Description of the verb-deriving suffix -s ''to speak of'' in colloquial Khalkha Mongolian Текст научной статьи по специальности «Языкознание и литературоведение»

Hiroyuki Umetani

Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo

DESCRIPTION OF THE VERB-DERIVING SUFFIX -S 'TO SPEAK OF' IN COLLOQUIAL KHALKHA MONGOLIAN1

1. Introduction

1.1. Structure of the article

This article aims to provide a preliminary description of the verb-deriving suffix -s, which is observed in colloquial Khalkha Mongolian. As far as the author is aware, no investigation has addressed the existence of this suffix2. An example involving the suffix is provided in (1)3.

1 This research was supported by a grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) 25370465).

2 Descriptions of the suffix in question are not found even in studies that list verb-deriving suffixes in Khalkha Mongolian, such as Bold [1986: 111-126], Cojmaa [1997: 190-198], Onorbajan [2004: 42-60], and Shiotani [2007: 128-198], among others.

In addition to the -s described in the present article, Khalkha Mongolian has at least two verb-deriving suffixes whose phonological shape is -s. One of them is attached to nouns (or adjectives) and forms verbs with the meaning 'to become...', as seen in (i). The other is attached to nouns and form verbs denoting 'to want, long for.', as in (ii).

(i) ondor 'high' ^ ondor-s- 'to become high'

(ii) undaa 'beverage' ^ undaa-s- 'to want beverage, to be thirsty'

Neither of these suffixes is productive, and they can only be attached to nouns (or adjectives). In contrast, as will be mentioned at the beginning of Section 3, the -s investigated in this article is productive and can be attached to various kinds of bases (e. g., nouns, interjections, and inflected verb forms). In addition, the meaning of the -s discussed here differs from those of the two suffixes in (i) and (ii). Therefore, it is appropriate to distinguish the -s under our investigation from the two -s suffixes in (i) and (ii), respectively.

3 Khalkha Mongolian examples are presented in Cyrillic characters without hyphenation on the first line. They are transliterated into Latin characters on the second line, and the glosses are placed on the third line.

(1) Hadad Hyy^aad 6aux my 6aux eэ.

nadad nuuc-s-aad baj-x juu

1 SG.NOM secret-VDS-CVB.PFV be-VN.NP what.NOM baj-x ve

be/exist-VN.NP Q

'There is nothing I make a secret of'.

Literal translation (LT): 'At [=with] me, what [things that I] say [=call] "secret" exist? [Such things do not exist.]'4

The structure of the present article is as follows: Section 1 provides an explanation of the parts of Khalkha Mongolian grammar that are relevant to our discussion. Section 2 describes the meaning of -5 and the usage of the derivatives formed by attaching it. Section 3 points out that the derivatives with -s constitute a defective inflectional paradigm. Next, Section 4 shows that -5 can be attached to a phrase or sentence, as well as to a word base. Finally, Section 5 examines the position of -5 in the word and demonstrates that -5 can occur after an inflectional suffix.

1.2. Khalkha Mongolian

Khalkha Mongolian is one of the largest dialects of Mongolian (Mongolian proper), which is a member of the Mongolic language family. It is spoken in Mongolia and is estimated to have more than two million native speakers. It is an agglutinative language that employs suffixes and postpositions rather than prefixes and prepositions. It is dependent-marking with a nominative-accusative case system. The basic word order is SOV, and a modifier usually precedes the head that it modifies. Cases are expressed by suffixes. (The nominative case is marked by a zero morpheme.) Sentence constituents (e. g., the subject, object, and oblique) are often absent when they can be deduced from the context.

Khalkha Mongolian has vowel harmony. Phonological interpretations of this phenomenon differ among researchers5. In order to avoid unnecessary confusion caused by adopting any one of the phonological notations proposed in previous studies, the present article employs the

4 The square brackets in the literal translations indicate that no corresponding words appear in the original Khalkha Mongolian sentences. Square brackets that include an equals sign offer an annotation for the preceding word.

5 For an explanation of the differing interpretations among researchers, see [Svantesson et al. 2005: 22-25].

orthography used in Mongolia, with the Cyrillic characters transliterated into Latin ones: a=a, 6=b, b=v [ß], r=g, g=d, e=je/jö, e=jo, ^=z ~ f], 3=z [dz ~ ts], H=i, H=j, K=k, n=l [fc], M=m, H=n, o=o [o], e=ö [e], n=p, p=r, c=s, T=t, y=u [o], y=ü [tt], $=f, x=x, ц=c [tsh], h=c [fh], m=s [j], ■b=", H=y [i:], b=', э=e, ro=ju/jü, and a=ja.

