Mermaid construction in Burmese
Atsuhiko Kato
Osaka University
1. Introduction
2. Initial illustration
3. Profile of the language
4. Types of clauses and sentences
4.1 Verb predicate sentences and non-verb predicate sentences
4.2 Adnominal and adverbial clauses
4.2.1 Adnominal clauses
4.2.1.1 Introductory notes
4.2.1.2 Internal ACs
4.2.1.3 External ACs
4.2.2 Adverbial clauses
5. Mermaid construction
5.1 Introductory notes
5.2 Type 1: V + AN + Full noun
5.3 Type 2: V + AN + Subordinate-noun
5.4 Type 3: V + =tà/=dà or =hmà
5.5 Type 4: V + Special head
5.6 Summary
6. Comparison of the MMC with other constructions
6.1 Introductory notes
6.2 Test 1: Modification by a demonstrative
6.3 Test 2: Clefting (1): ‘Noun’
6.4 Test 3: Topicalization
6.5 Test 4: Relativization
6.6 Test 5: Clefting (2): elements in the clause
6.7 Discussion
7. Summary and concluding remarks
1. Introduction
Tsunoda (this volume-a) proposes the structure of the prototype of themermaid construction (‘MMC’) as follows.
(1) Prototype of the MMC:
[Clause] Noun Copula
Burmese has the MMC, and so far nineteen forms have been attested in
the Noun slot of the MMC. The Burmese MMC can be classified into fourtypes in terms of the category of the nineteen forms. (i) Type 1: four ‘fullnouns’ (they are fully independent words). (ii) Type 2: three‘subordinate-nouns’ (they can function like enclitics). (iii) Type 3: two419

nominalizers (they are enclitics put after verbs). (iv) Type 4: ten ‘special
heads’ (they are attached to verbs and form compound nouns; some of them
may be regarded as enclitics or suffixes). The semantic/functional categoriesof the nineteen forms in the MMC concern modality, evidentiality, aspect,discourse, degree, and limit/extent. Burmese does not have a copula verb.
Nonetheless, the MMC may have an ‘assisting verb’ in the predicate.
Syntactically the MMC in Burmese behaves like an independent simple
sentence, and it should not be regarded as a construction that involves asubordinate clause.
2. Initial illustration
As an initial illustration of the MMC of Burmese, see (2). It is an instance ofType 1; pòuɴ ‘shape’ is a full noun.
(2) mănêɡâ t̪ ùyăthá=nɛ̂cáuɴ t̪ wá=dɛ̂ pòuɴ(=bɛ́)yesterday 3SG train=with school go=AN shape(=EMP)
LT: ‘He is a shape that he went to school by train yesterday.’
FT: ‘It seems that he went to school by train yesterday.’(昨日彼は汽車で学校に行ったようだ)
Some of the instances of the Burmese MMC are difficult to translate
into English, but they can be easily and nicely translated into Japanese. The
MMC abounds in Japanese (Tsunoda, this volume-b), and some of theinstances of the Burmese MMC have almost exact parallels in Japanese. Inview of this, some of the examples in this paper are accompanied by aJapanese translation, in addition to an English translation.
3. Profile of the language[1] Location, genetic affiliation, and number of speakers
Burmese belongs to the Lolo-Burmese branch of the Tibeto-Burman familyof the Sino-Tibetan linguistic stock. It is mainly spoken in Myanmar. I
estimate the number of its native speakers to be somewhere between 45 to
50 million. The present paper examines the Yangon-Mandalay dialect,
which is generally recognized as the standard language in Myanmar. In
English, this language has come to be called Myanmar because this word is
close to the indigenous name of the Myanmar people: /myămà/. However,the present paper uses ‘Burmese’ in order to avoid confusion interminology.
[2] Phonology
The syllable structure of Burmese is C1(C2)V1(V2)(C3)/T, where C and V
stand for a consonant and a vowel, respectively, and T indicates the tone of
the whole syllable. The part -V1(V2)(C3) is called ‘rhyme’. Consonant
phonemes are: /p, t̪ , t, c[tɕ], k, ʔ, ph[pʰ], th[tʰ], ch[tɕʰ], kh[kʰ], b, d̪ , d, j[dʑ],420ɡ, (f), s, ɕ, h, sh[sʰ], z, m, n, ɲ, ŋ, ɴ, hm[m̥ m], hn[n̥ n], hɲ[ɲ̊ɲ], hŋ[ŋ̊ŋ], w, y[j],hw[w̥ w], l, hl[l̥ l], (r)/. There are twenty-two rhymes: /i, e, ɛ, a, ɔ, o, u, iɴ, eiɴ,aiɴ, aɴ, auɴ, ouɴ, uɴ, iʔ, eiʔ, aiʔ, ɛʔ, aʔ, auʔ, ouʔ, uʔ/. There are three tones:/à/ (low level), /á/ (high level), and /â/ (falling). In addition, there is anatonic syllable: Că.
The voiceless initial consonant phoneme of many bound morphemes, i.e.
particles and affixes placed after nouns or verbs, alternates with its voiced
counterpart unless it is preceded by a glottal stop. The same alternation
occurs in compounding. In what follows, when a bound morpheme is cited,
both voiceless and voiced forms are shown, e.g. =kâ/=ɡâ ‘agent; source’.
[3] Word classes
In my view, four word classes can be set up for Burmese: nouns, verbs,
particles, and interjections. There is no need to set up adjectives or adverbs
because words that denote a state are a subcategory of verbs and many
words that can modify a verb are a subcategory of nouns. Verbs can be
defined as words that can be followed by a verb sentence marker (see [4]below).
Nouns are not easy to define in a clear-cut way. A typical noun has thefollowing characteristics.
(3) A typical noun:(a) cannot be followed by a verb sentence marker;(b) can be followed by a case particle, and;(c) can be preceded by a demonstrative.
An example of a typical noun is ʔèiɴ ‘house’. It cannot be followed by averb sentence marker; see (4). It can be followed by a case particle, e.g. (5),and it can be preceded by a demonstrative, e.g. (6).
(4) *ʔèiɴ=dɛ̀house=RLS‘(untranslatable)’(5)ʔèiɴ=hmà ɕî=dɛ̀house=at exist=RLS‘(He) is at house.’(6)dì ʔèiɴthis house‘this house’

These criteria, however, are not fulfilled by all nouns. For example, nouns
that are formed by reduplicating a stative verb meet criteria (a) and (b) only.
Let us take ʔéʔé ‘coldness’ as an example. It is formed by reduplicating theverb ʔé ‘cold’. First, it cannot be followed by a verb sentence marker; see(7). Second, it can be followed by a case particle, e.g. (8). However, itcannot be modified by a demonstrative; see (9).

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(7) *ʔéʔé=dɛ̀
coldness=RLS‘(untranslatable)’(8) ŋàkɔ̀fì shò=yìɴ ʔéʔé=ɡòcaiʔ=tɛ̀
1SG coffee say=if
coldness=KO like=RLS‘When it comes to coffee, I like the cold one.’(9)*dì ʔéʔé
this coldness
Intended meaning: ‘this coldness’

In the present paper, criterion (a) is considered the necessary condition for aword to be a noun. As for criteria (b) and (c), a word is regarded as a noun if
it matches either of the two criteria. Thus, ʔéʔé ‘coldness’ is a noun.
[4] Morphosyntax
Burmese has both prefixes and suffixes, although their number is small. To
this extent, Burmese is an agglutinative language. However, the affixes areused for derivation only. There is no inflection.
Burmese is non-configurational and dependent-marking. The basic order
is SOV. Modifiers of a noun, e.g. a demonstrative and an adnominal clause,
precede the noun.
Burmese uses postpositions, if the so-called particles are consideredenclitics, rather than suffixes.
Grammatical relations, semantic roles, and the like are generallyindicated by case particles (tentatively presented as enclitics, preceded by anequal symbol), such as =kâ/=ɡâ ‘agent (subject); source’, =kò/=ɡò ‘patient;recipient; goal’, =nɛ̂ ‘instrument; accompanier; enumeration’, =hmà
‘location’, =yɛ̂ ‘possession’, =câuɴ/jâuɴ ‘cause’. Examples include (10), an
intransitive sentence, and (11), a transitive sentence.
(10) t̪ ù(=ɡâ)
pyé=dɛ̀
3SG=KA run=RLS‘He ran.’(11) t̪ ù(=ɡâ)ʔăphè=nɛ̂ʔèiɴ=hmà ŋá(=ɡò) sá=dɛ̀
3SG=KA father=with house=at fish=KO eat=RLS‘He ate a fish with Father at home.’
The case particles =kâ/=ɡâ ‘agent (subject); source’, =kò/=ɡò ‘patient;recipient; goal’, and =yɛ̂ ‘possession’ can be absent as far as thesyntactic/semantic structure of the clause is parsable.
The case system is of the nominative-accusative type: =kâ/=ɡâ for the
A/S, and =kò/=ɡò for the O.
The verb (in a simple sentence or in the main clause of a complex
sentence) has to be followed by one of the particles that are called verb

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sentence markers by Okell (1969: 118-119). They mainly indicate modality.
The verb sentence markers that are important for the discussion in thepresent paper are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Verb sentence markers=====================================================
verb sentence marker meaning
example——————————————————————————————=tɛ̀/=dɛ̀realis modality
(12)
=mɛ̀
irrealis modality(13)=phú/=bú
negation(15)======================================================
Sentences with =tɛ̀/=dɛ̀ ‘realis’ basically concern a present event or apast event, e.g. (12). Those with =mɛ̀ ‘irrealis modality’ basically concern afuture event, e.g. (13).
(12) t̪ ùʔèiɴ=hmà kâ=dɛ̀
3SG house=at dance=RLS‘He dances at home. / He danced at home.’(13) t̪ ùʔèiɴ=hmà kâ=mɛ̀
3SG house=at dance=IRR‘He will dance at home.’
The verb sentence marker =phú/=bú ‘negation’ is used in negative
sentences. A negative sentence is formed by putting the negative prefix măbefore the verb and putting the particle =phú/=bú ‘negation’ after the verb,
e.g. (14). In a negative sentence, the opposition between realis and irrealis
modality is neutralized. Thus, (14) may mean ‘He did not dance …’ (past),‘He does not dance …’ (present), or ‘He will not dance…’ (future).
(14) t̪ ùʔèiɴ=hmà mă-kâ=bú
3SG house=at not-dance=NEG‘He did not dance at home. / He does not dance at home. / He will
not dance at home.’[5] Literacy and styles
Burmese has a long history of the written language dating back to the 12th
century, and the literacy of Burmese-speaking people has been relatively
high.
Modern Burmese has two styles: the literary style and the colloquial
style. The present paper deals with the colloquial style.

