Suprasegmental Adaptation of Japanese Loanwords in Isbukun Bunun

Based on over 240 firsthand data, this paper provides the first formal analysis of empirical generalizations regarding the suprasegmental adaptation of Japanese loanwords in Isbukun Bunun, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan. This study reveals that during the loanword adaptation process, the position of the Japanese accent is entirely disregarded, and stress in Japanese loanwords is generally assigned according to native phonological rules. However, a noteworthy exception is observed: closed syllables, traditionally considered light in native phonology, unexpectedly attract stress in loanwords. Interestingly, closed syllables do not always maintain their heaviness in loanwords and may become light when preceded by a bimoraic syllable. This unexpected weight contribution from the coda suggests that Japanese loanwords do not adhere to the same phonological constraints as native words, and the variation in the weight of closed syllables indicates a flexible ranking between a constraint favoring moraic codas and a constraint penalizing unstressed heavy syllables.

This article provides the first formal account of empirical generalizations concerning the adaptation of Japanese vowels in Truku, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan. It is shown that while most Truku native markedness constraints are respected in loanword adaptation, two of the language's markedness constraints are sacrificed to satisfy loanword-sensitive faithfulness constraints and one is blocked only in unaffixed loanwords, exhibiting a derived environment effect. Other than native phonology, perceptual saliency is also shown to play a role in loanword adaptation, as evidenced by the different adaptation behaviors between voiced and voiceless vowels and between peripheral and mid vowels. The fact that both perception and native phonology play roles in vowel adaptation in Truku loanwords thus supports the Perception-Phonology Approach of loanword adaptation, a perception-oriented theory that involves the native phonology.

This paper investigates the syntactic status of nominal modifiers in Isbukun Bunun, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan. In Isbukun Bunun, nominal modifiers such as possessors, adjectives, demonstratives, and relative clauses precede the head noun they modify, and they may or must be linked to the head noun by an associative marker tu . Based on the observed NP-ellipsis facts and the formal licensing condition, I argue that the associative marker tu is a complementizer, and the structure it introduces should be accommodated under the adjunction analysis, whereas various existing alternative complementation approaches that view tu as a head selecting the modified phrase as its complement fail to capture the noted properties regarding ellipsis.

This paper investigates the correlative construction in Isbukun Bunun, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan. I show that in this language the correlative clause and its associated anaphoric element do not form a constituent at any point in the derivation. Drawing on evidence from island-insensitivity, the absence of Condition C effects and non-constituency facts, I propose that the syntactic relation between the correlative clause and the nominal correlate is derived by a base-generated adjunction structure. Moreover, I argue that the correlative clause, which behaves as a generalized quantifier, binds the nominal correlate phrase in the matrix clause, which is construed as a bound variable. The proposed quantificational binding view is further shown to capture the types of correlate phrases allowed in Isbukun Bunun correlatives.

This paper investigates the correlative construction in Isbukun Bunun, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan. I show that in this language the correlative clause and its associated anaphoric element do not form a constituent at any point in the derivation. Drawing on evidence from island-insensitivity, the absence of Condition C effects and non-constituency facts, I propose that the syntactic relation between the correlative clause and the nominal correlate is derived by a base-generated adjunction structure. Moreover, I argue that the correlative clause, which behaves as a generalized quantifier, binds the nominal correlate phrase in the matrix clause, which is construed as a bound variable. The proposed quantificational binding view is further shown to capture the types of correlate phrases allowed in Isbukun Bunun correlatives.

