SPATIAL EXPRESSIONS IN SINHALA: Appearance of Verb Forms

Most studies that have been conducted on locative constructions in many languages show the relationship between the figure and the ground in terms of geometrical or topological terms. This report shows that in Sinhala the locative expressions answer not only the question "Where is the object X," but also indicate how the figure is oriented in relation to the ground. It is also shown that the verb forms appearing in Sinhala locative expressions are sensitive to the animate/inanimate distinction. The major goal of the study is to show how the equivalents of English spatial prepositional expressions are constructed in Sinhala and how they differ from expressions in English. It is concluded that spatial expressions in Sinhala show that what Sinhala speakers conceive and conceptualize are not only the relation of the spatial entity to the localizer, but also the states, events, and actions that are involved in originating those schematizations. (JL) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** "f,ERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC).U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Mee of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONARESOURCES U INFORMATION 0 ER) his document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization origmating rt C Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction Quality Points 01 view or opions stated in this docu ment do not necesinsaroy represent otticiat OERI position or policy SPATIAL EXPRESSIONS IN SINHALA: Appearance of Verb Forms


Introduction
Sinhala (also called Sinhalese) is the language of the majority of Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean 22 miles southeast of India.Sinhala belongs to the Indo European language family.At early stages Sinhala was influenced by Sanskrit and Pali, which belong to the same language family.The earliest influence of Tamil, which is a Dravidian language, has been traced back to the 11th century A. D. Tamil has been I would like to express my gratitude to Professor C. Pye for his valuable comments for the improvement of this paper.a contact language for many centuries since then.Later, from thel6th century to the 20th century there were Portugese, Dutch, and English people in the country.The effect of these languages can be mainly seen in the lexicon.Since Sinhala did not have close contacts with other sister languages such as Hindi, Urdu or Bengali, it has developed many characteristics of its own.

