The hallmark of Tai-Kadai consonant systems is the presence of labialized/palatalized consonants and their relatively large size (with more than 30 simple and 15 labialized/palatalized consonants). We sketch two outstanding consonant systems below: the BuyangThe Buyang 布央 language is spoken by a group of 2,000 people in three locations: in eight villages of Fùníng 富宁 county, Yunnan; in Guǎngnán 广南 county, Yunnan province and in Nàpō 那坡 county of Guǎngxī 广西 province. The data originate from Li and Luo’s grammar published in 2010. The Buyang 布央 language is spoken by a group of 2,000 people in three locations: in eight villages of Fùníng 富宁 county, Yunnan; in Guǎngnán 广南 county, Yúnnán 云南 province and in Nàpō 那坡 county of Guǎngxī 广西 province. The data originate from Li and Luo’s grammar published in 2010.

Li, Jinfang and Lou Yongxiang, 2010, The Buyang Language of South China. Pacific Linguistics 607. Canberra: The Australian National University. simple consonants and the ThaiThai, or Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the first language of 20 million Thai people, in addition to being the second language of 40 million people. Thai is a Southwestern Tai language. The data in this section have been quoted from Iwasaki and Ingkaphirom’s Thai reference grammar.

Iwasaki, S. and P. Ingkaphirom, 2005, A reference grammar of Thai. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. complex consonants.

The Buyang language exhibits a remarkable system of 28 non-fricative consonantsIn addition to these 28 non-fricative consonants there are also 10 fricative, 5 palatalized and 15 labialized consonants. which contrast aspirated with non-aspirated consonants throughout all points and modes of articulation. Of particular significance are the subsets of four unvoiced plosive (first two rows), three voiced plosive (next two rows), four nasal (next two rows), two glide (next two rows) and one lateral points of articulation (next two rows).

[p]:

pi33

‘duck’

[t]:

taːk33

‘vomit’

[k]:

ka322

‘handle’

[q]:

qa322

‘grass’

[ph]:

phi33

‘smell’

[th]:

thaːk33

‘to nail’

[kh]:

khɔ33

‘afternoon’

[qh]:

qhɔ33

‘bone’

[b]:

baːu33

‘hug’

[d]:

da33

‘boat’

[g]:

ga45

‘water’

[bɦ]:

bɦaːu33jɦi33

‘wave’

[dɦ]:

dɦa33

‘wine’

[gɦ]:

gɦa45

‘light’

[m]:

man322

‘flee’

[n]:

nuŋ322

‘dirty’

[ȵ]:

ȵɛ33

‘only’

[ŋ]:

ŋu33

‘pus’

[mɦ]:

mɦan322

‘porcupine’

[nɦ]:

nɦuŋ322

‘muddy’

[ȵɦ]:

ȵɦɛ33

‘sea’

[ŋɦ]:

ŋɦu33

‘sweet’

[w]:

wi33

‘night’

[j]:

ja11

‘female’

[wɦ]:

wɦi33

‘sack’

[jɦ]:

jɦa11

‘throw’

[l]:

laːk33

‘understand’

[lɦ]:

lɦaːk33

‘collapse’

In ThaiSee Iwasaki, S. And P. Ingkaphirom, 2005, A reference grammar of Thai, p. 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., it is not the simple consonants, but the 11 consonant clusters that are truly remarkable. These clusters, which involve a voiceless plosive and a liquid [l, r] or glide sound [w], are exemplified below.

[pr]:

pra42wat42

‘story’

[tr]:

truat11

‘examine’

[kr]:

kruŋ33theːp42

‘Bangkok’

[pɦr]:

pɦra24soŋ24

‘monk’

[kɦr]:

khruː33

‘teacher’

[pl]:

plaː33

‘fish’

[kl]:

klaː42

‘brave’

[pɦl]:

pɦloː11

‘appear’

[kɦl]:

khlaŋ33

‘treasury’

[kw]:

kwaːŋ42

‘wide’

[kɦw]:

khwaːŋ42

‘hurl’

The vowel system in LaoThe Lao language is spoken as first language by more than 21 million people: by three million out of 5.6 million citizens in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and by more than 18 million people in northeastern Thailand where it is referred to as the Isan language. Lao/Isan is intelligible with Thai, the national language of Thailand. The Thai and Lao scripts are similar in that both are derived from the Khmer script in Angkor in 1283 (Thai) and in 1350 (Lao). However, they differ in several respects as well. The Lao script uses fewer characters and the shape of its characters is more curvilinear (Ronnakiat 1992; Lew 2014). In this section, the language data originate from Enfield’s Lao Grammar (2007).

Enfield, N. J., 2007, A grammar of Lao. Mouton Grammar Library 38. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Lew, S., 2014, A linguistic analysis of the Lao writing system and its suitability for minority language orthographies. Writing System Research 6(1), 25-40.

Ronnakiat, N., 1992, Evidence of the Thai alphabet can be found in inscriptions. The Third International Symposium on Language and Linguistics, pp. 1326 - 1334. represents the Tai-Kadai languages with a typologically large number of distinct points in the vowel space, nine, and with regular short/long contrasts. Furthermore, there are three diphthongs. The vowel system is almost identical to the vowel system of ThaiSee Iwasaki, S. and P. Ingkaphirom, 2005, A reference grammar of Thai, p.5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press..

Vowel type		unrounded			rounded
		front	central	back	back
Monophthongs	high	i, iː		ɯ, ɯː	u, uː
	mid	e, eː	ə, əː		o, oː
	low	ɛ, ɛː	a, aː		ɔ, ɔː
Diphthongs		ia		ɯa	ua

Table 1: The Lao vowel system

Tai-Kadai languages exhibit between five and nine phonological tones. Thai with five contrastive tones is at the low end and Kam with nine contrastive tones at the high end of this scale. MaonanAccording to the Chinese 2000 census, the Maonan 毛南 language is spoken by 107,166 people in eight counties of Northwestern Guangxi （环江 Huánjiāng, Héchí 河池, Nándān 南丹, Tiān'é 天峨, Dū'ān 都安, Yízhōu 宜州, Róng'ān 融安） and in three counties of Southern Guizhou （Píngtáng 平塘, Huìshuǐ 惠水, Dúshān 独山）., NungAccording to the 2009 census of the Vietnamese Government, different varieties of the Nung language are spoken by 970,000 people in the provinces of Lạng Sơn and Cao Bằng of Northern Vietnam as well as across the border in Nàpō 那坡 County of Guangxi Province, China. The Nung language is a Central Tai language. The data presented in this section originate from Saul and Freiberger Wilson’s grammar published in 1980.

Saul, Janice and Nancy Freiberger Wilson, 1980, Nung Grammar. Dallas: The Summer Institute of Linguistics. use six and BuyangSee Li, Jinfang and Lou Yongxiang, 2010, The Buyang Language of South China. Pacific Linguistics 607, p.11. Canberra: The Australian National University. seven tones. The two undulated tones of Maonan and Kam ([²³¹] and [²¹³] respectively [³²³] and [⁴⁵³]) are notable.

