User:Wilburw/sandbox

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 is a language spoken in the Fúgòng County of the Nujiang Lisu Prefecture of the Yunnan Province located in southwestern China and areas of Myanmar.  Anong is spoken by the Anong subgroup of the Nu ethnic group. Although there is no traditional formal writing system, the Anong of Myanmar have recently developed one :3, footnote, as suggested by the existence of other written texts that are almost mutually intelligible with some phonological and lexical differences. :3,16

It is estimated that there are fewer than 400 speakers of Anong left, and the language is considered seriously endangered. Ethnologue marks Anong as a level 8a language or moribund, meaning that the only active users of the language are of the grandparent generation or older. This means that neither the parent generation nor their children know or are acquiring Anong, so the language is no longer being passed down to future generations. Many speakers of Anong are shifting away from their native language to Lisu, Chinese, and Bai . :9

Anong is genetically classified as a part of the Jingpo subgroup of the Tibeto-Burman language within the larger Sino-Tibetan language family. :8

Other names for Anong include Anoong, Anu, Anung, Fuch’ye, Fuchve, Khingpang, Kwingsang, Kwinp’ang, Naw, Nawpha, and Nu.



Demographics (section from the existing page)
(There seems to be some disagreement between different sources about which people actually constitute the Anong people and also which languages constitute the Anong language. My grammar says that there have been written texts similar to what the grammar considers Anong, but it's not completely the same, so it seems like my grammar's boundaries on the Anong language are considerably more strict than those represented in the existing Wikipedia page. However, because the statistics on Ethnologue match those of my grammar much better than the 7000+ speakers written on the current Wikipedia page, I decided to (at least in my sandbox) exclude the statistics from the current page from my sandbox. For that reason also, I didn't include the rest of the discussion on demographics either, because it discusses details that are in contradiction with my grammar.)

Phonology
Anong has maintained much of the sound structure of its original Tibeto-Burman character, although many of the more complex sounds and governing patterns are now simplified. :19

Vowels
Anong has ten simple vowel phonemes, plus a series of nasalized vowels, and a host of complex vowel phonemes. :23

The vowel phonemes are as follows: /i/, /y/, /u/, /ɯ/, /e/, /o/, /ɛ/, /ɑ/, /a/, and the apical vowel /ɿ/.

Several of the vowels vary slightly from their standard IPA values, as listed in the following: :23


 * The /i/ vowel is more open than the standard IPA /i/.
 * The /e/ vowel is slightly lower than the standard IPA /e/, with a sound that approaches /æ/.
 * The /ɛ/ vowel is slightly more center and open than the standard IPA /ɛ/.
 * The /u/ and /o/ vowels are slightly more open than their standard counterparts.
 * The /ɯ/ is more center and open than the standard IPA /ɯ/.

The vowels /i/, /e/, /ɛ/, /a/, /ɑ/, /ɯ/, /u/, and /o/ have nasalized counterparts, along with a few nasalized diphthongs /iɛ̃/, /iã/, /iɑ̃/, /uɛ̃/, and /uɑ̃/. :25 Contrastive nasalized vowels are a relatively new phenomenon in Anong phonology. :25 For example, the word 'lɑ33' translates to 'to look for, seek', while 'lɑ̃31' becomes 'to swim'. :25

Anong has an additional 22 complex vowels, 20 of which are diphthongs and two of which are triphthongs. Complex vowels occur only with low frequency. :27 Triphthongs only occur in Chinese loanwords, which suggests that complex vowels might be relatively new in Anong as a result of Lisu and Chinese influence. :27

Consonants
Anong has 47 single initial consonants, including two multi-place consonants and nine affricates. There are seven places of articulation, and five manners. Single-place non-affricates are represented in the table below. The right column within each place of articulation represents a voiced constant. The -h mark indicates an aspirated consonant. (The consonant table below was taken from the existing page to replace the one I had.) The consonant /ɹ/ is an unstable semi-vowel and is realized as a voiced alveolar fricative or voiced alveolar retroflex fricative. :20

Additionally, Anong has 23 initial consonant clusters, which are categorized based on the presence of certain phonetic units. :22 Use of consonant clusters has decreased and only appears in the speech of elderly speakers of Anong. : 22

Tone
There are five tones in Anong: 55, 33, 53, 31, and 35. The distinction between each of the tones varies, depending on surrounding tones. Tones 35 and 53 appear relatively infrequently. :30 There are no clear systematic rules for tone sandhi in Anong.

