Beyond “to be”
Multiple copula verbs in Munya
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21463088 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Junwei Bai (0000-0003-4815-0238, Beijing Normal University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 287-315 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-24 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Folia Linguistica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0165-4004 • E-ISSN: 1614-7308 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1515/flin-2024-0032 |
| OpenAlex | W4410929915 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 13 |
This paper examines copulas in Munya, a Qiangic language within the Tibeto-Burman family, focusing on how they express identity, existence, location, and possession. While Munya uses a distinct copula for identity, it employs eight polysemous copulas for the other three senses. The selection of these copulas is determined by the properties of what this paper terms the “copula-determining referent”, which can be the copula subject or copula complement. The study further investigates dialectal variations in copula inventory and meaning, and proposes that possessive constructions in Munya evolved from existential ones through a process of transitivization
Econometrics · Linguistics · Natural language processing · African history and culture analysis · Computer Science · Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis · Linguistics and Cultural Studies · Mathematics · Philosophy
| Highly cited | No |
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