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ItemGrammar notes on Siraya, an extinct Formosan language(University of Hawaii Press, 1997-12-01)This is an attempt to unravel the grammar of a gospel text in Siraya, an extinct West Formosan language. It includes a discussion of the historical setting, the spelling, phonological features, function words, relation markers, morphosyntax of the verb, and the use of deictic verbs as prepositions. Regarding verbal morphosyntax, special attention is given to case marking suffixes, verbal classifiers, compound verbs, and anticipating sequences. Verbal classifiers are lexical elements prefixed to a root (a verb, adverb, or noun) with which they constitute the overall meaning of the resulting verb (mattäy- ‘talking, saying’ + vli ‘reciprocating, doing in return’ mattäy-vli ‘to answer’; mattäy- + rĭx ‘mind’ mattäy- rĭx ‘talk to oneself’). Compound verb constructions are constructions in which auxiliaries assume the functions of adverbs in English. These auxiliaries form an open class and are in fact the head of the verb phrase, as they carry most of the marking. An anticipating sequence is an element of a verb that is prefixed to the preceding auxiliary.
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ItemSiraya reduplication (West Formosa, roots, lexical properties of wordbases, disyllabic reduplication)(University of Hawaii Press, 2000-06-01)The main patterns of reduplication in Siraya (West Formosa) include monosyllabic root reduplication, an inherent lexical property of certain wordbases, and disyllabic reduplication, which adds the notion of diffuseness (including plurality, variety, similarity) to nominal wordbases, and the notion of diffusenes (repetition of action, plurality of actants) or continuity (including state, process) to verbal wordbases. The same meanings are conveyed by rightward reduplication, which applies when the last three or four segments of a root are copied at the end (losing the final consonant if there is one). First-syllable reduplication basically forms cardinal numbers with nonhuman referents. Ca- reduplication is part of verbal morphosyntax indicating progressive aspect, generic aspect, or a state, but it also forms deverbal nouns; it is, moreover, used with ordinal numerals, and with cardinal numerals and other count words having a human referent. Contrary to the general pattern found in other Austronesian languages (Blust 1998), the meaning of Siraya nouns derived through Ca- reduplication is not restricted to that of instrument but also includes that of agent, abstract noun, undergoer, and (in combination with the suffix -an) location. Finally, pa- reduplication is a morphosyntactic device forming causative verbs.
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ItemMalagasy Genetic Ancestry Comes from an Historical Malay Trading Post in Southeast Borneo(OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 2016-09)Malagasy genetic diversity results from an exceptional protoglobalization process that took place over a thousand years ago across the Indian Ocean. Previous efforts to locate the Asian origin of Malagasy highlighted Borneo broadly as a potential source, but so far no firm source populations were identified. Here, we have generated genome-wide data from two Southeast Borneo populations, the Banjar and the Ngaju, together with published data from populations across the Indian Ocean region. We find strong support for an origin of the Asian ancestry of Malagasy among the Banjar. This group emerged from the long-standing presence of a Malay Empire trading post in Southeast Borneo, which favored admixture between the Malay and an autochthonous Borneo group, the Ma'anyan. Reconciling genetic, historical, and linguistic data, we show that the Banjar, in Malay-led voyages, were the most probable Asian source among the analyzed groups in the founding of the Malagasy gene pool.
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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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ItemWhere does Malay come from? Twenty years of discussions about homeland, migrations and classifications(KONINKLIJK INST TAAL- LAND- EN VOLKENKUNDE, 2004)
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ItemA grammar of Mualang; An Ibanic language of West Kalimantan, Indonesia(KITLV PRESS, 2009)