Extended ergativity in Bumthang

This paper addresses ergativity in Bumthang. In 2016, Donohue & Donohue reported on the variable use of the ergative case marker in Bumthang transitive clauses. They identified a number of largely pragmatic, semantic, and informational structural contexts that license the use of the ergative case on the subjects. Given the nature of the factors involved we examined similar conditions for arguments of monovalent verbs, not a typical context for receiving ergative case if structural conditions were uniquely determining case, but which would likely also be sensitive to these same factors. We find that there are some contexts in which the sole argument of an monovalent verb can bear ergative case, drawing on some of the same features, but not identical to those relevant for transitive verbs. In particular, the notion of agentivity is of paramount importance for licensing ergative case arguments of monovalent verbs, and we discuss the set of factors that need to coincide for this to happen

Syntactic Categories in Tukang Besi

L’examen des catégories syntaxiques du Tukang Besi, une langue austronésienne d’Indonésie, montre qu’il faut supplémenter les catégories traditionnelles fermées. En dehors des catégories bien définissables des noms et des verbes, il y a beaucoup d’éléments lexicaux qui sont précatégoriels : ils peuvent être utilisés, sans dérivation, soit avec une morphosyntaxe nominale, soit avec une morphosyntaxe verbale. De plus, il existe une classe d’« adjectifs » qui manifeste un comportement bizarre par des renversements de marquage morphologique et par un usage fonctionnel particulier. Après un examen plus approfondi, il se trouve qu’ils ont un statut catégoriel variable, selon la position structurelle dans laquelle ils sont utilisés, apparaissant obligatoirement comme une partie de la tête de leur syntagme, V dans un SV et N dans un SN. Des tests morphosyntaxiques à l’appui sont donnés et discutés.Examining syntactic categories in Tukang Besi, an Austronesian language of Indonesia, we find that there are additions to the traditional fixed categories. As well as the firmly definable categories of nouns and verbs, there are many lexical items that are precategorial: they may be used, without derivation, with either nominal morphosyntax or verbal morphosyntax. Additionally, there is a class of 'adjectives' that display odd behavior in terms of morphological markedness reversals and functional use, and which, under closer examination, turn out to have a variable categorial status, dependent on the structural position in which they are used, obligatorily appearing as part of the head of their phrase, V in a VP and N in an NP. Morphosyntactic tests for the different claims are given and discussed

Banana (Musa spp.) domestication in the Asia-Pacific Region: linguistic and archaeobotanical perspectives

An examination of linguistic terms for ‘banana’ within Island Southeast Asia and Melanesia sheds light on the history of Musa spp. domestication. Linguistic investigations suggest a westward dispersal of banana from New Guinea, mixing with a Philippine variety (or at least sphere of cultural usage), then westward again to mainland Southeast Asia, and (as far as can be linguistically inferred) onward to the western edge of South Asia. The linguisticallyderived interpretation accords generally with the archaeobotanical evidence and botanical models for the dispersal of banana cultivars