71 Introduction
This chapter presents a functional typology of pivot-neutral applicative constructions (ACs) and other constructions marked with applicative morphemes (AMs), based on a sample of 24 West Nusantara languages.1 In these languages, ACs are marked by one of a small number of AMs that are clearly separate from morphology signaling symmetrical voice alternations (see § 34 on distinguishing symmetrical voice and applicatives). I focus on systems with pivot-neutral applicatives because AMs in these systems show more polyfunctionality, and ACs show more diverse syntactic properties, compared to systems with only pivot-selecting applicatives. Applicative systems showing pivot-neutral ACs are also well-represented in West Nusantara, while for pivot-selecting ACs, the great part of diversity is found outside of West Nusantara, particularly in Formosan and Philippine languages.
Throughout the chapter, AM-marked clausal constructions are described according to properties of their fixed form and associated meaning, giving attention to observed commonalities and diversity in these properties across languages. As discussed in § 16.1, the fixed form of a construction includes the form of the morphological marking on the verb, and syntactic properties of the clause, such as the number, structural position, and coding of clausal arguments. The meaning of a construction here refers to semantic properties of the clause, such as the semantic roles that map to various positions in the clausal structure, and other elements of semantic meaning that are generalizable across bases that may fill the verbal slot in these constructions.
The data presented here show that beneficiary-selecting ACs display different properties than theme- and instrument-selecting ACs, despite being marked with the same AMs. The former almost always show maximally ditransitive structures, while the latter typically show monotransitive structures with remapping of the companion phrase. Locative- and goal-selecting ACs to a lesser extent also show some differences in properties. Causative functions are frequently attested for AMs, but not equally across all languages of the sample, being particularly less prevalent in languages of Sulawesi. Finally, the selection of voice or valency alternations plus applicatives modulates access of constituents expressing peripheral roles to positions which are syntactically privileged and prominent in discourse, and this is seen both in languages with symmetrical voice systems and those which have developed asymmetrical voice systems.
This chapter is organized as follows. § 72 introduces the language sample. § 73 presents a brief overview of the basic morphosyntax of these languages. § 74 gives a general introduction to applicative affixes in languages of the sample. The next five sections describe ACs in these languages according to the semantic role of the applied phrase. These include beneficiaries and recipients (§ 75), instruments and themes (§ 76), goals and locations (§ 77), circumstantial roles and comitatives (§ 78), and other types of participants (§ 79). § 710 describes aspectual, intensive, and other semantic effects marked by AMs. § 711 describes causative AM-marked constructions. In § 712, the relationship between applicatives and other major voice (or valency) alternations is described. The chapter concludes with a summary of findings in § 713.
72 Sampling of Languages
A total of 24 languages are included in the sample for this chapter, as listed in Table 52. These languages were selected out of the 50 total languages with pivot-neutral applicatives in the larger sample for the typological survey (see § 41.2). To be eligible for selection, either detailed descriptive accounts with robust numbers of examples of ACs or fairly comprehensive lexical resources with example sentences were required for a language. For each genetic grouping used in the typological survey, I attempted to include two languages from different primary branches, unless the grouping is comprised of more than 50 total languages, in which case, up to three languages were selected.
For a number of genetic groupings, no languages with adequate resources were found. These include Lampung, Enggano, and Wotu-Wolio. For Javanese languages, only Standard Javanese [jav] was included, due to lack of examples of ACs for Tengger and Suriname Javanese. Acehnese, the sole Chamic language with applicatives, was excluded because its sole AM peu‑ is primarily a causative marker, and very few lexical verbs take applicative meanings with peu‑. For the Greater Barito linkage, only the Sama-Bajaw languages have pivot-neutral applicatives; two are included from separate branches of the Sama-Bajaw subgroup.
Table 52
Language sample for the functional typology presented
|
No. |
Language |
Gen. grp. |
Branch |
Location |
Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Toba Batak |
nws-bi |
Batak |
Sumatra |
van der Tuuk 1971 [1864–1867] |
|
2 |
Nias |
nws-bi |
Barrier Isl. |
Barrier Isl. |
Brown 2001 |
|
3 |
Nasal |
nas |
none |
Sumatra |
McDonnell fieldnotes |
|
4 |
W. Coast Bajau |
grb |
Sama-Bajaw |
Borneo |
Miller 2007 |
|
5 |
Yakan |
grb |
Sama-Bajaw |
S. Philip. |
Brainard & Behrens 2002 |
|
6 |
Kendayan |
mal |
none |
Borneo |
Adelaar 2005b |
|
7 |
S. Barisan Mal. |
mal |
Malay |
Sumatra |
McDonnell 2016 |
|
8 |
Std. Indonesian |
mal |
Malay |
(wide use) |
Sneddon et al. 2010 |
|
9 |
Sundanese |
sun |
none |
Java |
Truong fieldnotes |
|
10 |
Javanese |
jav |
none |
Java |
Oglobin 2005; Hemmings 2013; Vander Klok & Evans 2022 |
|
11 |
Madurese |
mad |
none |
Madura |
Davies 2010 |
|
12 |
Balinese |
bss |
Bali |
Lsr. Sundas |
Arka 2003; Artawa 1998 |
|
13 |
Sasak |
bss |
Sasak-Sumb. |
Lsr. Sundas |
Khairunnisa & McDonnell in prep |
|
14 |
Pendau |
t-t |
Tomini |
Sulawesi |
Quick 2007 |
|
15 |
Ledo Kaili |
k-p |
Northern |
Sulawesi |
D. Evans 2003 |
|
16 |
Behoa |
k-p* |
Badaic |
Sulawesi |
Shore 2016 |
|
17 |
Balantak |
s-b |
Eastern |
Sulawesi |
van den Berg & Busenitz 2012 |
|
18 |
Mori Bawah |
b-t |
Eastern |
Sulawesi |
Mead 1998 |
|
19 |
Tolaki |
b-t |
Western |
Sulawesi |
Edwards 2012 |
|
20 |
Muna |
m-b |
Nuclear |
Sulawesi |
van den Berg 2013 |
|
21 |
Tukang Besi |
m-b |
Tukangbesi-Bonerate |
Sulawesi |
Donohue 1999 |
|
22 |
Bugis |
ssul |
Bugis |
Sulawesi |
Hanson 2003; Sirk 1983 |
|
23 |
Makasar |
ssul |
Makassar |
Sulawesi |
Jukes 2020 |
|
24 |
Duri |
ssul |
Northern |
Sulawesi |
Valkama 1993 |
| * |
The genetic affiliation listed for this language is disputed. |
73 Basic Morphosyntax
In terms of morphological typology, the languages of West Nusantara included in the sample range from moderately agglutinative (e.g. Pendau in which a single stem may show several prefixes and suffixes) to relatively isolating (e.g. Ampenan Sasak in which a given stem takes only up to one prefix and one suffix). These languages show little to no case-marking. However, as mentioned in § 16.2, an important type of syntactic coding in these languages is the selection of pronominal forms indexing clausal arguments from particular sets, which co-vary with grammatical relations. Languages represented that show more use of case-marking include Nias, which uses morphophonological changes on nouns (‘nominal mutation’) to indicate grammatical relations (Brown 2001), and Yakan and Tukang Besi, which make use of case-marking particles on NPs (Brainard & Behrens 2002; Donohue 1999). In most languages of the sample, however, lexical NPs are unmarked when core arguments and marked with a preposition when oblique. Also, in all of these languages, core arguments are often unrealized when their identity is recoverable in the discourse.
A summary of some relevant properties of voice and case marking systems for the languages of the sample is given in Table 53. These properties will be discussed in further detail below, including illustrative examples.
Table 53
Voice and case marking in languages of the sample
|
Language |
Voice |
Case marking |
Major trans. alternations |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Balantak |
Philippine-type |
limited (pronominals) |
av / pv / lv |
|
Behoa |
two-way symmetrical |
limited (pronominals) |
av / pv |
|
Duri |
two-way symmetrical |
limited (pronominals) |
av / pv |
|
Javanese |
two-way symmetrical |
limited (pronominals) |
av / pv |
|
Ledo Kaili |
two-way symmetrical |
limited (pronominals) |
av / pv |
|
Madurese |
two-way symmetrical |
limited (pronominals) |
av / pv |
|
Nasal |
two-way symmetrical |
limited (pronominals) |
av / pv |
|
Pendau |
two-way symmetrical |
limited (pronominals) |
av / pv |
|
Std Indonesian |
two-way symmetrical |
limited (pronominals) |
av / pv |
|
Toba Batak |
two-way symmetrical |
limited (pronominals) |
av / pv |
|
Ampenan Sasak |
two-way symmetrical |
none |
av / pv |
|
Balinese |
two-way symmetrical |
none |
av / pv |
|
Kendayan |
two-way symmetrical |
none |
av / pv |
|
S. Barisan Malay |
two-way symmetrical |
none |
av / pv |
|
Sundanese |
two-way symmetrical |
none |
av / pv |
|
W. Coast Bajau |
two-way symmetrical |
none |
av / pv |
|
Tukang Besi |
two-way symmetrical |
Y (preposed particles) |
av / pv |
|
Yakan |
Philippine-type (marg.) |
Y (preposed particles) |
Trans. / semi-trans. / iv |
|
Bugis |
two-way (marg.) |
limited (pronominals) |
Trans. / semi-trans. |
|
Makasar |
two-way (marg.) |
limited (pronominals) |
Trans. / semi-trans. |
|
Mori Bawah |
asymmetrical |
limited (pronominals) |
Trans. / semi-trans. |
|
Muna |
asymmetrical |
limited (pronominals) |
Trans. / semi-trans. |
|
Tolaki |
asymmetrical |
limited (pronominals) |
Trans. / semi-trans. |
|
Nias |
two way (marg.) |
Y (mutation) |
None in main clauses |
In the languages of the sample, intransitive predicates may be unmarked, or show marking with a number of different affixes according to their semantic properties. These include affixes indicating stative meaning, and dynamic, reciprocal, or non-volitional action, among others. In languages with two-way symmetrical and Philippine-type voice systems, the verb in a transitive clause is typically marked for voice. An example is given for Toba Batak in (138), showing that av is marked with the prefix maN‑, while pv is marked with the prefix di‑. Ledo Kaili also has distinctive affixes for each transitive voice, as in (139).