Syllable Structure
Syllables in Anong are comprised of three parts: an initial (onset), a rhyme (vowel plus the accompanying coda), and a tone. Some syllables lack initials but minimally must contain at least one sound (either a vowel or a syllabic consonant) and maximally contain five. :31

The general syllable is as follows: (C)(C)(C)(V)V(V)(C)T. (C = consonant, V = vowel, T = tone)

Out of this general form, there are 14 possible permutations, represented in the table below. (CLF = classifier)

Of the 14 syllabic structures, VVV and CVVV only occur in Chinese loans. CCCVC occurs extremely infrequently, while the most frequent are V, VV, CV, CVV, VC, VVC, and CVC. :31

Anong frequently uses weakened syllables, which are short and indistinct, normally with a 31 tone, and consist of a reduced simple vowel without a coda. :31

The Anong lexicon is becoming increasingly bi or polysyllabic. :31

Morphology
As a member of the Tibeto-Burman language family, Anong shares many grammatical characteristics with the languages in this family, including an extensive classifier system, postposed auxiliaries, and grammatical particles. :55

Anong has characteristics of both a polysynthetic agglutinating and a fusional language. :55 Words in Anong can be classified as one of eleven categories: nouns, numerals, classifiers and measure words, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, mood particles, interjections, and particles.

A morphological process through which words are built is affixation. Anong is particularly rich in prefixes, which are comprised exclusively of single vowels with no consonant endings. :44 However, most prefixes meanings are difficult to identify, especially the meaning of prefixes derived from consonant cluster reduction. :47 Suffix functions are clearer. :47

Derivational Affixes
Affixes are a critical part of word formation in Anong.

There are ten common prefixes used, including 'phɯ31', 'bɯ31', 'mɯ31', 'sɿ31' (marks the causative), 'ʂɿ31', 'dɯ31' (sometimes manifested as 'di31'), 'ɹɯ31' (sometimes 'ʐɯ31' or 'zɿ31'), 'ŋ̩̩31' (also 'ʔo31' and 'ʔŋ̩31', one of the most productive prefixes), 'ɑ31' (most productive prefix), and 'i55' (sometimes 'i55' or 'i31') along with many other lower frequency prefixes, for example, 'pɯ31', 'tshɿ31', 'dzɿ31', 'tɯ31', 'thɯ31', 'ɖɯ31', 'tɕhi31', 'dʑi31', 'ɕi31', 'ȵi31', 'kɯ31', 'khɯ31', and 'gɯ31'. :47 No specific meanings are given for these prefixes in the grammar. :44-47

There are seven commonly used suffixes. Note the tonal shift in the suffix in the last row.

There are also a number of additional nominalizers. Verb nominalizers can combine with both verbs and verb-object phrases. When verb-object phrases are nominalized, the derived noun means 'the thing used to perform the verb'. :89 One non-verb nominalizer is -u31, which is used to turn adjectives into nouns. For example, in the following sentence, the adjective ' soft ' becomes the noun 'the soft (one) ': :97

ɐ31ɲɐ̃31 u31 ɳɯ31ɐ55

'soft' nominalizer DEF

'The light (one) is cotton'

Derivational affixes can be used in combination with other morphological processes in order to transition certain words from one part of speech to another.

Inflectional Affixes
Inflectional affixes play a wide variety of different roles in Anong, depending on the part of speech of the root. In nouns, for example, there are two pluralizing suffixes 'zɿ31ɳɯ31' (animate n ouns only) and 'mɯ53' (both animate and inanimate nouns). Noun possession is indicated by possessive prefixes, which are different depending on the person of the possessor. There is also a general possessive prefix 'khɑ31' that is supplemented by a person marker indicating the difference between first, second, and third person. :58

For nouns, gender and diminutives are also marked off with suffixes. :59

For verbs, affixation is used to indicate agreement in person and number with the subject. All persons (e.g. first person singular, second person dual, first person plural exclusive, etc.) have different sets of prefixes, suffixes, or both to indicate agreement. :77-78 In some cases, when the subject is third person, and the object and modifier are first or second person, the verb matches the object/modifier, a process called inverse marking. :78

ɳɐ31 phu31 ɳɰ31

2nd {'to blow (on a fire)'} 2PL

'To blow on a fire'

(2PL is a suffix added to a verb when the subject is third person and the object and its modifier are second person plural; the verb matches the object instead of the subject. :80)

There are many other functions of affixations in verbs, some that occur with other morphological processes. Five aspects are marked by suffixation on verbs: future progressive, present progressive, perfect progressive, experiential, and perfective. :80 Three voices are marked by affixation and internal verb root changes: reflexive (middle), causative, and reciprocal.

