Question Particles and Relative Clauses in the History of Sinhala, with Comparison to Early and Modern Dravidian

Benjamin Slade
January 2013
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Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of two separate but interrelated aspects of the grammar of Sinhala: the distribution of the Question-particle da and the formation of relatives clauses in the history of Sinhala. I also examine the structure of relative clauses and the distribution of Question-particles in genetically-unrelated but geographically-proximate Dravidian. The possible role of language contact in the evolution of certain Sinhala grammatical structures—including the employment of the particle da—which have no parallels in other Indo-Aryan languages—is also considered.

Type
Book section
Publication
Grammatica et verba/Glamor and verve: Studies in South Asian, historical, and Indo-European linguistics in honor of Hans Henrich Hock on the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday, edited by Shu-Fen Chen & Benjamin Slade, Ann Arbor, MI: Beech Stave Press: 245–268.
Benjamin Slade
Benjamin Slade
Associate Professor of Linguistics

My research interests include formal semantics and syntax, historical linguistics, South Asian and Caribbean languages, and the use of computational concepts in formal linguistics.