Page 603 - A GRAMMAR OF BHOJPURI _ PhD Dissertation 2020 TU

ones or from both is deleted. A vowel in either of the segment is raised in the process
of raising. Likewise assimilation includes progressive vs. regressive resulting in

plosivization, devoicing, voicing, retroflexion, affrication and deaspiration in either of
the preceding or succeeding segments; contiguous vs. non-contiguous resulting in
mid-point fixation, falling of vowels, merger of syllables and gliding. Variation in

nasal along with partial vs. complete assimilation results in intervocalic voicing,
palatalization, labialization and nasal assimilation.

16.1.4 Morphological features
Bhojpuri nouns are marked morphologically in terms of number, gender,
classifiers and the case role of the referent. Bhojpuri employs only two classifiers: जने

/jʌne/ or जना /jʌnɑ/ as a separate word for human noun and -गो /-ɡo/ as a suffix for
non-human countable nouns. There is three-way distinction in pronominal agreement

in Bhojpuri: first, second and third persons. Plurality in Bhojpuri nominals is

indicated by the suffix -अन /-ʌn/ or -वन /-wʌn/ and सब /sʌb/ or लोग /loɡ/ as a separate
word. Like its number system, Bhojpuri nouns are expressed in two genders:
masculine and feminine but their grammatical expressions in finite verbs fade

eastwards. Bhojpuri has two types of adjectives: natural and derived. The derived
adjectives are formed from nouns and verbs. The perfective forms of all verbs are

eligible to be used as adjectives. Bhojpuri adjectives may be classified in terms of
size, colour, age, value, physical property and human propensity. Syntactically, they

may function like verbs as the head of an intransitive predicate or they may modify a
noun which is the head of an NP. The verb normally occurs clause-finally and

functions as the main predicate of the clause. The verb registers three persons and two
numbers (in first, second and third personal pronouns) combined with a complex
system of tense, aspect and modality. The verbal nouns in Bhojpuri are obtained by

the roots as well as by different types of suffixations. Adverbs in Bhojpuri are broadly
categorized, in terms of manner, instrumental, time, place and modifying adjectives.

Nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs in Bhojpuri are highly derivational among each
other. Minor word classes include postpositions, determiners, pronouns (independent

and possessive), inter-clausal connectives (participial suffixes, conjunctions and
subordinators), quantifiers, numerals and ordinals, auxiliary verbs, interjections,

clitics and particles.

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