The data in this article were obtained from three language consultants (a female born in 1979, and two males born in 1971 and 1995, respectively; all of them born in Ulan Bator).

1.3. Verb inflection

Inflectional forms of a verb are classified into the following three groups:

(a) Terminating forms (formed by the attachment of a terminating suffix); e. g., past, non-past, and optative, among others.

(b) Converb forms (formed by the attachment of a converb suffix); e. g., perfective, imperfective, and conditional.

(c) Verbal-nominal forms (formed by the attachment of a verbalnominal suffix); e. g., past (or perfective), non-past, imperfective, and habitual.

The functions of these three types of conjugational forms are as follows:

(a) A terminating form is used as a finite verb and concludes a sentence; that is, it forms an independent sentence or a main clause. A relevant example is jav-na (go-TV.NP) in (2).

(b) A converb form can be used as an adverbial or compose an adverbial clause. See ir-vel (come-CVB.COND) in (2).

(c) A verbal-nominal form (i) can form a nominal clause. When employed in this usage, verbal-nominal forms can take a case suffix, as seen in jav-sn-yg (go-VN.PST-ACC) in (3). A verbal-nominal form (ii) can also compose an adnominal clause, and (iii) can have the same function as a terminating form, namely, to conclude a sentence. See ög-sön (give-VN.PST) in (4) for an example of usage (ii). Examples of usage (iii) are baj-g-aa (be-E-VN.IPFV) in (3) and gee-sen (lose-VN.PST) in (4).

(2) TYYHUÜS ирeэn 6u neHa.

tüün-ijg6 ir-vel bi jav-na

3SG-ACC come-CVB.COND 1SG.NOM go-TV.NP 'If he comes, I will go'.

(3) TYY^UÜSHnon necHbte мэдэ^ öa^aa rny? tüün-ijg japon jav-sn-yg med-e-z 3SG-ACC Japan go-VN.PST-ACC know-E-CVB.IPFV baj-g-aa juu?

be-E-VN.IPFV Q

'Do you know that he has gone to Japan?'

LT: '[That] he went [to] Japan, are [you] knowing?'

(4) Bond ffopwuün oгcoн HOMMS гээcэн.

bold dorz-ijn ög-sön nom-yg gee-sen PSN.NOM PSN-GEN give-VN.PST book-ACC lose-VN.PST 'Bold lost the book that Dorj gave to him'. LT: 'Bold, the book [that] Dorj gave [to him], lost'.

The functions of the three types of conjugational forms can be summarized as shown in Table 1 (TV, CVB, and VN stand for terminating, converb, and verbal-nominal forms, respectively).

Table 1. Functions of conjugational verb forms in Khalkha Mongolian

Finite Non-finite

Concluding a sentence Adverbial clause Nominal clause Adnominal clause

TV +

CVB +

VN + + +

6 The subject in the subordinate clause appears in the accusative, genitive, or nominative case. A detailed explanation of the choice from among these three cases is not provided because it is not of major importance to our discussion.

Negative forms of verbs are formed by attaching the negative suffix -guj1 to a verbal-nominal form of the verb, as seen in (5). Note that -guj cannot be attached to terminating or converb forms8.

(5) Hunxyy ec Momonooc eep ync opond 6аuдаггYU. ijnxuu jos Mongol-oos oor like.this custom.NOM Mongolia-ABL other uls#oron-d baj-dag-guj

country-DAT be/exist-VN.HAB-NEG

'A custom like this cannot be seen in countries other than Mongolia'.

LT: 'A custom like this, in countries other than Mongolia, does not exist'.

1.4. Existential/possessive construction

Among the Khalkha Mongolian existential/possessive constructions, one that is relevant to our discussion is explained below. Let us take (6) and (7) as examples.

(6) Тэp epeend хэдэn xyh 6aucan 6э?

ter droon-d xeden xun baj-san be?

that room-DAT how.many person.NOM be/exist-VN.PST Q 'How many people were there in that room?' LT: 'In that room, how many people existed?'

7 -guj differs from the other suffixes in Khalkha Mongolian in that it does not conform to vowel harmony. Further inquiries are needed to determine whether -guj can safely be regarded as a suffix or should be considered another kind of morpheme (e. g., a clitic or particle, among several possible analyses).