ɐ31 ɕi31 dʑɰŋ31

Reciprocal Causative 'believe'

'Cause to believe each other'

(There are several other prefixes that are used to indicate causal relationships. :84)

Indicative, imperative, and optative moods are marked by affixation or by voicing alternations of initials on verb roots. :85 Direction is expressed through suffixation, and emphasizes the distinction between centrifugal (motion toward the center of action, usually the place of the speech act) and centripetal directions (motion away from the center of action, usually the speech act). :87-88 Some auxiliary verbs are also expressed as verbal suffixes, although they contain specific meanings and can occur alone in special contexts. :92

Similar richness of affixational function exists across all other parts of speech.

Particles
Particles play a role in marking different grammatical relations. There are plural particles on nouns, approximative particles on numerals, and adverbial particles on manner adverbs. :100 All particles are postpositional and can be divided based on function into possessive, agentive, object, instrumental, temporal, locative, ablative, comparative, comitative, and definite particles. :100

phɑ55dzɑ55mɑ31 ni55 tɕhɛn31

older.brother POSS child

'Older brother's child'

Adverbial particles such as 'li31', 'ʂɿ31', and 'uɑ33' are used to derive adverbs or adverb constructions. :107

Mood particles are also used to indicate mood and are used at high frequency in daily conversation, normally at the end of utterances. :108 They include the interrogative particle 'mɛ53', the exhortative particle 'lɑ35', the rhetorical particle 'ɖɑ53', the countering particle 'le53', and the supplicative particle 'lie31'. :108-110

Compounding
Compounding is the primary way through which new words are formed in Anong. :50 There are five primary compounding processes. :50-51

ɐ31pʰɐ31 + ɐ31mɯ31 → ɐ31pʰɐ31ɐ31mɯ31

'father' + 'mother' → 'parents'

There is no modified-modifying relationship between the two roots being compounded. The number of co-ordinate compounds in Anong is relatively small.

lɐ31tɕɐ55 + pʰɯn55 → lɐ31tɕɐ55pʰɯn55

'tea' + 'circular' → 'bowl shaped tea leaves'

One of the roots in modified when they are combined. Most compounds in Anong are of this type. The above example is modified-modifying, though the reverse is also possible.

ɕɯŋ55 + tʰɐn55 → ɕɯŋ55tʰɐn55

'firewood' + 'section' → 'wood'

The first element in these compounds is the noun center, and the complement is a classifier, and is technically a type of modified-modifying compound. This type of compounding is relatively productive.

lɐ33 + tɕʰɯŋʔ55 → lɐ33tɕʰɯŋʔ55

'hand' + 'bind around' → 'bracelet'

Objects precede verbs in verb phrases in Anong, which is typical of Tibeto-Burman languages. This order is reflected in verb-object compounds.

ʔa31xa35 + di31ʂɐ31 → ʔa31xa35di31ʂɐ31

'foot' + 'lame' → 'lame person'(There was a note about this on my second draft about this section needing reorganizing. I did try to address this but decided to stick with the order given in my grammar in the end.)

Four-Syllable Elaborate Expressions
Four-syllable elaborate expressions word formation processes are exclusive to Sino-Tibetan languages, and almost all Sino-Tibetan languages have them. They are very productive in Anong, as a result of expressive storytelling. :51

There are five types of these expressions.

Reduplication
Full reduplication is found in nouns, verbs, adverbs, and especially on adjectives in Anong but is not productive. :52 However, it still is used for word formation, for example, with adverbials that turn adjectives into adverbs.

ɳɐ31 gɐ31 -gɐ 31 uɐ33li31 pʰɯ31 ɛm53

'you' 'full' -Reduplication ADV PRT 'eat'

'You eat enough'

(pʰɯ31 is the masculine gender affix. PRT indicates a particle. ADV is the adverbial. :99)

Similarly: ŋ31 ɐ31ɲɐ̃31 -ɐ 31ɲɐ̃31 uɐ33li31 tʰi31zɿm33 -ɛ 31

'he' 'light' -Reduplication ADV 'speak' -IND

'He speaks softly'

(IND marks the indicative mood. :85)

In these cases, when adjectives are used as adverbials, the adjective is reduplicated and the adverbial suffix ADV is added to indicate the new function. This is an instance of affixation and other morphological processes combining for one function.

Adjectives and adverbs are also reduplicated to indicate intensity, and some reduplications occur in tandem with additional modifications like tonal changes, vowel changes, or final changes. :95,100 The adjective 'yellow', for example, ' phu55 ' becomes 'very yellow' when reduplicated into ' phu55phu55'.

Imitation
Some words are created through the imitation of sounds in the real world. Some animals are named after the sounds that they make. For example, 'mã35', which is the Anong word for 'moo' is also the word for 'cow'. :53 Sounds taken from imitations of animals and motions are often used as adverbs.

Word Order
The basic word order in Anong is SOV, as illustrated by the following three sentences. :113 ɑ31bɛ55 ŋ31kʰɯ55 io55 -ɛ 31

'goat' 'horn' 'have' IND

'Goats have horns.'