The Goal of the Study
The major goal of this study is to show how the equivalents of English spatial prepositional expressions are constructed in Sinhala and how they differ from spatial expressions in English.
I will first describe how Sinhala expresses spatial relations and secondly compare spatial expressions in English and Sinhala.The structural differences between the two languages reveal interesting facts about language in general.However, this paper deals mainly with structural differences and will not concentrate on the semantic differences between the two languages.Semantic aspects will be discussed only when it is necessary to clarify structural differences.
Various labels have been assigned to the two noun phrases associated with the spatial prepositions.In the present study, 1 will use the terms spatial entity and the localizer, following Weinsberg (1973) and Ceinki (1989).
An Overview of the Siahala Grammar and the Spatial Relations Sinhala grammarians distinguish three types of words.They are the nouns, verbs, and particles.The third category is described as consisting of words which come before, after, and in between nouns and verbs and change the meanings of words.All the words which do not belong to nouns and verbs such as conjunctions, question words, locatives, emphatic words etc. fall into this category.I will examine below which category of lexical items in Sinhala represents the equivalent meanings of prepositions in English.
The major difficulty in finding translation equivalents in Sinhala for English prepositions is that there is no one category of lexical items in Sinhala, which represents the equivalent meanings of prepositions in English.First., I would like to explore some of the difficulties that would arise in finding translation equivalents of English prepositions in Sinhala by briefly looking into the case system in Sinhala, and examining which use types of English prepositions are presented by means of the case system.
Case system in Sinhala: The Sinhala language distinguishes nine cases.They are the nominative, accusative, instrumental, auxiliary, aative, ablative, genitive, locative and vocative cases.Among these, Sinhala uses the ablative and locative cases to mark spatial relations.Ceinki (1989) defines ablative spatial behavior as indicating the increase of the distance between the spatial entity and the localizer.Cumaratunga (1983) defines the ablative case as "the initial margin of the verb".This is similar to the spatial sense of the English expressions such as 'away from' and 'out or which indicate the initiation of the distance between the spatial entity and the localizer.The following example shows that Sinhala uses the suffix Lea for this purpose.
(1) a. kurulla ku:duwEn iwata pijx:6uweja kur ull-a: ku:duw-a-En iwata pijx:eAve:ja bir d+the cage+the+from outof flew The bird flew out of the cage.The Sinhala term for this case 'asl.ha:ra'means the 'support' provided by the localizer.The suffixes a, Ehi, hi  are the singular noun markers for this case.The following examples of the locative case are taken from Perera (1960).Examples in 3. a-d show, that Sinhala expresses spatial relations using suffixes.Sinhala also uses postpositions to express locative relations of support: (4) balla: px.ctura uda siti:.ball-a: pslur-a uda siti:.dorthe mat+the on staying.
The dog is on the mat.
The postposition 'uda' in Sinhala expresses an equivalent meaning of English preposition 'on' as shown in the following example.
(5) pxdura uda px.clur-a uda mat+the on on the mat The example below illustrates the placement of the localizers, spatial entities and the postpositions in a more complex spatial construction.
(6) ka:marajEhi me:saja uda mallEhi pota ka:maraj-a-Ehi aeti me:saj-a uda 2e1,i mall-a-Ehi aeSi pota roomi-the+in has table+the on has bag+the+in has book+the the book in the bag on the table in the room Use of suffixes and postpositions: It was shown above that Sinhala uses both suffixes and postpositions to show spatial relations.In some cases, where English uses the same preposition Sinhala may use either a postposition or a suffix depending on which sense of the preposition the speaker wants to convey.The following two examples illustrate the occurance of the postposition and the suffix in place of the English preposition on.gal-a uda siting monar-a: rock+the on staying peacock+the the peacock on the rock The postposition.which is the only locative marker in the phrase, conveys the equivalent meaning of the preposition Oa in this example.The following is another example where on occurs. (8) dRnwi:m puwaruwEhi puwaruw-a-chi bulietin board+the+on on the bulletin board In this example, the suffix -Ehi in ouwaruwEhi is the locative case maker, which indicates the equivalent meaning of the English preposition on in English.
What we have seen in surface structures of Sinhala and English are the realizations of the same underlying elements.
Where English uses prepositions, Sinhala uses postpositions and suffixes instead.
One goal of this study will be to examine when Sinhala would use suffixes and when it would use postpositions in representing the meaning equivalents of the English prepositions selected for this study.To illustrate the difference between the suffixes and the postpositions, it is necessary to look into some semantic aspects of the postpositions.I will use one of the most frequent postpositions, to illustrate that the use of the suffix or the postposition depends on semantic aspects.
The postposition uda and the suffix -chi represent different senses of the English preposition on.The preposition on has different senses with regard to its locative aspect.Linguists such as Herskovits (1986) and Ceinki (1989) have a given a central, core meaning for this preposition, which they label as the ideal meaning.The variations of the core meaning are given as use types.Ceinki (1989: 63) gives three semantic conditions, support, contact with boundary, and attachment for the use of the preposition on.Of the above three, the semantic condition of support, can occur in various contexts.
The semantic condition 'support' and the preposition Dn: The preposition 02 occurs in various contexts.Among them are the instances where the localizer provides various types of support to the spatial entity.on my hand on the lake on the lake on the lake on the hook on the branch on the head.as in the book Qn the table as in 1.13& cat on thc.Mat as in the squirrel on the roof as in the ant running on my hand as in the body of a mouse on my hand as in the piece of wood floating on the lake as in the boat sailing an the lake as in the swan swimming on the lake as in the umbrella on the hook as in the dead leaves on the branch as in a hat Qn your head on the clothes line as in the clothes on the clothes line on a line on the equator on the ceiling on the window on the shirt on my finger On lake on the border as in .abird perched on A line as in the countries on the equator as in the spider on tht ceiling as in t e. rain drops on the window as in the button on the shirt as in the ring on my finger as in a state on lake Michigan as in cities on the Mexican border Of these various kinds of contexts when the localizer is a supporting upward facing surface, on which the spatial entity is located, the postposition uda is used.The postposition uda is the only locative marker of the following phrases.Table, mat, roof all have an upward facing surface, and in the examples given the spatial entity is located on the upward facing surface of the localizer.The upward facing surface may be of any shape.For example, the shape of the roofs of buildings such as houses, temples and other types of buildings vary.Some roofs may be flat and others may have various types of slopes.irrespective of its shape, a bird may sit on an upside down 'v.shape roof and the spatial relation ship is lexicalized using the postposition 'uda' as in the example, 9. c.Example 9. d-f.illustrate this fact further.Example 9. d could be used only when one streches his hand so af3 to have an upward facing surface and shows that an ant is running on his hand, where as 9. e. the ant does not necessarily have to be seen as running on an upward facing surface of a hand.Example 9. f. shows when one shows a dead mouse kept on his palm.mage: ata uda (2eti mi:kuna) mage: at-a uda mi:kun-a) my hand+the on (has the dead body of a mouse) on my hand (has the dead body of a mouse) (the dead body of a mouse on my hand) In the example 9. g. a) the piece of wood is conceived as floating on the surface of the water.It is equally acceptable to use 9. g. b) where the piece of wood is conceived as located within the boundaries of the lake.In examples, h. and i. the boat and the swan are seen as located within the boundaries of :he lake.Since boats and swans are often seen within the boundaries of lakes, the use of the postposition 'uda' seems rather unusual .Therefore, in these examples, the volume of the water in the lake is conceived as a region with boundary rather than a supporting surface for the spatial entity.The phrases 9 d. and e. above compared with the phrase 9. s. below show, how Sinhala represents a moving object as the spatial cntity in 'the ant running on my hand', compared with a spatial entity which is not moving or has restricted movements as in 'the ring on my finger'. s.
wage: aegillshi (xti muduwa) wage: (xti mucluwa) my finger+the+on (has ring+the) on my finger (the ring on my finger) The suffix -Ehi, attached to the localizer in Sinhala is used to express the meaning equivalent of attachment expressed by the preposition oa in English.
The Semantic Condition Contact with Bounflary: The semantic condition contact with the boundary is expressed in the examples 9. t. and u.These are translated using the suffix -chi in Sinhala.The above examples 9. a-u show that of the various senses expressed by the English preposition n, the postposition uda is only used when a spatial entity is located on an upward facing surface of a localizer.In all other instances the suffix -Ehi is used.
It is worth mentioning here that both locative markers, the postposition uda and the suffix -chi cannot be used together with the same noun to indicate the localizer.For example, galEhi uda rock+the+on on on the rock are not acceptable to Sinhala speakers because of its apparent redundancy.The correct usage is given in examples, (9) d. and (6) respectively.