8 In some cases, negation is expressed by placing the negative particle buu or bitgij before a terminating verb form, as in (i) below.

(i) Eumzuu xamzupaapau. bitgij xasgir-aaraj neg shout-tv.opt 'Don't shout'.

This method is employed only for the negation of some terminating forms (e. g., terminating forms for the optative and imperative).

(7) HaMd MHman тeгрeг 6auna yy?

camd mjangan togrog baj-na uu?

2SG.DAT thousand tugrig.NOM be/exist-TV.NP Q 'Do you have one thousand tugrig?' (tugrig = Mongolian currency unit)

LT: 'At [=with] you, [one] thousand tugrig exist?'

In these two examples, the noun denoting the existing entity or possessee appears in the nominative (i. e., with a zero suffix), and that for the place or possessor in the dative. Also, the existential/copular verb baj-9 'to be, exist' occurs in the sentence-final position. To express the absence (or non-possession) of someone or something, the verb baj- 'to be, exist' is given in a negative form, as in (5).

2. Meaning of -s and usage of the derivatives with -s

Verbs formed by attaching -5 are observed particularly in the colloquial language. The suffix adds meanings such as 'to speak of...', 'to say.', and 'to concern oneself with.', as shown in (b) in (8)—(11). The words in (a) are those from which the derivatives in (b) are formed.

(8) a. naadaM

naadam

'traditional Mongolian sports festival' b. uaadaM-c-naadam-5-

'to concern oneself with the traditional Mongolian sports festival'

(9) a. nanap b. nanap-c-

canar canar-5-

'quality' 'to concern oneself with quality'

(10) a. xapun b. xapun-c-

xarin xarin-5-

'but' 'to say xarin (but)'

(11) a. xaxa b. xaxa-c-

xaxa xaxa-5-

'haha' (a laugh) 'to laugh haha'

9 A hyphen at the end of a verb indicates that it is not an inflected

form, but the stem.

The derivatives with -s mainly appear in fixed expressions such as those in (12):

(12) a. DAT X-s-aad bajx jum bajxguj

b. DAT X-s-aad bajx jum alga

c. DAT X-s-aad bajx juu bajx ve

"DAT" stands for a dative-locative noun, and "X" is the base to which -s is attached. -Aad is the perfective converb suffix. Note that -aad also has the forms -ood/eed/odd in accordance with vowel harmony.

The expressions in (12) have similar structures and express analogous meanings. Let us take a sentence involving DAT X-s-aad bajx jum bajxguj as an example and illustrate what meaning it expresses and how such meaning emerges.

(13) Энэ жил надад нээг их наадамсаад байх юм байхгYй. ene zil nadad neeg#ix naadam-s-aad

this year 1SG.DAT so.much Naadam-VDS-CVB.PFV

baj-x jum baj-x-guj

be-VN.NP thing.NOM be/exist-VN.NP-NEG

'I am not going to make a fuss over Naadam this year'.

(Naadam = the traditional Mongolian sports festival held at the

beginning of every July.)

LT: 'This year, situations do not exist at [=with] me [where I] am always speaking of Naadam'.

When -s is attached to the noun naadam, the verb naadam-s- 'to speak of Naadam, to concern oneself with Naadam' is formed. In (13), naadam-s- 'to speak of Naadam' appears in the perfective converb form naadam-s-aad. In general, when the verb baj- 'to be, exist' follows the perfective converb form of a verb, it is employed as an auxiliary verb to express a kind of aspect: The combination of the perfective converb form of a verb and baj- 'to be' expresses 'to be always doing...' or 'to do. many times'. Accordingly, naadam-s-aad baj- in (13) denotes 'to be always speaking of Naadam' or 'to speak of Naadam many times'.

Now, the auxiliary verb baj- 'to be' in naadam-s-aad baj- accompanies the verbal-nominal suffix for the non-past -x, and naadam-s-aad baj-x is obtained. This portion functions as an adnominal clause and modifies the noun jum 'thing, situation' (recall that verbal-nominal suffixes are

employed to form adnominal clauses, as explained in Section 1.3). In (13), the nominal naadam-s-aadbaj-xjum 'situations where someone is always speaking of Naadam' is the subject of the existential/ possessive construction, as explained in Section 1.4. The sentence-final baj-x-guj 'not exist', a negative form of baj- 'to be, exist', appears as the predicate of this existential/possessive sentence. The dative noun nadad 'at me' refers to the "place" where the "situations" in question occur (i. e., the situations in which someone is always speaking of Naadam) or the "possessor" of such "situations".