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4. Types of clauses and sentences
4.1 Verb predicate and non-verb predicate sentences
Sentences in Burmese can be grouped into (i) verb predicate sentences and(ii) non-verb predicate sentences (including noun predicate sentences).
Verb predicate sentences must contain a verb sentence marker (seeTable 1) encliticized to the head verb, e.g. (12) to (14). They can also
contain an auxiliary, e.g. =hnàiɴ ‘can’ in (21). Auxiliaries are elements that
can appear between the verb and the verb sentence marker.
In non-verb predicate sentences, the predicate may be a noun phrase, e.g.
(15), or a noun and a case particle, i.e., a postpositional phrase, e.g. (16).
(15) t̪ ùmyămà(=bɛ́)
3SG Myanmar(=EMP)‘He is a Myanmar (i.e. a Burman).’(16) t̪ ùyàɴɡòuɴ=ɡâ(=bɛ́)
3SG Yangon=from(=EMP)‘He is from Yangon.’
Sentences whose predicate consists of a noun phrase, e.g. (15), are callednoun predicate sentences in the present paper. There are four points to note
about non-verb predicate sentences.
[1] Absence of a verb sentence marker
In contrast with verb predicate sentences, non-verb predicate sentences
cannot have a verb sentence marker in the predicate. Instead, some otherparticle, such as =pɛ́/=bɛ́ ‘emphasis’, e.g. (15), (16), or =pà/=bà‘politeness’, often appears in the predicate final position, probably in order
to indicate a sentence boundary. The use of such particles, however, is not
obligatory. In the relevant examples, they are shown in parentheses, as in(15) and (16).
[2] Absence of an auxiliary
In contrast with verb predicate sentences, non-verb predicate sentences
cannot have an auxiliary in the predicate.
[3] Absence of a copula verb
In my opinion, Burmese does not have any verb that can be unequivocallyregarded as a copula verb. In this connection, it is important to make a noteon ‘assisting verbs’.
[4] Assisting verbs
Certain verbs may occur after the predicate of a non-verb predicate sentence
without changing the propositional meaning of the sentence. In the present
paper they will be referred to as ‘assisting verbs’ — a term suggested by
Timothy J. Vance (p.c.). Assisting verbs include louʔ ‘to do’, e.g. (17), ɕî ‘toexist’, e.g. (18), and phyiʔ ‘to become, to happen, to be’. Compare (15) with(19), and (16) with (20).

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(17) t̪ ù=ɡâyídíyádá
3SG=KA
ambiguousness‘He behaves shilly-shally.’(louʔ=tɛ̀)(do=RLS)(18) dì ʔèiɴ=ɡâhlâhlâpâbâ
(ɕî=dɛ̀)this house=KA beautifulness (exist=RLS)‘This house is beautiful.’(19) t̪ ùmyămà(phyiʔ=tɛ̀)
3SG Myanmar (be=RLS)‘He is a Myanmar (i.e. a Burman).’(20) t̪ ùyàɴɡòuɴ=ɡâ(phyiʔ=tɛ̀)
3SG Yangon=from (be=RLS)‘He is from Yangon.’
These three verbs — louʔ ‘to do’, ɕî ‘to exist’, and phyiʔ ‘to become, tohappen, to be’ — are frequently used as assisting verbs, and they can also be
used as the ‘main verb’. Although phyiʔ ‘to become, to happen, to be’ isglossed as ‘be’ for convenience, it is not really a copula verb; it is one of theassisting verbs. Selection of an assisting verb for a given non-verb predicate
sentence is determined mainly by semantic features of the predicate.
However, an assisting verb is sometimes collocationally fixed with thepredicate. Details of this selection are still unknown. In the MMC, somemore verbs can be used as assisting verbs, as we will see in 5.2 to 5.5.
The addition of an assisting verb to non-verb predicate sentences has
two functions.
First, this addition turns a non-verb predicate sentence into a verb
predicate sentence, and the resultant verb predicate sentence can now have averb sentence marker (see Table 1), e.g. =tɛ̀/=dɛ̀ ‘realis’ in (21), andauxiliaries, e.g. =hnàiɴ ‘can’ in (21) — in contrast with non-verb predicate
sentences. Consequently the sentence can now be modified with various
elements denoting modality, aspect, and so on by employing an assistingverb.
(21) t̪ ùmyămàphyiʔ=hnàiɴ=dɛ̀
3SG Myanmar be=can=RLS‘He may be a Myanmar (i.e. a Burman).’Second, an assisting verb is necessary for negating non-verb predicate
sentences. Compare (15), (19), (22), and also (16), (20), (23). The verb houʔ
‘to be so’ is used for the negation of phyiʔ ‘to be’, because the negated formof phyiʔ, i.e. mă-phyiʔ, means ‘not to become (something)’.

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(22) t̪ ùmyămàmă-houʔ=phú
3SG Myanmar not-be.so=NEG‘He is not a Myanmar (i.e. a Burman).’(23) t̪ ùyàɴɡòuɴ=ɡâmă-houʔ=phú
3SG Yangon=from not-be.so=NEG‘He is not from Yangon.’
Negation requires the addition of the prefix mă- ‘not’ and the enclitic=phú/=bú ‘NEG’ to the verb. In other words, negation cannot occur withouta verb. Non-verb predicate sentences do not contain a verb, and as theystand they cannot be negated.
In terms of style, the use of an assisting verb makes the sentencesomewhat more formal.
4.2 Adnominal and adverbial clauses
4.2.1 Adnominal clauses
4.2.1.1 Introductory notes. Adnominal clauses (‘ACs’) (or relative clauses)
in Burmese are formed by means of one of the two adnominalizing markers
shown in Table 2. The adnominalizing markers =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ and =mɛ̂ areenclitics. They differ from the verb sentence markers =tɛ̀/=dɛ̀ ‘realis’ and=mɛ̀ ‘irrealis’ regarding tone only. An AC always precedes the noun it
modifies.
Table 2. Adnominalizing markers==============================================
adnominalizing marker
modality
example——————————————————————————=tɛ̂ /=dɛ̂realis(24)=mɛ̂
irrealis(25)===============================================
Examples are:(24) ŋà
sá=dɛ̂
híɴ
1SG eat=AN curry‘the curry that I ate’(25) ŋà
sá=mɛ̂
híɴ
1SG eat=AN curry‘the curry that I will eat’Burmese has both ‘internal adnominal clauses’ (‘internal ACs’) and‘external adnominal clauses’ (‘external ACs’). (See Teramura (1969) andTsunoda (this volume-a, 7.2) for a discussion of these two types of ACs.)

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Roughly speaking, in internal ACs, the head noun corresponds to anargument or an adjunct of the AC. In contrast, in external ACs, the headnoun is, so to speak, added from outside the underlying clause. It does notcorrespond to an argument or an adjunct of the AC.
4.2.1.2 Internal ACs. In the ACs of Burmese, all the positions on Keenan
and Comrie’s (1977) accessibility hierarchy can be relativized on, except forthe object of comparison. Examples include (26) (subject), (27) (direct
object), (28) (indirect object), (29) (oblique object), and (30) (possessor).
(26) dì híɴ sá=dɛ̂ shăyà
this curry eat=AN teacher‘the teacher who ate this curry’(27) ŋà
shăyâ=ɡòpé =dɛ̂
zúɴ
1SG teacher=KO give=AN spoon‘the spoon which I gave to the teacher’(28) ŋà
zúɴ
pé=dɛ̂
shăyà
1SG spoon give=AN teacher‘the teacher to whom I gave the spoon’(29) ŋà
híɴ
sá=dɛ̂
zúɴ
1SG curry eat=AN spoon‘the spoon with which I ate the curry’(30) ŋà
ʔouʔthouʔ khó=dɛ̂shăyà
1SG hatsteal=AN teacher‘the teacher whose hat I stole’The formation of internal ACs employs the gap strategy. Compare (26),for example, with the corresponding sentence (31).
(31) shăyà dì híɴ sá=dɛ̀teacher this curry eat=RLS‘The teacher ate this curry.’
4.2.1.3 External ACs. Examples of external ACs include:(32) t̪ ùŋá khouʔ=tɛ̂ ʔăt̪ àɴ
3SG fish cut=AN
sound
LT: ‘the sound with which he is cutting a fish’
FT: ‘the sound of him cutting a fish’427

(33) t̪ ùŋá kìɴ=dɛ̂ʔănâɴ
3SG fish grill=AN smell
LT: ‘the smell with which he is grilling a fish’
FT: ‘the smell of him grilling a fish’
Compare (32) with (34), a sentence intended to correspond to (32), andalso compare (33) with (35), a sentence intended to correspond to (33). Both(34) and (35) are unacceptable. That is, for any instance of an external AC,
there is no literally corresponding sentence.
(34) *t̪ ù ʔăt̪ àɴ=nɛ̂ŋá khouʔ=tɛ̀
3SG sound=with fish cut=RLS
Intended meaning: ‘He is cutting a fish with a sound.’(35) *t̪ ù ʔănâɴ=nɛ̂ŋá kìɴ=dɛ̀
3SG sound=with fish grill=RLS
Intended meaning: ‘He is grilling a fish with a smell.’
4.2.2 Adverbial clauses
Burmese has a number of ways to form adverbial clauses. The one that isrelevant to a description of the MMC will be discussed in 5.3. Examples
include (61), and (69) to (71).
5. Mermaid construction
5.1 Introductory notes
As noted in Section 1, Tsunoda (this volume-a) proposes the structure of the
prototype of the mermaid construction (‘MMC’) shown in (1).
(1) Prototype of the mermaid construction (‘MMC’):[Clause] Noun Copula.
As mentioned in 4.1, Burmese does not have a verb which can beunequivocally considered a copula verb. That is, it does not have theprototype of the MMC. Nonetheless, as is the case with non-verb predicate
sentences, including noun predicate sentences, an assisting verb may appear
in the MMC. Therefore, the Burmese MMC can be represented as in (36).
(36) Mermaid construction in Burmese:[Clause] Noun (Assisting verb).
If we represent the verb of ‘[Clause]’ as ‘V’ and the adnominalizing
marker as ‘AN’, we can represent the essential constituents of the Burmese
MMC as in (37).

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(37) V + (AN) + Noun
Nineteen forms have been so far attested in the ‘Noun’ slot. The
Burmese MMC can be classified into four types in terms of the category ofthese nineteen forms.
(a) Type 1: four ‘full nouns’ (fully independent words).
(b) Type 2: three ‘subordinate-nouns’ (they can function like enclitics).
(c) Type 3: two nominalizers: =tà/=dà and =hmà (they are enclitics put
after verbs).
(d) Type 4: ten ‘special heads’ (they are attached to verbs and form
compound nouns; some of them may be regarded as
enclitics or suffixes).
That is, independent nouns, enclitics, and possibly suffixes can occur in the‘Noun’ slot.
Also, in terms of (37), the four types of the MMC can be represented asin (38). The underlined parts correspond to ‘Noun’ of (37). In Type 3 andType 4, ‘AN’ (adnominalizer) does not appear. It is for this reason that ‘AN’in (37) is placed in parentheses.
(38) Four types of the MMC(a) Type 1: V + AN + Full noun (5.2)(b) Type 2: V + AN + Subordinate-noun (5.3)(c) Type 3: V + =tà/=dà or =hmà (5.4)(d) Type 4: V + Special head (5.5)
The ‘Clause’ of the Burmese MMC cannot stand as a sentence on its
own. It does not have the structure of full sentences. The verb is followed byan adnominalizer in Type 1 and Type 2, and by a nominalizer in Type 3. It
is involved in compounding in Type 4. Importantly the ‘Clause’ cannot
contain a verb sentence marker (cf. Section 3 and Table 1).
Note that sentences such as (39) are not instances of the MMC. Example(39) may look similar to the MMC in that it has ‘V + (AN) + Noun’.
However, it is a noun predicate sentence (‘This is the fish’) whose predicate
noun happens to be modified by an adnominal clause (‘that he ate’).1(39) dà =ɡâ [ t̪ ù
sá=dɛ̂ ] ŋá(=bɛ́)
this=KA 3SG eat=AN fish(=EMP)‘This is the fish that he ate.’
We will now look at each of the four types of the Burmese MMC.