The Interpretation of tu and Kavalan Ergativity Hsiu-chuan Liao Abstract Kavalan, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan, has been variously analyzed as accusative, ergative, and split ergative. These different conclusions stem from the fact that certain two-argument clause patterns are ambiguous regarding transitivity. To settle the matter, it is necessary to distinguish canonical transitive clauses from dyadic intransitive clauses. In this paper, we evaluate three proposals that have been made concerning Kavalan transitivity and actancy structure in terms of their morphosyntactic and semantic properties. We pay special attention to the form tu and determine that it is best analyzed as an oblique marker rather than as an accusative marker. We also conclude that there is only one canonical transitive construction, that found in two-argument -an clauses. The two-argument m- clauses, commonly analyzed as canonical transitives in most previous analyses, are treated as extended intransitives or pseudo-transitives—a type of intransitive clause. This leads to the conclusion that Kavalan is best analyzed as a purely ergative language. 1. Introduction.1 In the studies of Formosan, Philippine, and other western Austronesian languages as well,2 the distinction between valency and transitivity has often been neglected. Many Austronesianists equate monadic clauses with intransitive clauses, and dyadic clauses with transitive clauses without considering the relevant morphosyntactic and semantic properties that each exhibits. As a result, many such languages are analyzed as having two distinct types of transitive constructions and an unconditional split-ergative system, something that is typologically unusual. Kavalan, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan, has been commonly analyzed in this way. This paper reviews these analyses from a broad typological perspective [End Page 140] and determines the canonical transitive construction and actancy structure of Kavalan based on morphosyntactic and semantic criteria. We hope thereby to shed new light on the study of western Austronesian syntax generally. We begin with a brief introduction to our theoretical orientation in section 2. We summarize previous analyses of Kavalan transitivity and actancy structure in section 3. Finally, in section 4, we evaluate three proposals concerning Kavalan transitivity and actancy based on morphosyntactic and semantic criteria (see Hopper and Thompson [1980] and Gibson and Starosta [1990] for detailed discussion). It is shown that the form tu is best analyzed as an oblique marker rather than as an accusative marker. Moreover, based on the morphosyntactic and semantic properties that Kavalan clauses exhibit, we conclude that there is only one canonical transitive construction in Kavalan, that involving two-argument -an clauses. Two argument m- clauses, which have been commonly analyzed as canonical transitives in previous analyses, are treated as extended intransitives or pseudo-transitives, a type of intransitive clause. By analyzing the dyadic -an clauses as canonical transitives and the dyadic m- clauses as extended intransitives, we will conclude that Kavalan is best analyzed as a pure ergative language, rather than as an accusative or split-ergative language. 2. Theoretical Orientation.3 In this paper, we employ a revised version of Dixon's Basic Linguistic Theory to describe Kavalan clause structure. Some notions that are crucial to the discussion of Kavalan clause structures are discussed in this section. 2.1 Core Arguments vs. Peripheral Arguments. Basic Linguistic Theory as outlined in Dixon (1979, 1994) and Dixon and Aikhenvald (2000) distinguishes core arguments from peripheral arguments (also called "adjuncts"). The occurrence of core arguments is determined by the head (usually a verb) of a clause. The core arguments must be stated (or be understood from the context) for a clause to be acceptable. The occurrence of peripheral arguments or adjuncts is less dependent on the nature of the head of a clause; they may optionally be included to indicate place, time, cause, purpose, and so on. Four core arguments (S, A, O, and E) can be distinguished and will be defined as follows in this paper.4 A is the more active core argument of a canonical transitive verb; O is the less active core argument of a canonical transitive verb; S is the sole argument of a canonical intransitive verb, or one of the two core arguments of a dyadic intransitive verb that has the same morphological marking as the sole argument of a...

This paper analyzes the factors that determine the assignment of accent to Western (primarily English) and Japanese loanwords in the Yanbian dialect of Korean. The study is based on a corpus of 1,737 words. The major findings are as follows. In Yanbian loanwords, the accent is basically located in a two-syllable window at the right edge of the word. The accent pattern differs between disyllabic and longer words. The penultimate syllable receives the strong default accent in disyllabic loanwords, and syllable weight affects the distribution gradiently. On the other hand, the default accent in Yanbian native words is final. Statistical analysis shows that the different accent distributions between the native words and loanwords are attributed to the lexical class difference. The discrepancy between native words and loanwords is supported by a wug test. Our hypothesis is that Yanbian loanword accentuation results from the grammar of the source language and lexical statistics, along with some adjustments by Yanbian native grammar. By comparing the three different loanword categories in Yanbian that derive from different source languages with different prosodic types (English—stress, Japanese—pitch accent, Mandarin—tone), we show statistically that each has its own accentual adaptation system. We propose a loanword adaptation model in which the loanword adaptation is understood as an induction process from a faithfulness constraint to the source language into relevant markedness constraints. Through a learning process, the original faithfulness constraints to the source language are demoted below relevant markedness constraints. These markedness constraints are weighted by the learning algorithm so that the weight hierarchy can achieve a more or less “faithful adaptation” of the source language. Under this view, each separate sublexicon can have a different weight hierarchy of markedness constraints.

