PL.POSS-OBJ:PCP-eat DEM:PL 3PL
*pjw-nu-tcyt-nu*      *pjy-nyu*
IPFV-AUTO-take.out-PL IFR.IPFV-be

‘(As they were receiving treatment), they were working in the fields, and earning their own food by themselves.’ (25-khArWm) {0003644#S61}

19.1.2 Position in the verbal template and allomorphy

The position of the autive prefix in the template depends on the structure of the verb form.

When occuring in combination with contracting derivational prefixes, the au-
tive *nu-* is inserted after the contracting vowel, as in (4) with the passive -r-
(§18.1).

(4) *com ku scoiv cʰu-k-y-sw-βzu*      *nu, twtsʰi*      *u-ŋgw*
iron ERG ladle IPFV-OBJ:PCP-CAUS-make DEM rice.gruel 3SG.POSS-in
*nura a-pu-y-nu-rku*      *qʰe*      *pu-paiv.*
DEM:PL IRR-IPFV-PASS-AUTO-put.in LNK IPFV-be.black

‘Ladles that are made of iron (iron ladles), whenever they are put in rice gruel, they blacken.’ (30-Com) {0003736#S77}

Even when the contracting vowel *a/r-* is not a prefix but part of the verb root (§12.3), the *nu*- prefix is inserted between the *a*- and the rest of the verb stem.<fnref n="2" />

For example in (5) the *nu-* is actually infixed inside the verb stem of *atvr* ‘fall’ (see also in example 31 in §19.1.4 the infixation within the suppletive stem II *ari* of the verb *če* ‘go’). Although other homophonous prefixes exist in Japhug the autive is the only one that is infixable. All other *nu-* prefixes (the applicative §17.4, the vertitive §19.2, the denominal *nu-* §20.7, and inflectional morphemes like the 3PL possessive prefix §5.1.1 and the type A WESTWARDS orientation prefix §15.1.1.1) occupy prefixal slots and undergo vowel contraction with the *a-* of the

<footnote n="2">²There is only one counterexample where the *nu-* prefix is not infixed, but it concerns a highly lexicalized derivation (§19.1.6).</footnote>
verb stem (for instance, the applicative yields *nɔ̃-* with contracting verb stems, §17.4.2).

(5) *numu u-ŋru n̂ũu tʰũ-rgvz tce tce nu uwo
dem 3sg.poss-horn dem aor-be.old lnk lnk dem 3sg
pjwu-y<nu>tyr p̂u-ŋu.
ipfv:down-<auto>fall sens-be
‘When its antlers age, they fall off by themselves.’ (27-qartshAz)
{0003702#S35}

The irregular existential verbs γγzu ‘exist’ and maŋe ‘not exist’ (§14.2.2) also take the spontaneous marker as an infix rather than as a prefix as in (6).

(6) *pakuku zo ju-nũce-nũ tce nũtcu li γγ<nũ>zu
every.year emph ipfv-come.back-pl lnk there again <auto>exist:senz
cti.
be.AFF:FACT*
‘They come back every year, and it is still there.’ (20 grWBgrWB)
{0003554#S51}

In addition, like the inverse prefix (§14.3.2.7), the autive is obligatorily infixed within the progressive asu- (§11.2.2, §21.6.1.1), as in example (7).

(7) <gaoyucheng> ku u-laχtcʰa [...] p̂u-a<nũ>sũ-fkur yu
anthr erg 3sg.poss-thing pst.ipfv-<auto>prog-carry dem
uŋgw n̂utcu u-jaŋ cʰy-tswu ri,
3sg.poss-inside dem:loc 3sg.poss-hand ifr:downstream-take.away lnk
‘Gao Yucheng put his hand in the things (bag) that he was carrying on his
back.’ (150902 qixian-zh) {0006258#S130}

In all other cases (and excluding lexicalized autives, §19.1.6), the autive *nu-* occurs on the leftmost side of the verb stem, just before the reflexive (§18.3), but after inflectional prefixes (including orientational, participial, inverse and person indexation prefixes), as shown by the forms *tu-*nु-zγγ-raχtcvz-i ‘we treat ourselves’ in (8) and *a-*tɔ-*tú-wγ-*nuu-*ndza in (9).

(8) tce ji-ky-nu-raχtcvz ra jy-ye-nu, izora
lnk 1pl-obj:pcp-auto-cherish pl aor-come[II]-pl 1pl
tu-nu-zγy-raχtcvz-i,
ipfv-auto-refl-cherish-1pl
‘When people we cherish come, or when we [wish] to treat ourselves,’ (30
macha) {0003746#S74}
19 Other verbal derivations

(9) **tu-tú-wy-ndza** w-nu-susym
**qʰe** a-tɔ-tú-wy-nu-ndza
IPFV-2-INV-eat QU-IPFV-think[III] LNK IRR-PFV-2-INV-AUTO-eat
nú-ntsʰi
SENS-be.better

‘If it wants to eat you, let it eat you!’ (150901 dongguo xiansheng he lang-zh) {0006336#S94}

When occurring in this leftmost slot, forms bearing the autive prefix can be
ambiguous: for instance the surface form *nu-ɛe* (from the verb *eɛ ‘go’*) can ei-
ther be parsed as 3SG Factual autive (AUTO-go:FACT), 3SG Factual vertitive (§19.2,
(VERT-go:FACT) or 2SG WESTWARDS imperative (§21.4.2.1, IMP:WEST-go).

In addition to its infixability, the autive prefix has the particularity of being
(optional) realized as geminated -n- when it occurs before a verb stem or verb
prefix in *nu-*, as in (10).

(10) **tɔ-tcu** numu, ku, numutcu kuny pjʊ-n-nu-rga
**INDEF POSS-SON DEM ERG DEM:LOC also IFR:IPFV-AUTO-APPL-like**
**cti.**
**be.AFF:FACT**
‘Even like that, the boy still loved her.’ (140510 sanpian sheye-zh)
{0003945#S117}

19.1.3 Autobenefactive/self-affectedness function

The autobenefactive function of the *nu-* - prefix can be subdivided into four sub-
cases: subject affectedness, beneficial, exclusive beneficial, and mild imperative.

First, the autive prefix frequently appears with transitive verbs when the object
takes a possessive prefix coreferent with the transitive subject, especially in the
case of body parts and other inalienably possessed nouns, to emphasize the fact
that the agent is affected by his/her own action. For example, in (11), the 2SG
possessive prefix on the body part *nɔ-ku* is coreferent with the subject of the
2SG→3 imperative form *pu-nu-χtci*.

(11) **nɔ-ku** pu-nu-χtci
2SG.POSS-head IMP-AUTO-wash
‘Wash your head.’ (elicited)

The autive is not restricted to body part objects, but also appears with more
abstract possessed objects such as *u-sroɔ* and *u-krʊm* in (12) and (13).
(12) *u̯zo ku *u̯sroβ̯ ko-nu̯-ri p̯u̯-ηu̯
3SG ERG 3SG.POSS-life IFR-AUTO-save SENS-be
'He saved his own life.' (140512 yufu yu mogui-zh) {0003973#S126}

(13) *tu̯-ci u̯-ŋgw̯ u̯-bru̯m pju̯-ku̯-ntcʰyr n̯u̯
INDEF.POSS-water 3SG.POSS-in 3SG.POSS-shade IPFV-SBJ:PCP-shine DEM
pjʊ-y-nu-mto tce,
IFR-AUTO-see LNK

'She saw her [own] reflection in the water.' (140428 mu e guniang-zh)
{0003880#S55}

Example (14) presents a clear contrast between *mu̯-to-xtswuɣ* (no *nu̯*- prefix) and *to-nu̯-xtswuɣ* (presence of *nu̯*- prefix, coreference between possessor and transitive subject). It also illustrates that the subject affectedness expressed by the autive prefix is not necessarily beneficial, but can also be detrimental.

(14) *tw̯rpa ci to-lyt ri, si n̯u w̯-taβ̯ mw̯-to-xtswy̯ ku̯ w̯o
axe* once IFR-release LNK tree DEM 3SG.POSS-on NEG-IFR-hit ERG 3SG
ɣu̯ w̯-jaβ̯ zo to-nu̯-xtswy̯.
GEN 3SG.POSS-hand EMPH IFR-AUTO-hit

'He swung the axe but did not hit the tree, and instead hit his own arm.'
(140430 jin e-zh) {0003893#S38}

However, the *nu̯*- prefix *-to-* is optional in all four sentences: its presence is not required to express subject-object possessor coreference. In addition, non-coreference between subject and object possessor is possible on verbs taking the autive prefix.

Second, the autive prefix can also be found on both intransitive and transitive verbs to focus on the pleasant character of an action for the subject, as in (15).

(15) *kytsa* ra χswu̯ n̯u ku̯-scwu̯-scit zo
*COLL:family PL three DEM SBJ:PCP-EMPH~be.happy EMPH*
ku-nu̯-ryz̯i-nu̯ pjy-ηu̯,
IPFV-AUTO-stay-PL IFR.IPFV-be

'The three of them lived happily.' (Gesar 2003)

Third, the autive *nu̯-* can be used to express that the action only benefits the subject, to the exclusion of other referents. In (16) for instance, the *nu̯-* prefix on the verbs *tu-nu-ndza-ndzi* 'they eat it' and *ku-nu-tsʰi-ndzi* 'they drink it' express that the 3DU subject (the two elder sisters) performed these actions without sharing anything with the 1SG referent.
(16) nɔ́-pi ni kw [...] qajyi nura kw-muw zyni

2SG.POSS-elder.sibling DU ERG bread DEM:PL SBJ:PCP-tasty 3DU

tu-nu-ndza-ndzi, u-rkw kɔ́-kw-cke ra azo

IPFV-AUTO-eat-DU 3SG.POSS-side AOR-SBJ:PCP-burn PL 1SG

pú-wy-mbi-a-ndzi, cʰa ra zyni ku-nu-tsʰi-ndzi, azo

AOR-INV-give-1SG-DU alcohol PL 3DU IPFV-AUTO-drink-DU 1SG

u-kyo pú-wy-jtsʰi-a-ndzi pu-cti

3SG.POSS-diluted AOR-INV-give.to.drink-1SG-DU PST.IPFV-be.AFF

‘Your two sisters (...) ate the tasty food and gave me the burned part of the bread, drank the alcohol and gave me diluted alcohol to drink.’ (The three sisters)

In these cases an emphatic pronoun referring to the beneficiary can be placed just before the verb (§6.4). It does not bear the genitive (§8.2.3.2) or the ergative even when it refers to the transitive subject, as zyni ‘3DU’ in example (16). The distributive pronoun zaka ‘each his own’ (§6.7.3) can also be used in this function, as in (17).

(17) tcizo wnwz ma maje-tci tce, zaka kɔ́-nw-βzu

1DU two apart.from notuezENS-1DU LNK each INF-AUTO-do

my-rtaik-tci

NEG-be.enough:FACT-1DU

‘We are only two, we are not enough people to act separately.’ (The three sisters)

The autive can also appear when the beneficiary is an oblique referent, for instance the genitively-marked azuy ‘1SG:GEN’ (§8.2.3.2) in (18), where the relative (between square brackets) containing the complement clause azuy a-pu-nu-pe ‘May it be beneficial to me! (at the expense of others)’ is used to translate 很自私 <hěn zìsī> ‘very selfish’ in the original text.

(18) [“azuy a-pu-nu-pe” puy-kuu-suso] ci pjy-ŋu

3SG:GEN IRR-IPFV-AUTO-be.good IPFV-SBJ:PCP-think INDEF IFR.IPFV-be

‘He was someone who was (always) thinking ‘May it be beneficial to me!’”
(140430 jin e-zh) {0003893#S29}

Fourth, with Imperative and Irrealis forms (§21.4), the autive prefix can convey a softened tone, expressing a friendly suggestion rather than an order, as in (20) and (19) or even the wish that the addressee performs an action pleasant and beneficial to him/herself (21).
(19) nyzo nwnwtcu kыndza ku-mum c-ty-nw-ndze
2SG DEM:LOC food SBJ:PCP-be.tasty TRAL-IMP-AUTO-eat[III]
'Go and eat nice food there!' (140426 jiagou he lang-zh) {0003804#S64}

(20) laχtcʰa mwcchmwcwruw tu, mzyw koxtcinri tu tce,
things all.kind exist:FACT also silk.thread exist:FACT LNK
yw-ty-nw-χtw-nw
CISL-IMP-AUTO-buy-PL

‘There are all kinds of things, there are silk threads, come and buy them!’
(140504 baixue gongzhu-zh) {0003907#S121}

(21) a-ww a-wi ra kutcu
1SG.POSS-grandfather 1SG.POSS-grandmother PL DEM.PROX:LOC
nw-n-nykav-nw, a-nw-tw-nw-ruwani-nw, tce
IMP-AUTO-have.a.good.time-PL IRR-PFV-2-AUTO-recite.mantra-PL LNK
kutcu a-ky-tw-nw-ryzi-nw
DEM.PROX:LOC IRR-PFV-2-AUTO-stay-PL

‘Grandfathers and grandmothers, have a good time here, recite mantras
and stay here (pleasantly).’ (2003kandzwsqhaj)

However, it should be pointed out that the autive has an almost opposite
(mocking/defiance) function in imperatives in examples such as (33) below in
§19.1.4.

19.1.4 Spontaneous function

The spontaneous function of the autive prefix includes six subcases: actions with-
out external cause, self-volitional actions, non-volitional actions, casual action,
concessive clauses, and mocking imperatives.

First, the autive prefix expresses actions that are perceived by the speaker as
occurring spontaneously by themselves, such as the growth of plants or animals
(22) or action taking place due to an unseen force (example 23, with an emphatic
pronoun wzo, §6.4).

(22) tce zrwy nw tce, tsuku ku tw-pycʰak w-ŋgw
LNK louse DEM LNK some ERG INDEF.POSS-navel 3SG-inside
tu-nw-łɔv ŋu tu-ti-nw ŋu tce my-xsi
IPFV-AUTO-come.out be:FACT IPFV-say-PL be:FACT LNK NEG-GENR:A:know
ma wzo jw-kw-nw-βze ci jw-cti tce,
LNK 3SG IPFV-SBJ:PCP-AUTO-grow INDEF SENS-be.AFF LNK

'The louse, some say that it comes from the navel, I don't know, it grows by itself.' (21 mdzadi) {0003578#S52}

(23) si w-rgym nw γw w-fkaβ nw, wzo
wood 3SG.POSS-BOX DEM GEN 3SG.POSS-COVER DEM 3SG
to-nw-jfw.

IFR-AUTO-ACAUS:open
'The cover of the box opened by itself.' (150906 toutao-zh) {0006326#S160}

Second, with a volitional subject (in particular human), the autive can indicate an action performed of one's own will, without being forced by anything or anyone, as in (24), or without help from anybody else ('by oneself'), as in (25) and (26).

(24) azo pjw-kw-nw-βde-a-nw mγ-ra, azo
1SG IPFV:DOWN-2→1-throw-1SG-PL NEG-be.needed:FACT 1SG
pjw-nw-mtsaγ-a jγγ

NEG-IPFV:DOWN-AUTO-jump-1SG be.allowed:FACT
'You don't need to throw me in there, I will jump by myself (of my own free will).' (2011-05-nyima)

(25) azo zo z-jw-nw-ru-a pw-ntsʰi
1SG EMPH TRAL-IPFV-AUTO-look-1SG SENS-be.needed

'I need to go and have a look by myself.' (140507 tangguowu-zh) {0003933#S138}

(26) tce nw wzo tu-nw-ɣɣrkaγ qʰe nw w-ky-ndza
LNK DEM 3SG IPFV-AUTO-hunt LNK DEM 3SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-eat
p̥w-nw-car γu.

IPFV-AUTO-look.for be:FACT
'[The cat] hunts on its own and looks for its own food by itself.'
(21-IWLU) {0003576#S46}

Third, the autive can also express an action occurring by mistake or against the volition of the subject: compare examples (27a) with autive and (27b) without it.
(27) a. $kʰuɪtsa pwh-qwh-t-a$
bowl AOR-break-PST:TR-1SG
'I broke the bowl (possibly on purpose).' (elicited)

b. $kʰuɪtsa pwh-nwh-qwh-t-a$
bowl AOR-AUTO-break-PST:TR-1SG
'I broke the bowl (by mistake).' (elicited)

The combination of inferential with autive (see also §21.5.2.3) can express that the action occurred against the volition of the subject and unbeknownst to him/her at the time when it happened (28).

(28) *hehe a-zi* *ra cʰy-twh-nwh-ryrjit-nwh*
INTERJ 1SG.POSS-lady PL IFR-2-AUTO-have.a.child-PL
*múj-twh-nwh-swhχyl-nwh*
NEG:SENS-2-AUTO-realize-PL
'My lady, you had a child and did not notice it.' (2003 Kunbzang)

Some verbs such as *jmuut* ‘forget’ or *cluy* ‘drop’, generally appears with the autive prefix in the corpus (in the case of *jmuut* ‘forget’ in 23 examples out of 28), as in (29)

(29) *mɣ-xsi* *ko, nwhra* *ŋy-nwh-jmuut-a*
NEG-GENR:KNOW SFP DEM:PL IFR-AUTO-forget-1SG
'I don't know, I forgot those things.' (Conversation, 2013-12-24)

Fourth, an extension of the spontaneous value of the prefix *nw-* is the meaning ‘casually’, ‘at one’s will’, ‘whatever’ (corresponding to Chinese 随便 <suíbiàn> ‘casually’), as in (30).

(30) “huaguniang” ra tu-nw-ti-nw pwh-ŋu. nwnwra zara kw
name PL IPFV-AUTO-say-PL SENS-be DEM:PL 3PL ERG
w-rmi tu-nw-tcγt-nw pwh-ŋu.
3SG.POSS-name IPFV-AUTO-take-PL SENS-be
‘They say ‘huaguniang’, they call [this type of cows] like that.’ (implied
meaning: they invented their name, it is not a real name; 28 qapar)
{0003720#S228}

Fifth, as a further extension of the meaning ‘casually’ seen above, the autive appears in the protasis of alternative (31), scalar (32) and universal (§12.4.3) concessive conditionals (§25.2.3, Jacques 2014a: 298–300). In these constructions, the
result described in the apodosis takes place regardless of whether the condition
in the protasis is fulfilled or not. The autive prefix expresses the fact that the re-
sulting action is independent of the condition. In this function, it is often realized
with a gemination as -nnu-.

(31) tce tw-sw̰m pʷ-a<nnʷ>ri n ju-kʷ-ce,
LNK GENR.POSS-mind AOR-<AUTO>go[II] LNK IPFV-GENR:S/O-go
mʷ-pʷ-a<nnʷ>ri nυ ju-kʷ-ce pʷ-ra
NEG-AOR-<AUTO>go[II] LNK IPFV-GENR:S/O-go PST.IPFV-be.needed
'Whether one liked it or not, one had to go.' (14-siblings) {0003508#S193}

(32) nʷ li w-qa pʷ-βze pʷ-cti ma ʷ-mu\tov
DEM again 3SG.POSS-foot IPFV-make[III] SENS-be:AFF LNK 3SG.POSS-flower
pʷ-nnʷ-tu kʷn, w-ryi ra k-mto maŋe.
PST.IPFV-AUTO-exist also 3SG.POSS-seed PL INF-see notuezENS
'This one also grows by its root, as even if it has flowers, [I] have never
seen its seeds.' (17 ndZWnW) {0003524#S149}

Sixth, in the Imperative and the Irrealis, the spontaneous can be used to mock,
or express defiance towards the addressee or another person, stating that all his/
her actions will be in vain, as in (33).<fnref n="3" />

(33) nzyo nʷ-nu-ɣγwu ma, nɣ-kʷ-nuɣ-mu me
2SG IMP-AUTO-cry LNK 2SG.POSS-NMLZ:S/A-APPL-be.afraid not.exist:FACT
ma mɣ-ta-mbi
LNK NEG-1→2-give:FACT

'You can cry as much as you like, nobody is afraid of you, I won't give
[my daughter] to you (in marriage).' (2002 qaCpa)

The defying/mocking imperative usage clearly stems from the meaning ‘casu-
ally’ of the autive prefix seen above – in a Chinese translation of (33), the imper-
ative *nʷ-nu-ɣγwu* was translated as 随便他哭 <suíbiàn tā kū> ‘let it cry’ with the
adverb 随便 <suíbiàn> ‘casually’. In example (34), the verb *ti* ‘say’ appears two
times with the autive prefix, in the second instance with the irrealis, expressing
both defiance and the ‘casually’ meaning at the same time.

<footnote n="3">³The autive prefix is however also used to express a mild imperative, as in examples (19) and (20) in §19.1.3, depending on the context.</footnote>
(34) *qajdo ku* tcʰi m-ti cti nɔ, a-tɣ-nɔ-ti
crow ERG what NEG-AUTO-say:FACT be.AFF:FACT SFP IRR-PFV-AUTO-say
ma nɔ cinɣ mɑv ku,
LNK be:FACT not.even not.be:FACT SFP

'What wouldn't a crow say (a crow tells only lies), let it say what it wants,
in any case none of it is true.' (28-qajdoskAt) {0003718#S24}

19.1.5 Permansive function

In addition to the two previous functions, which are relatively straightforward
for a middle marker, the autive prefix also presents an aspectual function. It ex-
presses the continuity of an action or a state, like the adverb ‘still’ in English.
Two subcases must be distinguished.

First, the autive can mean that the action of the verb goes on despite the oc-
currence of another action which could have been expected to stop it (as in 35
and 36).

(35) tcʰeme nɔv nɣ-nuksʰida ri, mɔv-pjv-pʰyn, tcʰeme nɔv
girl DEM IFR-convince LNK NEG-IFR-be.efficient girl DEM
pjv-nɔv-ɣɣwu cti,
IFR.IPFV-AUTO-cry be.AFF:FACT

‘She [tried to] comfort the girl, but it was for nothing, the girl kept on
crying.’ (zrAntCW 2003)

(36) numu pjv-ngra cungw tce tce nɔv-rom
DEM IPFV:DOWN-ACAUS:make.fall before LNK LNK IPFV-be.dry
cti tce, u-ryi numu tcu a-nu-mpʰu
be:AFF:FACT LNK 3SG.POSS-seed DEM LOC PASS-AUTO-wrap:FACT
cti
be:AFF:FACT

‘Before [the flower] falls down, it dries up, and its seed is still wrapped in
it.’ (13-tCamu) {0003498#S56}

The autive is found in particular in sentences with the phrase *nɔv kunsv* ‘even
like that, despite these circumstances’, as in (37) below and (10) in §19.1.2 above.

(37) nɔv kunsv pjv-nɔv-ryma.
DEM also IFR.IPFV-AUTO-work
‘Even so, she kept on working.’ (140520 ye tiane-zh) {0004044#S375}
Second, the autive *nu-* prefix can express that a state continues despite the fact that a long time has passed, as in (38), or that it is maintained without change, as in (39).

(38) *ty*ʰo nunu qartsumyftcar zo a<nu>rni cti
pine DEM winter.and.summer EMPH <AUTO>be/blue:FACT be.AFF:FACT
‘The pine [remains] green the whole year.’ (07 tAtho) {0003432#S47}

(39) *zmbulum* cʰondyre gruβgruβ ku-fse ty-łov tce
type.of.mushroom COMIT Matsutake SBJ:PCP-be lik e AOR-come.out LNK
xplοbχploь ku-pa tce zwruwzyri
IDPH(II):spherical SBJ:PCP-auxiliary LNK progressively
pu-ku-nywyt nu pu-maь ty-łov
IPFV-SBJ:PCP-open.towards.the.exterior DEM SENS-not.be AOR-come.out
jznγ pu-xtci laьma nu ku-fse pu-nu-ηu-ηu qʰe
when SENS-be.small only DEM SBJ:PCP-be.lik e SENS-AUTO-EMPH- be LNK
‘It is not like the (mushroom called) *zmbulum* and the Matsutake, which
are spherical when they come out and progressively open towards the
exterior. It is just that it is small when it comes out, [otherwise] it is
already like that.’ (24-zwArqhAjmAG) {0003630#S17}

The permansive reading of the autive prefix is only possible in non-perfective verb forms, in particular Factual, Imperfective, Past Imperfective and Sensory. The permansive use of the autive *nu-* is not without typological parallels. One of the clearest cases is the Russian pronominal element *себе*, originally the dative form of *себя* ‘oneself’, and which alongside its autobenefactive value, is used in certain contexts with a permansive value (‘continue to ...’).<fnref n="4" />

This construction is not fully grammaticalized in Russian, but it is nevertheless
a good parallel to the permansive value of the autive in Japhug. Since it is clear in
Russian that the original meaning of this marker can only have been autobene-
factive, not permansive or spontaneous, this fact suggests that the directionality
of grammaticalization is more likely to be from autobenefactive to permansive in
Japhug too. The following pathway in four stages can be proposed to account for
this evolution; note that all four stages represent attested uses of Japhug autive.