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5.2 Type 1: V + AN + Full noun
This type involves a full noun preceded by an adnominalizing marker (cf.
Table 2). The four full nouns shown below can be used in the ‘Noun’ slot of
the MMC.
(a) pòuɴ(b) hàɴ(c) d̪ ăbɔ́(d) shɛ́zɛ́‘shape, form, manner, scenery’‘appearance, gesture’‘nature, characteristic, concept’‘moment just before something’‘Full nouns’ are nouns that can constitute a noun phrase on their own,e.g. pòuɴ ‘shape’ in (40).
(40) pòuɴ mă-hlâ=bú
shape not-beautiful=NEG‘The shape is not beautiful.’
To be precise, shɛ́zɛ́ ‘moment just before something’ cannot constitute anoun phrase on its own. Nonetheless, it is included here because it canconstitute a noun phrase as long as it is modified by a demonstrative, e.g.
ʔɛ́dì shɛ́zɛ́ ‘moment just before that’ (ʔɛ́dì ‘that’).
These four forms are evidently nouns. First, they cannot be followedby any verb sentence marker. Second, they can be preceded by ademonstrative. Third, they can be followed by a case particle.
Examples:(41) dì
pòuɴ=ɡâ káuɴ=dɛ̀
this shape=KA good=RLS‘This shape is good.’(42) ʔɛ́dì hàɴ=ɡòmyìɴ=dɛ̀that gesture=KO see=RLS‘[I] saw that gesture [of his].’(43) ʔɛ́dì d̪ ăbɔ́=ɡòná lɛ̀=dɛ̀that nature=KO understand=RLS‘[I] understood that concept.’(44) ʔɛ́dì shɛ́zɛ́=hmàt̪ ù là=dɛ̀that just.before=at 3SG come=RLS‘Just before that, he came.’
When used in the MMC, these nouns denote the meanings shown in
Table 3. The nouns pòuɴ ‘shape’ and hàɴ ‘appearance’ have an evidential
meaning; both express the speaker’s inference based on his/her direct
observation. The difference between them is that hàɴ is somewhat more430

formal than pòuɴ. The meaning of the MMC with shɛ́zɛ́ is aspectual, or
possibly temporal. The function of the MMC with d̪ ăbɔ́ is considerably
difficult to understand, but we can say with certainty that it has some sort ofdiscourse function.
Table 3. Meanings of Type 1==================================================‘Noun’
meaning in MMC
example————————————————————————————
pòuɴ ‘shape’‘it seems that’(45)hàɴ ‘appearance’‘it seems that’(46)d̪ ăbɔ́ ‘nature’‘it is that, it is as if’(47)shɛ́zɛ́ ‘moment just before’ ‘be about to’(48)==================================================
Examples follow.
(45) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dɛ̂
pòuɴ(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN shape(=EMP)‘It seems that he ate this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べたようだ)(46) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dɛ̂
hàɴ(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN appearance(=EMP)‘It seems that he ate this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べたようだ)(47) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡòmăhlwɛ́d̪ àlô
sá=dɛ̂
3SG this curry=KO against.one’s.will eat=ANd̪ ăbɔ́(=bɛ́)nature(=EMP)‘It is that he unwillingly ate this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを嫌々食べた{わけ/次第}だ)(48) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=mɛ̂
shɛ́zɛ́(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN just.before(=EMP)‘He is about to eat this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べるところだ)
In the case of pòuɴ ‘shape’, hàɴ ‘appearance’, and d̪ ăbɔ́ ‘nature’, both=tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ (realis) and =mɛ̂ (irrealis) can occur as the AN. For example, if
we replace =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ in (45) with =mɛ̂, we get a grammatical sentence shownin (49), with a difference in meaning. The action of eating is generallyinterpreted to have occurred before the utterance time in (45) (realis), whilein (49) (irrealis) the action is generally interpreted not to have occurred yet.

431

(49) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=mɛ̂
pòuɴ(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN shape(=EMP)‘It seems that he will eat this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べるようだ)
In the case of shɛ́zɛ́ ‘moment just before’, only =mɛ̂ ‘irrealis’ can occur
as the AN.
Only the verbs shown in Table 4 can be used as an assisting verb in thistype of MMC; other verbs cannot. In the case of hàɴ ‘appearance’, only tù‘to resemble’ can be used. For each of the other three nouns, two verbs are
possible. The difference in meaning brought by using different assistingverbs is so subtle that it is not understood.
Table 4. Assisting verbs for Type 1=====================================================‘Noun’
assisting verb
example—————————————————————————————
pòuɴ ‘shape’yâ ‘to get’, pɔ̀ ‘to appear’ (50)hàɴ ‘appearance’tù ‘to resemble’(51)d̪ ăbɔ́ ‘nature’ɕî ‘to exist’, phyiʔ ‘to be’ (52)shɛ́zɛ́ ‘moment just before’ ɕî ‘to exist’, phyiʔ ‘to be’ (53)====================================================
Examples follow.
(50) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dɛ̂
pòuɴ {yâ=dɛ̀ / pɔ̀=dɛ̀}
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN shape get=RLS / appear=RLS‘It seems that he ate this curry.’(51) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dɛ̂hàɴ
tù=dɛ̀
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN shape resemble=RLS‘It seems that he ate this curry.’(52) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡòmăhlwɛ́d̪ àlô
sá=dɛ̂
3SG this curry=KO against.one’s.will eat=ANd̪ ăbɔ́ {ɕî=dɛ̀/ phyiʔ=tɛ̀}nature exist=RLS / be=RLS‘It is that he unwillingly ate this curry.’(53) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=mɛ̂
shɛ́zɛ́
{ɕî=dɛ̀
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN just.before exist=RLS/ phyiʔ=tɛ̀}/ be=RLS‘He is about to eat this curry.’
Both verb sentence markers =tɛ̀/=dɛ̀ ‘realis’ and =mɛ̀ ‘irrealis’ (Table 1),
encliticized to the assisting verb, can occur with either the adnominalizing432

marker =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ ‘realis’ or =mɛ̂ ‘irrealis’ (Table 2). That is, there are fourcombinations in all. See (54) to (57). In these examples, the verb sentence
marker =tɛ̀/=dɛ̀ ‘realis’ basically denotes that the judgment of the observer(mainly the speaker) occurs in the present/past time; see (54) and (56) (‘Itseems’). The verb sentence marker =mɛ̀ ‘irrealis’ indicates that the
judgment will occur in the future time; see (55) and (57) (‘It will seem’). On
the other hand, the adnominalizing marker =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ ‘realis’ denotes that theaction of eating is anterior to the judgment; see (54) (‘he ate’, ‘he had
eaten’) and (55) (‘he will have eaten’). The adnominalizer =mɛ̂ ‘irrealis’indicates that the action of eating is posterior to the judgment; see (55) (‘hewill eat’, ‘he would eat’) and (57) (‘he will eat’).
(54) sá=dɛ̂pòuɴ yâ=dɛ̀
eat=AN(rls) shape get=RLS‘It seems that [he] ate/ It seemed that [he] had eaten.’(55) sá=dɛ̂pòuɴ yâ=mɛ̀
eat=AN(irr) shape get=IRR‘[Tomorrow when I see him], it will seem that [he] will haveeaten.’(56) sá=mɛ̂pòuɴ yâ=dɛ̀
eat=AN(rls) shape get=RLS‘It seems that [he] will eat/ It seemed that [he] would eat.’(57) sá=mɛ̂pòuɴ yâ=mɛ̀
eat=AN(irr) shape get=IRR‘[Tomorrow when I see him], it will seem that [he] will eat.’
If an assisting verb does not appear, the judgment is usually the one that is
made by the speaker at the time of the utterance.
It should also be added that out of these four nouns discussed above,pòuɴ ‘shape’ and hàɴ ‘appearance’ may form a compound with the verb
when the realis adnominalizing marker =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ (though not =mɛ̂ ‘irrealis’)is used. Sentences (58) and (59), which involve such compounding, can beused in place of (45) and (46), respectively.
(58) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá-bòuɴ(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat-shape(=EMP)‘It seems that he ate this curry.’(59) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá-hàɴ(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat-appearance(=EMP)‘It seems that he ate this curry.’433

5.3 Type 2: V + AN + Subordinate-noun
Burmese has a number of nominal morphemes that function like
postpositions. Okell (1969: 142-144) calls them ‘subordinate-nouns’ (seealso Wheatley 1982: 142). Sawada (1998) calls them kakumeishi (‘casenouns’), and Okano (2007) follows his terminology. Myint Soe (1999:
72-93), however, classifies them among ‘propositional semantic rolemarkers’, which include what are referred to as case particles in the present
paper. Okell enumerates eighteen subordinate-nouns. Those that are usedfrequently in my observation are shown in Table 5, with the meaning as afull noun and the meaning as a subordinate-noun. English glosses are takenfrom Okell.
Table 5. Subordinate-nouns in frequent use==============================================
subordinate- meaning
meaningnoun
as a full noun
as a subordinate-noun——————————————————————————
ʔăsá‘substitute’‘instead of’ʔătáiɴ
‘measuring’‘in accordance with’ʔătwɛʔ
‘calculation’
‘for’
ʔăthî
‘reaching’‘as far as’ʔăphyiʔ‘being, status’‘as’ʔăhmyâ
‘equal share’‘as much as’ʔăyâ‘acquisition’‘in accordance with’lò‘requirement’‘like, as’lòlò(reduplicated form ‘rather like, as if’of lò)lauʔ‘sufficiency (?)’
‘as much as’==============================================
Etymologically, these nouns contain the nominalizing prefix ʔă-, except
for the last three nouns: lò, lòlò, and lauʔ.
Synchronically, these nouns can also be used as full nouns, again except
for the last three nouns: lò, lòlò, and lauʔ. Sentence (60) is an example
where ʔătwɛʔ ‘calculation’ is used as a full noun.
(60) t̪ ùʔătwɛʔ
káuɴ=dɛ̀3SG calculation good=RLS‘He is good at calculation.’
Subordinate-nouns can be generally modified by an adnominal clause.
The resultant clause plus the subordinate-noun functions as an adverbial
clause, e.g. (61).

