Update:
2007-08-10 08:02 AM -0400
TIL
Burmese-Myanmar
Grammar
in Romabama
thad-da-indx.htm
by U Kyaw Tun (UKT) and staff of TIL (Tun Institute of Learning,
http://www.tuninst.net ). Start: 2007 July
Based on:
• Myanmar Thuddar {mran-ma thad~da}, Volume 1, Module 1,
by Myanmar Language Commission (MLC),
Ministry of Education, Government of the Union of Myanmar (in Burmese-Myanmar) .
Date of publication: around 1986
•
Digitized version of MLC Myanmar Thuddar by Daw Thet-thet Theint Han and staff of TIL, 2003 July.
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BG4M-indx |Top
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Introduction
01. thad~da
01.01. a.thän
01.02. thad~da. ({da.} as tone1)
01.03. thad~da ({da} as tone2)
02. ak~hka.ra (akshara)
02.01. ak~hka.ra
02.02. ak~hka.ra 2 myo:
02.03. tha.ra. ak~hka.ra (vowel akshara-letter)
02.04. tha.ra. thïn~ké-ta. (vowel akshara-sign)
02.05. byæÑ: (consonant akshara)
03. wa-sïn~ga.
03.01. wa-sïn~ga. 9 myo: (parts of
speech)
03.02. wa-sïn~ga. a.Daip~pÈý
UKT notes
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Few like Burmese-Myanmar grammar. And, I am included in the few. It is heavily
biased on traditional definitions in Pali-Myanmar, and the type of writing is
archaic. Yet, because of the need to improve Romabama and to teach English
grammar to my staff and students in TIL, I have to labour on it. Eventually, I
hope to write a grammar in easy style similar to English Grammar in Plain
English, but I am getting old and my fingers are becoming arthritic and my
eye-sight is failing.
Those Myanmar aspiring to learn English, not casually but seriously, should note
that their knowledge of Burmese-Myanmar grammar would be of use, because, one
grammar is essentially the same as another -- just a set of rules which almost
all love to hate.
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na: hpring. kra: tha.mya. ko a.thän hu. hkau: thæÑ //
tha-Da.ka.
lu thän / khwé: thän / lé thän / mo: thän / seing: thän / boän thän / ta.rau:
thän / thi-hkying: thän sa.thæÑ
lu-to. nhoat mha. a.thän a.mrauk a.mra: htwak neing
thæÑ // hto a.thän to. twing a. hkyo. thæÑ a.Daip~pÈý
rhi. thæÑ // a.hkyo. mha-mu a.Daip~pÈý ma.rhi.hkyé // {lu} {sa-oap} {krak-hing:hka:thi:}
{tis-né.ka.} {hteing-pa} sa.thæÑ to. thæÑ a.Daip~pÈý rhi. thau: a.thän-mya:
hpris-kra.thæÑ // {hkau:hkau:} hu thau: hauk-thän / {rhwi-rhwi} hu thau:
a.kraung:mè. lé-hkywan-thän sa.thæÑ to.mha a.Daip~pÈý ma.rhi.thæÑ. a.thän-mya:
hpris-kra.thæÑ //
• a.thän /[athan]/ - n voice; sound; noise -- MEDict599
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{thad~da.} thæÑ pa-Li. sa.ka: hpris thæÑ // {a.thän} hu. a.Daip~pÈý ra. thæÑ//
• thad~da. bé-da. /[tha' da. bei da.]/ -- n. phonetics. -- MEDict517
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a.Daip~pÈý rhi.thau: a.thän ko a.swè: pru. rwÉ. ré:tha: hta:
thau: kraung. {thad~da} hu. hkau-thæÑ // lu-to. nhoat mha. htwak-
thau: a.thän to. ko hso-lo-thæÑ. a.Daip~pÈý rauk-aung
sa.nis-ta.kya. prau:hso ré:tha: ra. thæÑ // hto-tho. prau:hso ré:tha:
ra nkÉik a.thoän: pru. ra. mæÑ. sæÑ:sa.nis to. ko hpau-pra.thau:
kyam: thæÑ {thad~da kyam:} hpris thæÑ //
• thad~da /[thada]/ - n 1 meaningful speech
sound; word; term. 2. grammar. -- MEDict517
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UKT: I have to change the numbering system of the Burmese-Myanmar text.