1. ‘Do X for/to oneself’ (AUTOBENEFACTIVE, examples 11, 12, 16 in §19.1.3).

2. ‘Do X on one’s own’ (25, §19.1.4).

<footnote n="4">⁴I am indebted to Dmitry Nikolayev and Pavel Ozerov for pointing out this fact to me and suggesting the grammaticalization path proposed in this section, though I remain responsible for any error.</footnote>
3. 'Do X on one's own, disregarding external conditions' (24, §19.1.4).

4. 'Continue to do X, despite (adverse) external factors.' (PERMANSIVE)

19.1.6 Lexicalized autives

The autive *nu*- is lexicalized in a handful of verbs listed in Table 19.1, whose meaning is not fully predictable from that of the base verb, and which present several morphological properties.

<table><caption>Table 19.1: Lexicalized autive verbs</caption><thead><tr><th>Base verb</th><th>Derived verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em>atuy</em> 'meet'</td><td><em>n<u>r</em>tuy</em> 'happen to be'</td></tr><tr><td><em>βde</em> 'throw'</td><td><em>nuβde</em> 'lose'</td></tr><tr><td><em>ta</em> 'put'</td><td><em>nuta</em> 'wear, take'</td></tr><tr><td><em>st<sup>h</sup>o<u>β</u></em> 'push'</td><td><em>n<u>u</u>st<sup>h</sup>o<u>β</u></em> 'have sex'</td></tr><tr><td><em>kro</em> 'share'</td><td><em>n<u>u</u>kro</em> 'share among themselves'</td></tr><tr><td><em>s<u>r</em>ndu</em> 'exchange'</td><td><em>an<u>t</u><em>s</em><u>r</u>ndu</em> 'get exchanged (by mistake)'</td></tr></tbody></table>

The clearest example of lexicalized autive is the verb *n<u>r</u>tuy* 'happen to be' (40), which derives from *atuy* 'meet'. The autive *nu-* prefix, which undergoes here vowel contraction (§12.3), occurs here in spontaneous action function (§19.1.4), but both the meaning of the verb and the position of the prefix are anomalous: the autive is normally infixed rather than prefixed in the case if verbs in *a-* (§19.1.2).

(40) *ndi na-za-n<u>u</u>* q<sup>h</sup>e, tcendi z<u>u</u> m<u>z</u>-k<u>u</u>-β<sup>h</sup>j<u>z</u>t
west AOR:WEST:3→3-start-PL LNK west LOC NEG-SBJ:PCP-obtain
<u>u</u>-rca nts<u>u</u> p<u>u</u>-n<u>r</u>tuy p<sup>j</sup>u-η<u>u</u>.
3SG.POSS-following always IPFV-happen.to.be.at IFR.IPFV-be
‘When they started [distributing food] from the west, he always
happened to be among those who could not get anything.’ (28-qajdoskAt)
{0003718#S148}

The regular infixed autive, with predictable meaning, is also attested as in (41), in the spontaneous function (§19.1.4).

(41) *n<u>u</u>ni z<u>u</u>ni n<u>u</u>-a<n<u>u</u>>tw<u>y</u>-nd<i>z</i>
DEM:DU 3DU AOR-<AUTO>meet-DU
‘They met each other by themselves (it was not an arranged marriage).’
(14-siblings) {0003508#S313}
The lexicalized autive *nštuy* can be prefixed by the sigmatic causative as *znštuy*
'cause X to be at' as in (42) or with the volitional meaning 'make sure to happen
to be at' (43). This is an additional difference from the regular autive, which is
placed further away from the stem than the causative prefix (§19.1.2).

(42) kwki kw-ymtcoь numw w-mci
dEM.PROX SBJ:PCP-be.pointy dEM 3SG.POSS-saliva
pjuu-kuu-yi w-stu nw
IPFV:DOWN-SBJ:PCP-come 3SG.POSS-direction dEM
puu-wу-z-nytwу.
IPFV-CAUS-happen.to.be.at
'One turns the corner [of the bib] towards the direction of the drooling
saliva [of the baby].'(vid-20140506043657)

(43) cvr twtsʰot sqamnwz zo tce a-jx-tw-z-nytwɣ tce,
night hour twelve EMPH LNK IRR-PFV-2-CAUS-happen.to.be.at LNK
'You will have to make sure to be there at midnight.' (2003 qachGa)
{0003372#S26}

The verbs *nußde* ‘lose’ (44), *nuta* ‘wear, take’ (in particular, ‘take as a wife in marriage’ as in 45), *nuštʰoъ* ‘have sex’<fnref n="5" /> and *nukro* ‘share among themselves’, are additional cases of lexicalized autive derivations. The former *nußde* ‘lose’ reflects the spontaneous function of the *nu-* prefix, and the three other verbs the autobenefactive (‘do for/on oneself’) function.

(44) j-a<nw>ri ri, w-rte p-y-nuwβde
AOR-<VERT>go[II] LNK 3SG.POSS-hat IFR-lose
'He went away, but lost his hat.' (2010-07-pear story)

(45) nw kw w-rzaβ a-ky-nuθte p-w-ntsʰi
dEM ERG 3SG.POSS-wife IRR-PFV-take[III] SENS-be.better
'Let him take her as his wife.' (140513 shenqi de feitan-zh) {0003981#S175}

The causative forms of these verbs, such as *znuta* ‘let X wear’ (46) and *znukro*
‘share X with’ (47) also have the sigmatic causative prefix placed before the lexi-
calized autive *nu-*, unlike the expected order. Note also that although the mean-
ing of the autobenefactive *nukro* ‘share among themselves’ from *kro* ‘share’ ap-
pears to be compositional and predictable, the causative is both positionally and

<footnote n="5">⁵This transitive verb requires a male as subject. For a typological parallel, see the obscene sense of Latin *comprimo* ‘press’ (Adams 1990: 182).</footnote>
semantically irregular, as it works as a beneficiary applicative rather than as a true causative with this verb (a prototypical causative would be expected to mean ‘made/let X share among themselves’, though it is easy to understand how such a meaning could have evolved to ‘share with X’).

(46) *nɔ́-rjɔ́ntcʰa*   *nwa*   *azo ci*   *pju-ku-z-nüta-a*   *tce*
2SG.POSS-ornament DEM:PL 1SG INDEF IPFV-2→1-CAUS-take-1SG LNK
‘Can you let me wear your ornaments?’ (2014-kWlAG)

(47) *w-tɔ́vkaɔca*   *nwa*   *w-zda*   *ra*
3SG.POSS-wild.meat DEM:PL 3SG.POSS-companion PL
*pu-z-nu-krɔ́m,*   *pu-mbi*   *ntsu*   *pju-ŋu.*
IPFV-CAUS-AUTO-share[III]:FACT IPFV-give always IFR.IPFV-be
‘He would share the meat from his hunt with the others, give it to them.’
(150902 hailibu-zh) {0006316#S5}

The intransitive verb *antsvndu* ‘get exchanged (by mistake)’ is derived from
the transitive verb *svndu* ‘exchange’ (itself the causative of *andu* ‘be exchanged
for’) by the combination of the passive *a-* prefix (§18.1) with the prefixal element
-*nt-* . Given the intrinsic non-volitional meaning of *antsvndu* (see examples 48 and
49), it is likely that it originates from the autive in spontaneous action function
(§19.1.4) as the reduced allomorph *-n-* . The *-t-* element between *-n-* and the verb
stem *svndu* is an effect of internal sandhi *-ns-* → *-nts-* (a sound change reminiscent
of Tibetan, Li 1933), as prenasalized fricatives do not exist in Japhug (§4.2.1.9).

(48) kʰydi | wnuz-muz nu-antsvndu
lady.seating place two-kind | aor-be.exchanged.by.mistake
m-y-nu-swχsyl
NEG-AUTO-realize:FACT
'[Your king] does not realize that two [different sisters] have been
exchanged at the lady seating place.' (2003 Kunbzang, 329; see §15.1.4.4
on the meaning of kʰydi)

(49) *nwuzora p̱u-tw-γntsvndu-nu*
2PL SENS-2-be.exchanged.by.mistake-PL
‘You are the opposite way!’ (conversation 16-04-12; context: I told
Tshendzin that my father and I cannot drive cars, while my mother and
my wife can)
19 *Other verbal derivations*

The verb *antsvndu* can thus be analyzed as a double autive+passive derivation, with the expected placement of the autive after the passive (§19.1.2). This verb can be further causativized as *sγntsγndu* ‘exchange by mistake’ and even receive a second autive prefix as in (50).

(50) tci-ŋga to-nuw-suw-yntsvndu-tci
1DU.Poss-clothes IFR-AUTO-CAUS-exchanged.by.mistake-1DU
‘We exchanged our clothes by mistake.’ (elicited)

There are also examples of lexicalized autive *nuu-* prefixes that are located in their expected locus in the template, further away from the stem than the causative. This is the case for instance with the verb *nusukʰo* ‘rob, extort’ (see example 15, §17.2.3), from the causative *sukʰo* ‘cause to give’ of *kʰo* ‘give’. This verb has two *sγ-* antipassive forms (§18.6.2), the regular one *sγ-nuu-suu-kʰo* (*APASS-AUTO-CAUS-give*) ‘rob people’, but also the variant *nuu-sγ-suu-kʰo* (*AUTO-APASS-CAUS-give*) with the autive prefix *nuu-* moved further away from the stem than the antipassive *sγ-*(§18.6.2).

Additional possible examples of fossilized autive prefixes include *nuŋŋγt* ‘part ways’ (§18.5.1.2) and *mγa* ‘take’ (§19.7.3).

19.1.7 Historical relationship with other derivations

Further semantic evolution of the autive prefix with some verbs has led to the de-
velopment of distinct grammatical categories, the vertitive *nuu-* (§19.2) which re-
mained formally similar to the autive, and the anticausative (§18.5), which under-
went phonological reduction to a non-concatenative alternation: the shift from
unvoiced stops and affricatives to their corresponding prenasalized voiced coun-
terparts.

19.2 Vertitive

The vertitive *nuu-* is exclusively attested with a restricted set of motion (§15.1.2.1) and manipulation verbs (§15.1.2.2), indicated in Table 19.2, expressing that the motion is directed back to the point of origin.

The vertitive meaning developed out of the autobenefactive function of the
autive ‘take for oneself’ → ‘take to one’s home’ → ‘take back home’. However,
the two prefixes are synchronically distinct, and can be combined together, as in
example (51); note that in this case the autive is generally realized as -n- (§19.1.2).
<table><caption>Table 19.2: The vertitive prefix *nu-* in Japhug</caption><thead><tr><th>Base verb</th><th>Derived verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>ce 'go'</td><td>nue 'go back' (home)</td></tr><tr><td>yi 'come'</td><td>nuyi 'come back' (home)</td></tr><tr><td>pʰyo 'flee'</td><td>nupʰyo 'flee back' (home)</td></tr><tr><td>tsum 'take away'</td><td>nutsum 'take back' (home)</td></tr><tr><td>yut 'bring'</td><td>nuyut 'bring back' (home)</td></tr><tr><td>no 'drive' (cattle)</td><td>nuno 'drive back' (home)</td></tr><tr><td>zyut 'arrive'</td><td>nuzyut 'arrive back' (home)</td></tr></tbody></table>

(51) tce n̥u-tw̥-ny̥m qʰe, tce zara ku-n-nu̥-yi-nu̥
LNK IPFV:EAST-2-chase[III] LNK LNK 3PL IPFV:EAST-auto-come.back-PL
ŋu ci c-ku-tw̥-ny̥m ra?
be:FACT QU IPFV:EAST-2-chase[III]

‘(And your cows, are they (still) like that), you let them out of the pen [in the morning], and they come back home on their own, or do you have to chase them home?’ (taRrdo conversation)

All vertitive verbs in Table 19.2 have corresponding homophonous autive forms. Example (52) shows the use of the vertitive form of *tsum* ‘take away’, while (53) illustrates its autive form. It is clear in the case of (53) that *nu-tsum* cannot be interpreted as ‘take back’ (since a river flows in one direction and does not take back floating objects to its source).

(52) icqʰa r宋slpu w-tcwn n̥u kw̥ tycime n̥u, w̥zo
the.aforementioned king 3SG.POSS-SON DEM ERG girl DEM 3SG
w-r宋ylkʰyβ n̥utcu jo-nu̥-tsum qʰe
3SG.POSS-kingdom DEM:LOC IFR-VERT-take.away LNK
‘The prince took the girl back (vertitive) to his kingdom.’ (140504 baixue gongzhu-zh) {0003907#S231}

(53) azwy n̥u-nuβde-t-a n̥u ǔn-ŋu t̥w-ci kw̥
1SG:GEN AOR-lose-PST:TR-1SG DEM QU-be:FACT INDEF.POSS-water ERG
tʰu̥-a-nu̥-tsum n̥u ǔn-ŋu
AOR-3→3'-AUTO-take.away DEM QU-be:FACT
‘Is it the one that I lost? Is it the one that the water took away (spontaneous)?’ (140427 bianfu jingji he shuiniao-zh) {0003836#S28}
Unlike the regular autive, but similarly to lexicalized autive verbs (§19.1.6), the
vertitive prefix is located closer to the verb stem than the causative, as shown by
the form *znuçe* ‘let go back’ in (54).

(54) *tw-yjyn* *pjw-ta-z-nw-ce* *jyy* *ri*,
one-time IPFV:DOWN-1→2-CAUS-VERT-go be.allowed:FACT LNK
'I can let you go back home one time.' (150901 changfamei-zh)
{0006352#S161}

19.3 Abilitative

The abilitative *sw-/z-* prefix occurs on transitive verb bases. It is formally identical to the sigmatic causative, and possibly historically derived from it (§19.3.2). As in the case of the causative, the allomorph *z-* is found on polysyllabic verb bases whose first syllable has a sonorant initial (§17.2.1.1). Since the abilitative only occurs on transitive verbs, there is no equivalent of the *swy-* allomorph (§17.2.1.4).

This prefix derives verbs expressing the ability of the transitive subject to per-
form the action of the base verb, as in *sundza* ‘be able to eat’ from *ndza* ‘eat’
(homophonous with the causative *sundza* ‘make/let eat’, ‘eat with’) in (55) and
(56). It seems to be a productive derivation, but abilitative verbs are rare in the
corpus, except for the highly frequent verb *znvčqa* ‘be able to endure/resist’ from
*nvčqa* ‘endure’, ‘resist’.

(55) azo kwny nú-wy-mbi-a, mw-nw-sw-ndza-j tce tcendre <dong>
1SG also AOR-INV-give-1SG NEG-AOR-ABIL-eat-1PL LNK LNK freeze
ntsw pw-βzu-t-a.
always AOR-make-PST:TR-1SG
‘She gave [some edible ferns] to me, we could not eat [all of it], so I froze
it.’ (conversation140510)

(56) *nw-mγ-ky-sw-ndza* *nwnw* *nw-kʰo* *w-ŋgw*
3PL.POSS-NEG-OBJ:PCP-ABIL-eat DEM 3PL.POSS-ROOM 3SG.POSS-in
*nwču* *w-pw* *tu-nw-pa-nw* *pw-ŋgrvl*,
DEM:LOC 3SG.POSS-keep(1) IPFV-AUTO-keep(2) SENS-be.usually.the.case
'[The mice gathered food] and would keep in their room [the food] that
they are not able to eat.' (150818 muzhi guniang-zh) {0006334#S273}

The abilitative can indicate an intrinsic (in)ability (the quantity of food that one can ingest in examples 55 and 56), or a possibility or impossibility due to
adverse external circumstances over which the subject has no control, such as
the absence of buyers in (57), the shortage of food in (58), or the intellectual
difficulty of the problem in (59).

(57) *synymmtsʰu kw kɣ-ntsye cʰy-yut ri*
ANTHR ERG OBJ:PCP-sell IFR:DOWNSTREAM-bring LNK
*múj-sw-ntsye ndvre,*
NEG:SENS-ABIL-sell LNK

'Bsod.nams.mtsho brought them [to Mbarkham] to sell, but could not sell it.' (conversation, 14.05.10)

(58) *tce li nw-ky-ndza pɣ-me qʰe tce ny li,*
LNK again 3PL.POSS-OBJ:PCP-eat IFR-not.exist LNK LNK ADD again
*ty-rjit ra my-sw-χsu-ndzi pjγ-cti qʰe*
INDEF.POSS-child PL NEG-ABIL-feed-DU IFR.IPFV-be.AFF:FACT LNK
'They ran out of food, and were about to be unable to feed the children.'
(160701 poucet2) {0006155#S56}

(59) *tcendvɛ w-βlu zaza zo mw-to-sw-tcɛt tce*
LNK 3SG.POSS-trick early EMPH NEG-IFR-ABIL-take.out LNK
*zwmkʰym zo cʰy-rw-swso pjγ-ra.*
a.long.time EMPH IFR-APASS-think IFR.IPFV-be.needed

'He could not find a solution at first, and had to think for a long time.'
(140425 ajimide1) {0003778#S18}

This derivation can also be used to indicate the acceptance or reluctance of
the subject to do the action, as in (60).

(60) *qafy w-me nw kw, tce li w-pi nwra*
fish 3SG.POSS-daughter DEM ERG LNK again 3SG.POSS-elder.sibling DEM.PL
*wuma zo mw-pjγ-sw-βde pwn-yu*
really EMPH NEG-IFR-ABIL-throw SENS-be
'The mermaid was reluctant to abandon her elder sisters.' (150819
haidenver-zh) {0006314#S287}

As shown by examples (55) to (60), abilitative verbs are only attested in nega-
tive form in the corpus. For some if not most abilitative verbs, the presence of a
negative prefix is a requirement (§19.3). Non-negative forms can be elicited for
some of them (61).
19 *Other verbal derivations*

(61) *a-βlu* *tx-su̯-tca-t-a*
1SG.POSS-trick AOR-ABIL-take.out-PST:TR-1SG
‘I succeeded in finding a solution.’ (elicited)

19.3.1 Lexicalized abilitatives

There are a two lexicalized abilitative verbs with the reduced allomorph s-: *spʰut*
'can cut'<fnref n="6" /> from *pʰut* 'take out, cut', 'take out' as in (62) (see also 12, §13.1.3) and
the complement-taking verb *spa* 'be able' (§24.5.3.4) from *pa* 'do'. In addition, the
isolated verb *jqu* 'be able to lift' might also be a lexicalized abilitative with an
irregular allomorph of the prefix (§19.7.8).

(62) *mbru̯tciu ki*   *múj-mtcɔ́*   *tce múj-spʰu̯t*
knife DEM.PROX NEG:SENS-be.sharp LNK NEG:SENS-can)cut
‘This knife is not sharp, it cannot cut.’ (elicited)

Both *spa* ‘be able’ and its base verb *pa* ‘do’ have cognates in all Gyalrongic lan-
guages, including Tangut (ofɔ³⁸⁵).wji².⁶⁰ ‘be able to’ and ſ移⁵¹¹³.wji¹.¹⁰ ‘do’, see
Jacques 2014c: 86;255-256), Khroskyabs (Wobzi fsó ‘savoir faire’, Lai 2017: 475) and
Stau (vza with metathesis). Although West Gyalrongic languages lack an abilita-
tive derivation, the existence of this cognate set demonstrates that this derivation
goes back to at least proto-Gyalrongic, and has been lost in West Gyalrongic ex-
cept in this lexicalized form.

19.3.2 Historical origin

Although the abilitative derivation goes back at least to the common ancestor
of Japhug and Tangut, it is nevertheless likely that it derives from the sigmatic
causative (Jacques 2015d: 190).

Although abilitative and causative derivations share little semantic commonal-
ities, there are nevertheless potentially ambiguous sentences, where a *suu-* prefix
can be interpreted either as causative or as abilitative with very similar meaning,
differing only in perspective. These ambiguous clauses may have been the pivot
constructions allowing a reanalysis from causative to abilitative.

The main ambiguous construction between causative and abilitative occurs
with the presentive meaning of the sigmatic causative in negative form (§17.2.4.4).
For instance, in example (63), the verb *suu-rqoɔ* (from *rqoɔ* ‘hug’) can be analyzed
as an abilitative ‘be able to hug’.

<footnote n="6">⁶In Chinese, this verb in negative form is translated as 切不动 <qiēbúdòng> ‘cannot cut’ or 咬不动 <yǎobúdòng> ‘cannot tear by chewing’.</footnote>
(63) *turme la^nwlaxsum kwny m^y-k^y-sur-qo^n kw-fse*
people two.or.three also NEG-INF-ABIL-hug SBJ:PCP-be lik e
*kw-jpum pw-qze c^ha*
SBJ:PCP-be.thick IPFV-grow can:FACT
'[The fir] can grow so thick that two or three people cannot hug [its
trunk]' (08-tWrgi) {0003464#S6}

However, it is also possible to construe the meaning in a different way: ‘The fir can grow so thick that it prevents even two or three people from hugging (its trunk)’, with a causative interpretation. This interpretation is possible due to the ambiguity of the scope of the negation of the causative, which generates the preventive meaning ‘prevent, hinder’ in negative forms (§17.2.4.4), from which a modal meaning ‘not able to’ can be derived, with the causee reanalyzed as the transitive subject of the *su-* prefixed verb. The reanalysis of the causee as transitive subject is made possible in non-finite clauses by the fact that the causer can optionally take the ergative (§14.4.3) and that with the additive focus marker *kuny* ‘also, even’ the ergative cannot surface anyway (§9.1.6.1), so that the surface ambiguity between causee and causer can only be resolved by person indexation.

This hypothesis is made more plausible by the fact that, as discussed above,
abilitative verbs almost always occur in negative form.

Another potential pivot construction between causative and abilitative is found with the instrumental use of the sigmatic causative (§17.2.5.8). In (64) for instance, the *su-* prefix is an instrumental causative ('sew with') but the context also invites an abilitative interpretation ('be able to sew').

(64) *kuki taqaβ ki, u-xso taqaβ nus maq,*
DEM.PROX needle DEM.PROX 3SG.POSS-common needle DEM not.be:FACT
*nykinu, nufse taqaβ nus maq tce, nus rcanu, tcʰi*
FILLER like.that needle DEM not.be:FACT LNK DEM UNEXP:DEG what
*nur-tur-suso-t cʰu-tur-nu-sur-tʃuβ kʰu*
AOR-2-think-PST:TR IPFV-2-AUTO-CAUS/ABIL-sew be.possible:FACT
‘This needle is no ordinary needle, it is not a simple needle like that,
[with it] you will be able to sew whatever you like.’ (140508 benling
gaoqiang de si xiongdi-zh) {0003935#S99}

19.4 Distributed action

The distributed action derivation has a double morphological exponence, com-
bining a prefix *n* with the partially reduplicated stem of the base verb. Partial
reduplication applies to the last syllable of the stem if polysyllabic (§4.1), and the
replicant takes the vowel -u by default, except in a few cases studied in §19.4.2.1
and §19.4.2.2. The distributed action derivation is not compatible with verbs that
already have reduplicated forms or a *n*্- or *nu* - prefix. For instance, *nuqambum*
*bjom* 'fly' lacks a distributed action form; to express this meaning, a serial verb
construction (§25.4.1.3) with the distributed action derivation *nṛṣuṇe* 'go around'
(from the motion verb ṣe 'go') is used instead, as in (65).

(65) ṣ-u̱ar ra ko-tsḥoV-nu tce tcendyre, rfy lpu nu chony
3SG.POSS-wing PL IFR-attach-PL LNK LNK king DEM COMIT
aъyndwndyt ju-nuqambwmbjom-ndzi tce ju-nycwcce-ndzi ra
everywhere IPFV-fly-DU LNK IPFV-DISTR:go-DU PL
to-kḥu jw-ŋu.
IFR-be.possible SENS-be
‘They attached wings on her back, and she became able to fly around
everywhere with the king.’ (150818 muzhi guniang-zh) {0006334#S477}

This derivation is found with both intransitive and transitive verbs, as shown
by the examples in Table 19.3, and does not affect valency. It expresses a repeated
action, often (with the base verb has a motional meaning) with aimless motion,
distributed spatially and/or temporally. It is semantically very close to the Chi-
nese construction X来X去 X lái X qù, and distributed action derivation can often
be translated by this construction: for instance *nṛṣurjuy* ‘run around’ closely
corresponds to Chinese 跑来跑去 *pǎo lái pǎo qù*.

The distributed action derivation preserves stem alternation (§12.2.1). The verb *nṛtuti* ‘tell around’ has the stem II -nṛtutut as expected from the base verb *ti* ‘say’ (stem II -tut), and *nṛṣuṇe* ‘go around’ has the stem II *anṛturi* with a prefixed *a-* like the stem II - *ari* of the base verb *ce* ‘go’.

