A Sketch of Sathewkok Hakka Grammatical Structure

Acta Linguistica Hafniensia
International Journal of Linguistics
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A sketch of Sathewkok Hakka grammatical

structure
Henry Henne
To cite this article: Henry Henne (1966) A sketch of Sathewkok Hakka grammatical structure, Acta
Linguistica Hafniensia, 10:1, 69-108, DOI: 10.1080/03740463.1967.10411456
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A S K E T C H OF SATHEWKOK HAKKA
GRAMMATICAL S T R U C T U R E
by
HENRY HENNE
Oslo
1.0. T h e corpus on which this description of Sathewkok H a k k a g r a m m a r 1
is based consists of approximately 30.000 " w o r d s " of recorded a n d

2
transcribed texts, mainly short conversations on a n u m b e r of topics,

stories of the folk-tale type, plus a collection of isolated sentences elicited
from the informant in the course of the field work. T h e lexicon, admittedly
incomplete as yet, comprises well over 2.000 morphemes, of which a b o u t
half have been sufficiently analyzed distributionaliy for summary state
ments to be feasible. T h e rest needs further research; most of these belong
to the "restricted" type of morphemes.
3
1.1. T h e H a k k a dialect here described is spoken in the village of Sathewkok

o n the border between China proper a n d the N e w Territories of H o n g
K o n g . Readers interested in information on phonetics a n d phonemics are
referred to m y publication Sathewkok Hakka Phonology (Norsk Tidsskrift for
Sprogvidenskap, vol. X X , Oslo 1964). Another paper, An Annotated Sylla
bary of Sathewkok Hakka (Acta Orientalia, vol. X X V I I I , Copenhagen 1964)
gives character tables, phonologically arranged, with linguistic comments,
for the benefit of sinologists.
F o r typographical reasons r\ is used i n this paper instead of y.

1 Hereafter referred to as Hakka. T h e only attempts, known to m e , to describe Hakka
grammar, are those contained in Br. Canisius van de V e n , Leerboek van hetpraktisch gebruik
van het Hakka-dialekl (Peking, 1938), Beginning Hakka, b y a Maryknoller (Hong K o n g ,
1948), a n d Kleine Hakka-Grammatik, von Basler Missionaren bearbeitet (Basel, 1909).
T h e s e works deal with the Meihsien variety, which differs i n minor respects from the
dialect here described.
2 For the "word" concept in languages of this type, c p . the discussion in M . B. Emeneau,
Studies in Vietnamese (Annamese) Grammar (Berkeley, 1951), p p . 2 - 4 .
3 E m e n e a u , op. cit., p . 2.
70 HENRY HENNE
2.0. Morphemic shapes and alternations. T h e m o r p h e m e is typically m o n o

syllabic a n d conforms to one of the following shapes (the symbol t stands
for tone, which is inherent in the m o r p h e m e ; there are four contrasting
tones):
CVt CVCt
CGVt CCVCt
CCCVt CCCVCt
Phonotactical restrictions limit the n u m b e r of permitted clusters r a t h e r

stringently. Including tones the theoretically possible n u m b e r of p h o n e m -
ically different morphemic shapes is 3.944 in terms of the phonemic solution
adopted. Actually, only a b o u t 1.600 different shapes have been found;
a n undetected residue m a y exist, b u t the n u m b e r is likely to be quite small.
A few morphemically unanalyzable polysyllabic (mostly bisyllabic)
sequences occur. A p a r t from cases like kjin-kor)-kjit-kdp 'onomatopoetic for
trickling or rippling water' the following are examples: fu-lu ' g o u r d ' ;
phu-sdt 'bodhisattva'; law-kdt ' a crow'; pjen-khji-ljim 'ice cream'. Most
morphophonemic alternations are of the phonologically conditioned type
a n d can b e dealt with in terms of tone-sandhi. A case of non-phonological
4
conditioned alternation is represented by the marker of subordination

before nouns, which in most environments has the shape kdj, b u t before such
nouns as hew 'after', chjin 'before', r\6j 'outside', a n d luj 'inside', a n d in
certain stock phrases, borrowed from the literary language, has the shape
ctt. Another case involves mdw 'there is not, there is n o ' , if this is inter
6
preted as a portmanteau m o r p h ' for a n expected, b u t non-occurring

* m-zjiw (zjew 'there is'). T h e r e are also cases of free alternations: khjiin —
?
khjun 'to be n e a r ' ; phu— fd 'to support'; kd—kdw 'to pass'. Such dimor
phisms a r e probably best explained as interdiaiectal borrowings.
3.0. Grammatical techniques. Grammatical techniques used in H a k k a in

clude relative order, grouping signals (junctures of various ranks, terminal
contours), subordination (marked or u n m a r k e d ) , co-ordinations (marked
or u n m a r k e d ) , derivation, a n d reduplication. Inflection is not m a d e use of,
consequently paradigmatic patterning cannot b e used as a criterion in
classification of grammatical units. O n the whole, morphological form gives
4 Sathewkok Hakka Phonology, section 2 0 , T o n a l system.

5 T h e w o r d maw is the Hakka equivalent of Lungtu mo (S. Egerod, The Lungtu Dialect,
Copenhagen, 1956, p . 5 7 ) .
6 C . F. Hockett, "Problems of Morphemic Analysis", Language 2 3 (1947), as reprinted in
Readings in Linguistics ( N e w York, 1958), p . 2 3 6 .
A SKETCH OF SATHEWKOK HAKKA GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE 71
n o clue to syntactic function. Since syntactic linkage types like agreement

in n u m b e r or gender a n d governmental accord are absent in endo-
centric as well as exocentric construction types, linkage is normally
effected by selection a n d arrangement, a n d to some extent by special
markers.
3.1. Relative order. Examples: r\aj kkdn-'m-ldw r)ji ' I cannot see y o u ' ;
rjji khdn- m-tdw r\dj 'you cannot see m e ' ; r\dj m-khdn-tdw rjji ' I do not see
? ?
y o u ' ; rjji >m-khdn-tdw r]dj 'you d o n o t see m e ' ; rjjin thdrj-kji-kdrj 'people
have h e a r d him say'; kji tkdri-rjjtn-kdr] ' h e has heard people say'; qjin
kdrj-kji-thdrj 'people have told h i m ' ; kji kbi]-r\jin-thdr\ ' h e has told people';
p
m-chjen kd-hi ' h e has not crossed y e t ' ; ^m-chjen hi-ko 'he has never been
t h e r e ' ; mdw-thuk-su 'he has never read books'; mdw-su thuk 'he has n o books
to r e a d ' ; hdk loj 'the guests are coming'; Iqj hdk 'some guests are coming';
sjin-furj 'envelope'; furj-sjin 'letter'. I n a language lacking inflection a n d
with only a modicum of derivation, relative order is of central importance
in word formation a n d syntax.
3.2. Junctures.'' T h e r e is a hierarchy of j u n c t u r e s : a sentence juncture (symbol

/ . / , further described under sentence structure (4.0.)), a clause juncture
(symbol / ; / , further described under 4.1.), a n d a phrase juncture (symbol / , / ,
further described u n d e r phrase structure (7.0.)). W h e n words in a phrase
are spoken without intervening pause, they a r e said to be in close juncture
(in this p a p e r denoted by a h y p h e n ) ; a pause within a phrase is inter
preted as open juncture, a n d indicated as such by a space. Sentence junctures
occur with great regularity. A clause j u n c t u r e can occur only in sentences
consisting of more t h a n one clause; likewise a sentence consisting of a
single phrase exhibits n o phrase j u n c t u r e . Examples: njd-pun si, he hdw-kdj.
' t h a t is a good book'; kja-ma kja-pa, tit kjl-kd-hoj-sfin-cu-he'w; ljdr}~r]jin, tit
3
6jfun-ka. 'after their mother a n d father h a d b o t h died, they wanted to
divide w h a t was left'; than-he, chdj fun-ka-kdj-chjin-sji, njd, zjew-kdr) kji Hj,
?
dj, kdt) kji- 6j; kjln zjit-tit, tu •'m-hen J6r\-sur\; suj-muj, nja-law-thaj, cdrj la
?
ZJit-coTj pit-thew. ' b u t when they were to divide the goods, (the elder
brother) said h e wanted this, a n d said h e wanted t h a t ; h e was not willing
to give u p even one little thing, so a t the end the younger brother was left
only with a n axe.'
7 T h e treatment of juncture in this paper, which differs somewhat from that given i n
Sathewkok Hakka Phonology, represents the views the author n o w holds regarding the
nature a n d role of juncture i n Hakka.
72 HENRY HENNE
3.3. Terminal contours.* I n connection with sentence juncture, one of two

terminal contours occurs. T h e first never involves an u p t u r n pitch a t the
very end. N o special symbol is provided. This terminal contour is subsumed
u n d e r /./. T h e other terminal contour usually involves a rising pitch at
the very end of the sequence, never a downturn. T h e symbol used, / ? / ,
is a cover symbol standing for sentence j u n c t u r e and non-falling terminal
contour. Examples: ?a-jo? 'alas! ; m? 'oh, well'; rjji m-hi. 'you d o n ' t g o ' ;
5 p ?
rjji ?m-M? 'you a r e n ' t g o i n g ? ' ; ke- m-he. 'that's so, isn't i t ? ' ; ke-'m-he?
?
'isn't t h a t so?'. I n connection with clause j u n c t u r e a clause terminal

contour occurs. Whereas / . / normally involves a falling pitch a n d / ? / a
rising pitch, a clause terminal contour, subsumed under the symbol / ; / ,
always indicates sustained pitch. An example illustrating junctures a n d
terminal contours: njd-cdk ldw-wo-sdr}, he zjit-cdk kaw-cjen; Ij6k-lj6k zjit-sdn;
chjew mun-kji-tSw; r\jd-Uw, zjtt-pan kjin-sH-rjjin. tit maw cjbij nja-Uw mi-kjln-
kdj-chjen, tMn-kd mo? ctirj-rjjin, chje-sarj fuj-tdp, njd, he zjew-kan phu-sdt-mjen-
s6r\-kdj su; rjd-tew, tdn- m-kdm thin-kdj. 'the old monk was a high priest,
?
so h e thought a litde about it, a n d asked them, "You are all managers
(of this affair). You surely have not taken any of the collected money for
yourselves?" All of them answered, with one voice, " T h i s is a m a t t e r
(which is) before the bodhisattva's face. W e have absolutely not dared
to embezzle a n y t h i n g . " '
3.4.0. Subordination, marked. This construction type is a n important syn

tactic device used in phrase-building a n d in the construction of complex
sentences (4.1.). Examples a r e : rjd-kdj sit. ' m y book'; cMt-tjhn-Uj-kdj cdk.
' t h e one w h o is coming o u t ' ; kji-kbtj-kdj wd. ' w h a t he said' (the marker in
these cases is •kdj; see further 9.1.2.); rjji kji-zjln hi; tjdj chji-ka m~su hi. ?
'since you are going, I myself need not go' (marker is kji-zjen, see further
5.0.-5.1.2.); zj6k-he Hj kji thin; chjew wd ti-cjdk ti-cjUk. 'if you w a n t it to
stop, then say, 'enough, e n o u g h ! " (markers are zj6k-hi a n d chjew respec
tively, see further 5.0. a n d 5.1.1.); thjen-sji he'-kdn-larj; rjji chjew 6j cjok to-
?
zjit-khjen sam. 'since the weather is really so cold, you should put on more
clothes' (marker is chjew, see further 5.0. a n d 5.1.3.).
8 I t is believed that the problem of terminal contours is part of a larger and more complex
problem, namely that of intonation. For a n interesting discussion of intonation in lan
guages of this type, see Laurence C. T h o m p s o n , A Vietnamese Grammar (University of
Washington Press, Seatde, 1965), p p . 42^14 and 107-109. In the absence of detailed
research o n the nature and role of intonation as a w h o l e in Hakka, a n exhaustive
treatment cannot be undertaken at the present time. T h e remarks o n terminal contours
included in this paper can at best be taken as tentative, and as being subject to future
revision a n d restatement in the light o f supplementary field work if this should become
possible.
A SKETCH O F SATHEWKOK HAKKA GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE 73
3.4.1. Subordination, unmarked. This construction type is used in word-

formation as well as on the syntactic level. Examples a r e : kaj-kurj. 'rooster'
(kaj 'fowl', kur\ 'male sex in certain a n i m a l s ' ) ; kaj-rnd. ' h e n ' (kaj 'fowl',
md 'female sex in certain animals'); kaj-chun. 'egg' (kaj 'fowl', chiin 'egg' -
spring(time), U r s p r u n g ? ) ; fdn-tjdm. 'rice store'; khdj-lSj. 'come quick';
zjew-kdr]. 'say once m o r e ' ; kdn-cdw. 'so early'; kdn-thdj suj. 'so m u c h r a i n ' ;
kdn-zjorj. 'in this m a n n e r ' ; njd-thdr]. ' h e r e ' ; kdj-thjdw >r). 'that fish'; cji-hdw.
'best'; >m-hdw. ' n o g o o d ' ; kjl-kjiw. ' h o w l o n g ? ' ; kja-ma. 'his m o t h e r ' ;
kjl-kjin sjip-tjdm cut], 'it's already t e n ' ; rfa-tiw. ' w e ' ; kji-tew. ' t h e y ' ; chut-hi
hdrj-ljdw. 'go out for a walk'.
3.5.0. Coordination, marked. Examples: kji hi; thdn-he rjdj m-hi. 'he'll go, ?
but I w o n ' t ' (marker is thdn-hi, see further 5.2.0. a n d 5.2.1.); ?m-ti cfin
?
d kd. ' I d o n ' t know whether it is true or false' (marker is d); he rjji-mbj-
?
kdj; hdn-A phjet-t]jin-rnaj-kdj. 'did you buy it, or did somebody else buy i t ? '
(marker is hdn-ti, see 5.2.0. a n d 5.2.1.); zjew sjdw zjew kjdw. 'both laughing
a n d crying' (markers are zjew — zjtw, correlated coordinate markers, see
further 16.2.).
3.5.1. Coordination, unmarked. These constructions are all in principle

reversible (cp. 5.3.) although in a n u m b e r of cases idiomatic usage clearly
favours o n e conventional order. Examples: zj$w-mdw? 'is there (any),
d o you h a v e ( a n y ) ? ' ; rjjit-njet. 'sun a n d m o o n ' ; kja-ma kj'a-pa. (also: kja-pa
kja-ma.) 'his mother a n d father'; kdj-thdrj njd-thdr}. (also: njd-thdr] kaj thd-rj.)
'here a n d t h e r e ' ; chjSn-kot] kjim wdn-kot] njdn. (also: wdn-kor] njun chjen-kbr)
kjim.) ' a thousand jar(ful)s of gold a n d ten thousand of silver'; m-ti >m-kok. ?
'before h e realized it, as quick as a wink'; zji-loj zji-hi. 'moved it back a n d

forth'.
3.6. Derivation. T h e n u m b e r of derivative formations is relatively modest,

a n d only a small n u m b e r of fbrmatives a r e involved. Processes used in
derivation a r e prefixation, suffixation, a n d a type of inner modification
which m a y b e called tonal derivation. N o affix is identifiable as verb-
forming (all verb-formations containing m o r e t h a n one m o r p h e m e are
better described as compounds). All formations resulting from derivation
belong to the formclass of nouns. By analogy, in all formations arrived at
by tonal derivation the underlying form is deemed to b e the verb. For
further details see 12.1.3. Examples: prefixation: kur\ 'ancestor'— a-kur\ r
'father's father'; suffixation: fdp 'law'—fdp-cu 'way, m e t h o d ' ; sd (bound

element) — s6-cdj ' a fool'; so (bound element) — sb-cdj ' a c o m b ' ; tit ' a
74 HENRY HENNE
little'—tit-caj ' a trifle'; kji 'record' — kji-ca 'reporter'; tonal derivation:

mo 'to grind' — mo ' a q u e r n ' .
3.7. Reduplication. I n connection with verbs reduplication expresses intensity

or emphasis of action; in connection with nouns it usually has a distributive
sense. Examples: kdj-kdj tjjin. 'every m a n ' ; zjit-piuj zjit-puj, zjim ?m-thm.
' h e d r a n k one glass after another without stopping'; khdj-khdj ISj. 'come a t
o n c e ' ; nam-rfam taw. 'has just arrived'; phdk-sit-sut. 'is (shiny) w h i t e ' ;
thjdm-cjit-cjit. 'is sweet'; Jon-fin hi-hi. ' h e was very h a p p y ' ; hdn Ijew-ljew
Ijew-ljew. 'dripping with perspiration'.
4.0. Sentence structure. A sentence consists of a span of speech material

included between two junctures of the highest rank / . / . Most often a n
actual pause occurs. A n approaching sentence j u n c t u r e is commonly
manifested by a gradual slowing down of speed, a n d is accompanied, in
statements, by a d o w n t u r n in pitch (a terminal contour). A sentence,
notably if ending in the particle mo, or if built on the pattern he ?m-he
('isn't t h a t so?') m a y show a n u p t u r n in pitch a t the end. Such a n u p t u r n
in connection with sentence j u n c t u r e is indicative of the class m e a n i n g of
question or surprise. Whereas a d o w n t u r n is not always present in state
ments, the essential feature seems to b e a lack of upturn in such cases. W h e r
ever a sentence j u n c t u r e occurs, a sentence particle (15.1.) does or can occur.
4 . 1 . Simple, compound and complex sentences. T h e constituents of sentences

a r e clauses. Clauses are either dependent or independent (6.1. a n d 6.2.).
D e p e n d e n t clauses a r e marked by one or m o r e of four devices: position,
junctures, a terminal contour consisting of lack of downturn, a n d a set of
grammatical markers. A sentence which consists of only one clause is a
simple sentence. A sentence consisting of several clauses of which a t least
o n e is dependent is a complex sentence. If a sentence of more than one
clause exhibits n o dependent clause, it is a compound sentence, built of
several coordinated clauses, Virtually all complex sentences are of the
exocentric construction type, whereas c o m p o u n d sentences can on occasion
b e exocentric. Since a simple sentence, denned as such by its internal
structure plus sentence j u n c t u r e a t the end, m a y consist of segmental
m o r p h e m i c material which, placed in a different context of junctures a n d
terminal contours, would be analyzable as a clause, a clause fragment of
some kind, or even a single word, a complete description of simple sentences
will n o t b e undertaken a t this point. T h e whole picture will emerge as
clauses, phrases a n d parts of speech a r e d e a l t with in the following. I t
should b e clearly understood that any of these units of successively lower

rank can b e m a d e into simple sentences by supplying them with the a p
propriate phonological signals.
4.2.0. Examples of sentences.
4.2.1. Simple sentences.

(a) endocentric: sjin-sarj-kdj wuk. ' t h e teacher's house'; r\ja-p"a, hdn chdj
mo? 'is your father still alive?'; law kja-ldj-cii chdj ho-pjin hdrj-ljdw. 'he was
walking w i t h his child along the river'; kdj-cdk su, mdt-kdj zji-su? ' w h a t
does t h a t character m e a n ? ' ; r\dj maw chjen. ' I have no money'. Centers are
wuk, chdj, hdrj-ljdw, mdt-kdj zji-su, a n d mdw chjen respectively; dependence is
marked b y position, in some cases by phrase juncture, a n d in the first
sentence by the marker -kaj-.
As endocentric constructions should probably also the following b e
considered, although b o t h of the constituents are centers: zjiw-mdw?
'do you have ( a n y ) ? ' ; rjdj chji-ka. ' I myself'; ISj ?m-loj. 'are you c o m i n g ? ' ;
pjit-mjet. 'brush a n d i n k ' ; sjlt zfim cjok soj. 'eat, drink, get dressed, a n d
sleep.'
(b) exocentric constructions are relatively few in number. Examples:
td-ldn-hoj-kdj. 'the one that was b r o k e n ' ; c6 mdt-kdj. ' w h y ? '
4.2.2. Complex sentences. Examples: zj6k pdn pjin-rjji; kji m-hen. 'if I give
?
half to you, h e w o n ' t a g r e e ' ; zfin-wuj rjdj hdw-foj zjorj-kaj; sd-zji cdk-cdk
rjjin, tu ham rjdj zjorj-kaj thdj-worj. 'because I a m so good a t raising chicken,
all people call m e the king of chicken-raisers'; zji-kd mdw kdj-kurj-sdrj-kdj
chiin; chjew 6j sam-pdk Ijbtj nj&n. mdw sam-pdk Ijbrj njun; chjiw tot] rjji he chjet-
?
Idw-thew Idjphdn. 'if you d o not have eggs laid by a rooster, I d e m a n d three
h u n d r e d ounces of silver. If you d o not have three h u n d r e d ounces of
silver, I will treat you as a thief.'
4.2.3. Compound sentences. Examples: zjew zjit-cdk rjjin; kji khji-tjen lA-cdj.
'there was a m a n ; h e was riding a d o n k e y ' ; sjdw-luk, got] mji zjit-cjew,
fuj-tdp k&r); kdn-zjdrj, rjji law rjdj sjb-rj-hd-khdn, zjin-koj c6-tit mdt-kdj hdw.
'Sjaw-luk frowned a n d answered, " T h e n you a n d I think it over, to see
w h a t we should d o ' " ; cdw nja-murj-caj sjdij-lSj; njd zjit-khj&n sij- dp thdj-khdj
p
hi njd-law-pdk-kdj to. 'according to t h a t fool's idea, all those water ducks

apparently belonged to the old m a n . '
5.0. Clauses. Sentences a r e in principle independent constructions because

they a r e preceded a n d succeeded b y junctures of the highest rank a n d
76 HENRY HENNE
because they are not in construction with any other grammatical form:
a sentence is a constitute which is not a constituent. Leaving junctures 9
a n d terminal contours apart, a sentence is either a constitute of clauses or

conterminous with a clause. In the case of simple sentences the latter
alternative applies. I n the case of complex sentences the constituents are
clauses, arranged in hierarchical fashion a r o u n d a n independent clause as
its nucleus. Devices to m a r k such dependency are relative position, non-
final j u n c t u r e , a n d the use of special markers. I n terms of relative position
the dependence is in this case signalled by precedency of the dependent
clause. If clause markers are employed, precedency of the dependent
clause is not m a n d a t o r y , a n d sentence j u n c t u r e a n d terminal contour occur
after whichever clause comes last in the sequence. I n the large majority of
cases markers are used, either in the independent clause or in the dependent
or in both. T h e most common markers occurring in independent clauses
are chjew, sb-zji, zja. Markers occurring only in dependent clauses a r e :
zjok, zj6k-he, zj6k-kd, zj6k-su, zjl-kd, tjja-he ' i f ; zjin-wij, kji-he, kji-zj$n 'since,
because'; suj-zjin ' a l t h o u g h ' ; zjit 'as soon a s ' ; wu-Mn 'no m a t t e r ' . Frequently
b o t h dependent a n d independent clauses are marked (zjdk-hi... chjew);
markers occur either a t the very beginning of the clause or in the second
position; the latter position is possible only if the first position is occupied
by a non-verbal element.
5.1.0. Clauses in complex sentences. Examples with a n d without markers:
5.1.1. Dependent and independent clauses both marked: zjok chjdrj r\dj hi; zjit zji;
chjew fdj haw. 'if you ask m e to come, as soon as I treat you, you will get
well'; njd-njdm-wdrj, zjit thdrj njd wd; chjew fdt-law. 'as soon as Njam-won
h e a r d that, he got a n g r y ' ; zjik-kd hdm kja-cjew sbn-kdj; kji chjew cjbrj rjjin
ka-pbrj. 'if someone would call his wine sour, h e would tie him u p ' ;
kji-zjen he Idk-suj; rjdj chjew m-cdn. 'since it's raining, I ' m not coming b a c k ' ;
?
suj-zj$n he haw; thdn-he" rjdj m-tb fon-hi. 'although it's quite alright, I d o n ' t
?
like it too well'; zjin-unlj rjdj, hdw-fdj zjbrj kdj; sd-zji cdk-cdk rjjin, tu hdm
rjdj zjbtj-kaj thdj-worj. 'because I know well how to raise chicken, all people
call m e the king of chicken-raisers.'
5.1.2. Only dependent clause marked: kji-zjSn kdn-zjorj; rjdj rh-maj. 'since it's
?
t h a t way, I ' m not going to buy i t ' ; rjji, suj-zjen zj/fw chjin; mdw kji kdn-zjiw
mjen-cit. 'although you have money, you d o n ' t have as m u c h face as h e ' ;
9 C . F. Hockett, A Course in Modem Linguistics ( N e w York, 1958), p . 199.

Zjdk-kd rjdj, chut-hdj rjdj-thdrj; rjji, hi Idj-thdrj chjim rjdj ne. 'if I should go to
a place far away, where would you look for m e ? ' ; zjdk pjin-rjji wdn-zjSrj;
rjji, wd- m-thinfdj zji-sjl hdw-td-rjjin. 'if I sent you back to the world, there's
?
no telling how m a n y people you would cure to d e a t h ' ; rjji, wH-lun lj6rj-
pjen-zjorj 6j; rjdj, iu he mdw-chjin. ' n o m a t t e r how m u c h you d e m a n d it,
?
I really d o n ' t have any money.'
5.1.3. Only independent clause marked: cu-rjjin, cjim cjew pjin-kji; chjew cjim-tdw
pdn-puj. 'as the host poured wine for him, he only filled his glass h a l f ;
kdj-chjin-sji, zjdm he hdw-sdw-kdj; sd-zji zjdm, he sjip-fun kuj. 'as salt was very
scarce a t t h a t time, it was very expensive'; rjjin-ka, khji-ma; rjdj khji lu;
chjew kdm-kok haw-ldn kd. 'when other people ride horses a n d I ride a
donkey it feels like a hardship indeed'; zjtw zjit-rjjit, kja-ma zjew-td-kji;
kji chjew kjdw. 'when one day his mother spanked him again, he cried';
khdn-tdw njd-tSw zjen-kuj zjit-khjun-khjun chdj njd-mun-pjen khji-kjin; njd-tew
sjdw-kiij, chjew cjew-hdj. 'as the little devils saw a host of grumbling ghosts
a t the door, they went away.'
5.1.4. None of the clauses are marked: rjji m-thdr); rjdj kbrj kji 18-sd. 'since you
?
w o n ' t listen, I ' m putting it on the line'; rjji zjew mdt-kdj fdp-cil; rjji hi la-
cMt-ldjpa. 'if you have some way (of doing it), then get i t ' ; law-zjd >m-sjin;
la-ldj sji-hd khon. 'if you d o n ' t believe it, Sir, we will bring it so you can try
it a n d see for yourself.'
5.2.0. Clauses in compound sentences. As mentioned in 4 . 1 . a compound

sentence is a sentence of more than one clause, none of which is dependent.
T h e relationship between the clauses m a y be marked by coordinators
(connectives) like than, thdn-he, put-kd ' b u t ' , curj-he 'however', hdn-& 'or', or
it m a y be unmarked. If they are unmarked they are directly reversible;
if marked, they are reversible provided the coordinator is placed at the
beginning of the second clause. I n contrast with subordinators, coordinators
occur only in the first position of the clause. I n the following, examples
are provided.
5.2.1. Relationship marked: njd-cdk w6-s6rj, m-mje'n zjew tit khon-khjarj-kji-cu

?
zji; thdn-hi mjen-sdrj zja m-hen ch&t-lqj. ' t h e monk was not above despising
?
him, b u t we didn't want to show it openly'; kji hi; than rjdj >m-hi. 'he'll go,
b u t I w o n ' t ' ; 6j cjtn-cu; hdn-A 6j ma-ldw. ' d o you want pearls or (do you
? ?
want) agates?'.
78 HENRY HENNE
5.2.2. Relationship unmarked: zje"w rjji-sjip-kd-kdj; zjew curj-kok-kdj; zjiw r)6j-

kok-kdj. 'there are more than twenty, some are Chinese, some are foreign';
rja-thjen-th&rj, m-kjen-hbj; hdw-ldn chjim. ' m y flashlight has disappeared,
?
it's very h a r d to find'; rjji hdm sjen-sarj loj; rjdj ?6j thurj kji kbrj-wd. 'will you
call the teacher, I w a n t to talk to h i m ' ; >m-hi rjdj chji-ka cd-kdj; hi mqj-kdj.
' I d i d n ' t m a k e it myself, I bought it.'
5.3. Reversibility. I n all compound sentences the order of the clauses is

reversible without any perceptible change of meaning. This holds true
whether the construction is of the asyndetic type or not. (The same m a y be
said for phrases composed of two or more coordinated elements, 3.5.1.)
If, in a compound sentence, a coordinator is involved, it invariably occurs
a t the head of each clause except the first (if the marker is zjew, it occurs
a t or n e a r the beginning of each clause, 16.2.). I n complex sentences where
one or more clauses are marked as dependent the favoured order is to have
the dependent clause(s) precede the independent clause. Reversed order
without appreciable change in m e a n i n g is possible also in this case, the
m a r k e r occurring a t or near the beginning of the second (dependent)
clause. But in this case the use of a subordinator is mandatory, a n d the
sentence rarely includes more than two clauses. If in a complex sentence
consisting of two clauses, one clause (the second) is marked as independent,
reversal is impossible without change in m e a n i n g if the marker remains at
the beginning of the second clause; if the m a r k e r is placed at the beginning
of the first clause, the result is a quite different sentence. T h e following
example shows inversion where the second clause is marked as independent:
kdj chjin-sji zjdm he hdw-sdw-kdj; sd-zji zjdm hi sjip-fun kdj. 'as salt was very
scarce a t that time, it was very expensive' — zjdm hi sjip-fun kdj; sb-zjt kdj
chjin-sji zjdm hi hdw-sdw-kdj. 'as salt was very expensive, it was very scarce
a t t h a t time'. Placing the marker a t the beginning of the first clause, we
get the following sequence: sd-zji kdj-chjin sji zjdm he hdw-sdw-kdj; zjdm hi
sjip-fun ktij. 'therefore, a t t h a t time salt was very scarce; salt was very
expensive' (two coordinated clauses). Alternatively: sd-zji zjdm he sjip-fun
kij; kdj chjin-sji zjdm hi hdw-sdw-kdj. 'therefore, salt was very expensive;
salt was very scarce a t that time'. Either of the two sequences is possible,
b u t b o t h are felt as incomplete, because the m a r k e r sd-zji tends to pre
suppose a preceding subordinate clause. Likewise, if in the following
sentence (where the second clause is m a r k e d as independent by chjiw):
zjiw zjit-njit, kja-mh zjiw td kji; kji chjew kjdw. 'when one day his mother
spanked him again, he cried', the order of the clauses is inverted, removing
the m a r k e r along with the rest of the clause, we g e t : kji chjiw kjdw; zjiw
znt-njit, kja-ma zjew ta kji. 'he then cried; one day his mother again beat
h i m ' . T h e two sentence structures are different, resulting in two r a t h e r
different meanings. T h e latter sentence is 'unsaturated'; the marker chjew
in the first clause requires a preceding subordinate clause. Finally, inversion
within a complex sentence where none of the clauses are marked results in
change of meaning. T h u s , if the last sentence in 5.1.4. is inverted as follows:
la-loj sji-hd khon; law-zjd m-sjin. 'if (or even though) we bring it so you can
?
try it a n d see for yourself, you won't believe it, Sir', we have clearly a
different sentence.
5.4. Ambiguity. Since absence of marking m a y m e a n subordination as well

as coordination (cp. 4.2.3. a n d 5.1.4.), structural ambiguity m a y occa
sionally result. But the test of reversibility, leading to sequences of identical
m e a n i n g in the case of coordination, a n d to sequences of different meaning
in the case of subordination, usually resolves the doubt. T h u s there is clear
subordination in this case: njt m-thdrj; rjdj kbr] kji IS-sb. 'since you won't
?
listen, I ' m putting it on the Une'— rjdj kdrj kji 16-sb; rjji m-thdrj. 'since I ' m
?
putting it on the line, you won't listen'. O n the other hand there is
coordination in the following case: rh-hi rjdj chji-ka-c6-kdj; he maj-kdj.
?
'I d i d n ' t m a k e it myself, I bought it' — hi maj-kdj; m-hi rjdj chji-ka-cd-kdj.

