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1. Introduction
Gongduk, an almost completely undescribed Trans-Himalayan language spoken in the southern parts of Monggar district in eastern Bhutan, exhibits verb stem alternations which are in part conditioned by morphophonological rules and in part show the character of phonologically non-transparent paradigmatic alternations. The existence of paradigmatic alternations for Gongduk verb stems is mentioned in van Driem (2013: 72), where the different stems of the three verbs məl‑ ~ mɤt- ‘to look’, pi‑ ~ bi- ‘to give’ and ðə‑ ~ θə- ‘to eat’ are presented. The conjugation of another verb with paradigmatic stem alternation, bet‑ ~ beθ- ‘to wash’, is shown in van Driem (2001: 467). However, no synchronic description or diachronic explanation for Gongduk verb stem alternation is provided in these sources.
The aim of this paper is to provide an account of the verb stem alternations in Gongduk. The relevant data are from unpublished field notes, collected by George van Driem in 1991, 1992, and 2001 on-site in Gongduk villages and by Selin Grollmann and myself in 2014 in Thimphu, Bhutan, and 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland. This paper also discusses potential sources for the paradigmatic alternations of Gongduk, which involve valence-changing and direction morphology also attested in other branches of Trans-Himalayan.
This paper is structured as follows. A short introduction to the Gongduk agreement morphology system is given in § 2 to provide a basis for the investigation of Gongduk verb stem alternations. A full treatment of Gongduk agreement morphology is beyond the scope of this paper and will be provided elsewhere. § 3 and 4 explore the synchronic structure of Gongduk verb stem alternations; § 3 presents the morphophonological alternations which are predictable and not part of the paradigmatic verb stem alternation. § 4 defines the different verb classes of Gongduk on the basis of the paradigmatic stem alternation patterns and explores these patterns of alternation, including irregular verbs and peripheral alternations. § 5 adds a diachronic perspective and proposes explanations for some of the paradigmatic stem alternation as well as for the phonotactic peculiarities of certain verb stems.1
2. Gongduk agreement morphology
Gongduk shows biactantial argument indexation on the verb, a feature attested in a number of Trans-Himalayan branches. Gongduk agreement morphology distinguishes three persons plus...