Cross-Linguistic Comparisons of Noun Phrase Constructions in Khasi Varieties

: This research paper presents a detailed analysis of the noun phrases (NP) in War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia, two varieties of the Khasi language spoken in north-eastern India. The study investigates the syntactic and morphological features of NPs, with a particular emphasis on the distinctions between pre-modifiers and post-modifiers. By comparing and contrasting the NPs of War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia, the paper highlights the unique attributes and functions of these constructions in each variety. The research also explores the various constructions of NPs in both varieties and evaluates their syntactic and semantic roles. The findings demonstrate that while both varieties share similar NP constructions, there are notable differences in the functions and attributes of NPs in each variety. Furthermore, the paper elaborates on the different functions of NPs and their lexical elements, including the head noun and all of its accompanying modifiers. Overall, this study contributes to our understanding of the syntax and morphology of noun phrases in Khasi and provides insights into the unique linguistic features of these two varieties. The findings have important implications for cross-linguistic comparisons of NP constructions and for further research in the field of linguistics of the Khasi varieties.


Introduction
Khasi is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken by the Khasi people in Meghalaya, a state in the northeastern region of India. The language has several dialects, including War-Khasi, War-Jaiñtia, and Lyngngam, among others. This research paper aims to contribute to the study of Khasi by examining the noun phrases in two varieties of the language, War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia. Specifically, it will investigate the various constructions of noun phrases in these varieties and highlight the attributes and functions taking part in them.
Recent studies which include Jyrwa (1988), Buhphang (2013), Lyngdoh (2017) and Rynjah (2022) have shed light on various aspects of noun phrase construction in Khasi, ranging from the identification of constituent elements to the analysis of syntactic and semantic relationships within noun phrases. These investigations have employed diverse methodologies, including descriptive and theoretical experiments to uncover the intricate structure of noun phrase constructions in Khasi.
Through a cross-linguistic analysis, this study will offer insights into the unique linguistic features of the Khasi varieties and contribute to our understanding of the syntax and morphology of the noun phrases in these varieties. The findings of this study will have implications for language documentation, preservation, and revitalization efforts in the Khasi speaking regions.

Noun Phrase Constructions in War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia
This section elaborates and explains the unique attributes and different functions of the noun phrase (NP) (Dixon, 2002) of War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia and all the lexical elements that form the NP, that is, the head noun and all of its modifiers (Abney, 1987). This study also discusses the various constructions of NPs in both varieties and evaluates their syntactic and semantic roles (Van Valin Jr, 2005) to provide a comprehensive understanding of the NP and its significance in these varieties. Additionally, the study explores the relationship between NPs and other grammatical structures, such as phrases and clauses, to shed light on their interdependence in constructing meaning (Givón, 1979). The NPs of War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia constitute a head noun, constituents occurring before the head noun are called pre-modifiers, and constituents occurring after the head noun are called post-modifiers, as discussed below.

• NPs as Subject
In War-Khasi, specifically the Mawlong Variety (MV) and Umñiuh Variety (UV), and in War-Jaiñtia, specifically the Lamin Variety (LV) and Trangblang Variety (TV), the noun phrases (NPs) can function as the subject of a sentence, as exemplified in the following sentences: 1(a) and (b), and 2(a) and (b).
In MV, the NP that functions as the subject of sentence 1(a) includes the pre-modifier /ka/ 'Third Singular Feminine', the head noun /kali/ 'car', a relativizer /ba/ which is used to Introduce a clause that provides additional information about the head noun, and the post-modifier adjective /loʔ/ 'white'. In UV, the NP functioning as the subject of sentence 1(b) includes the same pre-modifier and head noun, but a different adjective, /ʃia/ 'white', as the post-modifier. In LV, the NP that functions as the subject of 1 Map from Reddy, B. M. et al. (2007). Austro-Asiatic tribes of Northeast India provide hitherto missing genetic link between South and Southeast Asia.
Indian J. Lang. Linguist., 4(2) (2023) 42-53 | 44 sentence 2(a) includes the pre-modifier /ke/ 'Third Singular Feminine', the head noun /metor/ 'car', and the postmodifier adjective /slaŋ/ 'white'. In TV, the NP functioning as the subject of sentence 2(b) includes the pre-modifier /ko/ 'Third Singular Feminine', the head noun /motor/ 'car', and the same adjective as the post-modifier. The relativizer is absent in both LV and TV. Both War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia allow for the use of noun phrases as direct objects in a sentence, as illustrated in the following examples: 3 (a) and (b) and 4 (a) and (b). In War-Khasi, the direct object NP is ka kali 'the car', in both MV and UV varieties. In War-Jaiñtia, the direct object NP differs between LV and TV varieties, with ke metor and ko motor respectively, both meaning 'the car'. These direct object NPs receive the action expressed by the verbs /bʰoʔ/ in MV and /kwaʔ/ in UV, LV, and TV. The verbs /bʰoʔ/ and /kwaʔ/ 'want', indicating that the direct object NP is the object of desire or intention in the sentence.

