A Morphosyntactic Study of Verb Phrases in Shahpuri
Keywords:
Morphosyntax, documentation, description, ShahpuriAbstract
The present study describes the morphosyntactic features of the Shahpuri verb phrase. Shahpuri is a dialect of Punjabi spoken mainly in Punjab, Pakistan. Data were collected from native speakers living in rural areas of the Sargodha Division (Sargodha, Khushab, Mianwali, and Bhakkar) through focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews. 40 participants participated in interviews (10 from each district), and 32 took part in focus group discussions (eight from each district) (N = 72). A descriptive approach was used to analyze the data. The findings show that Shahpuri displays distinct morphosyntactic features of verb phrases that differ from other Punjabi dialects. Number, gender, case, tense, and aspect play key roles in shaping verb phrase structure. The study contributes to preserving the Shahpuri dialect and highlights the importance of documenting local languages of Pakistan.
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Copyright (c) 2025 MUHAMMAD AFZAL, Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Qasim, Dr. Muhammad Nadeem Chohan (Author)
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