Voice Choice in Äiwoo and the Symmetrical Voice-to-Transitivity Shift

Abstract: This paper examines the factors that influence the choice between actor voice and undergoer voice in the Oceanic language Äiwoo from two perspectives: a quantitative study comparing 80 actor-voice clauses with 80 undergoer-voice clauses and a qualitative study looking at all occurrences of actor voice in the available data. The results show, on the one hand, that the factors influencing voice choice in Äiwoo largely overlap with those described for symmetrical voice languages in the western Austronesian region. On the other hand, the usage patterns of the actor voice also show affinities with the transitivity alternations found in canonical Oceanic languages: the undergoer voice is by far the most frequent in discourse, suggesting that it may be on its way to being reanalyzed as the default transitive construction, and the predominant context for the use of the actor voice is with an undergoer argument that is low in referentiality, similar to the contexts that favor "semi-transitive" constructions in many Oceanic languages. The Äiwoo data thus point to a possible path of reanalysis from a symmetrical voice system to an Oceanic-type system of transitivity alternations.

This paper examines three properties of the Reefs-Santa Cruz language Äiwoo that are unusual for an Oceanic language—a distinction between prefixal marking of subjects for intransitive verbs and suffixal marking for transitive verbs, OVA word order in clauses that are morphologically and syntactically transitive, and an ergatively structured verb phrase in OVA clauses—and one that is frequent in Oceanic languages, namely the existence of clauses that appear to be morphologically intransitive but syntactically transitive (socalled “transitive discord” in the terminology of Margetts). I argue that all these properties are straightforwardly explained by the assumption that the Äiwoo system derives from a western Austronesian-style symmetrical voice system where two basic changes have taken place: the loss of the contrast between an actor voice and an undergoer voice, and the accretion of subject pronouns as bound person markers on verbs. Given that Äiwoo is an Oceanic language, this suggests that a voice system must have persisted later into the development of Oceanic than has previously been assumed.

1.Introduction 1.1 Oceanic languages 1.2 Introduction to Nêlêmwa 2. Noun phrase coordination in Nêlêmwa 2.1 The general dependency marker me ‘and’ 2.2 The animate, inclusory NP coordinator ma ‘and, with’ 2.3 The additive coordinator ka ~ xa ‘and, also, too’ 3. Predicate and clausal coordination in Nêlêmwa 3.1 Me : a polyfunctional morpheme 3.2 Me and xa as medial VP or clausal coordinators 3.3 Me, na and xa in clause chaining 4. Typological comparisons with other Oceanic languages 4.1 Appositive inclusory constructions in some Oceanic languages 4.2 Inclusory, coordinating and comitative strategies: a comparative overview in some Oceanic languages 4.3 Inclusory constructions: paths of grammaticalization and replacement 5. Conclusion

This paper examines the uses of the prefix e- (ve-) in Äiwoo, an Oceanic language of the Temotu subgroup. It argues that the functions of this prefix can be subsumed under the label pluractionality, and that it is a likely reflex of the Proto-Oceanic prefix *paRi-. However, the distribution of the Äiwoo pluractional prefix is unusual in that it most common by far with intransitive position verbs; it can also occur on transitive verbs, but this is infrequent in the available data. This paper argues that this distribution is linked to the fact that Äiwoo has a distinct transitive actor voice which covers many of the typical pluractional functions with transitives. This is particularly clear when one compares Äiwoo (v)e- to its likely cognate (v)ö- in the Santa Cruz languages, which only applies to transitive verbs with detransitivizing functions; many of the functions of SC (v)ö- are covered by the actor voice in Äiwoo. The fact that Äiwoo appears to retain both a reflex of *paRi- and an actor voice/undergoer voice distinction may provide new perspectives on the history of *paRi-, since most Oceanic languages have lost the voice distinction; this may have led to an expansion of the functions of *paRi-, as suggested by the comparison between Äiwoo and the Santa Cruz languages.

This paper examines the uses of the prefix e- (ve-) in Äiwoo, an Oceanic language of the Temotu subgroup. It argues that the functions of this prefix can be subsumed under the label pluractionality, and that it is a likely reflex of the Proto-Oceanic prefix *paRi-. However, the distribution of the Äiwoo pluractional prefix is unusual in that it most common by far with intransitive position verbs; it can also occur on transitive verbs, but this is infrequent in the available data. This paper argues that this distribution is linked to the fact that Äiwoo has a distinct transitive actor voice which covers many of the typical pluractional functions with transitives. This is particularly clear when one compares Äiwoo (v)e- to its likely cognate (v)ö- in the Santa Cruz languages, which only applies to transitive verbs with detransitivizing functions; many of the functions of SC (v)ö- are covered by the actor voice in Äiwoo. The fact that Äiwoo appears to retain both a reflex of *paRi- and an actor voice/undergoer voice distinction may provide new perspectives on the history of *paRi-, since most Oceanic languages have lost the voice distinction; this may have led to an expansion of the functions of *paRi-, as suggested by the comparison between Äiwoo and the Santa Cruz languages.

