On the morphological status of casemarkers in Dolakha Newari

Abstract

Introduction: In Dolakha Newari, the following casemarkers are in a paradigmatic relationship: (1) na/n - ergative/instrumental; ta - dative; ku - locative; ke - allative; lan - ablative. These casemarkers always occur following noun phrases (N"), a distribution which suggests that they may fall into one of two morphological categories. If they stand as free words, they may be considered to be postpositions; if they are phonologically bound, they may be considered to be clitics (Klavans 1985). However, a third possibility also exists in Dolakha, which is that they are nominal suffixes. This possibility arises out of the fact that the vast majority of noun phrases end in a noun, resulting in adjacency between noun and casemarker in most cases. These casemarkers are underlined in the following examples in order to indicate a neutral stance as to their morphological status: