Verbal Reflexives

[Deepthi Kumara Henadeerage]

Hi there,

Sinhala has a special verb-verb compound which gives the reflexive
meaning. In this construction, the verb gannawa 'take' is suffixed to
the perfect partciple form of a verb.
For instance, tuwaala_kara+gannawa (hurt+gannawa) means 'hurt oneself', while
tuwala_karanawa 'hurt', without gannawa means 'hurt somebody', but not
'hurt oneself'.

I have heard that there are similar constructions in Tamil and Teligu
(ie. verb+koL construction).

I'd like to know if there are any other Indic languages which have
similar construtions. Also I appreciate if someone can point out some
references for verbal reflexives in Tamil and Teligu.


Kumara.



________________________________________________
Kumara.Henadeerage at anu.edu.au
http://www.anu.edu.au/linguistics/sinhala/ku.htm
Linguistics - Australian National University
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