(138) Toba Batak, Voice alternations
a.
Man-jaha
buku
guru
i.
av-read
book
teacher
def
‘The teacher read a book.’ (av)
b.
Di-jaha
guru
buku
i.
pv-read
teacher
book
def
‘A teacher read the book.’ (pv)(Schachter 1984: 127–128)
(139) Ledo Kaili, Voice alternations
a.
Soso
nang-(k)ande
loka.
gecko
av-eat
banana
‘The gecko eats a banana.’ (av)
b.
Loka
ni-kande
nu
soso.
banana
pv-eat
by
gecko
‘The banana is eaten by a gecko.’ (pv)(D. Evans 2003: 495, English translation & glosses added)
In both Toba Batak and Ledo Kaili, if A represents certain first or second person pronominal categories, it may be realized as a pronominal prefix or proclitic that replaces the pv prefix. This is shown in (140) for Ledo Kaili, in which this type of actor indexing prefix is only found in irrealis mode clauses.
(140) Ledo Kaili, Irrealis pv with bound-indexing for A
Ku-kande
tapia
ngena.
1sg.irr.pv-eat
mango
later
‘Later, I will eat a mango.’ (pv)(D. Evans 2003: 496, English translation & glosses added)
In a good number of languages with two-way symmetrical voice or marginal two-way systems, the P-oriented transitive construction is zero-marked. This means it is distinguished by lack of voice morphology in comparison to A-oriented constructions, which are generally marked with one or more verbal prefixes. An example is given for West Coast Bajau in (141); the av construction is marked with the prefix N‑, while the pv construction is zero-marked. Note also the special form for non-pivot A when pronominal. Non-pivot A in pv is encoded as an enclitic pronoun, i.e. =ku ‘I’ in (141), whereas all other core arguments are encoded as unmarked free pronouns, and are not otherwise morphologically distinguished for case.
(141) a. West Coast Bajau
Aku
boi
m-(b)oo
iyo
pitu
1sg
cmpl
av-bring
3sg
to.here
‘I brought him/her here.’ (av)
b.
Boi
boo=ku
iyo
pitu
cmpl
[pv]bring=1sg.npiv.a
3sg
to.here
‘I brought him/her here.’ (pv)(Miller 2007: 140)
Other languages with a zero-marked pv construction and a prefix-marked av construction are Duri and Behoa. In Balantak, only ‘agented’ pv2 in realis mode is zero-marked, otherwise, pv verbs are marked with voice affixes. Kendayan (Salako) shows prefixal marking for av and optional marking of pv with a proclitic di= (see § 55.2 on similar constructions in neighboring languages).
In some symmetrical voice languages, non-pivot A has special coding when it is a lexical NP. Sundanese marks av and pv constructions with prefixes ng‑ and di‑, respectively, as in (142). The A argument in pv is most commonly marked by a preposition ku ‘by’, as in (142b), though ku may be omitted when the actor immediately follows the verb (Kurniawan 2013). Ledo Kaili, as shown in (139b) above, exhibits similar marking of non-pivot A with nu ‘by’.
(142) Sundanese, Voice alternations
a.
Asep
m-(b)euli
baju.
A.
av-buy
clothes
‘Asep bought clothes.’
b.
Baju
di-beuli
ku
Asep.
clothes
pv-buy
by
A.
‘Asep bought clothes.’(FM4-050)
In the Nasal example in (143), pv is unmarked when A is first or second person, as in (143a), and optionally marked with a dedicated prefix when A is third person, as in (143b). This pattern is also found in South Barisan Malay.
(143) Nasal, pv marking
a.
lahan
ni
kak
khadu
kam=suah.
field
that
pfv
finish
1pl.excl.npiv=[pv]burn
‘We already burned the field.’
b.
lahan
ni
kak
khadu
(di‑)suah=nyo.
field
that
pfv
finish
pv-burn=3sg
‘He already burned the field.’(McDonnell fieldnotes)
Pendau shares similarities to Nasal, but also shows additional complexity in its system of verbal morphology (see § 56.3.4). Pendau distinguishes realis and irrealis mode, which is reflected in two sets of voice prefixes. Like Nasal, Pendau also shows distinct forms of pronominal clitics used to index first and second person non-pivot A arguments in certain pv constructions. These appear in preverbal position, in which case no dedicated voice prefix is observed on the verb (see Quick 2007: 374–375).
Among the languages of the sample, Ampenan Sasak and Tukang Besi show the least use of verbal morphology to mark symmetrical voice categories. As mentioned in § 53, Ampenan Sasak, still shows a contrasts between A-oriented and P-oriented constructions, but the predicate is typically unmarked, with A-oriented constructions only optionally bearing the prefix N‑. This constitutes a two-way symmetrical diathesis system, with the alternation between A-oriented and P-oriented clauses signaled through a combination of word order and coding of A arguments, including the use of clitic pronominal forms (Khairunnisa 2022).
In Tukang Besi, similarly, there are two types of transitive clauses, neither of which show morphological marking of the verb in main clauses. One type shows indexing of P on the verb, and the other does not. But in relative clauses, morphologically marked distinctions akin to pv and av do appear on the verb, and this co-varies with access to syntactic operations for the argument marked with na ‘nominative’ in the clause. Therefore, Tukang Besi is treated as a two-way symmetrical system by Donohue (2002), and also likewise in this study.
For some other languages of the sample that show zero-marked transitive constructions in alternation with prefix-marked constructions, the latter may be described as semi-transitive. An example is given for Makasar (South Sulawesi) in (144). In the zero-marked basic transitive clause, shown in (144a), there is no required verbal morphology signaling voice or valency. Here, both A and P arguments are indexed with pronominal clitics. In the clause shown in (144b), the verb is marked with the prefix aN(N)‑. Here, P is not indexed on the verb with an enclitic pronoun, and P may not be definite. Jukes 2020 analyzes aN(N)‑ as a valency-signally prefix, rather than a voice marker.
(144) Makasar, Transitive alternations
a.
ku=kanre=i
taipa=nu
1=eat=3
mango=2.fam.poss
‘I eat your mangoes.’ (Zero-marked transitive)
b.
angng-(k)anre=a’
taipa
str-eat=1
mango
‘I eat mangoes’ (Semi-transitive)(Jukes 2020: 257)
Bugis, another South Sulawesi language, shows similar alternations. For Bugis, the constructions marked with ma(C)‑ or m‑ have been analyzed either as an antipassive construction (Hanson 2003), or a type of av (D. Laskowske 2016). Yakan (Sama-Bajaw) shows similar alternations that likewise may be treated as av and pv constructions, or a zero-marked transitive P-oriented construction and a semi-transitive or antipassive construction marked with mag‑ (plus less productive pivot-selecting ACs). I treat these as one alternation in a marginal symmetrical voice system, due to the fact that some phrases expressing the patient in the prefix-marked constructions appear to show argument properties, while the agent phrase is syntactically privileged. However, these clauses do tend to show lower semantic transitivity (see also § 56.1).
Languages of the sample with asymmetrical voice systems include Muna, Mori Bawah, Tolaki, and Nias. Nias does not show verbal alternations of the type we have been discussing in main clauses, while the three Sulawesi languages do. These languages show an alternation in the form of morphological marking or argument indexing on the verb depending on the definiteness of the P argument, which has been called “definiteness shift” (van den Berg 1995). However, unlike symmetrical voice languages, there is little evidence from syntactic behavioral properties by which one such alternation may be considered A-oriented and the other P-oriented. An example is given in (145) below from Muna, where for realis clauses, the third person singular A index ae‑ is used with an indefinite P argument, while the corresponding A index a‑ is used with a definite P argument. Note that the choice of a‑ or ae‑ class indexes does not co-vary with access to syntactic operations for types of core arguments; only S or A may head a relative clause with an a‑ class subordinate verb form (a participial marked with ‑um- ‑no) and the same holds with an ae‑ class subordinate verb form (a participial marked with me- ‑no) (van den Berg 2013: 232–234).
