345

CHAPTER 12

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

12.1 Summary of Study

The analysis presented here is the result of my comprehensive investigation of the

nouns and noun phrases of the Modem Khmer language. The study marks my

contribution to Khmer studies, particularly in the area of syntax. In addition to my actual

analysis, this work gives enough data and background to serve as a basis for further

contributions to the study of Khmer grammar.

No other comprehensive syntactic analysis studies are available for evaluation or

comparison with this research. Despite the limitations imposed by the lack of previous

up-to-date syntactic work on which to build, I believe I have found some interesting

regularities and generalizations in the area of nouns and noun phrases.

There are no adjective or determiner classes in the Khmer language. The word

classes of the Khmer language are those allowed by the lexicase framework, and the

structure of noun phrases is consistent with the constraints imposed by this model. In

addition they are supported and consistent with the right-branching typology of SVO

languages. The role of demonstrative pronouns is very critical and crucial in the

Chhan

y Sak

-Hum

phry

1996

346

language; they disambiguate constructions as a whole, and help to demarcate individual

constituents.

In general, the verb is the basic backbone of the construction. The syntactic

dependency relationships between a regent and its immediate adjacent dependents are

investigated and a summary is presented in Table 12.1.

Noun classes in Khmer were found to include: the anaphoric noun qaa,pronouns,

classifier nouns, relator nouns (which consist of the locational relator nouns and the non-

locational relator noun rbah2),extension nouns (which are subdivided into the relative

noun daacl and the non-relative noun kaar), number nouns and non-number nouns, which

are composed of independent location nouns and ordinary nouns (chapter 3).

The word qaa in Khmer is an anaphoric noun that shares similar characteristics

with other nouns, such as being able to function as the Nom-PAT, Nom-AGT or Acc-

PAT of a verb in a construction, and as a predicate dependent of a copula verb. It is not a

pronoun because it must have a dependent, whereas a pronoun does not require one. In

addition it takes a restrictive modifier and a pronoun takes only a non-restrictive modifier.

It can function as the regent of the extension nouns daacl and kaar and of relational

nouns (relator nouns and the noun rbah2),whereas pronouns cannot.

This dissertation proposes a new universally applicable definition of pronouns

that enables lexicase theory to capture various syntactic and semantic generalizations

about pronouns and non-pronominal nouns.

Chhan

y Sak

-Hum

phry

1996

347

The comprehensive subcategorizationof pronouns enables us to have a better

understanding of Khmer pronouns and their syntactic functions in pairwise dependency

relationships.

The classifier nouns belong to a subclass of nouns and they bear the predicate

function in relation to their regents, number nouns and the anaphoric noun. This class of

nouns cannot take a dependent attribute. Lexically, classifier nouns are fascinating and

rich in morphology (chapter 6).

The two extension nouns that were discussed in this work are daad and kaar.

They are distinctive and function as the head of an NP. The relative noun daad can have

verbs, nouns (including qaa and kaar), personal pronouns, number nouns, locational

nouns and common nouns as its regents, and some pronouns and verbs as its dependents.

The non-relative noun kaarfunctions as a nominalizer; it can only have verbs and the

anaphoric noun qaa as its regents, and it can take verbs, pronouns and nouns including

the predicate relative noun daad and the predicate possessive noun rbah2as its

dependents (but daad cannot take kaaras its dependent). In addition, the complement

clause dependent of the non-relative noun kaardoes not require a gap, whereas a relative

clause dependent on daadhas a gap (chapter 7).

The relator noun class is subcategorized into location and non-location subclasses.

The syntactic differences between the locational relator nouns and free location nouns is

Chhan

y Sak

-Hum

phry

1996

348

that locational relator nouns must have a dependent. Locational relator nouns are

different from prepositions in that they are the head of an endocentric construction

whereas prepositions are the head of an exocentric construction, and also in that they can

occupy the subject and object slots, whereas prepositions cannot (chapter 8).

The possessive noun rbah2 has a critical syntactic role of paraphrasing

constructions that would otherwise be ungrammatical due to the syntactic constraints

imposed by the linear precedence order. It functions as the predicate dependent to its

regents and requires a COR dependent (chapter 8).