Metaphorical uses
One of the areas that linguists find difficult to analyze are metaphors.The literal translation of a metaphor (word to word) may not give the same meaning in another language.Therefore, when considering metaphors it is important to translate the intended meaning rather than the literal meaning.Here are some metaphorical uses of on in English.an this occasion as in a speech sal this occasion The Sinhala transaltions of the above are: ( 1 1 ) a. me: awasta:wEhi me: awasta:w-a-chi this occasion±thei-on on this occasion Translation equivalents of Sinhala shows that the embodiment of English expressions can be quite different in Sinhala.For example, (11) a. shows that a person can have money in his hand or near/with him.But the examples, b. and c. seems to be similar to that of English.As indicated above linguists find it difficult to stipulate any rules regarding the metaphorical uses of any language or their tr-nslation equivalents.

Appearance of the verb form in Sinhala constructions
Now I will consider some more constructions that could appear in English.First, I will look at the stative expression, There is a book on the mat.There is a book on the mat.
The same idea can be expressed in English as a noun phrase containing a prepositional phrase.The stative verb disappears in the English noun phrase, the book on the mat .The translation equivalent of this type of a simple phrase shows that the stative verb does not disappear in the Sinhala constructions.
the book on the mat The above example and the examples below, further illustrate the fact that the Sinhala constructions require a verb form which does not appear in the English translations.Consider the following: ( The relationship between the spatial entity and the localizer has been described by linguists such as Talmy (1980:   233,1983: p.258-259) in terms of geometric components.In English, the preposition of a spatial expression encodes a great deal about the geometry of the localizer, and all the semantic load is carried out by the preposition.But the preposition encodes little or none about the geometry of the spatial entity.As opposed to English, Sinhala spatial expressions carry information about the spatial entity.The verb form that occurs in the Sinhala spatial expressions tells us whether the spatial entity is animate or inanimate, whether it is moving or static and in some cases gives information about its orientation.First, I will discuss the animate inanimate distinction encoded in the verb form.
Significance of the animacy of the spatial entity: The distinction between animate and inanimate spatial entities affects the verb form of the Sinhala constructions.This sensitivity of the verb form in Sinhala spatial expressions is illustrated in the following examples.These examples show that if the spatial entity is inanimate then the verb is used and if the spatial entity is animate then the verb 'sitina' is used.
The general rules of animacy apply in selection of verbs corresponding to the animacy of the spatial entity.For example, if the speaker is referring to a dead body, then the verb ti is used.If the speaker conceives the spatial entity as animate, then the verb sitina is used.juda pitijEhi 2eti male sirura juda pitijEhi Rti male sirur-a war field has dead body+the the dead body on the war field c. jucla pitijEhi solda:duwa:ge: male sirura juda pitijEhi solda:duw-a:-ge: male sirur-a war field has soldier+the+4pos.dead body+the the dead body of the soldier on the war field possesive marker 22 As it is in English, Sinhala represents a body of a person as an inanimate entity and hence the use of the verb yeti.

