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ItemMalagasy Personal Pronouns: A Lexical History(UNIV HAWAII PRESS, 2014-12)This paper traces the history of pronouns in various regional forms of Malagasy and proposes a reconstruction of Proto-Malagasy pronouns. Four sets of pronouns are reconstructed for Proto-Malagasy: a default nominative set marked with Ø, a topicalized nominative set in which 1st person pronouns are marked with a form *i, a genitive set marked with *=n-, and an oblique set marked with *an=. The development of some pronouns is shown to provide clues for the internal classification of Malagasy varieties. The Proto-Malagasy pronouns are also compared with external references and higher-order reconstructions, namely pronouns from the closely related Southeast Barito languages in Borneo and Proto–Malayo-Polynesian. Finally, an attempt is made to reconstruct Proto-Southeast Barito pronouns.
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ItemReviving Siraya: A Case for Language Engineering(UNIV HAWAII PRESS, 2013)
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ItemMalagasy dialect divisions: Genetic versus emblematic criteria(University of Hawai'i Press, 2013-12-01)This paper gives an overview of the literature on Malagasy dialect variety and the various Malagasy dialect classifications that have been proposed. It rejects the often held view that the way Malagasy dialects reflect the Proto-Austronesian phoneme sequences *li and *ti is a basic criterion for their genetic division. While the linguistic innovations shown in, respectively, central dialects (Merina, Betsileo, Sihanaka, Tanala) and southwestern dialects (Vezo, Mahafaly, Tandroy) clearly show that these groups form separate historical divisions, the linguistic developments in other (northern, eastern, and western) dialects are more difficult to interpret. The differences between Malagasy dialects are generally rather contained and do not seem to be the result of separate migration waves or the arrival of linguistically different migrant groups. The paper ends with a list of subgrouping criteria that will be useful for future research into the history of Malagasy dialects. © by University of Hawai'i Press. All rights reserved.
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ItemBibliography of the Languages of Borneo (and Madagascar)(KITLV PRESS, 2015)
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ItemJavanese -ake and -akan: A Short History(UNIV HAWAII PRESS, 2011-12)Evidence from various Javanese dialects is presented to show that the standard Javanese transitive suffixes - aké and - akən have only recently become part of the Javanese morpheme inventory. They have replaced an earlier transitive suffix *-(ʔ)ən, which is still reflected in Tengger Javanese and in marginal positions in standard Javanese. The acquisition of - aké and - akən in standard Javanese happened independently of the acquisition of - akən in Old Javanese. This allows a different perspective on the position of Old Javanese in the classification of Javanese dialects: it is most likely not a direct predecessor of standard Javanese. The spread of - akən to Javanese and other languages is an areal feature. The replacement of *-(ʔ)ən by - akən may have been motivated by a need to reduce the high functional load of *-(ʔ)ən. The form - aké is tentatively explained as a low register back-formation from - akən .
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ItemMalagasy Phonological History and Bantu Influence(UNIV HAWAII PRESS, 2012-06)In this paper I give a critical assessment of John Wolff's interpretation of the phonological history of Malagasy as it appears in his recent book on Proto-Austronesian phonology. The various aspects of Wolff's approach that I deal with include the development of final open syllables, the spirantization and fricativization of stops and semivowels, the reduction of *-ŋk- clusters, and Wolff's interpretation of the development of Proto-Austronesian *s (or *c in Wolff's notation). I also discuss the impact of Bantu languages on the development of Malagasy after the migration of its speakers to East Africa. This impact was a major one, although it is seriously underestimated in Wolff's perspective.