The shape of the Burmese-Myamar akshara is based on circles, which if you are
writing should be drawn as shown below. When a Myanmar child goes to school, he
has to learn how to draw perfect circles, and so the kindergarten is known as
the {wa.loän: tan:} or the "0-th grade".
The aksharas can be broadly seen to be derived from a single circle, or from
two. This in printing terminology would be en ("n"-font) and em ("em"-font).
Because of the different spacing required to write the akshara, modifications
have to be made in writing the vowel-signs. See below in
02.04. tha.ra. thïn~ké-ta. (vowel akshara-sign).
• ak~hka.ra /[e' khaja]/ - n. character;
letter of an alphabet; alphabet -- MEDict619
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lu-to. nhoat mha. htwak thau: a.thän to.ko na:hpring. kra: ra.
thæÑ // hto a.thän to. ko koý-sa: pru.hta:thæÑ. a.mhat thïn~ké-ta. mya: ko {ak~hka.ra}
hu. hkau-thæÑ // {ka. hka. ga. Ga. nga.} sa. thau:
a.mhat thïn~ké-ta. mya: thæÑ ak~hka.ra mya: hpris kra. thæÑ // hto
ak~hka.ra mya: ko sa-tha: ré:tha: ra-twing a.thoän: pru. kra. ra. thæÑ//
mhat-ran // // a.thän mya: ko koý-sa: pru.hta: thæÑ.
a.mhat-thïn~kè-ta. mya: ko {ak~hka.ra} hu. hkau thæÑ //
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tha.ra. ak~hka.ra / byæÑ: ak~hka.ra hu rwÉ. ak~hka.ra 2 myo: rhi. thæÑ //
tha.ra. ak~hka.ra 11 loän: / byæÑ: ak~hka.ra 33 loän: //
mran-ma Ba-tha twing su.su.paung: ak~hka.ra 44 loän: rhi. thæÑ //
• tha.ra. /[thara.]/ - n. Gram. vowel. -- MEDict490
• byæÑ: /[bji:]/ - n. Gram. consonant -- MEDict317
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mran-ma Ba-tha nhÉik. a.hkré-hkän tha.ra. 11 loän /
thing-ro: tha.ra. 12 loän: rhi. thæÑ //
UKT: Burmese-Myanmar vowels ({tha.ra.}) has given me quite a lot of trouble.
Since Burmese-Myanmar is close to Pali-Myanmar, I looked into Pali-Latin vowels
to fix the sounds.
Then after fixing the sounds, I made a comparison to English-IPA vowels. From
it I have come up with the vowel quadrilateral given on the right.
Realizing that the division of {a.hkré-hkän tha.ra. 11 loän: /
thing-ro: tha.ra. 12 loän: rhi. thæÑ} would not solve the problem for
Romabama, I have lumped the two together, and have added some more.
a) a.hkré-hkän tha.ra. 11 loän mha auk-pa a.teing: hpris thæÑ //
{a.} {a} { I. } { I } {U.} {U}
{É} {è:}/{È:} {AU:} {AU} {o}
b) thing-ro: tha.ra. 12 loän: mha auk-pa a.teing: hpris thæÑ //
{a.} {a} { I. } { I } {U.} {U}
{É} {è:}/{È:} {AU:} {AU} {än} {a:}
mhat-ran // //
1. {a.} a.sa. {o} a.hsoän: 11 loän: thau: ak~hka.ra to. ko {a.hkré-hkän
tha.ra.} hu. hkau thæÑ //
2. {a.} a.sa. {a:} a.hsoän: 12 loän: thau: ak~hka.ra to. ko {thing-ro: tha.ra.} hu. hkau thæÑ //
• pix on right from Wikipedia
--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet -- download:
070719
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tha.ra. mya: ko byæÑ: nhing. twè: thau a.hka {tha.ra.
thïn~ké-ta.} mya: ko a.thoän pru. thæÑ //
byæÑ: nhin. twè:hpak ran a. twak tha.ra. mya: ko auk-pa a.teing:
thïn~ké-ta. pru. hta: thæÑ // auk-pa za.ya: nhÉik tha.ra. thïn~ké-ta.
twè:sup mæÑ. byæÑ: né-ra mya: ko ( -- ) myiñ: to. hpring. pra. hta: thæÑ //
UKT: MLC has given 2 tables, one for {a.hkré-hkän tha.ra.} and another for
{thing-ro: tha.ra.}. The two if combined would be essentially same as what I
have come up with, and so instead of giving the MLC tables, I am giving my
combined table below. The reader is advised to check with the original hard
copies from MLC.
