A grammar of Betta Kurumba
Abstract
This dissertation describes the language of the Betta Kurumbas, an indigenous
ethnic group (population: 1000-2000) of the Nilgiri Mountains, in the southern state of
Tamil Nadu, India. My goal in writing this grammar is to present a comprehensive
description of Betta Kurumba phonology and morphosyntax, describing the structural
arrangement of sounds and grammatical categories within a word, as well as the
grammatical and discourse functions for which these categories are used. Verbs and
nouns are described in especial detail because these display a rich system of suffixal
morphology (the language is exclusively suffixal and agglutinating). An especially
interesting aspect of Betta Kurumba is the role that non-finite verbs play in the
synchronic grammar and in its diachronic development. Diachronically, verb roots
involved in an earlier pattern of verb serialization have become grammaticalized into
derivational or inflectional suffixes. The earlier serialization pattern apparently consisted
of a sequence of verb roots, in which the non-final root was marked for tense, and the
final root for tense and other inflection; the combination [root1 + tense + root2] has
developed into a morphological sequence of [root + realis or irrealis marker +
derivational/ inflectional suffix]. Concurrently, the language has developed a large
number of verbal suffixes, which are identified in this dissertation as clause-chaining
suffixes. Some of these clause-chain markers are also used for verb serialization; thus, the
current pattern of verb serialization differs formally from the earlier pattern described
above. Verb serialization itself has given rise to a small set of auxiliary verbs, with
specific grammatical functions. The dissertation traces the grammatical and discourse
connection between chained clauses, serial verbs, and auxiliary verbs in Betta Kurumba.
It also explores the use of clause-chain markers as an important text-structuring device in
the language, both for the organization of information and the manipulation of rhetorical
effect.