?
' I bought it, I didn't m a k e it myself. Inversion results in distinct difference

of meaning in the former case, whereas in the second case either of the
variants m a y occur without significant difference of meaning other t h a n
t h a t of emphasis.
6.0. Clause structure. I n the following the internal structure of various types
of clauses will be given. I n addition to the basic distinction between
dependent a n d independent clauses, there is a major a n d a minor type,
a n d a negative, a negatable, a n d a non-negatable subtype.
6.1.0. Independent clauses. I n principle a clause is a constitute of juncture

a n d terminal contour on one side a n d the remainder of the clause on the
other. A p a r t from this a clause is often, b u t by n o means always, a con
stitute of two immediate constituents. For the case of a n independent
clause being marked as such by the presence of a special marker, see 6.2.2.
Setting this subtype a p a r t for the moment, a n independent clause which
is a constitute of two immediate constituents, none of which is a clause or
sentence j u n c t u r e or a terminal contour, is a major, or favourite clause type.
T h e point of separation corresponds to the point where there is a major
actual or potential break within the clause. This break is characteristic of
80 HENRY HENNE
a particular j u n c t u r e which is of lower rank than the clause j u n c t u r e a n d

which operates only within the clause. I t can best be termed phrase juncture,
because the grammatical forms which emerge as a result of these cuts are
phrases of various types, simple or complex or compound. A further cri
terion for the location of phrase j u n c t u r e is yielded by the separation or the
separability of the two constituents by the insertion of a special phrase
particle a immediately before the phrase j u n c t u r e . T h e simplest type of
r
such a phrase consists of one syllable, whereas the most complex can have
the shape of a major clause. These clause-like sequences, however, are not
clauses, because they are constituents of clauses, not of sentences. I n the
same way as clauses m a y , when followed by the appropriate junctures a n d
terminal contours, a n d forming constitutes with them, become full-blown
(simple) sentences, phrases having the form of clauses may, on a higher
level, be m a d e to serve as sentence constituents if followed by a clause
j u n c t u r e a n d a sustained pitch. Whereas the typical sentence j u n c t u r e is
on the average of longer duration than a clause juncture, a n d is charac
terized by a lack of u p t u r n a t the end (except in constellation with mo a n d
the other items mentioned above), clause j u n c t u r e is on the average of a
relatively shorter duration, a n d the clause terminal is manifested by a lack
of downturn. Phrase juncture is in natural, uninterrupted speech on the
average of shorter duration t h a n either sentence or clause j u n c t u r e . I t
occurs quite regularly between phrases comprising four or five morphemes
or more, b u t its manifestation is on the whole more subject to variation
depending on tempo t h a n are junctures of higher rank.
6.1.1. Subject and predicate. T h e binary structure of major clauses, which

corresponds to a feature of far-reaching importance in the description of
Chinese, leads to the establishment of two important grammatical form
classes. I n a major sentence the first constituent is called the subject, the
second is the predicate. Always occurring in this order, they form a n endo
centric constitute, the first constituent being dependent on, or modifying,
the second. I n other words the subject form class presupposes the predicate
form class, but not vice versa. Consequently a predicate m a y occur without
a subject. A clause consisting of a predicate only is a minor clause. A minor
clause functions as a sentence when followed by the appropriate j u n c t u r e
a n d terminal contour.
T h e relation between subject a n d predicate is loose. T h e r e is n o neces
sary actor-action relation. T h e subject merely indicates a topic, a n d the
predicate just adds a comment, without any overt tie of accord or agree
m e n t . T h u s , in the sentence rjdj mdw chjSn., usually translated ' I have no
money', rjdj introduces the topic T , to which is appended the comment

mdw chjln 'there is no money', kdj-tiw wd, hjorj law wo-sotj kbrj. 'he told this
to the old m o n k ' : subject kdj-tiw wd 'these words', predicate hjorj law wo-sotj
kbij. 'facing old monk say'. In this sentence there is no 'actor' at all.
If m a d e specific, the actor would be entered as a p a r t of the predicate:
kdj-tiw wd, kji (he) hjorj law w6-s6rj kbrj.
Since the subject-phrase as well as the predicate phrase can range in
form from a monosyllabic item to a major clause, it follows that clauses
exhibit a wide variety of forms a n d sometimes considerable complexity in
depth of layers. Only a full description of phrase structure can reveal the
full picture of ultimate clause constituents. I n the following a n u m b e r of
examples will be given, focusing on the clause constitute. Since we are
here dealing with independent clauses, examples will, in order to facilitate
illustration, be given in terms of simple sentences. Subjects will be separated
from predicates by a slanting line.
6.1.2. Simple and complex predicates: kji / thdj. 'he is tall'; rjdj, / thi-zjit tkdj.
' I a m the tallest'; rjji, /kd thdj. 'you are taller'; rjji, j mdw kjikdn-thdj. 'you
are not as tall as h e ' ; rjji, / tkdj-khdj mdw kji kdn-thdj. 'you are probably not
as tall as h e ' ; rjji, / tkdj-khdj mdw kdj-cdk rjjin kdn-thdj. 'you are probably not
as tall as that m a n ' ; rjji, / thdj-khdj mdw njd-si-ldw-cdj-kdj a-pd kdn-thdj.
T
'you are probably not as tall as that boy's father'.
6.1.3. Simple and complex subjects: rjdj, j mdw wd hdw-tdp. ' I could think of
nothing to answer'; njd-cdk rjjin, / mdw wd hdw-tdp. 'that m a n could not
think of anything to answer'; njd-cdk cjd-chjen-kdj rjjin, / mdw wd hdw-tdp.
'the m a n w h o h a d borrowed the money could not think of anything to
answer'; njd-cdk cjd-chjen-pjin-kji-kdj rjjin, j mdw wd hdw-tdp. 'the m a n who had
lent him the money could think of nothing to answer'; njd-cdk cjd-chjen-
pjin-kji-kdj rjjin kbrj-kdj wd, / hi cjin-kdj. 'what the m a n who had lent him
the money said, was true'. For verb phrases in the subject position, see 8.2.
6.1.4. Complex subjects and predicates: njd-cdk rjji-choj-thi-ha-kjam-tdw-kdj paw-

phun, I hi rjji-cdm-hbj-tjd-kdj-thi kjdm-kdj. 'the precious vessel you have d u g
out of the ground, is something you picked u p after having trespassed upon
m y property'; zjiw-zjit-cak sarj-kjin-^ok-chbrj-kdj Ib-sjit-ldw, j thutj-sjin tit hi lutj-
het, chu-tdw su rjjin m-kdm hdtj-khjun kji. 'there was a beggar with a festering
?
sore a n d with pus a n d blood all over his body, emitting such a n odor that
nobody could go near h i m ' ; njd-chjin-shi chbj njd-kan-mjdw-tb-cdj-kdj rjjin, /
kfm khjdm-tdw rjjin-ka kjl-chjin-njun, mdw jap hdw-wdn rjjin. 'the people who
G
82 HENRY HENNE
a t t h a t time were in the temple to avoid their creditors, actually owed

people several thousand taels of silver a n d had no way of paying'.
6.1.5. Minor clauses. Predicates only. Every predicate constituent in the

preceding examples, set u p as an independent sentence, can serve as a n
illustration. Further examples: m-hdw kdn-thdj-sarj. ' d o n ' t m a k e such a
?
noise'; khb-zfi- 'go ahead';pjin law-chu. sjit-hbj. '(it) has been eaten by r a t s ' ;
kd-hbj sjin. ' h e has d i e d ' ; Iji-kjin rjja nja-thi-fotj haw-zjen ne. '(it) is quite far
from your property'. I n such cases the subject is implied or present either
in the non-immediate linguistic context or in the situational context.
6.2.0. Dependent clauses. A dependent clause is, if unmarked, a constitute

of the clause itself a n d the clause j u n c t u r e a n d terminal contour. T h e
clause itself otherwise has the structure of a n independent clause of the
major or the minor type. If marked, the clause is, a p a r t from j u n c t u r e a n d
terminal contour, a constitute of the marker on one h a n d a n d the rest of
the clause on the other.
6.2.1. Marked and unmarked dependence, (cp. 5.1.).

(a) u n m a r k e d clauses: rjji m-thdrj; 'if you d o n ' t listen'; law-zjd, m-sjin;
? ?
'if you d o n ' t believe it, Sir'; la-chut zjit-cdk ISj; 'if you take one out'.
(b) m a r k e d clauses: kji-zjen kdn-zjdr/; 'since it's s o ' ; rjji, suj-zjin zjiw
chjen; ' a l t h o u g h you have m o n e y ' ; zfin-w&j mdw cha tap; 'since we have no
car'. I n the second example the constituents are discontinuous; when the
clause a p a r t from the marker is subjected to further cuts, it yields a subject
a n d a predicate.
6.2.2. Since dependence is sometimes marked indirectly (i. e. only the

independent clause is marked, cp. 5.1.3.) it should be noted at this point
t h a t a n independent clause containing a marker (such as chjew, sd-zji, etc.)
is subject to the same analysis as indicated in 6.2. tor dependent clauses:
it is a constitute of the marker plus the rest of the clause (the latter con
stituent often discontinuous); the next cut separates the subject from the
p r e d i c a t e : rjdj khji Id; chjew kdm-kok hdw-ldn lb. 'when I ride a donkey, it
feels like a hardship indeed'; zjiw zjit-rjjit, kja-ma. zjiw ta kji; kji chjiw kjdw.
' w h e n o n e day his mother spanked him again, h e cried'. However, if the
clause, as the last clause in the sentence, ends in a sentence particle (cp.
15.1.), consecutive cuts separate first the m a r k e r from the rest, next the
clause particle from the remainder, a n d finally, in the case of a major
clause, the subject from the predicate.
6.2.3. Since subjects m a y have the form of clauses, the question m a y be

asked how one can distinguish between a subject-plus-predicate clause
constitute a n d a dependent-plus-independent-clause sentence constitute.
T h e distinction depends on clause j u n c t u r e versus phrase juncture, but
since phrase j u n c t u r e consists of a minor pause (or potential pause) plus
sustained pitch, whereas clause j u n c t u r e involves a pause (usually of longer
duration) plus a lack of downturn, it is sometimes difficult to determine
the identity of the juncture, i. e. in sentences which do not contain a t least
one of each. I n a sentence like sjit curj-kok-su cjin-hdw. the major break
comes after su. If the first p a r t sjit cur]-k6k-su is taken as subject followed
by phrase juncture, the sentence would m e a n , 'to know Chinese characters
is fine'. If on the other h a n d the break is interpreted as clause juncture,
the sequence would mean, 'if he (or someone else) knows Chinese characters,
it's fine'. Similarly: thuk-hbj hdw-kjew, tit m-/6j. 'to study for a long time
?
is w h a t I cannot d o ' ; thuk-hbj hdw-kjiw; tit m-fdj. 'even if I study for a long
?
time, it w o n ' t d o ' . I n cases of doubt, if the sentence can be expanded by

insertion of the particle a (see 15.2.) i n t o : thuli-hbj hdw-kjew a, tit •'rh-fdj.
? ?
without appreciable change of meaning, the structure is that of a subject-

predicate clause. If the appropriate expansion form is siij-zjin thuk-hbj kdw-
kjew; tu m-fdj., we have a dependent-plus-independent-clause sentence
?
constitute.
6.3.0. Negatable and non-negatable clauses. Negative clauses. Verbal clauses.

Nominal clauses. I n addition to the distinction between major and minor
clauses, a n d dependent versus independent clauses, there is still another
distinction, which m a y be usefully introduced at this point, namely the
distinction between negatable a n d non-negatable clauses. This distinction
10
cuts across all of the distinctions already m a d e . A clause is said to be

negatable if by insertion of the negation m in the appropriate slot in the
?
sequence the clause is still acceptable, the only difference in meaning being
that of negation. Since the clause is of endocentric structure with the
predicate (comment) as its head, it follows that it is in the head of the
constitute the negation must be inserted to render the clause negative.
A clause is said to be negative if its head contains the negation. As will be
seen later (8.2.) a negation can be inserted into a subject also, but this
renders only a subject in the negative form, whereas the clause as a whole
m a y or m a y not be in the negative form. By analogy a complex sentence
with a negative clause as its head is called a negative sentence.
10 C p . S. Egerod, op. cit., p . 57.

6»
84 HENRY HENNE
T h e case oizjiw— mdw (2.0.) 'there is—there is not' is subsumed u n d e r

this general dichotomy, since there is n o * m-zjiw a n d n o * m-mdw. All
? ?
clauses which are not negatable are termed non-negatable. (6.4.).

I n the following, examples are given of negative clauses of various kinds.
I n theory every negated clause has a non-negated, negatable counterpart
which is identical with it except for the deletion of the negation. In actual
practice, however, this is not always so. For example, one can say
?m-chjin-hi. 'he hasn't gone yet', but not *chjen-hi (chjen can occur only in
negative clauses). Also it should be noted that in any sequence containing
mdw the substitution oizjiw is required. All examples here quoted do have
non-negated counterparts: m-hdw. 'it's no g o o d ' ; >m-pjin kji chdj kurj-thorj
?
chdw-ldw. 'he's not going to let her cry a n d weep in the court r o o m ' ;
rjdj, m-cbn wuk-kha. ' I ' m not going to go back h o m e ' ; njd-cdk pdw-phun,
?
?
m-he rjja-kdj. 'that precious vessel isn't yours'; rjji, he m-sjin; rjdj, sji-hd
?
pjin-rjji khdn. 'if you d o n ' t believe it, I'll let you try a n d see'; zjdk phdn
pjin rjji; kji m-hen. 'if I decide to give it to you, he will not a g r e e ' ;
?
^m-chutpj'aw; kji, m-hen cjew. 'if he did not issue a n arrest order, she would
?
not leave'; zjdk m-law kji la-con njd-khurj-zjin-hdp hi; kdn, zjit-thin m-zjl rjdj.
? ?
'if I d o n ' t hand back to him that empty seal-box, the m a n d a r i n will
certainly not rely on m e ' ; mdw mdt-kdj. 'there's n o t h i n g ' ; mdw sam-pdk-ljbrj
njun; chjew tor] rjji hi chjet-ldw-thew ISjphdn. 'if you d o n ' t have three hundred
ounces of silver, I will treat you as a t h i e f ; mdw; chjew 'dj sat rjji. 'if you
d o n ' t have any, I'll kill you'.
6.3.1. Verbal clauses. A clause (sentence, phrase) which contains or permits

the insertion of the negation m in its head, will in the following be called
?
a verbal clause (sentence, phrase). T h e term will be extended to cover also

sequences which contain zjiw or mdw.
6.4. Nominal clauses. All other clauses (sentences, phrases) are non-verbal.
Most of these contain a noun (12.0.), a nominal phrase (9.0.), or a noun-
substitute (14.0.) as head, a n d will be termed nominal clauses (sentences,
phrases). Examples a r e : kdj-cdk si, mdt-kdj zji-su. ' w h a t does that character
m e a n ? ' ; kja-ma kjd-pa. 'his m o t h e r a n d father'; sjen-sdrj-kdj wuk. 'the
teacher's house'; chok-piu-rjjit rnaj-tdw-kdj cdk. ' t h e one we bought yesterday'.
7.0. Phrase structure. A phrase is a constituent of a clause. I t can have the