434

(61) t̪ ùpyɔ́=dɛ̂=ʔătwɛʔʔăchèiɴ hmì t̪ wá=dɛ̀
3SG tell=AN=for
timereach go=RLS‘Because he told me, [I] arrived on time.’
When four of the subordinate-nouns, i.e., ʔăhmyâ ‘as much as’, lò ‘like,as’, lòlò ‘rather like, as if’, and lauʔ ‘as much as’, are modified by anadnominal clause, the adnominalizing markers =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ (realis) and =mɛ̂(irrealis) have to be in the weakened forms =t̪ ă/=d̪ ă and =mă, e.g. (69) (lò‘like, as’), (70) (lòlò ‘rather like, as if’), and (71) (lauʔ ‘as much as’). The
reason for the use of the weakened forms is unknown.
Furthermore, subordinate-nouns can function like case particles(tentatively presented as enclitics; cf. [4] in Section 3). They introduce
adjuncts, rather than arguments. Below is an example of ʔătwɛʔ ‘for’.
(62) ŋà
myaʔthúɴ=ʔătwɛʔhíɴ
chɛʔ=tɛ̀1SG (personal name)=for curry cook =RLS
‘I cooked the curry for Myat Htun.’Three of the subordinate-nouns shown in Table 5 can be used in the
MMC. They are:(a) lò
(b) lòlò
(c) lauʔ‘like, as’‘rather like, as if’‘as much as’

Etymologically, the subordinate-noun lauʔ ‘as much as’ originated in theverb lauʔ ‘to be sufficient’, and both lò ‘like, as’ and lòlò ‘rather like, as if’
originated in the verb lò ‘to require’. In Modern Burmese, the verb lauʔ ‘tobe sufficient’ and lò ‘to require’ are still used as verbs, but thesubordinate-nouns lò, lòlò, and lauʔ are all evidently nouns. First, they do
not co-occur with any verb sentence marker. Second, they can be precededby a demonstrative. Third, they can be followed by a case particle.
Examples:(63) dì=lò=ɡâpòkáuɴ=dɛ̀this=like=KA more good=RLS‘This way is the better.’(64) dì=lòlò=nɛ̂pít̪ wá =dɛ̀this=rather.like=with finish go=RLS‘It has been all finished rather in this way.’(65) dì=lauʔ=kâkeiʔsâ mă-ɕî=bú
this=as.much.as=KA problem not-exist=NEG‘This amount is no problem.’435

Like other subordinate-nouns, these subordinate-nouns can be used to
introduce adjuncts, e.g. (66) to (68), and they can be modified by anadnominal clause, resulting in an adverbial clause, e.g. (69) to (71).
(66) myaʔthúɴ =lò
louʔ=tɛ̀(personal name)=like do=RLS‘[He] did just as Myat Htun did.’(67) myaʔthúɴ=lòlò
louʔ=tɛ̀(personal name)=rather.like do=RLS‘[He] did just as Myat Htun would have done.’(68) myaʔthúɴ=lauʔmă-sá=bú(personal name) as.much.as not-eat=NEG‘[He] did not eat as much as Myat Htun.’(69) t̪ ù myaʔthúɴlouʔ=t̪ ă=lòlouʔ=tɛ̀3SG (personal name) do=AN=like do=RLS‘He did just as Myat Htun did.’(70) t̪ ùmyaʔthúɴlouʔ=t̪ ă=lòlò
louʔ=tɛ̀3SG (personal name) do=AN=rather.like do=RLS‘He did just as Myat Htun would have done.’(71) t̪ ùmyaʔthúɴsá=d̪ ă=lauʔ
3SG (personal name) eat=AN=as.much.as‘He did not eat as much as Myat Htun ate.’mă-sá=bú
not-eat=NEG

The adjuncts and adverbial clauses involving lòlò ‘rather like, as if’ havea counterfactual meaning, e.g. (68) and (70).
In the MMC, these subordinate-nouns have the meanings shown in
Table 6. The noun lò ‘like’ has an evidential meaning: the speaker’s
inference based on a direct observation, like pòuɴ ‘shape’ and hàɴ‘appearance’ in Type 1 (5.2), but the speaker is less sure about the judgment
when lò is used. The noun lòlò has a counterfactual meaning in the MMC,
too. The MMC with lauʔ‘as much as’ indicates degree.
Table 6. Meanings of Type 2======================================================‘Noun’
meaning in MMC
example——————————————————————————————
lò‘like, as’‘it seems that’(72)lòlò ‘rather like, as if’‘it looks as if’(73)(counterfactual)lauʔ ‘as much as’‘hardly, scarcely’(74)======================================================

436

Examples of the MMC follow. Recall that the adnominalizing marker
has to be in the weakened form when lò ‘like, as’, lòlò ‘rather like, as if’ andlauʔ ‘as much as’ are modified by an adnominal clause. This applies to theMMC.
(72) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=d̪ ă=lò(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN=like(=EMP)‘It seems that he ate this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べたようだ)(73) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=d̪ ă=lòlò(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN=rather.like(=EMP)‘It looks as if he had eaten this curry (but in fact he did not).’(彼はまるでこのカレーを食べたかのようだ)(74) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
mă-sá=d̪ ă=lauʔ(=pɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO not-eat=AN=as.much.as(=EMP)‘He hardly eats any of this curry.’(彼はこのカレーをほとんど食べなかった)
The subordinate-noun lauʔ ‘as much as’ only co-occurs with a negatedverb in the MMC; see (74). It cannot be used unless the verb is negated; see:(75) *t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=d̪ ă=lauʔ(=pɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN=as.much.as(=EMP)
Intended meaning: ‘He ate almost all of this curry.’(彼はこのカレーをほとんど食べた)
Examples involving the irrealis adnominalizing marker =mă ‘irrealis’
include the following. (=mă ‘irrealis’ never co-occurs with lauʔ. Negation
generally does not occur in an irrealis clause.)(76) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=mă=lò(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN=like(=EMP)‘It seems that he will eat this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べそうだ)(77) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=mă=lòlò(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN=rather.like(=EMP)‘It seems almost like he will eat this curry.’(いかにも彼はこのカレーを食べそうな気配だ)
Only the verbs shown in Table 7 can be used as an assisting verb in thistype of MMC; other verbs cannot.

437

Table 7. Assisting verbs for Type 2====================================================‘Noun’
assisting verb
example——————————————————————————————
lò‘like, as’ɕî ‘to exist’, phyiʔ ‘to be’ (78)lòlò ‘rather like, as if’ɕî ‘to exist’, phyiʔ ‘to be’ (79)lauʔ ‘as much as’phyiʔ ‘to be’(80)=====================================================
Examples follow:(78) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=d̪ ă=lò
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN=like‘It seems that he ate this curry.’{ɕî=dɛ̀ / phyiʔ=tɛ̀}exist=RL / be=RLS(79) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=d̪ ă =lòlò{ɕî=dɛ̀ / phyiʔ=tɛ̀}
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN=rather.like exist=RL / be=RLS‘It looks as if he had eaten this curry (but in fact he did not).’(80) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
ma-sá=d̪ ă=lauʔ
phyiʔ=tɛ̀
3SG this curry=KO not-eat=AN=as.much.as be=RLS‘He hardly ate any of this curry.’
5.4 Type 3: V + =tà/=dà or =hmà
The particles =tà/=dà and =hmà are nominalizers. =tà/=dà indicates realis,while =hmà indicates irrealis. Out of the forms that have the function of
nominalizing clauses, these two are the most widely used in colloquial
Burmese. Clauses nominalized by =tà/=dà or =hmà denote either an entity,e.g. (81), or an event, e.g. (82).
(81) t̪ ùchɛʔ=tà=ɡòŋà
ywé=dɛ̀
3SG cook =TA=KO 1SG select=RLS‘I selected what he cooked.’(82) t̪ ùyàɴɡòuɴ là=dà=ɡòŋàt̪ î=dɛ̀3SG Yangon come=TA=KO 1SG know=RLS‘I know that he came to Yangon.’
These particles cannot be followed by any verb sentence marker, while
they can be followed by a case particle, e.g. (81), (82). In these respects,
V=tà/=dà and V=hmà are nouns. However, unlike typical nouns, theycannot be modified by a demonstrative; see (83).

438

(83) *dìchɛʔ=tàthis cook=TA
Intended meaning: ‘this food, which [someone] cooked’
The nominalizers =tà/=dà and =hmà can occupy the ‘Noun’ slot of the
MMC. However, it is considerably difficult to precisely describe themeaning or function of =tà/=dà and =hmà in the MMC. They seem to havesome sort of discourse function. Regarding the function of =tà/=dà used inwhat the present paper calls the MMC, Okell and Allot (2001: 94-95) statethat “[=tà/=dà is used] for emphasis, or when correcting the hearer’s
mistaken view”, and also that “[it is used] when the information conveyed
by the verb is already known to the listener and the new information in thesentence is in one of the noun phrases preceding the verb; compare English
sentences of the form: It was because X that Y”.
Kato (1998: 88-89), in a Burmese primer, points out that the “meaning”
of =tà/=dà and =hmà resembles that of the =no=da construction ofJapanese (for this Japanese construction, see Tsunoda (this volume-b,
5.4.4)). Very roughly speaking, the Japanese =no=da construction provides
explanation or reason, among others. I gloss these Burmese nominalizers as‘it is the case that’, as is shown in Table 8. Matisoff (1972) points out that
the Lahu nominalizer ve appears frequently in the sentence-final position.
This Lahu nominalizer seems to have a function similar to that of the
Burmese =tà/=dà and =hmà.
Table 8. Meanings of Type 3==================================================‘Noun’
meaning in MMC
example—————————————————————————————=tà/=dà ‘nominalizer (RLS)’ ‘it is the case that’(84)=hmà ‘nominalizer (IRR)’‘it is the case that’(85)===================================================
Examples follow:(84) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dà
3SG this curry=KO eat=TA‘It is the case that he ate this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べたのだ)(85) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=hmà
3SG this curry=KO eat=HMA‘It is the case that he will eat this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べるのだ)
Sentences in (86) are cited from a conversation in a Burmese radio
drama, and sentences in (87) from a conversation in another scene of the439