ThaiSee Iwasaki, S. and P. Ingkaphirom, 2005, A reference grammar of Thai, p.5 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.	5 tones	[55]	[33]	[11]	[24]	[42]
(Thailand)		khaː55khaː55 ‘trade’.	khaː33khaː55 ‘unsettle’.	khaː11khaː11 ‘root’.	khaː24khaː24 ‘leg’.	khaː42khaː42 ‘kill’.
MaonanThe Maonan 毛南 data originate from Lu Tianqiao (2008:91)’s Grammar of Maonan. In addition to the tones listed here, Lu reports two tone variants of 44 and 24 in checked syllables. Lu Tianqiao, 2008, A Grammar of Manoan. Boca Rota, Florida: Universal Publishers.	6 tones	[44]			[24]	[42]		[51]	[213]	[231]
(China)		ma44ma44 ‘to steep’.			ma24ma24 ‘rack’.	ma42ma42 ‘dog’.		ma51ma51 ‘stepmother’.	ma213ma213 ‘feed’.	ma231ma231 ‘tongue’.
BuyangFor the data in Buyang, see Li, Jinfang and Lou Yongxiang, 2010, The Buyang Language of South China. Pacific Linguistics 607, p.11 Canberra: The Australian National University.	7 tones	[55]	[33]	[11]	[24]	[31]	[45]		[322]
(China)		ti55ti55 ‘one’.	ti33ti33 ‘pair’.	ti11ti11 ‘bowl’.	ti24ti24 ‘whittle’.	ti31ti31 ‘wash’.			ti322ti322 ‘empty’.
		taŋ55tɕhu33taŋ55tɕhu33 ‘market’.	taŋ33taŋ33 ‘flat’.		taŋ24taŋ24 ‘soak’.	taŋ31taŋ31 ‘paddle’.	taŋ45taŋ45 ‘stand’.
KamThe Kam data originate from Southern Kam (Róngjiāng 榕江 county) and are fieldwork data of Matthias Gerner 1995-2008.	9 tones	[55]	[33]	[11]	[13]	[31]	[35]	[53]	[323]	[453]
(China)		ma55ma55 ‘vegetables’.	ma33ma33 ‘chew’.	ma11ma11 ‘tongue’.		ma31ma31 ‘horse’.	ma35ma35 ‘come’.		ma323ma323 ‘cloud’.	ma453ma453 ‘soak’.
		ja55ja55 ‘cloth’.	ja33ja33 ‘also’.	ja11ja11 ‘two’.	ja13ja13 ‘handkerchief’.	ja31ja31 ‘evil’.		ja53ja53 ‘field’.		ja453ja453 ‘red’.

Tai-Kadai languages employ clitics instead of affixes. Clitics exhibit less strong bonds with their hosts and preserve their original lexical meaning in many cases. Thai is the only Tai-Kadai language that uses affixes in addition to clitics. It is interesting to note that most of these affixes are borrowed from Sanskrit, Pali, or Khmer with which Thai was in contact for centuries. The most common clitics in the Tai-Kadai languages are the diminutive and augmentative clitics, the clitic of professions, and the spatial clitic. The diminutive proclitic is lexicalizedThere is lack of consensus among scholars on derivational affixes/clitics. Lehmann (1989:12) and others opine that derivational affixes are derived from roots in compounds as an instance of lexicalization (e.g. the Old High German noun haidus ‘pattern’ ≻ Modern High German Schön-heit), while Ramat (1992), Hopper and Traugott (1993) and others contend that these processes are examples of grammaticalization. For us, productivity is an important criterion: The English productive suffix –ly (from -lic ‘body’) is an instance of grammaticalization, while the derivational suffixes -heit, or -dom look like instances of lexicalization.

Lehmann, C., 1989, Grammatikalisierung und Lexikalisierung. Zeitschrift für Phonetik, Sprachwissenschaft und Kommunikationsforschung 42, 11-19.

Ramat, P., 1992, Thoughts on degrammaticalization. Linguistics 30, 549-560.

Hopper, P. and E. Traugott, 2003, Grammaticalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. from *luk ‘child’, whereas the augmentative proclitics are lexicalized either from *me ‘mother’ or *pa ‘father’ in the Proto-Tai-Kadai language. The ‘profession’ proclitic is derived from the old noun *ɕaŋ ‘artisan’, and the spatial proclitic is lexicalized from *k^haŋ ‘side’ which can also be used as classifier for members of a pair in many Tai-Kadai languages.