morphemic (segmental) form of a clause (sentence) except for the fact
that it is followed by phrase j u n c t u r e , a n d that it can be separated from
other phrases by the phrase-marker a. I t can function as a clause (sentence)
?
if followed by the appropriate junctures a n d terminals. T w o types of

phrases will be dealt with in the following. Both are endocentric. A verbal
phrase (8.) is a phrase with a verb (11.) as its head. A nominal phrase (9.) is a
phrase with a noun (12.) as its head.
8.0. Verbal phrases. These occur typically, b u t not universally, in the predi
cate position. T h e y can a p p e a r also in the subject position. A verbal phrase
is built a r o u n d a verbal expression as its nucleus. A verbal expression is a
construct which is not a n immediate clause constituent, but r a t h e r a con
stituent of a clause constituent. T h e simplest verbal expression, a n ultimate
constituent in all verbal phrases, is the verb, to be denned in 11. Most
examples given in preceding paragraphs contain verbal expressions. In the
examples given under 6.3.0. the following items are verbs: haw 'to be good',
pjin 'to give', chbj 'to be a t or in', chdw-ldw 'to cry and weep', cbn 'to return',
hi 'to be identical or equivalent with', sjin 'to believe', sji 'to test', khdn
'to see', phdn 'to decide', hen 'to be willing', chut 'to go out, to issue', cjew
'to go away', law 'to be with, to accompany', la 'to take, to h a n d ' , hi
'to move away', zfi 'to rely', tor) 'to equal, to be equal', ISj 'to come',
?
6j 'to w a n t to, to be going to', sat 'to kill'.
8.1.0. Verbal phrases as predicates. I n the following, various types of verbal

phrases will be described. Six general patterns can be distinguished:
(a) verbal expressions in series (to be described in 11.2.3.), (b) a verb
11
nucleus alone (8.1.1.), (c) a verb nucleus preceded by one or m o r e sub

ordinate (modifying) elements (8.1.2.), (d) a verb nucleus followed by one
or m o r e subordinate elements (8.1.3.), (e) a verb nucleus preceded a n d
followed by one or more subordinate elements (8.1.4.), (f) a type of co
ordinate construction consisting of verb plus m plus (identical) verb
?
(8.1.5.). T h e focus will in the following be exclusively on the phrase as such.
8.1.1. Verb nucleus alone, zjew. 'we have (some), there is ( a r e ) ' ; kdw. 'it's
g o o d ' ; Hj. 'he w a n t s ' ; fon-hi ' h e likes (it)'.
8.1.2. A verb nucleus preceded by one or more subordinate elements. Although

verbal expressions in series could be classified into this category, they will
b e dealt with separately. H e r e we will include only modifiers which contain
n o transitive verb. Preceding the verb nucleus are mainly adverbs (13.0.):
11 T h i s term was first proposed by Y . R . C h a o in Mandarin Primer (Harvard University

Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1948), p p . 3 8 - 3 9 , from which source the term has been
borrowed here to describe similar constructions in Hakka.
86 HENRY HENNE
cjin-kdw. 'is very g o o d ' ; cji-hdw. 'is best'; hdn-chbj. 'is still alive'; kdw-kuj.
'is quite expensive'; thdj-khdj loj. 'is probably c o m i n g ' ; torj-zjin •'oj.
'naturally wants ( i t ) ' ; zjit-thin fqj. 'definitely c a n ' ; m-he'. 'is not s o ' ;
?
fut-zjen chut-loj. 'comes suddenly o u t ' ; kdn-zjor) kbi). 'talks that way'. I n
addition to adverbs proper this position can be filled by adverbially used
nouns a n d by stative verbs (11.3.0. a n d 13.0.): sjip-fun hdw. 'excellent';
cdw-lSj. 'comes early'; m-kjew sjit. 'not enough to eat'.
?
8.1.3. A verb nucleus followed by one or more subordinate elements: sjdw-kjin. 'is
l a u g h i n g ' ; sjit-hbj. 'has e a t e n ' ; co-thd. 'has finished doing ( i t ) ' ; loj-^m-tjet.
'cannot c o m e ' ; hdrj-tjet-khdj. 'walks fast'; khon-kb. 'has seen i t ' ; zjew chjSn.
'has m o n e y ' ; hi rfd-mun. 'goes to the magistrate's office'; pjin chjen rjdj.
'gives m e m o n e y ' ; hen-cjew. 'is willing to g o ' ; cuk njd-cdk law-fit. 'catches
that tiger'; zjin-kbj pfin-cbn rjdj. 'ought to give it back to m e ' ; 6j co zjit-cdk
?
thdj-curj. 'wants to make a big bell'; loj mjdw. 'comes to the temple'.
8.1.4. A verb nucleus preceded and followed by one or more subordinate elements:
zjit-thin m-hen hi. 'definitely not willing to g o ' ; khdj-khdj kaw-pjin kbn.
?
'gives it quick to the m a n d a r i n ' ; zjew hi phjdk-chdj. 'again goes out to chop
firewood'; tit ham kji zjbtj-kdj thdj-wdrj. 'everybody calls him the king of
chicken-raisers'.
8.1.5. Coordinate constructions of verb plus m plus (identical) verb: loj m-lqj.
? ?
'is h e c o m i n g ? ' ; rjji, hjdw m-kjdw-tjet co. 'do you know how to d o i t ? ' ;
?
zjew mdt-kdj cjin-kji mdw. 'do you have any proof?'. I n the last example the
positive-negative alternative construction is expanded by an interposed
nominal expression. This can happen when the first verb is transitive.
8.2. Verbal phrases as subjects. Although verb phrases occur typically in the
predicate portion of the clause, they are not restricted to it. T h e y occa-
sionaly occur in the subject portion: td-rjjin m-hdw. 'it is not nice to strike
?
p e o p l e ' ; m-sjit curj-kok su; ?m-hdw. 'not to know Chinese characters is n o

?
g o o d ' ; rjji cjd-hbj rja-kdj chjen, hdw kjew lo. 'it's already a long time since
you borrowed that money from me, isn't i t ' ; zjew zjit-tjjit, kji zfim-cuj.
'one day h e got d r u n k ' ; thuk-hbj hdw-kjew, tit m-fbj. 'to study for a long
?
time is w h a t I can't d o ' ; cji-hdw, kbn-kjin hi cjorj njd-zjit-cdk sjen chjim-cbn-loj.

' t h e best is to go a n d recover that penny at once'. I n principle a n y of the
types of verbal phrases indicated in 8.1. as occurring as predicates can
occur as subjects. If we designate nominal phrases by N , a n d verbal
phrases by V, a n d consider the subject position as the first, a n d the predi-
cate position as the second in the clause structure, we get the possibilities
N + V , N + N , V + V , V + N . N o actual counts have been m a d e , b u t it is
believed t h a t statistical investigation would confirm the author's hypothesis
that generally speaking, the preference scale, as indicated by frequency of
occurrence, is identical with the order in which the possibilities have been
listed above, beginning with the favorite combination.
9.0. Nominal phrases. Most phrases which cannot be negated by the inser
tion of m before its center, or by substituting mdw for zjiw, a r e nominal
?
phrases. These occur typically, b u t by n o means universally, as the subject

portion of the clause. A nominal phrase is built as a n endocentric constitute
with a nominal expression as its head. A nominal expression is a construct
which is not an immediate clause constituent, b u t rather a constituent of
a clause constituent. It is differentiated from a verbal expression (8.0.) by
being non-negatable. T h e simplest nominal expression is the noun. A
special type of nominal phrase is a n exocentric or endocentric constitute
built of a verbal expression a n d the nominal phrase marker -kdj (9.1.1.).
Nominal expressions, when functioning as phrases, can occur as complete
predicates (for examples see 6.4.), but more often occur as constituents of
verbal phrases which may function either as subjects or predicates.
C o m m o n to all nominal expressions is that they can be preceded by verbal
or nominal modifiers ending in the subordination marker -kdj- (9.1.2. a n d
16.3.), thus serving as heads of nominal phrases.
9.1.0. Types of nominal phrases. I n the following, examples will be given of

four types of nominal phrases: (a) nominal phrases formed by means of
the phrase marker -kdj; (b) nominal phrases formed by the marker of
subordination -kdj-; (c) nominal phrases consisting of a noun plus a noun
(unmarked subordination); (d) nouns. I n addition there is also a type
consisting of two or more coordinated nominal expressions (examples have
been given in 3.5.1.).
9.1.1. Nominal phrases with marker -kdj. Formations of this type are extremely
common (the same m a y be said a b o u t formations with -kdj-, 9.1.2.). This
can probably be accounted for b y the paucity of derivational formations
a n d by the absence of relative clauses. I n the following examples nominal
phrases with -kdj of two types are shown: a type in which the underlying
phrase is non-verbal, a n d another in which it is verbal. I n each case the
underlying phrase is given first. Underlying phrase non-verbal: rjdj. T —
tjdj-kdj. ' m i n e ' ; sjln-san. 'the teacher' — sjln-sav-kdj. ' t h e teacher's, that of
88 HENRY HENNE
the teacher'; hjbrj-kbrj. ' H o n g K o n g ' — hjorj-kdrj-kdj. 'the one from H o n g

K o n g ' ; sam-khdj chjen. 'three dollars' — sam-khdj-chjen-kdj. 'the one for three
dollars'. Semantically these formations are sometimes, b u t by no means
always, the equivalents of possessives in languages with such forms.
Underlying phrase v e r b a l : haw. 'it's good' — hdw-kdj. 'something g o o d ' ;
zjit-thin foj. 'he definitely c an' — zjit-thin fdj-kdj. 'something he definitely
can d o ; someone w h o can definitely do ( i t ) ' ; cuk nja-cdk Idw-fu. 'catches
that tiger' — cUk-njd-cdk-ldw-Ju-kdj. 'one w h o catches that tiger'; pjin Idw-fu
sjit-hbj. 'was eaten by a tiger'—pfin-ldw-fu-sjit-hbj-kdj. 'one who was eaten
by a tiger'. I t should be noted that all these sequences can be preceded by
the negation: ?m-haw— m-hdw-kdj. etc. But the relationship between m
? ?
a n d w h a t follows is different depending on whether it is followed by a

verbal or a nominal phrase. I n m-hdw. 'it's n o good' the immediate con
?
stituents a r e m a n d haw. In ih-hdw-kdj. the first cut is between m-hdw

? ? ?
a n d kdj. Likewise: m- /pjin law-fu sjit hoj. 'he was not eaten by a tiger' —
?
?
ih-pjin-ldw-fu-sjit-hbj- / kdj. 'one who was not eaten by a tiger' (a slanting
line is here used to indicate the point of the first constituent cut). T h e
following examples of nominal phrases, which can b e formed out of
virtually any verbal phrases (unless they become too long a n d clumsy, a n d
therefore, although possible, are not commonly used) illustrate the basic
difference in distribution as compared to verbal phrases: m / hdw. 'it's no
?
g o o d ' ; •'rh-hdw- j kdj. 'one who is no g o o d ' ; m-ke j hdw-kdj. 'it's not a good
?
o n e ' ; m-he j ih-hdw-kdj. 'it's not the one that is n o g o o d ' ; khon-tdw / cuk-njd-
? ?
cdk-ldw-fu-kdj. 'he got sight of the one w h o catches the tiger' (the last con
stituent is a nominal expression); *khdn-tdw c&k-njd-cdk-ldw-fic (meaning
less); njd-cdk j cuk-njd-cdk-ldw-fu-kdj. 'the one w h o catches the tiger' (the
second constituent is a nominal expression); nja-cdk, j cdk nja-cdk Idw-fu.
' t h a t one catches the tiger' (the first constituent is the subject, the second
the predicate); Ijdrj-cdk, / m-hdw. 'two will be n o good' (subject a n d pred
?
icate) ; Ijdrj-cdk / m-hdw-kdj. 'two good-for-nothings' (both constituents are

?
nominal expressions); zjiw/cak hdw-foj-zjbr\-kaj-kdj. 'there was one who

knew well how to raise chicken' (a predicate consisting of a verb followed
by a nominal expression); *zjew cdk hdw-fdj-zjorj-khj (meaningless); cd-sam-
kdj. I kbr). ' t h e tailor said' (a nominal phrase as subject followed by a verb
as predicate); *c6-sdm kdrj (meaningless).
9.1.2. Marker cf subordination -kdj-. Whereas -kdj is a phrase-builder con

verting any preceding sequence, to which it is b o u n d , into a nominal
phrase, the marker -kdj- has no such converting function. I t simply marks
a n y preceding sequence, to which it is b o u n d , as subordinate to, a n d
modifying, a following nominal phrase, which it always requires, a n d to

which it is equally bound. In other words, -kaj is bound only to w h a t
precedes, while -kaj- is bound to what follows as well as to what precedes,
both of which are required. T h e resulting constitute is an endocentric
nominal phrase. Examples: (a) with a preceding nominal p h r a s e :
sjin-sarj-kdj wuk. 'the teacher's house'; rjja-kdj chorj-sam. 'your long g o w n ' ;
njd-thdrj-kdj san-sjin. 'the mountain deity of this place'; thi-sam-rjjit-kdj
cdw-sjin-thew. 'the m o r n i n g of the third day', (b) with preceding a d v e r b :
thit-phjet-kdj rjjin. ' a special m a n ' ; zjit-thin-kdj wd. 'no uncertain w o r d s ' ;
s6rj-s6rj-kdj su-chjin. 'an ordinary matter', (c) with preceding verbal phrase
or s u b j e c t — v e r b constitute: hdw-kdj rjjin. ' a good m a n ' ; tb-kdj chjin-sji.
' m a n y times'; zjit-cdk hdw-thdj-kdj firj-pd-thi. ' a very big wasteland';
kji-kbrj-kdj wd. 'the words h e spoke; what he said'; kji-njd-cdk-sjin-chjl-kdj
Idw-phS. 'his newly-wedded wife'; chSk-pu-rjjit-maj-tdw-kdj thjen-thurj. ' t h e
flashlight I bought yesterday'; cdw-zja-zjew-rjjtn-tuj-rjdj-kbrj-ko-kdj ku-caj.
' a story someone has told me before'.
9.1.3. Noun plus noun (unmarked subordination). T h e r e is a very large n u m b e r

of such formations, freely m a d e u p when needed. Examples a r e : hdk-ka /
rjjin. ' a H a k k a (person)'; rjdj/chjt-ka. ' I myself; sji-sjinjcitrj. ' a clock';
zjit-cdk j Idw-pdk. 'an old m a n ' .
9.1.4. Nouns. These will be dealt with in more detail under parts of speech
(12.). Some examples a r e : rjjin ' m a n ' ; hdj 'shoes'; thjen 'sky'; thSrj 'sugar;
mjin-pdt 'face'; tii-phdt 'stomach'; pu-thew ' a x e ' ; laj-cu 'child'.
9.2. Nominal phrase determiners. Most nominal phrases can be introduced

a n d modified by determiners kaj 'that', njd 'this', laj 'which' (16.1.).
T h e y sometimes occur alone before the phrase: njd zjit-thin-foj-kdj. 'this
thing which you can really d o ' ; njd cdk-njd-ldw-fu-kdj. 'this (fellow) w h o
catches the tiger'. But more commonly they occur b o u n d to, a n d forming
a compound with, an auxiliary n o u n (12.2.): njd-cdk Idw-fu 'that tiger';
njd-cdk chbk-pu-rjjit-cdk-tdw-kdj Idw-fu. 'the tiger that was caught yesterday',
or b o u n d to a following compound (12.1.2.) consisting of a numeral plus
a n auxiliary n o u n : njd Ijbrj-cdk chSk-pit-rjjit-cuk-tdw-kdj law-fix 'those two
tigers which were caught yesterday'. I n this latter phrase the first cut is
between Ijdrj-cdk and w h a t follows. T h e second break separates njd from
Ijdrj-cdk a n d chok-pu-rjjit-cdk-tdw-kdj from Idw-fu. T h e order of the con
stituents is rigidly fixed. If we m a k e one more extension to the sequence,
namely by prefixing one of a small n u m b e r of Substitutes (14.1.) to the
90 HENRY HENNE
whole p h r a s e : r/d nja Ijorj-cdk chok-pu-rjjit-cuk-tdw-kdj law-fit. 'those two

tigers of mine which were caught yesterday', we get a nominal phrase
which is maximal a n d closed. T h e only further extension would be by
a d d i n g a subordinating -kdj- a n d following u p by another nominal phrase.
In t h e phrase as it n o w stands, the first cut will be between r\a a n d nja,
the second between Ijorj-cdk and chok-pu-tjjit. W e have, then, here a nominal
phrase consisting of a possessive substitute (PS) plus a determiner (D) plus
a n u m e r a l (Nu) plus a n auxiliary noun (AN) plus a nominal expression
ending in -kdj- (NE-kaj-) plus a noun (N), a n d with the following
structure : 1 2
| PS + D + Nu + AN + NE + N 1
j (rj'a) {(nja) (Ijorj-cdk)} {(. . . -kdj-) (law-fu)} J
rja nja I ljbr\ I cdk chok pu rjjit cuk taw kdj law I ju
<>>•
-©- ©-
h~<*> <>>•
•<>>
Depending on t h e ways in which nouns participate in t h e formation of

nominal phrases a n d expressions, several types of nouns can be distinguished.
This will b e dealt with in some detail u n d e r nouns (12.).
10.0. Parts cf speech. I n a language like Chinese, which has n o inflectional

paradigms, " w o r d s " a r e simply stems. Classification of stems into form-
13
classes must be based mainly on their syntactical behaviour, i. e. their role

in sentences, clauses, phrases. Five major categories emerge from such an
analysis: a verbal a n d a nominal (both with unlimited inventories), an
adverbial, o n e consisting of substitutes, a n d o n e into which particles and
markers can be combined (a limited inventory). O n the basis of these
general categories a n u m b e r of classes can be set u p . Since a n u m b e r of
items show a behaviour which indicates membership in more than one
category (morphological form gives almost n o clue to category member-
12 C p . C . F . Hockett, A Course in Modem Linguistics, p . 2 4 7 .

