[Author Login]
[Home]
ROA:1076
Title:Topicality and pronominal ordering in two Manobo languages
Authors:Silvia Yu-ju Hung, Loren Billings
Comment:
Length:41
Abstract:Approximately fifteen Manobo languages are spoken around the southern Philippines. Most of these require a single order if there are two personal pronouns. Two of these languages show widespread optional ordering; only in Obo Manobo and Kagayanen is there an ordering choice in the combination of two pronouns. Whereas the order with the more person-prominent pronoun first is unmarked, the opposite ordering is also found. Building on work by Brainard & Vander Molen (2005) and Pebley & Brainard (1999) on these two languages, respectively, we formalize a constraint that allows an abnormally topical pronoun to appear first. Normal topicality is derived from either grammatical person or semantic roles. Topicality can also be abnormally high: designated by the speaker in a given discourse. This paper also adds to the empirical picture, incorporating elicited data and other published material, reporting two new pronominal forms and ten new orders in Obo Manobo and two additional combinations of pronouns in Kagayanen.
Type:Paper/tech report
Area/Keywords:Phonology,Syntax,Semantics,Morphology,Formal Analysis
Article:Version 1