same drama. (86-B) and (87-B) are instances of the MMC. They will givesome indication of how this type of the MMC is used in actual discourse.
(86) A. nwèmókhàiɴd̪ ăzìɴ mă-houʔ=phú=lá(personal name)not-be.so=NEG=Q‘Aren’t (you) Nwe Moe Khine Thazin?’(あなたはヌエモーカインダズィンではないのか?)
B. mă-houʔ=pà=búɕìɴ.
not-be.so=POL=NEG SFPɕìɴ=dô lù
hmá=jâ=dà=bà
2=PL person mistake=PL=TA=POL‘I am not. You are mistaking me for another person.’(違います。あなた方は人違いをしているんですよ)(87) A. bàphyiʔ=nè=d̪ ă=dóuɴ
kwà
what happen=PROG=RLS=Q SFP‘What’s happening?’(どうしたのだ?)
B. baiʔ=kâtăʔá
nà=nè=dàstomach=KA severely ache=PROG=TA‘I have a severe stomachache.’(腹がひどく痛むのだ)
Only the verb phyiʔ ‘to be’ may occur as the assisting verb in the MMC
with =tà/=dà and =hmà, e.g.:(88) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dà phyiʔ=tɛ̀
3SG this curry=KO eat=TA be=RLS‘It is the case that he ate this curry.’(89) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=hmà
phyiʔ=tɛ̀
3SG this curry=KO eat=HMA be=RLS‘It is the case that he will eat this curry.’
5.5 Type 4: V + Special head
There are over twenty nominal morphemes that Okell (1969: 65) calls‘special heads’. They can combine directly with a verb to yield a compoundnoun (see also Wheatley 1982:109-111, Yabu 1992:581, Myint Soe 1999:
34). For example, in (90), the special head ʔăt̪ àɴ ‘sound’ and the verb pyɔ́
‘speak’ form a compound noun. In compounding, the first syllable of ʔăt̪ àɴis dropped and the initial consonant of its second syllable, i.e. t̪ , alternateswith d̪ unless it is preceded by a glottal stop. The compound noun pyɔ́-d̪ àɴmeans ‘speaking noise’. Such a verb compounded with a special head cantake its own arguments. In (90), t̪ ù ‘3SG’ and zăɡá ‘language’ are the440arguments of the verb pyɔ́ ‘speak’. In other words, the verb compoundedwith a special head can be the head verb of a subordinate clause.
(90) ŋà[t̪ ùzăɡápyɔ́ ]-d̪ àɴ=ɡò
cá=dɛ̀
1SG 3SG language speak-sound=KO hear=RLS‘I heard his voice speaking a language.’
In contrast, in an ordinary ‘verb + noun’ compound (in which the noun isjust an ‘ordinary’ noun, and not a ‘special head’), the verb cannot take its
own arguments. See (91); zăyeiʔ ‘expenses’ is an ‘ordinary’ noun, and not a
special head, and it cannot take any argument.
(91) *ŋà [t̪ ùɲâzàsá]-zăyeiʔ=kò
pé=dɛ̀
1SG 3SG dinner eat-expenses=KO give=RLS
Intended meaning: ‘I paid for his eating dinner.’
This is a crucial difference between the ‘V + Special head’ and ‘verb +noun’ compounds.
Table 9 shows special heads in frequent use, together with their meaning.
Those above the single line, i.e., from ʔăcáuɴ ‘fact’ to ʔăsâ ‘beginning’, canbe used as a full noun, while the others, i.e., from -yòuɴ ‘only thing to V’ to-khàzâ/-ɡàzâ ‘time when one has just started V-ing’, cannot be used as a fullnoun. The latter are represented with a hyphen in order to show this fact.
The forms with a hyphen can be considered particles (i.e. enclitics) or
suffixes.

441

Table 9. Special heads in frequent use====================================================
special head
meaning
MMC—————————————————————————————
ʔăcáuɴ
‘fact; fact of V-ing’noʔăkhà‘time; time when one V-s’noʔăchèiɴ‘time; time when one V-s’noʔăchíɴ
‘happening, event; act of V-ing’noʔăkhwîɴ‘permission; opportunity to V’noʔăhmû‘problem; act of V-ing’noʔăyé‘matter, affair; matter of V-ing’noʔăt̪ àɴ‘sound; sound of V-ing’
noní‘method; way of V-ing’not̪ ù‘3SG pronoun; person who V-s’noʔăphô‘share, portion; to V’yesʔăshóuɴ‘end; thing that is the most V’yesʔăsâ‘beginning; time when one
yes
has just started V-ing’—————————————————————————————-yòuɴ‘mere act of V-ing’
yes-tóuɴ/-dóuɴ
‘process of V-ing’
yes-shɛ́/-zɛ́‘process of V-ing’
yes-píd̪ á‘thing that has already V-ed’yes< pí ‘to end’ + t̪ á ‘emphatic nominalizer’-nèjâ‘thing that one habitually V-s’yes
< nè ‘to stay’ + ʔăcâ ‘fall, drop (n)’-lɛʔsâ
‘thing that is halfway through V-ing’
yes< lɛʔ ‘hand’ + ʔăsâ ‘beginning’-khàzâ/-ɡàzâ ‘time when one has just started V-ing’
yes< ʔăkhà ‘time’ + ʔăsâ ‘beginning’===================================================For the special heads that can be used as a full noun, the meanings thatthey have when they are used as a full noun are shown before the semicolon,
while those that they have when they are combined with a verb are shown
after the semicolon.
When the forms with the first syllable ʔă- are compounded with a verb,
this syllable is dropped; see (90). This is for an etymological reason that is
not directly relevant to the theme of the present paper. (ʔă- is a nominalizing
prefix. Compare the noun ʔăshóuɴ ‘end’ and the verb shóuɴ ‘to end’.)Special heads shown with ‘yes’ in the rightmost column in Table 9 canoccupy the ‘Noun’ slot of the MMC. Table 10 shows the meanings that they
have when they are used in the MMC. They generally have an aspectual (orpossibly temporal) meaning. In addition, ʔăshóuɴ ‘be the most V’ indicatesdegree, e.g. (93), and-yòuɴ ‘only do V-ing; have only to V’ indicates limit
or extent: ‘only’, e.g. (95).

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The form ʔăshóuɴ ‘be the most V’ has a particular characteristic in thatthe nominalizing prefix ʔă- is attached before the verb when it iscompounded with a verb. See (93).
Table 10. Meanings of Type 4======================================================‘Noun’
meaning
example——————————————————————————————
ʔăphô‘share: to V’‘be about to V’(101)ʔăshóuɴ ‘end’‘be the most V’(102)ʔăsâ ‘beginning’‘have just V-ed’(103)-khàzâ/-ɡàzâ ‘beginning’‘have just V-ed’(103)-yòuɴ ‘only thing to V’‘only do V-ing;(104)
have only to V’-tóuɴ/-dóuɴ ‘process of V-ing’‘be in the middleof V-ing’(105)-shɛ́/-zɛ́‘process of V-ing’‘be in the middleof V-ing’(106)(more formal than -tóuɴ)-píd̪ á ‘thing that has already V-ed’‘have finished V-ing’(107)-nèjâ ‘thing that one habitually V-s’ ‘habitually V’(108)-lɛʔsâ ‘thing that is halfway‘have started V-ing,(109)
through V-ing’
but have not finished it’======================================================
Compounds consisting of a verb and a special head are nouns in two
respects. First, they cannot be followed by any verb sentence marker.
Second, they can be followed by a case particle. However, they are nottypical nouns. Namely, they cannot be modified by a demonstrative.
The following examples show that special heads can be followed by acase particle.2(92) míɴ phaʔ-phô=ɡò yù là=0/
2SG read-to=KO take come=IMP‘Bring what you have to read.’(93) míɴ ʔă-caiʔ-shóuɴ=ɡò yù là=0/
2SG A-like-most=KO take come=IMP‘Bring what you like best.’(94) t̪ ù yàɴɡòuɴ=ɡòyau ʔ{-sâ/-khàzâ}=hmà ŋà=nɛ̂twê =dɛ̀3SG Yangon=KO arrive{-beginning}=at 1SG=with meet=RLS‘He met me soon after he came to Yangon.’443

(95) ŋàpyɔ́-yòuɴ=nɛ̂ t̪ ùná lɛ̀=dɛ̀
1SG tell-only=with 3SG understand =RLS
‘He understood it when I merely told it.’(96) ŋà
ʔeiʔ=nè-dóuɴ=hmàt̪ ù
là=dɛ̀
1SG sleep=PROG-process=at 3SG come=RLS‘He came while I was sleeping.’(97) ŋà
ʔeiʔ=nè-zɛ́=hmàt̪ ù
là=dɛ̀
1SG sleep=PROG-process=at 3SG come=RLS‘He came while I was sleeping.’(98) míɴ louʔ-píd̪ á=ɡò yù là=0/
2SG do-already=KO take come=IMP‘Bring what you have finished.’(99) míɴ phaʔ -nèjâ=ɡò yù
là=0/
2SG read-habit=KO take come=IMP‘Bring what you are habitually reading.’(100) míɴ phaʔ-lɛʔsâ=ɡòyù
là=0/
2SG read-not.yet=KO take come=IMP‘Bring what you haven’t finished reading.’
Now, special heads can occupy the ‘Noun’ slot of the MMC:
(101) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡòsá-bô(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat-about.to(=EMP)‘He is about to eat this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べるところだ)(102) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡòʔă-caiʔ-shóuɴ(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO A-like-most(=EMP)‘He likes this curry the best of all.’(彼はこのカレーが一番好きだ)(103) t̪ ù yàɴɡòuɴ=ɡò yauʔ{-sâ/-khàzâ}(=bɛ́)
3SG Yangon=KO arrive{-beginning}(=EMP)‘He has just arrived in Yangon.’(彼はヤンゴンに来たばかりだ)(104) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡòsá-yòuɴ(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat-only(=EMP)‘He only ate this curry; He has only to eat this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べただけだ;
彼はこのカレーを食べる必要があるだけだ)444

(105) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=nè-dóuɴ(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat=PROG-process (=EMP)‘He is in the middle of eating this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べている最中だ)(106) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá= nè-zɛ́(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat=PROG-process(=EMP)‘He is in the middle of eating this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べている最中だ)(107) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá-píd̪ á(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat-finishing(=EMP)‘He has already finished eating this curry.’(彼はこのカレーをもう食べ終わっている)(108) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá-nèjâ(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat-habit(=EMP)‘He is habitually eating this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べつけている)(109) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá-lɛʔsâ(=bɛ́)
3SG this curry=KO eat-not.yet(=EMP)‘He started eating this curry, but hasn’t finished yet.’(彼はこのカレーを食べかけだ)
Only the verbs shown in Table 11 can be used as an assisting verb in thistype of the MMC; other verbs cannot.
Table 11. Assisting verbs for Type 4======================================================‘Noun’
assisting verb
example——————————————————————————————
ʔăphô‘be about to V’louʔ ‘to do’(110)ʔăshóuɴ ‘be the most V’phyiʔ ‘to be’(111)ʔăsâ and -khàzâ/ɡàzâ ‘have just V-ed’ ɕî ‘to exist’, phyiʔ ‘to be’ (112)-yòuɴ ‘only do V-ing; have only to V’ ɕî ‘to exist’, phyiʔ ‘to be’ (113)-tóuɴ/-dóuɴ ‘be in the middle of V-ing’ ɕî ‘to exist’, phyiʔ ‘to be’ (114)-shɛ́/-zɛ́‘be in the middle of V-ing’ ɕî ‘to exist’, phyiʔ ‘to be’ (115)-píd̪ á ‘have finished V-ing’
phyiʔ ‘to be’(116)-nèjâ ‘habitually V’ɕî ‘to exist’, phyiʔ ‘to be’ (117)-lɛʔsâ ‘have started V-ing,ɕî ‘to exist’, phyiʔ ‘to be’ (118)
but have not finished V-ing’======================================================
Examples follow.