This paper argues that the Äiwoo language of the Reef Islands shows what could be characterized as a symmetrical voice system with three voices: an actor voice, an undergoer voice, and a circumstantial voice. Although it differs from better-described symmetrical voice systems in lacking a syntactic pivot, the overall pattern of morphosyntactic alternations, as well as the discourse-pragmatic function, is essentially that of a symmetrical voice system. Moreover, the Äiwoo system combines the syntactic characteristics of a “Philippine-type” symmetrical voice system with the morphological characteristics of an “Indonesian-type” system in a way that appears to be unusual. This analysis, while confirming the status of the Reefs-Santa Cruz language group to which Äiwoo belongs as Austronesian, raises doubts about their current classification as Oceanic, since the symmetrical voice system of Proto-Austronesian is usually assumed to have been lost by the time of Proto-Oceanic. Alternatively, the analysis may be taken to imply that current reconstructions of Proto-Oceanic morphosyntax must be revised. Overall, it adds to the complex picture of voice and transitivity-related systems in Austronesian languages, and to the challenges involved in understanding their historical relationships.

In many Oceanic languages, middle and reciprocal meanings are expressed by reflexes of Proto-Oceanic *paRi-, a polysemous and polyfunctional prefix with collective, associative, iterative, and reciprocal functions. Traditionally, reflexive constructions in Oceanic languages were marked differently from middles and reciprocals. Where reflexes of Proto-Oceanic *paRi- show a lower productivity or disappeared, Oceanic languages co-opted available morphemes and constructions to express the functions once performed by the prefix. In terms of polysemes, along with the middle/reciprocal one, which is rooted in the history of these constructions, two paths of extension developed over time: (i) from middle/reciprocal to reflexive (with reflexes of Proto-Oceanic *paRi-), and (ii) from reflexive to reciprocal, but different from middle (with innovated markers). The aim of this paper is twofold: (i) to provide a description of middles, reflexives, and reciprocals in Nalögo, a Reefs–Santa Cruz Oceanic language, and (ii) to contribute to the discussion on the typology and diachrony of such constructions within the Oceanic family. In particular, I show that Nalögo has two innovated markers, the reflexive =lëbu (maybe from Proto-Oceanic *[ta]bulo(s) ‘turn round, turn back’) and the reciprocal -welo . Furthermore, Nalögo displays a so-far unknown path of semantic extension within the Oceanic family: from reflexive to middle. While the reflexive–middle polysemy is widely attested in the languages of the world, it constitutes a typological rarity in Oceanic languages.

Abstract: In many Oceanic languages, middle and reciprocal meanings are expressed by reflexes of Proto-Oceanic *paRi-, a polysemous and polyfunctional prefix with collective, associative, iterative, and reciprocal functions. Traditionally, reflexive constructions in Oceanic languages were marked differently from middles and reciprocals. Where reflexes of Proto-Oceanic *paRi- show a lower productivity or disappeared, Oceanic languages co-opted available morphemes and constructions to express the functions once performed by the prefix. In terms of polysemes, along with the middle/reciprocal one, which is rooted in the history of these constructions, two paths of extension developed over time: (i) from middle/reciprocal to reflexive (with reflexes of Proto-Oceanic *paRi-), and (ii) from reflexive to reciprocal, but different from middle (with innovated markers). The aim of this paper is twofold: (i) to provide a description of middles, reflexives, and reciprocals in Nalögo, a Reefs–Santa Cruz Oceanic language, and (ii) to contribute to the discussion on the typology and diachrony of such constructions within the Oceanic family. In particular, I show that Nalögo has two innovated markers, the reflexive =lëbu (maybe from Proto-Oceanic *[ta]bulo(s) 'turn round, turn back') and the reciprocal - welo . Furthermore, Nalögo displays a so-far unknown path of semantic extension within the Oceanic family: from reflexive to middle. While the reflexive–middle polysemy is widely attested in the languages of the world, it constitutes a typological rarity in Oceanic languages.