13 C p . C. F . Hockett, A Course in Modem Linguistics, p . 2 1 0 .
ship), a class may consist of a combination of categories. T h u s the following

classes can be set u p : 1. the verb, containing items that occur only as verbs
(to be denned in 11.0.); 2. a class of nouns, consisting of stems that occur
only as nouns (to be defined in 12.0.); 3. a class consisting of items which
have the distributional characteristics of both verbs and nouns (verb-noun
class, see 11.5.); 4. a class of adverbs, consisting exclusively of stems with the
characteristic distribution of adverbs (to be defined in 13.9.); 5. a class
consisting of items which in addition to sharing the distributional charac
teristics of adverbs also occur as nouns a n d / o r (stative) verbs (11.3.); 6. a class
of substitutes (14.0.); 7. a class of particles (15.) a n d markers (16.). T h e r e is
sporadic evidence of dual class membership also in other cases (markers
chjew a n d zjew can occasionally function as adverbs), but not enough to
justify the establishment of further classes. Also, there is, as for example in
English, a certain " m i g r a t i o n " from one class to another.
11.0. The verb. An item which is modifiable either by a preceding •'in or

by a following particle hoj (11.4.1.) or by both, is a verb. Depending on
internal structure a n d on the ways in which a verb participates in the
formation of verbal phrases a n d expressions, specifically the ways in which
verbs can be preceded and/or followed by subordinate elements of various
kinds, several subclasses can be established. T h e following will be dealt with
h e r e : simple a n d compound verbs (11.1.0.); transitive a n d intransitive
verbs (11.2.0.); converbs (see 11.2.2.); auxiliary verbs (11.2.3.); stative
verbs (11.3.).
11.1.0. Simple and compound verbs. A verb m a y be morphologically simple

or compound. A simple verb consists of a single morpheme, whereas a
compound verb is a stem compound, both or all of whose immediate con
stituents are stems. I n a compound verb there are no connecting elements.
14
Examples of simple verbs a r e : khon 'to look, to see'; hi 'to go a w a y ' ; tjjip
'to e n t e r ' ; loj 'to c o m e ' ; kbr\ 'to say'. Examples of compound verbs a r e :
njip-loj 'to come i n ' ; ch&t-hi 'to go o u t ' ; cd-tjet 'can d o (it)'; co-thd 'to finish
d o i n g ' ; cd-hdw 'to complete'; sjit-pdw 'to be full, satisfied'; hdw-khdn 'to be
beautiful'. A compound verb is not reversible without a complete change
of m e a n i n g (cd-hdw 'to complete', kdw-cd 'to b e easy to d o ' ) , and the ele
ments are inseparable except for the possible insertion of either m or tjet ?
(for the role of tjet see 11.1.2. a n d 11.1.3.). T h e y are usually not separable
by a n o u n or a nominal expression, a feature which distinguishes them from
14 C p . C. F. Hockett, A Course in Modem Linguistics, p . 240.

92 HENRY HENNE
verbal expressions in series (11.2.2.). Compound verbs are considered to

consist of a main verb followed by a subordinate verb. Since both con
stituents are verbs, negation m a y be inserted before either or both. If the
negated form of a compound is m a d e by placing the negation before the
second verb, the compound is termed potential (11.1.2., b u t notice direc
tional-potential a n d resultative-potential compounds, 11.1.1. a n d 11.1.3.
respectively); a purely potential compound has the verb tjet as its second
member. If the negated form is m a d e by placing the negation before the
first verb, the compound is either directional (11.1.1.) or resultative (11.1.3.).
Membership in one of these subgroups, however, does not preclude member
ship in another. For example: chdt-hi 'goes out', with the negated form
?
m-chSt-hi 'does not go out' is a directional c o m p o u n d ; ckut- m-hi 'cannot
?
go o u t ' has as its non-negated counterpart chut-tjet-hi 'can go out' a n d is

thus a directional-potential compound. This latter form represents a three-
verb compound. For another such type, see 11.1.3. (thdrj-tjet-tdw).
T h r e e partly overlapping subtypes of compound verbs are found:
11.1.1. Directional compounds. T h e first element is a verb, usually a verb

denoting motion (if transitive, occasionally followed by a noun or a
nominal expression), the second consisting of verbs such as ISj 'come',
hi 'go', sir] 'go u p ' , ha 'go down' alone or in combinations like chut-ldj
'come out', ch&t-hi 'go out', rjjip-lSj 'come in', rjjip-hi 'go i n ' : la-ch&t-loj
'to take out (toward the speaker)'; la-chut-hi 'to take out (away from the
speaker)'; fuj-rjjip-l8j 'come flying i n ' ; fuj-chdt-lSj 'come flying o u t ' ; fuj-
rjjip-hi 'fly in (away from the speaker)'; fuj-chut-hi 'fly out (away from the
speaker)'. Further examples: con-loj 'to r e t u r n ' ; forj-hi 'to throw a w a y ' ;
tdw-lSj 'to arrive'. I n directional compounds direct negation is effected by
placing m before the first v e r b : ih-la-chut-hi 'does not take o u t ' ; m-fuj-
? ? ?
rjjip-lSj 'does not come flying in'. However, verbs of this kind can also take
a negation interposed between the first a n d the second constituent, thus
forming a directional-potential c o m p o u n d : ch&t- m-hi 'cannot go o u t ' ;
}
fuj-?m-ckut-hi 'cannot fly out'.
11.1.2. Potential compounds. T h e second constituent is the verb tjet:c6-tjet

'can d o ( i t ) ' ; hjdw-tjet '(can) understand'. Direct negation is effected by a n
interposed m: cd- m-tjet 'cannot d o i t ' ; if negation is preposed there is a
? ?
slight difference of meaning: ?m-c6-tj$t 'may not, is not allowed to do it'.

Likewise: hi-tjit 'can g o ' ; ki- m-tjet 'cannot g o ' ; s6j->m-tjet 'cannot sleep';
?
kdj->m-tjit 'cannot be wondered a t =•= n o w o n d e r ' ; kji-tjit 'to r e m e m b e r ' ;

?
m-kji-tjSt 'does not r e m e m b e r ' ; kji- m-tjit 'cannot r e m e m b e r ' ; H-tjit 'to
3
k n o w ' ; A-^m-tjet 'cannot know'; hjdw-tjet 'to (be able to) understand (how
t o ) ' ; hjdw- in-tjet 'is unable to understand'.
?
11.1.3. Resultative compounds. T h e second verb is, from the semantic point
of view, a verb indicating the result or the successful completion of the
action indicated by the main verb. Examples a r e : cd-hdw 'to do so that it is
good = to finish'; khdn-tdw 'to catch sight of, to see'; chjim-tdw 'to find';
thdj-tdw 'to carry so as to arrive = to b r i n g ' ; hdk-sji 'to frighten to d e a t h ' .
Direct negation is effected by a negation placed before the first v e r b :
?
m-khdn-tdw 'does not see'; ih-sjit-pdw 'does not eat so that one is full'.
?
Any resultative compound can be changed into a resultative-potential

c o m p o u n d by interposing the negation: td- m-khbj 'cannot o p e n ' ; kdn-
?
?
m-tdw 'cannot reach there in t i m e ' ; khdn-^m-tdw 'cannot see, find'; thdrj-
?
m-tdw 'is unable to hear, is d e a f . As with directional-potential compounds,
the corresponding non-negated forms a r e : td-tjet-khoj 'can open', etc.
A special subtype in this category is found in cases where the first verb is
followed by the verb combination tjet-tdw or tjet and another verb in
resultative relation to the main v e r b : thdrj-tjet-tdw 'can hear it alright';
hdk-tjet-tdw 'can learn, can be learnt'. Note the direct negated forms:
thdr]- m-tjet-tdw 'cannot get it, cannot make it o u t ' ; hdk- m-tjet-tdw 'cannot
? ?
learn (it)'. Sometimes subtle shades of m e a n i n g can be expressed by

various combinations of these kinds: kd-hi 'he crosses'; m-kd-ki 'he doesn't
?
cross'; kd- m-hi 'he is unable to cross'; kd-tjet 'can cross, can be crossed';
?
kd- m-tjSt 'is unable to cross, cannot be passed'; kd-tjet-hi 'is passable, is
?
possible, is alright'; ko-?m-tjet-hi 'cannot be passed, is intolerable'.
11.2.0. Transitive and intransitive verbs. Certain verbs, simple or compound,

normally require a subordinate nominal expression after them. T h e verb
a n d the subordinate element following it (cp. 8.1.3.) form an endocentric
constitute with the verb as head. T h e other constitute, if it is a nominal
expression (see 11.2.3. for a different situation), is a n object. Verbs which
normally enter into such a construction are called transitive. Verb-object
constructs are typically predicate phrases or constituents of such phrases,
b u t can also function as subjects (an example is tdp-son, mdw kdn-kuj.
'to go by ship is not so expensive'). Verbs which d o not allow such comple
ments are called intransitives. A m o n g intransitives there are two subgroups:
action verbs a n d stative verbs (see 11.3.). Most verbs fall clearly into one
or the other category as to transitivity, b u t some are ambivalent. For
example, Idj is basically a n intransitive verb, but in an expression like
I6j hjorj-kdr). 'comes to H o n g K o n g ' it takes a n object (cp. Latin Romam ire).
94 HENRY HENNE
Likewise: cbn 'to r e t u r n ' : cdn wuk-kha. 'return h o m e ' ; hdrj 'to walk':
hat] sam-lji 'walks three li'. Whereas genuinely transitive verbs have a very
wide range of combinations, the borderline cases are restricted to a rela
tively few categories of nouns. Examples of intransitive verbs a r e : hdw
'to be g o o d ' ; to 'to be m a n y ' ; thdj 'to be large, tall'; hdw-khdn 'to b e
beautiful'; kjin-zjdw 'to be serious (of situation)'; khji-kdj 'to be strange';
sji 'to d i e ' ; sjdw 'to l a u g h ' ; hi-kjip 'to p a n t ' .
11.2.1. Transitive verbs. I n the following, examples are given of verb-

object constructions: (1) khonfd. 'to look a t flowers'; (2) zjiw zjit-cdk tjaw.
'there was a b i r d ' ; (3) mdw-ka. 'there's no mistake'; (4) hjdw-tjet citrj-kjit-wd.
' h e understands Chinese'; (5) hdm kji mdt-kdj mjdrj. 'you call him w h a t ? ' ;
(6) pjin chjin kji 'you give him money'; (7) khjdm rjdj sjip-khdj chjin. 'you owe
m e ten dollars'; (8) hdm kji cdn, 'call him back'; (9) ti-thdw tjaw wd rjjin.
' h e knows that birds speak to people'; (10) maw rjjin ti kji kjdw mdt-kdj.
'there was no one who knew what it was chirping'; (11) khjt tan-cha.
' h e was riding a bicycle'. I n examples 5, 6, and 7 there are two objects.
I n example 6 the direct object is placed first, in examples 5 a n d 7 it is
placed last. T h e tendency is for the direct object to come first if it consists
of one m o r p h e m e only, whereas an indirect object otherwise takes pre
cedence if it is the shorter. If both objects consist of nominal expressions
of greater length, a different construction is used (verbal expressions in
series, 11.2.2.): pjin nja Ijbrj-cdk rjjin pjin sjip-khdj chjin. o r : pjin sjip-khdj
chjin pjin rjjd Ijbrj-cdk rjjin. 'he gave those two men two dollars'. In example
8 a p i v o t probably occurs: kji is the overlapping p a r t of two telescoped
15
clauses: hdm kji; kji con. In the example ti-thdw tjaw wd rjjin the object of
ti-thdw is the clause-like sequence tjaw wd rjjin, which in turn consists of a
subject tjaw a n d wd rjjin.
11.2.2. Verbal expressions in series. Converbs. As a n intransitive verb with its

subordinate elements forms a n intransitive verbal expression or phrase,
a transitive verb with its subordinate elements makes u p a transitive verbal
expression or phrase. Both serve typically as predicates. A verbal expression
in series is a verbal phrase, transitive or intransitive, usually consisting
of one or more transitive verbs followed by a n object or other complements,
followed by a verb which is modified by what precedes. T h e order of the
items is fixed. T h e verb or verbs in the modifying portion are transitive.
Certain verbs which serve primarily if not exclusively in such a modifying
capacity will be termed converbs. T h e most common of these are cjbrj,
15 For a definition of this term, see Y . R . Chao, op. ext., p . 3 6 .

pa 'to take', pjin 'to give', and law 'to be together with, to face, to act with
or for'. But in principle any transitive verb can function as a converb.
It is important to note the distinction between compound verbs (11.1.0.),
which d o not usually permit the insertion of anything but m and tjet, and
?
verbal expressions in series, in which nominal expressions always can be,

a n d as a rule are, inserted as objects under the converb. It should also be
noted that the main verb, if transitive, m a y have an object of its own
following it. Examples: rjdj, law kji kdrj. ' I said to h i m ' ; sjin-sarj, law kji zji.
'the doctor cures h i m ' ; cjorj chjen forj-lok-hi. 'put money into it'; cjorj njd
zjit-cdk sjen chjim-cdn-loj. 'recover that p e n n y ' ; cjorj kji cuk-taw rjd-mun hi.
'they caught him and took him to the magistrate's office'; cjorj njd paw-
phun-kdj si-chjin sjorj-se tuj kon kdrj. 'he told the mandarin all about that
precious vessel'; pjin rh-cjdrj zjSrj-chSr] Ijew-hd. 'he did not leave any mutton
?
(over) at a l l ' ; pjin kja-tew c&k-hoj hi. 'he was caught by t h e m ' ; pjin chjet-law
cjorj sdk-md thiw-ki. 'the stone quern was stolen by thieves'; rja-pa, rh-pfin ?
rjdj hi. ' m y father does not let me g o ' ; pjin fd saw-hbj. 'was burned d o w n ' ;
la sic pjin rjji. 'bring you the book'; la fa hi Idj-thdrj. 'where are you taking
the flowers?' chji cdk mdj-caj co law-pho. ' m a r r y a girl'; chdj wuk-kha thuk-su.
'to study at h o m e ' ; rjji chdj Idj-thdrj chu. 'where do you live?'; cdw Ijet to
chjd zjit-satj. 'in accordance with custom h e thanked h i m ' ; hjdrj sdn-tdrj
hdrj-hi. ' h e climbed toward the top of the m o u n t a i n ' ; tor) rjji he ckjet-ldw-
thiw. 'treat you as a t h i e f ; tk&r] zjit-cdk pkjSn-zjew cjd-tdw sam-khdj chjen.
' I borrowed three dollars from a friend'; th&rj rjdj khaj turj-sji. 'he carries
things for m e ' ; rjdj thurj ijjt kdn-thdj. ' I a m as tall as you'.
Constructions like these are among the most common in the language.
If the nominal expression after the first verb is the 'logical' object from the
English point of view, the construction m a y be called pretransitive. * 1
O t h e r semantic categories covered are passive ('was caught by'), indirect

object ('for m e ' ) ; permission ('let m e g o ' ) ; comparison ('as tall as y o u ' ) ,
interest, to mention only a few.
11.2.3. Auxiliary verbs. A verb which, although not normally requiring a n

object, can take another verb as a complement, is a n auxiliary verb. Since
the complement can occur only after the verb, it is possible to interpret
the construct as a verb-object phrase of a special type. Auxiliary verbs
stand a p a r t also because they d o not normally take aspect particles (11.4.).
A negation can occur before either or both verbs; the fact that the insertion
of a negation before the second verb does not result in a potential meaning,
a n d the fact that tjit cannot be interposed, show that these sequences are
16 C p . Y . R . Chao, op. eit., p . 3 9 .

