A Grammar of Eastern Tawbuid

195 Pages·2022·6.709 MB·English

by  Hannah M. Fleming

Digital Resources ꪄ
SIL e-Book 79
A Grammar of
Eastern Tawbuid
Hannah M. Fleming
A Grammar of Eastern Tawbuid
Hannah M. Fleming
SIL International®
2022
SIL e-Books
79

2022 SIL International®

ISSN: 1934-2470
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Editor-in-Chief
Susan McQuay
Series Editor
Becky Quick
Volume Editor
Lynn Frank
Compositor
Bonnie Waswick
Abstract
This book is a descriptive grammar of the Eastern Tawbuid language, containing analysis of the
phonology, morphology and syntax of this under-documented language of the Philippines. The ISO code
for this language is [bnj]. Prior to this book, there has been virtually no published data or analysis of the
Eastern Tawbuid language, and there has been no published descriptive grammar of any of the languages
native to the island of Mindoro, where Eastern Tawbuid is spoken. One function of this grammar,
therefore, is to help fill this gap in the documentation of Philippine languages. But setting aside the issue
of language documentation, the data presented in this grammar are interesting, revealing a language
with a complex system of negation, a verbal morphology which encodes a range of modal and aspectual
distinctions, and a plethora of second-position clitics for communicating subtle semantic and pragmatic
information.
While some parts of the grammar will be familiar to students of previously documented Philippine
languages, Eastern Tawbuid diverges in several ways from these languages. The most striking difference
is the absence in Eastern Tawbuid of elaborate systems of voice or voice-like alternations that form a
ubiquitous part of the morphosyntax of better-known Philippine languages.
This and many other divergences between Eastern Tawbuid syntax and the syntax of a ‘typical’
Philippine language make the previous neglect of this language particularly regrettable. It is the author’s
hope that this book will stimulate more interest in the languages of Mindoro, as well as helping
Philippinists to develop a more complete picture of the linguistic diversity that exists within this region.
Contents
Tables
Figures
Photographs
Abbreviations
1 Introduction
1.1 Literature
1.2 Location
1.3 Language vitality
1.4 Fieldwork
2 Phonology
2.1 Consonants
2.1.1 Consonant chart
2.1.2 Realisation of consonant phonemes
2.1.3 Minimal pairs
2.1.4 Anticipatory nasalisation
2.1.5 Alternation between [f] and [p]
2.1.6 Glide epenthesis
2.1.7 Glottal stop epenthesis
2.1.8 Geminate reduction
2.2 Vowels
2.2.1 Vowel phonemes
2.2.2 Minimal pairs
2.2.3 Phonemic status of /ɨ/
2.2.4 /a/ elision
2.3 Phonotactics
2.3.1 Syllables
2.3.2 Prosthetic [i]
2.3.3 Loanwords
2.4 Stress
2.4.1 Identifying stress
2.4.2 Minimal pairs
2.4.3 Mismatches between phonemic and phonetic stress
2.5 Intonation
2.6 Morphophonology
2.6.1 Vowel diffusion
2.6.2 Irregular [k] roots
2.6.3 Allomorphy
2.7 Orthography
3 Word Class
3.1 Major word classes
3.1.1 Nouns and verbs
3.1.2 Adjectives
3.2 Minor word classes
3.2.1 Adverbs
3.2.2 Existential predicate
3.2.3 Demonstratives
3.2.4 Pronouns
3.2.5 Linkers
3.2.6 Numbers
3.2.7 Quantifiers
3.2.8 Interrogatives
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3.2.9 Imperatives
3.2.10 Negators
3.2.11 Discourse particle
3.2.12 Modal verbs
3.2.13 Interjections
3.2.14 Second-position clitics
4 Morphology
4.1 Analysing suffixes
4.2 Stem-deriving morphology
4.2.1 Resulting state
4.2.2 Characteristic state
4.2.3 Causation
4.2.4 Possession: -an
4.2.5 Experiencer volition: -an
4.2.6 Acquisition: faN-
4.2.7 Misbehavior: faN-
4.3 Adjective morphology
4.3.1 General adjectives: ma-
4.3.2 Quantity/Extension adjectives: ŋa-
4.3.3 Smell adjectives: bà-
4.3.4 Comparative of equal degree: ka-
4.3.5 Comparative of unequal degree: a- + =yap
4.3.6 Intensive: nà-
4.4 Verb morphology
