ゲシツァ語における動詞の人称表示システムについて

Abstract

Geshitsa, which is generally regarded as a dialect of sTau (Daofu or Ergong), is one of the Tibeto-Burman languages spoken in 'the ethnic corridor of western Sichuan', China. It has the person-number marking system on verbs as do many of the neighbouring languages. The system of Geshitsa is especially complex among them--it can be considered as a mixed system. In this article, the author analyzes the person-number marking system of Geshitsa, and considers its characteristics contrasting with the neighbouring languages. The preceding study classifies the person-number marking patterns of Geshitsa into five types with some exceptions. It is, however, merely based on the number of the surface forms of each verb. In this article, the author classifies them into the following three types through phonological and morphological consideration. ・Type I : invariable. ・Type II : three variations of suffixation mark the person of the subject. ・Type III : five variations of suffixation mark the person and number (the number of the third person is indistinguishable). The prefix which indicates the person of the subject also can be added depending on the phonological conditions. This type is separated into two subtypes according to the agreement patterns : III-A : agrees with the subject only. III-B : agrees with both the subject and object. Some of the neighbouring languages also have mixed systems, but Geshitsa is the only language whose system splits lexically.