The distributed action derivation can be semantically very close to the repre-
tition of the verb with the additive linker *nṛ*, and both often occur in the same
contexts. In the case of motion verbs, repetition with alternation between the
EASTWARDS and WESTWARDS orientations (§15.1.4.3) has the same ‘goal-less ac-
tion’ function as the distribution action derivation. For instance, the meaning of
example (66) could be expressed with the verb *nṛṣurjuy* ‘run around’.

(66) ko-rṣuy nṛ jṛ-rṣuy zo qḥe,
IFR:EAST-run LNK IFR:WEST-run EMPH LNK
‘She ran around.’ (150901 changfamei-zh) {0006352#S104}
<table><caption>Table 19.3: Examples of distributed action derivations</caption><thead><tr><th>Base verb</th><th>Derived verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>ŋke 'walk'</td><td>nɔŋkwnke 'walk around'</td></tr><tr><td>rɔŋy 'run'</td><td>nɔrɔŋrɔŋy 'run around'</td></tr><tr><td>mtsɔk 'jump'</td><td>nɔmtswmtsɔk 'jump around'</td></tr><tr><td>ce 'go'</td><td>nɔcɔwce 'go around'</td></tr><tr><td>car 'search'</td><td>nɔcɔwar 'search around'</td></tr><tr><td>ndo 'take'</td><td>nɔndundo 'carry around'</td></tr><tr><td>ti 'say'</td><td>nɔtuti 'tell around' (or 'say many times')</td></tr><tr><td>ctʰuɔz 'turn towards'</td><td>nɔctʰuɔctʰuɔz 'turn in all directions'</td></tr><tr><td>ɔndu 'hit'</td><td>nɔbnduɔndu 'hit repeatedly'</td></tr><tr><td>tʰu 'ask'</td><td>nɔtʰuɔtʰu 'ask around'</td></tr><tr><td>βji 'chase'</td><td>nɔβjwβji 'chase around'</td></tr></tbody></table>

However, in the case of allative motion verbs (§15.1.2.1), distributed action derivation and verb repetition can have a different meaning. The former generally expresses the absence of a specific goal as in (67), and often co-occurs with the adverb *aɔŋndundɔt* ‘everywhere’ (see 65 above). The distributed action verb *nɔcɔwce* is only compatible with the unspecified orientation prefixes, and cannot occur with any of the other six orientations (§15.1.3).

(67) wzo-swso ju-nɔcɔwce mw-pjɔ-yγ
3SG-as.wish IPFV-DISTR:go NEG-IFR.IPFV-be.allowed
'[The nightingale] was not allowed to [fly] around freely.' (140519
yeying-zh) {0004040#S102}

On the contrary, verb repetition with the same orientation prefix (68) (unlike 66) conveys an idea of continuous and lengthy motion in one specific direction, a meaning that would be incompatible with that of the corresponding distributed action verb *nɔcɔwce* 'go around'.

(68) tcendvre pγ-ce nγ pγ-ce tce tcendvre, tcendi tce tce,
LNK IFR:WEST-go ADD IFR:WEST-go LNK LNK west LNK LNK
tcendi tcendi tce tcendvre mtsʰu ci pγ-k-ytwγ-ci.
west west LNK LNK lake INDEF IFR-PEG-meet-PEG
'He went towards the west (for a long time). Very far in the west, he
found a lake.' (28-smAnmi) {0004063#S87}
With non-motional oriented verbs such as ṣtʰuẓ ‘turn towards’ (§15.1.2.4), the distributed action derivation does not imply translational motion, but expresses the idea of turning one’s aim/look/body part towards all directions, as with the verb nṛṣṭhṛṣṇṭhṛṣṇ in (69).

(69) w-cna ra pγ-nγctʰwctʰwz tceri, nyki, ty-pytso
3SG.POSS-nose PL IFR-DISTR:turn.towards LNK FILLER INDEF.POSS-child
ra kʰri w-pa ky-ky-sw-ynbay nw pjγ-swγsvl matci
PL bed 3SG.POSS-under AOR-OBJ:PCP-CAUS-hide DEM IFR-discover LNK
w-di pjγ-mnγm tce,
3SG.POSS-smell IFR.IPFV-have.a.smell LNK

‘[The ogre] pointed his nose in all directions, and discovered the children that had been hidden under the bed because of the smell.’ (160704 poucet4-v2) {0006097#S5}

With verbs of speech such as ti ‘say’ and tʰu ‘ask’, the distributed action derivation (respectively nṛtṛuti ‘tell around’ and nṛtʰuṭu ‘ask around’) generally implies a repeated activity (generally at different places) directed towards many people as in (70) and (71). These verbs can select dative recipients as their base verbs (§14.4.1), but those are rarely overt and if overt only generic nouns such as turme ‘person’ are possible.

(70) nṛ-smwlym nw azo a-rpyo yw-tʰu-lyt
2SG.POSS-prayer DEM 1SG 1SG.POSS-lap CISL-AOR:DOWNSTREAM-release
tce, tce mucin nṛ-nṛtṛuti-a ma, nw maɣ qʰe,
LNK LNK at.all NEG-DISTR:say:FACT-1SG LNK DEM not.be:FACT LNK
tu-nṛtṛuti-a ŋu
TRAL-DISTR:say-1SG be:FACT

‘(When the time will come to choose your husband), put your offering (prayer) on my lap, and I will not say anything to anybody, otherwise I will tell everybody [about it].’ (2005 Kunbzang)

(71) tcendre zw~zimkʰym zo ayyndwndyt zo pγ-nγtʰuwthu tce
LNK EMPH~long.time EMPH eveywhere EMPH IFR-DISTR:ask LNK
“qala ŋoj nw-ari” ntsu to-ti pjγ-nγtʰuwthu tce,
rabbit where AOR:WEST-go[II] always IFR-say IFR-DISTR:ask LNK
‘[The bear] asked around everywhere for a very long time where the rabbit had gone.’ (2011-13-qala)
However, *nɛ́tutiti* can also have a temporally protracted action meaning ‘speak for an (overly) long time’ without the implication of more than one recipient, as in (72), a sentence describing the plight of an informant assailed with questions by a linguist.

(72) *ky-nɛ́tutiti* *kwa* *a-rqo* *zo*
IFR-DISTR:say ERG 1SG.POSS-throat EMPH
*ky-nu-suɣ-ndzi-t-a*
AOR-AUTO-CAUS-be.hoarse-PST:TR-1SG

‘My voice has become hoarse (I have made my voiced become hoarse)
because of speaking again and again.’ (elicited)

With the verb *tsʰʰyt* ‘try’, the distributed action derivation *nɛ́tsʰuitsʰyt* ‘test/try again and again’ expresses repetition, as in (73) with first syllable reduplication indicating iterative coincidence (§12.4.1.3).

(73) *tcɛndvre tchɛ́me nuw c-to-nɛ́tsʰuitsʰyt* ri, *tw-ta-nɛ́tsʰuitsʰyt*
LNK girl DEM TRAL-IFR-DISTR:try LNK ITER~AOR:3→3′-DISTR:try
*zo* *nuw* *tchɛ́me nuw *kwa* *lʌnɛ́vʌk* *zo* *tu-ste*
EMPH DEM girl DEM ERG IDPH(III):with.ease EMPH IPFV-do likel[III]
*pw-cti* *pwn-ηu.*
PST.IPFV-be.AFF.FACT SENS-be

‘He has gone and tested the girl again and again, and each time he tested her, she answered correctly with ease.’ (2005 tAwa kWcqraR)

Stative verbs, including adjectives, are usually incompatible with the distributed action derivation. The resulting form would be formally identical to the tropative (§17.5) with emphatic reduplication (§12.4.3). The only adjective with such a derivation is *spu* ‘be mad’ (from *sɔ́ mso* ‘be crazy’), which yields *nɛ́spuŋu* ‘be a little crazy, do crazy things (intermittently)’, attested in (74).<fnref n="7" />

(74) *pjw-nɛ́spuŋspu* *ntsw* *pjv-cti* *tce*
IPFV-DISTR:be.mad always IFR.IPFV-be.AFF.FACT LNK

‘He always did [all sorts of] crazy things.’ (150829 jidian-zh) {0006338#S12}

The distributed action derivation also has the sense of ‘do X in disorderly fashion’: the form *nɛ́fsuʃse* (from the similative verb *fse* ‘be like’) can be interpreted

<footnote n="7">⁷In this translated example, the form *pjw-nɛ́spuŋspu* corresponds to Chinese 疯疯癫癲 <fēngfēngdiāndiǎn> ‘a little mad’ in the original. However, it seems that the derivation turns the stative verb into a dynamic one.</footnote>
19 Other verbal derivations

as ‘act foolishly’, as in (75). From this use, *nfufse* has developed the extended
meaning ‘be pretentious’, like that of the auto-evaluative derivation (§19.5).

(75) tcʰi pɔt-w-nɔme ŋu, tcʰi pɔ-t-w-nɔfswse pɔ-ŋu ma,
what SENS-2-make[II] be:FACT what SENS-2-DISTR:be lik e SENS-be LNK
nɔki jɔ-pʰŋo ma
FILLER IMP-flee LNK

‘What are you doing, what kind of foolish act are you doing, flee!’ (2012
Norbzang) {0003768#S57}

In addition to regular distributed action verbs, there is one example with the
prefix *r-y-*: *r-yβzwβzar* 'cut into many pieces' from *βzar* 'cut'.

19.4.1 Lexicalized distributed action verbs

A certain number of verbs have a forms that is similar to a distributed action
derivation, combining a *n-y-* prefix with partial reduplication of the stem, but
have no corresponding base verb with exactly the same stem. The intransitive
*nɔrura* ‘look around’ is a particularly good candidate to be analyzed as a fos-
silized derivation of this type, as its meaning exactly fits that of a distributed
action form of a verb meaning ‘look’. It might be an irregular derivation from *ru*
‘look at’ (§15.1.2.4), with unexplained vowel alternation (note that the expected
†*nɔruru* does not exist).<fnref n="8" />

The transitive verbs *nɔkʰukʰrut* ‘drag along’, *nɔcɔci* ‘drag along’ and *nɔmuma* ‘stroke’<sup>9</sup> are possible candidates for being analyzed as lexicalized distributed action verbs. The verb *nɔcɔci* might be related to *rɔci* ‘pull’, but for the other two no known root exist in the language, and if verbs such as *kʰrut* and *ma* did exist at an earlier stage, they have been lost at least in the Kamnyu dialect. Note however that *nɔcɔci* and *nɔkʰukʰrut* ‘drag along’ are orientable manipulation verbs (§15.1.2.2), and express an action occurring in one specific direction, as in (76); if these verbs are indeed ancient distributed action derivations, this derivation possibly has the sense of ‘protracted action’ (as in 72 above) rather than distributed action in the proper sense.

<footnote n="8">⁸Khroskyabs and Western Gyalrongic in general have -a reduplication (Lai 2013), but since proto-Gyalrong *-*a is fronted in Khroskyabs, this Japhug pattern cannot be directly cognate.</footnote>

<footnote n="9">⁹The verb *nɔmuma* ‘stroke’ is homophonous with the emphatic reduplicated form of the transitive verb *nɔma* ‘do’.</footnote>
(76) tce ki a-txpi ki lu-nykʰukʰru:t-a tce azo
LNK DEM.PROX 1SG.POSS-staff DEM.PROX IPFV:UPSTREAM-drag-1SG LNK 1SG
lu-m-a ɣu tce, a-qʰu
IPFV:UPSTREAM-be.first-1SG be:FACT LNK 1SG.POSS-after
ly-yi je tce, a-txpi u-jru~jrov
IMP:UPSTREAM-come SFP LNK 1SG.POSS-staff 3SG.POSS-trace~PERLATIVE
zo ly-yi je tce,
EMPH IMP:UPSTREAM-come SFP LNK

'I am going up there first, dragging this staff, [of mine] along, come after me and follow its, trace.' (2005 Kunbzang)

On the other hand *nymuma* 'stroke' is used to express touching or groping (eg, in the dark) without specific direction, as in (77).

(77) u-mat nux njr-rko tce jny-wy-nymuma tce
3SG.POSS-fruit DEM SENS-be.hard LNK IPFV-INV-stroke LNK
rbom.
be.rough:FACT
'It's fruit is hard and rough to the touch.' (12-ndZiNgri) {0003488#S41}

The intransitive verb *nypʰupʰu* 'beg' could superficially seem to be a lexicalized distributed action verb, but it is better to analyze it as a denominal verb (§20.7) from the inalienable noun *u-pʰupʰu* 'alms', which selects the person receiving the alms (rather than the one giving them) as possessor, as shown by (78) (see also §5.1.2.13).

(78) nyzo ny-pʰupʰu kγ-yut aj a-va ku-me
2SG 2SG.POSS-alms INF-bring 1SG 1SG.POSS-free.time PRS-not.exist
'I don't have time to give you alms.' (2003kandZislama)

The verb *nystustu* 'cause trouble to' (79) is formally the distributed action derivation from the verb of similative *stu* 'do like' (§14.4.2), with a synchronically unpredictable meaning.

(79) zara-stusti tce nu-ku-nystustu maŋe,
3PL-alone LNK 3PL.POSS-SBJ:PCP-cause.trouble not.exist:SENS
'When alone [without their young], [the wild yaks] have no [predators].'
(20-RmbroN) {0003560#S47}
## 19.4.2 Irregular partial reduplication

Partial reduplication with *Cuu*- replicant (§4.1) is not the only way of forming distributed action verbs. Suffixal reduplication in -IV (§19.4.2.1) and prefixal reduplication in *Coow*- and *Cum*- (§19.4.2.2) are also attested.

### 19.4.2.1 Replicant in -IV

The verbs in Table 19.4 take a suffixed syllable -le or -lu (*nymjo* ‘watch’ → *ny-mjo-le*), or a syllable in -IV whose rhyme replicates that of the verb stem (*mbyak* ‘turn over’ → *ny-mbyak-laak*). This exceptional example of rhyme reduplication in Japhug has important consequences for phonological analysis (§3.5.2.1). A similar type of reduplication is observed in pattern IV ideophones (§10.1.2.4).

Apart from *çar* ‘search’, which has two alternative distributed action derivations *nyçuçar* and *nyçarlar* (both ‘search around, search in all directions’), the other verbs only occur with -IV replicant variant. The verb *mtçur* ‘turn’ has two variants *nymtçurlur* and *nymtçurlu*.

<table><caption>Table 19.4: Examples of distributed action derivations with -IV replicant</caption><thead><tr><th>Base verb</th><th>Derived verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><i>mbyak</i> ‘turn over’ (vi)</td><td><i>nymbyaklaak</i> ‘turn over here and there’ (vi)</td></tr><tr><td><i>ndzaβ</i> ‘fall/roll’</td><td><i>nyndzaβlaβ</i> ‘roll again and again’ (or in all directions)</td></tr><tr><td><i>ndzaak</i> ‘swim’</td><td><i>nyndzaaklaak</i> ‘swim around’</td></tr><tr><td><i>mtçur</i> ‘turn’ (vi)</td><td><i>nymtçurlur</i> ‘turn in all directions’ (vi)</td></tr><tr><td><i>nymjo</i> ‘watch’ (vl)</td><td><i>nymtçurlu</i> ‘turn in all directions’ (vl)</td></tr><tr><td><i>tsaβ</i> ‘cause to fall/roll’</td><td><i>nyntsaβlaβ</i> ‘cause to roll in all directions’</td></tr><tr><td><i>pyak</i> ‘turn over’ (vt)</td><td><i>nypyaklaak</i> ‘turn over here and there’ (vt)</td></tr><tr><td><i>çar</i> ‘search’</td><td><i>nyçarlar</i> ‘search around’</td></tr></tbody></table>

With the labile verb *nymjo* ‘watch’, this derivation has an antipassivizing effect, since the derived verb *nympole* ‘watch the scenery’ is strictly intransitive.

This derivation can be applied to both the base verbs *tsaβ* ‘cause to fall/roll’ and *pyak* ‘turn over’ and their anticausatives *ndzaβ* ‘fall/roll’ and *mbyak* ‘turn over’, respectively.
### 19.4.2.2 Replicant in *Сов- or *Сум-*

A handful distributed action verbs take a replicant other than the regular -u. The transitive verb *mpʰur* ‘wrap’ yields *nugmpʰompʰur* ‘preserve (something fragile) by wrapping under several layers’ with -Сов- reduplicant (this rare type of reduplication is also attested in some passive forms, §18.1.5).

The intransitive verb *nugav* ‘have a good time’ has the derived form *nugvimtav*
‘play around’ with -Cum- replicant, the only example of this type of reduplication
in Japhug.

### 19.4.3 Compatibilities with other derivations

The distributed action derivation is not attested on verbs with prefixal deriva-
tions, including the sigmatic causative. However, the -IV variant (§19.4.2.1) is
found with a handful of anticausativized verbs (§18.5.6).

Further derivations on distributed action verbs are verb rare. The verb *nugmpole*
'watch the scenery' for instance can be causativized with the sigmatic prefix *z*-
as in (80).

(80) *kyntcʰav ra cʰy-z-nugmpole*
street PL IFR-CAUS-DISTR:watch
'He [took] him to do sightseeing in the city.' (140511 alading-zh)
{0003953#S53}

## 19.5 Auto-evaluative

Like the distributed action derivation (§19.4), the auto-evaluative derivation has a double exponence: the prefix *znug*- and verb stem partial reduplication. It takes a stative intransitive verb as input, and derives an intransitive verb meaning ‘think of oneself as X, pretend to be X’ (where X stands for the meaning of the base verb, always expressing a positive characteristic), as in Table 19.5. Although similar to reflexivized tropatives (§17.5), auto-evaluative verbs have a derogatory meaning and imply pretentiousness and vanity or bragging.

When the base verb already has an auto-evaluative meaning (*χpa* ‘be proud’),
the auto-evaluative derivation only adds the derogatory nuance (*znχχpwχpa* ‘be
arrogant’).

The verb *znxjpwipe* ‘be full of oneself’ (from *pe* ‘be good’) has an irregular
form with an inserted -j- element (the expected form would be †*znxpupe*), and
its meaning is slightly lexicalized ‘be full of oneself’ (from ‘think of oneself as
good’).
<table><caption>Table 19.5: Examples of auto-evaluative derivations</caption><thead><tr><th>Base verb</th><th>Derived verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><i>mpɛr</i> ‘be beautiful’</td><td><i>znɛmpɛumpɛr</i> ‘think of oneself as beautiful’</td></tr><tr><td><i>χɛu</i> ‘be strong’</td><td><i>znɛχɛuχɛu</i> ‘think of oneself as strong’</td></tr><tr><td><i>χpa</i> ‘be proud’</td><td><i>znɛχpwaχpa</i> ‘be arrogant’</td></tr><tr><td><i>pe</i> ‘be good’</td><td><i>znɛxpujpe</i> ‘be full of oneself’</td></tr></tbody></table>

(81) *nw-rpu* *nw kw nwra, maka, wzo t-y-k-y-fst-yt* yw

3PL.POSS-king DEM ERG DEM:PL at.all 3SG AOR-OBJ:PCP-flatter GEN

*w-rju* *nwra* *pj-y-mtsʰym tce, m-yzw* *zo*

3SG.POSS-word DEM:PL IFR-hear LNK even.more EMPH

*to-znɛxpujpe.*

IFR-be.full.of.oneself

‘Hearing these words of praise, the king became even more full of himself than before.’ (150830 afanti-zh) {0006380#S89}

Other examples of lexicalized auto-evaluative verbs include *znɛlhuli* ‘play the coquette’ (from *li* ‘be spoiled’) and *znɛŋŋuŋu* ‘be arrogant’, a verb built from the root of the copula *ŋu* ‘be’, whose original meaning was ‘be right’ (§16.1.1.7).

## 19.6 Attenuative reduplication

In verbal derivation, reduplication occurs to express reciprocal (§18.4.1), distributed action (§19.4) and emphasis (§12.4.3). Combination of *a-* prefix with partial reduplication of the last syllable of the stem is also found with an attenuative meaning in a few stative verbs of colour (Table 19.6). Note that the replicated syllables takes the vowel /r/ instead of /w/ in *a-ŋr-ŋrum* ‘be whitish’ and *a-pr-pyi* ‘be greyish’, and the absence of *w* in *a-ŋr-ŋrum* (on the cluster *wxt-*, see §4.2.1.1).

Since the base verbs in Table 19.6 can also be subjected to emphatic reduplication, we find minimal pairs like and *a-ŋr-ŋrum* ‘be whitish’ and *a-qarŋu-rŋe* ‘be yellowish’ (82) vs. *wyrw-wyrum* ‘be very white’ (83) and *qarŋu-rŋe* ‘be very yellow’ (84), respectively (§12.4.3).
<table><caption>Table 19.6: Examples of attenuative reduplication</caption><thead><tr><th>Base verb</th><th>Attenuative</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>wýrum 'be white'</td><td>ayryrum 'be whitish'</td></tr><tr><td>pyi 'be grey'</td><td>arypyi, apryyi 'be greyish'</td></tr><tr><td>qarne 'be yellow'</td><td>aqarwyne 'be yellowish'</td></tr></tbody></table>

(82) w-muntov nwra ayryrum w-ngwz kumy
3SG.POSS-flower DEM:PL be.whitish:FACT 3SG.POSS-inside:LOC also
aqarwyne kw-fse
be.yellowish:FACT SBJ:PCP-be like
'It's flower is whitish, with a taint of yellowish.' ('it is like yellowish inside the whitish colour') (16-CWrNgo) {0003518#S195}

(83) tceri qro nwnw wuma zo wyrum, kw-wyrw-wyrum
LNK pigeon DEM really EMPH be.white:FACT SBJ:PCP-EMPH-be.white
zo ņu.
EMPH be:FACT
'The pigeon is very white.' (24-qro) {0003626#S3}

(84) w-muntov rca wuma zo mpcyr tce
3SG.POSS-flower UNEXP:DEG really EMPH be.beautful:FACT LNK
kw-qarwy-rne zo ņu.
SBJ:PCP-EMPH-be.yellow EMPH be:FACT
'It's flower is very beautiful, it is very yellow.' (15-babW) {0003512#S101}

# 19.7 Fossil affixes and marginal derivations

## 19.7.1 Volitional *mw-* prefix

The intransitive dynamic verb *munmu* ‘move’ contains a prefix *mw-*, as shown by the existence of the bare root *nmu* in the verb *nmu* ‘shake (of earthquakes)’ (Jacques 2017a), which is only found in collocation with the noun *wajw* ‘earthquake’ (85).

(85) wajw jy-nmu
earthquake IFR-shake
'There was an earthquake.' (elicited)
19 *Other verbal derivations*

The Limbu labile verb |munt| ‘move’ (Michailovsky 2002) is probably cognate to the Japhug root (Jacques 2017b: 212, see also §3.3.3 on the absence of coda in Japhug), and since munmu means ‘move’ in general (for both animate and inanimate beings), the restriction of the base verb nmu to earthquakes specifically cannot be an archaism. Rather, the ancestor of the base verb nmu must have had a more general meaning ‘move’ when the proto-form from which munmu originates was derived from it. The exact meaning of the ancestor of nmu, and the function of the mu- prefix in this verb are uncertain, but the following scenario can be proposed: the n- element in nmu could be a frozen allomorph of the autive (§19.1), and the original meaning of nmu could have been ‘move (spontaneously, without external agency)’, and the derived form munmu would thus have had the meaning ‘move (voluntarily)’: in Japhug, this verb can refer to volitional actions, and it is used for instance with the imperative and prohibitive (for instance in 86).

(86) ma-nu-tu-munmu ma ms-phn
NEG-IMP-2-move LNK NEG-be.efficient:FACT
‘Don’t move, otherwise it won’t work!’ (2002 qala)

In this interpretation, the original function of the *mu-* in this example would be deriving a volitional verb out of a non-volitional one (itself rendered non-volitional by the autobenefactive prefix).

In other Gyalrong languages, only cognates of the derived verb *munmu* are attested. The Bragbar Situ form *vərmô* ‘bouger’ (Zhang 2020) suggests that *mu-* originates from *wə-* with regressive nasalization from the last syllable. This invalidates a possible comparison with the volitional *m-* prefix reconstructed by Baxter & Sagart (2014: 55) in Old Chinese.

