kʰə̆.jauʔ³¹

Pela

Etymology

From kʰə̆- (“which; interrogative prefix”) +‎ jauʔ³¹ (“classifier for people”). The meaning expanded from “which people” to “who”, cf. dialectical Chinese 哪個 / 哪个. Compare Lhao Vo khoyaug, Zaiwa ka yuq and Luxi Achang xai³⁵ ʑuʔ⁵¹.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kʰə̆.jauʔ³¹/

Pronoun

kʰə̆.jauʔ³¹

1. which people
2. who

   a³¹kʰu⁵⁵ kʰə̆.jauʔ³¹ pʰjɔ̃³⁵ ʃam³¹ nji⁵¹ a³⁵

   Who is sweeping the floor now?

Synonyms

• kʰak⁵⁵ (“who”)

References

• Dai Qingxia, Jiang Ying, Kong Zhien, A Study of Pela Language (2007; Publishing House of Minority Nationalities, Beijing)
• Huang Bufan (editor), Xu Shouchun, Chen Jiaying, Wang Huiyin, A Tibeto-Burman Lexicon (1992; Central Minorities University, Beijing)
• Mangshi Jinghpo ethnicity Association of Development and Progress Studies(芒市景颇族发展进步研究学会)(ed.), Han-Zaiwa-Pela Dictionary (汉文载瓦文波拉语对译词典) (2018; Dehong Nationalities Publishing House, Mangshi)