An Austronesian-type voice system in an Amazonian isolate?
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Katharina Haude
Abstract
The paper discusses some typologically rare structural similarities between Movima, a South American isolate, and the Austronesian language Tagalog. Both languages have a symmetrical voice system, and in both languages verbs and nouns are to some degree syntactically equivalent. For Tagalog, it has been argued that the system is due to a basically equational sentence pattern with a nominal predicate (the nominalist hypothesis), and this explanation is also plausible for Movima. In contrast to some accounts of Austronesian languages, however, there is no evidence of a nominalizing origin of the Movima voice markers. Thus, the discovery that a phenomenon so far considered unique to one language family also occurs in a linguistic isolate is evidence that rare phenomena can arise independently of an areal or genealogical relationship. At the same time, typological parallels between an isolate and a large well-studied family are an interesting source of diachronic hypotheses regarding an isolate language that lacks historical documentation.
Abstract
The paper discusses some typologically rare structural similarities between Movima, a South American isolate, and the Austronesian language Tagalog. Both languages have a symmetrical voice system, and in both languages verbs and nouns are to some degree syntactically equivalent. For Tagalog, it has been argued that the system is due to a basically equational sentence pattern with a nominal predicate (the nominalist hypothesis), and this explanation is also plausible for Movima. In contrast to some accounts of Austronesian languages, however, there is no evidence of a nominalizing origin of the Movima voice markers. Thus, the discovery that a phenomenon so far considered unique to one language family also occurs in a linguistic isolate is evidence that rare phenomena can arise independently of an areal or genealogical relationship. At the same time, typological parallels between an isolate and a large well-studied family are an interesting source of diachronic hypotheses regarding an isolate language that lacks historical documentation.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
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Part I. Setting the stage
- Introduction 2
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Part II. Typological features of isolates vs. non-isolates
- Is there a typological profile of isolates? 22
- The Amuric language family 48
- An Austronesian-type voice system in an Amazonian isolate? 71
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Part III. Recovering the histories of isolates
- Etymologies in a language isolate 104
- The Small Bang 142
- Combining disparate lines of evidence in the study of the history of language isolates, exemplified with Mochica from Northern Peru 176
- The Múra doculects and Múra-Pirahã historical linguistics 208
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Part IV. Isolates and language contact
- Baroque accretions and isolation 248
- California isolates 270
-
Part V. Isolates and language documentation and classification
- One language or two? 306
- Subject index 335
- Language index 337
- Name index 339
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
-
Part I. Setting the stage
- Introduction 2
-
Part II. Typological features of isolates vs. non-isolates
- Is there a typological profile of isolates? 22
- The Amuric language family 48
- An Austronesian-type voice system in an Amazonian isolate? 71
-
Part III. Recovering the histories of isolates
- Etymologies in a language isolate 104
- The Small Bang 142
- Combining disparate lines of evidence in the study of the history of language isolates, exemplified with Mochica from Northern Peru 176
- The Múra doculects and Múra-Pirahã historical linguistics 208
-
Part IV. Isolates and language contact
- Baroque accretions and isolation 248
- California isolates 270
-
Part V. Isolates and language documentation and classification
- One language or two? 306
- Subject index 335
- Language index 337
- Name index 339