19.7.2 Applicative -t suffix

Beside the productive prefixal *mu-* applicative (§17.4), Japhug has vestigial traces of a -t applicative suffix, better attested in Kiranti and West Himalayish languages (see Michailovsky 1985, Jacques (2015a) and Jacques 2016c for comparative studies of this suffix). Only two examples of this derivation exist in Japhug: *yut* ‘bring’ and *mdut* ‘be resolved to, be determined to’.<fnref n="10" />

<footnote n="10">¹⁰More examples of -t applicative are found in Situ (Lin 2017; Zhang 2020), though all involving verbs of motion.</footnote>
19.7 Fossil affixes and marginal derivations

The verb of manipulation *yut* ‘bring’ derives from the motion verb *yi* ‘come’;
the vowel alternation is regular as pre-Japhug *i* changes to /w/ in closed syl-
lables. With a motion verb such as ‘come’, the effect of the applicative (87) is
similar to a causative (88).

(87) ‘come with X’ → ‘bring’

(88) ‘cause X to come’ → ‘bring’

The transitive verb *mdut* ‘be resolved to, be determined to’ is historically re-
lated to the verb *mdu* ‘live up to’, and constitutes another example of the -t ap-
plicative, though it is less immediately obvious than in the case of *yut* ‘bring’
because each of the verbs has undergone semantic specialization after the deriva-
tion took place.

The verb *mdu* is semi-transitive (§14.2.3), and takes as its semi-object the life-
span; it can be applied to plants, animals and humans, as shown by examples (89)
and (90). It selects the *DOWNSTREAM* series of directional prefixes (§15.1.4.1).

(89) tce n̥uŋa w̥zo n̥uwn, sqamŋu-xpa jamar cʰu-mdu
LNK COW 3SG DEM fifteen-year about IPFV-live.up.to
pu-ŋgryl
SENS-be.usually.the.case
‘A cow can live up to fifteen years.’ (05-qaZo) {0003404#S127}

(90) “nyzo nuy kʰruitsu-xpa a-tʰu-tuy-mduy ra ny”
2SG DEM ten.thousand-year IRR-PFV-2-live.up.to be.needed:FACT SFP
to-ti puy-nyu. tce “azo kuyuy kʰruitsu cʰondy̥re tuu-rzaub
IFR-say SENS-be LNK 1SG also ten.thousand-year COMIT one-day
nuyuy cʰuy-mduy-a ra” to-ti
DEM IPFV-live.up.to-1SG be.needed:FACT IFR-say
‘He said: ‘May you live ten thousand years! I want to live one thousand
years and one more day.’ (150830 afanti-zh) {0006380#S64}

The meaning ‘live until/up to’ is however a semantic innovation in Japhug:
its Situ cognate *mdá* means ‘reach’ as a motion verb. Japhug has restricted the
meaning of this verb to a very specific context.

The verb *mdut* ‘be resolved to, be determined to’ is morphologically transitive,
and can take as its object an infinitive complement as in (91). It shares with *mdu*
‘live up to’ the *DOWNSTREAM* directional prefixes (*cʰu*-).
19 Other verbal derivations

(91) az̥o kuru-skýt k z̥joz nu cʰu-mdút-a z̥o
1SG Tibetan-language INF-learn DEM IPFV-be.determined EMPH
cti
be.AFF:FACT

'I am determined to learn Tibetan/Gyalrong.' (elicited)

The precise meaning of *mdut* is to be determined to do something that one has confidence they can realize. If one accepts the idea that the original meaning of Japhug *mdu* ‘live up to’ was ‘reach’ as in Situ, the meaning ‘be determined to’ of the verb *mdut* has the same relationship to that of the base verb as English ‘reach for’ (‘reach for the stars’) to the verb ‘reach’, with a conative interpretation ‘try/strive to reach’. The addition of the suffix -t turns the semi-transitive (morphologically intransitive) *mdu* into a transitive verb whose A corresponds to the S of the base verb. This applicative derivation from a semi-transitive verb is not unique in Japhug; the transitive verb *nurga* ‘like’ from the verb *rga* ‘like’ with the *nu*- applicative is another similar example (§17.4).

19.7.3 Antipassive -t suffix

The semi-transitive verb *ßryt* ‘obtain’, as proposed by Gong (2018: 310), is related to the orientable manipulation verb *mya* ‘take (from)’, a meaning illustrated by example (92). The two verbs differ by vowel alternation, -t suffixation and preninital nasalization.

(92) nwnwra yu nu-rte nw ci u-qʰu ci zo
DEM.PL GEN 3PL.POSS-hat DEM one 3SG.POSS-after one EMPH
to-nu-mja. to-nu-mja qʰe jo-tswm qʰe
IFR:UP-AUTO-take IFR:UP-AUTO-take LNK IFR-take.away LNK
u-pi ra twkaka nu-ku u-taɣ
3SG.POSS-elder.sibling PL each 3PL.POSS-head 3SG.POSS-on
pjy-ta.
IFR:DOWN-put

‘He took their crowns one after the other and put them on the heads of each of his brothers.’ (160705 poucet5-v2) {0006163#S19}

The transitive verb *mja* can also mean ‘get, obtain’ when used with the DOWN-WARDS orientation, as in (93) (§15.1.5.6). Apart from Tshobdun *mjing*, cognates in other Gyalrongic languages (such as Zbu *vjé?*) lack a nasal preinitial, suggesting that the Japhug and Tshobdun forms result from fusion with the autive prefix
19.7 Fossil affixes and marginal derivations

(§19.1, Gong 2018: 310). This constitutes an interesting exclusive common inno-
vation shared by Japhug and Tshobdun.

(93) *tw-sn̥i k( one-day
pjw̥-wy-m̥a ma
IPFV-INV-take
pw-kw-xtci.
PST.IPFV-GENR:S/O-be.small

<u>tw-kw-ryma</u>, <gongfen> wn̥w-sk̥rma

complete IPFV-GENR:S/O-work
m̥-pw-kw-cʰa,
from NEG-PST.IPFV-GENR:S/O-can
small

'Working a complete day, I could only get two cents of labour points, as I
was young.' (2010-09)

'Working a complete day, I could only get two cents of labour points, as I was young.' (2010-09)

The verb *βjɛ́t*, meaning ‘obtain’ (something that everyone is looking for) is semi-transitive (§14.2.3), optionally taking a semi-object or a complement clause as in (94) and (95), but conjugated intransitively, as shown by the Aorist *pw-βjɛ́t* (AOR-obtain) ‘he got (it)’ (with a A-type preverb, §14.3.1).

(94) kʷ-ndza maka mʷ-pjʷ-βjʷt.
INF-eat at.all NEG-IFR:DOWN-obtain
'He did not obtain anything to eat.' (qajdoskAt 2002) {0003366#S104}

(95) tɔ̃-tco    stu kco-wxti  nco-nco kco [nco-nco tcʰeme nco
INDEF POSS-son most SBJ:PCP-be.big DEM ERG DEM girl DEM
mco-pco-ky-βjɔ̃t] nco wuma zo pjy-ny-syydwoy
NEG-AOR-INF-obtain DEM really EMPH IFR-TROP-be.unpleasant
'The elder boy was upset that he did not get the girl.' (140513 shenqi de
feitan-zh) {0003981#S209}

The verb *βjɛ́t* ‘obtain’ is not synchronically derived from *mja* ‘take’: both verbs
come from an etymon reflected by Zbu vje? ‘prendre, obtenir, enlever’ (Gong
2018: 310) whose expected Japhug form would be *βja. Based on the comparative
evidence in Gong (2018: 310–311), this lost verb was transitive and had the same
argument structure as Japhug *mja*.

Hence, the -t suffix in *βjɛ́t* ‘obtain’ used to remove morphological transitivity,
turning the transitive subject into a intransitive subject, and the and the object
into an (optional) semi-object. Given the fact that some -t codas in Japhug origi-
nate from earlier *-s (§11.3), it is possible that this -t suffix is related to the reflex-
ive/middle suffix attested in Kiranti, Nungish and West-Himalayish (reflected for
instance by Khaling -si, Jacques et al. 2016), which has antipassive functions in
many languages, including possibly Old Chinese (Jacques 2021).
19.7.4 Other detransitive prefixes

The transitive verb *tʰu* ‘ask’ (with indirective alignment, §14.4.1), in addition to
the regular antipassives *rYtʰu* ‘ask questions’ and *sYtʰu* ‘ask in marriage’ (§18.6.7),
has two isolated intransitive derived forms: *rYmutʰu* ‘ask around’ and *cumtʰu* ‘ask
a lot of questions’ (96), from which the compound *cumtʰuspok* ‘child who likes to
ask a lot of question’ is derived (with *spoχ* ‘have a hole’ as second element).

(96) *nyzo ndyre ny-tu-cumtʰu*      *nw!*
2SG LNK 2PL.POSS-NMLZ:DEG-ask.a lot.of.questions SFP
‘You really [like to] ask a lot of questions!’ (elicited)

It is possible that the -m(w)- element in these complex prefixes is historically
related to the amu- reciprocal and distributed property prefixes (§18.4.2, §18.7).

19.7.5 *r-Y-* prefix

Some verbs have *r-Y-* prefixes that can neither be analyzed as antipassive (§18.6.1)
nor as denominal (§20.4) derivations, at least synchronically, and whose function
is not clearly identifiable.

The verbs *rYwum* ‘tidy up’ and *rYtsʰYt* ‘try’ are clearly derived from *wum* ‘gather’ and *tsʰYt* ‘try’, respectively. However, they cannot be analyzed as antipassives, since they are morphologically transitive like their base verbs.

The verb *rYwum* can mean ‘tidy up’ as in (97), taking as object a place (house or room) or ‘collect (and put in order)’ as in (98).

(97) *tycime nw kw kʰa ku-ryzi tee, nw-ndzytsʰi ra tu-βze,*
    *girl DEM ERG house IPFV-stay LNK 3PL.POSS-food PL IPFV-make[III]*
    *nw-kʰa ra tu-rywum pjy-ŋu*
    *3PL.POSS-house PL IPFV-tidy.up IFR.IPFV-be*
    *(140504 baixuegongzhu-zh) {0003907#S97}*

(98) *rgYtpu nw kw nura rŋul nw-ky-mbi cʰo laχtcʰa*
old.man DEM ERG DEM:PL silver AOR-OBJ:PCP-give COMIT thing
nw-ky-mbi nura to-rywum qʰe,
AOR-OBJ:PCP-give DEM:PL IFR-collect LNK
The old man collected the money and the things that [the people] had
given [them].’ (150906 toutao-zh) {0006326#S154}

These meanings can also be conveyed by the base verb *wum* ‘gather’, as in (99).
However, *wum* has a much wider range of meaning, including ‘fold, close’ (of
19.7 Fossil affixes and marginal derivations

umbrellas, wings, see 92, §15.1.4.3) and ‘take as (disciple)’ (24, §8.1.7). The derived verb *rɛ́wum* thus has a more specific and restricted use than its base verb.

(99) *nwa* kw u-paχci ra k ta-qur-nw tce,
DEM ERG 3SG.POSS-apple PL INF-gather AOR:3→3'-help-PL LNK
‘They helped him to pick up his apples.’ (pear story-Tshendzin)

The meaning difference between *rɛ́tsʰɔ́t* ‘try’ and *tsʰɔ́t* ‘try’ is more difficult to ascertain, as both verbs can occur with a nominal object as in (100). In the corpus, when the derived verb *rɛ́tsʰɔ́t* has an overt object, it is always however a complement clause, and it can have the sense of ‘compare’ as in (101).

(100) uwo kw tw-ŋga ta-rɛ́tsʰɔ́t/ta-tsʰɔ́t
3SG ERG INDEF.POSS-clothes AOR:3→3'-try
‘He tried the clothes.’ (elicited)

(101) [a-mbro w-jme pwo-zri ci, nyki, nyzo ny-kxrme
1PL.POSS-horse 3SG.POSS-tail SENS-be.long QU FILLER 2SG 2SG.POSS-hair
pwo-zri nw] cw-rɛ́tsʰɔ́t-tci ra
SENS-be.long DEM TRAL-try:FACT-1DU be.needed:FACT
‘Let us try whether my horse’s tail is longer, or your hair (let us see
which, of my horse’s tail and your hair, is the longest).’ (2003 Kunbzang)

However, the base verb is also possible with exactly the same type of comple-
ment clauses, as in (102).

(102) <chengming> kw, nwnw qartsʰi nwnw to-tsʰɔ́t. tce pw-cʰa ci
ANTHR ERG DEM cricket DEM IFR-try LNK SENS-can QU
múj-cʰa nwa to-tsʰɔ́t tce
NEG:SENS-can DEM:PL IFR-try LNK
‘Chengming tried the cricket, tried whether it would be victorious [in
cricket fights] or not.’ (150904 cuzhi-zh) {0006322#S130}

The intransitive verb *rɛ́mpcɛ́r* ‘make up’ (103) is derived from the stative verb *mpcɛ́r* ‘be beautiful’.

(103) pya tʰamtcɛ́t nw, [...] pjɛ́-ra-χtci-nw, nw-ku ra pjɛ́-sycɛ́t-nw
bird all DEM IFR-APASS-wash-PL 3PL.POSS-head PL IFR-comb-PL
tce to-rɛ́mpcɛ́r-nw pw-ŋu.
LNK IFR-make.up-PL SENS-be
‘All birds ... washed, combed their hair and dressed up.’ (tulao de
wuya-zh)
19 *Other verbal derivations*

It has the emphatic reduplicated form *r}*mpc*o*~mpc}*r with a rare -o* repli-
cated syllable, and often occurs in the causative form *z}*mpc}*r ‘help X making
up’ or ‘make up/dress up using’, as in (104).

(104) *tu-k}*w-z-*r}*mpc}*r-*tci ra
IPFV-2→1-CAUS-make.up-1DU be.needed:FACT
‘Help us dressing up and making up.’ (140504 huiguniang-zh)
{0003909*S67}

This use of the *r}*- prefix could be analyzed as a quasi-reflexive ‘make oneself beautiful’, reminiscent of the case of the antipassive *raχtci* ‘wash’ (vi) (see 103 and §18.6.7.5), though it cannot be analyzed as an antipassive or a reflexive since the base verb is intransitive.

The transitive verb *r}*yruy ‘cherish’ comes from the intransitive *ruy ‘be pre-
cious’ with a tropative meaning (‘consider to be precious’, §17.5.5). The deriva-
tional prefix here *r}*y-, with an intrusive velar fricative (on which see §17.2.1.4
and the references therein).

19.7.6 *yyu-/*γγ-* prefix

A few verbs have γyyu- or γγy- prefixes that can neither be analyzed as facilitative γγ-
(§18.9.1), as causative (§17.3), as denominal (§20.5.2) nor as deidephonic deriva-
tions (§20.9).

First, the transitive verb γγtçyt ‘select from’, more specifically ‘choose/select (someone) from a group of people’ (in particular, as a leader),<fnref n="11" /> is derived from tçyt ‘take out’. It selects as object the person that is chosen, and also takes an essive adjunct (§8.1.7) describing the office/position of the chosen person. In example (105), the verb γγtçyt occurs in a finite relative clause (§23.2.2) whose relativized element is the object. The noun nu-ηgumdzwy ‘their leader’ inside the relative is the essive adjunct.

(105) tce n<u> <faliedong> n<u>n<u>u, [n<u>n<u>u n<u>u-ηgumdz<u>y
LNK DEM ANTHR DEM DEM 3PL.POSS-leader
ta-y<u>tc<u>y-t-n<u>u] ku <chake> n<u>u ko-s<u>u-βra<u>k.
AOR:3→3-choose-PL ERG ANTHR DEM IFR-CAUS-attach
‘Feridun, the one they had chosen as their leader, had Zohak attached.’
(140514 xiee de shewang-zh) {0003994*S99}

<footnote n="11">¹¹This verb has a Tshobdun cognate *wntfet*<sub>II</sub> ‘select’ (Sun & Blogros 2019: 209), and this derivation thus goes back at least to their common ancestor.</footnote>
19.7 Fossil affixes and marginal derivations

Its reflexive form *zyγγγtçγt* ‘volunteer’ (to go and go something) has a meaning that is not completely predictable from that of the base verb.

Second, γλγt ‘lock’ is related to lγt ‘release’, which can mean ‘lock’ when occurring in collocation with the noun sγcu ‘key’ (136, §16.1.3.10, §18.1).

Third, the verb of perception γuχsγl ‘realize’ (§24.5.4.2) originates from χsγl ‘be clear’ (itself from ḫnγr gsal ‘clear’), with a quasi-tropative meaning ‘clearly perceive that X’.

It is possible that these three transitive verbs originally were denominal verbs from deverbal nouns such as the bare action nominals (§16.4.6), but there is no evidence for the putative nouns from which these verbs could have been derived.

19.7.7 *a-* prefix

In addition to the passive *a-* prefix (§18.1), the reduplicated reciprocal (§18.4.1) and the denominal stative *a-* (§20.2.1) derivations, we find examples of *a-* prefixes with unidentified function in the following examples.

The stative verb *amtɔɔ* ‘be pointy’ appears to be derived from *mtɔɔ* ‘be sharp’. Both are stative verbs, and are obviously close semantically (both can take for instance *mbrutɔɔ* ‘knife’ as intransitive subject, as in 62, §19.3.1).

The verb *acʰt* ‘be X years apart’ is either plain intransitive, taking the number of years as subject (106), or semi-transitive, selecting the years as semi-object (106b) (see also 62, §9.1.3.3).

(106) a. tcizo tci-pγtʰγβ kwmŋu-pγrme acʰγt
1DU 1DU.POSS-between five-years differ.in.age:FACT
b. tcizo kwmŋu-pγrme acʰγt-tci
1DU five-years differ.in.age:FACT-1DU
‘We have a five year difference.’ (elicited)

It could potentially be analyzed as a denominal verb in *a-* (§20.2.1) from a lost noun *cʰt* borrowed from Tibetan *gɔ* kʰt* ‘difference’. While the Tibetan origin of the root is beyond doubt, it is also possible that this verb is derived by the *a-* prefix from the semi-transitive *cʰt* ‘differ by’ (itself from Tibetan), which selects as semi-object not a characteristic other than age, for example the quantity of fern eaten in (107).

(107) kw-dγn kw-mpi ci cʰγt-nw ma nw
SBJ:PCP-be.many SBJ:PCP-be.few INDEF differ:FACT-PL LNK DEM
kw-fse rcanw pakuku zo kw-dγn zo
SBJ:PCP-be lik e UNEXP:DEG every.year EMPH SBJ:PCP-be.many EMPH
19 Other verbal derivations

pu-car-nu.

IPFV-search-PL

‘They differ in that some [eat fern] a lot or fewer, but they search a lot
[of fern] every year.’ (conversation 140510)

The verb *cʰa* ‘can’, ‘be able’, ‘be fine’ has two derived forms in *a-*: *acʰucʰa* ‘be capable’ (see 1, §7.1.4) with reduplication *acʰ* ‘be capable’ with suffixed *trtlV* replicated syllable (§19.4.2.1). The meaning of this derivation is both emphatic and antipassive-like: unlike the base verb *cʰa* ‘can’, which can take a complement clause as semi-object (§16.2.1.5, §24.2.3.1), *acʰucʰa* and *acʰyla* are strictly intransitive stative verbs.

19.7.8 Abilitative *j-* prefix

The transitive verb *jqu* ‘be able to lift’ (108) has an intrinsically abilitative mean-
ing. This unusual property suggests that it may be the remnant of a lexicalized
abilitative verb whose base *qu* ‘lift’ was lost, and that the *j-* preinitial was an
abilitative prefix, possibly an irregular allomorph of the *su-* abilitative (§19.3),
reminiscent of the *j-* allomorph of the sigmatic causative (§17.2.2.5).

(108) *pxjkʰu u-ku m-yqe*

yet 3SG.POSS-head NEG-be.able.to.lift[III]:FACT

[The baby] is not yet able to lift up his head.’ (elicited)

19.7.9 Prenasalization

In addition to the anticausative derivation (§18.5), prenasalization alternation is
found in an isolated pair of intransitive verbs: *sqlum* ‘collapse’ (of the ground)<fnref n="12" />
and *arnGLUM* ‘be caved in’ (109).

(109) *u-tʰoʔ* pwo-yrnGLUm

3SG.POSS-ground SENS-be.caved.in

‘The ground is caved in.’ (elicited)

The form *arnGLUM* derives from *sqlum* by addition of a prefix *a-* and prenasal-
ization of the uvular stop /q/ to /ŋG/. In addition, the /s/ was rhotacized to /r/ as
result of voicing: the combination *zNG* is only attested across syllable boundaries

<footnote n="12">¹²The verb *sqlum* can for instance express the collapse of the ground under the weight of an object or person, as in (277) in §21.7.3.2.</footnote>
in Japhug, as in the plant name *razngu*,<fnref n="13" /> never in an onset, and this example
suggest that a sound change *sŋg → rŋg* took place.

The combination of prenasalization with *a-* in *arnGLum* appears to have a re-
sultative stative meaning, as opposed to the dynamic verb *sqlum*. It is possible
that the prenasalization reflects a trace of the autive prefix (§19.1.4).

19.7.10 Comparative derivation?

The pair of stative verbs *sna* ‘be good, be worthy’ and *mna* ‘be better’ are possi-
bly historically related, sharing a common root -*na* with different prefixes s- and
m- (or *w-*, with nasalization, §17.3.1, §4.2.1.9) prefixes. If genuine, this etymolo-
gical relationship is not synchronically obvious, and a detailed description of the
synchronic meanings of these verbs is necessary.

The verb *sna* can either mean ‘be kind, be generous’ as in (110) (see also 9,
§14.2.3), ‘be pleasant’ (example 112, §17.4.3) or ‘be worthy, be fit to’, as in (111) and
(112) (also 117, §9.1.6.1). In the third case, it selects a semi-object, which can either
be a noun or participle (111), or an infinitival complement clause (112).

(110) *rfylpu ri a-taɣ wuma ku-sna,*
king also 1SG.POSS-on really PRS-be.kind
‘The king is very kind with me.’ (2002 qaCpa)

(111) *lɣ-tcxt ma nɣzo a-mtcʰot u-ku-ndza*
IMP:UPSTREAM-take.out LNK 2SG 1SG.POSS-offering 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-eat
mɣ-tu-ncna
NEG-2-be.worthy:FACT
‘Spit it out, you are not worthy of being the one eating my offering.’
(2014 kWLAG)

(112) *twrme kɣ-ndza mɣ-sna*
person INF-eat NEG-be.fit:FACT
'It is unfit for people to eat.' (12-Zmbroko) {0003490#S93}

The range of meanings of *mna* only partially overlaps with that of *sna*. First, it
can ‘feel better, heal’, taking either the disease/wound (113) (see also example 48,
§16.1.1.7), or the person (or body part) afflicted by it (114) as subject. Note that in
(113), the verb is in the 3SG form, indexation as intransitive subject the noun nɣ-
cqʰe ‘your cough’ rather than the 2SG, showing that this noun cannot be analyzed
as an essive adjunct (§8.1.7).

<footnote n="13">¹³In this word, note also that a form such as †*rarngu* would violate another phonotactic constraint (§3.4.1).</footnote>
19 Other verbal derivations

(113) *n-cqʰe* *u-pnú-mna?*
2SG.POSS-cough QU-SENS-be.better
‘Is your cough getting better?’ (many attestations)

(114) *u-pnú-tw-mna*
QU-SENS-2-be.better
‘Are you feeling better?’ (smAnmi 2003.2)

Second, *mna* occurs in comparative constructions (§26.2) with the standard marker *sɔ́z(nɔ́)* (§8.2.7) or the comparee marker *ku* (§8.2.2.7), as in (115) (see also 57, §5.1.3). By contrast, *sna* is not attested in comparative constructions in the whole corpus.

(115) *nwfse pjuu-kɔ̃-fɔ́t syz u-pnú-mna?*
like.that IPFV-INF-tell COMP QU-SENS-be.better
‘Is it better [to explain how to weave with video] than simply by telling it like that (without video)?’ (vid-20140429090403) {0003776#S161}

The participle *kuu-mna* is lexicalized in the sense of ‘leader, chief’ (example 12, §16.1.1.1).

The data above suggest that *mna* originally was a lexicalized comparative ('be better') of *sna* ('be good'), and that these two verbs have undergone distinct semantic specialization ('be better' ⇒ 'feel better, heal' vs. 'be good' ⇒ 'be worthy, be fit'). The morphological structure of these verbs is however elusive: the *s-* element in *sna* is possibly related to the proprietary *sɔ́* (§18.8), but the *m-* prefix in *mna* is isolated in Japhug. It could originate from *w-* with regressive nasalization from the *n-* of the root.

19.7.11 Reduplication

Reduplication occurs as a secondary exponent of several verbal derivations, in-
cluding Distributed action (§19.4), Reciprocal (§18.4.1), and is also found sporadi-
cally with other derivations (for instance with the antipassive, §18.6.5).