96 HENRY HENNE
different from compounds ( U . I . ) . Examples a r e : foj loj. 'will c o m e ' ;

m-foj loj. 'will not come';/<y m-loj. 'maybe will not c o m e ' ; m-f6j m-l6j.
? 3 p ?
'can't but come'; hen hi. 'is willing to g o ' ; dj mim. 'wants to ask'; hdm sat
?
rjjin. 'dares to kill people'.
11.3. Stative verbs. Intransitive verbs, like transitive verbs, can be followed
by aspect particles (11.4.). With the exception of auxiliary verbs, transitive
verbs combine with particles for durative as well as perfective aspect.
A m o n g intransitive verbs, some like sji 'to d i e ' ; chb 'to sit'; kjdw 'to cry'
(which might therefore be assigned to a special subgroup, intransitive action
verbs) take particles for both aspects. O t h e r intransitive verbs, the so-called
stative verbs, do not combine with the durative aspect particle. Another
feature distinguishing stative verbs from other intransitive verbs is that the
former can be modified by certain adverbs: haw 'very', cfin 'very', kdn 'so';
cuj 'most'; cji 'extremely' (incidentally, this feature is shared also by
auxiliary verbs: kdn fqj thjdw-wii 'dances very well'). T h e adverb hdw must
b e distinguished, on the one hand, from the stative verb haw 'to be good',
a n d on the other from the element haw that enters into the compound
hdw-khon 'to be beautiful'. T h e verb hdw-khon is negated m-hdw-khdn (there
?
is n o *hdw- m-khdn), a n d this negated stative verb can be further modified

?
by the adverb haw: haw m-hdw-kh6n 'is very ugly'; likewise: hdw 'is good';
?
haw • rh-haw 'very bad' (haw haw is possible, but usually avoided; more
>
commonly one says cjin haw 'is very g o o d ' ) ; hdw kuj 'very expensive';
°m-hdw kuj 'is not very expensive'; haw m-kuj 'is very inexpensive'. Examples
?
of stative verbs a r e : kjew 'to be long-lasting, to be of long standing, to be

old'; fat 'to be wide, big, well-to-do'; hdn 'to be a t leasure, to be free';
kjdk 'to be fast'; ku 'to be old, to be of old standing'; churj-mjin 'to be in
telligent'; kjin-zjdw 'to be serious (of situation)'. Examples of their uses:
hdw-kjew • m-kjen. 'it's a long time since I have seen y o u ' ; hdw fon-hi sjit
>
fb-thuj. 'he happily ate the h a m ' ; 16k kdn-thdj suj. 'it's raining so h a r d ' ;
mdw kdn to. 'he doesn't have very m u c h ' ; Idj-rjjin cuj-kaw-kdj. 'who is the
tallest?'; kji, hi cji-'dj-kdj. 'he's the shortest one'.
As mentioned under 10.0.0. a n u m b e r of stative verbs show the same
distribution pattern as adverbs, a n d therefore belong to a separate class
(class 5). A n example is: caw Idj. 'come early'.
11.4.0. Verbal aspect particles. Particles as a class are dealt with in 15.
But as aspect particles occur only bound to verbs, it is convenient to describe
them here. Verbs as such are indefinite as to time relation and to aspect.
T i m e relation can be m a d e explicit, if the speaker desires, by elements
preceding or following the verb (foj loj 'will c o m e ' ; hi-ko 'has been, has
gone, for example somewhere in the past'). Aspect is expressed by another
kind of complement, always bound, and always in immediate postverbal
position. These items are here to be called verbal aspect particles. Although
the use of such particles is not obligatory, they are very common with
transitive verbs if these a r e followed by a n object containing a determinative
(compound) noun, a n d if the verb refers to a n action completed in the past.
T h e verbal aspect particles are four in n u m b e r : hbj expressing the
perfective, chjew the completive, kfin (and less commonly tjen) the durative
aspect, hbj occurs with all verbs except auxiliaries; kjin and tjen d o not
occur with stative and auxiliary verbs; chjew is of somewhat limited occur
rence a n d seems to be restricted to certain action verbs.
11.4.1. Particle hbj. T h e H a k k a aspect concept does not differ essentially

from that of Mandarin. T h e particle hbj is roughly the equivalent of the
"word-suffix le" as described by C h a o , b u t note that hbj does not cor
17
respond to his "phrase-suffix le". Examples: rjdj, sjit-hbjfdn. ' I have e a t e n ' ;
rja-wuk, cb-hdw-hbj. 'my house is completed'; sjd-chb-hbj. ' I have m a d e a
mistake in writing'; mdj-tdw-hbj. 'we have bought t h e m ' ; tjet 16k suj hi-hbj.
'he stumbled and fell into the w a t e r ' ; td-ldn-hbj. 'it's broken'; par\-hbj zjit-
thjdw mdw. 'they pulled out one h a i r ' ; Ijorj-pjin tbrj-zjorj-cjet ti morj-kji-hbj ne.
'how could he have forgotten the dragon boat festival?'; het-hbj zjiw kji-
kjew. 'how long have you lived (here) ?'; tjin-hbj pdn-rjjit. 'he waited for a
long time'; chjen mdw hbj. 'there was no more m o n e y ' ; thdj-hbj. 'he's g r o w n ' ;
sjl-hbj. 'he died, he's d e a d ' ; m-kjen-hbj. 'he has disappeared'; fdj-hbj. 'it has
?
gone to pieces'; phjdt]-hbjzjU-ch6r\. 'he was sick for a while'; rjji-njet loj-hbj
'he c a m e in February'.
11.4.2. Particle chjiw. This particle expresses a completive aspect: that a n

action has been gone through with, has been consummated, has had its
course to its logical conclusion. I t is semantically close to M a n d a r i n wan
(and to the Japanese construction tabete limatta 'they finished eating it,
ate it u p ' ) . T h e particle has been observed to occur (rather infrequently;
only five occurrences a r e recorded in the material) in connection with
certain action verbs: tjen-tdw sjit-chjew-ci hiw. 'wait until they have eaten
it u p ' ; kbrj-chjew njd-tew wd. ' h e had uttered these words'; hdn mdw zur\-
chjiw. ' h e still had not used them u p ' ; thi-tjji-pkdn khji zjew cok-chjiw. 'they
h a d finished the second g a m e of chess'; kji zjim-chjew-hbj. 'it had already
17 Y . R . Chao, op. cit., p . 4 0 .

7
98 HENRY HENNE
been d r u n k (up)'. T h e last example is especially interesting because it

shows chjew followed b y the perfective particle hoj. ls
11.4.3. Particles kjin and tjen. These particles, both of which indicate
durative aspect, seem to b e interchangeable, with a certain preference for
kjin. Neither occurs after a stative or an auxiliary verb. Examples: maj-tjen
mdw-cdj. 'he's buying a h a t ' ; chb-tje'n. 'he's sitting'; kjdw-kjin-kdj chjin, 'as h e
was crying'; hdrj-kjln hdrj-kfm. 'they walked and walked'; cdw-kjin law-pdk-
kdj fiin-fu. 'keeping in mind the old man's instructions'; cjbrj njd-zjin law
rjdj khdn-kjin. 'be keeping (= don't stop keeping) an eye on that seal for m e ' ;
kbn-kjin hi chjim kji. 'keep hurrying and look for h i m ' ; tjen-kjin cuk-tdw law-fu
I6j. 'he's waiting to catch the tiger'; sjim-cur) zjew-kjin kdn-zjorj-kdj ta-sdn.
' a plan of the kind h e was having in mind'.
11.5. Verbs, nouns, and verb-nouns. Certain words are distributed exclusively
like nouns, others only like verbs. Still others function as nouns as well as
verbs. T h r e e distinctive classes will therefore be recognized. T h e following
are examples of items that serve as verbs only: cjew 'to go (away)'; maj
'to b u y ' ; 16k 'to e n t e r ' ; taw 'to enter'; zjew 'to exist'; khbj 'to o p e n ' ; khon
'to see'; co 'to d o ' ; 'to act a s ' ; Idj 'to come'. Examples of items with exclusive
distribution like nouns a r e : rjjin ' m a n ' ; hdj 'shoe'; thjen 'electricity'; thjen
'sky'; thdrj 'sugar'; tu-phdt 'stomach'. Nouns as well as verbs a r e : s& 'to
c o u n t ; a n u m b e r ' ; cu 'to r e n t ; a r e n t ' ; cho 'to dig with a h o e ; a h o e ' ; chb
'to sit; a seat'; thurj 'to a c h e ; a p a i n ' ; zurj 'to use; a u s e ' ; khurj 'to be e m p t y ;
a n e m p t y s p a c e ' ; zjin 'to be r o u n d ; a circle'; kjin-kdj 'to w a r n ; a warning'.
12.0. The noun. An item which is non-negatable, but modifiable either by

a determiner (16.1.) or by a sequence ending in the marker -kaj- (9.1.2.)
(or its equivalent cu (2.0.)) or by both, is a noun. As free formations they
participate in syntactic constructions, typically as subjects a n d / o r objects,
as centers of nominal phrases a n d clauses (6.4.; 9.0.) or as independent
sentences. I n the sentence: wS-sdrj, la-taw nja-cdk sjin, hjorj hd-sjim zjtt-fut.
'the bonze took the penny and threw it into the river' there are four nouns:
wS-sdrj ' t h e bonze', which is the subject, njd-cdk ' t h a t piece', a n auxiliary
compound (12.2.) which together with sjen 'penny', which it modifies, forms
a nominal expression functioning as a n object to the verb la-taw 'take', the
first element in a verbal expression series whose other members are hjdrj
18 Conclusions here presented about this particle should be taken as tentative. Future
research m a y well reveal that this item is actually a verb, thus making it possible to
classify these constructions as resultative compounds (11.1.3.). T h e material at disposal
does not, however, justify such a conclusion at the present time.
'to face' a n d zjit-fut 'to throw', ho-sjim 'the middle of the river' is a com
p o u n d n o u n (12.1.2.) a n d the object of kjdrj. Although all nouns are non-
negatable, and all nouns are modifiable by a sequence ending in -kaj-,
direct modification by a determiner is in principle limited to abstract nouns
(12.4.); on occasion such modification is seen also in other cases (kaj
chjin-sji '(at) that t i m e ' ; njd thi-forj 'that place'; Idj-tkdr) 'where?'). Most
other nouns, especially general nouns (12.3.), are modifiable by auxiliary
compounds. Certain nouns (limited nouns, 12.5.) require modification.
Based on a combination of morphological and syntactic criteria the
following groups can be distinguished: simple, complex (compound a n d
derivational subtypes, 12.1.), auxiliary, general, abstract, limited, and
locative.
12.1.0. Simple and complex nouns. A n o u n is considered to be simple if its

formation does not involve either derivation or compounding. Most simple
nouns are monosyllabic, but not all monosyllabic nouns are simple (cp.
md ' a q u e r n ' , 3.6.). Examples of simple nouns a r e : sit 'book', lit 'road',
sdj 'water', kjew 'dog', choj 'sore', zjim 'sound', fu-lu 'gourd'.
12.1.1. Complex nouns. These are either compound (if both components
are stems) or derivational (if formed with a derivational suffix); either
primary (if bound stems are involved) or secondary (if formed by free
stems). For auxiliary compounds see 12.2.
12.1.2. Compounds. T h e r e are few compounds of more than two syllables.

A case like hdk-ka rjjin is not treated as a compound, b u t as a nominal
phrase (9.1.3.).
(a) Primary compounds: zjd-?6j ' p a r e n t s ' ; sdn-phit 'police officer'; chdj-
fut] 'tailor'; cjd-pho ' g r a n d m o t h e r ' ; thiw-la ' t h e head, the scalp'; pu-njor]
'girl'; Ijbrj-cdk 'two (pieces)'; njd-thjdw ' t h a t ( e . g . fish)'; Idj-thdrj ' w h e r e ' ;
luj-tu 'inside'; wdk-tjbj 'outside the house'; ha-poj 'down below'; chdk-pu-rjjit
'yesterday'.
(b) Secondary compounds: fdn-tjdm 'rice store'; son kjok 'boat fare';
chaw-hdj 'straw shoes'; thjin-zjiw 'gasolene'; sa-thbrj 'granulated s u g a r ' ;
fb-chd ' t r a i n ' ; sit-kji ' h a n d s a w ' ; hdw-tjjin ' a good m a n ' .
12.1.3. Derivations. Suffixes involved are -cdj, -cu, -thew. For a prefix, see 3.6.
(a) Primary derivation: Idj-cit 'son'; chd-cu 'fork'; Ijdk-caj 'smart fellow';
murj-cdj 'idiot'; so-cdj 'fool'; sb-cdj ' c o m b ' ; tbk-caj ' a s l a p ' ; pu-thew ' a x e ' ;
sdk-thiw 'stone'; chjit-thiw 'knee'.
(b) Secondary derivation is either deverbative or denominal (in the
T
100 HENRY HENNE
latter case sometimes with the meaning of diminutive). Examples: tjen-caj