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(110) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡòsá-bô louʔ=nè=dɛ̀
3SG this curry=KO eat-to do=PROG=RLS‘He is about to eat this curry.’(111) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡòʔă-caiʔ-shóuɴ phyiʔ=tɛ̀
3SG this curry=KO A-like-most
be=RLS‘He likes this curry the best of all.’(112) t̪ ù yàɴɡòuɴ=ɡò yauʔ{-sâ/-khàzâ}{ɕî=dɛ̀ / phyiʔ=tɛ̀}
3SG Yangon=KO arrive{-beginning} exist=RLS / be=RLS‘He has just arrived in Yangon.’(113) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡòsá-yòuɴ {ɕî=dɛ̀ / phyiʔ=tɛ̀}
3SG this curry=KO eat-onlyexist=RLS / be=RLS‘He only ate this curry; He has only to eat this curry.’(114) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=nè-dóuɴ{ɕî=dɛ̀ / phyiʔ=tɛ̀}
3SG this curry=KO eat=PROG-process exist=RLS / be=RLS‘He is in the middle of eating this curry.’(115) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=nè-zɛ́{ɕî=dɛ̀ / phyiʔ=tɛ̀}
3SG this curry=KO eat=PROG-process exist=RLS / be=RLS‘He is in the middle of eating this curry.’(116) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá-píd̪ áphyiʔ=tɛ̀
3SG this curry=KO eat-already be=RLS‘He has already finished eating this curry.’(117) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá-nèjâ{ɕî=dɛ̀ / phyiʔ=tɛ̀}
3SG this curry=KO eat-habit
exist=RLS / be=RLS‘He is habitually eating this curry.’(118) t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá-lɛʔsâ{ɕî=dɛ̀ / phyiʔ=tɛ̀}
3SG this curry=KO eat-not.yet exist=RLS / be=RLS‘He started eating this curry, but hasn’t finished yet.’
5.6 Summary
Table 12 is an exhaustive list of the forms that are attested in the ‘Noun’ slotof the MMC. Nineteen forms have been found so far. Their use can begrouped into four semantic/functional categories: evidentiality, aspect,discourse, degree, and limit/extent (cf. Vittrant 2005 for the semantic
categories of the Burmese predicates). The table also shows thesecategories.

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Table 12. Exhaustive list of the forms used in the ‘Noun’ slot==================================================‘Noun’
semantic/functional category—————————————————————————————
Type 1 (V + AN + Full noun)pòuɴ ‘it seems that’evidentialityhàɴ ‘it seems that’evidentialityd̪ ăbɔ́ ‘it is that’
discourseshɛ́zɛ́ ‘be about to’aspect————————————————————————————
Type 2 (V + AN + Subordinate-noun)lò‘it seems that’evidentialitylòlò ‘it looks as if’
evidentiality (to be precise,counterfactuality)lauʔ ‘hardly V’
degree————————————————————————————
Type 3 (V + =tà/=dà or =hmà [nominalizer])=tà/=dà ‘it is the case that’
discourse=hmà‘it is the case that’
discourse————————————————————————————
Type 4 (V + Special head)ʔăphô‘be about to V’
aspectʔăshóuɴ ‘be the most V’
degreeʔăsâ‘have just V-ed’
aspect-khàzâ/-ɡàzâ ‘have just V-ed’
aspect-yòuɴ‘only do V-ing’
limit/extent-tóuɴ/-dóuɴ ‘be in the middle of V-ing’ aspect-shɛ́/-zɛ́‘be in the middle of V-ing’ aspect‘have finished V-ing’
aspect-píd̪ á-nèjâ
‘habitually V’
aspect-lɛʔsâ
‘have started V-ing’
aspect==================================================
It is worth pointing out that the forms that have an aspectual meaning do
not show a realis/irrealis opposition in the ‘AN’ of ‘V + (AN) + Noun’ (see(37)). In shɛ́zɛ́ ‘be about to’ of Type 1, only the irrealis adnominalizing
marker =mɛ̂ can occur as the AN. All of the other forms that have an
aspectual meaning belong to Type 4, in which the adnominalizing markers
themselves do not occur.
6. Comparison of the MMC with other constructions
6.1 Introductory notes
We shall compare the MMC with some other constructions in terms of theirsyntactic behavior. The constructions that will be compared are as follows.

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(a) Internal AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’ (4.2.1.2).
(b) External AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’ (4.2.1.3).
(c) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an entity (5.4), e.g. (81).
(d) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an event (5.4), e.g. (82).
(e) MMC of Type 1 (5.2).
(f) MMC of Type 2 (5.3).
(g) MMC of Type 3 (5.4).
(h) MMC of Type 4 (5.5).
(i) Noun-predicate sentence (4.1).
(j) Verb-predicate sentence (4.1).
The following comparison of these constructions will bring the syntactic
characteristics of the MMC into relief. In particular, it will show that the
MMC has characteristics similar to those of simple sentences (not complex
sentences), that is, the MMC is mono-clausal (not bi-clausal).
I will employ the following five tests in order to examine the syntactic
characteristics of the MMC.
Test 1: Modification by a demonstrative.
Test 2: Clefting (1): ‘Noun’.
Test 3: Topicalization.
Test 4: Relativization.
Test 5: Clefting (2): elements in the clause or ‘Clause’.
Test 1 and Test 2 are designed to highlight the syntactic properties of the‘Noun’ of the MMC (cf. (36) and (37)), while Tests 4, 5, and 6 are intended
to highlight those of the ‘Clause’ of the MMC.
These tests will be applied to the following sample sentences of the ten
constructions (a) to (j). The portion which can be represented as ‘V + (AN)+ Noun’ is underlined in each sample sentence. Recall that the essential
constituents of the Burmese MMC are ‘V + (AN) + Noun’; see (37).
(a) Internal AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’(119) t̪ ùchɛʔ=tɛ̂híɴ=ɡò
ŋà
sá=dɛ̀
3SG cook=AN curry=KO 1SG eat=RLS‘I ate the curry which he cooked.’(彼が作ったカレーを私は食べた)(b) External AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’(120) t̪ ùŋá kìɴ=dɛ̂ ʔănâɴ=ɡò ŋà
yâ=dɛ̀
3SG fish grill=AN smell=KO 1SG get=RLS‘I smelled the smell of him grilling a fish.’(彼が魚を焼くにおいを私はかいだ)

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(c) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an entityŋà
sá=dɛ̀
(121) t̪ ùchɛʔ=tà=ɡò
3SG cook=TA=KO 1SG eat=RLS‘‘I ate what he cooked.’(彼が作ったのを私は食べた)(d) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an event(122) t̪ ùyàɴgòuɴ là=dà=ɡòŋàt̪ î=dɛ̀3SG Yangon come=TA=KO 1SG know=RLS‘I know that he came to Yangon.’(彼がヤンゴンに来たのを私は知っている)(e) MMC of Type 1(123) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dɛ̂
pòuɴ=bɛ́
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN shape=EMP‘It seems that he ate this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べたようだ)(f) MMC of Type 2(124) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=jìɴ=d̪ ă=lò=bɛ́
3SG this curry=KO eat=want.to=AN=like=EMP‘It seems that he wants to eat this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べたいようだ)(g) MMC of Type 3(125) t̪ ùjăpàɴ=ɡò măhlwɛ́d̪ àlô
là=yâ=dà=bɛ́
3SG Japan=KO against.one’s.will come=must=TA=EMP‘It is the case that he unwillingly came to Japan.’(彼は日本に仕方なく来なければならなかったのだ)(h) MMC of Type 4(126) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá-nèjâ=bɛ́
3SG this curry=KO eat-habit=EMP‘He is habitually eating this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べつけている)(i) Noun-predicate sentence(127) t̪ ùʔăshòdɔ̀=bɛ́
3SG singer=EMP‘He is a singer.’(彼は歌手だ)449

(j) Verb-predicate sentence(128) t̪ ùdì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dɛ̀
3SG this curry=KO eat=RLS‘He ate this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べた)
We shall now look at each test. As mentioned above, Test 1 (6.2) and
Test 2 (6.3) are designed to highlight the syntactic properties of the ‘Noun’of the MMC.
6.2 Test 1: Modification by a demonstrative
This test examines whether the ‘Noun’ of (37) ‘V + (AN) + Noun’ can be
modified by a demonstrative. The demonstrative ʔɛ́dì ‘that’ will be put infront of the ‘Noun’ in question of the sample sentences. The sample
sentences of (a) and (b) remain grammatical, but those of (c), (d), (e), (f), (g),and (h) become ungrammatical. This test is not applicable to constructions(i) and (j), for they lack the ‘Noun’ in question.
(a) Internal AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’(129) t̪ ùchɛʔ =tɛ̂ ʔɛ́dì híɴ=ɡòŋà
sá=dɛ̀
3SG cook =AN that curry=KO 1SG eat=RLS‘I ate this curry which he cooked.’(彼が作ったそのカレーを私は食べた)(b) External AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’(130) t̪ ùŋá kìɴ=dɛ̂ ʔɛ́dì ʔănâɴ=ɡò ŋà
yâ=dɛ̀
3SG fish grill=AN that smell=KO 1SG get=RLS‘I smelled that smell of him grilling a fish.’(彼が魚を焼くそのにおいを私はかいだ)(c) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an entity(131) *ʔɛ́dì t̪ ùchɛʔ=tà=ɡòŋà
sá=dɛ̀
that
3SG cook=TA=KO 1SG eat=RLS
Intended meaning: ‘I ate that thing he cooked.’(その、彼が作ったのを私は食べた)(d) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an event(132) *ʔɛ́dì t̪ ùyàɴgòuɴ là=dà=ɡòŋàt̪ î=dɛ̀that
3SG Yangon come=TA=KO 1SG know=RLS
Intended meaning: ‘I know the fact that he came to Yangon.’(その、彼がヤンゴンに来たのを私は知っている)

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(e) MMC of Type 1(133) *t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dɛ̂ ʔɛ́dì pòuɴ=bɛ́
3SG this curry=KO eat=AN that shape=EMP‘untranslatable’(彼はこのカレーを食べたそのようだ)(f) MMC of Type 2(134) *t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡòʔɛ́dì sá=jìɴ=d̪ ă=lò=bɛ́
3SG this curry=KO that eat=want.to=AN=like=EMP‘untranslatable’(彼はこのカレーをその食べたいようだ)(g) MMC of Type 3(135) *t̪ ù jăpàɴ=ɡò măhlwɛ́d̪ àlôʔɛ́dì là=yâ=dà=bɛ́
3SG this=KO against.one’s.will that come=must=TA=EMP‘untranslatable’(彼は日本に仕方なくその来なければならなかったのだ)(h) MMC of Type 4(136) *t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡòʔɛ́dì sá-nèjâ=bɛ́
3SG this curry=KO that eat-habitually=EMP‘untranslatable’(i) Noun-predicate sentence
Inapplicable because there is no relevant ‘Noun’.
(j) Verb-predicate sentence
Inapplicable because there is no relevant ‘Noun’.
6.3 Test 2: Clefting (1): ‘Noun’
Clefting in Burmese involves the nominalizer =tà/=dà or =hmà and yields a
construction which can be represented as ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà X’, where
X represents the focus. Here, clefting is applied to the ‘Noun’ of ‘V + (AN)+ Noun’ of the MMC and the equivalent head noun of (a) and (b).
When clefting is applied, in (a), the resultant sentence is grammatical;see (137). In (b), the resultant sentence is unacceptable; see (138). However,if the head noun is modified by a demonstrative, the sentence becomes
acceptable; see (139). In (c), (d), and (g), this test is not applicable, for thehead noun itself is the morpheme that makes a cleft sentence: =tà/=dà or=hmà. In (e), (f), and (h), the resultant sentence is unacceptable. This test is
inapplicable to (i) and (j).