4.4.1 Overview
4.4.2 Verbal affixes
4.5 Noun morphology
4.5.1 Kinship noun plural: -an
4.5.2 Acquisition: ba-
4.5.3 Nominalising affixes
5 Noun Phrases
5.1 Unpossessed noun phrases
5.1.1 Slot 1: Determiners
5.1.2 Slot 2: Most modifiers
5.1.3 Slot 3: Quantifiers
5.1.4 Slot 4: Head noun
5.1.5 Adjectives
5.1.6 Prepositional phrases
5.2 Possessed noun phrases
5.2.1 Genitive pronoun
5.2.2 Plain possessive noun
5.2.3 Possessive NP + at
5.2.4 Contrastive possession
5.2.5 Spatial nouns in possessed noun phrases
5.3 Noun phrases as relative clauses
5.3.1 Forming relative clauses
5.3.2 Negation
5.3.3 Head nouns?
5.4 Appositive nominal constructions
5.4.1 Formation and function
5.4.2 fag- prefixed quantifiers: component NPs?
6 Prepositional Phrases
6.1 Phrases with inner prepositions
6.2 Phrases without inner prepositions
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6.3 Outer prepositions
6.3.1 Allative
6.3.2 Locative
6.4 Inner prepositions
6.4.1 General oblique
6.4.2 Inessive
6.5 Clitics in prepositional phrases
6.5.1 Ablative
6.5.2 Adessive
6.5.3 Terminative
6.6 Standalone preposition kata
6.7 Oblique demonstratives
6.8 Verbalisation of prepositional phrases
7 Verb Class
7.1 Action-Process verbs
7.2 Action verbs
7.3 Process verbs
7.4 Production verbs
7.5 Path of motion verbs
7.6 Manner of motion verbs
7.7 Thought/Perception verbs
7.8 Emotion/Sensation verbs
7.9 Communication verbs
7.10 Stative verbs
7.11 Adversative verbs
8 Grammatical Relations
8.1 Subjects
8.1.1 Identifying subjects
8.1.2 Eastern Tawbuid and ‘focus’
8.1.3 Are fag- -un and fag- -an verbal affixes?
8.2 Other NPs
8.2.1 Object NPs
8.2.2 Quasi-object NPs
8.3 Valency alternations
8.3.1 Impersonal passives
8.3.2 Double NP passives
8.3.3 Double NP adversatives
8.3.4 Causatives
8.4 Conclusions
9 Basic Clauses
9.1 Verbless clauses
9.2 Verbal clauses
9.2.1 Intransitive clauses
9.2.2 Transitive clauses
9.3 Existential clauses
9.3.1 Basic existential clauses
9.3.2 Possessor NP + existential clause
9.3.3 Nominalised verb existers
9.4 Other parts of clauses
9.4.1 Clitics
9.4.2 Predicates
9.4.3 Adverbs
9.4.4 Prepositional phrases
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9.5 Non-Declarative clauses
9.5.1 Imperatives
9.5.2 Questions
10 Beyond Basic Clauses
10.1 Topic-Comment structure
10.2 Serial verb constructions
10.3 Clausal nominalisations
10.4 Complement clauses
10.5 Coordinate clauses
10.6 Quotations
10.7 Subordinate clauses
10.7.1 Type I
10.7.2 Type II
10.7.3 Temporal/conditional nu clause
Appendix: Annotated Texts
References
Tables
Table 2.1 Consonants
Table 2.2 Vowel phonemes
Table 2.3 Onset position consonant clusters
Table 2.4 Comparison of IPA and orthographic renderings
Table 3.1 Demonstrative pronouns
Table 3.2 Personal pronouns
Table 3.3 Basic clausal negators
Table 3.4 Negators used in negative imperatives
Table 4.1 Stances that are distinguished by verbal morphology
Table 4.2 Indicative stance affixes
Table 4.3 Potentive stance affixes
Table 4.4 Anticipative stance affixes
Table 4.5 Nominalising affixes
Table 4.6 Indicative verbal affixes with their nominalized equivalents
Table 6.1 Preposition groups and clitics that occur in prepositional phrases
Table 10.1 Differences between subordinate clause types

Figures
Figure 4.1 Morpheme ordering within the Eastern Tawbuid verb.
Figure 4.2 Form of a verb in the imperative stance.
Figure 4.3 Form of a verb in the intentive stance.
Figure 4.4 Form of a verb in the avertive stance.
Figure 4.5 Form of a verb in the optative stance.
Figure 9.1 Word order within the predicate.

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Photographs

Photograph 1. Subject B testing the river depth just outside of Safa village (Dec 2014).
Several crop storage sheds are visible in the background.
© 2014, photo by author.
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