In addition, reduplication is also attested by itself as the only marking of a
valency-changing derivation in the case of *ruru* ‘guard’, which derives from the
intransitive verb *ru* ‘look at’. The base verb *ru* selects a goal in the dative or with
locative marking (§14.2.4, §15.1.2.4), while *ruru* is transitive (as shown by stem
alternation in 116) and the entity taken care of by the subject is encoded as object.
(116) tce pátsʰi pár-rúre pjy-ŋu ri,
LNK hogwash IPFV-take.care[III]:FACT IFR.IPFV-be LNK
‘While he was taking care of the hogwash....’ (2014-kW1AG)

The compound noun *βγγρ* ‘miller’ includes as second element the non-redupli-
cated variant of the same root -r<u>u</u> with the same meaning as that of *r<u>u</u>ρ* ‘guard’
(the first element is from the noun *βγ*<u>a</u> ‘mill’, see §5.5.5.2).

19.7.12 Vowel alternation

The rare verb *rnde* ‘get into trouble’ is only attested in the expression in (117).
The -t- suffix shows that this verb is morphologically transitive (§14.3.1), despite
being unable to take an overt object.

(117) *ky-rndu syzny pw-rnde-t-a*
INF-obtain COMIT AOR-getinto.trouble-PST:TR-1SG
'I not only did not obtain anything, but in addition I got into trouble.'
(elicit)

The co-occurrence of *rnde* with *rndu* ‘obtain’ in the expression exemplified
by (117) is probably not only a matter of euphony, but also of morphological
relationship (a *figura etymologica*). The verb *rnde* is invariable, but its stem is
identical to the stem III (§12.2.2.1) of *rndu* as in (118).

(118) wzo stwsti zo tu-ce qʰe, tce kʰro zo pw-rnde
3SG alone EMPH IPFV:UP-GO LNK LNK a.lot EMPH SENS-obtain[III]
kʰi.
HEARSAY
‘She goes [up there in the mountain], and found a lot of mushrooms
(they say).’ (conversation 14-05-10)

It is possible to suppose that the verb *rnde* is a backformation from the stem
III of *rndu* ‘obtain’. A hypothesis of this type is likely in the case of the defective
intransitive verb *βže* ‘grow’ which originates from *βzu* ‘make’ (§12.2.2.3), due to
the fact that the stem *βže* never occurs in tenses such as the Aorist and that the
verb *βzu* ‘make’ is also used with the meaning ‘grow’ with a dummy subject
(§14.3.5).

In the case of *rnde* however, the fact that this rare verb is mainly attested in
Aorist forms, where a Stem III is not possible makes the backformation hypoth-
esis less likely. In addition, although the meaning of *rnde* ‘get into trouble’ is
20 Denominal derivations

20.1 Introduction

Denominal verbalizing derivations turn nouns into verbs. Their source can either be an inalienably or an alienably possessed noun (§5.1.2), an isolated nominal root or a compound.

These derivations are referred to simply as “denominal” (without specifying “verbalizing”) in this chapter and everywhere else in the grammar, since the only non-verbalizing denominal derivations, the denominal adverbs (§5.8), are relatively marginal.

Japhug boasts a considerable number of denominal prefixes, most of which are highly productive (in particular, they can be applied to Tibetan and even Chinese loanwords). A consequence of the existence of these derivations is that conjugated verbs in Japhug are not a closed class, unlike in otherwise morphologically rich languages of the Trans-Himalayan family such as Kiranti (Jacques 2017b),<fnref n="1" /> where light verb constructions are the only productive way of forming predicates from nouns.

In the rest of the grammar, the denominal prefixes are not distinguished from the nominal root in the glosses (the prefixes and the nominal roots are treated as a single stem). By contrast, in this chapter, the denominal prefixes are segmented and glossed as *DENOM*.

This chapter provides a detailed account of all attested denominal prefixes (sections §20.2 to §20.7). It also describes non-prefixal denominal derivations (§20.8) and deideophonic verbalizing prefixes (§20.9).

Some denominal prefixes are historically related to various valency-changing derivations, in particular the antipassive (§20.10). In addition to their basic function of deriving verbs from nouns, denominal prefixes also occur in compound verbs (§20.12), incorporating verbs (§20.13), and in verbs recently loaned from Chinese (§20.11).

<footnote n="1">¹In the case of Khaling, Jacques et al. (2015) provides an exhaustive list of all primary verbs, which only contains two borrowings from (Thulung and Nepali) and only one clearly denominal verb.</footnote>
The following subsections present a general overview of the morphological alternations observed in denominal derivations (§20.1.1) and on the functional correspondences between denominal derivations and light verb constructions (§20.1.2), two topics which are treated in more detail in each of the sections in this chapter.

20.1.1 Morphological properties of denominal prefixes

When a noun takes a denominal prefix, the root almost never exhibits any stem alternation. If the base noun is inalienably possessed, the possessive prefix is removed (including in many cases frozen indefinite possessor prefixes in *tu-/* *tr-*, §5.1.2.10). For instance, the γρ- denominal verb (§20.5) from the inalienably possessed noun *tr*-kʰu ‘smoke’ is γρkʰu ‘be smoky’ (rather than ἀγρτρkʰu), and the same applies even to the noun *tr*τκακ ‘game’ whose *tr*- prefixal element is not an indefinite possessor prefix, but whose denominal form is γρτκακ ‘hunt’. Likewise, when the base noun is a counted noun (§7.3), the numeral prefix is also removed (§20.4.2, §20.5.2). Only action nominalization *tu-* prefixes can be preserved: for example, the lexicalized action nominal *tusqa* ‘wheat gruel’ (from *sqa* ‘cook’, §16.4.4) has the denominal form *rutusqa* ‘eat wheat gruel’ (§20.4.1) rather than ἀρτusqa.

Some denominal prefixes, including *su-/*s-r- (§20.3.2), *ru-/*r-r- (§20.4), *yu-/*γ-r- (§20.5.2), *mu-/*m-r- (§20.6) and *nu-/*n-r- (§20.7) have either *u* or *r* vocalism (with the variant *a* when the following syllables has a uvular preinitial, §3.5.4). This vowel contrast is partially based on that of the indefinite possessor prefix (*tu*- vs. *tr*-, §5.1.2.1) when the base noun is inalienably possessed, but many exceptions exist.

A handful of denominal verbs have in addition an intrusive -γ-/-x- velar fricative element (like the sigmatic causative, §17.2.1.4), for instance γρχpra ‘dispatch’ from *txpra* ‘messenger’ (§20.5.2).

Denominal prefixes are nearly always located closest to the root than any non-denominal derivational prefix. Only one exception is known: the causative *sryz-mbru* ‘anger’ from the denominal verb *srymbru* ‘get angry’, whose causative prefix is irregularly inserted between the denominal prefix *sry-* and the nominal root *-mbru*: *sry-z-mbru* is to be parsed as *DENOM-CAUS-anger* (§17.2.2.7).

20.1.2 Denominal derivations and light verb constructions

Most denominal derivations described in this chapter are synonymous or near-synonymous with complex predicates involving light verbs such as βzu ‘make’,
lɔt ‘release’ or existential verbs like tu ‘exist’. Both types of construction serve to integrate a nominal root into a predicate.

For instance, the verb *ruqaju* ‘get worms’ and *rɔspu* ‘fester’, with the *ru*/-*rɔ-* denominal prefix (§20.4.1) have the same meaning as the collocation of their base noun *qaju* ‘worm’ and *tɔr-spu* ‘pus’ with the light verb *βzu* ‘make’, as illustrated by (1) where both constructions appear. This example also shows that synonymous denominal and light verb constructions from the same nouns lexically select the same orientation preverbs: UPWARDS in the case of *rɔspu/tɔr-spu* + *βzu* ‘fester, have pus’, and WESTWARDS in that of *ruqaju/qaju* + *βzu* ‘have worms, grow worms’.

(1) tce [tɔr-spwu tce to-βzu] tce [qajuŋ po-βzu] ma
LNK INDEF.POSS-pus LNK IFR:UP-make LNK worm IFR:WEST-make LNK
kɔ-nuqambwmbjom u-xcɔt ku nwnu u-ka
INF-fly 3SG.POSS-strength ERG DEM 3SG.POSS-wing
u-ndzom yu u-qa nwa to-rɔ-spwu qʰe
3SG.POSS-bridge GEN 3SG.POSS-bottom DEM:PL IFR:UP-DENOM-pus LNK
pɔ-rwu-qaju
IFR:WEST-DENOM-worm

‘[Its wing] had pus and worms grew in it, it flew so much that the base of its wing festered and had worms.’ (22-qomndroN) {0003598#S47}

In each of the sections of this chapter on denominal prefixes, the correspond-
ing light verb constructions are systematically indicated.

Although the two constructions are semantically very close, an important dif-
ference is that in the denominal construction, the noun cannot take external
determiners like numeral and demonstratives (unlike denominal derivation in
some Uto-Aztecan languages like Hopi for instance, see Hill 2003). For instance,
in (2), the verb cʰɔ-rɔ-r (from tɔr-rjit ‘child’, §20.4.1) means ‘gave birth to (a) child/
children’, without any indication on the number of children (the unicity of the
offspring in this example is deduced from the context of the story).

(2) [u-rzaβ nu u-skʰru mw-nu-ku-βdi] nu,
3SG.POSS-wide DEM 3SG.POSS-body NEG-AOR-SBJ:PCP-be.well DEM
cʰɔ-rɔ-rjit
IFR-DENOM-child
‘His wife, who was pregnant, gave birth to a child.’ (2012 Norbzang)
{0003768#S95}

In order to specify the number of children that are born, a collocation with the verb *sci* ‘be born’, its causative *susci* ‘give birth to’ or the corresponding posses-
sive construction with the verb *tu* ‘exist’ are needed instead, as in (3). The same meaning cannot be expressed by combining the verb *cʰy-r-y-rjit* with a numeral.

(3) *u-rjit* *kungut* *ty-tu*.
3SG POSS-child nine AOR-exist
‘She had nine children.’ (14-siblings) {0003508#S15}

The only cases when a denominal derivation can preserve the modifier of a noun is when the modifier is fused with the noun root and both undergo the derivation together. For instance, the nominal phrase *tco̯itco̯un paχci* ‘pear’, which comprises the noun *paχci* ‘apple’ with the placename *tco̯itco̯un* ‘Chuchen’ as pre-nominal modifier (§9.1.8.2, §5.5.1.1) can be verbalized as *nuto̯itco̯unpaχci* ‘collect pears’ with the intransitive *nu-* derivation (§20.7.2).

## 20.2 Contracting prefixes

Contracting denominal prefixes are mono- or disyllabic prefixes which first syl-lable is *a-*, and undergoes vowel contraction in the contexts discussed in §12.3 like the passive *a-*(§18.1) and the reciprocal derivations (§18.4).

### 20.2.1 Stative *a-*

The denominal prefix *a-* derives intransitive verbs. Most *a-* denominal verbs are stative, and either mean ‘be X’ or ‘have the property of X’. The stative denominal function of *a-* is highly productive, and can be applied to Tibetan loanwords.

Denominal verbs in *a-* can express shape, as in *artak* ‘be forked’ from *tx-rtak* ‘branch’. They can also refer to a more abstract property of the base noun, as in the case of *aci* ‘be wet’, which derives from *tu-ci* ‘water’ (on which see §5.1.2.11).

Denominal verbs expressing physical defects are most often built with the *a-* prefix, for instance *ac̤kala* ‘be lame’, *aczwu* ‘be lame’ and *aczuwa* ‘be blind’ from *c̤kala* ‘lame person’, *z̤zwu* ‘lame person’ (from *ɔ̄c̤ z̤a.ba* ‘cripple’) and *c̤quwa* ‘blind person’, respectively (an exception is *γz̤mbyo* ‘be deaf’ with the *γz̤-* prefix, §20.5).

Some denominal verbs in *a-* express a property shared by several entities, for instance *aczya* ‘be the same age’ (§14.2.6) from *tu-czya* ‘tooth’).<fnref n="2" /> Such verbs can have a reduplicated stem, or suffixal syllables, like the verbs *a-fswu-fsu* and *a-fsuja* both meaning ‘be of the same size’<fnref n="3" /> from the inalienably possessed noun *u-fsu* ‘of the same size’ (§20.8.2, §26.3.1.3).

<footnote n="2">²The semantic extension ‘age’ from ‘tooth’ is also found in other Gyalrongic languages, see for instance Lai (2017: 524).</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³On the causative form of *afsuja* ‘be of the same size’, see §17.2.5.9 (in particular example 62).</footnote>
Not all a- denominal verbs are stative. Dynamic intransitive verbs in a- include for instance *arju* ‘speak’ (§15.1.5.8) from *tu-rju* ‘word’, ‘utterance’, and the verbs *amqaj* ‘fight’ (scold each other) and *ayro* ‘play’ (with non-singular subjects), from *tu-mqaj* ‘scolding’ and *txyro* ‘game’<fnref n="4" />, which are almost always attested with in-fixation of the autive *nu-* as *a < nu > mqaj* and *a < nu > yro*.

Compound nouns of dimension (§5.5.2.2) can derive compound verbs (§20.12) meaning ‘of uneven/unequal X’ or ‘spread along the dimension X’ with the a- prefix, as shown in Table 20.1. Among them, *ajpomxtsʰum* ‘have uneven thickness’ presents an unexplained alternation between /u/ and /o/ alternation: the denominal verb has o in the first syllable, while the compound noun *jpumxtsʰum* ‘thickness’ and the base verb *jpum* ‘be thick’ have u.

<table><caption>Table 20.1: Denominal verbs from nouns of dimension</caption><thead><tr><th>Base compound noun</th><th>Denominal verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><i>jpumxtsʰum</i> 'thickness' (diameter)</td><td><i>ajpomxtsʰum</i> 'have uneven thickness'</td></tr><tr><td><i>jaabmba</i> 'thickness' (of a sheet)</td><td><i>ajaabmba</i> 'have uneven thickness'</td></tr><tr><td><i>xtçuxte</i> 'size'</td><td><i>axtçuxte</i> 'have uneven size'</td></tr><tr><td><i>taabki</i> 'up and down'</td><td><i>ataabki</i> 'be aligned on the vertical axis'</td></tr><tr><td><i>lotʰi</i> 'upstream and downstream'</td><td><i>alotʰi</i> 'be aligned on the riverine axis'</td></tr><tr><td><i>kundi</i> 'east and west'</td><td><i>akundi</i> 'be aligned on the east-west axis'</td></tr></tbody></table>

The causative form of these verbs, regularly built with vowel fusion *su-y-* (§17.2.1.3), means ‘align/put along the X dimension’ as in (4) (where the upstream-downstream dimension refers to the head-tail dimension of the body of the butterfly).

(4) tce numu u-kaar kuβde yzu ma, u-pʰaab
LNK DEM 3SG.POSS-wing four exist:SENS LNK 3SG.POSS-half
u-ntsi ri ku-wxti ci, ku-xtci ci
3SG.POSS-one.of.a.pair LOC SBJ:PCP-be.big INDEF SBJ:PCP-be.small INDEF
tce [...] nu-nuqambumbjom ri tce numu
LNK AOR-fly LNK LNK DEM

<footnote n="4">⁴The noun *txyro* ‘game’ is however also possibly interpretable as a deverbal noun, see §16.4.</footnote>
lu-su-y-lo-ti

pu-nyu.

IPFV:UPSTREAM-CAUS-DENOM-up-downstream SENS-be

'[The butterfly] has four wings, on each side a big one and a small one.

(...) When it flies, it aligns [its wings] along the 'upstream-downstream' axis.' (26-qambalWla) {0003680#S45}

The verbs *ataki*, *alot*<sup>h1</sup> and *akundi* and their causative forms select the *UPWARDS*, *UPSTREAM* (as in 4) and *EASTWARDS* preverbs, respectively.

Noun-verb pairs where the verb has *a-* and the noun is an inalienably possessed noun selecting the *tx-* indefinite possessor prefix (for instance the verb *acq*<sup>h2</sup>*e* 'cough' and the inalienably possessed noun *tx-cq*<sup>h2</sup>*e* 'cough') can be interpreted as *a-* denominal derivation, but the opposite directionality (the inalienably possessed noun as a nominalized form of the *a-* prefixed verb) is also possible (see §16.4.6 for a more detailed discussion). Another problematic example of *a-* denominal derivation is *ac*<sup>h3</sup>*xt* 'be X years apart' (§19.7.7).

In some cases, semantic changes either in the verb or the noun have obscured the etymological relationship between them. For instance, it is possible that *aro* 'own' is historically related to *tx-ro* 'surplus, leftover' (§14.2.3), though there is no synchronic link between these two words.

A certain number of intransitive verbs in *a-* can be suspected of being denominal verbs whose base noun has been lost. This is particularly clear in the case of some verbs expressing shape such as *abzurχsum* 'have a triangular shape' from a noun *βzurχsum* unattested in Japhug, but attested in Tibetan as རླར་གསར་ zur.gsum 'triangle'. Even when the nominal source is not recoverable, as in the case of *artum* 'be round', the hypothesis that the *a-* verb comes from a lost noun (in this case, something like *rtum* 'round object, circle') can never be ruled out.

The deideophonic *a-* derivation (§20.9.3) is also likely to have a historical relationship with the stative *a-* denominal prefix.

### 20.2.2 Similative *aru-*

The prefix *aru-* derives stative verbs meaning 'be X-like, be similar to X' from a nominal base. Table 20.2 presents a few representative examples of this prefix. Although these verbs (with the exception of *aruldzaŋku* 'be green') are relatively rare in the corpus, this derivation is extremely productive and can be applied to Tibetan loanwords, for instance *cokcok* 'paper', *ldzaŋku* 'green' and *muntoκ* 'flower' (from སྐག་སྐག་ cog.cog 'paper', མྲང་རྒྱ་ ldzaŋ.gu 'green' and མེ་ཉོ་ me.tog 'flower', respectively. It is even found on Chinese loanwords such as 喇叭 <lāba> 'horn'.
Inalienably possessed nouns such as *tx-tɛu* ‘son’, ‘boy’ are denominalized together with their indefinite possessor prefix (§5.1.2.4).

The *aru-* derivation can take not only noun roots, but also noun phrases as input. For instance, the phrase *qro-mke u-mdoš* (pigeon-neck 3SG.Poss-colour) ‘purple, colour of the pigeon’s neck’ can be denominalized as *aruqromkemdoš* ‘be purple’.

<table><caption>Table 20.2: Examples of the *aru-* similative denominal prefix</caption><thead><tr><th>Base noun</th><th>Denominal verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>čoččoš 'paper'</td><td>aručoččoš 'be like paper'</td></tr><tr><td>fsapaš 'animal'</td><td>aruſapaš 'be like an animal'</td></tr><tr><td>kʰutsa 'bowl'</td><td>arukʰutsa 'be like a bowl'</td></tr><tr><td>taqaβ 'needle'</td><td>arutaqaβ 'be like a needle'</td></tr><tr><td>ldžaŋku 'green'</td><td>aruldžaŋku 'be green'</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;laba&gt; 'horn'</td><td>arulaba 'be shaped like a horn'</td></tr><tr><td>sujno 'grass'</td><td>arusujno 'be like grass'</td></tr><tr><td>tx-tɛu 'son', 'boy'</td><td>arutxɛu 'be boyish'</td></tr><tr><td>txjpa 'snow'</td><td>arutxjpa 'be like snow'</td></tr><tr><td>muntoš 'flower'</td><td>arumuntoš 'be like a flower'</td></tr></tbody></table>

With colour nouns, including those borrowed from Tibetan like *ldžaŋku* ‘green’ and *kmyrsmuy* ‘dark red’ (§5.2.2) and others like *qro-mke u-mdoš* ‘purple’, the denominal verbs in *aru-* simply mean ‘be X, have the colour X’, as in (5).

(5) tce kušmaš xcaj nura aru-ldžaŋku ku-fse ma LNK other grass DEM:PL DENOM-green:FACT SBJ:PCP-be-like LNK ‘The other plants [around it] are [very] green.’ (22-BlamajmAG) {0003584#S103}

Denominal verbs in *aru-* are often used in similative constructions with degree nominals, either as nominal predicates as in (6) (§16.3.3) or in the degree construction (7) (§16.3.4). Note that the connotation of these similative verbs can be culture-specific: although *arumuntoš* ‘be like a flower’ can be understood as ‘be as beautiful as a flower’, its most natural interpretation is surprisingly ‘worthless’ (because flowers are viewed as not lasting long, and prone to withering).

(6) u-tu-γru-muntoš nu!
3SG.Poss-NMLZ:DEG-DENOM-flower SFP
‘It is as [worthless] as a flower.’ (elicited)
(7) *w-tu-wyrum* ku *pu-yrw-txjpa* zo
3SG.POSS-NMLZ:DEG-be.white ERG SENS-DENOM-SNOW EMPH
'It is white as snow.' (elicited)

They also occur in participial form as *ku-yrw-taqaβ* 'that is like a needle' in (8),
often with the similative stative verb *fse* 'be like'.

(8) *u-jwaub* *u-tsʰuγa* *nwnu ku-γrw-taqaβ*
3SG.POSS-leaf 3SG.POSS-shape DEM SBJ:PCP-DENOM-needle
*ku-fse* *naxteuɣ* ri,
SBJ:PCP-be lik e be.identical:FACT LNK

‘The shape of its leaves is similar [to those of the fir] in that they are like
needles.’ (11-mYAm) {0003474#S65}

Additional examples of similative constructions involving these verbs can be
found in Jacques (2018c) and §26.3.3.2.

20.2.3 Proprietive *arγ-***

The *arγ-* denominal prefix has a proprietive meaning, and is generally correlated
with partial reduplication of the nominal stem as in *arγrqʰuwrqʰiob* ‘be grooved’
(9) from *tx-rqʰioB* ‘groove’.

(9) *u-ru* *nura* *tx-ku-yrq-rqʰu-rqʰioB* *ku-fse* *ci*
3SG.POSS-stalk DEM:PL AOR-SBJ:PCP-DENOM-GROOVE SBJ:PCP-be. like INDEF
ŋu *qʰe*,
be:FACT LNK

‘Its stalk is like it has had many groovings on it.’ (14-sWNgWJu)
{0003506#S41}

The *arγ-* prefix can also be used to derive verbs from counted nouns as for
instance *arγcwcryz* ‘be striped’ from *tw-cryz* ‘one stripe’. The verb *arγkʰumkʰzl*
‘be clustered in patches’, ‘not homogeneously distributed’ from *tw-kʰzl* ‘one place’
has the very rare partial reduplication pattern in -um (*arγ-kʰum~kʰzl*, §19.4.2.2).

Non-reduplicated *arγ-* denominal verbs are also found, for instance *arγtsʰi* ‘be cooked like rice gruel’ (from *tutsʰi* ‘rice gruel’, a lexicalized nominalization from *tsʰi* ‘drink’) and *arγryγ* ‘happen at the predicted time’ from *u-rγy* ‘predicted time’ (on which see §8.3.5).
(10) az̥o a-ẓuβ p-y-k-r-y-r-y-ci
1SG 1SG.POSS-sleep IFR-PEG-DENOM-predicted.time-PEG

‘I feel sleepy at the expected time.’ (elicited, can be said when one feels sleepy at the same hour in the afternoon when one went to sleep the previous days)

Like other compound denominal prefixes (§20.2.4.2), the *ary-* prefix loses its *a-* element when subjected to causative derivation. For instance, *arytsʰi* ‘be cooked like rice gruel’ has the causative form *zarytsʰi* ‘cook like rice gruel’ (§17.2.2.8).

The *ary-* prefix should not be confused with the reciprocal from transitive verbs in *ry-*.. For instance *aryzduzda* ‘call each other’ (before departure) does not directly come from the noun *tu-zda* ‘companion’, but is rather the reduplicated reciprocal (§18.4.1) of the denominal verb *ryzda* ‘call before departure’ derived from this noun.

### 20.2.4 Proprietive ayu-

The prefix *ayu-* derives proprietive stative verbs meaning ‘have a lot of X’ or ‘produce a lot of X’. For instance, Tshendzin provided the definition in (11) for the proprietive denominal *ayu-mdzu* from *ty-mdzu* ‘thorn’.

(11) puy-yuyu-mdzu, u-taak ty-mdzu puy-dyn
SENS-DENOM:PROP-thorn 3SG.POSS-on INDEF.POSS-thorn SENS-be.many
ky-ti puy-nyu.
OBJ:PCP-say SENS-be

‘[The word] *puy-yuyu-mdzu* means ‘there are a lot of thorns on it’.’ (elicited)

When the base noun is inalienably possessed (§5.1.2) or when it is a counted noun (§7.3), the denominal prefix is directly attached to the root, and the indefinite possessor prefixes *tu-*, *ty-*, *ta-* or the numeral prefixes are removed, as shown in the examples in Table 20.3. The *ayu-* prefix is invariable, without an allomorph such as †*ayy-* as could have been expected (§5.1.3) when the base noun selects the indefinite possessor prefix *ty-*.