'a small l a m p ' ; zjin-cdj 'cigarette' (from zjen 'smoke, tobacco'); sd-cfi-cdj
'finger' (from primary compound su-cji, sit ' h a n d ' + cji 'extremity on hand
or foot'; cp. kjSk-cji ' t o e ' ) ; rjjdw-chji-thiw 'bladder' (from primary com
p o u n d r/jdw-chji, rjjdw 'urine' + chji ' p o n d ' ) ; tdm-cu 'load' (from auxiliary
n o u n tarn ' l o a d ' ) ; kjin-thew 'shoulder' (from kjin 'to carry on the shoulder');
sb-thew ' a lock' (from so 'to lock'); sjbrj-thew 'a thought' (from sjorj 'to think').
12.2. Auxiliary nouns. Some nouns can be preceded by a n d form constitutes

with determiners (kdj, nja, Idj, muj, kji, 16.1.) or with numerals (zjit, ljbr\,
sdm, sji, r), luk, chjit, pat, kjew, sjip, and their combinations) or with both
?
in combination. Examples of such nouns are cdk (by far the most frequent),
kdn, thjdw; njd-cdk 'that one', sam-kan 'three units (of houses)', nja sam-thjdw
'those three (e. g. roads)' are examples of combinations. Since numerals
d o not occur freely except in counting (Ijbr) 'two' never does, being re
placed by rjji in counting), combinations like sam-cdk are considered to be
(primary) compounds (12.1.2.). T h e elements cdk, kdn, thjdw have, on the
whole, the distributional characteristics of n o u n s : they can be modified by
a sequence ending in the subordinator -kdj-: khdj-ldk-kdj rjjin. ' t h e h a p p y
m a n ' — khdj-ldk-kdj cdk. 'the happy o n e ' ; zjew-sjen-sdrj-ha-ldj-kdj wo-sdrj.
' t h e bonze who came down from C a n t o n ' —zjew-sjen-sdrj-ha-ldj-kdj cdk.
'the one w h o came down from Canton', and they occur with determiners.
Furthermore, although less frequently, cdk, kdn etc. can occur alone before
another n o u n : cdk rjjin 'the m a n ' ; kan-wuk 'the house', cdk, kdn, thjdw
represent a quite numerous, b u t limited class of nouns which has been
variously termed counters, measures, classifiers, or singulatives. Their 19
selection (usually reflecting shape or quantity) is determined by a suc

ceeding general noun. Some nouns take any of several auxiliaries, others
take only one particular. Because of this dependence, a n d because of the
constituent relationship (in Ijbrj-cdk rjjin 'two m e n ' ljdr]-cdk as a whole is
subordinate to rjjin), the class of nouns will here be termed auxiliary nouns.
A compound with a n auxiliary noun as the second constituent will be
termed a n auxiliary compound noun. T h e r e are two subtypes of such com
p o u n d s : (1) determinative compounds (if the first element is a determiner,
16.1.: kdj-cdk; (2) number compounds (if the first element is a n u m e r a l : sam-
tdk). A combination like nja sam-cdk is a determinate n u m b e r compound,
w h i c h is a nominal phrase, nja sam-cdk rjjin is a determinate nominal phrase
19 Classifier was the term used in m u c h of the older literature (and also by Emeneau,
op. cit., p . 4 5 ) ; recently measure has been more widely used. S. Egerod (op. tit., p . 54)
uses singulative in the same sense. Auxiliary noun is used b y Y . R . Chao.
of the type n o u n plus noun (9.1.3.). O t h e r such phrases are (with or with
out d e t e r m i n e r ) : zjit-fi zj6k. 'a dosis of medicine'; njd Ijdrj-kji wd. 'those
two words'.
Most auxiliary compounds can occur as modifiers of nouns, but all can
occur without a noun following. Some almost never take a following n o u n :
zjit-rjjit 'one d a y ' ; sjip-soj 'ten years (of age)'. Since a n auxiliary noun
implies a more or less well-defined semantic zone, specific reference is
given by the following noun, or in its absence, by its presence in a pre
ceding clause or sentence, or otherwise m a y be given in the situational
context.
T h e following is a list of the more common auxiliary nouns, alpha
betically arranged, together with examples of auxiliary compounds they
enter into, a n d nouns which these modify.
cdk 'unit, piece' is a generalized auxiliary n o u n : njd-cdk law-thaj. 'the
younger b r o t h e r ' ; sam-cdk chjet-law-thew. 'three thieves'; zjit-cdk son. ' a s h i p ' ;
?
r)-cdk si. 'five written characters'; kdj Ijdrj-cdk cut), 'those two bells';
njd-cdk hjor)-muj-kdj fd-thuj. 'that delicious smoked h a m ' ; ch6k-pu-r)jft-maj-
tdw-kdj cdk. ' t h e one we bought yesterday'; njd cit-cij he hawse cdk. ' t h a t pig
is a very small one'.
chdk 'foot': zjit-chdk. 'one foot (long)'.
ch$r) 'occasion, session'; njd-chor) kdn-si. 'this lawsuit'.
chin ' i n c h ' : sam-chun thdj. 'three inches tall'.
cor) 'surface': zjit-cdr) cSk. ' a table'; zjtt-cdr) eft. ' a sheet of p a p e r ' ; zjit-cdn
mjtn-chdt). ' a b e d ' ; rjja njd-cdr) pu-thew. 'that axe of yours'.
cut) ' k i n d ' : ldj-cur) r)? 'what kind offish?'.
?
funlfun: 'fraction': sam-fun cur), 'three m i n u t e s ' ; to zjew to zjtt-fun. 'there

is still one p a r t left'; ?r)-fun sjit. 'five per cent interest'.
hdw 'ten cents': sam-hdw. 'thirty cents'.
hjdr) 'sound': thdrj phir)-sdr) zjit hjdr\. 'he heard a big bang'.
fu 'jug': zjit-fu chd. ' a pot of tea'.
kdj ' u n i t ' : sji-kdj sjen. 'four cents'; zjtt-kdj ldw-r)jtn. ' a n old m a n ' ; zjit-
kdj su. 'one character' as i n : pdt-tjdm zjtt-kdj si. 'five past eight'.
kdn 'space': zjit-kan wfik. ' a house'; Ijiw-sdt) zjiw sji-kanfSrj. 'upstairs are
four rooms'.
khdj 'piece': sdm-khdj chjin. 'three dollars'; ljdr)-khdj mjen-pdw. 'two slices of
b r e a d ' ; zjit-khdj zjit-khdjfun-pjin kjd-tiw sjit. 'he gave each one one piece to eat'.
khjen 'item, article': njd-khje'n si. 'that affair, that m a t t e r ' ; zjtt-khjen
mjdrj-Hn. ' a m u r d e r case'; ljbr)-khjen tin-sdm. ' t w o short gowns'.
khjun 'group, flock, s w a r m ' : zjit-khjin fur), ' a swarm of bees'; zjtt-khjun
tjaw. ' a flock of birds'.
102 HENRY HENNE
kji 'unit of speech or writing': nja Ijbrfkji wd. ' those two words'; maw
kji cjin-wd kdrj. ' t h e r e is not a true word in what he says'.
kjin 'pound, c a t t y ' : kji-sjip-kjin rjjiw-njuk. 'several tens of pounds of
beef.
kon/kdn 'pole, s t e m ' : zjit-kbnpjit. ' a pen, a brush'.
Iji '(Chinese) m i l e ' : sam-lji Id. ' a length of three I i \
Ijorj ' o u n c e ' : sam-pdk Ijorj njun. ' three hundred ounces of silver'.
mSk 'act, performance': chut-sjet-kdj zjit-mok hdw-hi. ' a colourful, good
play'.
muj ' t a i l ' : zjit-miij r). ' a fish'.
p
•nan ' e y e ' : luk-rjan tar/, 'six nails'.

njen ' y e a r ' : zjit-njSn zjit njen. 'year by year'.
rjjit ' d a y ' : zjit-rjjit, kji 16k san hi. 'one day he went into the mountains'.
pa ' h a n d l e ' : la-taw zjit-pd thdj-cjen-taw. ' h e fetched a pair of big scissors'.
paj ' t i m e , t u r n ' : tdw-kd hjbr\-kbr\ sam-sjipdj. ' I have been to H o n g K o n g
three or four times'.
pdk ' h u n d r e d ' : zjit-pdk. 'one h u n d r e d ' ; zjit-pdk-pbj. 'one hundred times';
as seen from the last example pdk can serve as a numeral as well as a n
auxiliary noun. C p . Ijorj above.
pan 'class, category, t y p e ' : zjit-pan chdj-r\jin. ' a group of officials, deputies';
zjit-pdn sjen-sjin Idm-rjjl. 'some pious men a n d w o m e n ' ; lj6r\-pdn. 'what w a y ?
h o w ? ' (also Ijorj-pjen).
pan ' h a l f q u a n t i t y ' : zjit-pdn hdk-sdrj. 'one half of the students'.
phdn 'plate, t r a y ' : thi-rjji zjit-phdn khji cSk-thd. ' t h e second game of chess
was completed'.
phjit ' r o l l ' : zjit-phjitpu. ' a roll of cloth'.
phi 'step, p a c e ' : zjew sam-sjip-to-pM lit. ' i t ' s more than thirty Chinese
leagues'.
phtij '-fold': sjip-phdj. 'ten times as m u c h ' .
pij 'cup, glass': Ijdrj-puj larj-s&j. 'two cups of cold water'.
pun ' r o o t ' : zjit-pdn si. ' a book'.
s6j 'year (of a g e ) ' : chjit-sdj. 'seven years o l d ' .
sir) ' p a i r ' : zjit-sun hdj. ' a pair of shoes'.
tew 'category': kdj-iew wd. 'those (or: such) words'; njd-tew, rjdj tu rh- 6j. ? ?
' I d o n ' t want those (of t h a t k i n d ) ' ; Idj- tew si. 'which books?'.
that) ' p l a c e ' : Idj-thdr). ' w h e r e ? ' ; njb-tkdrj thi-fit). 'that place'.
thjdw ' l e n g t h ' : kdj-thjdw r). ' t h a t fish'; sam-thjdw Id. 'three roads';
?
hdw-thdj-thjdw. ' a very big o n e ' ; zjit-thjdw-w6j-kdj choj-cu-ldw. ' t h e richest

person in the whole village'; njd-zjit-thjdw ku-cdj. 'this story'; zjit-thjdw mdrj.
'a dream'.
thu 'crossing': kdj-thu khjdw. 'that bridge'.

tit 'trifle': chut zjit-tit chjen. 'he gave out (came u p with) a litde m o n e y ' ;
zjit-tit tu. >m-hen forj-sur]. 'not even a little something would h e let g o ' .
tjam 'dot, spot': pdn-tjdm cur), 'half an h o u r ' ; zjit-tjdm cur), 'one o'clock';
(zjit-) tjam pan cur), ' a n h o u r a n d a h a l f ; thuk zjit-tjdm su kdn-kjew. 'to study
for (as long as) half a n hour'.
toj 'pile': zjit-toj md-thdt] pjarj-cdj. ' a pile of sugar cakes'.
thut) 'bucket': zjit-thur) suj. ' a bucket(ful) of water'.
ttij 'counterpart, matching p a r t ' : zjit-tdj fu-chji. '(a couple of) m a n a n d
wife'.
tiin 'heavy object': zjit-tun khjdw. 'a sedan chair'; zjit-tun sdk-mo. ' a stone
quern'.
wdnjwiin 'bowl(ful)': zjit-wdn fdn. ' a bowl of rice'.
zjdp ' l e a f : zjit-zjdp 'one page'.
N u m e r a l compounds (usually with zjit as the first component) also occur
subordinated under verbs as postverbal complements whose function is to
enumerate or emphasize the n u m b e r of times the verbal action is performed
or happens (these are the so-called auxiliary nouns for v e r b s ) . T h e y occur
80
after intransitive verbs as well as transitive verbs, but more commonly

after the latter. T h e fact that they occur also after intransitive verbs seems
to indicate that they are not to be considered as objects, but rather as
complements of a purely adverbial nature. C p . G e r m a n : horen Sie mat;
Norwegian: si meg en gang. Examples a r e : zjlm to-zjit-chi. 'he took another
d r i n k ' ; phjdrj-hoj zjit-chSr). 'he was sick for a while' (chdrj 'place, place in
time, occasion'); rjdj loj tij rjji kbrj-ii zjU-sarj. ' I ' m going to tell you some
t h i n g ' ; sjbrj-hoj zjit-chjin. 'he thought for a m o m e n t ' ; morj-hoj zjtt-hd. 'he
thought for a m o m e n t ' ; id zjit khjen. 'he strikes a blow'; to-chjd zjit-kji.
'he thanked him'. I n some cases the auxiliary noun is identical with the
v e r b : sji zjit-sji. 'to try, have a t r y ' ; phjen kji zjit-phjh. 'he cheated him,
played him a trick'.
12.3. General nouns. Nouns which can form the center of a n endocentric
constitute whose other constituent is a n auxiliary compound (usually
preceding) are general nouns. T h e y most often denote inanimate objects,
substances that occur in mass, living beings, a n d also include a n u m b e r
of terms for time and place. When occuring without modifiers they m a y
indicate either singularity or plurality, objects taken individually or
collectively. Singularity or individuality is m a d e explicit by the auxiliary
2 0 Y . R . Chao, op. cit., p . 4 6 .

104 HENRY HENNE
compound preceding it. All nouns functioning as centers of construction

in 12.2. are examples of general nouns.
12.4. Abstract nouns. Such nouns occur rarely preceded by auxiliary com
pounds, but can be preceded by one of the determiners nja, kdj, or Idj.
I n addition, they can, of course be modified by sequences ending in the
marker -kdj-, serving as subjects or as objects of transitive verbs. Examples
of abstract nouns a r e : chjim-chjen ' d e p t h ' ; curj-kdw 'religion'; kjin-kjip
'haste, urgency'.
12.5. Limited nouns. Although all nouns can be preceded by subordinate

elements, some must be so preceded. T h e y are bound forms which, a p a r t
from the fact t h a t they cannot form complete subjects and objects alone,
behave in a way more similar to nouns than to any other class. Such nouns
will here be called limited nouns. Examples a r e : sji ' t i m e ' ; chjin (or chjin-sji)
21
'point in time, occasion, j u n c t u r e ' ; hd ' m o m e n t ' ; that} ' p l a c e ' ; hew 'after';
chjen 'before'; rjdj 'outside'; luj 'inside'. Examples of their use: kjdw-kjin-
kdj chjin. 'as he was crying' (cp. J a p a n e s e naite ita tokoro); phdk-thew tdw-
law-kdj chjin-sji. 'until they become old a n d white-haired'; tdp-cha-kdj sji.
'as h e got on the b u s ' ; rjji-se-mjen-kdj hd. 'when you were washing your
face'; rjjin-hdk-kdj thdrj. ' a guest's house'; chu-hbj sjit-zjim-cjSk-sdj-cu rjdj.
'except for eating, drinking, getting dressed, a n d sleeping'; tjen-tdw sjit-
chjew-cu hew. 'wait until they have eaten it all u p ' ; rjdj-ckitt-zji chjen. 'before
I go out'.
12.6. Locative nouns. Nouns which can be modified only by a preceding

sequence ending in the marker -kdj- or by a non-auxiliary noun, is a
locative n o u n . T h e y m a y also occur without modification. Such nouns
22
are luj-tu 'inside' (luj-tu zjew haw-to zjaw-kdj 'inside there were a lot of
p h a n t o m s ' ; wuk-kdj luj-tu 'inside the house; the inside of the house') a n d
tjdj-pdj 'outside' (chut rjdj-pdj 'go outside').
13.0. Adverbs. This class consists of items which cannot serve as heads of
constitutes, i. e. take n o modifiers a t all, a n d which cannot form sentences
by themselves. T h e y are bound to verbs, i. e. presuppose a verb, a n d serve
21 T h i s term was used b y Bernard Bloch to describe similar items in Japanese ("Studies in
Colloquial Japanese I I : Syntax", Language 2 2 , 1946, as reprinted in Readings in
Linguistics, N e w York, 1958, p . 168), from which source the term has been adopted
here.
2 2 T h i s class was established and denned b y Egerod (op. tit., p . 5 6 ) . W i t h a minor adapta
tion I have here essentially used his definition.
primarily as modifiers in the formation of verbal expressions and phrases