(145) Muna, Definiteness shift
a.
Ae-alo-mo
kapulu.
3sg.rls-take-perf
machete
‘I took a machete.’
b.
A-ala-mo
kapulu-ku.
3sg.rls-take-perf
machete-1sg.poss
‘I took my machete.’(van den Berg 1995: 169)
In Mori Bawah and Tolaki, in transitive clauses with definite P arguments, the verb is zero-marked, and P is obligatorily indexed on the verb. In corresponding clauses with indefinite P arguments, the verb is prefixed with poN‑ in Mori Bawah (po‑ in Tolaki), which is glossed as antipassive. In neither case is P syntactically privileged. Like ‘antipassive’ constructions in Mori Bawah and Tolaki, ae‑ class indexed clauses in Muna are less semantically transitive than zero-marked or a‑ class indexed clauses; these three languages also show similarities to Makasar and Bugis.
In addition to transitive alternations, many languages of the sample have a ‘true passive’ construction, with the exception of Pendau, Toba Batak, and possibly Yakan. In some of these, the passive construction is marked with a dedicated affix, as with West Coast Bajau (‑in‑), Amepenan Sasak (te‑), and Makasar (ni‑). In other languages, as in Nasal and Indonesian, the passive construction may be marked with the pv prefix, however, see Chen & McDonnell (2019) on difficulties in distinguishing pv and passive constructions when both are marked with the same verbal morphology.
Finally, some languages of the sample, most notably Pendau, make use of a number of stem-former prefixes. These prefixes do not express semantic content of their own, but instead function to form an augmented stem which is grammatically required for further affixation with voice prefixes, applicative suffixes, and other derivational morphology (see Quick 2007: 99–108 and discussion in § 56.3.4). Stem-former prefixes in the languages of the sample typically have shapes like pong‑, po‑, pe‑, and popo‑, alongside allomorphs showing vowel harmony. Such prefixes are also found in Behoa and Ledo Kaili, though their use in these languages is perhaps less pervasive than in Pendau. Some prefixes with the same shape have been treated as transitivizers or transitive markers by some authors, and some are also treated as causative prefixes (see § 711). Stem-former prefixes are commonly observed in Austronesian languages of the Philippines and Sulawesi (see e.g. Himmelmann & Wolff 1999).
74 Applicative Morphology
Each language of the sample has between one and four AMs that mark ACs, which are listed in Table 54. In four languages—West Coast Bajau, Yakan, Tolaki, and Ampenan Sasak—there is only one AM. Most languages of the sample (14 of 24) have two AMs, one marking selection of beneficiaries, instruments, and/or themes as the applied phrase, and the other marking selection of locations and goals as the applied phrase. For applied phrases with other semantic roles such as stimulus or content, however, there is no such specialization across AMs (see § 79). Five languages of the sample show three AMs—Nias, Sundanese, Ledo Kaili, Balantak, and Tukang Besi—and one language—Mori Bawah—shows four (see § 64.1.3 for more details on these systems).
The peripheral roles expressed by the applied phrase in ACs typically may be expressed as an oblique in a corresponding BC in these languages with the same verbal stem without AM-marking. Such obliques are most commonly encoded as a prepositional phrase. There are a few cases, however, in which there is no (monoclausal) equivalent BC, which will be noted below in the relevant sections. In the following sections, I also make reference to the semantic participant expressed by the P argument in a BC, and its syntactic realization in the corresponding AC. As discussed in § 31.3.4, I refer to this participant as the companion phrase because it generally may be expressed alongside the applied phrase in the AC, and may or may not be encoded as a core clausal argument.
Table 54
Applicative morphology by semantic role of the applied phrase
|
Language |
Single Form |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
ben |
inst |
thm |
loc |
goal |
|||||
|
W. Coast Bajau |
‑an |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
|||
|
Yakan |
‑an |
✓ |
✓ |
||||||
|
Sasak |
‑an |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
||||
|
Tolaki |
‑Cako |
✓ |
✓ |
||||||
|
Language |
Form 1 |
Form 2 |
|||||||
|
ben |
inst |
thm |
loc |
goal |
|||||
|
Toba Batak |
‑hon |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑i/an |
✓ |
✓ |
||
|
Nasal |
‑kun |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
||
|
Kendayan |
‑an |
✓ |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
|||
|
S. Barisan Mal. |
‑ka |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
||
|
Std. Indonesian |
‑kan |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
||
|
Javanese |
‑aké |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
||
|
Madurese |
‑agi |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑e |
✓ |
✓ |
||
|
Balinese |
‑ang |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
||
|
Pendau |
‑a’ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
||
|
Behoa |
‑á |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
||||
|
Muna |
‑ghoo |
✓ |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
|||
|
Bugis |
‑Ceng |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
||
|
Makasar |
‑ang |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
||
|
Duri |
‑an |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
||
|
Language |
Form 1 |
Form 2 |
Form 3 |
||||||
|
ben |
inst |
thm |
loc |
goal |
|||||
|
Nias |
‑’ö |
✓ |
‑(C)i |
✓ |
✓ |
fa- |
thm, goal |
||
|
Sundanese |
‑keun |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑an |
✓ |
✓ |
pang- ‑keun |
ben |
|
Ledo Kaili |
‑ka |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
‑aka |
thm, inst |
||
|
Balantak |
‑kun |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑i |
✓ |
✓ |
‑ii |
ben |
|
Tukang Besi |
‑ako |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
‑(VC)i |
✓ |
✓ |
‑ngkene |
com |
|
Language |
Form 1 |
Form 2 |
Forms 3 & 4 |
||||||
|
ben |
inst |
thm |
loc |
goal |
|||||
|
Mori Bawah |
‑ako |
✓ |
✓ |
‑(C)i |
✓ |
✓ |
‑Cako |
thm |
|
|
‑Cari |
goal, stim |
||||||||
75 Beneficiaries and Recipients
75.1 Distribution and General Properties
All but one languages in the sample (Nias) has an AC in which a beneficiary role is selected to map to the applied phrase. In many cases, this same construction is also found with a recipient role expressed as the applied phrase, though beneficiaries and recipients are not consistently distinguished in descriptive source material.
The languages of the sample vary in productivity of the beneficiary-selecting AC and compatibility of this construction with various bases. In all languages of the sample, benefactive ACs are compatible with at least a subset of transitive bases, including roots with the meanings that express transfer, acquisition, and conveyance, e.g. ‘give’, ‘buy’, and ‘bring’, and acts of creation, e.g. ‘make’, ‘build’. In about half of the languages of the sample, beneficiary-selecting ACs also are compatible with transitive roots expressing processes, such as ‘wash’, ‘grind’, and ‘pound’. In only a few languages are beneficiary-selecting ACs attested with bases expressing sensory or cognitive events, e.g. Sundanese pang-ambeu-keun ‘to smell for s.o.’, Sasak dengah-an ‘to hear for s.o.’, or with intransitive bases expressing activities, e.g. Muna ne-lagu-lagu-ghoo ‘to sing to/for s.o.’, Behoa mam-pe-kakae-á ‘to pray for s.o.’.
(146) Nasal, Beneficiary-selecting AC with ‑kun
a.
Azma
ny-(s)anik
buwak
gin
anak=nyo.
A.
av-make
snack
for
child=3sg
‘Azma made snacks for her children.’ (BC)
b.
Azma
ny-(s)anik-kun
anak=nyo
buwak.
A.
av-make-ben.appl
child=3sg
snack
‘Azma made her children snacks.’ (AC)(McDonnell fieldnotes)
Example (146) shows an beneficiary-selecting AC from Nasal with the suffix ‑kun. In the BC in (146a), the beneficiary is expressed as a PP, as is typical of most languages of the sample. In Makasar and Kendayan, the expression of a beneficiary with a PP is only possible with an apparently borrowed preposition untu’/untuk ‘for’ from Indonesian. Jukes (2020: 315) reports that only younger speaker of Makasar use this borrowed preposition. Expressing the beneficiary as a PP is also possible in Ampenan Sasak with a preposition umaq, but this is apparently rare and found only in elicited examples (Khairunnisa & McDonnell in prep).
Sundanese shows two different benefactive applicatives: ‑keun and pang- ‑keun. The prior is much less productive as a benefactive applicative. It is restricted to a small number of the transitive bases, and takes a beneficiary applied phrase, as in (147), repeated from (57) in § 27. The suffix ‑keun may also act as a causative, as in (148).
(147) Sundanese, Beneficiary-selecting AC with ‑keun
a.
Udi
m-(b)uka
panto
keur
kuring.
U.
av-open
door
for
1sg
‘Udi opens the door for me.’
b.
Udi
m-(b)uka-keun
kuring
panto
U.
av-(b)uka-ben.appl
1sg
door
‘Udi opens the door for me.’(Hanafi 1997: 23)
(148) Sundanese, Causative construction with ‑keun
a.
Jandela
peupeus.
window
break
‘The window breaks / is broken.’ (BC)
b.