Clitic	Clitic and host	KamThe Kam data originate from Southern Kam (Róngjiāng 榕江 county) and are fieldwork data of Matthias Gerner 1995-2003.	ZhuangThe Zhuang data in this subsection are Standard Zhuang (from Guǎngxī 广西, Nánníng 南宁, Wǔmíng 武鸣) that were collected by Matthias Gerner during 1996-2003. The data were compared with Qín (2004)’s lexicological data. The diminutive and augmentative affixes are generally preposed to the noun, and are sometimes suffixed as well. The term for ‘father’ is po21 and sounds similar to the human classifier *pou33. Both forms are used to encode different social relations. Qín Xiǎoháng 覃晓航, 2004, Zhuang Lexicology 壮语词汇学. Beijing 北京：Nationality Press 民族出版社.	ThaiSee Iwasaki and Ingkaphirom (2005: 18). The diminutive clitic luːk42 in Thai also functions as classifier for large roundish objects. Iwasaki, S. and P. Ingkaphirom, 2005, A reference grammar of Thai. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.	BuyangSee Li, Jinfang and Lou Yongxiang, 2010, The Buyang Language of South China, p.29. Pacific Linguistics 607. Canberra: The Australian National University.	HlaiSee Burusphat, Somsonge, Wen Minying and Wen Ying, 2003, Hlai (Li)-Chinese-Thai-English Dictionary. Salaya (Thailand): Mahidol University.
diminutive	‘child, son’	lak31(un323)	lɯk21	luːk42(tɕhaːj33)	laːk11	ɬɯːk55
	‘girl, daughter’	lak31mjɛk323	lɯk21θaːu24	luːk42saːw24	laːk11pa33mai11	ɬɯːk55uːŋ53
	‘piglet’	lak31ŋu453	mou24lɯk21	luːk42muː24	laːk11mu31	ɬɯːk55bou53
	‘chestnut’	lak31lət11	lɯk21lat21	luːk42hɛːw42	laːk11ma55ði33
	‘finger’ (little hand)	lak31mja11	lɯk21fɯŋ42		laːk11qɛ322
	‘spindle’ (little loom)	lak31ɕa13
	‘bullet’ (little bomb)		lɯk21ma33	luːk42kraʔ11sun24
augmentative	‘mother’	nəi31	me21	mɛː42	ja11	pai11
	‘female’	məi31	me21	mɛː42	ja11	pai11
	‘father’	pu31	po21	phɔː42	pa33	pha11
	‘male’	dak11	pou33	phuː42	paːu45	pha11
	‘uncle; godfather’	pu31lau31	po21kei44	phɔː42ʔup11pa11tham24	pa33laːu31
	‘bull’	dak11sən11	ɕɯ33pou33	wuːa33tuːa33phuː42	paːu⁴⁵nhɯ33	pha11ȵiu53
	‘cow’	məi31sən11	ɕɯ33me21	mɛː42khoː33	ja11nhɯ33	pai11ȵiu53
	‘rooster’ (male)	dak11ai53	kai44pou33	kaj11tuːa33phuː42	paːu⁴⁵qai322	pha11khai53
	‘hen’ (female)	məi31ai53	kai44me21	mɛː42kaj11	ja11qai322	pai11khai53
	‘thumb’ (big hand)	məi31mja11	me21fɯŋ42	huːa24mɛː42mɯː33	ja11qɛ322	pai11ziːŋ55
	‘thigh’ (big leg)		me21ka24		ʁa11paːu45
	‘daytime’ (big day)					pai11hwan53
	‘river’ (big water)			mɛː42naːm55	ja11Ɂɔŋ45
‘profession’	‘blacksmith’	ɕaŋ33tun53	ɕaŋ21tiːt44	tɕaːŋ42tiː33lek11	tɕaːŋ31qan45	tshai11be55thaːi55goːi53
	‘goldsmith’	ɕaŋ33tɕəm55	ɕaŋ21kim24	tɕaːŋ42 thɔːŋ33	tɕaːŋ31tɕaːi45	tshai11be55tshai53
	‘carpenter’	ɕaŋ33məi31	ɕaŋ21fai33	tɕaːŋ42maːj55	tɕaːŋ31ma55ti322	tshai11be55tshai53
	‘song master’	ɕaŋ33a55	ɕaŋ21fɯːn24		(pa33θɯ31jaŋ33)
	‘wizard’	ɕaŋ33səu13	ɕaŋ21jaɯ55tiːk21		(pa33pi45)
	‘servant’	(lak31əi13)	(pou33hoːi44)		(pa33pa24)
‘side’	‘in front of’	maŋ53un53	paːi21na55	khaːŋ42naː42	Ɂan322jha33	(daŋ53)
	‘behind’	maŋ53lən11	paːi21laŋ24	khaːŋ42laŋ24	Ɂan322lan31	(dui11)
	‘left’	maŋ53ɕe323	paːi21θɯːi33/mbiːŋ55θɯːi33	khaːŋ42saːj55	ma33mit11	phai11ɬɯm11
	‘right’	maŋ53wa35	paːi21kva42/mbiːŋ55kva42	khaːŋ42khwaː24	ma33maːŋ24	phai11ten55
	‘above’	maŋ53u55	paːi21kɯn42	khaːŋ42nʉa24	maːŋ33naɯ45	phai11teɯ53
	‘below’	maŋ53te323	paːi21la55	khaːŋ42taːj42	maːŋ33də33	phai11fou53

Table 2: Clitics in five Tai-Kadai languages

Tai-Kadai languages allow the reduplication of nouns, classifiers, verbs, adjectives, ideophones, as well as certain determiners and adverbs. This reduplication conveys expressive and even sound-symbolic meanings. In this section, we describe two representative languages, Zhuang and KamThe data presented in this section originate from Gerner (2010), a journal article which integrates elicited data of the Zhuang and Kam languages. The varieties used are Standard Zhuang (from Guǎngxī 广西, Nánníng 南宁, Wǔmíng 武鸣), and Southern Kam (from Guìzhōu 贵州 Róngjiāng 榕江).

Gerner, M., 2010, Compositional and constructional reduplication in Kam-Tai languages. Folia Linguistica 44(2), 267-337..

It is possible to reduplicate monosyllabic count nouns, classifiers, and measure nouns, which can convey the meaning of distributive universal quantification.

Zhuang and Kam form collective nouns from two members of a collection. These compound nouns (AB) can be reduplicated in accordance with the pattern AABB and convey universal quantification over all members of the concerned collection.

		Zhuang
(1)		θaːi24θaːi24	bɯk55bɯk55	ɕan42ɕan42	kɯn	haɯ24fɯːn24.
		man~all	woman~all	press on	LOC.on	platform
		‘All the men and women have crowded the platform.’

(2)	a.	pei42	nuːŋ42		b.	pei⁴²pei⁴²	nuːŋ⁴²nuːŋ⁴²
		elder brother	younger brother			elder-brother~all	younger-brother~all
		‘brothers and cousins’				‘all the brothers and cousins’

		Kam
(3)		ɕaŋ11ɕaŋ11	jaŋ33jaŋ33	ɕək13	pon11	ma35	lʲeu31.
		bed~all	quilt~all	QUANT.all	move	come	DP
		‘You moved all your house utensils here!’

(4)	a.	pu31	lak31		b.	pu31pu31	lak31lak31
		father	son			father~all	son~all
		‘father-son, clan, tribe’				‘whole clan, whole tribe’

Reduplication is possible on the majority of verbs in Zhuang and Kam, but not on a substantial portion of these two languages. No clear rule distinguishes those that can from those that cannot. Equivalent verbs of other Tai-Kadai languages follow Zhuang and Kam and tend either to allow or to disallow reduplication.

Table 5: Reduplication of Monosyllabic Verbs

Zhuang exhibits submorphemic reduplication of the verb, a rare pattern found in no other Tai-Kadai language. The initial consonant of a verb (C) is copied to the epenthetic syllable aɯ³⁵ (C-aɯ³⁵). This process conveys the speed of a dynamic activity.

Table 6: Submorphemic epenthetic verb reduplication in Zhuang (1^st Pattern)

There is a longer and more expressive pattern of submorphemic reduplication in Zhuang. This construction expresses a sense of speed and vividness.

Verb		Verb~C-i55~Verb~C-aɯ35
eu55	‘break’	eu55i55eu55aɯ35	‘break quickly’
piːn35	‘change’	piːn35pi55piːn35paɯ35	‘change quickly’
tik55	‘kick’	tik55ti55tik55taɯ35	‘kick quickly’
ke35	‘count’	ke35ki55ke35kaɯ35	‘count quickly’
fat55	‘sprinkle’	fat55fi55fat55faɯ35	‘sprinkle quickly’
lum31	‘forget’	lum31li55lum31laɯ35	‘forget quickly’
ŋaːu31	‘shake’	ŋaːu31ŋi55ŋaːu31ŋaɯ35	‘shake quickly’

Table 7: Submorphemic epenthetic verb reduplication in Zhuang (2^nd Pattern)

Disyllabic adjectives (AB) are reduplicated in one of the two patterns, as AABB or as ABAB. However, no rule predicts the pattern of a disyllabic adjective, whereas native speakers are required to acquire the reduplication pattern in their childhood.