Because of the en and em spacing, the vowel signs for {ka.} and {hka.} are
written differently. The vowel sign for {ka.} is known as {weik-hkya.} and for {hka.}
is {mauk-hkya.}. Since, this problem is not met with in Romabama, I will not
give the different shapes. The vowel sign shown in my table for {ka} is the {weik-hkya.}.
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02.05. byæÑ: (consonat ak~hka.ra}
mran-ma byæÑ: 33 loän: rhi. thæÑ // auk-pa a.teing: hpris thæÑ //
Burmese-Myanmar and Hindi-Devanagari akshara
UKT: Except for minor differences in pronunciation, the akshara
are pronounced the same in Burmese-Myanmar and Hindi-Devanagari. In fact, the
broad pronunciations of all akshara systems are the same, because, all are
derived from the Brahmi, the Asoka script. This has led me to believe that Asoka
script is the culturally unifying force without parallel in the world.
However, minor differences do exist because of tonal differences
between languages. The one cause of difference between Burmese-Myanmar and
Pali-Myanmar is because, Burmese has three tones: checked, short and long. On
the other hand, Pali (as is now spoken in Sri Lanka) has only two tones: the
short and the long. (Please note that, I still has to verify about the tonal
differences, and my view may eventually change after studying the language of Sri Lanka.
mhat-ran // // {ka.} a.sa. {a.} a.hsoän: 33 loän: thau:
ak~hka.ra to. ko {byæÑ:} hu. hkau thæÑ //
UKT: I have already stated that the Myanmar aksharas can be broadly seen to be
derived from a single circle, or from two. As an example, let's take the example
of writing the first consonant-character {ka.} and compare that to the writing
sequence of the same consonant in Devanagari.
The writing sequence of Myanmar {ka.} :
Writing sequence of Devanargari {ka.} क U0915:
from
http://nt.med.ncku.edu.tw/biochem/lsn/Pali/Devanagari/pali-devanagari-map.htm
Note that the overhead horizontal line is written last of all. This
akshara-character corresponds to Myanmar
{ka.} and has the same sound. In fact, all the Myanmar akshara-characters have
the corresponding Devanagari akshara-characters except in a very cases. And
one-to-one transliteration is a reality.
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{wa-sïn~ga.} thæÑ {wa-sa} nhing. {ïn~ga.} paung:sup hta: thau: pa-Li. sa.ka:
hpris thæÑ // hso-lo thæÑ. a.Daip~pÈý rauk aung prau:hso thau: sa.ka:
iÉ. a.sait a.peing: ko {wa-sïn~ga.} hu. hkau thæÑ //
{wa-sa} = sa.ka: wa-kya
= a.Daip~pÈý pau lwing aung prau:hso thau: sa.ka:
{ïn~ga.} = a.sait a.peing:
{wa-sïn~ga.} = wa-kya. a.twing: nhÉik pa rhi. thau:
sa.ka: a.sait a.peing:
• wa-sïn~ga. /[wa zin ga.]/ - n. Gram. parts of speech. --
MEDict473
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wa-sïn~ga. 9 myo: rhi. thæÑ // lÉ-kaung: to. mha auk pa a.teing: hpris thæÑ //
1. naam <Noun>
2. naam-sa: <Pronoun>
3. kri.ya <Verb>
4. na-ma. wi.thé-tha.na. <Adjective>
5. kri.ya wi.thé-tha.na. <Adverb>
6. wi.Bat <Post-positional marker or suffix>
7. thaM~ban~Da. <Conjunction>
8. pis~sæÑ: <Particle>
9. a-mé-ðait <Interjection>
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wa-sïn~ga. 9 myo: iÉ. a.Daip~pÈý a.thi:thi: mha auk-pa a.teing: hpris-thæÑ//
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03.02.01. naam
thak-rhi. thak-mè. / drup-rhi. drup-mè. to. iÉ. a.mæÑ hu-tha.mhya. ko
naam <noun> hu. hkau thæÑ//
a.kyèý ko tx01noun.htm
twing kræÑ. pa //
• naam /[nan]/ - n. Gram. noun -- MEDict238
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naam iÉ. a.sa: thoän:thau poad ko naam-sa: <pronoun> hu. hkau thæÑ//
UKT: {poad} is a frequently met term in
Burmese-Myanmar Grammar. For such terms, see my notes for the English
translation and interpretation in my notes.