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(a) Internal AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’(137) t̪ ù chɛʔ=tà híɴ=bɛ́
3SG cook=TA curry=EMP‘It was curry that he cooked.’(彼が作ったのはカレーだ)(b) External AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’(138) *t̪ ù ŋá kìɴ=dàʔănâɴ=bɛ́
3SG fish grill=TA smell=EMP
LT: ‘It is with a smell that he grilled a fish.’(彼が魚を焼くのはにおいだ)(139) t̪ ù ŋá kìɴ=dàdì ʔănâɴ=bɛ́
3SG fish grill=TA this smell=EMP‘It is with this smell that he grilled a fish.’(彼が魚を焼くのはこのにおいだ)(c) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an entity
Inapplicable because =tà itself is a morpheme that yields a cleft sentence.
(d) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an event
Inapplicable because =tà/=dà or =hmà itself is a morpheme that yields acleft sentence.
(e) MMC of Type 1(140) *t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dàpòuɴ=bɛ́
3SG this curry=KO eat=TA shape=EMP
LT: ‘It is a shape that he ate this curry.’(彼がこのカレーを食べたのはようだ)(f) MMC of Type 2(141) *t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=jìɴ=dà
lò=bɛ́
3SG this curry=KO eat=want.to=TA like=EMP‘untranslatable’(彼がこのカレーを食べたいのはようだ)(g) MMC of Type 3
Inapplicable because =tà/=dà or =hmà itself is a morpheme that yields acleft sentence.
(h) MMC of Type 4(142) *t̪ ù dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dà
nèjâ=bɛ́
3SG this curry=KO eat=TA habit=EMP‘untranslatable’452

(i) Noun-predicate sentence
Inapplicable because there is no such constituent as ‘V + (AN) + Noun’.
(j) Verb-predicate sentence
Inapplicable because there is no such constituent as ‘V + (AN) + Noun’.
We have looked at the tests that are designed to highlight the syntactic
properties of the ‘Noun’ of the MMC. We shall now turn to those tests thatare intended to highlight the syntactic properties of the ‘Clause’ of the
MMC. In 6.4, 6.5, and 6.6 below, the following will be compared.
(143) (i) The subordinate clause of (a) to (d)(ii) The ‘Clause’ of the MMC: (e) to (h)(iii) Simple sentences: (i), (j)6.4. Test 3: Topicalization
This test examines whether topicalization can apply to elements in the threestructures listed in (143).
For this test, we use =kâdɔ̂/=ɡâdɔ̂, which I consider to be a contrastive
topic marker. This form is a compound of the case particle =kâ/=ɡâ ‘agent’
and the particle =tɔ̂/=dɔ̂ which indicates contrastiveness. The case particle=kâ/=ɡâ can only follow the subject, e.g. (10), (11), but =kâdɔ̂/=ɡâdɔ̂ canfollow non-subjects, e.g. (144). For this reason I consider =kâdɔ̂/=ɡâdɔ̂ adifferent word from =kâ/=ɡâ.
(144) dìsàʔouʔ=kâdɔ̂ mă-phaʔ=phú=bú
3SG book=CON not-read=experience=NEG‘As for this book, I have never read it.’In the examples below, the contrastive topic marker =kâdɔ̂/=ɡâdɔ̂ isplaced after the subject t̪ ù ‘3SG’ of the sample sentences. (The gloss ‘HE,
HIM’ is in capital letters, for the reader’s convenience.) It basically cannot
occur in the subordinate clauses, as is shown in the results of (a) to (d)below. However, it can occur in the “Clause” of the MMC, i.e, (e) to (h),and also in simple sentences: (i) and (j).
(a) Internal AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’(145) *t̪ ù=ɡâdɔ̂ chɛʔ=tɛ̂híɴ=ɡò
ŋà
sá=dɛ̀
3SG=CON cook=AN curry=KO 1SG eat=RLS‘I ate the curry that HE cooked.’(彼は作ったカレーを私は食べた)

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(b) External AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’(146) *t̪ ù=ɡâdɔ̂ ŋá kìɴ=dɛ̂ ʔănâɴ=ɡò ŋà
yâ=dɛ̀
3SG=CON fish grill=AN smell=KO 1SG get=RLS‘I smelled the smell of HIM grilling a fish.’(彼は魚を焼くにおいを私はかいだ)(c) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an entity(147) *t̪ ù=ɡâdɔ̂ chɛʔ=tà=ɡò ŋà
sá=dɛ̀
3SG=CON cook=TA=KO 1SG eat=RLS‘I ate what HE cooked.’(彼は作ったのを私は食べた)(d) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an event(148) ? t̪ ù=ɡâdɔ̂ yàɴgòuɴ là=dà=ɡòŋàt̪ î=dɛ̀
3SG=CON Yangon come=TA=KO 1SG know=RLS‘I know that HE came to Yangon.’(彼はヤンゴンに来たのを私は知っている)(e) MMC of Type 1(149) t̪ ù=ɡâdɔ̂dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dɛ̂ pòuɴ=bɛ́
3SG=CON this curry=KO eat=AN shape=EMP‘It seems that HE ate this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べたようだ)(f) MMC of Type 2(150) t̪ ù=ɡâdɔ̂dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=jìɴ=d̪ ă =lò=bɛ́
3SG=CON this curry=KO eat=want.to=AN=like=EMP‘It seems that HE wants to eat this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べたいようだ)(g) MMC of Type 3(151) t̪ ù=ɡâdɔ̂ jăpàɴ=ɡò măhlwɛ́d̪ àlô
là=yâ=dà=bɛ́
3SG=CON Japan=KO against.one’s.will come=must=TA=EMP‘It is the case that HE unwillingly came to Japan.’(彼は日本に仕方なく来なければならなかったのだ)(h) MMC of Type 4(152) t̪ ù=ɡâdɔ̂dì híɴ=ɡò
sá-nèjâ=bɛ́
3SG=CON this curry=KO eat-habit=EMP‘HE is habitually eating this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べつけている)454

(i) Noun-predicate sentence(153) t̪ ù=ɡâdɔ̂ʔăshòdɔ̀=bɛ́
3SG=CON singer=EMP‘HE is a singer.’(彼は歌手だ)(j) Verb-predicate sentence(154) t̪ ù=ɡâdɔ̂dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dɛ̀
3SG=CON this curry=KO eat=RLS‘HE ate this curry.’(彼はこのカレーを食べた)
6.5 Test 4: Relativization
This test examines whether relativization can apply to elements in the threeconstructions listed in (143).
In order to conduct this test, we need to include an assisting verb in thesample sentence of (i) ‘Noun-predicate sentence’, as well as those of theMMC, i.e. (e), (f), (g), and (h), because relativization does not work for
sentences which end with a noun.
The resultant sentences of (a) to (d) are ungrammatical, while those of
all the other constructions are grammatical.
(a) Internal AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’
Relativization of the subject of the adnominal clause of (119), i.e. t̪ ù ‘3SG’:(155) *chɛʔ=tɛ̂ híɴ=ɡòŋà
sá=dɛ̂ lù
cook =AN curry=KO 1SG eat=AN person
Intended meaning: ‘the person who cooked the curry that I ate’
(作ったカレーを私が食べた人)(b) External AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’
Relativization of the subject of the adnominal clause of (120), i.e. t̪ ù ‘3SG’:(156) *ŋá kìɴ=dɛ̂ ʔănâɴ=ɡò ŋà
yâ =dɛ̂
lùfish grill=AN smell=KO 1SG get=AN person
Intended meaning: ‘the person who grilled a fish whose smell I
smelled’(魚を焼くにおいを私がかいだ人)(c) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an entity
Relativization of the subject of the clause nominalized by =tà of (121), i.e.
t̪ ù ‘3SG’:

455

(157) *chɛʔ=tà=ɡò ŋà
sá=dɛ̂
lùcook =TA=KO 1SG eat=AN person
Intended meaning: ‘the person who cooked what I ate’
(作ったのを私が食べた人)(d) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an event
Relativization of the subject of the clause nominalized by =tà of (122), i.e.
t̪ ù ‘3SG’:(158) *yàɴgòuɴ là=dà=ɡòŋàt̪ î=dɛ̂lùYangon come=TA =KO 1SG know=AN person
Intended meaning: ‘the person who, I know, came to Yangon’(ヤンゴンに来たのを私が知っている人)(e) MMC of Type 1
Relativization of the subject of the “Clause” of (123), i.e. t̪ ù ‘3SG’:(159) dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dɛ̂ pòuɴ yâ=dɛ̂ lù
this curry=KO eat=AN shape get=AN person‘the person who seems to have eaten this curry’(このカレーを食べたようである人)
Sentence (159) is grammatical, but sounds somewhat unnatural because=tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ occurs twice. In order to avoid this, the verb and the noun pòuɴ arecompounded, as in (160) (see (58) for compounding of pòuɴ).
(160) dì híɴ=ɡòsá-bòuɴ yâ=dɛ̂ lù
this curry=KO eat-shape get=AN person‘the person who seems to have eaten this curry’(このカレーを食べたようである人)(f) MMC of Type 2
Relativization of the subject of the “Clause” of (124), i.e. t̪ ù ‘3SG’:(161) dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=jìɴ=d̪ ă =lòɕî=dɛ̂
lù
this curry=KO eat=want.to=AN=like exist=AN person‘the person who looks like he wants to eat this curry’(このカレーを食べたいようである人)(g) MMC of Type 3
Relativization of the subject of the “Clause” of (125), i.e. t̪ ù ‘3SG’:

456

(162) jăpàɴ=ɡò măhlwɛ́d̪ àlô
là=yâ=dàphyiʔ=mɛ̂
Japan=KO against.one’s.will come=must=TA be=ANlùpersonIntended and literal meaning: ‘The person who, it must have been
the case that, unwillingly came to Japan’(日本に仕方なく来なければならなかったのであろう人)
Sentence (162) is grammatical, but somewhat unnatural. This is probably
because it sounds extremely formal. In order to express the intended
meaning in daily conversation, the sentence below without the MMC is
used:(163) jăpàɴ=ɡò măhlwɛ́d̪ àlô
là=yâ=dɛ̂lùJapan=KO against.one’s.will come=must= AN person‘The person who unwillingly had to come to Japan’(日本に仕方なく来なければならなかった人)(h) MMC of Type 4
Relativization of the subject of the “Clause” of (126), i.e. t̪ ù ‘3SG’:(164) dì híɴ=ɡò
sá-nèjâ ɕî=dɛ̂lùthis curry=KO eat-habit exist=AN person‘The person who habitually eats this curry’(このカレーを食べつけている人)(i) Noun-predicate sentence
Relativization of the subject of (127), i.e. t̪ ù ‘3SG’:(165) ʔăshòdɔ̀ phyiʔ=tɛ̂ lù
singerbe=AN person‘The person who is a singer’(歌手である人)(j) Verb-predicate sentence
Relativization of the subject of (128), i.e. t̪ ù ‘3SG’:(166) dì híɴ =ɡò sá=dɛ̂ lù
this curry=KO eat=AN person‘The person who ate this curry.’(このカレーを食べた人)
6.6 Test 5: Clefting (2): elements in the clauseThis test examines whether elements in the three structures in (143) can beplaced in the focus slot by clefting. Clefting is applied to the subject t̪ ù457