Table 8: Reduplication of Disyllabic Adjectives

Tai-Kadai languages allow reduplicated ideophones to be appended to nouns, adjectives, and verbs. The resulting expressions function as adjectival or verbal predicates. In general, the ideophones carry no particular meaning but convey sound-symbolic senses.

In Tai-Kadai languages, personal pronoun systems fall into five form types. The majority of Tai-Kadai languages distinguish between inclusive/exclusiveSee Siewierska, A., 2004, Person. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 100-111. first person plural pronouns referring to a group with or without the addressee. The Kam language is of type I with seven primitive (different and underived) pronouns; Hlai and Zhuang belong to type II with six primitive pronouns and one plural form which is an affixed singular form. Similarly, Gelao and Nung are type III languages with six different forms, one of which denotes two different persons. In Buyang and Be, two type IV languages and three primitive singular pronouns exist, with their plural counterparts being affixed singular forms. Finally, Thai is a type V language:

The pronoun system in Thai is typologically rare and imbibes both syncretic and differential features. The system is syncretic in that it contains pronouns that denote different personsThe pronouns raw and tua are used for first and second person; kháw is used for first and third person; thân, khun, thəə, naay kɛɛ are pronouns employed for second and third person.. However, it is also differential in that it uses a wide range of pronouns for each person: 27 first-person pronouns, 22 second-person pronouns, and eight third-person pronouns. The gender of the referent and the level of formality are the features that distinguish these forms. Some of these pronouns are rarely used and therefore, antiquated.

	Type I	Type II		Type III		Type IV		Type V
	(7 primitive forms)	(6 primitive, 1 derived)		(6 primitive, 1 ambiguous)		(3 primitive, 4 derived)		(special)
	KamThe Kam forms originate from the southern dialect and were collected by Matthias Gerner in 1999.	HlaiThe Hlai pronouns are quoted from Burusphat et al. (2003)’s dictionary: Burusphat, Somsonge, Wen Minying and Wen Ying, 2003, Hlai (Li)-Chinese-Thai-English Dictionary. Salaya (Thailand): Mahidol University.	ZhuangThe Zhuang data are from Standard Zhuang (in Guǎngxī 广西, Nánníng 南宁, Wǔmíng 武鸣) and were collected by Matthias Gerner during 1996-2003 and compared with Qín (2004)’s lexicological data: Qín Xiǎoháng 覃晓航, 2004, Zhuang Lexicology 壮语词汇学, Beijing 北京：Nationality Press 民族出版社.	GelaoField work data collected by Matthias Gerner in 1998.	NungThe pronouns are quoted from the Nung Grammar written by Janice Saul and Nancy Freiberger Wilson (1980: 20). Saul, Janice and Nancy Freiberger Wilson (1980). Nung Grammar. Dallas: The Summer Institute of Linguistics.	BuyangThe Buyang data originate from the grammar The Buyang Language of South China written by Li and Luo (2010: 23): Li, Jinfang and Lou Yongxiang, 2010, The Buyang Language of South China. Pacific Linguistics 607. Canberra: The Australian National University.	BeThe Be 临高 language is spoken on Hǎinán 海南 island. The pronouns were collected by Matthias Gerner in 1997.	ThaiData are quoted from Iwasaki and Ingkaphirom’s Thai grammar (2005: 49-52). Iwasaki, S. and P. Ingkaphirom, 2005, A reference grammar of Thai. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
1st Person Singular	jau11	de11	kau24	Ɂi35	cau35	ku322	hau55	chán The form chán is the most common first person pronoun used by both men and women at the mid-level of formality. Seven more pronouns are in use, but depend on the gender of the speaker and the extent of formality. The form khaː42pha33tɕaw42 is rare, used by both men and women in formal writing; kra33phom24 is used exclusively by a male speaker when addressing high-ranking non-royalty or in other very formal situations; phom24 is the most general polite form used by male speakers when speaking to superiors and to peers in a formal setting; the pronoun di33tɕhan55 is the female counterpart of phom24; the pronoun kuː33 is used by both men and women in informal contexts; finally, the main use of khaw55 is that of a third person pronoun, but can also be used as first person pronoun by female speakers in informal settings. For an elucidation of these pronouns, see Iwasaki and Ingkaphirom, 2005, A reference grammar of Thai. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.50.
2nd Person Singular	ȵa11	meɯ53	mɯŋ31	mu35	mưhng33	mə31	mə55	naːj33 The form naːj33 is the unmarked second person singular pronoun with a mid-level of formality, used by men and women alike. An additional six pronouns are used to address someone, albeit with more specialized meanings: than42 is employed as a second person pronoun to show respect towards someone of higher rank; khun33 is the most general polite term used by men and women to address peers and superiors; the pronoun thəː33 is derived from a third person pronoun and is used to address men and women in mid-formality contexts; the pronoun raw33 is a first person pronoun but is also employed as second person pronoun in moderately formal situations (singular and plural); the form tua33 is an affectionate term used by women, particularly when conversing with a female friend; mʉŋ33 is the most informal second person pronoun used by men in informal situations. The description presented is adapted from Iwasaki and Ingkaphirom (2005: 51).
3rd Person Singular	mau33	na53	te24	hɯŋ42	mưhn33	kə55	kə55	khaw55In addition to the unmarked third person pronoun khaw55, there are four specialized pronouns: than42 is used to speak about highly respected third persons; thəː33 refers to women in an elegant manner; kɛː33 is employed by some speakers for teachers and other respected people, but can also be used for inferior people such as servants; man33 is the only pronoun that can be used for non-human and inanimate referents (see Iwasaki and Ingkaphirom 2005: 52).
1st Person Plural Inclusive	dau55	fa53	ɣau31	tau35	hau33	hɔ45tɯ322 A variant form for the inclusive first person plural pronoun is tɯ322 (without the prefix hɔ45-).	dɔu55lo11	raw33The pronoun raw33 can be used as inclusive/exclusive first person plural pronoun and also as second person plural pronoun.
1st Person Plural Exclusive	tɕiu55	ga53	tau31	tau35	phu13	hɔ45ku322Variant forms for the exclusive first person plural pronoun are hɔ45du33 or simply du33.	hau55lo11	raw33The pronoun raw33 can be used as inclusive/exclusive first person plural pronoun and also as second person plural pronoun.
2nd Person Plural	ɕau35	meɯ53ta53	θau31	tsau35	slu35	hɔ45mə31	mə55lo11	raw33The pronoun raw33 can be used as inclusive/exclusive first person plural pronoun and also as second person plural pronoun.
3rd Person Plural	kɛː35	khun53	tɕøŋ35te24	tse35	mưhn33	hɔ45kə55	kə55lo11	khaw55

Table 13: Personal pronouns in Tai-Kadai Languages

Tai-Kadai languages use between 30 and 70 nominal classifiers, most of which are grammaticalized nouns. The classifiers serve four major grammatical functions in the noun phrase and are obligatory in count expressions. Bare classifiers functions as indefinite articles. In conjunction with demonstrative pronouns, classifiers form deictic and anaphoric noun phrases. Finally, they are required in nominalized verb phrases.