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This study investigates the formation of mid vowels in the Maga dialect of Rukai, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan. In contrast to the diachronic account presented in Li (1977), which assumes, based on cognate comparison among Rukai dialects, that Maga mid vowels derive historically from Proto Rukai, the current work draws evidence from alternations found in Maga and proposes that the mid vowels are not inherited nor underlyingly present but are surface variants of high vowels, generated by synchronic processes. Two other phenomena, echo vowel insertion and e∼r / o∼v alternation, are examined in connection with mid vowel formation. It is shown in the discussion that the proposed synchronic approach not only provides an answer to some unresolved issues related to Maga mid vowels, thus shedding light on our understanding of Maga's vocalic inventories, but also reveals the interactions among various processes and hence offers insight into the unified mechanisms that tie together the alternations in the language.

This work investigates the syntax of nominal modification involving the linkerain Siwkolan Amis, one of the dialects of Amis, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan. Based on the two observed types of NP-ellipsis patterns and the formal licensing condition, I argue that Amis displays two types of modification. Modifiers in direct modification are functional heads projecting extended functional projections of NP, whereas those in indirect modification are modifier phrases base-generated at [Spec, ModP]. This distinction adds weight toJ. Wu’s (2003)view that relative clauses and description-denoting modifiers marked by -ayare clausal modifiers that have a full-fledged CP structure from a cartographic perspective. Furthermore, I argue thataprojects the Modifier Phrase (ModP) and is a modificatory clitic endowed with a [+mod] feature that attaches to a head element moving from a lower head position to form a morphological word. Very much in line withPhilip (2012), the proposed analysis suggests thatais endowed with an interpretative profile in marking a modification relation between an extended functional projection (a modifier phrase) and a dependent word (a modified noun) in the nominal domain. Issues involved in dealing with the structure of Amis complex noun phrases are discussed.

This paper investigates the contact-induced prosody in Budai Rukai, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan. By providing phonetic representations of word stress shift in Budai Rukai, the contact-induced prosody has been further verified. The contrastive stress in the Budai dialect is in the process of developing predictable penultimate stress resulting in innovations in new settlements. Budai Rukai speakers who have frequent contact with Paiwan speakers tend to produce the Paiwan stress patterns. The prosodic change has applied an optional rule of extrametricality, and echo vowels have been treated as proper vowels in the varieties. Antepenultimate stress becomes penultimate stress in trisyllabic or longer prosodic words, with a release from extrametricality. Results also suggest that speaker variability affected the stress shift in Budai Rukai.

Verb classes are examined in Mayrinax Atayal, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan, based on certain semantic, morphological, and syntactic properties. Focus markers; negative, imperative, and causative constructions; the tense/aspect/mood system of the language; and a dimension of greaterlesser dynamicity (or stativity) are all investigated. The primary distinction between dynamic and stative verbs is supported by the different behaviors of verbs in the various constructions. Because degrees of dynamicity/stativity of Mayrinax verbs are relative rather than absolute, a continuum is proposed with dynamic verbs and stative verbs appearing at the two extremes. 1. INTRODUCTION. Atayal is one of the more widespread of the Formosan languages, ranging from Ban Prefecture in the northeast of Taiwan to Taipei and Taoyuan Prefectures in the north, and southward through Hsinchu, Miaoli, and Taichung Prefectures to Nantou in the central portion of the island. It consists of two major subgroups, namely, Squliq and C?uli?, the latter of which is considered as being more conservative. The dialectal variant examined in this paper is that of Mayrinax, a C?uli? dialect spoken in Chinshui Village, Taian Hsiang, Miaoli Prefecture. Of all Formosan languages and dialects, Mayrinax is one of the only two known dialects that show certain distinctions between the male and female forms of speech; the other dialect is Pa?kuali? (cf. Li 1980). While such distinctions between the male and female speech forms are still preserved in the older generation's speech, younger speakers tend to ignore these differences and mix the two forms in their speech. This paper attempts to examine verb classes in Mayrinax Atayal. To our knowledge, there are four studies [2] that deal primarily with verb classification in certain Formosan languages; namely, Jeng (1981) on Yami, Chen (1987) and Y. Huang (1988) on Amis, and Tseng (1989) on Squliq Atayal. Most of these studies rely heavily on Syntax--case relations, case forms, and distributional properties. In this paper, we attempt to classify Mayrinax verbs on the basis of certain semantic, morphological, and syntactic properties. We first consider how verbs are formed in the language. We then show a primary classification for them, namely, dynamic verbs versus stative verbs. [3] While dynamic verbs designate actions, processes, or situations, stative verbs tend to denote properties, states, or resultant states. We attempt to justify such a classification by examining the semantic dynamicity (or stativity) of Mayrinax verbs, and the morphosyntactic behaviors they exhibit in the focus system, [4] in negative, imperative, a nd causative constructions, and in the tense/aspect/mood system. 2. VERB FORMATION IN MAYRINAX ATAYAL. Languages may have various ways of forming verbs. In this section, we will investigate how verbs are formed in Mayrinax Atayal. The language has words that are inherent verbs. As pointed out by Huang (1995), agent-focus verbs appearing in affirmative imperatives are considered to be basic forms [5] that are also used in agent-focus realis negative declaratives. These verbs can be further affixed with varying focus markers, tense/aspect/mood markers, and/or causative markers, with or without overt affixation, depending on, among other factors, which argument is in focus (e.g., agent, patient, location, instrument; or beneficiary) and what syntactic construction a given verb is being used in (e.g., declarative or imperative, affirmative or negative). In addition to the above-mentioned inherent verbs and their derivatives affixed with different focus, tense/aspect/mood, and/or causative markers, Mayrinax Atayal has verbs whose basic forms are derived from nouns affixed with either a causative marker, a stative marker, a preposition, or a zero-morpheme focus marker, [6] as exemplified in (I-4). [7] (I) Verbs derived from nouns affixed with the causative marker pa-: a. …

In many languages with subject-before-object as a syntactically basic word order, transitive sentences in which the subject precedes the object have been reported to have a processing advantage over those in which the subject follows the object in sentence comprehension. Three sources can be considered to account for this advantage, namely, syntactic complexity (filler-gap dependency), conceptual accessibility (the order of thematic roles), and pragmatic requirement. To examine the effect of these factors on the processing of simple transitive sentences, the present study conducted two event-related potential experiments in Seediq, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan, by manipulating word orders (basic VOS vs. non-basic SVO), the order of thematic roles (actor vs. goal voice), and discourse factors (presence/absence of visual context). The results showed that, compared to VOS, SVO incurred a greater processing load (reflected by a P600) when there was no supportive context, irrespective of voice alternation; however, SVO did not incur a greater processing load when there was supportive context and the discourse requirement was satisfied. We interpreted these results as evidence that the processing difficulty of the non-basic word order in Seediq is associated with a discourse-level processing difficulty.

This paper investigates the phonetic correlates of interrogative prosodic features in Paiwan, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan. An attempt has been made to capture the typology of the Paiwan interrogative prosody. The interrogative sentence in Paiwan consists of one or more prosodic words which are usually larger than a verb stem. Yes/no, tag and alternative questions are characteristically marked by a high final boundary tone, whereas WH-questions are realized with a low final boundary tone. It is concluded that the typology of interrogative prosody in Paiwan lies in the sentence-level intonation structure. Stress or word-level pragmatic accent does not affect the high tone alignment of the interrogative sentences in Paiwan.

This paper presents a formal account of the influence of orthography in the adaptation of Romanian loanwords from French and Japanese loanwords from English. It agues that, in the course of adaptation, the accompanying presence of a written representation does play a part in shaping the phonological content of borrowed words. To explain such orthographic manifestations in loanwords, a grammatical mechanism is devised in which underlying input representations are composed of linguistic information emanating from both the native perceptual system and the grapheme-phoneme mapping procedure. Cast in the framework of Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky, 1993/2004), the bulk of the analysis rests in determining how the grammar evaluates output forms resulting from such amalgamated inputs. Theoretical implications of such a proposal are also discussed, in particular as it concerns the nature of input coding and representation. In short, phonological representations are assumed to embrace the segmental richness imparted by both speech and print.