This paper aims to explore the diversity for expressing food ingestion in some Oceanic languages (mainly Kanak/New Caledonian and Polynesian languages), and intends to map out the convergences and divergences attested among these languages. Five main points are addressed: first, a brief historical and environmental survey; secondly, the parameters of the different 'eat' verbs among the Kanak languages, in comparison with the differentiation made in other Oceanic languages. In Kanak languages, the lexical field of expressions for 'eating' does not relate to a homogeneous or consistent domain: each language has its own food noun categories, depending on physical, nutritive or symbolic (cultural) criteria, and distinguished on the basis of the verb they combine with. Thirdly, a typological perspective will show how Kanak, and more widely, Oceanic languages, are organized according to the aspects of the context incorporated into the meaning expressed in various languages together with the basic action of eating. Fourthly, the case of languages with possessive classifiers reserved for specific kinds of food nouns and their semantic comparison with the different 'eat' verbs will be investigated; and finally, some syntactic considerations will show how diverse are the 'eat' verbs valency constructions in Oceanic languages.

This study explores the semantic and pragmatic functions of voice in the Central dialects of Malagasy through quantitative and qualitative analyses of a set of oral narratives. Analysis of semantic transitivity parameters and discourse topicality reveals a preserved but weakened connection between non-actor voice (NAV) and high transitivity and actor voice (AV) and intransitivity. Both AV and NAV constructions have an active–transitive function; antipassive and passive functions are achieved, respectively, by omitting the patient in AV or the agent in NAV. Patterns of anaphoric argument omission show that the pivot position has grammaticalized as the locus of high topicality arguments, paving the way for transition from a transitivity-dominated to a thematicity-dominated language. Thus, despite the morphological conservatism of the Central Malagasy voice system, it shows significant functional divergence from the most conservative Philippine-type systems.

Kanak and the Polynesian languages exhibit a wide range of impersonal constructions which may involve: (i) the lack or frequent omission of arguments; (ii) optional impersonal construction of monovalent verbs or intransitive construction of bivalent verbs, associated with different meanings; (iii) differential agent marking such as oblique adjuncts or agents/experiencers expressed as a possessor; (iv) the use of impersonal pronouns or non-referential ‘dummy’ pronouns. These constructions are considered to be impersonal from two perspectives: (a) as constraints (impersonal verbs, dummy pronouns) and options (labile verbs) offered by a language system, and (b) as discourse strategies offered to the speaker of a language to make the agent impersonal (through its omission, by making it peripheral as an oblique adjunct or a possessor). Keywords: Oceanic languages; labile verbs; argument omission; differential agent marking; impersonal pronouns

It is clear that serial verbs have not been entirely structurally stable, as reflected by the apparent loss of this pattern among Micronesian and Polynesian languages. This chapter examines the range of structural outcomes for particular kinds of serial verb constructions in Oceanic languages, describing the various structural homologues of serial verb constructions which appear to represent the results of various kinds of structural reanalysis of earlier serial verbs. Typological dissonance in Oceanic languages vis-a-vis serial verbs which would tend to render such patterns diachronically unstable is discussed, along with grammaticalization of serial verbs, and constructions of echo verbs in Erromangan and in other southern Vanuatu languages.

This article will discuss the different constructions which could be relevant for identifying antipassives in Oceanic languages, in spite of the fact that there is no dedicated antipassive marker. Some of these constructions involve the backgrounding of the object, but are associated with different syntactic devices, discursive strategies and semantic functions, giving rise to either incompleteness of the action, low individuation of the patient, or restrictions on its uses. Looking at their semantic and pragmatic specificities, I will investigate what these types of construction have in common and to which extent they can be labelled ‘antipassive’, as has been done inter alia by Cooreman (1994), Dixon (1992) and Janic (2013, 2016).

This book is an in-depth study of the voice systems of Totoli, Balinese, Indonesian, and Tagalog, which shows that the symmetrical nature of these systems poses a problem to current linking theories. It provides an analysis of symmetrical linking within two grammatical theories (LFG & RRG) and develops a modified LFG linking mechanism that sheds light on the differences as well as the similarities of symmetrical and asymmetrical voice systems.

In this paper, we propose treating alignment shift as a process of functional markedness reversal in the domain of semantically transitive constructions. We illustrate how this approach allows us to capture similarities between the alignment shifts in Eskimo-Aleut and Western Austronesian languages, despite morphosyntactic differences in their voice systems. Using three diagnostics of functional markedness (semantic transitivity, topic continuity of P, and discourse frequency), we compare antipassive and ergative constructions in Eskimo-Aleut varieties and actor voice (av) and undergoer voice (uv) constructions in Western Austronesian varieties. We argue that ergative alignment is equivalent to a functionally unmarked P-prominent construction (e.g., ergative,uv), whilst accusative alignment is equivalent to a functionally unmarked A-prominent construction (e.g., antipassive,av). On this basis, we claim that both language groups are undergoing a parallel shift from ergative to accusative, since A-prominent constructions are functionally marked in more conservative varieties, but lose their functionally marked character and begin to function as unmarked transitive constructions in more innovative varieties.