Abi
m-(p)eupeus-keun
jandela.
1sg
av-break-caus
window
‘I broke the window.’ (Causative)(CT1-017)
As discussed in § 26, Sundanese beneficiary-selecting ACs with pang- ‑keun have a substitutive benefactive meaning and are highly productive. Such ACs are found with a wide range of intransitive and transitive bases. When pang- ‑keun attaches to an intransitive base, such as the verb peupeus ‘break’, shown in (148a), the AC is not monotransitive as we might expect. Instead as shown in (149), the AC is ditransitive and has both a causative meaning, with A expressing an instigating causer, and an applicative meaning, with one non-A core argument expressing the beneficiary, and the other, a patient or theme.
(149) Sundanese, Beneficiary-selecting pang- ‑keun
Euis
di-pang-meupeus-keun
kalapa
ku
abi.
E.
pv-ben.appl-break-ben.appl
coconut
by
1sg
‘I broke open a coconut for Euis.’ (AC)(CT1-017)
Balantak also shows two AMs that form beneficiary-selecting ACs: the suffixes ‑kon and ‑ii. ACs formed with these two suffixes show different structural properties. As shown in (150), benefactives ACs marked with ‑kon are always monotransitive. The companion phrase (patient) is encoded as a core argument (P), while the beneficiary applied phrase is encoded as a possessor phrase modifying the companion phrase as in gala‑ni Goris, where ‑ni indicates a following personal possessor NP.
(150) Balantak, Beneficiary-selecting AC with ‑kon
a.
Sina-gku
man-taring
gala
boni
Goris.
mother-1sg
av.irr-cook
vegetables
for.pa
G.
‘My mother is cooking vegetables for Doris.’
b.
Sina-gku
man-taring-kon
gala-ni
Goris.
mother-1sg
av.irr-cook-ben.appl
vegetables-3sg.pa
G.
‘My mother is cooking vegetables for Doris.’(van den Berg & Busenitz 2012: 100)
In contrast, beneficiary-selecting ACs marked with ‑ii are ditransitive, and both the companion phrase and the beneficiary applied phrase are encoded as unmarked core arguments. In such ACs, only the beneficiary may become the subject in pv, as in (151) (see van den Berg & Busenitz 2012: 107).
(151) Balantak, Beneficiary-selecting AC with ‑ii
Tama-ngku
ni-wawau-ii-mo
wala’on.
father-2sg
pv.rls-make-ben.appl-perf
boiled.water
‘My father has already been made a hot drink.’(van den Berg & Busenitz 2012: 108)
Aside from the Balantak benefactive ACs with ‑kon, in all languages of the sample, beneficiary-selecting ACs may be ditransitive. While only a few descriptions (i.e. Quick 2007; Miller 2007; Jukes 2013) discuss the core/oblique status of the beneficiary applied phrase and patient/theme companion phrase, in the languages of the sample, generally both may be considered core since both may be encoded as a bare NP. This applies in all 23 languages of the sample in which this construction occurs. Note that while benefactive ACs are maximally ditransitive in these language, more than one structure is sometimes possible, and not all of these are ditransitive (see § 75.3).
75.2 Beneficiary-Selecting ACs with Special Properties
Beneficiary arguments are indexed differently than P arguments in BCs in three languages of the sample, all spoken in Sulawesi: Muna, Mori Bawah, and Tolaki. In these languages, there is a special form of indexing on the verb for beneficiaries and recipients. These forms are also used uncommonly with other types of peripheral participants (see § 67.3.2 for more on the special indexing suffixes in these languages). These morphemes are analyzed as fused forms of an applicative suffix and suffixal indexes for objects or absolutive arguments, though there are some complications, and they may show the same shape as the object/absolutive suffixes in some person and number categories.
Examples from Muna are shown in (152) with the verb gholi ‘buy’. In the BC in (152a), the verb is not suffixed. The theme immediately follows the verb and is encoded as an unmarked NP (bhadhu ‘shirt’), while the beneficiary, if expressed, is encoded as a PP (so insaidi ‘for us’). In a benefactive AC with an NP beneficiary, as shown in (152b), the verb is suffixed with ‑ghoo, and the beneficiary is expressed as an unmarked NP, ina-ku ‘my mother’. The beneficiary applied phrase precedes the theme which is also an unmarked NP, o pae ‘rice’.3 Alternately, as shown in (152c), when the beneficiary is pronominal, a special form indexing the beneficiary appears on the verb, in this case ‑angko ‘for you’, again followed by an unmarked NP expressing the theme. The suffix ‑ghoo does not co-occur with ‘indirect object’ argument indexes like ‑angko; they are in complementary distribution.
(152) Muna, Beneficiary-selecting ACs with ae‑ class prefixes
a.
ama-mani
ne-gholi
bhadhu
so
insaidi
father-1pl.excl.poss
3sg.rls-buy
shirt
for
1pl.excl
‘Our father bought a shirt for us.’ (BC)(van den Berg 2013: 82)
b.
ae-gholi-ghoo
ina-ku
o
pae
1sg.rls-buy-ben.appl
mother-1sg.poss
art
rice
‘I buy rice for my mother.’ (AC, NP beneficiary)(van den Berg 2013: 176)
c.
ae-gholi-angko
pae
1sg.rls-buy-ben.appl:2sg.io
rice
‘I buy rice for you.’ (AC, pronominal beneficiary)(van den Berg 2013: 70)
In the examples above, gholi ‘buy’ is used with ae‑ class actor indexing. In BCs, the ae‑ class prefixes are always used with an indefinite P argument, which is not indexed on the verb with a direct object suffix. This is shown in (152a) above where the theme (‘rice’) is indefinite and not indexed. Interestingly, in beneficiary-selecting ACs in Muna, the companion phrase in the AC still obeys the definiteness constraint; if ae‑ class marking is used, the theme must be indefinite and is not indexed on the verb, though the beneficiary may be definite and is indexed on the verb with an indirect object suffix when pronominal.
In BCs, if gholi ‘buy’ is used with a‑ class actor indexing, P must be definite and is indexed on the verb with a direct object suffix when pronominal. This is shown in (153a), where the theme argument is indexed on the verb with ‑e ‘it’. In beneficiary-selecting ACs with a‑ class indexing of A, both the beneficiary and the theme are indexed on the verb when pronominal, as in (153b). The beneficiary applied phrase is indexed using the indirect object suffix, and the theme companion phrase is indexed using the direct object suffix.
(153) Muna, Beneficiary-selecting ACs with a‑ class prefixes
a.
a-gholi-e
so
ihintu
1sg.rls-buy-3sg
for
2sg
‘I bought it for you’ (AC, pronominal beneficiary)(van den Berg 2013: 143)
b.
a-gh⟨um⟩oli-angko-e
1sg-⟨irr⟩buy-ben.appl:2sg.io-3sg
‘I will buy it for you’ (AC, both objects pronominal)(van den Berg 2013: 71)
In Tolaki, beneficiary and recipient roles are always indexed on the verb in ACs, regardless of whether they are pronominal or expressed as a full NP. Examples are shown in (154). A special set of pronominal indexes (glossed as dative) is used, and these forms are distinct from the absolutive forms used to index P in BCs, at least in some person categories.
(154) Tolaki, Indexing of beneficiary applied phrases
a.
Kuposusuanggee
banggonannggu.
Ku-po-susuaN-kee
banggona-nggu
1.nom-indef.P-sing-ben.appl:3.dat
friend-1.poss
‘I sang for my friend.’ (AC)
b.
Ku-tidu-’i-ko’o.
1.nom-punch-3.abs-ben.appl:2.dat
‘I’ll punch him for you/ I’ll get him (back) for you.’ (AC)(Edwards 2012: 54)
In Mori Bawah, beneficiary-selecting constructions are marked on the verb with the AM ‑ako. Beneficiary (or recipient) roles are indexed on the verb in ACs. The index follows the suffix ‑ako, and has fused with it, except in third person forms. When a beneficiary or recipient is indexed on an AM-marked verb, normal indexing of the patient/theme on the verb lapses, and the companion phrase is not indexed. This is shown in the example below with the verb ala ‘take’.
(155) Mori Bawah, Beneficiary-selecting AC
a.
i-potae
bange
andio:
tewala
kanatuu,
Puu-puu,
io
bou-mu-mo
koa
ku-’ala-o
3sg-say
monkey
this
when
like.that
Pigeon
cn
fish-2sg.poss-pfv
just
1sg.nom-take-3sg.abs
‘The monkey said: “In that case, Pigeon, I’ll take your fish.” ’ (BC)(Esser 2011: 104)
b.
kuri’a-no
ala-akita
balu-balu-mu
ka
to-kita-o
say-3sg.poss
get-appl:1pl.incl
rdp-goods-2sg.poss
and
1pl.incl.nom-see-3sg.abs
‘He says, “Come, fetch your wares for us, that we may see them.” ’ (AC)(Esser 2011: 322)
75.3 Interactions with Voice and Valency
Across languages of the sample some variance is observed in the interaction of beneficiary-selecting ACs with symmetrical voice and other valency alternations. In general, the languages of the sample showing symmetrical voice allow benefactive applicatives in av. However, in Toba Batak, it is reportedly rare for beneficiary-selecting ACs specifically to be used with av (van der Tuuk 1971 [1864–1867]: 105). For these ACs, pv structures are favored instead, and the verb is obligatorily marked with the prefix pa‑ in addition to the applicative suffix ‑hon. Sundanese has a general restriction on ditransitive constructions, which must occur in pv for the large majority of verbal bases. In the example in (156) below, the beneficiary is the pivot argument (R) and the theme, balanjaan ‘shopping purchases’, is an additional non-A core argument (T).
