Sgaw Karen · lə̄ — The Great Connector

If pʰō is the word for 'child' that went on to do many other jobs, lə̄ is a different kind of word entirely. It has no concrete meaning like 'child'. Instead, it is a grammatical workhorse. You will encounter lə̄ constantly—in fact, in linguistic corpora, it is the single most frequent word in the language. Its job is to connect things: nouns to other nouns, clauses to verbs, and phrases to the rest of the sentence.

Think of lə̄ as a multi-purpose connector. Depending on where it appears, it can mean 'at', 'from', 'to', 'that', 'which', or simply mark a phrase as being connected to the action of the sentence. It has three main roles: a preposition, a relativizer (like 'who' or 'which'), and a complementizer (like 'that').

1. lə̄ as a preposition

This is the most straightforward use. When lə̄ comes before a noun phrase, it acts like a preposition, usually indicating location, direction, or source. It is very versatile and can often be translated as 'at', 'in', 'from', or 'to' depending on the context and the verb it pairs with.

1.1. Location ('at', 'in')

This is the most common prepositional use. It answers the question "where?"

jə-ʔôˀ lə̄ hîˀ kʰlə̄
I-stay at house outside
"I am outside the house."

ʔôˀ lə̄ səbɣɛ̄ ʔə-pʰɔ̄.kʰôˀ
exist at table its-above
"There are books on the table."

sʰêˀ.nɔ̀ lə̄ kʰlī mɛ̀ˀ.ɲā
sat in boat front
"(She) sat in the front part of the boat."

1.2. Source ('from')

When used with a verb of motion like hɛ̄ ('come'), lə̄ can indicate the origin of the movement.

jə-ʔôˀ-hɛ̄ lə̄ wê-kî.mɛ̄
I-come from city-Chiang Mai
"I come from Chiang Mai."

hɛ̄-sòˀ θêˀ lə̄ pɣâ-pù
come-carry wood from forest-inside
"(He) brought wood from the forest."

1.3. Goal ('to')

With verbs of motion like lɛ̀ ('go'), lə̄ can also indicate the destination.

pə-kə-lɛ̀ lə̄ bɔ̄.kɔ̄ˀ
we-IRR-go to Bangkok
"We will go to Bangkok."

1.4. Instrument ('with', 'by')

lə̄ can mark the tool or means by which an action is performed.

jù lə̄ ʔə-dīˀ
fly with its-wings
"(It) flies with its wings."

jə-kə-lɛ̀ lə̄ lêˀ-mêˀ.ʔū
I-IRR-go by train
"I will go by train."

1.5. Marking oblique objects

In sentences with two objects (ditransitive clauses), the second object is often preceded by lə̄.

hêˀ jà lə̄ tʰī
give me OBL water
"Give me water."

2. lə̄ as a relativizer ('who', 'which', 'that')

This is another extremely common use. When lə̄ comes after a noun and before a clause, it acts like a relative pronoun, linking the clause to the noun it modifies. It introduces a relative clause.

pɣà lə̄ ʔə-bā θɔ̄.kʰā
people who worship monks
"people who worship monks"

tâ lə̄ ʔə-ʔôˀ dɔ̄ˀ nà
things that you-have with you
"things that you have"

tâ.lɔ̂ lə̄ jə-pâ ʔôˀ=wɛ̄
place where my-father is
"the place where my father is"

klɛ̄ lə̄ pə-hɛ̄
road on which we-came
"the road on which we came"

In many cases, especially with descriptive verbs (adjectives), the lə̄ can be dropped without changing the meaning. Both of these are acceptable:

pɣà lə̄ ʔə-ɣè
person who is-good
"a person who is good"

pɣà ʔə-ɣè
person good
"a good person"

However, when the noun being modified is the object of the relative clause, the lə̄ is almost always kept.

tâ lə̄ jə-ʔɔ̂ˀ ʔɔ̀
thing that I-eat it
"the thing that I eat"

Notice the pronoun ʔɔ̀ ('it') at the end of the clause, which refers back to the thing. This is a common feature of Sgaw Karen relative clauses—the noun is often echoed by a pronoun inside the clause.

3. lə̄ as a complementizer ('that')

The third major role of lə̄ is to introduce a whole clause that acts as the object of a verb. This is the equivalent of English 'that' in sentences like "I think that he is coming."

jə-sʰō.môˀ lə̄ ʔə-kwɛ̄ˀ lìˀ.pərə̄
I-think that he-write letter
"I think that he is writing a letter."

jə-tɛ̄-bâˀ ʔɔ̀ lə̄ jə-kə-lɛ̀ dɔ̄ˀ lêˀ.mêˀ.ʔū
I-tell-him that I-IRR-go by train
"I told him that I will go by train."

tʰwîˀ.hɔ̂ˀ.kʰôˀ plì lə̄ kʰē.jɨ̂ kə-ʔɔ̂ˀ ʔɔ̀
fox feared that lion IRR-eat him
"The fox feared that the lion would eat him."

When the main verb is a verb of speaking, thinking, or feeling, lə̄ is the standard way to attach the quoted or reported thought.

4. lə̄ as a quotative marker ('that is', 'namely')

Slightly different from introducing a clause, lə̄ can also be used to introduce a name or a direct quote, functioning like a verbal colon or quotation marks.

jə-mì lə̄ nɔ̂-wā
my-name is Naw-Wah
"My name is Naw Wah."

pə-kɔ̄ˀ lə̄ sʰɛ̄ tʰɨ̄
we-call this set trap
"We call this 'setting a trap'."

5. lə̄ in adverbial clauses (with relator nouns)

lə̄ often teams up with a special class of words called relator nouns to form complex adverbial phrases. A relator noun is a noun (like 'time', 'reason', 'inside') that gets possessed by a clause. lə̄ introduces that clause, and the relator noun specifies the relationship.

5.1. Temporal ('when')

pʰɛ̄ [nə-lɛ̀] lə̄ ʔə-kʰā
at you-go that its-time
"When you go."

5.2. Causal ('because')

jə-θāˀ θêˀ.pʰāˀ lə̄ nə-pàˀ.tê jà ʔə-xō
my-heart broke that you-left me its-reason
"My heart broke because you left me."

5.3. Purposive ('for', 'in order to')

kə-pʰɛ̄ˀ-lɔ̀ kʰɨ̄ˀ lə̄ kə-θûˀ-lɔ̀ bɨ̄ ʔə-ɣɔ̂
IRR-clear field that IRR-plant rice its-purpose
"(He) will clear a field for planting rice."

Summary

lə̄ is the invisible thread that holds Sgaw Karen sentences together. It has three primary identities:

1. The Preposition: It marks location, source, goal, and instrument. lə̄ + Noun Phrase = 'at', 'from', 'to', 'with'.

2. The Relativizer: It links a descriptive clause to a noun. Noun + lə̄ + Clause = 'the X that/who/which...'

3. The Complementizer: It links a whole idea to a verb of thinking, saying, or feeling. Verb + lə̄ + Clause = '... that (something is the case)'

Mastering lə̄ is essential for understanding how Sgaw Karen builds complex sentences. It is the most frequent word in the language for a reason: it is the primary tool for connecting ideas.