Function of Classifier	Explanation	Structure
Counting	Classifier is required with numerals	NUM+CL+N
Indefiniteness	Classifier functions as an indefinite article	CL+N
Deixis & anaphora	Classifier co-occurs with demonstrative pronouns	CL+N+DEM
Nominalization	Classifier co-occurs with verb phrases	CL+N+VP+DEM

Table 14: Functions of Classifiers in Tai-Kadai

We surveyed eight Tai-Kadai languages, each representing one branch of the family.

Classifiers	KamThe Kam data originate from the standard southern dialect and are the fieldwork of Matthias Gerner collected during 1996-2003.	ZhuangThe Zhuang data originate from the standard Yōngběi 邕北 dialect and were collected by Matthias Gerner during 1996-1999. They are congruent with data published by Qín (2004) and Luó (2005). Qín Xiǎoháng 覃晓航, 2004, Zhuang Lexicology 壮语词汇学. Beijing 北京：Nationality Press 民族出版社. Luó Límíng 罗黎明, 2005, Zhuang-Chinese-English Dictionary 壮汉英词典. Beijing 北京：Nationality Press 民族出版社.	NungIn addition to the more specialized human, animate, and inanimate classifiers listed below: there is the classifier tɕaː35 with a broad coverage that can be used with human, animate, and inanimate entities. Both classifiers moi31 and maːt33 can be used for granulated entities, but each categorizes different nouns. See Saul, Janice and Nancy Freiberger Wilson, 1980, Nung Grammar. Dallas: The Summer Institute of Linguistics.	ThaiThe Thai data are quoted from Iwasaki and Ingkaphirom (2005: 75-78)’s grammar. The honorific human classifier used for royalties and monks is oŋ33 (which means ‘body’). Iwasaki, S. and P. Ingkaphirom, 2005, A reference grammar of Thai. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.	BeThe Be 临高 data are from fieldwork of Matthias Gerner collected during 1996-1998.	GelaoThe Gelao data are from fieldwork of Matthias Gerner collected during 1996-1998.	BuyangSee Li and Luo (2010: 27-28). The animate and general classifier is də322 for the numeral ‘one’, and ðaːi33 for numerals greater than ‘one’. The two classifiers for lengthy entities (kat55 and ðɛ31) are compatible with different groups of nouns, as are the two classifiers for flat entities (bɛŋ31 and pən45). Li, Jinfang and Lou Yongxiang, 2010, The Buyang Language of South China. Pacific Linguistics 607. Canberra: The Australian National University.	HlaiThe Hlai data are quoted from Burusphat’s Hlai dictionary. Burusphat, Somsonge, Wen Minying and Wen Ying, 2003, Hlai (Li)-Chinese-Thai-English Dictionary. Salaya (Thailand): Mahidol University.
Human	muŋ31	pou33	oːŋ35	kʰon33	na33	pu42	kɔn33	laŋ53
Animate	tu11	tu24	tu35	tua33	hu55	tu31	də322[ðaːi33]	laŋ53
Member of pair (‘side’)	maŋ53	mbiːŋ55		kʰaːŋ42			tʰɛ33	feːŋ53
Lengthy entities	tɕiu11	tiːu11	teu55	sen42	hiu55	teu31	kat55/ðɛ31	kei53/tseɯ11
Flat entities	paŋ33	baɯ24		pʰɛn11	vɔn11	bai33	bɛŋ31	be:k55/van11
Granulated entities	nat55	nat21	moi31/maːt33	met55	mɔ55	na11		hom53
Round entities	nɐn55	ʔan24	aːn35	luːk42	xɔt55	kep35	pɔ33	ke:n55
Instrument with handle	pak323	faːk21		daːm42	tsua55	va11		pʰiːn55/ha55
Clothes	məi31	me21/keːu24		tua33

Table 15: Important Classifiers in Tai-Kadai

In the remainder of this subsection, we report on a rare set of classifiers: the Northern Kam classifiers. In most isolating languages of East Asia (including Tai-Kadai), the classifier consists of one unique form. In the Northern dialect of KamThe Northern dialect of Kam is spoken in Jǐnpíng 锦屏 and Tiānzhù 天柱 counties of Guìzhōu 贵州 province., nominal classifiers are inflected for singular and pluralMatthias Gerner reported first on this phenomenon in a study published in Journal of Chinese Linguistics.

Gerner, M., 2006, Noun classifiers in Kam and Chinese Kam-Tai languages: Their morphosyntax, semantics and history. Journal of Chinese Linguistics, 34(2), 237-305, especially on pp. 243-247.. This contrast between singular and plural is only attested in Northern Kam. In the Southern dialect of Kam spoken in Róngjiāng 榕江 and Sānjiāng 三江, counties classifiers are not inflected.

		Northern Kam
(5)	a.	i45	jiu22	ȵa45		b.	ham11	tɕiu22	ȵa45
		NUM.1	CL.SG	river			NUM.3	CL.PL	river
		‘one river’					‘three rivers’

		Southern Kam (Róngjiāng)
(6)	a.	i55	tɕiu11	ȵa55		b.	sam33	tɕiu11	ȵa55
		NUM.1	CL	river			NUM.3	CL	river
		‘one river’					‘three rivers’

Phonologically, the initial of the Northern Kam singular classifier is almost always realized as glide ([w], [j]) or as voiced fricative ([ʐ], [ɣ]), whereas the plural classifier usually commences with a stop or a nasal.

Derivation	Class meaning	Northern		Róngjiāng		Sānjiāng
		CL.SG	CL.PL	CL		CL
[p] [w]	Entities with handle	wa33	pa33	pak323		pak323
	Human	wəu45	pəu45	---		---
	‘bridge’	wu44	pu44	---		pu33
	‘bed’	wu24	pu24	---		pʰu⁴53
	‘book’	wən33	pən33	pən33		pən33
	Several versatile entities	wen11	pen11	---		---
[m] [w]	Dual body parts	waŋ24	maŋ24	maŋ53		maŋ53
	Clothes	wəi31	məi31	məi31		məi31
[tɕ] [w]	2-Dim entities	wen11	tɕen11	---		---
[kʷ] [w]	‘piece’	wai24	kʷai24	---		khwai453
[t] [ʐ]	‘lump, ball’	ʐa22	ta22	---		ta11
	‘piece, lump’	ʐon22	ton22	ton11		ton11
	Animate entities	ʐo22	to22	tu11		tu11
	Several versatile entities	ʐoŋ¹³	toŋ¹³	---		---
	Several versatile entities	ʐi45	ti45	---		---
[n] [ʐ]	3-Dim entities	ʐən11	nən45	nɐn55		nɐn55
	Several versatile entities	ʐa13	naŋ13	---		---
[t] [n]	Several versatile entities	na31	ta31	---		---
[tɕ] [j]	1-Dim entities	jiu22	tɕiu22	tɕiu11		tɕiu11
	Drop-shaped entities	jit33	tɕit33	tɕik323		tɕik323
	Several versatile entities	jaŋ22	tɕaŋ22	---		---
[ɕ] [j]	Sharp, slender objects	jaŋ45	ɕaŋ45	ɕaŋ53		tɕaŋ53
	Erected/layered entities	joŋ22	ɕoŋ22	ɕoŋ11		ɕoŋ11
[k] [ɣ]	Several versatile entities	ɣaŋ44	kaŋ44	---		---
[ʔ] [ɣ]	Vehicles & machines	ɣa55	ʔa55	ʔa53		ka53
No change	1-Dim section	toŋ53	toŋ53	toŋ55		toŋ55
	Grain-shaped entities	na31	na31	nat55		nat55
	‘letter’	woŋ11	woŋ11	foŋ33		hoŋ55
	Several versatile entities	ta31	ta31	---		---

