The final particle uè in Longxi Qiang: A marker of realis and stance.

This paper explores the nature of the final particle uè in Longxi Qiang, a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in China. Previous studies have briefly described the uses of sentence final particles in 'tail-head' construction in Qiang varieties such as Longxi, Ronghong, and Puxi Qiang. Other studies indicate that the distribution of uè is not restricted to 'tail-head' construction. More features of the Qiang language are found by analyzing the uses of uè in narratives and conversations. First, the absence and presence of uè reflect the realis and irrealis distinction. The Qiang language lacks grammatical tense, but uè serves as a temporal reference to distinguish future and non-future. The choices of the final particle and person marker do not depend on aspect, but rather the realistic status of the events. Second, the use of uè signals the interlocutor's/narrator's evaluation from a third-party perspective, as well as his/her strong epistemic certainty or personal viewpoint regarding an entity or proposition. • Unlike previous studies on varieties of Qiang, I found that the distribution of uè is not restricted to 'tail-head' constructions. • In terms of a narrative discourse composed of sequential actions, uè functions to identify temporal junctures for narrative advancement. • The choices of the final particle and person marker do not depend on the time reference, but the realistic status of the events. • The use of uè in narratives and conversational stories signals the narrator's evaluation and viewpoint of the proposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]