(156) Sundanese, Possessor beneficiary
a.
Icih
ny-(c)okot
duit.
I.
av-take
money
‘Icih took the money.’ (BC)(FM4-050)
b.
Indung
di-pang-nyokot-keun
balanja-an
ku
Udi.
mother
pv-ben.appl-take-ben.appl
shop-nmlz
by
U.
‘Udi took the shopping purchases (in the house) for mother.’ (AC)(CT1-025)
When Sundanese benefactive ACs occur in av, they most often show monotransitive clausal structure with the companion phrase (theme or patient) selected as the P argument. The beneficiary participant, if overtly mentioned, is most commonly expressed as the possessor of the companion phrase, as in (157) below. In other cases, the beneficiary is also commonly unrealized when understood from context or may be overtly expressed as a PP (see examples in § 26, and analogous Nasal examples in (169)–(170) below).
(157) Sundanese, Possessor beneficiary
Udi
m-(p)ang-nyokot-keun
balanja-an
indung.
U.
av-ben.appl-take-ben.appl
shop-nmlz
mother
‘Udi took mother’s shopping purchases (in the house for her).’ (AC)(CT1-025)
In monotransitive benefactive ACs like (157), the beneficiary is understood to be the same referent as that expressed by the possessor phrase, likely resolved through pragmatic inference. While these possessor beneficiary AC constructions are common cross-linguistically (Kittilä & Zúñiga 2010: 19–20), in the sample, they are found only in Sundanese and Balantak.
An example of a possessor beneficiary construction in Balantak is shown in (158). Here the theme companion phrase is doi’-ku and includes the possessive suffix ‑ku ‘our’. This sentence does not necessarily mean that the item to be acquired belongs to ‘us’, but that the item is acquired ‘for us’. Unlike the Sundanese case, the possessor beneficiary is obligatory in Balantak ‑kon marked benefactive ACs; the beneficiary may not be realized as an unmarked NP or as a PP, and may not be unrealized. This construction is noted to occur with transitive bases. In other types of ‑kon marked ACs, overt realization of the applied phrase is not obligatory, and van den Berg & Busenitz (2012) note that overt realization of both the applied phrase and the companion phrase is very rare in av in such ACs. This suggests that the realization of the beneficiary as a possessor is related to avoidance of a sequence of two adjacent unmarked NPs after the verb.
(158) Balantak, Possessor beneficiary
Koo-si
a
mang-ala-kon
doi’-ku.
2sg-seq
art
av-get-ben.appl
money-1sg
‘You are the one who will get money for us’(van den Berg & Busenitz 2012: 101)
With respect to linear order, in av constructions in Pendau, the beneficiary applied phrase and its companion phrase may occur in either order in postverbal position, as in (159).
(159) Pendau, Beneficiary-selecting AC
a.
Nongolia’
io
vea
a’u.
N-pong-oli-a’
io
vea
a’u
av.rls-sf-buy-ben.appl
3sg.abs
rice
1sg.abs
‘I bought him rice.’ (AC)
b.
Nongolia’
vea
io
a’u.
N-pong-oli-a’
vea
io
a’u
av.rls-sf-buy-ben.appl
rice
3sg.abs
1sg.abs
‘I bought him rice.’ (AC)(Quick 2007: 305)
More commonly, the beneficiary applied phrase occurs before the companion phrase in av, as shown in the Nasal example in (146b) above. This is by far the more common pattern across languages of the sample. An example from Behoa is given in (160).4
(160) Behoa, Beneficiary-selecting AC
Romu
mam-po-ánti-á
Umá-na
Lembá
tálá.
R.
av-sf-bring-ben.appl
father-3sg.poss
L.
bamboo
‘Romu brought Papa Lemba bamboo.’(“ánti”, Shore 2016, glosses added)
For Makasar, Toba Batak, and Salako, it is not reported in the source material whether the beneficiary applied phrase may be selected as the privileged syntactic argument in pv or S in passive constructions. With just a few exceptions, in almost all of the remaining languages of the sample, the beneficiary or recipient applied phrase is selected as the pivot or subject in P-oriented clause types, as in the examples from Madurese in (161)5 and West Coast Bajau in (162).
(161) Madurese, Beneficiary-selecting AC in pv
Ebu’
e-ngerra’-agi
rote
bi’
Bibbi’.
mother
pv-av.slice-ben.appl
bread
by
aunt
‘Auntie sliced bread for Mother.’ (AC)(Davies 2010: 100)
(162) West Coast Bajau, Beneficiary-selecting AC in pv and passive
a.
Boi
sembali
emma’=ku
kambing
e
ta’
Saiman.
cmpl
[pv]slaughter
father=1sg.npiv
goat
dem
loc
S.
‘My father slaughtered the goat for Saiman.’ (BC)
b.
Boi
sembali-an
emma’=ku
Saiman
kambing
tu.
cmpl
[pv]slaughter-ben.appl
father=1sg.npiv
S.
goat
dem
‘My father slaughtered (for) Saiman the goat.’ (AC)
c.
Saiman
boi
s⟨in⟩embali-an
kambing
le’
emma’=ku.
S.
cmpl
⟨pass⟩slaughter-ben.appl
goat
loc
father=1sg.poss
‘(For) Saiman was slaughtered a goat by my father.’ (AC)(Miller 2007: 278–280)
In Nasal, West Coast Bajau, and Madurese, the patient companion phrase does not appear to be a possible pivot argument in pv and/or passive constructions (see Miller 2007: 280 for discussion of West Coast Bajau). In Pendau, Quick (2007) reports that either the applied phrase or the patient companion phrase may occur in the preverbal position, as in (163). For such examples, the beneficiary applied phrase, io 3sg.abs, is the pivot argument in either case.
(163) Pendau, Recipient applied phrase in pv
a.
Io
nipogabua’o’u
vea.
io
ni-po-gabu-a’=’u
vea
3sg.abs
pv.rls-sf-cook-ben.appl=1sg.gen
raw.rice
‘I cooked rice for him/her.’ (AC)
b.
Vea
nipogabua’o’u
io.
vea
ni-po-gabu-a’=’u
io
raw.rice
pv.rls-sf-cook-ben.appl=1sg.gen
3sg.abs
‘I cooked rice for him/her.’ (Passive AC)(Quick 2007: 292)
Even some languages which have distinct patterns of indexing of the applied recipient or beneficiary with ‘dative’ or ‘indirect object’ indexes, the recipient or beneficiary may be the privileged syntactic argument of a P-oriented construction. This is reported for Muna and Mori Bawah, and an example is given from Muna below showing a passive participial phrase.
(164) Muna, Beneficiary-selecting AC, passive participle
aini-ha-e-mo
robhine
ne-owa-ghoo-ku
se-tuwu
bheta
this-pred-3sg.poss-perf
woman
pass.part-bring-ben.appl-1sg.npiv.a
one-cl
sarong
‘this is the woman to whom I have taken a sarong’(van den Berg 2013: 234)
In Tolaki, it appears that the dative marked beneficiary may not be the privileged syntactic argument of a passive construction (see Edwards 2012). In Balantak, the same is true of applied beneficiaries in ACs marked with ‑kon; only the patient/theme companion phrase may become the pivot of a pv clause (van den Berg & Busenitz 2012: 97). However, in beneficiary-selecting ACs marked with ‑ii in Balantak, as mentioned above, the beneficiary is the pivot in pv, not the companion phrase.
In Makasar, both arguments in zero-marked transitive constructions are indexed on the verb, as in the BC in (165a). Regardless of whether a verb bears an AM or not, a maximum of two arguments may be indexed on the verb. In ditransitive benefactive ACs, the A argument and the beneficiary applied phrase are indexed on the verb (Jukes 2020: 314–315), while the companion phrase is not. This is shown in the AC in (165b), where the verb is suffixed with the AM ‑ang, and the beneficiary applied phrase is indexed on the verb with the 2nd person enclitic =ko, while the theme companion phrase is not indexed.
(165) Makasar, Indexing of beneficiary applied phrase
a.
ku=balli=i
baju=a
1=buy=3
shirt=def
‘I bought the shirt.’ (BC)
b.
ku=balli-ang=ko
baju.
1=buy-ben.appl=2fam
shirt
‘I bought you a shirt.’ (AC)(Jukes 2020: 314–315)
Likewise, in Tukang Besi, in one of the two transitive constructions, P is indexed on the verb in BCs. In corresponding ACs, only the beneficiary, not the companion phrase, may be indexed on the verb in a benefactive applicative marked with ‑ako (Donohue 1999).
