The focus constituent as subject of identificational sentences*

Identificational or cleft sentences in Tagalog, as in other Philippine languages, have the structure of an equational sentence in which the two NP constituents are both marked with the particle ang. This structure has been described in at least two different contradictory ways: (a) where the first ang-NP is the subject (or in the literature called topic/focus) and the second ang-NP is the predicate/comment, or (b) the exact opposite sequence in (a), predicate+ subject, which is the typical sentence structure characteristic of Philippine languages. The predicate with the particle ang is identified as definite or definitized. Semantically, the relation between the two structurally identical constituents means that a particular person or thing is identified or singled out as the one possessing a particular attribute or the one performing a specific role. In this paper, I will show that the first ang-NP of this kind of construction is the surface subject and at the same time the focus constituent. I will attempt to show some syntactic grounds for such an analysis and propose that identificational sentences in Tagalog follow in effect the more general process of topicalization, where the focused entity appears in initial position.Ye

Syntactic derivation of Tagalog verbs

Photocopy of typescript.Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1976.Bibliography: leaves [408]-413.Microfiche.xiv, 413 leaves il

A case for non-phonological constraints on nasal substitution

One problem in phonology which continues to puzzle linguists in the field of Western Austronesian has to do with nasal assimilation. This seemingly simple and pervasive phonological process across languages may manifest certain complexities when it involves a prefix ending with a nasal followed by a base with an initial oral consonant. Tagalog, a major Philippine language, best illustrates these complexities. The facts of the language show that while homorganic nasal assimilation applies quite generally across morpheme boundaries, the related process called nasal substitution operates under certain restrictions which are not necessarily phonological.Ye

Morphology: the analysis of word structure

Part of linguistic competence involves the ability to construct and interpret words. The average high school student knows about 60,000 words whose form and meaning are not derived from those of other words. Such words including read, language, on, cold, and if, to name but a few - must be learned and stored as separate items in the lexicon (or mental dictionary). However, countless other words can be constructed and comprehended by the application of quite general rules to more basic words. For example, any speaker of English who knows the meaning of the noun fax - and the verb derived from it - could form and interpret words such as faxable (for things that can be faxed) and fax machine (for the device that sends and receives faxes). The system of categories and rules involved in word formation and interpretation is called morphology. This chapter presents an introduction to the study of morphology, beginning with the inventory of notions relevant to the analysis of word structure