TAM markers in Sani Yi
This paper discusses how tense, aspect and mode (TAM) are marked in Sani Yi, a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Yunnan, China. There are two main strategies used by Sani to express TAM distinctions: 1) particles, and 2) verbal auxiliaries. These strategies are not always easy to tease apart. If the line were clear-cut, a verbal auxiliary would exhibit verb-like behavior whereas a particle would not. Verb-like behavior would include the ability to be negated and, in Sani Yi, the ability to be reduplicated when a statement is turned into a question.
In this paper I explore particles and particle/auxiliary-like elements to better understand the following: What kind of TAM distinctions are expressed through the use of a given particle/auxiliary? For each such distinction, which element is the one that can be negated? Which element is the one to be reduplicated when a statement is turned into a question? As a result I give a preliminary outline of the Sani Yi TAM system.
Lehonkoski, R. TAM Markers in Sani Yi. Slater K, Lehonkoshi R, Philips A eds. Papers on Particles. Payap Univeristy Working Papers in Linguistics. Chiang Mai : Payap University Linguistics Department,2010,(6.2):3-25. http://ic.payap.ac.th/graduate/linguistics/wp-vol6-2.php.