As mentioned above, in Mori Bawah, only the beneficiary may be indexed on the verb in a beneficiary-selecting AC in (zero-marked) transitive constructions, while in Tolaki and Muna, both beneficiary and patient or theme may be indexed on the verb concurrently in transitive constructions, provided that the companion phrase is definite. In constructions that are less semantically transitive or ‘antipassive’ constructions, the companion phrase is indefinite in these languages, but the beneficiary may be definite and can be indexed.
(166) Mori Bawah, Beneficiary-selecting AC in antipassive
Aku
mon-tena
mo-wawa-akontu
inahu
eu.
1sg.fut
part:apass-command
part:apass-bring-ben.appl:2pl.abs
vegetable
spinach
‘I will send someone to bring you spinach.’(Mead 2005: 704)
According to Hanson (2003: 198–201), in Bugis, either the beneficiary applied phrase or the patient/theme companion phrase, but not both, may be indexed on the verb in a zero-marked transitive construction, with the beneficiary being preferred. The choice appears to be conditioned by pragmatic considerations. Examples are given in (167) and (168). This pattern is not reported for any other languages of the sample. Hanson (2003: 201) also notes that beneficiary-selecting ACs marked with ‑Ceng do not occur if both the beneficiary and the patient/theme are indefinite.
(167) Bugis, Indexing of companion phrase in benefactive AC
a.
Magai
deqna
nanre
ri
bola-e?
why
neg
rice
loc
house-def
‘Why is there no rice in the house?’
b.
Ani
na-nasu-ng-ngi
iko.
A.
3.erg-cook-ben.appl-3.abs
2sg
‘Ani (has already) cooked it for you.’(Hanson 2003: 198)
(168) Bugis, Indexing of beneficiary applied phrase in benefactive AC
a.
Pəkkogai
iko
m-anre?
how
2sg
av-eat
‘How did you eat?’
b.
Ani
na-nasu-k-kaq
nanre.
A.
3.erg-cook-ben.appl-1.abs
rice
‘Ani cooked me rice.’(Hanson 2003: 198–199)
As mentioned above, arguments of the verb are commonly unrealized in the languages of the sample. This appears to apply to the beneficiary applied phrase in most languages of the sample. In Ampenan Sasak, in fact, it is most common for the beneficiary or recipient applied phrase in such ACs to be unrealized (Khairunnisa & McDonnell in prep). In such cases, note that even though the beneficiary applied phrase may be unrealized, a benefactive meaning is still present in the clause. For example, in the Nasal AC in (169), a beneficiary is inferred from context. In Sundanese, this non-realization of the applied beneficiary is also possible. Most authors of available source material for other languages of the sample do not report whether this is possible. Donohue (1999: 232–234) however, notes that it is not possible to omit or delete the beneficiary applied argument as an unspecified referent in Tukang Besi.
(169) Nasal, Unrealized beneficiary applied phrase
Azma
ny-(s)anik-kun
buwak.
A.
av-make-ben.appl
snack
‘Azma made snacks (for them).’ (AC)(McDonnell fieldnotes)
In benefactive ACs in Nasal, it is also possible for the beneficiary applied phrase to occur as an oblique PP even though the verb is suffixed with the benefactive AM ‑kun, as in (170). This pattern is also found in Sundanese, Indonesian, Pendau, and with certain lexical verbs in Bugis (Vamarasi 1999: 76; Quick 2007: 292–293; Hanson 2003: 196–197).
(170) Nasal, Preposition-marked beneficiary applied phrase
Azma
ny-(s)anik-kun
buwak
gin
anak=nyo.
A.
av-make-ben.appl
snack
for
child=3sg
‘Azma made snacks for her child.’ (AC)(McDonnell fieldnotes)
(171) Pendau, Preposition-marked beneficiary applied phrase
Ula
uo
nombagia’
doi’
sono
langkai
uo.
ula
’uo
N-pong-bagi-a’
doi’
sono
langkai
’uo
snake
yonder
av.rls-sf-give-ben.appl
money
with
male
yonder
‘That snake gave the money to the man’. (AC)(Quick 2007: 292)
(172) Bugis, Preposition-marked beneficiary applied phrase
U-nasu-ng-ngi
nanre
ku
Ali.
1.erg-cook-ben.appl-3.abs
rice
prep
A.
‘I cooked rice for Ali.’ (AC)(Hanson 2003: 196)
Note, however, that in such languages, if the beneficiary is expressed as an unmarked NP (or indexed on the verb in Bugis), the benefactive AM must be affixed onto the verb. Furthermore, clauses like that in (169) must be interpreted as benefactive. Even though the beneficiary is unrealized, the existence of a beneficiary participant that is distinct from the referent of the A argument and that of the companion phrase is inferrable.
76 Instruments and Themes
In this section, I present ACs in which an instrument or theme is selected as the applied phrase. As noted in § 25, it is not always possible to distinguish clearly instruments from themes, as instruments are often directed into motion, and thus may also be classified as themes. In the discussion that follows, an entity is treated as a instrument when it appears to be manipulated to some effect or purpose by an agent, rather than merely moved or directed into motion.
76.1 Instrument-Selecting ACs
Of the 24 languages of the sample, 20 have an AC that selects an instrument applied phrase, while four do not: Nias, Behoa, Ampenan Sasak, and Kendayan. In almost all languages in which instrumental ACs are attested, the AM used is the same as the one that selects a beneficiary/recipient applied phrase.6 In Kaili Ledo, the suffix ‑(C)aka marks instrumental ACs, while ‑ka marks benefactive ACs. The base verb in an instrument-selecting AC is commonly transitive. Base verbs meaning ‘to hit’, ‘to strike’, ‘to chop’, and ‘to buy’ are frequently found, and also attested are ‘to stab’, ‘to shoot’, ‘to sew’, ‘to scoop up’, ‘to dig’, ‘to pay for’, ‘to write’, ‘to make’, and ‘to kill’. In a few cases, intransitive base verbs are also used, such as ‘to go’, and ‘to return home’, which are found in Tukang Besi and Muna in instrumental ACs with meanings such as ‘to go by means of (vehicle)’.
Two examples of instrumental ACs are given below.
(173) South Barisan Malay, Instrument-selecting AC
a.
n-jujuk-jujuk
diwik
Pelik,
av-rdp-poke
self
P.
‘Pelik is bothering (lit. poking at) me,’ (BC)
b.
jujuk-ka=nye
ghanting
tadi.
poke-inst.appl=3
stick
earlier.
‘he poked out a stick.’ (AC)(McDonnell 2016: 96)
(174) Toba Batak, Instrument-selecting AC
a.
mangombak
tanggurung
ni
horbo
dohot
indalu
av.strike
back
of
buffalo
with
rice.pestle
‘to strike the back of a buffalo with a rice pounder’ (BC)
b.
mangombak-kon
indalu
tu
tanggurung
ni
horbo
av.strike-inst.appl
rice.pestle
onto
back
of
buffalo
‘to strike a rice pounder on the back of a buffalo’ (AC)(van der Tuuk 1971 [1864–1867]: 103, English translation & glosses added)
As shown in the above examples, in an instrument-selecting AC, the companion phrase is commonly a patient or goal (i.e., an endpoint of directed motion). In BCs, this patient/goal participant is the P argument. In a BC, the instrument role is realized as an oblique PP or adverbial phrase, if it is expressed. Instruments may also be expressed as the complement of the verb meaning ‘to use, to wear’, e.g. Sundanese maké. In some languages, this verb appears to be in the process of grammaticalization to a preposition.
In two languages of the sample—Ledo Kaili and Duri—though instrumental ACs are attested, there are very few textual examples, and the syntactic properties of the these constructions are unclear.
In about half of the remaining languages that show this type of construction, it appears that instrumental ACs are exclusively monotransitive. These include Toba Batak, Nasal, Balantak, South Barisan Malay, Indonesian, Balinese, Javanese, and West Coast Bajau. As seen in the AC examples from Sundanese and Toba Batak above, the instrument applied phrase is coded as an unmarked core argument and the companion phrase is expressed as an oblique PP rather than an unmarked NP. This type of construction is referred to as a remapping AC, as a difference is observed in the coding of the companion phrase as compared to the BC. Sundanese follows the same pattern with a single exception; when ‑keun is suffixed to beuli ‘buy’, the AC is ditransitive.
The rest of the languages of the sample allow ditransitive instrumental ACs. These are primary found in languages of Sulawesi, and include Pendau, Tukang Besi, Bugis, Makasar, Mori Bawah, Tolaki, and Muna, as well as Yakan, which is spoken in the southern Philippines. However, note that even closely related languages may differ in the maximal transitivity of instrumental ACs, for example, Yakan allows such constructions to be ditransitive, while West Coast Bajau does not. In Madurese, instrumental ACs in av are consistently monotransitive, but it appears that such constructions in pv may be optionally ditransitive (see Davies 2010: 309).
(175) Madurese, Instrument-selecting AC in pv
a.