Table 16: Singular/Plural classifiers in Northern Kam

The emergence of the singular versus plural distinction is owed to a process of progressive contact assimilation involving the numeral i⁴⁵ ‘one’. Many Southwestern Chinese minority languages borrowed the numeral *jit ‘one’ from Old ChineseThis point was made by Dempsey (1995) and Ratliff (2007).

Dempsey, J. M., 1995, A reconsideration of some phonological issues involved in reconstructing Sino-Tibetan numerals. PhD dissertation, University of Washington.

Ratliff, M., 2007, Numerals and reckoning in Hmong-Mien. Manuscript presented at the Conference SEALS 17, 31 August to 2 September 2007, University of Maryland.. Upon integration with the language, the numeral underwent a process of lenition and subsequently, loss of the final consonant. It was in the form *i ‘one’ when it commenced its interaction with the set of Northern Kam classifiers. In most isolating languages of the region, the numeral ‘one’, when followed by a classifier, conveys the meaning of an indefinite article and occurs frequently in this constellation. Since the frequency of occurrence is correlated with the tempo of speechSee Bybee and Scheibman (1999) and Bybee (2002)’s studies on this point.

Bybee, J. and J. Scheibman, 1999, The effect of usage on degrees of constituency: the reduction of don’t in English. Linguistics 37:4.575-596.

Bybee, J., 2002, Word frequency and context of use in the lexical diffusion of phonetically conditioned sound change. Language Variation and Change 14.261-290., the numeral-classifier construction was produced more quickly for ‘one’ as compared to other numerals. In rapid pronunciation, the ‘one’ + classifier compound was perceived to be a short period of voicing, which had the effect that the classifier initial was assimilated as a glide or fricative in order to match the phonation type of the numeral *i ‘one.’

Stop Glide	Stop Fricative
*i+pa33 i45+wa33	*i+ta22 i45+ʐa22
*i+tɕen11 i45+wen11	*i+kaŋ44 i45+ɣaŋ44
*i+tɕiu22 i45+jiu22	*i+ʔa55 i45+ɣa55
*i+kʷai24 i45+wai24
Nasal/Fricative Glide	Nasal Glide
*i+ɕaŋ45 i45+jaŋ45	*i+nən45 i45+ʐən11
*i+maŋ55 i45+waŋ24

Table 17: Progressive assimilation of Singular/Plural classifiers

Consequently, the classifier was misheard and reinterpreted by the language learner as a singular classifier. Through a process of analogy with other numerals, the numeral ‘one’ was reintroduced into the language in focused contexts. The forms to have emerged through assimilation with *i ‘one’ separated historically from those occurrences in which they collocated with other numerals. They were then re-analyzed as singular classifiers, whereas the remaining forms were reinterpreted as plural classifiers. The existing state of the Northern Kam classifiers is stuck at this stage. The singular-plural distinction has not yet reached (through analogy) other syntactic environments in which no numeral is involved, such as demonstrative pronoun constructions or indefinite constructions. Demonstrative pronouns are associated with plural classifiers, i.e. with a version of the classifier that has not undergone morphological reanalysis, and therefore imply a singular reading, see (7). However, a singular plural distinction has emerged in structures wherein the classifier co-occurs with bare nouns, see (8).

		Demonstratives (Northern Kam)
(7)	a.	maŋ55	ta45	ai33		b.	to22	lau31kən22	i44
		CL.PL	eye	DEM.PROX			CL.PL	friend	DEM.MED
		‘this eye’					‘those friends’

		Indefinite Determiners (Northern Kam)
(8)	a.	wəi31	tu33			b.	məi31	tu33
		CL.SG	garment				CL.PL	garment
		‘a garment’					‘garments’

Kam-Tai languages ‘incorporate’Noun incorporation is a productive valency-decreasing process used in native American languages. In these languages, various verb affixes cluster around the verb-noun compound. However, the isolating languages of East Asia do not exhibit this kind of noun incorporation. We thus use the term ‘incorporation’ here in a broader sense. nouns into verbs to form new predicates, often imbuing metaphorical meanings. The Kam language in particular creates verb-noun compounds productively, for which other languages would involve more elaborated case or prepositional marking. We sketchThe Kam data presented in this section are field data of Matthias Gerner collected between 1995 and 2008. They belong to the standard Southern Kam variety. several types of verb-noun compounds below. The first group consists of verb object compounds with metaphorical meanings.

Verb	Noun	Metaphorical verb-object compounds
pai53 ‘worship’	pu31nəi31 ‘parents’	pai53	pu31nəi31	‘acknowledge adoptive parents’
lɪ323 ‘get’	sai323 ‘intestines’	lɪ323	sai323	‘acquire knowledge’
	dam323 ‘gall’	lɪ323	dam323	‘become bold’
tak55 ‘break’	əp55 ‘mouth’	tak55	əp55	‘reduce to silence’
tu53 ‘break’	mɪ323 ‘milk’	tu53	mɪ323	‘exhaust milk’ (of mothers)
soŋ53 ‘put’	ta55 ‘eye’	soŋ53	ta55	‘watch attentively’
we31 ‘make’	na323 ‘face’	we31	na323	‘be polite’
au55 ‘fetch’	mai31 ‘wife’	au55	mai31	‘get married to wife’
	kʷan55 ‘name’	au55	kʷan55	‘give name’
	kʷɐn55 ‘spirit’	au55	kʷɐn55	‘cast out demon’
lʲak11 ‘steal’	lɪ31 ‘word’	lʲak11	lɪ31	‘eavesdrop’
tɕi55 ‘eat’	e55 ‘property’	tɕi55	e55	‘inherit property’
	wak31 ‘public’	tɕi55	wak31	‘depend on public help’

Table 18: Metaphorical verb-object compounds

In Kam, pairs of body terms (AB) might be ‘incorporated’ into verbs (V) in accordance with the structure VAVB. These expressions exhibit co-occurrence restrictions in terms of the verb and body terms, and often entail metaphorical meaning. No equivalent constructions are known in other Tai-Kadai languages.