This prefix is very productive, and occurs on nominal bases borrowed from Tibetan (such as *rjul* ‘silver’, *u-mdoས* ‘colour’, *tuy* ‘poison’ and *smyn* ‘medicine’ (respectively from ༤༦༣ དjul ‘silver’, མ༤༣ མdog ‘colour’, ༤༦ དug ‘poison’ and མ༥༣ སman ‘medicine’) and even Chinese (*tu-zwanj* ‘a pair’ from 双 <shuāng> ‘pair’).
<table><caption>Table 20.3: Examples of the ayu- proprietive denominal prefix</caption><thead><tr><th>Base noun</th><th>Denominal verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>tu-ça 'flesh'</td><td>ayuça 'have a lot of meat'</td></tr><tr><td>ty-jwak 'leaf'</td><td>ayujwak 'have a lot of leaves'</td></tr><tr><td>ty-mdzu 'thorn'</td><td>ayumdzu 'have a lot of thorns'</td></tr><tr><td>tu-mna 'eye'</td><td>ayumna 'have eyes', 'have a lot of holes'</td></tr><tr><td>ty-ngyr 'fat'</td><td>ayungyr 'have a lot of fat'</td></tr><tr><td>ty-rjit 'child'</td><td>ayurjit 'have many children'</td></tr><tr><td>ty-rme 'hair'</td><td>ayurme 'have a lot of hair'</td></tr><tr><td>ryul 'silver'</td><td>ayurryul 'have much money'</td></tr><tr><td>zruy 'louse'</td><td>ayuzruy 'have a lot of lice'</td></tr><tr><td>ty-ntyβ 'bubble'</td><td>ayuntyβ 'be sparkling'</td></tr><tr><td>ty-ndzyy 'resin'</td><td>ayundzyy 'be resinous'</td></tr><tr><td>ty-yli 'dung'</td><td>ayuyli 'produce a lot of dung'</td></tr><tr><td>ta-mar 'butter'</td><td>ayumar 'produce a lot of butter'</td></tr><tr><td>u-mat 'fruit'</td><td>ayumat 'produce a lot of fruits'</td></tr><tr><td>u-duxun 'fragrance'</td><td>ayuduxun 'be fragrant'</td></tr><tr><td>twy 'poison'</td><td>ayutwy 'be poisonous'</td></tr><tr><td>smyn 'medicine'</td><td>ayusmyn 'have a medical effect'</td></tr><tr><td>u-mdoq 'colour'</td><td>ayumdoq 'be the same colour'</td></tr><tr><td>u-ngu 'inside'</td><td>ayungungu 'have a lot of layers'</td></tr><tr><td>tu-jak 'hand, arm'</td><td>ayujuja 'have a lot of arms'</td></tr><tr><td>tu-mi 'foot, leg'</td><td>ayumumi 'have a lot of legs'</td></tr><tr><td>tu-rpaq 'shoulder'</td><td>ayurpaq 'go along well'</td></tr><tr><td>tu-şwaj 'a pair'</td><td>ayuşwaj 'be a match'</td></tr></tbody></table>
Another possible meaning of the *ayu-* prefix is ‘be the same X’, as in the case of *ayumdoš* ‘be the same colour’ from *u-mdoš* ‘colour’. These types of verbs have non-singular intransitive subjects, as in (12) with a comitative phrase (§8.2.5).<fnref n="5" />

(12) *u-ru* cʰo *u-fkaβ* ra ayumdoš *z̥o*
3SG.POSS-stalk COMIT 3SG.POSS-cover PL DENOM-colour:FACT EMPH
*arŋi*.
be.green:FACT
‘Its stalk and its cap are the same green colour.’ (of a species of
mushroom) (22-BlamajmAG) {0003584#S114}

A few *ayu-* denominal verbs, such as *ayutuy* ‘be poisonous’ from *tuy* ‘poison’, have a more abstract proprietive function (‘have the property of X’) like that of the *s-r-* prefix (note the synonym *s-vndvγ* ‘be poisonous’, §20.3.1). Other semantic values of the *ayu-* prefix are discussed in §20.2.4.3.

The *ayu-* denominal prefix has cognates in other Gyalrong languages, for example *vwo-* in Tshobdun (Sun 2014a).

### 20.2.4.1 Reduplication

Emphatic reduplication (§12.4.3) is possible as an option on denominal verbs, but some verbs in *ayu-* occur with obligatory reduplication of the nominal root, for instance *ayujujaš* ‘have a lot of arms’ and *ayumumi* ‘have a lot of legs’ (13). Note that the alternative form *ayujaš* without reduplication is also attested, but with a completely different meaning (§20.2.4.3).

(13) *ngocna p̥u-yγu-juš-jaš* p̥u-yγu-mu̥-mi, *u-mvlyjaš*
spider *SENS-DENOM-EMPH~arm* *SENS-DENOM-EMPH~leg* 3SG.POSS-limbs
*pu-dsvn*
*SENS-be.many*
‘The spider has many arms and legs, its limbs are numerous.’ (elicited)

### 20.2.4.2 Causative

Only a few causative verbs derived from *ayu-* denominal verbs are attested. Instead of expected vowel fusion (†*su-vγu-* → *svγu-*, see §17.2.1.3), the *a-* element is dropped and replaced by the *z-* allomorph of the sigmatic causative (§17.2.2.8).

<footnote n="5">⁵Concerning the absence of dual indexation on the verbs in (12), see §14.6.1.1.</footnote>
For instance, the stative verb *ayw̱ngw̱ngu* ‘have a lot of layers’ (from *u-ŋgw̱* ‘in- side’, with reduplication, §20.2.4.1) has the causative form *zyw̱ngw̱ŋgw̱* ‘put on a lot of layers’ as in (14).

(14) *u-rzaβ* n<u> *kw*, [...] <huangdi> *yw* *u-rte* n<u> χswm zo
3SG.POSS-wife DEM ERG emperor GEN 3SG.POSS-hat DEM three EMPH
*pjγ-z-γw-ŋgw-ŋgw* *pjγ-nvnte*
IFR-CAUS-DENOM-EMPH~inside IFR-wear

‘His wife wore three imperial crowns one on the top of the other.’ (140430 yufu he tade qizi-zh) {0003900#S217}

### 20.2.4.3 Lexicalized denominal verbs

The semantics of the *ayu-* derivation is not always trivially predictable.

Some of the lexicalized meanings are relatable to one of the basic functions of this prefix. For instance, *ayušwaj* ‘be a match’ (to each other) (15) from *tu-šwaj* ‘a pair’ presumably derives from an earlier ‘have the property of being a pair’.

(15) *tce* [*u-kyri* **ta-twšt**] cʰo [*u-qʰu*
LNK 3SG.POSS-before AOR:3→3-say[II] COMIT 3SG.POSS-after
**ta-twšt**) *nwra* *maka* *mw-pjγ-k-γyw-šwaj-ci*
AOR:3→3-say[II] DEM:PL at.all NEG-IPFV.IFR-PEG-DENOM-pair-PEG
‘The things he said in the beginning and those that he said later did not
correspond to each other.’ (contradicted each other) (2011-10-qajdo)

Other denominal verbs have meanings that are completely unpredictable. For example, the denominal verb *ayujaw* from *tu-jaw* ‘hand, arm’, rather than meaning ‘have arms’ as expected (see however §20.2.4.1), either occurs in the sense of ‘fidget, touch other peoples’ things (like a thief)’ or ‘do things (with one’s hands) quickly’. The metaphorical extensions on which the unpredictable meanings of *ayu-* are sometimes shared with other denominal derivations. For instance, *ayu-* *rkač* ‘go along well’ (with non-singular subject) from *tu-rkač* ‘shoulder’ presents the same semantic derivation as the transitive denominal verb *nčrkač* ‘go along well with’ (from ‘carry on the shoulder’, §20.7).

Some lexicalized *ayu-* denominal verbs additionally present unusual argument structure. Unlike other *ayu-* verbs which are plain intransitives, *aywrwuz* ‘inherit from’ (either from *u-rwuz* ‘species’, borrowed from ṭk<u>ṇi rigs* ‘race’, or from ṭ<u>ṇi rus* ‘bone, lineage’) is a semi-transitive verb (§14.2.3), taking as semi-object the person or group of people one inherits a trait from as in (16).
(16) **tw-mu** ra a-nu-kw-yu̯rwaz qʰe, nʷ
GENR.POSS-mother PL IRR-PFV-GENR:S/O-inherit LNK DEM
nʷ-cyγrgu a-pʷ-sna, twazo tw-cyγrgu
3PL.POSS-tooth.quality IRR-IPFV-be.good GENR GENR.POSS-tooth.quality
pʷ-sna
SENS-be.good

'If one inherits from one's mother's [lineage], and [people from] one's
mother's [lineage] have good tooth quality, then one will (also) have
good tooth quality.' (27-tWCGArgu) {0003708#S11}

20.2.4.4 Comitative adverbs

The *ayu-* denominal derivation has served as the basis for the development of a
separate morphological category: denominal comitative adverbs (Jacques 2017d,
§5.8.1).

Comitative adverbs are built by combining the prefix *kyuyu-* (or *k̂*-, a borrowing from Tshobdun, §5.8.1) to the partially reduplicated stem of the base noun, as in *k**yuyu-*-*rtu*~*rtaič* ‘together with its branches’ from *t**r-*-*rtaič* ‘branch’ or *k**yuyu-*-*rpu*~-*rjit* ‘together with his/her/its children’ from *t**r-*-*rjit* ‘child’. These adverbs are formally homophonous with the *ku-* subject participles (§16.1.1) or stative infinitives (§16.2.1.1) of the *ayu-* denominal verbs with emphatic reduplication (§20.2.4.1). For example, the surface form /k**yuyurtwurtaič/ can be parsed either as a comitative adverb *k**yuyu-*-*rtu*~-*rtaič* ‘together with its branches’ or as the participle *ku*-yuyu-*rtu*~-*rtaič* ‘the one which has many branches’ as in (17).

(17) si ku-yuyu-rtu-rtač ki ku-fse pu-car-nu
    tree SBJ:PCP-DENOM-EMPH-branch this SBJ:PCP-be这时 IPFV-search-PL
    'They search for a tree having a lot of branches like this.' (elicited)

Examples (18a) and (18b) present a minimal pair contrasting the participle
'have many children' on the one hand and the comitative adverb 'with his/her
children' on the other hand (both pronounced /kurjwrjit/).

(18) a. icqʰa tcʰeme nʷ ku-yuyu-rjʷ-rjit ci
the.aforementioned woman DEM SBJ:PCP-DENOM-EMPH~child INDEF
pʷ-ŋu
PST.IPFV-be
'This woman had a lot of children.' (elicited)
b. *k-rfɔ-rjit zo jo-nw-ce-nw*
COMIT-children EMPH IFR-VERT-go-PL
‘She/They went back with their children.’ (elicited)

The comitative adverbs result from the reanalysis of a non-finite form of propri-
etive *ayu-* denominal verb, possibly a subject participle or an infinitive in con-
verbial function (§16.2.1.7), with a trivial semantic change from proprietive ‘have
many X’ to comitative ‘together with X’ (on the semantic proximity of the two
categories, see for instance Sutton 1976; Patz 1991; Stassen 2000; Stolz et al. 2006;
Arkhipov 2009).

20.2.5 Collective *andzi-*

The *andzi-* collective denominal prefix is attested in only one example: *andzirya*
‘be neighbours’ from *tw-rya* ‘neighbour’, as in (19).

(19) *pwo-yndzi-rya-ndzi*
SENS-DENOM-neighbour-DU
‘They are one next to the other.’ (elicitation)

This prefix is historically related to the *andzu* - reciprocal (§18.4.3), and the
social collective *kyndzi* - prefix (§5.7.8.1) derives from the combination of the de-
nominal *andzi* - with the *ku* - subject participle prefix (§16.1.1). The surface form
*/kynzirya/* is ambiguous between the collective ‘neighbours’ and the participle
‘who are neighbours to each others, placed one next to each other’ as in (20).

(20) *tceri tuu-tuu-rdoov twu-tuu-rdoov puu-nyu ma*
LNK one-one-piece one-one-piece SENS-be LNK
*kuu-yndzi-rya* *kuu-fse* *kuu-yrxy-kʰyum-kʰyl*
SBJ:PCP-DENOM-neighbour SBJ:PCP-be lik e SBJ:PCP-DENOM-EMPH~place
*kuu-fse* *maŋe*.
SBJ:PCP-be like notuezENS
‘[This type of mushroom grows] one by one [in isolation], not one next
to the other (clustered together), not in patches.’ (24-zwArqhAjmAG)
{0003630#S77}

Although none of the other social collective nouns has a corresponding *andzi*-
stative verb synchronically, this derivation must have been more widespread at
an earlier stage. It is possible that the *ndzi-* element of this prefix is related to
the dual *ndzi-* found in the possessive paradigm and pronouns (§6.1), though how
exactly this prefix was built remains unclear.
## 20.3 Somatic denominal prefixes

### 20.3.1 Proprietive *sъ*-*r*-*

Proprietive verbs in *sъ*-*r*-* are derived from nouns in *tъ*-*r*, either from inalienably possessed nouns selecting the indefinite possessor prefix *tъ*-*r*-* (§5.1.2) or from nouns with a frozen *tъ*-*r*-* prefix. These stative verbs are almost always paired with corresponding dynamic verbs in *nъ*-*r*-* (more rarely *nu*-*r*, §20.7.3). As shown by Table 20.4, the base nouns can either be entities (*tъ*-*ndъ*-*y* ‘poison’) or actions (*tъ*-*re* ‘laugh (n)’). The proprietive denominal verbs, like *sъ*-*r*-* proprietive verbs (§18.8), take as intransitive subject the stimulus of the action (perceptible by or affecting other entities). They have a meaning very close to that of the *ayu*-*r*-* proprietive denominal verbs (§20.2.4), in particular *ayutuy* ‘be poisonous’ from *tuy* ‘poison’, which has the same meaning as *sъ*-*ndъ*-*y* ‘be poisonous’.

The corresponding *nu*-*r*-*nъ*-*r*-* verbs can be either intransitive, transitive or labile (§14.5.1.2). Their subject corresponds to the experiencer of the perception/feeling caused by the stimulus. When used transitively, these verbs select the stimulus as object, like tropative verbs (§17.5): the intransitive subject of *sъ*-*re* ‘be ridiculous’ and *sъ*-*mtsъ*-*r* ‘be strange’ is the same entity as the object of *nъ*-*re* ‘laugh at’ and *nъ*-*mtsъ*-*r* ‘find strange’.

<table><caption>Table 20.4: Examples of the denominal *sъ*-*r*-* proprietive denominal prefix and corresponding *nъ*-*r*-* denominal verbs</caption><thead><tr><th>Base Noun</th><th>sъ-*r*-* denominal<br>(stimulus)</th><th>nъ-*r*-* denominal<br>(experiencer)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><i>tъ*ndъ*ръ</i> ‘poison’</td><td><i>sъ*ndъ*ръ</i> ‘be poisonous’ (vi)</td><td><i>nъ*ndъ*ръ</i> ‘be poisoned’ (vi)</td></tr><tr><td><i>tъ*re</i> ‘laugh (n)’</td><td><i>sъ*re</i> ‘be ridiculous’ (vi)</td><td><i>nъ*re</i> ‘laugh’ (vi),<br>‘laugh at’ (vt)</td></tr><tr><td><i>tъ*mtsъ*ръ</i><br>‘strange thing’</td><td><i>sъ*mtsъ*ръ</i> ‘be strange’ (vi)</td><td><i>nъ*mtsъ*ръ</i> ‘find strange’ (vt)</td></tr><tr><td><i>rъ*ηom</i> ‘outrage’,<br>‘vexation’</td><td><i>sъ*rъ*ηom</i> ‘outrage’</td><td><i>nъ*rъ*ηom</i> ‘be outraged’ (vt)</td></tr><tr><td><i>tъ*mbru</i> ‘anger’</td><td><i>sъ*mbru</i> ‘get angry’ (vi)</td><td><i>nъ*mbru</i> ‘get angry with’ (vt)</td></tr></tbody></table>

The presence of the loanword *-mtsъ*-*rъ* from *ъъъ*-*rъ* *mtsъ*-*ar* ‘wondrous, strange’ among the verbs in Table 20.4 shows that both denominal derivations are productive.
The historical relationship between denominal *s- and *n%- prefixes on the one hand, and proprietive and tropative prefixes on the other hand, is explored in §20.10.2.

Proprietive denominal verbs in *s%- do not have tropative forms, and instead form the corresponding *n%- denominal verb instead. For instance *srgaβ* ‘be unpleasant’, ‘be embarrassing’ (21) lacks a tropative †*n*-*srgaβ*, and instead requires the corresponding transitive denominal tropative *nrgaβ* ‘consider to be unpleasant’, ‘be embarrassed by/to’ (22).

(21) *ayumdzu* tce, [kγ-nxjaγ]
have.thorns:FACT LNK INF-touch.with hand
sγ-ŋaβ.
DENOM:PROP-unpleasant:FACT
'It is thorny, and unpleasant to touch with the hand.' (18-NGolo)
{0003530#S60}

(22) *srwnmw nwa kw za* [kγ-ti w-rqo mγ-ku-łok]
demoness DEM ERG early INF-say 3SG.POSS-throat NEG-SBJ:PCP-come.out
tce [kγ-ti kw-nγ-ŋaβ] to-zyγpa tce,
LNK INF-say SBJ:PCP-DENOM:TROP-unpleasant IFR-pretend LNK
'The demoness pretended to be to be embarrassed to say it for a long
time.' (28-smAnmi) {0004063#S40}

Example (21) also illustrates that some denominal verbs in *s%- can select com-
plement clauses as intransitive subjects. In those cases, the corresponding *n%-
denominal verbs are found with complement clauses as objects (22).

The verb *srgaβ* ‘be unpleasant’ is also remarkable in that it appears as first element of a the nominal compound *srgaβdi* ‘unpleasant smell’ (§5.5.6).

Some of the denominal verbs in *s%- and *n%- have semantic extensions that
are not immediately predictable from the base verb. For instance, the denominal
verbs from *tγa* ‘visible’, ‘in the open’ are lexicalized: *sγγa* is used in the sense
of ‘be accessible and safe’ (of roads, places), and *nγγa* is a stative verb meaning
either ‘be completely visible’ or ‘not feel vertigo (while being in a steep place)’
(24).

(23) *tsʰγwγre nwmw, akγndwndxt zo tce, w-jaγ-pa nwm wuma*
*gecko DEM everywhere EMPH LNK 3SG.POSS-hand-under DEM really*
*zo jw-ŋjoγ tce, tsʰi kw-fse zo*
*EMPH SENS-PASS-glue LNK what SBJ:PCP-be like EMPH*
mɔ́-kɔ́-s y̥ a tɔ́-a<nɔ́>ri kʊn y pju̥-ytʃr

NEG-SBJ:PCP-be.accessible AOR:UP-<AUTO>go[II] also IPFV-fall

múj-cʰa.

NEG:SENS-can

'The gecko, the palms of its paws are very adhesive, and no matter how steep and inaccessible the places it goes up to, it cannot fall down.'
(28-tshAwAre) {0003722#S19}

(24) pra w-taк jw-nγγa
cliff 3SG.POSS-on SENS-not.feelcase

'He does not feel vertigo on the cliff.' (elicited)

The denominal verb *symbru* ‘get angry’, which derives from the noun *tɔ́-mbru*
‘anger’ with the prefix *sɛ̃-*, differs from all proprietive denominal verbs in Ta-
ble 20.4 in that it selects as subject the experiencer rather than the stimulus, as
shown by (25) with 2SG indexation. The verb used to express the corresponding
proprietive meaning is *symbruŋgu* ‘be detestable’ (‘cause people to get angry’, a
denominal incorporating verb, §20.13.1, §22.4.3.2). The corresponding transitive
verb *nɔ́mbru* ‘get angry with’ is the functional applicative of *symbru* ‘get angry’,
as both verbs encode the same type of referent as subject.

(25) ma-tɔ́-tw-sɔ́-mbru
NEG-IMP-2-DENOM:PROP-anger

'Don't get angry!' (140425 shizi lang huli-zh)

Another unexplained irregularity of *symbru* ‘get angry’ is the causative form
*svzmbru* ‘anger’, with the causative *z-* infixed between the denominal prefix and
the nominal root (§17.2.2.7).

20.3.2 Causative/instrumental sV-

The sigmatic prefix *su(y)-/sɣ-* has a causative ‘cause to be/have *X*’ or instru-
mental ‘use *X*’ denominal function. As illustrated in Table 20.5, most of the de-
nominal verbs derived with this prefix are morphologically transitive, the only
exceptions being *suwejlu* ‘be left-handed’ (‘use the left hand’) and *sundzupe* ‘sit
without crossing legs’.

The *su(y)-/sɣ-* allomorphy of this denominal prefix has similarities with that
of the sigmatic causative (§17.2.1). The allomorph *sɣ-* is selected when the base
noun is an inalienably possessed noun selecting the *tɣ-* indefinite possessor pre-
fix (such as *tɣ-kʰu* ‘smoke’) or with frozen *tɣ-* prefix (such as *tɣcɛt* ‘comb’), *suy-/*
sux- occurs with monosyllabic nominal roots without cluster and uvular or velar onsets such as tsʰaɣ ‘sieve’ (a context similar to that of the swy- allomorph of the sigmatic causative, §17.2.1.4), and su- is found in all other contexts, including inalienably possessed nouns selecting the tu- indefinite prefix (tu-jaabndzu ‘finger’) and/or non-inalienably possessed nouns with initial clusters.

<table><caption>Table 20.5: Causative/Instrumental denominal verbs</caption><thead><tr><th>Base noun</th><th>Denominal verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>bejlu 'left-handed'</td><td>suwejlu 'be left-handed' (vi)</td></tr><tr><td>ndzupe 'sitting position' (without crossing legs)</td><td>sundzupe 'sit without crossing legs' (vi)</td></tr><tr><td>tuqartsu 'kicking'</td><td>suqartsu 'kick' (vl)</td></tr><tr><td>laabrdyβ 'kicking with forelegs'</td><td>suqartsu 'kick' (with forelegs) (vl)</td></tr><tr><td>ty-kʰu 'smoke'</td><td>stykʰu 'smoke' (vt)</td></tr><tr><td>ty-rmi 'name'</td><td>styrmi 'give a name' (vt)</td></tr><tr><td>ty-yur 'fence'</td><td>styur 'enclose' (with a fence) (vt)</td></tr><tr><td>tyeyt 'comb' (n)</td><td>styeyt 'comb' (vt)</td></tr><tr><td>tymcar 'tongs'</td><td>stymcar 'take with tongs' (vt)</td></tr><tr><td>tytsu 'lamp'</td><td>stytsu 'illuminate with a lamp' (vt)</td></tr><tr><td>tu-jaabndzu 'finger'</td><td>sujaabndzu 'point' (with the finger) (vt)</td></tr><tr><td>tu-ctsi 'sweat'</td><td>suetytsi 'cause to sweat' (vt)</td></tr><tr><td>fsay 'fumigation'</td><td>suufsay 'fumigate' (vt)</td></tr><tr><td>tsʰaɣ 'sieve' (n)</td><td>suuxtsʰaɣ 'sieve' (vt)</td></tr><tr><td>tsʰwi 'dye' (n)</td><td>suuxtsʰwi 'dye' (vt)</td></tr><tr><td>ftcaka 'method'</td><td>styftcaka 'prepare' (vt)</td></tr></tbody></table>

Denominal verbs in *su(y)-/sy- do not correspond to a single light verb construction. In the case of *sundzupe ‘sit without crossing legs’, the denominal derivation has a meaning similar to that of the base noun *ndzupe ‘sitting position of women on the ground, without crossing legs’ in collocations with the light verb *βzu ‘make’ (§22.4.2.1) as in (26).
(26) **tcʰeme nɔk-kw-y<nɔ>mdzt**
**tce ndzupe** ntsɔ
**girl** DEM AOR-GENR:S/O-<AUTO>sit LNK sittingITA position always
**púr-wy-βzu** pw-ra.
**IPFV-INV-make PST.IPFV-be-needed**
**‘Women, when they sat, had to sit with both legs folded on one side,**
**without crossing legs.’** (31-khAjmu) {0004079#S24}

With nouns expressing striking actions such as *tuqartsu* ‘kicking’, 6 *su*- derives labile verbs like *suqartsu* ‘kick’ (§14.5.1.2) corresponding to collocations with *lɔt* ‘release’ (§22.4.2.2).

Other verbs such as *suɛtši* ‘cause to sweat’ and *syrmi* ‘give a name’ (‘cause to be named’), have the same meanings as collocations of the base nouns with the verb *tɛrɛt* ‘take out’, as shown by the pair (27a) and (27b) from the same story, and example (28).