Eventually, we obtain the literal translation '(This year), situations do not exist at [=with] me [where I] am always speaking of Naadam'. A more natural translation of this would be 'I am not going to make a fuss over Naadam'. Almost the same meaning is expressed by employing the other two fixed expressions (i. e., DATX-s-aad bajx jum alga and DAT X-s-aad bajx juu bajx ve, in (12b) and (12c), respectively)10.

In general, whole sentences involving DAT X-s-aad bajx jum bajxguj (or DAT X-s-aad bajx jum alga or DAT X-s-aad bajx juu bajx ve) express the meanings 'DAT does/will/should not make a fuss over X',

10 The sentence-final alga in DAT X-s-aad bajx jum alga (=12b) is the predicate denoting 'not exist'. The structure of this fixed expression is similar to that of DAT X-s-aad bajx jum bajxguj (=12a).

For DAT X-s-aad bajx juu bajx ve (=12c), a more detailed explanation is necessary.

(i) Xaxacaad 6aux my 6aux eэ.

xaxa-s-aad baj-x juu baj-x ve

haha-vds-cvb.pfv be-vn.np what.nom be/exist-vn.np q 'I am not going to laugh haha / You should not laugh haha'. LT: 'What [situations where someone] says haha many times exist? [Such situations do not exist.]'

In (i), xaxa-s-aad baj-x 'to say haha many times' modifies the interrogative juu 'what'. Then, xaxa-s-aad baj-x juu 'what situations where someone says haha many times' as a whole appears as the subject of the existential/ possessive construction. (As will be mentioned in the explanation of example (15), "DAT" can be absent. Example (i) above is an instance of such a sentence.) Now, (i) can be translated as 'What situations where someone says haha many times exist?' This is a rhetorical question, as (i) denotes that such situations do not exist. Consequently, the meaning of DAT X-s-aad bajx juu bajx ve resembles that of DAT X-s-aad bajxjum bajxguj or DAT X-s-aad bajxjum alga.

'DAT does/will/should not say X (many times)', 'DAT does/will/should not concern oneself with X', and 'DAT does/will not have anything special as to X'.

In (13), "DAT" is animate. As observed in (14B), however, it can also be inanimate11.

(14) A: Наад зуйл чинь ямар сонин юм бэ!

naad zujl cin' jamar sonin

that matter.NOM 2POSS what.kind.of interesting jum be! MP Q

'How interesting that matter is!' B: Энэ 3Y^d сонинсоод байх юм байхгYй.

ene zujl-d sonin-s-ood baj-x

this matter-DAT interesting-VDS-CVB.PFV be-VN.NP

jum baj-x-guj

thing.NOM be/exist-VN.NP-NEG

'There is no particular interesting thing in this matter'.

LT: 'In [=as to] this matter, things do not exist [which

someone] says [=considers] "interesting" many times'.

(15) below is an example of a sentence without "DAT". Recall that sentence constituents can be absent in Khalkha Mongolian sentences when they can be deduced from the context, as mentioned in Section 1.2.

(15) Шинэ утас авахаар бол нээг их чанарсаад байх юм байхгYй. sine utas12 av-a-x-aar bol neeg#ix

new telephone.NOM buy-E-VN.NP-INS FP so.much canar-s-aad baj-x jum

quality-VDS-CVB.PFV be-VN.NP thing.NOM

11 Example (14) is a dialogue between A and B. In this article, sentences with -s are sometimes presented with their preceding sentences. This is because it can be difficult to comprehend the meaning of a sentence that contains a derivative with -s without understanding the context in which it appears. In (14A), the portion that corresponds to the base of -s in (14B) is underlined.

12 Roughly speaking, the direct object appears in the nominative when it is indefinite (and in the accusative when it is definite).

baj-x-guj

be/exist-VN.NP-NEG

'When I buy a mobile phone, I don't put value on quality so much', or 'When you buy a mobile phone, you don't have to put value on quality so much'.

LT: 'When [I/you] buy a new [mobile] phone, situations do not exist [where I/you] am/are always concerning myself/yourself with quality so much'.

Example (15) can be interpreted in several ways depending on the context. We have provided two translations to show that the covert "DAT" can be the speaker or addressee (among other possibilities).

As mentioned above, derivatives with -5 are principally employed in fixed expressions such as those listed in (12). However, it is not that a derivative with -5 cannot appear in other sentences at all. (16B) below is one of a few examples available to us in which a derivative with -5 is used in a construction other than those listed in (12). (In (16B), -5 is attached to an inflected form of a verb. This will be discussed in Section 5.)