‘3SG’ of the sample sentences. The resultant sentences of (a) to (d) areungrammatical, while those of all the other constructions are grammatical.
(a) Internal AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’(167) *chɛʔ=tɛ̂ híɴ=ɡòŋà
sá=dàt̪ ù=bɛ́
cook =AN curry=KO 1SG eat=TA 3SG=EMP
Intended meaning: ‘It is he whose curry I ate.’(作ったカレーを私が食べたのは彼だ)(b) External AC: ‘V + =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂ + Noun’(168) *ŋá kìɴ=dɛ̂ ʔănâɴ=ɡò ŋà
yâ=dàt̪ ù =bɛ́
fish grill=AN smell=KO 1SG get=TA 3SG=EMP‘untranslatable’(魚を焼くにおいを私がかいだのは彼だ)(c) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an entity(169) *chɛʔ=tà=ɡò ŋà
sá=dàt̪ ù=bɛ́
cook =TA =KO 1SG eat=TA 3SG=EMP‘untranslatable’(作ったのを私が食べたのは彼だ)(d) ‘V + =tà/=dà or =hmà’ denoting an event(170) *yàɴgòuɴ là=dà=ɡòŋà
tî=dàt̪ ù =bɛ́
Yangon come=TA =KO 1SG know=TA 3SG=EMP
Intended and literal meaning: ‘It is he who, I know, came to
Yangon.’(ヤンゴンに来たのを私が知っているのは彼だ)(e) MMC of Type 1(171) dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dɛ̂ pòuɴ yâ=dàt̪ ù=bɛ́this curry=KO eat=AN shape get=TA 3SG=EMP‘It is he who seems to have eaten this curry.’(このカレーを食べたようであるのは彼だ)(f) MMC of Type 2(172) dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=jìɴ=d̪ ă=lòɕî=dàt̪ ù=bɛ́this curry=KO eat=want=AN=like exist=TA 3SG=EMP‘It is he who seems to want to eat this curry.’(このカレーを食べたいようであるのは彼だ)

458

(g) MMC of Type 3(173) jăpàɴ=ɡòmăhlwɛ́d̪ àlô
là=yâ=dàJapan=KO against.one’s.will come=must=TAphyiʔ=hmà t̪ ù=bɛ́
be=HMA
3SG=EMP
Intended and literal meaning: ‘It is he who, it must have been thecase that, unwillingly came to Japan.’(日本に仕方なく来なければならなかったようであるのは彼だ)
Although (173) is grammatical, it sounds somewhat unnatural. This isprobably because it sounds extremely formal. In daily conversation, (174) isused instead:(174) jăpàɴ=ɡò măhlwɛ́d̪ àlô
là=yâ=dàt̪ ù=bɛ́
Japan=KO against.one’s.will come=must=TA 3SG=EMP‘It is he who unwillingly came to Japan.’(日本に仕方なく来なければならなかったのは彼だ)(h) MMC of Type 4(175) dì híɴ=ɡò
sá-nèjâ ɕî=dàt̪ ù=bɛ́this curry=KO eat-habit exist=TA 3SG=EMP‘It is he who habitually eats this curry.’(このカレーを食べつけているのは彼だ)(i) Noun-predicate sentence(176) ʔăshòdɔ̀ phyiʔ=tà t̪ ù=bɛ́
singerbe =TA
3SG=EMP‘It is he who is a singer.’(歌手であるのは彼だ)
Sentence (176) is grammatical, but somewhat unnatural. This may be
because the same meaning can be expressed by using a simple
noun-predicate sentence as in (177).
(177) ʔăshòdɔ̀=ɡâ t̪ ù=bɛ́
singer=KA 3SG=EMP‘The singer is he.’(歌手は彼だ)(j) Verb-predicate sentence(178) dì híɴ=ɡò
sá=dàt̪ ù=bɛ́this curry=KO eat=TA 3SG=EMP‘It is he who ate this curry.’(このカレーを食べたのは彼だ)

459

6.7 Discussion
Table 13 sums up the results of the tests conducted above. The symbols andthe abbreviation employed indicate the following.
(i) ‘+’: the construction passes the test.
(ii) ‘−’: the construction does not pass the test.
(iii)‘±’: the result differs from case to case.
(iv) ‘n/a’: the test is not applicable.
(v) ‘?’: acceptability is difficult to judge.
The results of Test 1 and Test 2 show that the ‘Nouns’ of the MMC (i.e.
(e) to (h)) have a low degree of ‘noun-hood’.
It may look as if the MMC — in particular (e) Type 1, which involves afull noun (5.2), and (f) Type 2, which contains a subordinate-noun (5.3) —is a construction that involves a subordinate clause headed by the ‘Noun’,i.e. a bi-clausal construction. However, the results of Tests 3, 4, and 5 showthat syntactically the ‘Clause’ of the MMC behaves like simple independent
sentences ((i) noun predicate sentences and (j) verb predicate sentences),and differently from the subordinate clauses of (a), (b), (c), and (d). That is,
the MMC should not be regarded as a construction that involves asubordinate clause. It is mono-clausal, not bi-clausal.
Table 13. Syntactic behavior of the MMC and other constructions====================================================MMC(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j)Test 1. demonstrative + + − − − − − − n/a n/a
Test 2. clefting (1)+ ± n/a n/a − − n/a − n/a n/a
Test 3. topicalization − − − ?
+ + + + + +Test 4. relativization − − − − + + + + + +Test 5. clefting (2)− − − − + + + + + +====================================================
7. Summary and concluding remarks
The MMC in Burmese can be grouped into four types in terms of thecategory of the ‘Noun’: (i) Type 1: ‘full nouns’, (ii) Type 2:‘subordinate-nouns’ (i.e., nouns that can function like enclitics), (iii) Type3: nominalizers (i.e., nominalizing clitics), and (iv) Type 4: ‘special heads’(they compound with verbs; they are nouns, clitics, or possibly suffixes).
Semantic/functional categories of the MMC are evidentiality, aspect,discourse, degree, and also limit/extent.
The ‘Clause’ cannot stand as a sentence on its own. It does not have thestructure of full sentences. The verb is followed by an adnominalizer in

460

Type 1 and Type 2, and by a nominalizer in Type 3. It is involved incompounding in Type 4. Importantly the ‘Clause’ cannot contain a verb
sentence marker.
The MMC of Type 1 and Type 2 is similar to ACs in that the verb isfollowed by an adnominalizer. Syntactically, however, the ‘Clause’ of Type
1 and Type 2 behaves like simple sentences, and differently from ACs(clauses adnominalized by =tɛ̂/=dɛ̂ or =mɛ̂). This shows that the MMC ofType 1 and Type 2 should be regarded as mono-clausal, and not as aconstruction that contains a subordinate clause. The same is true of Type 3
and Type 4. They should also be regarded as mono-clausal.
The Burmese MMC exhibits the phenomenon of grammaticalization.
First, full nouns in Type 1 (see Tables 3 and 12) have a grammatical or
discourse related meaning/function when they are used in the MMC. Second,
the full nouns pòuɴ ‘shape’ and hàɴ ‘appearance’ have acquired the use likeenclitics or suffixes. See (58) and (59).
To the best of my knowledge, there is no previous study that has clearlypointed out that Burmese has the MMC. Probably, many of the previous
studies have simply considered it a noun-predicate sentence. Nonetheless,some of the previous studies including Okell and Allot (2001: 128) andOhno (1983) suggested, in effect, that the MMC is mono-clausal. Okell andAllot (2001: 128) state that the noun pòuɴ ‘shape’, which is one of thenouns that form the MMC of Type 1 (see Table 3), is ‘perhaps in process of
becoming a sentence final phrase particle’. Ohno (1983: 253) classifies theexpression pòuɴ yâ (the noun meaning ‘shape’ + the verb meaning ‘to get’;
see Table 4) among auxiliaries. Their views imply that the construction inquestion is becoming mono-clausal.
What remains to be done in future research is to investigate how the
MMC has developed in Burmese. In order to do this, we need research on
old documents and comparative studies of various dialects.
Abbreviations
A - (i) nominalizing prefix ʔă-, (ii) transitive subject ; AC - adnominal
clause; AN - adnominalizer or adnominalizing marker; AN(irr) - irrealis
adnominalizer; AN(rls) - realis adnominalizer; CON - contrasted topic;
EMP - emphasis; FT - free translation; HMA - nominalizer =hmà; IMP imperative; IRR - irrealis modality; KA - case particle =kâ/=ɡâ ‘agent(subject); source’; KO - case particle =kò/=ɡò ‘patient; recipient; goal’; LT- literal translation; NEG - negation; O - object; PL - plural; POL politeness; Q - question; PROG - progressive; RLS - realis modality; S intransitive subject; SFP - sentence final particle; SG - singular; TA nominalizer =tà/=dà; V - verb; 1 - first person; 2 - second person; 3 - third
person461

Acknowledgements
I wish to acknowledge the help of U Maung Maung, Daw Khin Pale, and U
Shwe Pyi Soe in judging acceptability of the example sentences. I also wish
to thank Tasaku Tsunoda (the editor of this volume) and Kosei Otsuka forvaluable comments on early versions of this paper. I am also grateful to U
Shwe Pyi Soe, who is a linguist, for fruitful discussions on Burmese
morphosyntax in general.
Notes
1. I have had discussions about the Burmese MMC with several specialists
in Burmese and some of them inquired if sentences such as (i) below were
instances of the MMC. In fact, (i), as well as (39), is a noun predicate
sentence, and not an instance of the MMC. Its predicate is the nouncauʔ-săyà ‘a thing to be scared of’. The morpheme -săyà is a nominalizing
suffix that forms a noun that means ‘thing which is to be V-ed’.
(i)t̪ ù=ɡâcauʔ-săyà (=bɛ́)
3SG=KA scared.of-to.be.V.ed(=EMP)
LT: ‘He is a thing to be scared of.’
FT: ‘He is a scary man.’

2. Among the special heads listed in Table 10, -yòuɴ can only be followedby the case particle =nɛ̂ “with”, and not by other case particles, whereas theother special heads in Table 10 can be followed by any case particle. In thisrespect, the nounhood of V-yòuɴ can be said to be lower than that of theother special heads listed in Table 10.

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