2021 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Reconstruction of the middle-marking morphology and its functions in Southern Chin
| Project/Area Number |
21F20740
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| Research Institution | Osaka University |
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Principal Investigator |
大塚 行誠 大阪大学, 言語文化研究科(言語社会専攻、日本語・日本文化専攻), 准教授 (90612937)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
ZAKARIA MUHAMMAD 大阪大学, 言語文化研究科(研究院), 外国人特別研究員
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| Project Period (FY) |
2021-04-28 – 2023-03-31
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| Keywords | 記述言語学 |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
After starting his position at Osaka University, Dr. Zakaria presented a talk on middles in Kuki-Chin languages with Dr David Peterson (Dartmouth College, USA) in February 2021. Based on their talk, they have been preparing a paper to be published in a journal. They hope to finish the paper by June 2022. He was also able to work on a paper on middle marking in Hyow, which is in press.
Due to the conflict and global pandemic, he could start the remote fieldwork in Loktu only in August 2021. From May 2021 to July 2021, he did literature review on middles. In addition, he was able to write two draft papers on contact-induced changes in Hyow. He presented an invited talk based on one of the draft papers to the 2nd Workshop on Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in the Northeast India-Myanmar-Southwest China region. This paper will appear in a special edition of Journal of Asian Languages and Linguistics in 2023. He has submitted the other draft paper to an academic journal and it is currently undergoing review.
From August 2021 to March 2022, he was able to record 18 Loktu texts. He has been able to transcribe and translate seven of the texts. Due to unavailability of consultants, the work progressed slowly. By this time, he was also able to elicit a word list containing possible middle verbs in Loktu. In addition, he also elicited person-marking prefixal and suffixal paradigm in Loktu and Sumtu. he has also made a draft on middles and verb-stem alternations in Southeastern languages. He expects to finish the draft by this year and submit it to the journal Language and Linguistics.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
4: Progress in research has been delayed.
Reason
Due to the conflict in Rakhine state and COVID, Dr. Zakaria has not been able to do regular remote fieldwork. The unavailability of consultants, who help with transcribing and translating the recorded texts hampered the original plan to a great extent.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
[1] Finish transcribing and translating Loktu texts: Dr. Zakaria expects to finish transcribing and translating the remaining of the Loktu texts. The writing of a grammatical sketch of Loktu largely depends on finishing the transcription and translation of Loktu texts.
[2] Collect data on middle verbs in Sumtu and other Southern Chin languages: Dr. Zakaria has started eliciting a word list containing possible middle verbs in Sumtu, Asho and Khumi. He has already collected the relevant words in Hyow and Laitu. Once this comparative list of middle verbs is complete, he will be able to write the planned monograph on middle voice in Southern Kuki-Chin languages.
[3] Finish literature review in middle and verb stem alternations: Dr. Zakaria plans to finish literature review on middle voice in order start working on the monograph. In addition, he plans to finish the draft paper on middle and verb-stem-alternations in Southeastern Kuki-Chin languages by this time.
[4] Finish writing two more journal articles: Dr. Zakaria plans to finish writing two journal articles on marking plurality in the suffixal paradigm in Southeastern Kuki-Chin languages and on copula in Southeastern Kuki-Chin languages.
[5] Presentations: Dr. Zakaria will be giving a talk on marking plurality in the suffixal paradigm of Southeastern languages on 19 May 2022 at the annual meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society. He has also submitted another abstract on hi/shi copula in Southeastern Kuki-Chin languages to the International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics.
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