Egophoricity in Lhowa: A Functional-Typological Perspective

This paper investigates egophoricity and its interaction with grammatical categories of verbs in Lhowa from a functional-typological perspective. Additionally, it structurally and functionally compares such interaction to other related Tibeto-Burman languages such as Lhasa Tibetan, Magar Kaike, Kathmandu Newar and Thakali. Guided by a post-positivist paradigm, this study employs a qualitative approach in categorizing the grammatical categories of verbs (viz., tense, aspect, modality and copulas) and tracking the egophoric interaction with them. Analyzing the field-based data, the paper reveals complex interactions of egophoricity with grammatical categories of verbs in Lhowa. The egophoricity (viz., egophoric vs. allophoric/non-egophoric) is exclusively constrained by volitionality and knowledge locus in declarative and interrogative constructions, respectively. In Lhowa, volitional (viz., controllable or intentional) actions are morphologically distinguished from the non-volitional events in the finite verb complex. Volitionality mainly relates to the first-person agent in a declarative construction; however, the volitionality in the second and the third persons is intrinsically tied to evidentiality. Volitional actions committed by non-first-person agents are exclusively marked with an assertive auxiliary (such as -jore) whereas non volitional events affecting non-first persons are marked with testimonial or inferential (i.e., non-egophoric existential) auxiliaries (such as (-pa) duk)). In interrogative constructions, where the rule of anticipatory agreement applies, with the second person subject (the knowledge locus), the verbs are marked with egophoric markers as the speaker expects a first-person response. The typological comparison reveals striking similarities between Lhowa and other related languages in egophoricity. It highlights egophoricity as a widespread typological feature across the Tibeto-Burman language family.