• naam-sa: /[nan za:]/ - n. Gram. pronoun -- MEDict238
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pru.hkring: ko hpris-sé / hpris-hkring: ko hpris-sé / rhi.hkring: ko hpris-sé
pra.thau: poad ko kri.ya <verb> hu. hkau-thæÑ//
• kri.ya /[kari. ja ]/ - n. Gram. verb -- MEDict038
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naam ko a.htu:pru.thau: poad ko na-ma. wi.thé-tha.na. <adjective>
hu. hkau-thæÑ //
• na-ma. wi.thé-tha.na. /[na ma. wi. thei thana.]/ - n.
Gram. adjective. -- MEDict222
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kri.ya ko a.htu: pru.thau: poad ko kri.ya wi.thé-tha.na. <adverb>
hu. hkau-thæÑ //
• kri.ya wi.thé-tha.na. /[kari. ja wi. thei thana.]/ - n.
Gram. adverb -- MEDict038
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naam / naan-sa: to. iÉ. nauk-nhÉik. tæÑ-rwÉ. lÉ-kaung: to. thæÑ
kat~ta: (subject) hpris-thæÑ//
kän-hpris thæÑ sa.thæÑ to.ko læÑ:kaung: / kri.ya iÉ. nauk nhÉik. tæÑ rwÉ.
lÉ-kaung: kri.ya iÉ. ka-la. nhing. a.myo:a.sa: ko lÉ-kaung: wé-hpan-peing:
hkra: pra. thau: sa.ka:loän: ko wi-bat hu. hkau thæÑ //
• wi.Bat /[wi. ba']/ n Gram. post-positional
marker, word suffix to a noun or pronoun to designate it as the subject or
object , and to a verb to indicate time and mood. -- MEDict475
• kat~ta: 2. /[ka' ta:]/ n. Gram. subject -- MEDict018
• wa-sa.ka. /[wa saka.]/ n. Gram. predicate -- MEDict473
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poad a.hkying:hkying: ko hpris sé/ wa-kya. a.hkying:hkying: ko hpris-sé /
a.Daip~pÈý a.hkying:hkying: ko hpris-sé / hsak-sup pé: thau: sa.ka:loän: ko
tham~ban~Da. hu. hkau thæÑ //
• tham~ban~Da. /[than ban da.]/ - n. Gram. conjunction. -- MEDict520
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naam / naam-sa: / na-ma. wi.thé-tha.na. / kri.ya / kri.ya wi.thé-tha.na. to.
iÉ. a.Daip~pÈý ko htu:hkra: lé:nak aung ku-Ñi htauk-pän.thau:
sa.ka:loan: ko pis~sæÑ: hu. hkau thæÑ //
• pis~sæÑ: /[pji' si:]/ - n. 3. Gram. particle;
word serving to qualify a noun, pronoun, adjective, verb or adverb. -- MEDict271
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htait-lan. hkring: / wam:tha hkring; / än.AU: hkring: sa.thæÑ. tis-soän
tis-hku. thau: a.kraung: kraung. pring:pring: htan-htan sait
lhoat-rha: ka nhoat-mha. roat-ta.rak htwak pau la thau: a.thän ko
a-mé-ðait hu. hkau thæÑ //
• a-mé-ðait /[a mei dei']/ - n. Gram. exclamation;
interjection. -- MEDict605
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• poad /[pou']/ - n. 1. word. 2. Orth. punctuation
mark. part numerical classifier for counting pieces of writing such as
articles, verse, songs, etc. (Pali pa.da.) -- MEDict274
Go back poad-b
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• wa-kya. /[we' kja.]/ - n. Gramm. sentence --
MEDict473
Go back wa-kya-b
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End of TIL page
