Negation in a number of Austronesian and Papuan languages with SVO order is expressed by a rather rigid clause-final position of the negative adverb. Some typological generalizations for negation are reviewed and the distribution of this trait in languages of different stocks is discussed, arguing that it most likely originates in Papuan languages.
Some proposals for different types of negation, such as whether it is a verbal (or VP) operator, a constituent operator or a sentential operator are considered. The problem of determining the scope of negation is discussed, with the conclusion that hard and fast semantic meanings for NEG at different structural levels cannot be posited, suggesting that perhaps a solution can be found in the application of some universal pragmatic principles.
2014. A Syntactic Universal and Its Consequences. Linguistic Inquiry 45:2 ► pp. 169 ff.
DENHAM, TIM & MARK DONOHUE
2009. Pre‐Austronesian dispersal of banana cultivars West from New Guinea: linguistic relics from Eastern Indonesia. Archaeology in Oceania 44:1 ► pp. 18 ff.
Donohue, Mark
2007. Word order in Austronesian from north to south and west to east. Linguistic Typology 11:2
2023. FOFC and what left–right asymmetries may tell us about syntactic structure building. Journal of Linguistics 59:1 ► pp. 179 ff.
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