The grammar of proper names in Mebzang nDrapa

Abstract This paper investigates the intricate grammar of proper names within the Mebzang nDrapa language, a highly endangered Tibeto-Burman language spoken by a small community in western Sichuan province, China. The research meticulously examines the classes of proper names, as well as the morphological, syntactic, and semantic dimensions of proper names in Mebzang nDrapa. It offers a detailed account of their structure, usage, and cultural significance. A comparison of the morphosyntactic properties of proper names and common nouns reveals that proper names exhibit defective in inflectional potential. Proper names possess unique grammatical properties and a more limited inventory of forms than common nouns. In Mebzang nDrapa, a significant proportion of proper names facilitates communication more effectively than common nouns, as they offer immediate definite referents. Meanwhile, the adoption of proper names from Tibetan and Chinese through a long-term causal language contact has been examined in this paper.