Malay as a mirror of Austronesian: Voice development and voice variation

Abstract

This article examines the divergent voice systems of a selection of Malay/Indonesian varieties. I will show that the voice systems of the different Malay/Indonesian varieties largely (but not completely) reflect the voice systems in the languages in which that variety is spoken. In this way Malay/Indonesian, in its different varieties, can be seen as a mirror on the development of voice systems in Austronesian languages. While many languages show a syntactically privileged ‘subject’, in many western Austronesian languages (including Malay/Indonesian) some subject properties accrue according to argument structure position, and some other of these properties accrue to the argument that is morphologically marked as ‘special’ in the clause. At the same time, those Austronesian languages belonging to the (eastern) Oceanic branch lack voice alternations, or else show a simple active/passive dichotomy. The change in the presence and nature voice systems follows the migration path of the Austronesians, moving the highly marked diathesis to a more ‘normal’ diathesis. The voice systems of the different Malay varieties vary greatly, encompassing almost all the variation that is found across the Austronesian languages. I propose a model in terms of the speakers’ access to universal grammar in determining the grammar of the new variety of Malay/Indonesian.