A number noun is a predicate noun except when it functions as the subject or

object of a verb. It can take pronouns, the predicate relative noun daael, and of course

predicate classifier nouns as its dependents, but cannot take the anaphoric noun qaa,free

location nouns or common nouns as its dependents. A number noun can have anaphoric

nouns, location nouns and common nouns as its regents, but it cannot have pronouns,

classifier nouns, extension nouns and relational nouns as its regents (chapter 9).

An independent or free location noun is a noun which can appear as the

immediate sole dependent of the location verb n;}wj. It can be the regent of all subclasses

of nouns except classifiers, and can have the anaphoric noun, relational nouns and

ordinary nouns as it dependents (chapter 10).

Khmer ordinary nouns are basic countable nouns. Proper nouns, title nouns and

mass nouns constitute the semantic subclasses of ordinary nouns. Ordinary nouns can

Chhan

y Sak

-Hum

phry

1996

349

take all noun types except classifier nouns as their dependents. They can have anaphoric

nouns, locational relator nouns, non-Iocationallocation nouns rbah2andnjj, and other

ordinary nouns as their regents (chapter 10).

The syntactic linear precedence hierarchy of a noun phrase that has more than one

dependent sister can be summarized by this sequential order:

(1) r COR 1 < [+prdc]i V ~

lLOC J

(2) r COR 1 < r COR 1

iv ~ iv ~

lp J lp J

(3) rvi pl

1 < N~

J

12.2 Contributions

To the extent that the results of this investigation of nouns and noun phrases of

Modem Khmer has been successful, it makes a contribution to comparative syntactic

research on the languages of the Mon-Khmer group. Like any other scientific hypothesis,

this dissertation represents the current state of our knowledge of the subject matter, and

will require changes as new data are included and new generalizations are discovered.

These results also complete another step in my plan to work on a Khmer reference

grammar in the near future, with the collaboration of other scholars in several subfields of

linguistics.

Chhan

y Sak

-Hum

phry

1996

Dependents

Anaphoric Nqaa [+nphr]neh, nah

[+dfnt,+lctn]naaj, naa2

[-dfnt, +lctn]

naamziu;Jjj,naamziU;Jj2

[+spcf]

sq{};J.h, Sq{};Jj2

[-spcf, -anmt]khJlOm

[+dfnt, -lctn]qne;Jknaaj,qne;Jknaa2

[-spcf, +anmt]Classifier N

daad [+rltv]kaar [-rhy]LocationalRelator N

[+lctn, +rltr]rbah2 or nij[-lctn, +rltr]Number NLocation NOrdinary N

qaa

LaC

LaC

+prdc

+prdc

+prdc

+prdc

+prdc+prdc+prdc

+prdc+prdc+prdc

Table 12.1 Syntactic Dependencyof Khmer Nouns

Pronouns[+pmn]

SYNTACTIC DEPENDENCY OF KHMER NOUNSClassifier Extension N Locational rbah2 or nijN [+c1sf] daael & kaar Relator N [-lctn, +rltr]

[+rlty] [-rhy] [+lctn, +rltrj- - COR- -

[+prnn, -lctn] LaC

[+dfnt, -lctn] LaC,+prdc

[-anmt] +prdc[+dfnt, -lctn] +prdc

-

-

-

-[+dfnt, -lctn] +prdc

[-spcf] +prdc- -

- -

---

-

- LaC

- LaC

LaC

LaC

- +prdc I+prdc

- +prdc I+prdc

-

-

----

-

---

-

-

-- +prdc--

- +prdc

---

COR

-

-

COR

- COR

- COR

- --

- -- -

-

- -- COR

COR-

COR

-

-

-

-

COR

COR

----

-

-CORCOR

NumberN

[+nmbr]-

LaC

LaC

+prdc

+prdc

-

-

+prdc+prdc

--

-

---

LocationN

[+lctn}COR

LaC

LaC

+prdc

+prdc

COR

COR

-+prdc

-LaC

+prdc

+prdcLaC, COR

COR

OrdinaryN

[-lctn]+prdc,CORLaC

LaC

+prdc

+prdc

COR

COR

-+prdc

-LaC

+prdc

+prdcLaCCOR

wVI0

Chhan

y Sak

-Hum

phry

1996