• NPs as Object of Preposition (Prepositional Complement)
In both War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia, noun phrases (NPs) can function as objects of prepositions and typically follow the preposition immediately, as shown in sentences 5 (a) and (b) and 6 (a) and (b). In War-Khasi, both in MV and UV, the prepositional complement NP ŋi yiŋ ba loʔ 'a white house' in MV and ka yiŋ ʃia 'a white house' in UV follows the preposition /ha/, as seen in sentences 5 (a) and (b). In War-Jaiñtia, LV has the prepositional complement NP ke sni slaŋ 'a white house' following the preposition /te/, while TV has ko sni slaŋ 'a white house' following the preposition /ti/, as shown in sentences 6 (a) and (b).
Additionally, the War-Khasi varieties use the same verb forms for /saʔ/ 'stay' and /yiŋ/ 'house', but different forms for the adjective 'white': /loʔ/ in MV and /ʃia/ in UV, as seen in sentences 5 (a) and (b). On the other hand, the War-Jaiñtia varieties use the same verbs for /sni/ 'house' and /slaŋ/ 'white', but different verb forms for 'stay': /ʃkia/ in LV and /ske/ in TV, as shown in sentences 6 (a) and (b).

• NPs as Indirect Object
In both War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia, the NP functioning as the indirect object is placed after the ditransitive verb /ai/ 'give' in MV and UV, and after /a:/ 'give' in LV and /eai/ 'give' in TV. The order is typically V IO DO in all these varieties, as seen in sentences 7 (a) and (b) and 8 (a) and (b). Comparing the sentences of both War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia, we can see that only the MV form of War-Khasi uses the Accusative case /yaʔ/ before the indirect object NP, as seen in sentence 7 (a) below, while it is absent in the other varieties. • NPs as Subject Complement

War-
The subject complement NPs 'u ba hiam' in War-Khasi, in both MV and UV immediately follows the VP /toʔ/ 'copula' and are co-referential with the subject 'u ban' as shown in the following sentences 9 (a) & (b) below, and in War-Jaiñtia, the subject complement NPs 'e diem u' in LV and 'u ryum' in TV immediately follows the VP /man/ 'copula' and are co-referential with the subject 'u ban' as shown in the following sentences, and 10 (a) & (b) below.

• NPs as Object Complement
In both War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia, the object complement NPs 'u tam' immediately follow the direct object to indicate a reference to or state something about the direct object. This is shown in sentences 11 (a) & (b), and 12 (a) & (b). When comparing the sentences of War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia, it can be observed that only the UV form of War-Khasi uses the verb /ai/ 'give' in the initial position of the sentence. In contrast, in the other varieties, the subject 'u lam' is placed at the beginning of their sentences. DOI: 10.54392/ijll2325 Indian J. Lang. Linguist., 4(2) (2023) 42-53 | 47

• Adjectival Phrases as NP modifiers
In both War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia, Adjectival Phrases that modify a noun immediately follow that noun. In War-Khasi MV, as seen in sentence 13 (a), the Adjectival Phrase modifying the noun /kɔʔ/ 'meat' consists of the adjective /baŋ/ 'tasty', with pre-modifiers including the dual marker /ŋi/ and the relativizer /ba/, and a post-modifier /hiam/, which is an intensifier. In UV, as seen in sentence 13 (b), the Adjectival Phrase modifying the noun /aʔ/ 'meat' consists of the adjective /baŋ/ 'tasty', with pre-modifiers including /ka/ (Third Singular Feminine) and the relativizer /ba/, and a post-modifier /hiam/, which is an intensifier. In War-Jaiñtia LV, as seen in sentence 14 (a), the Adjectival Phrase modifying the noun /dɔʔ/ 'meat' consists of the adjective /baŋ/ 'tasty', a pre-modifier /i/ (a dual marker), and a post-modifier /diem/, which is an intensifier. In TV, as seen in sentence 14 (b), the Adjectival Phrase modifying the noun /dɔʔ/ 'meat' consists of the adjective /baŋ/ 'tasty', a pre-modifier /ko/ (Third Singular Feminine), and a post-modifier /hiam/, which is an intensifier.

