Page 607 - A GRAMMAR OF BHOJPURI _ PhD Dissertation 2020 TU

alternates or mediated by alternative marker +क /ki/. The constituent questions (wh-

questions) in Bhojpuri are formed with the help of different interrogative pronouns,
adjectives and adverbs. Wh-questions have the same word order as of the declarative
sentences with the interrogative words के /ke/ or कौन /kɔn/ 'who', के के /ke ke/ or केकरा

के /kekrɑ ke/ 'whom', का /kɑ/ or कथी /kʌtʰi/ 'what or which', केकर /kekʌr/ or +कनकर

/kinkʌr/ 'whose', कतेक /kʌtek/ or केतना /ketnɑ/ 'how much/many', कै /kɛ/ 'how many',

̃
कब /kʌb/ or किहआ /kʌɦiɑ/ 'when', कहाँ /kʌɦɑ/ or केने /kene/ 'where', कइसन /kʌisʌn/
'how' and काहे /kɑɦe/ 'why'. Multiple wh-questions are formed with the help of

different wh-questions placed in the same proposition. Imperative constructions are
made by bare verb stem suffixed by -ओ /-o/ or -ए /-e/ in non-honorific, by -आ /-ɑ/

final stem remaining the same and other stems suffixed by -अ /-ʌ/ in mid-honorific

and by -. /-ĩ/ for full honorific environments. The hortative construction almost

remains the same as full honorific environment of the imperative one. Reflexive,
reciprocals, insertion of dative, benefactive or associative arguments and passive
voice are used in de-transitive voices.

Different devices like discourse particles, intonation and constituent order may
be utilized for focus and topicalization purposes. In Bhojpuri, the constituents of the

clause may be freely dislocated within the clause to a great extent to topicalize, focus,
contrast, emphasize and intensify the meaning of a constituent. Apart from the

extensive use of discourse particles, different strategies are employed to mark a topic
in terms of constituent order. Existential-presentative constructions कौनो /kɔno/ 'some

or a/an' and एगो /eɡo/ 'a/an' used as an indefinite article are indefinite referents in

Bhojpuri. Similarly, the verb in EPCs is existential रह /rʌɦ/ or ह /ɦʌ/ or बा /bɑ/ and

some locational verbs such as बइठ /bʌiʈʰ/ 'sit', उठ /uʈʰ/ 'stand', रह /rʌɦ/ 'live' /क /ruk/

'stay' or entrance verbs such as आ /ɑ/ 'come/arrive' लउक /lʌuk/ 'appear', प1ँच /pʌɦũc/

'approach' along with departure verb जा /jɑ/ 'go' are frequently used in EPCs 'be'.
Though Bhojpuri is a flexible SOV language, it also exhibits the inverse order VSO or

OVS in EPCs. It is most commonly either a REL-clause, an adjective, a LOC-phrase,
a noun complement, a genitive or an associative phrase preceding the the indefinite

subject in Bhojpuri in EPCs. Though the Y-movement is contrastive, the Y-moved
referents also tend to be typically topical and anaphorical, falling under a single

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