Body parts		Predicate	Body part construction
kao323	kʰa35	pɐn53 ‘throw’	pɐn53	kao323	pɐn53	kʰa35	‘display pride’
‘head’	‘ear’	ȶɐm323 ‘bend’	ȶɐm323	kao323	ȶɐm323	kʰa35	‘with lowered head’
		mʲet55 ‘twist’	mʲet55	kao323	mʲet55	kʰa35	‘disobedient’
		pak31 ‘white’	pak31	kao323	pak31	kʰa35	‘with grey hair’
		pan11 ‘slant’	pan11	kao323	pan11	kʰa35	‘insensible, naughty’
		puk31 ‘clumsy’	puk31	kao323	puk31	kʰa35	‘clumsy’
		pʰaŋ35 ‘tall’	pʰaŋ35	kao323	pʰaŋ35	kʰa35	‘of big stature’
ta55	nɐŋ55	peu53 ‘explode’	peu53	ta55	peu53	nɐŋ55	‘have bulging eyes and nose’
‘eye’	‘nose’	ȶɐm323 ‘bend’	ȶɐm323	ta55	ȶɐm323	nɐŋ55	‘with lowered eyes and nose’
		ȵiu55 ‘twist’	ȵiu55	ta55	ȵiu55	nɐŋ55	‘make grimace’
		pɪt323 ‘bounce’	pɪt323	ta55	pɪt323	nɐŋ55	‘naughty’
		ɐm11 ‘bitter’	ɐm11	ta55	ɐm11	nɐŋ55	‘bitter tasting’
		(k)ɐm35 ‘confused’	(k)ɐm35	ta55	(k)ɐm35	nɐŋ55	‘muddled, confused’
		en53 ‘piebald’	en53	ta55	en53	nɐŋ55	‘have dirty, piebald face’
		lai55 ‘good’	lai55	ta55	lai55	nɐŋ55	‘vigorous’
		lu35 ‘clear’	lu35	ta55	lu35	nɐŋ55	‘be fully waken up’
na323	nɐŋ55	peŋ33 ‘swollen’	peŋ33	na323	peŋ33	nɐŋ55	‘have swollen face’
‘face’	‘nose’	pui11 ‘fat’	pui11	na323	pui11	nɐŋ55	‘have fat and swollen face’
		kʰʷaŋ¹³ ‘wide’	kʰʷaŋ¹³	na323	kʰʷaŋ¹³	nɐŋ55	‘have wide face’
		mut31 ‘bearded’	mut31	na323	mut31	nɐŋ55	‘fully bearded’
əp55	nɐŋ55	e323 ‘stupid’	e323	əp55	e323	nɐŋ55	‘awkward in speech’
‘mouth’	‘nose’	lai55 ‘good’	lai55	əp55	lai55	nɐŋ55	‘righteous’
		mak323 ‘big’	mak323	əp55	mak323	nɐŋ55	‘be a bragger’
tin55	mʲa11	pɐn53 ‘throw’	pɐn53	tin55	pɐn53	mʲa11	‘indifferent’
‘foot’	‘hand’	pʲet11 ‘bind’	pʲet11	tin55	pʲet11	mʲa11	‘with hands and feet tied’
		lai55 ‘good’	lai55	tin55	lai55	mʲa11	‘skillful’
		ȶau55 ‘numb’	ȶau55	tin55	ȶau55	mʲa11	‘with numb limbs’
		kʰʷaŋ¹³ ‘wide’	kʰʷaŋ¹³	tin55	kʰʷaŋ¹³	mʲa11	‘extravagant’
loŋ11	sai323	pɐŋ55 ‘crumble’	pɐŋ55	loŋ11	pɐŋ55	sai323	‘heartbroken’
‘belly’	‘intestines’	lit31 ‘tear open’	lit31	loŋ11	lit31	sai323	‘frank’
		pʰa453 ‘ruin’	pʰa453	loŋ11	pʰa453	sai323	‘evil-minded’
		pɐŋ55 ‘broken’	pɐŋ55	loŋ11	pɐŋ55	sai323	‘heartbroken’
		ɐm11 ‘bitter’	ɐm11	loŋ11	ɐm11	sai323	‘malevolent, malicious’

Table 19: Body part constructions

In Kam, there are about seven directional verbs that incorporate nouns conceived as destinations to yield both abstract and metaphorical compounds. Among these, two directional verbs, pai⁵⁵ ‘go’ and ta³³ ‘cross’, developed into aspectual markers (see subsection on ‘Auxiliary Verbs’ below).

Directional Verb	Noun	Directional verb-noun compounds
pai55 ‘go’	ɕai33 ‘village’	pai55	ɕai33	‘walk around in the village’ (and meet people)
	tɕiu11 ‘bridge’	pai55	tɕiu11	‘hold lover’s meeting’ (lovers meet at the bridge)
	kon31 ‘assembly’	pai55	kon31	‘hold solemn assembly’
	sau31 ‘husband’	pai55	sau31	‘get married to husband’
	ka31 ‘Han’	pai55	ka31	‘visit the Han area’
	maŋ53tɕəm55 ‘Hades’	pai55	maŋ53tɕəm55	‘go to the hereafter’
ma35 ‘come’	sum31 ‘inner room’	ma35	sum31	‘enter private sphere’
tɕa453 ‘ascend’	kʷan55 ‘name’	tɕa453	kʷan55	‘register’ (at the birth registry office)
	men55 ‘sky’	tɕa453	men55	‘go to upper floor’ (of skyscraper)
	ŋe31 ‘tile’	tɕa453	ŋe31	‘to roof’
	nɐm31 ‘water’	tɕa453	nɐm31	‘become watery’ (food decomposition)
	jak31 ‘rust’	tɕa453	jak31	‘to rust’
	wak31 ‘society’	tɕa453	wak31	‘gather people’
	lo55 ‘boat’	tɕa453	lo55	‘get into a boat’
	ɕon11 ‘table’	tɕa453	ɕon11	‘sit down at table’
	so33 ‘voice’	tɕa453	so33	‘raise voice’
lui33 ‘descend’	məi31 ‘tree’	lui33	məi31	‘climb down tree’
	ɕon11 ‘table’	lui33	ɕon11	‘get up from table’
	kʷe323 ‘stairs’	lui33	kʷe323	‘go down stairs’
lau323 ‘enter’	nɐm31 ‘water’	lau323	nɐm31	‘swim’, ‘go into water’
	kʰa35 ‘ear’	lau323	kʰa35	‘pleasing to the ear’
	sai323 ‘intestines’	lau323	sai323	‘satisfying’
uk323 ‘exit’	kʷan55 ‘name’	uk323	kʷan55	‘famous’
	tin55 ‘foot’	uk323	tin55	‘travel’
	na323 ‘face’	uk323	na323	‘appear’ (lit. ‘show one’s face’)
	ŋe11 ‘tooth’	uk323	ŋe11	‘have toot pushing through’
	lu33 ‘event’	uk323	lu33	‘have an accident’
	lek11 ‘strength’	uk323	lek11	‘spend one’s energy’
	pʰat13 ‘blood’	uk323	pʰat13	‘bleed’
ta33 ‘cross’	ȵin11 ‘year’	ta33	ȵin11	‘celebrate New Year’
	ɕən55 ‘body’	ta33	ɕən55	‘die’

Table 20: Directional verb-noun compounds

Ambitransitive verbs are verbs with intransitive and monotransitive uses. Their intransitive use cannot be interpreted as pro-drop. Most authors distinguish two types of ambitransitive verbs: unergative and unaccusative verbsDixon and Aikhenvald (2000: 20) disprefer these terms as they are used with many different senses in the literature, without the involvement of clear cross-linguistic criteria.