(16) A: Би энийг зввшвврнв. Бас энийг ч зввшввръе. bi en-ijg zovsoor-no

1 SG.NOM this-ACC accept-TV.NP ba5 en-ijg с zovsoor- jo

also this-ACC even.FP accept-TV.VOL 'I accept this. I accept this, too'. B: Тэгж юм болгонд зввшвврнвсввд байх юм бол дараа нъ ямарваа нэгэн байдалд орно ШYY■ tegz jum bolgon-d zovsoor-no-s-ood

in.that.way thing every-DAT accept-TV.NP-VDS-CVB.PFV baj-x jum13 bol daraa n' jamarvaa negen be-VN.NP MP if after 3POSS any one

bajdal-d or-no suu

situation-DAT go.into-TV.NP MP

'If you say "I accept it" to everyhing in that way, you will be in a tight situation later'.

13 Jum here differs from that seen in DATX-s-aad bajx jum bajxguj or DAT X-s-aad bajx jum alga; jum in (16B) is a modal particle. This particle is often employed with the particle bol 'if,' and jum bol as a whole functions as a conditional conjunction.

LT: 'If [you] are always saying "[I] accept [it]" to everything in that way, [you] will go into [a tight] situation after that'.

Note that the derivative with -s in (16B) (zdvsddr-nd-s-ddd) is in the perfective converb form and is followed by the auxiliary verb baj- 'to be,' as is the case with the other examples provided in this section. The conjugational form of the derivatives with -s is discussed in detail in Section 3.

3. Defective inflectional paradigm of the derivatives with -s

In Sections 3 to 5, we describe outstanding morphological behaviors displayed by the derivatives with -s. To begin, Section 3 discusses their inflectional paradigm.

The suffix -s is productive and can be attached to various kinds of bases. This can be seen in (8)—(11), where -s is attached to nouns and interjections. In examples to be provided later, it is also adjoined to particles (as in (21) and (22)) and even to inflected verb forms (as in (20B) and the second utterance by B in (23)).

Yet, although -s is productive, it is mainly observed in fixed expressions, as mentioned in Section 2. In these fixed expressions, moreover, the derivative with -s inflects only in the perfective converb form. In addition, the same applies even when a derivative with -s is employed in an expression other than those listed in (12), as observed in (16B): No examples are attested in which a verb with -s appears in an inflected form other than the perfective converb. In other words, verbs with -s constitute a defective paradigm. This can also be illustrated by the unacceptable sentence below. In (17), naadam-s- 'to speak of Naadam' appears in an inflected form other than the perfective converb (the verbal-nominal past tense form).

(17) * Энэ жил Дорж наадамссан.

*ene zil dorz naadam-s-san

this year PSN.NOM naadam-VDS-VN.PST

Intended meaning: 'Doij made a fuss over Naadam this year'.

Khalkha Mongolian has few verbs that inflect defectively14. Given this general tendency in Khalkha Mongolian, we can consider that derivatives with -s display outstanding behavior in morphology.

4. Units to which -s is attached

For the sake of simplifying the discussion, so far, we have only adduced examples where -s is attached to the word base. However, -s can also be attached to units larger than the word base, at least with respect to semantics. It can be adjoined to a phrase or even to a sentence, as observed in (18B), (19B), and (20B). (The bases to which -s is semantically attached are shown in braces.)15

(18) A: Xyyxsd 6omon гоe wm aeax 6odonmou 6auдaг. Xyyxsd гэ^ ep nb axapxan 6odonmou 6auдaг wyy.

xuuxed bolgon gojo jum avax bodoltoj bajdag xuuxed gez jor n' axarxan bodoltoj bajdag suu

'Every child is always thinking about buying something good. Generally, they are short-sighted'.

14 It is pointed out in the literature that Modern Khalkha Mongolian has two series of defective (auxiliary) verbs [Kullmann, Tserenpil 1996: 200, Bjambasan, Zancivdorz 1987: 184-185]. These defective verbs are listed in (i) and (ii) below. (In (ii), the stem and suffix are fused.)