Burus-sa
e-tambu
(bi’)
bato
bi’
Ale’.
dog-def
pv-hit
(by)
rock
by
younger.sibling
‘Little Brother hit the dog with rocks.’ (BC in pv)
b.
Batu
e-tambu’-agi
(dha)
burus
bi’
Ale’.
Rock
pv-hit-inst.appl
(to)
dog
by
younger.sibling
‘Little Brother hit the dog with rocks.’ (AC in pv)(Davies 2010: 309)
In Pendau, instrument-selecting ACs are consistently ditransitive and are only found in pv (see § 56.3.4). The instrument applied phrase and the patient or goal companion phrase are both analyzed as core arguments of the verb. An example is given in (176).
(176) Pendau, Instrument-selecting AC
a.
Paee
rosunung
nijimo
nuuram.
paee
ro-sunung
nijimo
nu=uram
rice
pv.irr-burn
3pl.gen
inst=medicine
‘They burned (or smoked) the rice with medicine (for medicinal purposes).’ (BC)
b.
Uram
roposununua’
nijimo
paee.
uram
ro-po-sunung-a’
nijimo
paee
medicine
pv.irr-sf.inst-burn-inst.appl
3pl.gen
rice
‘They burned (or smoked) the rice with medicine (for medicinal purposes).’ (AC)(Quick 2007: 297–298)
In the BC in (176a), the patient argument paee ‘rice’ is the pivot argument in pv. The instrument uram ‘medicine’ is not a core argument, but marked with nu=, the genitive case marker which is found on oblique instruments as well as possessors. In the AC in (176b), the instrument applied phrase is the pivot and the patient companion phrase is expressed as a postverbal core argument, and is encoded as an unmarked NP.
In Makasar, instrument-selecting ACs are also ditransitive (see Jukes 2020: 315–316). This is shown in (177).
(177) Makasar, Instrument-selecting AC
anjo
selek=a
na=buno–ang=i
bali=a
that
kris=def
3=kill-inst.appl=3
enemy=def
‘He killed the enemy with that kris. (AC)’(Jukes 2020: 316)
In Muna, Tolaki, and Mori Bawah, instrumental ACs also appear to be ditransitive, as both the instrument and patient may be coded as unmarked NPs. In these languages, with respect to indexing and access to syntactic operations, there are some differences in the behavior of applied instruments as compared to applied beneficiaries.
Unlike applied beneficiaries, in Mori Bawah, the applied instrument is generally not indexed on the verb; only the patient may be indexed, when it is definite. In Mori Bawah, the applied instrument also may not be the subject of a passive construction, but only the patient.
(178) Mori Bawah, Instrument-selecting AC
Lauro
andio
te’ingka
ku=’oho-akomiu.
rattan
prox
near.future
1sg.nom=bind-inst.appl:2pl.abs
‘In a moment I will bind you with this rattan.’(Mead 2005: 704)
In Muna, the instrument is usually not indexed on the verb, but there are a few exceptions. For example, the instrument and the patient may both be indexed if both are pronominal and the instrument is a third person referent (van den Berg 2013: 180–181). Also, in constructions with non-canonical word order, it appears that a fronted instrument may be indexed on the verb. However, the applied instrument may be the subject of a passive construction in Muna, just like the applied beneficiary. An example of indexing both the beneficiary and the patient is given in (179).7
(179) Muna, Instrument-selecting AC
a-k⟨um⟩adiu-ande-e
⟨irr⟩1sg-wash-appl:3pl.io-3sg.obj
‘I will wash them with it.’(van den Berg 2013: 180)
In Tolaki, the patterns are less clear. It appears that indexing of the instrument on the verb is generally acceptable only if it is a third person referent and a definite patient is also indexed on the verb. However, the applied instrument may only be the subject of a passive construction without any kind of indexing on the verb (Edwards 2012: 86).
In all three of these languages, when a definite patient is indexed on the verb in an instrumental AC, instead of the basic form of the applicative suffix, that is, ‑ako or ‑ghoo, a dative or indirect object pronominal index appears on the verb. This supports the analysis that these special indexes are functionally equivalent to the applicative suffix plus a following pronominal index for an object or absolutive argument. Definiteness of the instrument does not trigger a shift in verbal morphology, though definiteness of the patient does.
In languages with instrumental ACs, it is not reported whether the instrument applied phrase has a special pragmatic status. However, in Sundanese, I find that the instrumental AC is preferred over the BC if the instrument represents salient or unexpected information; this is especially the case in pv, where the instrument applied phrase is the pivot.
76.2 Theme-Selecting ACs
Of the 24 languages of the sample, 23 show theme-selecting ACs. In such constructions, the applied argument is an entity which changes location in a directed motion event. In almost all cases, the AM that marks theme-selecting ACs also marks instrument- and beneficiary-selecting ACs. Nias, which has neither beneficiary- nor instrument-selecting ACs, is an exception.8 Theme applied phrases are found in only a limited number of examples in Nias, Yakan, Kendayan, Ampenan Sasak, Behoa, and Duri (however, see the discussion below in § 79, where the product of a bodily function verb may be considered a theme). Tolaki does not appear to show theme-selecting ACs.
As mentioned above, instrument applied phrases in these languages often share semantic similarities with themes, as instruments used for chopping, hitting, and similar events are directed into motion by an agent (see also Kroeger 2007). This is not necessarily true for all bases, however; with base verbs like ‘buy’, the instrument applied phrase in an AC (typically some type of currency) is not necessarily in motion. This is even more the case for instrument-selecting ACs that allow a mechanical instrument to be the applied phrase, e.g. Muna tampoli-ghoo ‘to sew with (e.g. hand, sewing machine)’.
In the languages of the sample, we find various types of constructions in which AM-marking coincides with a theme applied phrase. These are discussed in turn below according to properties of the base verb.
First, theme applied phrases are found in ACs with transitive bases that describe an event of directed motion, e.g. ‘to pelt/throw (at)’, ‘to spray (at)’, ‘to shoot (at)’. In corresponding BCs, the P argument is a goal, while the theme is coded an as oblique phrase if expressed. ACs of this type select a theme as the applied phrase, show monotransitive clausal structure, and are considered remapping, with the companion phrase expressed as an oblique PP. In the example from West Coast Bajau in (180), an instrument-selecting AC is shown with the verb seput ‘spray’. In the BC in (180a), the P argument is the semantic goal, using e ‘the cat’, and no theme argument is expressed. In the AC in (180b), the theme applied phrase, dalit ‘venom’, is encoded as an unmarked NP and represents the pivot (a core argument). The goal companion phrase ta’ using e ‘at the cat’, is expressed as an oblique PP marked with the locative preposition ta’.
(180) West Coast Bajau, Theme-selecting AC
a.
Using
e
ai
seput
soo
dilaw.
cat
dem
pfv
[pv]spray
snake
yesterday
‘A snake sprayed the cat (with venom) yesterday.’ (BC)
b.
Ai
seput-an
soo
dalit
ta’
using
e
pfv
[pv]spray-thm.appl
snake
venom
loc
cat
dem
‘A snake sprayed venom at the cat.’ (AC)(Miller 2007: 290)
A similar alternation is described in Toba Batak by Van der Tuuk (1971 [1864–1867]: 104) for the verbs mamodil ‘to shoot with a gun (av)’ and mangultop ‘to shoot with a blowpipe (av)’. With these verbs, the goal in a BC (i.e. the target of the shot) is the P argument. When the same verb root is marked with the AM suffix ‑hon, a theme applied phrase may be selected. Thus, the P argument of “mamodilhon is the bullet or that which acts as such, as, for example, inal [‘wooden rod for shooting at birds’]”, and the P argument of “mangultoppon is the arrow (nakkat)” (van der Tuuk 1971 [1864–1867]: 104). Alternately, the applied phrase with these same verbs when suffixed with ‑hon may be the instrument, i.e. a blowpipe and gun, respectively. The companion phrase in these ACs is the goal, which is encoded as a PP, if expressed.
Second, theme applied phrases are found in ACs with base verbs that describe an act of locomotion. Such ACs are found in Toba Batak, West Coast Bajau, Pendau, Mori Bawah, Makasar, and Bugis. In Mori Bawah, these are formed with the applicative suffix ‑Cako, while beneficiary- and instrument-selecting constructions are formed with ‑ako, though the two are almost certainly related historically. In addition, in a number of languages besides those mentioned above, similar constructions are attested with the verb meaning ‘to run, to flee’, though not necessarily with other locomotion verbs. Examples of theme-selecting constructions with ‘run’ were found in Yakan, South Barisan Malay, Indonesian, Javanese, Balinese, Ampenan Sasak, and Behoa, among others. In theme-selecting ACs with locomotion base verbs, the theme shows semantic similarities to a comitative participant or causand. The base verb in such ACs may be intransitive or transitive.
