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Argument Selectors: A new perspective on grammatical relations
Edited by Alena Witzlack-Makarevich and Balthasar Bickel
[Typological Studies in Language 123] 2019
► pp. 131–184

Grammatical relations in Hiligaynon

| University of California

In typological work on grammatical relations, languages of the Philippines have long presented challenges. The challenges are due in part to differences across the languages, and in part to the nature of the data underlying analyses. Here the system is described for one Philippine language, Hiligaynon. Basic clause structures are described, then alternations involving causatives, applicatives, reflexives, middles, and reciprocals. Choices among these constructions are examined in context, revealing effects of referent properties (animacy, identifiability, specificity), and information flow through discourse (topicality, topic shifts, focus). Argument structure constraints on individual syntactic constructions are then detailed: imperatives, quantifier float, conjunction reduction, nominalization, content questions, relativization, secondary predication, and complementation. Examination of alternations in context allows us to refine existing typological generalizations and build new ones.

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Clause structure
    • 2.1Arguments
    • 2.2Adjuncts
    • 2.3Predicates
      • 2.3.1Zero transitives
      • 2.3.2Intransitives
      • 2.3.3Transitives
  • 3.Argument structure alternations
    • 3.1Intransitivizers
    • 3.2Transitivizers
      • 3.2.1Basic transitivers
      • 3.2.2Instrumental transitivizers
      • 3.2.3Locative transitivizers
      • 3.2.4Causatives
    • 3.3Reflexives and reciprocals
    • 3.4The status of voice morphology
  • 4.Grammatical relations in use
    • 4.1Referent properties: Animacy, identifiability, and specificity
    • 4.2Information flow through discourse: Topicality
    • 4.3Information flow: Topic shifts
    • 4.4Information flow: Focus
  • 5.Syntactic constructions
    • 5.1Imperatives
    • 5.2Quantifiers
    • 5.3Conjunction reduction
    • 5.4Nominalization
    • 5.5Content questions
    • 5.6Relativization
    • 5.7Secondary-predicate constructions
    • 5.8Complement constructions
      • 5.8.1Syntactic status of the complement
      • 5.8.2Controller S = (Controllee S)
      • 5.8.3Controller P = (Controllee S)
      • 5.8.4Controller P = (Controllee A)
      • 5.8.5Controller S = (Controllee A)
      • 5.8.6Controller A = (Controllee S)
      • 5.8.7Controller A = (Controllee A)
      • 5.8.8The complement
      • 5.8.9Complement constructions: Summary
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 5 March 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.123.05mit
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