(i) a-zee (be-tv.pst) 'was/were' a-san (be-vn.pst) 'was/were'

a-tal (be-cvb.term) 'while ... am/are/is, although ... am/are/is' a-vaas (be-cvb.cond) 'if ... am/are/is'

(ii) buj 'am/are/is' bij 'am/are/is' bilee 'was/were'

These are remnants of conjugational forms of the (auxiliary) verbs a-'to be' (Group (i) above) and bu- 'to be' (Group (ii)) in the pre-classical period. According to Kullmann and Tserenpil [1996: 200], "[a]t that time, they could be fully conjugated as any other verb. But today, only leftovers of these verb conjugations are left and they are mainly used in literary language" (emphasis in the original).

15 In (18), a derivative with -s appears only in (18B). Due to the limitations of space, no glosses are given for the sentences in (18A).

B: Хуухэд болгонд тэгж ахархан бодолсоод байх юм байхгуй шуу дээ.

xuuxed bolgon-d tegz {axarxan

child every-DAT in.that.way short bodol}-s-ood baj-x jum

thought-VDS-CVB.PFV be-VN.NP thing.NOM baj-x-guj suu dee

be / exist-VN.NP-NEG MP MP

'We/You should not bring children's short-sighted thinking into question'. (Children's desire to buy something good is a reasonable view for them.)

LT: 'At [=as to] children, situations do not exist [where we/you] are always speaking of short[-sighted] thinking'.

(19) A: Танд засварын давуу тал байгаа юу?

tand zasvar-yn davuu tal 2SG.DAT repair-GEN superior aspect.NOM baj-g-aa juu?

be/exist-E-VN.IPFV Q

'Do you have a special talent for mending?' (addressing a question to a repairer)

LT: 'At [=with] you, positive attributes for mending exist?'

B: Надад давуу талсаад байх юу байх вэ дээ. nadad {davuu tal}-s-aad baj-x

1SG.DAT superior aspect-VDS-CVB.PFV be-VN.NP juu baj-x ve dee

what.NOM be/exist-VN.NP Q MP 'I have no particular special talent'.

LT: 'At [=with] me, what [things] exist [that I/they] say [=consider as] positive attributes many times? [Such things do not exist.] '

(20) A: Би чадахгуй, чадахгуй. Яасан ч би чадахгуй.

bi_cad-a-x-guj, cad-a-x-guj

1 SG.NOM be.able-E-VN.NP-NEG be.able-E-VN.NP-NEG

jaa-san c bi_cad-a-x-guj

do.what-VN.PST even.FP 1 SG.NOM be.able-E-VN.NP-NEG 'I can't, I can't. There is no way I can do that'. LT: 'I can't, [I] can't. Even [if I] have done whatsoever, I will not be able [to do that] '.

B: Тэг^ 6u надаxгYuсээд 6aux wm 6auxгYU rnyY-tegz {bi cad-a-x-guj}-s-eed

in.that.way 1 SG.NOM be.able-E-VN.NP-NEG-VDS-CVB.PFV baj-x jum baj-x-guj suu

be-VN.NP thing.NOM be/exist-VN.NP-NEG MP 'You should not say "I can't" many times like that'. LT: 'Situations do not exist [where you] say "I can't" many times like that'.

In (18B) and (19B), -s is semantically attached to the phrases axarxan bodol 'short-sighted thinking' and davuu tal 'positive attributes', respectively. In (20B), moreover, -s is adjoined to the sentence bi cad-a-x-guj 'I can't' (bi 'I' is the subject; the verb cad-a-x-guj, a negative form of cad- 'to be able', is the predicate).

Additional examples are provided in (21) and (22), in which -s is attached to a sentence (or utterance) that is composed of an independent word and particle(s). In (21), -s is attached to Araj c dee! as a whole, which is a fixed expression for showing disagreement, disappointment, complaint, or anger.

(21) Apau h дээсээд 6aux wm 6auxгYU.

{araj c dee}-s-eed baj-x jum

somewhat even.FP MP-VDS-CVB.PFV be-VN.NP thing.NOM baj-x-guj

be/exist-VN.NP-NEG

'You should not say "That's too much" many times (like that)'. LT: 'Situations do not exist [where you] say "That's too much" many times'.

In the same manner, in (22), -s is attached to tijm uu, the combination of the independent word tijm 'so, like that' and the question particle uu. Tijm uu is used to provide verbal back-channel feedback in casual conversations.