(27) a. **łyndzitvlɛtsʰaɛ** tu-sy-rmi-nw
**pɔu-ŋu ma,**
**delphinium** IPFV-DENOM:CAUS-name-PL SENS-be LNK
**‘People call it (a species of *Delphinium*)** **łyndzitvlɛtsʰaɛ.**'
(13-NAnWkWmtsWG) {0003492#S127}

b. tce nɔ̃ w-rmi nɔ̃ łyndzitvlɛtsʰaɛ to-tcɛt-nɔ̃ tce nɔ̃ LNK DEM 3SG.POSS-name DEM delphinium IFR-take.out-PL LNK DEM pɔu-ŋu. SENS-be

‘This is why people call it **łyndzitvlɛtsʰaɛ** ‘demon milk-filter’.’

(13-NAnWkWmtsWG) {0003492#S132}

(28) li tu-ctši žo pjw-tcɛt tu-mŋy m-ŋu.
again GENR.POSS-sweat EMPH IPFV-take.out IPFV-hurt be:FACT
‘It hurts again so much that it causes one to sweat.’ (25-kACAl)
{0003640#S86}

The verb *sɛkʰu* can either mean ‘burn to make smoke’ (taking a noun such as *ɛrɛy* ‘juniper’ as object) or ‘smoke out by directing smoke towards *X*’. In the second case, this verb is equivalent to the combination of the base noun *tɛr-kʰu* ‘smoke’ with the causative form *suɛx-ɛe* ‘send, cause to go’ as shown by example (29), where both the denominal *sɛkʰu* and the noun-verb collocation appear.

<footnote n="6">6 The *tu*- prefix on *tuqartsu* ‘kicking’ may either be a frozen possessor prefix, action nominal prefix or numeral ‘one’ prefix.</footnote>
(29) icqʰa si kʰoŋrzl tɣ-k-Yri nw uŋgw the aforementioned tree hollow AOR-SBJ:PCP-go[II] DEM 3SG.POSS-in kumɣ li [...] tu-ce qʰe, tce u-pa also again IPFV:UP-go LNK LNK 3SG.POSS-down tu-sɣ-kʰu-nuw. u-pa smi pjúw-wɣ-βluq qʰe IPFV:UP-DENOM:CAUS-smoke-PL 3SG.POSS-down fire IPFV-INV-burn LNK tɣ-kʰu tu-sux-ce-nuw qʰe, INDEF.POSS-smoke IPFV:UP-CAUS-GO-PL LNK

'[When the bear] goes up in a hollow tree, [the hunters] smoke it from the bottom (of the tree), they make a fire and send the smoke upwards (towards the bear, to smoke it out).' (21-pri) {0003580#S63}

Other denominal verbs such as *sufsaŋ* ‘fumigate’ lack a corresponding light verb construction with the same meaning: although a construction combining the noun *fsaŋ* ‘fumigation’ and the verb *ta* ‘put’ exists (§22.4.2.6), it means ‘make fumigations’ and cannot take a patient like the object *kʰydaŋ* ‘khatag’ in (30).

(30) kʰydaŋ to-suŋ-fsaŋ qʰe, cʰy-mqlaŋ qʰe, Khatag IFR-DENOM:CAUS-fumigation LNK IFR-SWALLOW LNK ‘She fumigated the khatag and swallowed it.’ (Gesar 2003)

The verb *syftɛkaka* ‘prepare’ stands out among transitive verbs with a sigmatic denominal prefix in lacking the causative/instrumental meaning. The semantics of this denominal verb does not directly derive from that of the base noun *ftɛkaka* ‘method’, but rather from the collocation *ftɛkaka* + *βzu*, one of whose meanings is ‘prepare’ (§24.6.3.1, Jacques 2016a: 240). The semantic near-identity between *syftɛkaka* and *ftɛkaka* + *βzu* is illustrated by the examples (31) and (32). Other denominal verbs derived from *ftɛkaka* have the same meaning ‘prepare’ §20.4.3.

(31) u-ndzytsʰi nw kuu-muŋ-muŋm zo tu-syftcake qʰe 3SG.POSS-meal DEM SBJ:PCP-EMPH~be.tasty EMPH IPFV-prepare[III] LNK ‘She would (each time) prepare a meal (for the old woman).’ (2014-kW1AG)

(32) ji-ndzytsʰi ftɛkaka tɣ-βze 1PL.POSS-meal manner IMP-make[III] ‘Prepare a meal for us!’ (meimeidegushi)

The *sɣ-* denominal derivation is productive, as shown by the presence of several words of Tibetan origin in Table 20.5, including *txɛrt* ‘comb’, *fsaŋ* ‘fumigation’, *tsʰaŋ* ‘sieve’, *tsʰwi* ‘dye’ and *ftɛkaka* ‘method’ from Ṣd̥ cɛd ‘comb’, Ṣkṣṇ bsaŋ ‘fumigation’, Ṣkṣgṣ tʰaŋgṣ ‘sieve’, Ṣkṣ tʰoṣ ‘dye’ and ḏḥṭrʾk ḫca.ka ‘tool’, respectively.
Unlike other denominal prefixes such as *nuu-/nr-*, which can be paired with other prefixes (§20.7.3), verbs derived by the *suu(y)-/sr-* generally don't appear in sets. The groups of denominal verbs including a transitive *sv-* prefix are all different from each other. There is one case of *sr-/yy-/nr-* contrast between *srkʰu* 'smoke' (by directing smoke towards), 'burn into smoke' (see 29 above) and the intransitive verbs *yykʰu* 'be smoky' with the *yy-* prefix (example 44, §20.5) and *nrkʰu* 'be smoked' (§20.7.1). Another group of denominal verbs comprising *sr-ftɔka* 'prepare' with a contrast between *sr-*, *ruu-* and *nuu-* is discussed in §20.4.3.

The verb *srri mi* ‘give a name’ (§14.4.4) could be analyzed as an irregular causative of *rmi* ‘be called’ (§17.2.2.7), but the vocalism of the prefix is better accounted for by analyzing it instead as a denominal verb from the noun *tr-rmi* ‘name’, which may itself originates from the base verb *rmi* ‘be called’.

The historical relationship between the sigmatic causative and the denominal *suu-* prefix is explored in more detail in §20.10.3. Another related derivation is that of the *sr-* transitive deidephonic verbs (§20.9.1).

## 20.4 Rhotic denominal prefixes

The *ruu-/ry-* prefix is among the most productive denominal prefixes in Japhug, and has a wide range of meanings. Although not used in deidephonic derivations, it is used to borrow verbs and adjectives from Chinese (§20.11).

### 20.4.1 Intransitive denominal verbs

The *ruu-/ry-* denominal prefix is mainly used to derive intransitive verbs, of which Table 20.6 provides a representative sample.

With the exception of adjectives from Chinese (§20.11), denominal verbs in *ruu-/ry-* are dynamic, and have three main meanings.

First, they can mean ‘produce/grow/get *X*’ when the base noun corresponds to a part of the referent designated by the subject of the denominal verb (for instance *rxyjwaŋ* ‘grow leaves’ from *tx-jwaɣ* ‘leaf’), or an excrescence/offspring growing out of it. The intransitive subjects of such verbs are typically plants, inanimate objects (including body parts), but also humans or animals with meanings such as ‘give birth to *X*’ (for instance *rxyrjit* ‘have a child’ from *tx-rjit* ‘child’).

These denominal verbs have meanings similar to collocations involving several light verbs. For instance, *rxyjwaɣ* ‘grow leaves’ and *rxymat* ‘grow fruits’ are synonymous with complex predicates comprising their base nouns *tx-jwaɣ* ‘leaf’ and *uu-mat* ‘fruit’ combined with the light verbs *lrit* ‘release’ and *bzu* ‘make’, as
<table><caption>Table 20.6: Intransitive denominal verbs in *ru-/r-y-*</caption><thead><tr><th>Base noun</th><th>Denominal verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><i>muntoš</i> 'flower'</td><td><i>rumuntoš</i> 'bloom'</td></tr><tr><td><i>kwešnom</i> 'ears' (of corn)</td><td><i>rukušnom</i> 'shoot out into ears'</td></tr><tr><td><i>qaju</i> 'worm'</td><td><i>ruqaju</i> 'get worms'</td></tr><tr><td><i>com</i> 'milk skin'</td><td><i>rcom</i> 'form (of milk skin)'</td></tr><tr><td><i>tš-jwaš</i> 'leaf'</td><td><i>rjwaš</i> 'grow leaves'</td></tr><tr><td><i>u-mat</i> 'fruit'</td><td><i>rmat</i> 'grow fruits'</td></tr><tr><td><i>tš-spw</i> 'pus'</td><td><i>rspw</i> 'fester', 'have pus'</td></tr><tr><td><i>u-cvβ</i> 'pod' (of beans)</td><td><i>rcvβ</i> 'grow pods'</td></tr><tr><td><i>tšrka</i> 'twins'</td><td><i>rsrka</i> 'have twins'</td></tr><tr><td><i>tš-pw</i> 'offspring, young' (of animal)</td><td><i>rpw</i> 'have young'</td></tr><tr><td><i>tš-rjit</i> 'child'</td><td><i>rsrjit</i> 'have a child'</td></tr><tr><td><i>kha</i> 'house'</td><td><i>rkha</i> 'build a house'</td></tr><tr><td><i>(yzr-)zga</i> 'honey'</td><td><i>rzga</i> 'make honey', 'gather pollen'</td></tr><tr><td><i>juli</i> 'flute'</td><td><i>rujuli</i> 'play the flute'</td></tr><tr><td><i>u-stu</i> 'truth, truly'</td><td><i>rsstu</i> 'be truthful'</td></tr><tr><td><i>kbramba</i> 'lie'</td><td><i>rukbamba</i> 'tell lies'</td></tr><tr><td><i>kbcyl</i> 'discussion' (n)</td><td><i>rukbcy</i> 'chat'</td></tr><tr><td><i>ndztsbi</i> 'meal'</td><td><i>rundztsbi</i> 'have a meal'</td></tr><tr><td><i>jryyt</i> 'terrace', 'toilet'</td><td><i>rujryyt</i> 'go to the toilet'</td></tr><tr><td><i>conßzu</i> 'woodwork'</td><td><i>ruconßzu</i> 'do woodwork'</td></tr><tr><td><i>qartsvβ</i> 'harvest'</td><td><i>ruqartsvβ</i> 'do harvesting'</td></tr><tr><td><i>skrwa</i> 'circumambulation'</td><td><i>ruskrwa</i> 'do circumambulations'</td></tr><tr><td><i>xpun</i> 'monk'</td><td><i>rxpun</i> 'become a monk'</td></tr><tr><td><i>ftcaka</i> 'method'</td><td><i>ruftcaka</i> 'do preparation'</td></tr><tr><td><i>tw-cmi</i> 'word'</td><td><i>rwcmi</i> 'speak'</td></tr><tr><td><i>tw-jroš</i> 'trace'</td><td><i>rwjroš</i> 'leaving traces'</td></tr><tr><td><i>tusqa</i> 'wheat gruel'</td><td><i>rutusqa</i> 'eat wheat gruel'</td></tr><tr><td><i>tufcyr</i> 'pottery'</td><td><i>rfcyr</i> 'do pottery'</td></tr><tr><td><i>tukryz</i> 'discussion'</td><td><i>rkryz</i> 'have a discussion'</td></tr><tr><td><i>tš-loš</i> 'nest'</td><td><i>rsloš</i> 'make a nest'</td></tr><tr><td><i>ta-ma</i> 'work' (n)</td><td><i>rtma</i> 'work'</td></tr></tbody></table>
form the verbs *rukuŋu* ‘do the right thing’, ‘take good care of one’s family’ and *rukumaš* ‘do bad things’, respectively.<fnref n="8" /> Another example is *rutusqa* ‘eat wheat gruel’, discussed in more details in §16.4.4 and §20.1.1.

The *ru-/*rš-* prefix also has a deadverbial function, as in the case of *rušləwur* ‘happen suddenly’ which comes from the adverb *ləwur* ‘suddenly’ (itself borrowed from *lərət* *glo.bur* ‘sudden’). This verb expresses an action taking place spontaneously as in (34), as opposed to that expressed by the corresponding *nu*-verb *nušləwur* ‘do suddenly’ (§20.7.1).

(34) kʰyrum nwnu, tu-mtcʰi u-taš zmby
mouth.ulcer DEM INDEF.POSS-mouth 3SG.POSS-on ulcer
pu-ku-tɔv ŋu. tce wuma zo rušləwur
IPFV-SBJ:PCP-come.out be:FACT LNK really EMPH DENOM-suddenly
'[The disease called] kʰyrum is an ulcer which appears on the mouth. It
happens very suddenly.' (25-khArWm) {0003644#S2}

20.4.2 Transitive denominal verbs

Transitive denominal verbs in *rš-* are also attested, but are considerably rarer.
Table 20.7 presents most attested examples.

<table><caption>Table 20.7: Transitive denominal verbs in *ru-/*rš-*</caption><thead><tr><th>Base noun</th><th>Denominal verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>tu-tya 'one span'</td><td>ryta 'measure by handspan'</td></tr><tr><td>tu-jom 'one fathom'</td><td>ryjom 'measure by fathom'</td></tr><tr><td>tu-ydγt 'one section'</td><td>ryydγt 'cut into sections'</td></tr><tr><td>tu-rzuy 'one section',<br>tu-tyrzuy 'one section'</td><td>ryrzuy 'cut into sections'</td></tr><tr><td>tu-spra 'one handful'</td><td>ryspra 'take a handful of'</td></tr><tr><td>u-pʰu 'price'</td><td>rypʰu 'give a price for'</td></tr><tr><td>u-nqra 'broken one'</td><td>rynqra 'do in an incomplete way'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Most transitive denominal verbs in *rš-* take counted nouns (§7.3) as input.
Three different meanings can be distinguished. First, *rš-* denominal verbs from

<footnote n="8">⁸The corresponding complex predicate selects the verb *nyma* ‘do’, see 44 in §16.1.1.7.</footnote>
counted noun expressing units of lengths (see Table 7.11, §7.4) mean ‘measure by X’, as in the case of *r}*tya ‘measure by handspan’ (35).

(35) *tʰ}*st}* wy *ku*-ra *nuw* *cʰ}*ú*-wy-*r}*-ty*a
how.much SBJ:PCP-be.needed DEM IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-DENOM-handspan
‘One measures how long [the clothes have to be weaved] by handspan.’
(vid-20140429092115)

Second, when the base noun has the meaning ‘(one) section’, the *r}*-denominal verb derived from it means ‘cut/turn into X’, like corresponding complex predicates with either *lyt* ‘release’, *βzu* ‘make’ or the causative *swxçe* ‘send’, ‘cause to go’. Example (36) illustrates the parallel uses of the denominal verb *r}*rzwy ‘cut into sections’ and the complex predicate *X*-rzwy + *lyt*. Emphatic reduplication on the verb *pj}*-wy-*r}*-rzuw ~ *rzwy* contributes to express the fact that the patient is cut into more than two sections.

(36) *pj}*-wy-*r}*-rzuw ~ *rzwy* tce *ku*βde-*rzwy* zo tó-*wy*-lyt,
IPFV-INV-DENOM-EMPH~section LNK four-section EMPH IFR-INV-release
*pj}*-wy-*sat*.
IFR-INV-kill
'[The thief] killed him by cutting him into four pieces.' (140512 alibaba-zh)
{0003965#S109}

Third, in the case of the counted noun *tw*-spra ‘one handful’ which refers to the volume contained in a handful, the denominal verb means ‘take a handful of’, ‘hold in one hand’ as in (37).

(37) *w*-jw, *w*-sy-ndo [*tw*-jaw *ku*
3SG.POSS-handle 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-take GENR.POSS-hand ERG
kú-*wy-*ry-spra *ku*-kʰ*uw] jamar *myctşa*
IPFV-INV-DENOM-handful SBJ:PCP-be.possible about until
cʰúw-*wy*-*βz}*ów
IPFV-INV-peel/sharpen
‘One sharpens its handle until it can be held in one’s hand.’
(13-tAsAsqAri) {0003496#S21}

There are two transitive denominal verbs in *r}*- that are not derived from coun-
ted nouns: *r}*pʰ}*w ‘give a price for’ from the inalienably possessed noun *w*-pʰ}*w
‘price’ and *r}*Nqra ‘do in an incomplete way’ from the property noun *w*-Nqra
'broken one' (§5.1.2.7). The former has the lexicalized reflexive *zγrγpʰu* 'act according to one's ability'<fnref n="9" /> (probably through an intermediate meaning such as '(correctly) evaluate one's price', §18.3.3).

### 20.4.3 Pairing with other denominal prefixes

Intransitive denominal verbs with the *ruu-/rɣ-* denominal prefix (§20.4.1) are often paired with denominal verbs in *nuu-/nɣ-*. Several categories of *rV-/nV-* pairs have to be distinguished.

<table><caption>Table 20.8: Pairs of denominal verbs in *ruu-/rɣ-* and *nuu-/nɣ-*</caption><thead><tr><th>ruu-/rɣ- denominal verbs</th><th>nuu-/nɣ- denominal verbs</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><b>rukuuɔnom</b> 'shoot out into ears'(vi)</td><td><b>nukuuɔnom</b> 'collect ears' (vi)</td></tr><tr><td><b>ruuqaju</b> 'get worms' (vi)</td><td><b>nuuqaju</b> 'look for worms' (vi)</td></tr><tr><td><b>ruuftɔaka</b> 'do preparation' (vi)</td><td><b>nuuftɔaka</b> 'prepare' (vt)</td></tr><tr><td><b>rɣkrɣz</b> 'have a discussion' (vi)</td><td><b>nukrɣz</b> 'discuss' (vt)</td></tr><tr><td><b>rɣma</b> 'work' (vi)</td><td><b>nɣma</b> 'do' (a job) (vt)</td></tr><tr><td><b>ruukʰrɣxwi</b> 'have a meeting' (vi)</td><td><b>nuukʰrɣxwi</b> 'meet about' (vt)</td></tr></tbody></table>

There are pairs of intransitive verbs, such as *ruuqaju* 'get worms' and *nuuqaju* 'look for worms' from *qaju* 'worm', where the *rV-* verb means 'produce/grow/get X' (§20.4.1), while the *nV-* verb rather has the meaning 'look for/search/collect X' (§20.7.1).

However, in most cases the *rV-* verb is intransitive and the *nV-* one is transitive. For instance, *rɣma* 'work' (38) has intransitive morphology (no stem II alternation), no overt object and its subject is in absolutive form, while its counterpart *nɣma* 'do' (a job) has stem III alternation and its subject is marked in the ergative (39 and 40) (§14.3.1). The intransitive subject of the *rV-* denominal verb and the transitive subject of the *nV-* encode the same referent.

(38) *nuctu a-wi* cʰo a-mu ni
DEM:LOC 1SG.POSS-grandmother COMIT 1SG.POSS-mother DU
tu-rɣ-ma-ndzi,
IPFV-DENOM:TR-work-DU
‘My grandmother and my mother were working there.’ (2010-09)

<footnote n="9">⁹The meaning of this verb is close to that of the Chinese expression 量力而行 <liǎngliérxíng> ‘act according to one’s ability’.</footnote>
The additional object argument of the *nV-* verb which can be a noun phrase as in (39), with a figura etymologica *u-ma* + *ny-ma* ‘do X’s work’ in (40).

(39) *kʰa nwa pw-n*.  
house DEM:PL SENS-DENOM:TR-work[III]  
'[Her daughter] does the housework.' (14-siblings) {0003508#S60}

(40) wżo kw rjylpu w-ma tu-nv-me
3SG ERG king 3SG.POSS-work IPFV-DENOM:TR-work[III]
'He did the work of a king.' (2003 qachGa) {0003372#S196}

In the case of other verbs pairs such as *rъkъrz* ‘have a discussion’ and *nukъrz*
‘discuss’ (something), the object of the *nV-* verb is an infinitive complement clause,
as in (41). In some cases the transitive verb *nukъrz* has the additional meaning
‘discuss and decide that X’.

(41) kʰu cʰondvre mbro ni to-r-y-kryz-ndzi. [...]  
tiger comit horse du ifr-denom:intr-discussion-du  
[tw-rjit ký-wy-nwskʰrw tce, w-pw nw  
genr.poss-offspring aor-inv-be.pregnant.from lnk 3sg.poss-child dem  
tcʰi jamar tce tu-ky-sci nw], to-nw-kryz-ndzi.  
what about lnk ipfv-inf-be born dem ifr-denom:tr-discussion-du  
'The tigress and the mare had a discussion, they discussed how long it  
would take for the child to be born after one gets pregnant.' (20-tArka)  
{0003566#S33}

The relationship between the *rV-* and the *nV-* verbs is functionally similar to a base verb and its applicative counterpart, or to an antipassive verb and its corresponding base verb (§18.6.8.5, §20.7.3). The high degree of productivity of this type of denominal pair is shown by the presence not only of Tibetan loanwords among the examples, but also of loanwords from Chinese such as *rukʰyjxwi* ‘have a meeting’ and *nukʰyjxwi* ‘meet about’ (from **开会** <kāihuì> ‘have a meeting’, §20.11).

The semantics of the verbs *ruftčaka* ‘do preparation’ and *nuftčaka* ‘prepare’, like that of *svftčaka* ‘prepare’ (§20.3.2), derives from the collocation *ftčaka* + *βzu* ‘prepare X, prepare to X’ (the other meanings of this collocation are discussed in Jacques 2016a: 240, §16.2.1.5 and §16.2.1.2) rather than from the noun *ftčaka* ‘method’ itself. Both *nuftčaka* and *ftčaka* + *βzu* can occur with infinitival complement clauses (42) or nouns (32 in §20.3.2) as objects. The intransitive *ruftčaka* occurs as the functional antipassive counterpart of both *nuftčaka* and *svftčaka*.
(42) li k tyβ kú-wỳ-nu̯-ftcaka ra [...] again INF-thresh IPFV-INV-DENOM-manner be.needed:FACT tỳ-tcù ra ku̯ tcendvre kỳ-tyβ ftcaka tú-wỳ-βzu tce, INDEF.POSS-boy PL ERG LNK INF-thresh manner IPFV-INV-make LNK ‘(After...), one has to prepare the threshing, the men prepare to thresh [the crops].’ (2010-10)

## 20.5 Velar denominal prefixes

The γv- denominal prefix (and its rarer variant yu- has a considerable variety of meanings, and can be used to derive both transitive and intransitive verbs. It is commonly paired with nu-/nv- (§20.5.3). In addition, it is among the denominal prefixes used to borrow adjectives from Chinese (§20.11) and to build incorporat- ing verbs (§20.13).

### 20.5.1 Intransitive denominal verbs

The γv- prefix can derive several types of intransitive verbs, of which Table 20.9 lists a representative sample.

Some γv- denominal verbs are stative proprietive, like those in ayu- (§20.2.4), such as γyrcoṣ ‘be muddy’ from tyrcoṣ ‘mud’. The base nouns can be inalienably possessed nouns, nouns with a frozen tỳ- prefix, alienably possessed nouns (such as rdul ‘dust’) and also property nouns (such as w-jlu ‘uncooked’, §5.3). The only example of a Tibetan loanword among these nouns is rdul ‘dust’ (from ṁv rdul ‘dust’). Unlike ayu-, the γv- prefix can derive verbs from abstract nouns, such as γvndzo ‘be cold’ from tvndzo ‘cold weather’.

Different nouns belonging to the same semantic categories do not necessa- rily select the same denominal prefix. For instance, the inalienably possessed noun w-duxun ‘fragrance’ is the base for the denominal verb ayuduxun ‘be frag- grant’ with the ayu- prefix, while the noun tṛ-di ‘smell’ (from which w-duxun ‘fragrance’ is derived) takes the γv- denominal prefix (γvdi ‘have a smell’, ‘stink’). Similarly, while most denominal verbs expressing physical defects are built with the a- prefix (§20.2.1), the verb γvmbyo ‘be deaf’ (from tmbyo ‘deaf person’) has the γv- prefix.

