The argument indexing of early Austronesian verbs
A reconstructional myth?
This paper re-examines the Proto Austronesian (PAn) split-clitic construction, which has had a considerable influence on the reconstruction of Austronesian morphosyntactic history, suggests that it is a myth, and proposes alternative reconstructions, on the basis of data from Austronesian languages of Taiwan. At the same time the paper exemplifies and reinforces the observation by scholars of historical morphosyntax that cognate constructions across languages need to be identified not only on the basis of syntactic similarity but also on the basis of cognate morphology. Without the latter, there is no strong evidence of cognacy, as similar syntax may occur through parallel development, chance or contact.
References (54)
Adelaar, K. Alexander
2011 Siraya: Retrieving the Phonology, Grammar and Lexicon of a Dormant Formosan Language. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Adelaar, K. Alexander & Nikolaus P. Himmelmann
eds. 2005 The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar. London: Routledge.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Aldridge, Edith.
2014 “
Ergativity from Subjunctive in Austronesian Languages”. Paper presented to the 14th International Symposium on Chinese Languages and Linguistics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 4–6 June 2014.
Barðdal, Jóhanna & Thórhallur Eythórsson
2012 “
Reconstructing Syntax: Construction Grammar and the Comparative Method”.
Sign-Based Construction Grammar ed. by
Hans C. Boas &
Ivan A. Sag, 257–308. Stanford: CSLI Publications.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Billings, Loren & Daniel Kaufman
2004 “
Towards a Typology of Austronesian Pronominal Clisis”.
Proceedings of the Eleventh meeting of the Austronesian Formal Linguistics Association (
= ZAS Papers in Linguistics 34), ed. by
Paul Law, 15–29. Berlin: Zentrum für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Blust, Robert A
1977 “
The Proto-Austronesian Pronouns and Austronesian Subgrouping: A Preliminary Report”.
University of Hawaii Working Papers in Linguistics 9/2:1–15.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Blust, Robert A
1999 “
Subgrouping, Circularity and Extinction: Some Issues in Austronesian Comparative Linguistics”.
Selected Papers from the Eighth International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics (
= Symposium Series of the Institute of Linguistics (Preparatory Office), Academia Sinica 1), ed by
Elizabeth Zeitoun &
Paul Jen-kuei Li, 31–94. Taipei: Institute of Linguistics (Preparatory Office), Academia Sinica.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Blust, Robert A. & Stephen Trussell
2011 Austronesian Comparative Dictionary.
[URL].
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chang, Anna Hsiouchuan
2006 A Reference Grammar of Paiwan. PhD thesis, The Australian National University.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chang, Henry Yungli
2009 “
Adverbial Verbs and Adverbial Compounds in Tsou: A Syntactic Analysis.”
Oceanic Linguistics 48:439–476.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Early, Robert & John Whitehorn
2003 One Hundred Paiwan Texts. (
= Pacific Linguistics 542) Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Egli, Hans
1990 Paiwangrammatik. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Egli, Hans
2002 Paiwan Wörterbuch: Paiwan-Deutsch, Deutsch-Paiwan. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Evans, Bethwyn
1995 Reconstructing Object Markers in Oceanic Languages. BA Honours sub-thesis. Australian National University.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ferrell, Raleigh
1982 Paiwan Dictionary. (
= Pacific Linguistics C-73) Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Himmelmann, Nikolaus P
1996 “
Person Marking and Grammatical Relations in Sulawesi”.
Papers in Austronesian linguistics No. 3 (
= Pacific Linguistics A-84) ed. by
Hein Steinhauer, 115–136. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Himmelmann, Nikolaus P
2005 “
The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar: Typological Characteristics”.
Adelaar &
Himmelmann, eds., 110–181.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ho, Dah-an (Hé Dàān)
1998 “
Táiwǎn Nándǎoyŭ de yŭyán guǎnxi” [Genetic relationships among the Formosan languages].
Chinese Studies 16:141–171.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Holmer, Arthur J
1996 A Parametric Grammar of Seediq. (
= Travaux de L’Institut de Linguistique de Lund 30.) Lund: Lund University Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Holmer, Arthur & Loren Billings
2014. “
Clitic Pronouns in Seediq”.
Papers from 12-ICAL, 2: Argument Realisations and Related Constructions in Austronesian Languages ed. by
I Wayan Arka &
N. L. K. Mas Indrawati 131 141 Canberra Asia-Pacific Linguistics
Huang, Shuanfan & Michael Tanangkingsing.
2011 “
A Discourse Explanation of the Transitivity Phenomena in Kavalan, Squliq, and Tsou”.
Oceanic Linguistics 50:93–119.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Huang, Wei-chen
2012 A Study of Verbal Morphology in Puljetji Paiwan. MA thesis, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kaufman, Daniel
2008 “
South Sulawesi Pronominal Clitics: Form, Function and Position”.
Studies in Philippine Languages and Cultures 17:13–65.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kikusawa, Ritsuko
2003 “
A New View of the Proto-Oceanic Pronominal System”.
Oceanic Linguistics 42:161–186.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Li, Lilian Li-ying
2010 Clitics in Nantou Isbukun Bunun (Austronesian). MA thesis, National Chi Nan University, Puli, Taiwan.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Næss, Åshild
2013 “
From Austronesian Voice to Oceanic Transitivity: Äiwoo as the ‘Missing Link’”.
Oceanic Linguistics 52:106–124.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Næss, Åshild & Brenda H. Boerger
2008 “
Reefs-Santa Cruz as Oceanic: Evidence from the Verb Complex”.