(and occasionally in the formation of nominal expressions a n d phrases, if
the verb occurs in the non-immediate context). T h e y always precede the
verb. Examples a r e : m 'not' ( m-tdj 'he's not coming'); hdw 'very' (hdw-
? ?
thdj 'very tall'); so 'actually' (sd-zjew-kdj chjen 'the money he (really) h a s ' ) ;
tu 'all, a t all' (kji, tu- m-thdr) 'he didn't listen'); zjew 'again' (zjen-kbn zjew-
3
kdr] 'the magistrate again s a i d ' ) ; ti-ti 'quickly' (ti-ti-cdn ' t u r n around
quickly'); fjet-cd 'perhaps' (fjit-cd I6j- m-tjit 'perhaps he cannot c o m e ' ) ;
?
pjit-thin 'certainly, by all means' (pjit-thin 6j tdj zjit-cdk fd-thuj hi 'you must
3
by all means take along a h a m ' ) ; zjit 'as soon as' (zjit-lbj-tdw 'as soon as
he comes'); tjam-rjim 'just' (tjam-rjim sjit-fdn 'they are just eating'); cdj
'again' (cdj-sjdrj-hd 'think it over a g a i n ' ) ; thdj-khdj 'probably' (thdj-khdj he
Ijiw-chon 'perhaps it is a tradition'); hdn or hdn-he 'still' (hdn-zjSw 'there's
still s o m e ' ) ; sjen 'first' (sjin-wd rjdj ti 'let m e know first'); sotj-sorj 'always,
usually' (kji sSrj-sot] thuk-su 'he's always studying'); zji 'also, as expected'
(cp. Norwegian 'jo': han visste det j o = h e was aware of it, as you know;
khdn-khjdrj kji; than mjen-sdrj, zjd m-hen chut-l3j 'he despised him, but of
?
course he didn't show it', cp. Norwegian: h a n ville jo ikke la seg merke
med det).
It should be noted that certain words otherwise classified as nouns or
verbs can on occasion occur adverbially: khdj-lqj 'come at once'; sjip-fun
haw 'very good'. Only words which have this function as their sole or
primary function, are classified as adverbs. I t is a limited class.
14.0. Substitutes. These are either pronominal or proverbal.
14.1. Pronominal. Pronominal domain-ties h a v e : rjdj 'the speaker, I ' ; rjji

'the addressee, the person spoken to, y o u ' ; kji 'person (identified by
antecedent) other than person speaking or spoken to, he, she; object
defined by antecedent, it'. Like nouns, these can be followed by the
phrase-marker -kdj (9.1.1.) and the subordinator -kdj- (9.1.2.), but unlike
nouns, they cannot b e preceded by the latter. T h u s : rjdj-kdj ' m i n e ' ;
tjdj-kdj-'r) ' m y fish'; rjji-kdj 'yours'; tjjt-kdj chjen 'your money', etc. For
rjdj-kdj, rjji-kdj, kji-kdj (and for rjdj-tiw etc., see below), whether containing
•kdj or -kdj-, there are alternate forms, more commonly used: rjd for rjdj,
rjji for rjji, kji for kji:
rjdj-kdj or rji-kdj 'my, m i n e '

rjji-kdj or rjji-kdj 'your, yours', sg.
kji-kdj or kji-kdj 'his, her, its, hers'
106 HENRY HENNE
rjaj-tiw-kdj or rja-tew-kdj 'OUT, ours'

rjji-tew-kdj or rjja-tiw-kdj 'your, yours', pi.
kji-tiw-kdj or kja-tew-kdj 'their, theirs'.
T h u s : rjji-kdj (or rjja-kdj) chorj-sam 'your long gown'; chorj-sam hi rjji-kdj

(or rjja-kdj) 'the long gown is yours'. Further, there are substitutes with
possessive meaning without the addition of -kdj-: rjd for r\dj-kdj\r]d-kdj,
rjjd for rjji-kdj I rjja-kdj, kja for kjt-kdjjkjd-kdj. This occurs where 'inalienable
property' is involved: rjd won-sjin ' m y b o d y ' ; rjjd mi 'your m o t h e r ' ; kja wd
'his words'. Still another formation joins rjdj, rjji, kji or rjd, rjjd, kja to the
auxiliary n o u n tiw (12.2.), resulting in what is probably best described as
a n auxiliary compound n o u n : rjdj-tew or rja-tiw ' w e ' ; rjji-tew or rjja-tew
'you, p i . ' ; kji-tiw or kja-tew 'they'. T h e latter of each pair is the more
common variant. As indicated above, any of these can in turn be followed
by -kdj- or -kdj: rjj'a-tiw-kdj-son 'your ship' (plural possessor); hdj he kja-
tiw-kdj. 'the shoes are theirs'.
Another pronominal is the demonstrative nja 'this, t h a t ' : nja, cjin khji-kdj.
'that is very strange'; nja, he rjja-kdj law-phd. 'that is your wife'. Occasionally
this substitute can also have a verbal domain-tie: it may replace, for
example, a n item like thuk-sii 'to study'.
Interrogatives are Id-hd 'who? w h a t ? ' , a n d mdt 'what', the latter usually
followed by -kdj or -kdj-. T h u s : njd-cdk rjjin hi Id-hd. 'who is that m a n ? ' ;
Id-hd hi cuk njd-cdk law-fu I6j. 'who will go and catch that tiger?'; cd-mdt
*m-sjit-fdn. 'why doesn't he e a t ? ' ; hi mdt-kdj su. ' w h a t is it?, what is it all
a b o u t ? ' . Occasionally s&j ' w h o ? ' occurs, b u t it is limited to a few set
phrases a n d is probably a borrowing from the literary language.
A n indefinite pronominal is Idj-ho 'something, anything' (it occurs only
in sentences with mdw 'there is n o t ' ) : mow Idj-ho tdp-zjin kji. 'he had nothing
to answer her'.
Substitutive is also the autonomous use of auxiliary nouns: njd-cdk
'that o n e ; h e ' ; njd-tew 'those, t h e y ' ; sam-thjdw 'three' (the auxiliary noun
only defines a certain vague class membership: 'something longish',
with 'fish' or 'road', a m o n g others, as possible specifics).
14.2. Verbal. T h e only verbal substitute that has been identified as such
is chjen. I t always presupposes the negation m, a n d is very common in
J
coordinate verbal construction involving alternative questions (8.1.5.)

sjit-fdn m-chjen. 'have you e a t e n ? ' ( = you have eaten, (or) not yet?).
?
An answer in the negative would b e : m-chjen. 'not yet'.

?
15.0. Particles. Like adverbs, particles are non-modifiable elements which

are b o u n d in the extreme sense, i. e., they cannot alone form phrases,
clauses, or sentences, b u t always presuppose other material in order to
occur. Unlike adverbs, they can never begin a phrase, a clause or a sentence.
T h e i r function is to modify a n d form constitutes with the segments which
they invariably follow. T h e r e are three types: a phrase particle, occurring
a t the end of a phrase (15.2.), sentence particles, occuring at the end of
sentences (15.1.), and word particles (15.3.) occurring at the end of words
(only verbs).
15.1. Sentence particles. Sentence particles, if they occur a t all, invariably

occur a t the end of sentences and are therefore final in the strict sense. T h e y
are, however, modifiers, not of the sentence as such (except in simple
sentences, including only one clause), but of the clause of which they a r e
direct constituents. Since in complex sentences the dependent clause or
clauses regularly precede the independent clause, the latter tends to be the
last clause in the sentence. Consequently sentence particles tend to occur
only in independent clauses. From one point of view they might therefore
be called clause particles. T h e particles involved, with their class meanings,
a r e : mo 'question' (often with u p t u r n in pitch a t the end, 3.3.); ni (alter
nating with nji, Ifi), question particle for subject already under considera
tion ('so w h a t about it, then?') a n d sometimes in a sense close to G e r m a n
'nicht w a h r ? ' ; lb 'you know, you see', particle after statement, implying
awareness or realization of new development or situation; pa, indicating
request; wd particle inviting listener to agree to statement. These particles
seem to be mutually exclusive. Examples: sjit-fdn mb? 'are you eating;
have you e a t e n ? ' ; sjit-fdn-hbj mb? 'have you eaten; have you finished
e a t i n g ? ' ; cjin thurj-sjl r\dj lo. 'you are tormenting m e to death, d o n ' t you
see?'; njd-cdk hew-cdj kdrj; he m m-m-mi he lb. 'the monkey said, "B-b-but
?
is that s o ? " ' (he suddenly realizes the situation and stammers with per
plexity) ; pjin rja-tew zjit-pun sit ph. 'give us a book, please'.
15.2. Phrase particle. Subject phrase and predicate phrase are separated
or separable by the particle a (6.1.0.). Example: njd-cdk rjjin a, he citrj-kjet
? ?
rjjin mb? 'is he a Chinese?'.
15.3. Word particles. These are verbal aspect particles, a n d have been
dealt with in 11.4. For example: sjl-hbj. 'he's d e a d ' ; with a sentence par
ticle at the e n d : sji-hbj lb. 'oh, he's dead, I see'.
108 HENRY HENNE
16.0. Markers. Like adverbs and particles, markers are non-modifiable

elements which cannot alone form phrases, clauses or sentences. Like
adverbs, but unlike particles, they can never end a clause. Unlike adverbs,
which are bound to ( = presuppose) verbs, markers are bound to nominal
expressions as modifiers (determiners, 16.1. and the marker -kdj-, 16.3.) or
to clauses (coordinators, 16.2., a n d subordinating clause markers, 16.3.).
For subordinating clause markers and their immediate constituent rela
tionship, cp. 6.2.0.
16.1. Determiners. These introduce and determine nominal expressions

a n d phrases. In a nest of nominal modifiers they can be preceded only by
certain substitutes (cp. 9.2.). Determiners a r e : njd 'this', kdj 'that', Idj
'which', mitj 'each', and kji 'several'. Examples of njd, kdj, Idj have been
given in previous examples. Examples of muj and kji: kji-kdj rjjin. 'several
people'; miij-cdk se-ldw-caj. 'every child'. Note that determiners occur
either directly before nouns, or with auxiliary nouns, forming auxiliary
compounds: Idj-rjjin 'what m a n , w h o ? ' ; nja-ldw-thdj 'the younger b r o t h e r ' ;
njd-cdk law-thdj 'the younger brother'.
16.2. Coordinators. These occur invariably (in contradistinction to sub-

ordinators, 16.3.) a t the beginning of the clause. A list has been given in
5.2.0. zjew — zjew are correlative coordinators for phrases and clauses.
Examples have been given above.
16.3. Subordinators. T h e r e are clause subordinators (including the 'in

direct' subordinator chjew; they have been enumerated in 5.0. a n d
exemplified in 5.1.1-3.) and the special marker -kdj-, described in 9.1.2.
I n addition to the examples given there, another will be given here, to
indicate how consecutive segments can be m a d e into modifiers of a
nominal expression as its h e a d : chSk-pu-r)jit zjew-mdj-zjen-tdw hjorj-kdrj-tdp-
cha-loj-kdj muj-kjet rjjin. 'the American who came by bus yesterday from
Mei-hsien to H o n g K o n g ' . This whole expression could then be further sub
ordinated by means of another -kdj- under a following h e a d : njd chok-pu-rjjit
zjew-moj-zjm-tdw-hjbr)-kdrj-tdp-chd-loj-kdj muj-kjSt rjjin-kdj chjen. ' t h e money
belonging to the American w h o . . . ' . I n turn, this could be m a d e the
subject of a sentence with, for example, tjit-hbj 'has been lost' as a predicate.
I n theory any n u m b e r of such modifiers ending in -kdj- can be inserted,
in truly Chinese box fashion, before the center, b u t in actual practice the
native speaker is, of course, keenly aware of the hairbreadth line which
divides the acceptable from the caricature.

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International Journal of Linguistics

ISSN: 0374-0463 (Print) 1949-0763 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/salh20

A sketch of Sathewkok Hakka grammatical

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1.0. T h e corpus on which this description of Sathewkok H a k k a g r a m m a r 1

is based consists of approximately 30.000 " w o r d s " of recorded a n d

transcribed texts, mainly short conversations on a n u m b e r of topics,

1.1. T h e H a k k a dialect here described is spoken in the village of Sathewkok

F o r typographical reasons r\ is used i n this paper instead of y.

2.0. Morphemic shapes and alternations. T h e m o r p h e m e is typically m o n o ­

Phonotactical restrictions limit the n u m b e r of permitted clusters r a t h e r

conditioned alternation is represented by the marker of subordination

preted as a portmanteau m o r p h ' for a n expected, b u t non-occurring

3.0. Grammatical techniques. Grammatical techniques used in H a k k a in­

4 Sathewkok Hakka Phonology, section 2 0 , T o n a l system.

n o clue to syntactic function. Since syntactic linkage types like agreement

3.2. Junctures.'' T h e r e is a hierarchy of j u n c t u r e s : a sentence juncture (symbol

3.3. Terminal contours.* I n connection with sentence juncture, one of two

'isn't t h a t so?'. I n connection with clause j u n c t u r e a clause terminal

3.4.0. Subordination, marked. This construction type is a n important syn­

3.4.1. Subordination, unmarked. This construction type is used in word-

3.5.1. Coordination, unmarked. These constructions are all in principle

'before h e realized it, as quick as a wink'; zji-loj zji-hi. 'moved it back a n d

3.6. Derivation. T h e n u m b e r of derivative formations is relatively modest,

'father's father'; suffixation: fdp 'law'—fdp-cu 'way, m e t h o d ' ; sd (bound

little'—tit-caj ' a trifle'; kji 'record' — kji-ca 'reporter'; tonal derivation:

3.7. Reduplication. I n connection with verbs reduplication expresses intensity

4.0. Sentence structure. A sentence consists of a span of speech material

4 . 1 . Simple, compound and complex sentences. T h e constituents of sentences

should b e clearly understood that any of these units of successively lower

4.2.0. Examples of sentences.

4.2.1. Simple sentences.

hi njd-law-pdk-kdj to. 'according to t h a t fool's idea, all those water ducks

5.0. Clauses. Sentences a r e in principle independent constructions because

a n d terminal contours apart, a sentence is either a constitute of clauses or

5.1.0. Clauses in complex sentences. Examples with a n d without markers:

9 C . F. Hockett, A Course in Modem Linguistics ( N e w York, 1958), p . 199.

I really d o n ' t have any money.'

5.2.0. Clauses in compound sentences. As mentioned in 4 . 1 . a compound

5.2.1. Relationship marked: njd-cdk w6-s6rj, m-mje'n zjew tit khon-khjarj-kji-cu

5.2.2. Relationship unmarked: zje"w rjji-sjip-kd-kdj; zjew curj-kok-kdj; zjiw r)6j-

5.3. Reversibility. I n all compound sentences the order of the clauses is

5.4. Ambiguity. Since absence of marking m a y m e a n subordination as well

'I d i d n ' t m a k e it myself, I bought it' — hi maj-kdj; m-hi rjdj chji-ka-cd-kdj.

' I bought it, I didn't m a k e it myself. Inversion results in distinct difference

6.1.0. Independent clauses. I n principle a clause is a constitute of juncture

a particular j u n c t u r e which is of lower rank than the clause j u n c t u r e a n d

6.1.1. Subject and predicate. T h e binary structure of major clauses, which

money', rjdj introduces the topic T , to which is appended the comment

'you are probably not as tall as that boy's father'.

6.1.4. Complex subjects and predicates: njd-cdk rjji-choj-thi-ha-kjam-tdw-kdj paw-

a t t h a t time were in the temple to avoid their creditors, actually owed

6.1.5. Minor clauses. Predicates only. Every predicate constituent in the

6.2.0. Dependent clauses. A dependent clause is, if unmarked, a constitute

6.2.1. Marked and unmarked dependence, (cp. 5.1.).

6.2.2. Since dependence is sometimes marked indirectly (i. e. only the

6.2.3. Since subjects m a y have the form of clauses, the question m a y be

time, it w o n ' t d o ' . I n cases of doubt, if the sentence can be expanded by

2.0. Morphemic shapes and alternations. T h e m o r p h e m e is typically m o n o

3.0. Grammatical techniques. Grammatical techniques used in H a k k a in

3.4.0. Subordination, marked. This construction type is a n important syn

nucleus alone (8.1.1.), (c) a verb nucleus preceded by one or m o r e sub

9.1.2. Marker cf subordination -kdj-. Whereas -kdj is a phrase-builder con

selection (usually reflecting shape or quantity) is determined by a suc