(22) Eaгwиun xэnсэn Yгиuг concood muuM YYсээд 6aux wm 6auxгYU. "Oumonoo " гэ^ xэnэx ecmou.

bags-ijn xel-sen ug-ijg sons-ood teacher-GEN say-VN.PST word-ACC hear-CVB.PFV {tijm uu}-s-eed baj-x jum

so Q-VDS-CVB.PFV be-VN.NP thing.NOM

baj-x-guj "ojlgo-loo" gez xel-e-x

be/exist-VN.NP-NEG understand-TV.PST that say-E-VN.NP jostoj ought.to

'When you listen to your teacher's words, you should not say "Really". You should say "I understand"'. LT: 'Situations do not exist [where you] say "[Is that] so?" many times, after [you] have listened to [your] teacher's words. [You] ought to say "[I] understood"'.

Khalkha Mongolian has only a few derivational suffixes that can be attached to a phrase16. Furthermore, few derivational suffixes that can be attached to a sentence are attested17. In view of this, the derivatives with -s display conspicuous behavior in Khalkha Mongolian morphology.

5. Position of -s in the word

As pointed out in Section 4, -s can be attached to a sentence. This leads to the fact that -s can appear after a finite verb form, as observed in cad-a-x-guj-s-eed in (20B) and in the second utterance by B in (23) below.

(23) A: Eu тэрuuг YгYUсгэнэ.

bi ter-ijg ugujsge-ne

1 SG.NOM that-ACC deny-TV.NP 'I deny it'.

B: Тэг^ YгYUсгэм: 6оnохгYU myy-

tegz ugujsge-z bol-o-x-guj suu

in.that.way deny-CVB.IPFV may-E-VN.NP-NEG MP 'You should not deny it like that'.

A: YгYU, 6u YгYUсгэнэ MYY-

uguj, bi ugujsge-ne suu

no 1 SG.NOM deny-TV.NP MP 'No, I will deny it'.

16 Among such suffixes are the proprietive suffix -taj 'with' and the abessive suffix -guj 'without'. Regarding the ability of the proprietive suffix to be adjoined to a phrase, see Umetani [2012: 53-54, 2014: 60-61].

17 The suffix -clan 'in such a way that' may possibly be analyzed for its attachment to a sentence. See Umetani [2011] for some characteristics of the suffix.

B: Тэг^ YгYuсгэнэсээд 6aux wm 6auxгYU wyy. tegz ugujsge-ne-s-eed baj-x

in.that.way deny-TV.NP-VDS-CVB.PFV be-VN.NP jum baj-x-guj suu

thing.NOM be/exist-VN.NP-NEG MP 'You should not deny it obstinately like that'. LT: 'Situations do not exist [where you] deny [it] many times like that'.

The internal structure of the verb ugujsge-ne-s-eed in the second utterance by B in (23) can be shown as follows:

(24) ugujsge -ne -s -eed

deny -TV.NP -VDS -CVB.PFV

base inflection derivation inflection

In Khalkha Mongolian (and cross-linguistically), derivational suffixes are likely to be attached closer to the root than inflectional suffixes18. In contrast, -s can appear after an inflectional suffix, as illustrated in (24). In this respect, too, -s differs from other derivational suffixes (in addition to having the different characteristics revealed in Sections 3 and 4).

6. Summary

This article has revealed some features of the verb-deriving suffix -s, the existence of which is not pointed out in the previous literature, as far as the author is aware.

First, we described the meaning of -s and the usage of the derivatives that include this suffix (Section 2). The suffix denotes meanings such

18 There are a few instances where a derivational suffix follows an inflectional suffix in Khalkha Mongolian. For example, the noun-deriving suffixes -x and -xan appear after the genitive (i. e., inflectional) suffix, as seen in the words placed on the right side of (i) and (ii).

(i)

(ii)

aav-yn —

father-gen 'father's' (possessor)

Dorz-ijn psn-gen 'Dorj's'

-

aav-yn-x

father-gen-nds 'father's' (possessee)

Dorz-ijn-xon

psn-gen-nds 'Dorj's family'

as 'to speak of.', 'to say...', and 'to concern oneself with...'. Verbs formed by attaching -s are mainly used in fixed expressions such as DAT X-s-aad bajx jum bajxguj, DAT X-s-aad bajx jum alga, and DAT X-s-aad bajx juu bajx ve. When a derivative using -s is employed in one of these expressions, the whole sentence means 'DAT does/will/should not make a fuss over X', 'DAT does/will/should not say X (many times)', 'DAT does/will/should not concern oneself with X', and 'DAT does/will not have anything special as to X'.

Then, we examined the characteristics of -s with respect to morphology. Section 3 showed that the derivatives with -s constitute a defective inflectional paradigm in that they can only be inflected in the perfective converb form. Section 4 illustrated that -s can be attached to a phrase or sentence, in addition to a word base. Section 5 illustrated that -s can appear after a conjugational (i. e., an inflectional) suffix.

