{"pk":35157,"title":"Multi-functional deictics in South Central Tibeto-Burman","subtitle":null,"abstract":"This paper describes a phenomenon prevalent in South Central Tibeto-Burman languages, which we call multi-functional deictics (MFDs). Descriptively, MFDs are demonstratives that appear in multiple positions in the noun phrase, typically at the left edge and the right edge. They often co-occur and match in form, resulting in an apparent circumfix. MFDs are distinct from double definiteness or the reinforcer construction in Romance and Germanic languages, where a demonstrative co-occurs with a determiner or emphatic. In the case of MFDs, the two forms are both demonstratives, often identical. We find that MFDs are prevalent in South Central Tibeto-Burman. However, even the most basic questions about MFDs remain to be answered, such as whether their core meaning derives from distance in space, evidentiality, or something else; and what syntactic structures result in the two distinct positions. We provide a range of hypotheses for these questions and outline what kind of data is needed to test those hypotheses. Additionally, we find significant variation within South Central Tibeto-Burman in the specific properties of MFD. More broadly, MFDs provide an important test case for noun phrase syntax that has complex interactions with other grammatical phenomena like case marking.","language":"en","license":null,"keywords":[{"word":"Kuki-Chin, South Central, Tibeto-Burman, Trans-Himalayan, demonstratives, deixis, noun phrase, syntax, reinforcer construction"}],"section":"Articles of Special Issue 22.1","is_remote":true,"remote_url":"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7d6752jb","frozenauthors":[{"first_name":"Kenneth","middle_name":"","last_name":"Baclawski Jr.","name_suffix":"","institution":"Independent scholar","department":"None"}],"date_submitted":"2021-07-10T20:28:22Z","date_accepted":"2021-07-10T20:28:22Z","date_published":"2023-07-31T07:00:00Z","render_galley":null,"galleys":[{"label":"","type":"pdf","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/himalayanlinguistics/article/35157/galley/26179/download/"}]}