The meaning of the γv- prefix is slightly different from that of ayu-. Some nouns can take both prefixes, such as tṛ-mdzu ‘thorn’, which is the base for two denominal verbs: ayumdzu ‘have a lot of thorns’ (see the Japhug definition of this verb in 11, §20.2.4) and γvmdzu ‘have thorns’.
<table><caption>Table 20.9: Intransitive denominal verbs in γυ-/-γ-</caption><thead><tr><th>Base noun</th><th>Denominal verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>rdul 'dust'</td><td>γγrdul 'be dusty'</td></tr><tr><td>tγrcok 'mud'</td><td>γγrcok 'be muddy'</td></tr><tr><td>tγmbyo 'deaf person'</td><td>γγmbyo 'be deaf'</td></tr><tr><td>tγndzo 'cold' (weather)</td><td>γγndzo 'be cold' (of weather)</td></tr><tr><td>tγcu 'coolness'</td><td>γγcu 'be cool' (of a place)</td></tr><tr><td>u-γre 'authority'</td><td>γγre 'be respected' (of a person)</td></tr><tr><td>u-jlu 'uncooked'</td><td>γγjlu 'be uncooked'</td></tr><tr><td>tγ-di 'smell' (n)</td><td>γγdi 'have a smell', 'stink'</td></tr><tr><td>tγ-mdzu 'thorn'</td><td>γγmdzu 'have thorns'</td></tr><tr><td>tγ-tγuy 'tree shoot'</td><td>γγtγuy 'grow shoots' (of trees)</td></tr><tr><td>tγ-tγa 'mistake'</td><td>γγtγa 'be wrong'</td></tr><tr><td>tγ-k'hu 'smoke'</td><td>γγk'hu 'be smoky'</td></tr><tr><td>tγ-tswr 'crack'</td><td>γγtswr 'have cracks', 'develop cracks'</td></tr><tr><td>tγwu 'cry' (n)</td><td>γγwu 'cry' (vi)</td></tr><tr><td>tγtγav 'game' (n)</td><td>γγtγav 'hunt' (vi)</td></tr><tr><td>tγoŋtγa 'timber'</td><td>γγoŋtγa 'chop timber'</td></tr></tbody></table>

The *ayu-* denominal prefix indicates the presence of an important quantity of the substance or entity referred to by the base noun ('have a lot of X' or 'produce a lot of X'), while γγ- prefix rather can be simply glossed as 'have X', without specification of quantity, as shown by the definition in (43).

(43) *p̥u-γγ-mdzu* tce tγ-mdzu γγzu kγ-ti
SENS-DENOM:PROP-thorn LNK INDEF POSS-thorn exist:SENS OBJ:PCP-say
ŋu ma kpu-dyn mγ-kpu-dyn nura mab
be:FACT LNK SBJ:PCP-be.a.lot NEG-SBJ:PCP-be.a.lot DEM:PL not.be:FACT
'[The word] *p̥u-γγ-mdzu* means 'it has thorns', it does not [specify whether] there are many or not.' (elicited)

Another meaning of the γγ- prefix is 'from which X comes out, emitting X'. For instance γγrdul 'be dusty' has the specific meaning 'emitting dust' (of a dusty road) rather than 'be covered in dust' (see §20.5.3). The verb γγk'hu (from tγ-k'hu 'smoke') has two different meanings: 'be smoky' (of a place) or 'have smoke coming out' (44).
20 Denominal derivations

(44) kʰa p̥u-yɛ̃-kʰu-nu
house SENS-DENOM-smoke-PL
‘There is smoke coming out from their house.’ (2012 Norbzang)
{0003768#S194}

Among these verbs, γγτɛ́a ‘be wrong’ is one of the few intransitive verbs that can be reflexivized with the zγz- prefix (§18.3.1.4), with a reflexive tropative meaning zγzγγτɛ́a ‘recognize one’s mistake’.

Some γz- denominal verbs are clearly dynamic verbs. For instance, the denominal γztsur ‘have cracks’ (45a) has the same meaning as the collocation combining the base noun tz-tsur ‘crack’ with the verb ce ‘go’ (45b).

(45) a. w-rnom-cyrw lo-yz-tsur
3SG.POSS-rib-bone IFR:UPSTREAM-DENOM-crack

b. w-rnom-cyrw yu w-tsur lo-ce
3SG.POSS-rib-bone GEN 3SG.POSS-crack IFR:UPSTREAM-go
‘His ribs got fractured.’ (elicited)

Some of the dynamic intransitive denominal verbs in γz- such as γztsur ‘have cracks’ and γzwu ‘cry’ have patientive intransitive subjects, but a few other verbs such as γzтвак ‘hunt’ and γwcoŋtɛ́a ‘chop timber’ have agentive subjects like the transitive denominal γw-/γz- verbs treated in the following section.

The intransitive deideophonic γz- prefix (§20.9.1) is probably historically related to the γz- intransitive denominal prefix.

20.5.2 Transitive denominal verbs

The γw-/γz- prefix can also derive transitive verbs, either from inalienably possessed nouns or counted nouns (see Table 20.9). The correlation between the vocalism of the indefinite possessor prefix tu-/tz- and that of the denominal prefix yu-/yz- is less consistent than for other derivations.

The verb γzxpra ‘dispatch’ has the unique allomorph γxx- with an intrusive velar fricative -x- like some voice derivations (§17.2.1.4), even though this is not found in the base noun txpra ‘messenger’ and the other denominal verb nxpra ‘be dispatched’ (§20.5.3).

When the base noun refers to a concrete object, the corresponding γw-/γz- denominal verb expresses the action prototypically associated with the use of that object, for instance yuri ‘thread’ (pass a thread through beads/a needle’s eye) from tz-ri ‘thread’.
<table><caption>Table 20.10: Intransitive denominal verbs in γυ-/-γγ-</caption><thead><tr><th>Base noun</th><th>Denominal verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>τρ-ri 'thread' (n)</td><td>yuri 'thread' (vt) (beads, needle)</td></tr><tr><td>τρ-fkum 'bag'</td><td>yufkum 'put in a bag'</td></tr><tr><td>τσjtsi 'pillar', 'post'</td><td>yujtsi 'support' (as a pillar supporting the roof)</td></tr><tr><td>tu-lσn 'answer' (n)</td><td>yulσn 'answer' (vt)</td></tr><tr><td>tu-tcʰa 'information, news'</td><td>yutcʰa 'answer' (vt) (to someone)</td></tr><tr><td>tu-scur 'a double handful'</td><td>yuscur 'hold with both hands'</td></tr><tr><td>tu-ckat 'one load'</td><td>yuçkat 'load' (a burden on an animal)</td></tr><tr><td>tu-jmŋo 'dream' (n)</td><td>γxjmŋo 'dream of'</td></tr><tr><td>τσpra 'messenger', 'envoy'</td><td>γxσpra 'dispatch' (someone)</td></tr><tr><td>u-txju 'addition' (§25.6.2.3)</td><td>γxju 'add'</td></tr><tr><td>τρ-ro 'surplus, leftover'</td><td>γρro 'add', 'do/give more'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Denominal verbs in γυ-/-γγ- have meanings that are close to those of highly lexically-specific noun-verb collocations, and the correspondences between the argument structures of the denominal verbs and those of the corresponding collocations are not uniform.

For instance, the verb γutcʰa 'answer' is semantically close to the complex predicate involving the base noun tu-tcʰa 'information, news' and the ditransitive verb kʰo 'give', and the recipient (person who receives an answer to his message) is encoded as the possessor of the inalienably possessed noun tu-tcʰa in the collocation (49, §5.1.2.13), and as direct object of the denominal γutcʰa. However, the possessor of the base noun does not necessarily always correspond to the object of the γυ-/-γγ- denominal verb. For example, in the case of the transitive verb γxjmŋo 'dream of' and its near-synonymous collocation tu-jmŋo + ntςʰγr 'appear in X's dream' (from tu-jmŋo 'dream' with the intransitive verb ntςʰγr 'appear'), the possessor of the base noun tu-jmŋo encodes the experiencer (the person dreaming), corresponding to the transitive subject of γxjmŋo as in (46).

(46) [azo [...] qartsʰi jγ-k-γpa-a-ci] pω-γγ-jmŋo-t-a
1SG cricket IFR-PEG-become-1SG-PEG AOR-DENOM-dream-PST:TR-1SG
'I dreamed that I had become a cricket.' (150904 cuzhi-zh) {0006322#S178}
Some transitive *yu*-denominal verbs can be subjected to the *a*-passive derivation (§18.1). The resulting verbs, for instance *ayuçkat* ‘be loaded with’ (47), superficially resemble *ayu*-proprietive denominal verbs (§20.2.4), and it is possible that the *ayu*-derivation originates from a combination of the passive with the transitive denominal *yu*–.

(47) *ki* *tšrka ki* *tš-ršku* *a-yu-ckat*

DEM.PROX mule DEM.PROX INDEF.POSS-CROP PASS-DENOM-LOAD:FACT

‘This mule has been loaded with (burdens containing) crops.’ (elicited)

The *yš-/yu*– denominal prefix is cognate with Tshobdun *wš–*, for instance *wšri*? ‘thread a needle’ from *ri*? ‘thread’, (Sun 2014a), which exactly corresponds to Japhug *yuri* ‘thread’.

### 20.5.3 Pairing with other denominal prefixes

A considerable number of nouns can take both *yu*–/*yš*– and *nu*–/*nš*– denominal prefixes. Table 20.11 presents a list of pairs of denominal verbs derived with these prefixes; the base nouns are not included in this table for lack of space, but are indicated in Tables 20.9 and 20.10 above.

These pairs can be classified into three groups, depending on the transitivity of the verbs and the semantic correspondences between them.

<table><caption>Table 20.11: Pairs of denominal verbs in *yu*–/*yš*– and *nu*–/*nš*–</caption><thead><tr><th><i>yu</i>–/*yš*– denominal verbs</th><th><i>nu</i>–/*nš*– denominal verbs</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><i>yštndzš</i> ‘be cold’ (of weather) (vi)</td><td><i>nštndzš</i> ‘feel cold’ (vi)</td></tr><tr><td><i>yštšu</i> ‘be cool’, ‘be shady’ (vi)</td><td><i>nštšu</i> ‘cool off’ (vi) (in the shades)</td></tr><tr><td><i>yštšk&#x0302;u</i> ‘be smoky’ (vi)</td><td><i>nštšk&#x0302;u</i> ‘be smoked’ (vi)</td></tr><tr><td><i>yštšrdul</i> ‘be dusty’ (vi)</td><td><i>nštšrdul</i> ‘be dusty’ (vi)</td></tr><tr><td>‘emit dust’</td><td>‘becovered in dust’</td></tr><tr><td><i>yštšwu</i> ‘cry’ (vi)</td><td><i>nštšwu</i> ‘cry for’ (vt)</td></tr><tr><td><i>yštšvaš</i> ‘hunt’ (vi)</td><td><i>nštšvaš</i> ‘hunt for’ (vt)</td></tr><tr><td><i>yštšpra</i> ‘dispatch’ (vt)</td><td><i>nštšpra</i> ‘be dispatched’ (vi)</td></tr><tr><td><i>yštšmšjo</i> ‘dream of’ (vt)</td><td><i>nštšmšjo</i> ‘appear in dream’ (vi)</td></tr><tr><td><i>yuškat</i> ‘load’ (vt)</td><td><i>nuškat</i> ‘carry loads’ (vi)</td></tr><tr><td>(a burden on an animal)</td><td>(on animals)</td></tr></tbody></table>
## 20.6 Labial nasal denominal prefixes

First, we find pairs of intransitive verbs, where the *yu-/γγ-* verb expresses either a property associated with a place ('have *X*', 'emitting *X*'), or with a dummy intransitive subject (*γγndz̥o* 'be cold'), while the *nu-/nɛ-* denominal verbs take as subject an experiencer (*nɛγndz̥o* 'feel cold').

In the case of the pair of intransitive verbs *γγrdul* and *murdul* (from *rdul* 'dust') however, the subject of *murdul* is not an experiencer, the semantic difference between the two verbs being explained in (48).

(48) kw-yγ-rdu l
nɛw, wɛz̥o w-ta kw-rdu
INF:STAT-DENOM-dust DEM 3SG 3SG.POSS-on dust
tu-ku-łov
nɛw nɛ́, ku-nu-rdu l
nɛw, wɛz̥o
IPFV:UP-SBJ:PCP-come.out DEM be:FACT INF:STAT-DENOM-dust DEM 3SG
w-taɛ́ rduɛ́ l kγ-ku-ndz̥o
nɛw nɛ́
3SG.POSS-on dust AOR-SBJ:PCP-ACAUS:attach DEM be:FACT

'ku-yγ-rduul means that dust is coming up from it, and ku-nu-rduul means
that dust is attached on it.' (elicited definition)

Second, there are cases in which the *yu-/γγ-* denominal verb is intransitive, and the corresponding *nu-/nɛ-* verb is transitive, such as *γγwu* 'cry' and *nɛwu* 'cry for'. The transitive subject of the *nu-/nɛ-* verb corresponds to the same entity as the intransitive subject of its counterpart in *yu-/γγ-*̮, and has the same functional relationship to it as an applicative derivation (§17.4) to its base verb, as the object of the transitive verb in *nu-/nɛ-*̮ expresses a patientive argument.

Third, the opposite situation, with transitive denominal verbs in *yu-/γγ-* and intransitive verbs in *nu-/nɛ-*̮, is also attested. These are passive-like configurations, where the subject of the intransitive verb corresponds to the object of its transitive counterpart (as in *γγxpra* 'dispatch' / *nɛxpra* 'be dispatched'), and antipassive-like configurations, where the subjects of both verbs are the same (*yuɛ́kat* 'load' / *nuɛ́kat* 'carry loads').

## 20.6 Labial nasal denominal prefixes

The most common function of the *nɛ-*̮ denominal prefix to derive intransitive verbs of relative location from locative relator nouns (§8.3.4.2), as illustrated in Table 20.12. Note the presence of Tibetan loanwords in this list, including *u-pɛi* 'outside' and *u-χcɛrl* 'center' from ཉུ་ *pʰi* 'outside' and གུའི་ *dkil* 'center', a fact that demonstrates the productivity of this derivation.<fnref n="10" />

<footnote n="10">¹⁰The first syllable of *u-pɛrtʰɔβ* 'between' is also borrowed from ཁ་ *bar* 'space between'.</footnote>
<table><caption>Table 20.12: Denominal verbs of location in *mɛ̱-*</caption><thead><tr><th>Base noun</th><th>Denominal verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><i>tw-ku</i> ‘head’, <i>w-ku</i> ‘top of’</td><td><i>mɛ̱ku</i> ‘be first’</td></tr><tr><td><i>w-qʰu</i> ‘after, behind’</td><td><i>maqʰu</i> ‘be after’</td></tr><tr><td><i>w-pɛi</i> ‘outside’</td><td><i>mɛ̱pɛi</i> ‘be outside’</td></tr><tr><td><i>w-ŋgw</i> ‘inside’</td><td><i>mɛ̱ŋgw</i> ‘be inside’</td></tr><tr><td><i>w-χcɛl</i> ‘center’</td><td><i>mɛ̱χcɛl</i> ‘be in the center’</td></tr><tr><td><i>w-pɛrtʰɔβ</i> ‘between’</td><td><i>mɛ̱pɛrtʰɔβ</i> ‘be in the middle’</td></tr></tbody></table>

The *mɛ̱-* denominal prefix is possibly related to the *maŋ-* prefix which derives verbs of relative locations from locational adverbs, for instance *maŋlo* ‘be upstream’ from *lo* ‘upstream’ (§15.1.3.4).

In addition to their semantic similarity, verbs of location in *mɛ̱-* and *maŋ-* have in common the fact that they are among the very few intransitive verbs that can be reflexivized (§18.3.1.4): *zγγ-* prefixation yields volitional motion verbs such as *zγγmɛ̱pɛ̱rɛ́tʰɔβ* ‘put oneself in between’ or *zγγmaŋlo* ‘put oneself upstream’, from *mɛ̱pɛ̱rɛ́tʰɔβ* ‘be in the middle’ and *maŋlo* ‘be upstream’.

The causativization of *mɛ̱-* denominal verbs has several outcomes. With *mɛ̱ku* ‘be first’ and *maqʰu* ‘be after’, which can have temporal meanings (§7.1.5), the sigmatic causative forms *z-mɛ̱ku* and *z-maqʰu* generally mean ‘do first’ or ‘do after/ later’ with complement clauses as in (49) (see also examples 30, §17.2.4.6 and 205 §18.9.1).

(49) *swlɔmgriuβdɔŋ ku* [w-tʰu]      *tɔ-tw-z-mɛ̱ku-t*
ANTHR      ERG 3SG.POSS-BARE.INF:ask AOR-2-CAUS-be.first-PST:TR

ŋu tce

be:FACT LNK

‘Bsod.nam sgrub.ldan, you were the first to ask [her hand in marriage].’
(sras 2003)

The causative *z-maqʰu* also has the straightforward causative meaning ‘cause to be late, delay’ (examples 51, §14.3.2.4 and 75, §14.3.3.1).

With other verbs, for which a temporal interpretation is not possible, the causative derivation means ‘put in X’, where X corresponds to the relator noun. For instance, *z-mɛ̱ŋgw* and *z-mɛ̱pɛi* occur in the sense of ‘wear (some clothes) inside’ and ‘wear outside’. In addition, *z-mɛ̱pɛi* can be used in the metaphorical sense of ‘treat as a stranger’.
In addition to generating verbs of relative location, the denominal *mu-* and *m}*-* prefixes are also attested with other functions, illustrated by the examples in Table 20.13.

<table><caption>Table 20.13: Other denominal verbs in *mu-*/m}*-*</caption><thead><tr><th>Base noun</th><th>Denominal verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>-sti</strong> 'alone'</td><td><strong>musti</strong> 'be alone'</td></tr><tr><td><strong>tu-lum</strong> 'size',<br>'dimensions'</td><td><strong>mrlum</strong> 'be big in size'</td></tr><tr><td><strong>tr-mu</strong> 'mother'</td><td><strong>mrmu</strong> 'be the most important'</td></tr><tr><td><strong>tr-rzaß</strong> 'wife'</td><td><strong>mrrzaß</strong> 'marry' (of a girl)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>tr-tcü</strong> 'son'</td><td><strong>mrtcü</strong> 'be adopted as a son'</td></tr><tr><td><strong>tw-rpaß</strong> 'shoulder'</td><td><strong>mwrpaß</strong> 'carry on the shoulder'</td></tr></tbody></table>

First, they derive stative intransitive verbs of quantity or size such a *mr*lum 'be big in size' from *tu-lum* 'size'. Most of the examples in this category are highly lexicalized: *musti* 'be alone' derives from the stem *-sti* 'alone' which is only used in the Kamnyu dialect in compounds with pronouns as first element (§22.2.2.4) or as the reduplicated adverb *stusti* 'alone', and *mrmu* 'be the most important', is presumably derived from *tr-mu* 'mother', though not by a direct semantic change.

To these examples, it is possible to add *mrmbur* 'protruding', which probably comes from a lost noun *mbur* borrowed from Tibetan <sup>ca</sup>*r* <sup>mbur</sup> 'bulge, protuberance', and *muxte* 'be the majority', which may originate from the obsolete property noun *w-te* 'big' (§5.7.4), though there is also the possibility of an isolated derivation from *wxti* 'be big' with ablaut (see for instance the form *-xte* in the compound noun *xtcüxte* 'size', §5.5.2.2 and §20.2.1 above).

Second, the *m}*-* prefix is used to build intransitive verbs meaning 'become someone's X' from kinship terms, as in *mrrzaß* 'marry' (of a girl) and *mrtcü* 'be adopted as a son'<fnref n="11" /> from *tr-rzaß* 'wife' and *tr-tcü* 'son', respectively.

Third, there is one transitive verb derived with the *m}*-* prefix: *mwrpaß* 'carry on the shoulder' from the inalienably possessed body part *tu-rpaß* 'shoulder', anomalous both because of the vocalism of the denominal prefix (*mu-* is expected) and because of its isolated meaning, similar to the *n}*-* denominal verb *nwrpaß* 'carry on the shoulder' (§20.7.2).

<footnote n="11">¹¹This verb has the additional meaning of Chinese 入赘 <rùzhui> 'marry into one's wife's household'.</footnote>
## 20.7 Dental nasal denominal prefixes

The denominal prefixes *nuu-/-nyu-* have a high degree of productivity, and present a wide range of functions. They can derive both intransitive and transitive verbs from nouns.

### 20.7.1 Intransitive

Intransitive denominal derivations in *nuu-/-nyu-* have at least six different meanings, illustrated in Table 20.14. All six categories contain examples of borrowings from Tibetan and even Chinese in some cases, such as *u-mdoš* ‘colour’, *rdul* ‘dust’ and *xpunbu* ‘master’ from *མདོན་མདོག* ‘colour’, *རྟུལ* ‘dust’ and *དཔོན་པོ* ‘lord’, respectively.

First, some denominal verbs in *nV-* are stative, including proprietive verbs like *nyu-mar* ‘be oily’ from *ta-mar* ‘butter’, with a meaning quite different from *ayu-mar* ‘produce a lot of butter’ with the *ayu-* prefix (§20.2.4). Borrowed Chinese adjectives taking the *nuu-* prefix (§20.11) also belong to this category.

Among these stative verbs, *numdoš* ‘look like’ from *u-mdoš* ‘colour’ is semi-transitive, as shown by (50), where its semi-object is the headless relative *uu-sni myu-kuu-paš* ‘who is not evil (whose heart is not black)’.

(50) <maji> *nunwu* [u̯-sni mɣ-kuu-paš]
ANTHR DEM 3SG.POSS-heart NEG-SBJ:PCP-be.black
pjɣ-nwu-mdoš
PST.IFR-DENOM-colour
‘Ma Ji looked like someone who was not evil.’ (160702 luocha)
{0006135#S45}

The ability of this verb to take a semi-object derives from the grammaticalized use of *u-mdoš* ‘colour’ as a complement-taking nominal predicate meaning ‘it looks like...’ (§21.8.3.1). This is one of the few cases where the synthetic construction corresponding to a denominal derivation is not a noun+verb complex predicate (§20.1.2).

Second, the *nuu-/-nyu-* denominal derivation can mean ‘get (covered by) X, suffer from X’, as in *nuyuur* ‘suffer from frost’ (from *tuyuur* ‘frost’). This verb selects as subject plants (51), and differs from the corresponding light verb construction *tuyuur + ta* (52) (§22.4.2.6) whose transitive subject is dummy (§14.3.5).
<table><caption>Table 20.14: Intransitive denominal verbs in *nu-/-ny-*</caption><thead><tr><th>Base noun</th><th>Denominal verb</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><i>u-ъъуу</i> ‘appearance’</td><td><i>uъъуу</i> ‘be pleasing to the eye’</td></tr><tr><td><i>ta-mar</i> ‘butter’</td><td><i>ny-mar</i> ‘be oily’</td></tr><tr><td><i>u-мдоь</i> ‘colour’</td><td><i>numдоь</i> ‘look like’</td></tr><tr><td><i>sy-a</i> ‘rust’</td><td><i>nusya</i> ‘get rust’</td></tr><tr><td><i>rdul</i> ‘dust’</td><td><i>nurdul</i> ‘be dusty’ (be covered in dust)</td></tr><tr><td><i>tuyur</i> ‘frost’</td><td><i>nuyur</i> ‘suffer from frost’</td></tr><tr><td><i>tъ-къу</i> ‘smoke’</td><td><i>nykъу</i> ‘be smoked’</td></tr><tr><td><i>tъъri</i> ‘dew’</td><td><i>nyъъri</i> ‘get wet from the dew’</td></tr><tr><td><i>u-хъу</i> ‘center’</td><td><i>nyхъу</i> ‘go to the center’</td></tr><tr><td><i>tumtei</i> ‘morning’</td><td><i>numtei</i> ‘rise early’</td></tr><tr><td><i>turmu</i> ‘dusk’</td><td><i>nurmu</i> ‘sleep late’</td></tr><tr><td><i>ryyo</i> ‘song’</td><td><i>nuryyo</i> ‘sing’</td></tr><tr><td><i>ty-pyri</i> ‘dinner’</td><td><i>nypyri</i> ‘have dinner’</td></tr><tr><td><i>saху</i> ‘lunch’</td><td><i>nusaху</i> ‘have lunch’</td></tr><tr><td><i>tъ-ваь</i> ‘good time’</td><td><i>nyваь</i> ‘have a good time’</td></tr><tr><td><i>хpunbu</i> ‘master’</td><td><i>nuхpunbu</i> ‘become the master’</td></tr><tr><td><i>втаьти</i> ‘soldier’</td><td><i>nuвтаьти</i> ‘become a soldier’, ‘serve in the army’</td></tr><tr><td><i>qarma</i> ‘crossoptilon’</td><td><i>nuqarma</i> ‘search for crossoptilon’</td></tr><tr><td><i>mtsъalu</i> ‘nettle’</td><td><i>numtsъalu</i> ‘search for nettle’</td></tr><tr><td><i>qro</i> ‘ant’</td><td><i>nuqro</i> ‘search for ants’</td></tr><tr><td><i>tyjmyy</i> ‘mushroom’</td><td><i>nyjmyy</i> ‘search for mushrooms’</td></tr></tbody></table>