Oceanic Linguistics 47:186–213.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Palmer, Bill
2011 “
Subject-indexing and Possessive Morphology in Northwest Solomonic”.
Linguistics 49:685–747.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pecoraro, Ferdinando
1979 Elements de grammaire taroko, precedes de la presentation de la vie et de la culture des taroko. Paris: Association Archipel.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pires, Acrisio & Sarah G. Thomason
Reid, Lawrence A. & Hsiu-chuan Liao
2004 “
A Brief Syntactic Typology of Philippine Languages”.
Language and Linguistics 5:433–490.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ross, Malcolm
1986 “
A Genetic Grouping of Oceanic Languages in Bougainville and the Western Solomons”,
FOCAL II: Papers from the Fourth International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics (
= Pacific Linguistics C-94) ed. by
Paul Geraghty,
Lois Carrington &
S.A. Wurm, 75–200. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ross, Malcolm
2006 “
Reconstructing the Case-Marking and Personal Pronoun Systems of Proto Austronesian”.
Streams Converging into an Ocean: Festschrift in Honor of Professor Paul Jen-kuei Li on his 70th birthday (
= Language and Linguistics Monograph Series W5) ed. by
Henry Yungli Chang,
Lillian M. Huang &
Dah-an Ho, 521–564. Taipei: Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ross, Malcolm
2009 “
Proto Austronesian Verbal Morphology: A Reappraisal”.
Austronesian Historical Linguistics and Culture History: A Festschrift for Robert Blust (
= Pacific Linguistics 601) ed. by
Alexander Adelaar &
Andrew Pawley, 295–326. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ross, Malcolm
2012a “
In Defense of Nuclear Austronesian (and against Tsouic)”.
Language and Linguistics 13:1253–1330.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ross, Malcolm
2012b “
Some Proto Austronesian Coronals Reexamined”. Ms., The Australian National University.
Ross, Malcolm
2013 “
How Rukai became Accusatively Aligned”. Unpublished draft, Australian National University.
Ross, Malcolm
2015. “
Revising the Reconstruction of Early Austronesian Personal Pronouns”.
Papers from 12-ICAL, 3: Language change in Austronesian languages ed by
Malcolm Ross &
I Wayan Arka 109 122 Canberra Asia-Pacific Linguistics
Ross, Malcolm & Åshild Næss
2007 “
An Oceanic Origin for Äiwoo, the Language of the Reef Islands?”.
Oceanic Linguistics 46:456–498.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sagart, Laurent
2004 “
The Higher Phylogeny of Austronesian and the Position of Tai-Kadai”.
Oceanic Linguistics 43:411–444.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Starosta, Stanley
1988 The Case for Lexicase: An Outline of Lexicase Grammatical Theory. London and New York: Pinter.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Starosta, Stanley, Andrew Pawley & Lawrence A. Reid
1981 “
The Evolution of Focus in Austronesian”. Paper presented at the Third International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics, Bali. Published in
Zeitoun ed. 2009:329–481.
Starosta, Stanley, Andrew Pawley & Lawrence A. Reid
1982 “
The Evolution of Focus in Austronesian”.
Papers from the Third International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics, 2: Tracking the travellers (
= Pacific Linguistics C-75) ed. by
Amran Halim,
Lois Carrington &
S.A. Wurm, 145–170. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Teng, Stacy Fang-ching
2008 A Reference Grammar of Puyuma, an Austronesian Language of Taiwan. (
= Pacific Linguistics 595.) Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Teng, Stacy Fang-ching
2013 “
Notes on Puyuma Preverbal Portmanteau Forms”. Unpublished draft, Academia Sinica.
Teng, Stacy Fang-ching & Elizabeth Zeitoun.
2014 ”Kanakanavu Personal Pronouns Revisited”. Unpublished ms, Academia Sinica.
Tsukida, Naomi
2005 “
Seediq”.
Adelaar &
Himmelmann, eds. 291–325.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Wolff, John U
1996 “
The Development of the Passive Verb with Pronominal Prefix in Western Austronesian Languages”.
Reconstruction, Classification, Description: Festschrift in Honor of Isidore Dyen ed. by
Bernd Nothofer, 15–40. Hamburg: Abera.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Yen, Doris Ching-jung
2012 Clitics in Kavalan (East Formosan, Austronesian). MA thesis, National Chi Nan University, Puli, Taiwan.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Zeitoun, Elizabeth
2005 “
Tsou”.
The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar,
Adelaar &
Himmelmann, eds. 259–290.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Zeitoun, Elizabeth
ed. 2009 Formosan Linguistics: Stanley Starosta’s Contributions, vol. 2 (
= Language and Linguistics Monograph Series C6-2.) Taipei: Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Zeitoun, Elizabeth & Stacy Fang-ching Teng
2014 “
The Position of Kanakanavu and Saaroa within the Formosan Languages Revisited”. Paper presented to the 14th International Symposium on Chinese Languages and Linguistics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 4–6 June 2014.
Zobel, Erik
2002 “
The Position of Chamorro and Palauan in the Austronesian Family Tree: Evidence from Verb Morphosyntax”.
The History and Typology of Western Austronesian Voice Systems (
= Pacific Linguistics 518) ed. by
Fay Wouk &
Malcolm Ross, 405–434. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by (3)
Cited by 3 other publications
Daniels, Don, Danielle Barth & Wolfgang Barth
Daniels, Don
2021.
The issue of arbitrariness in syntactic reconstruction.
Folia Linguistica 55:s42-s2
► pp. 393 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 23 june 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.