A Contrastive Analysis of Hindi and Sinhala Compound Verbs

Abstract

This Research analyses the contrast between Hindi and Sinhala Compound Verb. When there are two verbs in the sentence, the main verb has a basic meaning, and the original meaning of the second verb is lost. Then these kinds of verbs are called Compound Verbs in Hindi. The Compound Verb is formed by connecting a main Verb and a supportive Verb. It has its own independent meaning elsewhere, but when used in the form as a joint verb, it disappears from its original fundamental meaning. The Compound verbs in Hindi and their corresponding Compounds in Sinhala have been used in the study. There are many meanings in the same word in Sinhala and Hindi; but here the same main meaning used in Hindi and similarly in Sinhala, has been taken for the analysis. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) has been used as an example of Hindi verbs, enabling non Hindi speakers to pronounce Hindi perfectly. In review of literature I have found that there was no research done on the verb phrase in Sinhala and Hindi, this is the first effort. 1459 Verbs have been selected in Hindi based on the Dictionary of Hindi Verbs written by Helmut Nespital, for the data collection. Compound Verbs in Hindi and similarly Sinhala were analyzed. Sinhala verbs which are identical in meaning to those Hindi Verbs have been analyzed in the discussion. In this research, 1459 verbs were selected for analysis. 486 compound verbs have been found in Hindi, out of 1459 verbs. 330 verbs are similarly used as compound verbs in Sinhala. The contrast has been found on 156 verbs in Sinhala in meaning out of 486 compound verbs in Hindi.