Dixon, R. M.W. and A. Aikhenvald., 2000, Introduction, in R.M.W. Dixon and Alexandra Aikhenvald. eds., Changing Valency: Case studies in transitivity, 1–29. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.. Unergative verbsFor example, the English verb ‘watch’ is unergative: ‘Mary watches John’ / ‘Mary watches’. align the intransitive S- and monotransitive A-argument, whereas unaccusative verbsFor example, the English verb ‘break’ is unaccusative: ‘John breaks the pen’ / ‘The pen breaks’. collectively group the intransitive S and the monotransitive O. In Kam, there is an abundant supply of ambitransitive predicates, which are unaccusative, with the rest being unergative. We present several unaccusative predicates below.

Intransitive Predicate	Noun	Unaccusative verb constructions
təp11 ‘dull’	mʲa31 ‘knife’	təp11	mʲa31	‘make knife dull’
pui11 ‘fat’	ŋu453 ‘pig’	pui11	ŋu453	‘fatten a pig’
au53 ‘old’	uk323	au53	uk323	‘wear out clothes’
tun55 ‘hot’	nɐm31 ‘water’	tun55	nɐm31	‘heat water’
jak55 ‘wet’	hai11 ‘shoe’	jak55	hai11	‘wet shoes’

Table 21: Unaccusative verb constructions

Instrumental nouns are adjunct constituents that are marked by prepositions (e.g. ‘with’) in most languages. In Kam, it is possible to ‘incorporate’ many instrumental nouns into the verb without additional marking. Examples are provided below.

Verb	Noun	Instrumental verb-noun constructions
tɕɐm323 ‘stamp’	tin55 ‘foot’	tɕɐm323	tin55	‘stamp on with foot’
peŋ53 ‘shoot’	ɕoŋ53 ‘gun’	peŋ53	ɕoŋ53	‘shoot with gun’
tɕiu53 ‘fish’	sit13 ‘hook’	tɕiu53	sit13	‘fish with a hook’
wai11 ‘row’	tɕaŋ323 ‘oar’	wai11	tɕaŋ323	‘row with oars’
kɪt31 ‘bite’	ŋe11 ‘tooth’	kɪt31	ŋe11	‘bite with teeth’
ɕəp13 ‘prick’	mʲa31 ‘knife’	ɕəp13	mʲa31	‘prick with knife’

Table 22: Instrumental verb-noun constructions

Some predicates can ‘incorporate’ a noun indicating the cause for the event or process. No additional marking of the noun on the basis of prepositions is necessitated.

Predicate	Noun	Causal verb-noun compounds
təi55 ‘die’	nɐm31 ‘water’	təi55	nɐm31	‘be drowned’
	kʰʷau13 ‘wine’	təi55	kʰʷau13	‘be drunk’
	əm323 ‘poison’	təi55	əm323	‘be empoisoned’
ɪt323 ‘ill’	nat55 ‘sore’	ɪt323	nat55	‘ill from sore’

Table 23: Causal verb-noun compounds

There are several ditransitive predicates that do not employ any marking of the direct and indirect object. (Some of these predicates are ambitransitive in the sense of ambiguously intransitive, monotransitive, and ditransitive.) These predicates place the direct object before the indirect object.

Ditransitive verb	Direct object	Indirect object	Ditransitive verb constructions
jip13 ‘pickle’	jim11 ‘salt’	nan11 ‘meat’	jip13	jim11	nan11	‘pickle meat with salt’
so323 ‘dry’	nɐm31 ‘water’	ja53 ‘field’	so323	nɐm31	ja53	‘withdraw water from the field’
lʲem11 ‘drench’	nɐm31 ‘water’	ma55 ‘vegetables’	lʲem11	nɐm31	ma55	‘drench vegetables with water’
lu53 ‘abstain’	nɐm31 ‘water’	pet55 ‘duck’	lu53	nɐm31	pet55	‘withhold water from the duck’
to323 ‘assign’	ȵaŋ13 ‘grass’	tu11 ‘ox’	to323	ȵaŋ13	tu11	‘feed grass to the ox’
pʰʲa35 ‘feed’	mɪ323 ‘milk’	lak31 ‘son’	pʰʲa35	mɪ323	lak31	‘feed milk to the son’

Table 24: Ditransitive verb constructions

Gradable adjectives on linear scales (e.g. length, time) pose the object of comparison before the adjective and postpose the standard of comparison without involving prepositions. It is the complex gradable adjectives (e.g. intelligent, beautiful etc.) that require posing the comparative preposition ta³³ before the standard of comparison. The simple linear adjectives which we exemplify below do not necessitate prepositions.

Adjective	Comparative Constructions
mak323 ‘big’	mau33	mak323	ȵa11	‘he is bigger than you’
pʰaŋ35 ‘tall’	mau33	pʰaŋ35	ȵa11	‘he is taller than you’
un323 ‘small’	mau33	un323	ȵa11	‘he is smaller than you’
tʰɐm453 ‘low’	mau33	tʰɐm453	ȵa11	‘he is smaller than you’
jai323 ‘long’	tɕiu11kʰʷen35nai33	jai323	tɕiu11kʰʷen35tɕa33	‘this road is longer than that road’
tɕʰən13 ‘short’	tɕiu11kʰʷen35nai33	tɕʰən13	tɕiu11kʰʷen35tɕa33	‘this road is shorter than that road’
kuŋ11 ‘much’	(k)e35	kuŋ11	ɕau35	‘they are more than you’
tɕʰɐn35 ‘heavy’	mau33	tɕʰɐn35	ȵa11	‘he is heavier than you’
tɕʰa13 ‘light’	mau33	tɕʰa13	ȵa11	‘he is lighter than you’
lau31 ‘old’	mau33	lau31	ȵa11	‘he is older than you’
ȵi31 ‘young’	mau33	ȵi31	ȵa11	‘he is younger than you’

Table 25: Comparative constructions