Page 163 - A GRAMMAR OF BHOJPURI _ PhD Dissertation 2020 TU

'keep/guard' 'keeper/guard'
f. सोह सोहनी

soɦ soɦni
soɦ soɦ-ni

weed weed-ND
'weed' 'weeding'

6.1.2 Properties of adjectives
Dixon (2010b:91) distinguishes properties of adjectives from those of nouns

and verbs in a number of languages in terms of taking certain derivational suffixes,
forming a comparative, modifying a noun, being used adverbially, and functioning as

complement of an existential predicate. Bhojpuri falls in such group of languages
including its close neighbours Chitoniya Tharu (2013:158-86), Maithili (Yadav
1996:124-49), Awadhi (Saksena 1937/1971:137-56), Hindi (Koul 2008:81-93) and

Nepali (Adhikari 2016:61-81).
Givόn (2001a:82) points out that the size, color, shape, taste and a number of

qualities perceived by human senses are most typically expressed by adjectives. Most of
the native adjectives in Bhojpuri are prototypical. Besides, less prototypical adjectives

as well as adjectives derived from nouns and verbs are also found in abundance.
a) Semantic properties of adjectives

The most prototypical adjectives are single-feature concepts, abstracted out of
more complex bundles of experience (Givón, 2001a:53). The more prototypical
adjectives tend to code inherent, concrete, durable, relatively stable qualities of

entities; and the less prototypical that code more temporary of less concrete states
(Givón 2001a:81). Following are the prototypical and less-prototypical adjectives in

Bhojpuri grouped in terms of their semantics.
(i) Prototypical adjectives

Size
Size adjectives mostly occur in antonym pair and they may denote spatial

dimensions as shown in (21a-f).
(21) a. General size: बड़ /bʌɽ/ 'big'—छोट /cʰoʈ/ 'small'

b. Horizontal extension: फइली /pʰʌili/—सकेत /sʌket/ 'narrow'

c. Thickness: मोट /moʈ/ 'thick'—पातर /pɑtʌr/ 'thin'
̈
d. Vertical extension: लमढेङ /lʌmɖeŋ/ 'tall'—नाट /nɑʈ/ or बौना /bɔnɑ/ 'short'

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