• Prepositional Phrase as NP Modifiers
In both MV and UV varieties of War-Khasi, the Prepositional Phrase (PP) modifying the NP comes after the noun they modify, immediately following the copulas /dem/ and /em/, respectively. The object of the preposition (OP) follows the PP, as seen in sentences 15 (a) and (b) below. Similarly, in both LV and TV varieties of War-Jaiñtia, the PP modifying the NP comes after the noun they modify, immediately following the copulas /aʔ/. The OP also follows the PP, as seen in sentences 16 (a) and (b) below.

• Verb Phrase as NP Modifiers
In both War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia, the verb phrase can function as a post-modifier of a noun phrase and occur immediately after the head noun. In War-Khasi MV, the head noun is "ka kʰyndiaʔ" 'the girl', while in UV, it is "ka boit" and in War-Jaiñtia LV and TV, it is "ke hymbo" and "ko hymbo" respectively. The verb phrase, which is an embedded clause, modifies the head noun as a post-modifier in both languages. This is illustrated in sentences 17 (a) and (b) and 18 (a) and (b) below. However, a comparison between War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia reveals that the latter does not use a relativizer before the verbs /sio/ 'give' and /sa:/ 'give' in LV and TV, respectively, while both varieties of War-Khasi do use a relativizer /ba/ before the verb /sa:m/ 'give' in sentences 17 (a) and (b).

• Relative Clause as NP Modifiers
In War-Khasi, Relative Clause as NP modifiers is subordinated to the main clause by the relativizer /ba/ in MV and UV, as seen in sentence 19 (a) and (b) below. These relativizers seem to be equivalent to the English 'who' and serve as the complement of the verb, thereby giving additional information as seen in the following sentences below. Whereas, in War-Jaiñtia, in both, LV and TV, as seen in sentence 20 (a) and (b) below the relativizer is absent and not overtly marked but is mutually understood among the native speakers of this variety when talking and involving relative clauses and to relate sentences. Comparing the corresponding sentences can also be seen that only UV of War-Khasi employs the pronominal subject /ŋa/ 'First Person Singular' after the verb /jitʰuʔ/ 'recognize' as seen in sentence 19 (b), while, the other varieties the pronominal subject 'First Person Singular' /ŋa/ in MV, /nie/ in LV and /nio/ in TV are placed at the beginning of the sentence preceding the verb 'recognize' /itʰuʔ/ in MV, / maʔtʰuʔ/ in LV and /maʔmat/ in TV as seen below. • Appositive

War-
In both War-Khasi and War Jaiñtia, the appositive NPs are co-referential, that is, they refer to the same individual u Lam and the appositive NPs follows the head noun as seen in the following sentences: 23 (a) and (b), and 24 (a) and (b). • Adverbial

War-
In both War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia, the adverbials /jian/ 'almost' in MV and /jan/ 'almost' in UV, LV and TV cover a much more restricted range of meanings. The adverbial NPs in both War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia express time and spatial measures, as can be seen in the following sentences: 25 (a) and (b), and 26 (a) and (b) below.

• Adjectives as Verbs
Referring to Lyngdoh's work in 2013, both War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia consider adjectives to form a subgroup of verbs. They share many characteristics of verbs; they can occur with copulas in sentences, and they can take tense, aspect markers, and negative particles as discussed. For example, The adjective 'short' expressed by /tbian/ in both MV and UV and by /cʰrit/ in both LV and TV can occur with the copulas /toʔ/ in MV, /dei/ in UV and /man/ in LV and TV as seen in sentences 27(a).

Conclusion
In conclusion, this research paper provides a comprehensive analysis of noun phrases in War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia. The study focuses on the syntactic and morphological features of NPs, with a particular emphasis on the distinctions between pre-modifiers and post-modifiers. By comparing and contrasting the NPs of War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia, the paper highlights the unique attributes and functions of these constructions in each variety. The research demonstrates that while both varieties share similar NP constructions, there are notable differences in the functions and attributes of NPs in each variety. These differences can be attributed to the influence of the respective languages spoken in the regions where War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia are spoken, as well as historical and cultural factors that have shaped the development of each variety. Overall, the findings of this research provide valuable insights into the structure and usage of noun phrases in War-Khasi and War-Jaiñtia and contribute to our understanding of the Khasi language as a whole.