Occurance of verb forms other than stative verbs
Following are some of the verbs that express the spatial relations in Sinhala.In Sinhala constructions, the occurance of the verb denoting an action and the stative verb that follows it represent a resultative state.The speaker conceives the state of the spatial entity as a result of the action of the verb.For example, in 17.a the Sinhala equivalent of 'the cat hiding under the table' shows that the cat is located under the table as a consequence of its action of hiding under the table.me:saja asala jaturu lijamin siting gh2nija me:saj-a asala jaturu lijamin siting gxhnij-a table+the near key writing staying woman+the the woman typing at the table g. putuwa uda hidagcna siting minisa: putuw-a uda hidagEnc.N siting minis-a: chair+the on sitting staying man+the the man on the chair All these examples present resultative states in Sinhala.For exampe, in 17. j. the verb hxda siting indicates the consequence of wearing the shirt.In 17. k.Ella anti indicates that the speaker conceives the clothes as a result of somebody's hanging them on the line and in 17.1.b?eda siting is a resultative state of somebody's tying the dog.All these give information about the orientation (i.e. what action has caused the spatial entity to be in that state) of the spatial entity.
It is worth mentioning here the difference between the examples 3.d and 17.k.The difference between these two seems purely pragmatic.If a speaker wants to emphasise the action that caused the location of the spatial entity, then he may choose 17.k.If he is refering just to the locality of the spatial entity then the he would prefer the example 3.d.As indicated earlier, the location of the spatial entity in relation to the localizer is expressed using either a postposition or a suffix in Sinhala.The special feature in Sinhala spatial expressions is that Sinhala also shows how the spatial entity is oriented in relation to the localizer.

Lative spatial expressions in Sinhala
The embodiment of information in lative expressions are different compared with the locative constructions in Sinhala.Lative spatial expressions indicate a movement of the spatial entity in relation to the localizer.Following are some examples of lative spatial constructions in Sinhala.
( 1 8) a. nuwara site Ena basaja nuwara site Ena basaj-a kandy from coming bus-the the bus coming from Kandy g.
nuwar in pitatwEna basaja nuwara-in pitatwEna basaj-a Kandy-from leaving bus+the the bus leaving Kandy h.nuwarata jana basaja nuwara-ta jana basaj-a kandy-to going bus+the the bus going to Kandy Since these examples express a movement of the spatial entity they do not contain a stative verb.The spatial relations between the two entities are expressed in terms of spatial verbs and either a case marker (example g.) or a postposition (example f.).

Constraints on the verb form
The following examples illustrate the constraints on using the verb forms in locative constructions in Sinhala.Both of the following phrases could be used and are grammatical in Sinhala.The acceptability of the following constructions, as locative noun phrases, without the verb is questionable.
(24) a) *me:saja uda pota b) *me:saja uda balala: The unacceptability of the constructions in (24) seems to be due to their incompleteness (i.e.omission of the verb).
The spatial entity pllama (the stain) is seen as an inseparable part of kamisajFhi (in the shirt).When a part whole relationship is expressed, Sinhala has the choice of omitting the verb form.The following examples illustrate this fact further.your head+the+on (has) hair the hair on your head Therefore, when the relationship between the spatial entity and thelocalizer is seen as a part whole relationship in a locative construction the verb is optional as in the example (19) above.

Summary
This discussion shows that the equivalent expressions of prepositional spatial constructions in English are constructed in Sinhala using suffixes or postpositions depending on the meaning that the speaker wants to convey.In English spatial prepositional expressions, the spatial entity is described in relation to the localizer in a projected space.It was shown that in Sinhala, in addition to the description of the location of the spatial entity, the orientation of the spatial entity too is shown with reference to the localizer in the projected space.Also it was shown that this is done by means of a stative verb.These r:tative verbs are sensitive to animate/inanimate, part/whole, and resultative distinctions.
In conclusion, spatial expressions in Sinhala show that what Sinhala speakers conceive and conceptualize are not only the relation of the spatial entity to the localizer, but also the states, events and actions which are involved in originating those schematizations.
The bird flew from the cage.The locative spatial expressions, are used to show the spatial entity in the place identified by the prepositional place.
uda (duwana ku:bija:) mage: at-a uda (cluwana ku:bij-a:) my hand+the on (running ant+the) on my hand (the ant running on my hand) chi (duwana ku:bij-a:) my hand+on (running ant+the) on my hand (the ant running on my hand) f.
on the lakeThe following are examples, where the localizer provides support for the spatial entity, and the localizer is not conceived as having an upward facing surface.The suffix -Ehi occurs in such instances.
line or an imaginery line is involved, the localizer is not conceived as having an upward facing surface, the suffix -Ehi is used as the locative case marker.

(
the blue shirt.
the blue shirt would be unacceptable.Also look at the following examples.
The following are examples: s. t. u.