Reflexive derivations in Thulung

Abstract

Thulung Rai, an endangered Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Eastern Nepal, presents two derivational suffixes associated with reflexivization:-si and-s. The first,-si, is quite productive, found in complete paradigms, and derives reflexives, reciprocals, antipassives and anticausatives from transitive verbs (and occasionally from intransitive verbs). The second marker,-s, is more difficult to analyze: it has a limited distribution in verb paradigms, only appearing with 1PI and 3SG forms, and appears in a number of different contexts: it is found with the same types of derivations as-si but also-in some cases obligatorily, in others optionally-with verbs that do not have reflexive (or related) functions. It is even found with some transitive verbs. In this presentation, I will propose an analysis of the phenomena above based on elicited and narrative data I have collected in the field. The-s in fact has multiple, albeit related, origins: it is a phonological reduction of-si in certain circumstances, while in others it appears to be an older reflexivizing suffix which has been integrated, to different degrees, into verb morphology. With transitives, it appears to be a trace reflecting the complex derivational history of verbs which are derived from intransitives.