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

Thai Prepositions 49
B: yùu / klây
stay / near
It is.
As illustrated above, klây ‘near’ cannot be modified by any determiners in (27c) or any
quantifiers in (27d), and hence it is not a noun. klây ‘to be near’ can be left stranding at the
end of the sentence in (27b) and can be negated with mây (27d). It can also be given as a
short answer to a yes-no question in (27f), a characteristic of a verb. The word klây ‘near’
then is a verb.
Verb thɨ̌ŋ1 ‘to reach’
The application of the stranding test, the determiner test, the quantifier test, the cooccurrence
with the negation word mây test, and the short answer to a yes-no question are
applied as shown in (28b), (28c), (28d), (28e), and (28f), respectively.
(28) a. kraprooŋ yaaw thɨ̌ŋ1 khàw
skirt long reach knee
The skirt is at knee’s length.
b. khàw nàʔ kraprooŋ yaaw thɨ̌ŋ1
he TOP skirt long reach
As for knees, the length of the skirt reach it.
c. kraprooŋ yaaw thɨ̌ŋ1 *day / *ʔɨ̀ɨn
skirt long reach which / other
* Which reach is the skirt long?
* The skirt’s length reached others.
d. kraprooŋ yaaw * kɨ̀ɨ / * lǎay thɨ̌ŋ1
skirt long how many / several reach
* How many reach is the skirt’s length?
* The skirt’s length has several reach.
e. kraprooŋ yaaw mây thɨ̌ŋ1 khàw
skirt long NEG reach knee
* The skirt does not reach one’s knees.
f. A: kraprooŋ yaaw thɨ̌ŋ1 khàw rɨ́ɨplàw
skirt long reach knee or not
Does the skirt reach one’s knees?
B: yaaw / thɨ̌ŋ1
long / reach
It does.
As illustrated, thɨ̌ŋ1 ‘to reach’ can neither be modified by any determiners in (28c) nor any
quantifiers in (28d), and hence it is not a noun. The word thɨ̌ŋ1 ‘to reach’ can be left
stranding at the end of the sentence in (28b) and can be negated with mây in (28e). It can
also be given as a short answer to a yes-no question in (28e), a characteristics of a verb.
The word thɨ̌ŋ1 then is a verb.