proto-southwestern-tai revised: a new reconstruction - seals 22

Thai Complementizers 147
(9) J’ai vu partir Paul. (perception)
‘I saw Paul leave.’
(10) Marie fait danser Paul. (causation)
‘Mary makes Paul dance.’
(11) Je veux que je sois en mesure de partir de›s demain. (volition)
‘I want that I be in a position to leave as early as tomorrow.’
(12) Paul dit que Marie est belle. (declaration)
‘Paul says that Mary is beautiful.’
(13) Je pense que J’ai compris le proble›me. (thought)
‘I think I understand the problem.’
Unlike English and other well-known languages mentioned above, Thai has been
dealt with very little as far as complementizers are concerned. There is no study that
concentrates specifically on complementizers in Thai. They are either ignored or
mentioned only as a side-line phenomenon in grammar books. In the recently published
Thai grammar textbooks, Higbie & Thinsan (2003) and Iwasaki & Ingkaphirom (2005),
three complementizers are recognized: wâa, thîi, and thîi-wâa, as in examples (14)-(16)
(from Higbie & Thinsan 2003: 84-85). Note also that Higbie & Thinsan say that the three
complementizers are interchangeable.
(14) man mây ciŋ thîi chǎn rák khǎw
it not true COMP I love him
‘It is not true that I love him’
(15) man mây ciŋ wâa chǎn rák khǎw
it not true COMP I love him
‘It is not true that I love him’
(16) man mây ciŋ thîi-wâa chǎn rák khǎw
it not true COMP I love him
‘It is not true that I love him’
Apart from identifying three complementizers as shown in (14)-(16), Iwasaki &
Ingkaphirom (2005: 255-268) also classify verbs according to the complementizers.
• Verbs showing evaluation and emotion take thîi complementizer, as dii-cay ‘to be
glad’ in (17).
• Verbs of speech and cognition, such as phûut ‘to say’, khít ‘to think’, take wâa, as
in (18) and (19).