(IND marks the indicative mood. :85)

ŋ31ɳɯŋ55 kʰɛn33 vɛn35 -ɛ 55 -uɑ 55

'they' 'vegetable' 'buy' IND

'They are going to buy vegetables (hearsay).'

(FUT.HS is future hearsay.)

ɑ31io31 ɑ55 mi53 ŋ̩31 kʰɑ31 ɑ31ȵɛŋ33 -ɛ 31

'I' DEF AGT 'he' OBJ beat.1SG IND

'I beat him.'

(DEF is the definite marker. AGT is the agentive marker. OBJ is the object marker. 1SG indicates first person singular.)

However, Anong has no passive voice, and the order of the object and subject is flexible when the subject and object are grammatically marked, although it is not necessarily the case that they are always marked. :114 For illustration, the third example could be re-written as follows:

ŋ̩31 kʰɑ31 ɑ31io31 ɑ55 mi53 ɑ31ȵɛŋ33 -ɛ 31

'he' OBJ 'I' DEF AGT beat.1SG IND

'I beat him.'

Attributive Markers
Anong has two kinds of attributive markers. :114 Nouns and pronouns acting as attributives occur before the head noun, usually without the possessive marker. Adjectives, numerals, and classifiers acting as attributives occur after the head noun. :114-115

ŋ31 ɑ31khɑŋ31 gɑ31mɯ31 sɛ55 nɑ55 ɑ31ȵi55 thɑm55

'he' 'grandfather' 'clothes' 'new' 'that' 'two' CLF

pronoun noun {head noun} adjective {} numeral classifier

'those two articles of clothing of his grandfather's'

Sometimes adjectives with two or more syllables or nominalized adjectives that are used as modifiers occur before the head noun. :115

Adverbials
Adverbials usually occur before the predicate but can come after. Adverbials normally come after any other elements that are before the predicate. Temporal and locative adverbials have flexible word order and can come before the predicate and after the object, after the subject and before the object, or after the subject. :116

dɛ55ʂɿ55khɑ55 ŋ31ɳɯŋ55 thɑ31luʔ55 tɕhim31 mɑ31 ʈhɑŋ33iɯŋ55

'tonight' 'they' 'maybe' 'house' NEG 'return'

{temporal adverbial} {} {adverbial} {} {adverbial} {}

'Tonight they may not return home.'

(NEG marks negation.)

Adverbials occurring after predicates are rare. :116

Sentence Structure
Simple sentences are categorized based on structure and mood. The categories of simple sentences include declarative sentences, interrogative sentences, imperative sentences, requests, exclamations, and estimations. :117-118

Complex sentences are divided into two main categories: compound sentences and sentences with a main-subordinate clause structure. Compound sentences include contrastive compounds, relative contrast compounds, and successive compounds. :118-121

ɑ31io31 ɑ55 tɑ55-o55 thi55 nɯ31 vɛn33 thɑm55-ɛ31 dʑɯŋ55 ɑ31 ŋ̩31 ɑ55 tɕhɛm31-o55 thi55 nɯ31 vɛn33 thɑm55-ɛ31 dʑɯ31 ɑ31.

'I' DEF big-NOM one CLF buy CONT-IND ASP ASP he DEF small-NOM one CLF buy CONT-IND ASP ASP

‘I bought a big one and he bought a small one.’

mo31guŋ55dʑɑŋ31 iɛ55khɑ31 khɯŋ31ne55 tʂhɿ55 thi31ɹɯm33 ɛ31, mo31guŋ55dʑɑŋ31 khɯŋ31ne55 duŋ35ɕuɑ55 khɑ31 bɑ31ʂɿ31 thi31ɹɯm55 ɛ31.

'Mùgǔjiǎ' 'here' ABL 'relative' 'far' IND 'Mùgǔjiǎ' ABL {'Gòng Mt.'} LOC 'very' 'far' IND

‘It is relatively far from here to Mùgǔjiǎ, and it is even farther from Mùgǔjiǎ to the Gòngshān area.’

ŋ̩31 sɑŋ55 bɑ31ʂɿ31 ɑ31nɛ55, thi31 ɕɑ55 gɑm55 dɑ31ʈhɑŋ55 gɯ55 zɿ35 dʑo31 ɛ31.

'he' 'strength' 'very' 'have', 'one' 'hundred' 'catty' 'excess' 'also' carry.on.back can IND

'He is very strong, and can carry over a hundred catties (= 50 kilograms) on his back.'

Main-subordinate clause sentences include transitional, cause-and-result, conditional, concessive, temporal sequence, and complex relation sentences. :118-121