Although we were able to reveal some conspicuous characteristics of the suffix -s in terms of morphology, more detailed research is needed to reveal the full picture of the suffix. In addition, we need to utilize the achievements of our description in discussing various questions concerning Khalkha Mongolian morphology (e. g., the question of demarcation between derivation and inflection). The description provided in this article hopefully serves as a basis of further investigation.

Abbreviations

1, 2, 3 — 1, 2, 3 person; abl — ablative; acc — accusative; cond — conditional; cvb — converb; dat — dative-locative; e — epenthesis; fp — focus particle; gen — genitive; hab — habitual; ins — instrumental; ipfv — imperfective; lt — literal translation; mp — modal particle; nds — noun-deriving suffix; neg — negative; nom — nominative; np — non-past; opt — optative; pfv — perfective; poss — possessive particle; psn — personal name; pst — past; q — question particle; sg — singular; term — terminal; tv — terminating verbal; vds — verb-deriving suffix; vn — verbal nominal; vol — voluntative; # — boundary in a compound;--suffix boundary.

Bibliography

Bjambasan, Zancivdorz 1987 — P. Bjambasan, C. Zancivdorz. Tuslax ba dutmag ujl ugijn tuxaj [On auxiliary and defective verbs] // S. Luvsanvandan (ed.). Orcin cagijn mongol xelnij ug zujn bajguulalt: Mongol xelnij ujl ugijn togtolcoo [Morphological Structures in Modern Mongolian: Verb System

of Mongolian]. Ulaanbaatar: BNMAU-yn Sinzlex Uxaany Akadjemijn Xel Zoxiolyn Xureelen: UBDS-ijn Mongol Xelnij Tenxim, 1987. P. 174-185. Bold 1986 — L. Bold. Orcin cagijn mongol xelnij dagavar [Derivational Suffixes

in Modern Mongolian]. Ulaanbaatar: Ulsyn Xevlelijn Gazar, 1986. Cojmaa 1997 — S. Cojmaa. Orcin cagijn mongol xelnij ug butex jos [Word formation in Modern Mongolian] // C. Cedendamba, S. Moomoo (eds.). Orcin cagijn mongol xel: Ix deed surguuliudyn bags ojuutan nart zoriulav [Modern Mongolian: For University Teachers and Students]. Ulaanbaatar: Xel Zoxiolyn Xureelen, Sinzlex Uxaany Akadjemi, 1997. P. 152-200. Kullmann, Tserenpil 1996 — R. Kullmann, D. Tserenpil. Mongolian Grammar.

Hong Kong: Jensco, 1996. Onorbajan 2004 — C. Onorbajan Orcin cagijn mongol xelnij ugzuj: Mongol xelnij mergezlijn angijn ojuutan, mergezlijn bags nar, xel sudlaacdad zoriulav [Morphology in Modern Mongolian: For Mongolian Language Students, Teachers, and Linguists]. Ulaanbaatar: Mongol Sudlalyn Surguul', Mongol Ulsyn Bolovsrolyn Ix Surguul', 2004. Shiotani 2007 — S. Shiotani. Mongorugo haruha hogen ni okeru hasei setsubiji no kenkyu [A Study of the Derivational Suffixes in Khalkha Mongolian]. Osaka: Osaka Gaikokugo Daigaku Kenkyusuishinshitsu Henshubumon, 2007. Svantesson et al. 2005 — J.-O. Svantesson, A. Tsendina, A. Karlsson, V. Franzen. The Phonology of Mongolian [The Phonology of the World's Languages]. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Umetani 2011 — H. Umetani. Characteristics of the derivational suffix -clan in Khalkha Mongolian // Proceedings of the 10th Seoul International Altaistic Conference: Reexaminations of objects and methods of research into Altaic languages and cultures. Seoul: The Altaic Society of Korea, 2011. P. 173-186. (Paper presented at the 10th Seoul International Altaistic Conference, Sunchon National University, South Korea, 16 July 2011.) Umetani 2012 — H. Umetani. Mongorugo no shoyu o arawasu setsuji [Proprietive suffix in Mongolian] // Hoppo Gengo Kenkyu [Northern Language Studies] 2, 2012. P. 47-72. Umetani 2014 — H. Umetani. The proprietive suffix -TAJ in Mongolian // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology 1, 2014. P. 56-75.