Tim Jantarungsee (UCL) - 2023-24 Students
t.jantarungsee@ucl.ac.uk

Temporal and Modal Reference in Mlabri: The Last Hunter-Gatherers in Mainland South-East Asia

Mlabri is an endangered Austroasiatic language spoken by 135-400 natives dispersed across Northern Thai and Laotian provinces. The Mlabri natives are currently undergoing a delicate transition from a modern nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a sedentary agricultural lifestyle. Despite this, their elusiveness has led to little to no documentation, research and sustainable aid. This aims of this study are twofold: The first goal is to provide a novel sketch of Mlabri grammar, specifically looking at the temporal (tense and aspect) and modal system. Subsequently, the second goal is to utilise tools in formal semantics to disambiguate and analyse specific temporal and modal markers. Data based on my own previous fieldwork suggests several linguistic peculiarities regarding the temporal and modal markers, such as multi-functional ‘perfective-like’ clitics, and a markedly low inventory of modal markers. This study proposes novel semantic denotations for these markers and relates them to typologically related languages in the Mainland South-East Asian linguistic area. The primary methodology for this study is fieldwork whereby I will be collecting data via elicitation sessions that utilise questionnaires designed to target temporal and modal interpretations. Overall, this study aspires to contribute to the documentation (and eventual revitalisation) and semantic analysis of Mlabri with ethical fieldwork methodology and provide the foundation for ample prospective research related to Mainland South-East Asian linguistics and formal semantics.

Primary supervisor: Dr. Yasutada Sudo