With bases representing intransitive locomotion verbs, a theme-selecting AC is monotransitive, with the theme applied phrase showing core encoding. For example, in Toba Batak, the verb meaning ‘fly’ is habang. When marked with the AM ‑hon and the av prefix maN‑, the resulting stem makkabakkon means ‘to fly away with (s.t.)’, and it selects as a core argument the entity that is flown with (van der Tuuk 1971 [1864–1867]: 1977). An example from Behoa is shown in (181) with the verb langka ‘to run’. In such examples, the A argument in the AC is an instigating causer; thus this type of construction may be considered both causative and applicative.
(181) Behoa, Theme-selecting AC
a.
Ahung=ku’
me-langka
mai
pe=mo’
na-nóntóhi.
dog=1sg.poss
av-run
come
just=1sg.abs.cmpl
3sg.erg-head.for
‘My dog ran straight away towards me.’ (BC)
b.
Mam-pe-langka-ha=ko’
áná’=ku’
nodo=he’
to
ra-tawani.
av-tr-run-thm.appl=2sg.abs
children=1sg.poss
like=3pl.abs
rel
3pl.erg-capture
‘You ran off with my children as if they were captives.’ (AC)(“langka”, Shore 2016, glosses added)
With bases representing transitive locomotion verbs, theme-selecting ACs are generally monotransitive and show remapping, with the theme applied phrase encoded as core and the companion phrase (goal or path) expressed as an oblique PP. Examples are given from West Coast Bajau in (182) and (183).
(182) West Coast Bajau, Theme-selecting AC
a.
Aku
boi
n-(s)embet
Azizy
engko’
surat.
1sg
cmpl
av-chase
A.
with
letter
‘I chased Azizy with the letter.’
b.
Aku
boi
n-(s)embet-en
surat
e
ta’
Azizy.
1sg
cmpl
av-chase-thm.appl
letter
dem
loc
A.
‘I rushed the letter to Azizy.’(Miller 2007: 238)
(183) West Coast Bajau, Theme-selecting AC
a.
Ai
keta
Pirik
suang
e.
perf
[pv]cross
P.
river
dem
‘Pirik crossed the river.’
b.
Ai
keta-an
Pirik
using
e
pe
dembila’
suang.
perf
[pv]cross-thm.appl
P.
cat
dem
to.there
across
river
‘Pirik carried the cat across the river.’(Miller 2007: 237)
In (182b) the applied phrase, surat e ‘the letter’, again is semantically similar to a comitative participant or causand. The sentence in (182b) could be paraphrased as ‘I chased Azizy with the letter’ or ‘I caused the letter to chase Azizy.’ In (183b), the applied phrase, using e ‘the cat’, is likewise semantically similar to a comitative participant or causand. Here, the agent crosses the river while carrying the cat, thus causing the cat to also cross the river.
Third, theme-selecting AMs are also found on base verbs that normally select a theme as the P argument without any applicative marking. In AM-marked clauses with such verbs, there is no change in the semantic role selected as P compared to corresponding BCs, however there is usually a semantic emphasis on the act of directed motion. This type of theme-selecting construction is found with certain verbs of transfer in Sundanese, West Coast Bajau, Toba Batak, and Makasar, among others, e.g. ‘to send/send to’, ‘to give’, ‘to push’. For instance, with the Sundanese verb surung ‘push’, both the unsuffixed form and the form marked with ‑keun take a theme as P. However, the verb bearing the suffix ‑keun is only used when the event of pushing described is an act of directed motion towards a goal. Consider the example in (184).
(184) Sundanese, Directed motion construction with ‑keun
a.
Keur
abi
ulin
ka
lapang,
aya
Pak
Haji
keur
ny-(s)urung
roda.
while
1sg
play
to
field,
exist
mister
Haji
while
av-push
cart
‘When I was playing at the field, Pak Haji was there pushing his cart.’
b.
Udi
tos
ny-(s)urung-keun
mobil
ka
imah.
U.
already
av-push-thm.appl
car
to
house
‘Udi is done pushing the car to the house (i.e. it is now at the house).’(CT1-027)
In (184a), the verb nyurung shows no applicative marking, and is used in this context because the event of pushing described does not direct the theme towards an identifiable and salient endpoint.9 In (184b), the same verb is used with the AM ‑keun. In this context, nyurungkeun is used because the event describes an act of directed motion. When the completive marker tos is used with this verb, the clause entails that the theme has already undergone the change in location described by the goal phrase. Van der Tuuk (1971 [1864–1867]: 104) discusses a similar use of the theme-selecting AM ‑hon with the Toba Batak verb tongos ‘to send’. This verb may take a theme (e.g. sorat ‘letter’) as a core argument without any AM-marking, but the form marked with ‑hon is preferred if directed motion is emphasized, and when a recipient or goal “is either stated or in the mind of the speaker.”
Verbs of bodily function are also found in AM-marked constructions that may be considered theme-selecting ACs (see § 79 below).
77 Goals and Locations
77.1 Distribution and General Properties
In most languages of the sample, the AM that selects goals and locations differs from that which selects the semantic roles discussed thus far (i.e. beneficiaries, instruments, and themes). Exceptions are West Coast Bajau, Yakan, and Ampenan Sasak, all of which have a single applicative suffix ‑an. In Mori Bawah, locative- and goal-selecting ACs are marked with both the suffix ‑Ci and the suffix ‑Cari. Locative‑/goal-selecting ACs are found in almost all the languages of the sample, however, Tolaki does not appear to have this type of AC.
Locative- and goal-selecting ACs typically occur on both intransitive and transitive bases in the languages of the sample. In Makasar, the locative-/goal-selecting AM ‑i appears to be compatible only with intransitive bases, though Jukes (2020) does not address this point explicitly. Intransitive bases commonly found in locative‑/goal-selecting ACs include locomotion verbs (e.g. ‘swim’, ‘jump’, ‘run’), posture verbs (e.g. ‘sit’, ‘stand’, ‘sleep’), and bodily function verbs (e.g. ‘cough’, ‘vomit’). In Muna, only a small number of transitive bases may be suffixed with ‑Ci, and the resulting verbs often have idiosyncratic meanings rather than meanings consistent with a locative- or goal-selecting applicative (van den Berg 2013: 292–293). For languages other than Makasar and Muna, transitive verbs commonly used as a base in such constructions include ‘put’, ‘pour’, ‘plant’, ‘teach’, and ‘pay’. Consider the examples from West Coast Bajau in (185)–(186).10
(185) West Coast Bajau, Locative-selecting AC
a.
Sesok
e
ai
pe-rekot
ta’
jing.
house.lizard
dem
pfv
intr-stick
loc
zinc
‘The house lizard has stuck to the zinc.’ (BC)
b.
Ai
rekot-on
sesok
jing
e.
pfv
[pv]stick-loc.appl
house.lizard
zinc
dem
‘The house lizard has stuck to the zinc.’ (AC)(Miller 2007: 283)
(186) West Coast Bajau, Goal-selecting AC
a.
Ai
enna’(‑an)=ni
gula’
diam
kupi’.
pfv
[pv]place-loc.appl=3sg.npiv
sugar
inside
coffee
‘(S)he put sugar in the coffee.’ (BC)
b.
Ai
enna’-an=ni
kupi’
e
gula’.
pfv
[pv]place-loc.appl=3sg.npiv
coffee
dem
sugar
‘(S)he put sugar in the coffee.’ (AC)(Miller 2007: 285, slightly modified)
In these examples, the locative role in (185) and the goal role in (186) are expressed in oblique PPs in BCs. In ACs marked with ‑an, these roles are selected as the applied phrase and encoded as unmarked core arguments. In West Coast Bajau, locative- and goal-selecting ACs are consistently valency-increasing. In Nasal, an increase in transitivity is observed when the applicative suffix ‑i attaches to intransitive bases and a limited number of transitive bases. Compare the examples of the transitive base ajakh ‘teach’ in (187) to the transitive base takhuk ‘plant’ in (188).
(187) Nasal, Goal-selecting AC, valency-increasing with ‘teach’
a.
yo
agi
ng-ajakh
baso
Nasal
khan
anak=ku.
3sg
prog
av-teach
language
Nasal
with
child=1sg.poss
‘I am teaching Nasal to my child.’ (BC)
b.
yo
agi
ng-ajakh-i
anak=ku
baso
Nasal.
3sg
prog
av-teach-loc.appl
child=1sg.poss
language
Nasal
‘I am teaching my child Nasal.’ (AC)(McDonnell fieldnotes)
(188) Nasal, Locative-selecting AC, remapping with ‘plant’
a.
be-bibai-an
n-(t)akhuk
jagung
di
sawah.
distr-woman-distr
av-plant
corn
loc
rice.paddy
‘The women planted corn in the rice paddy.’ (BC)
b.
be-bibai-an
n-(t)akhuk-i
sawah
khan
jagung.
distr-woman-distr
av-plant-loc.appl
rice.paddy
with
corn
‘The women planted corn in the rice paddy.’ (AC)(McDonnell fieldnotes)
In the BC in (187a), the information that is transmitted (i.e. what is being taught) is expressed as the P argument, while the goal/recipient phrase (i.e. the person being taught) is expressed as an oblique PP. In the AC in (188b), both the goal and the companion phrase are unmarked, showing that the AC is ditransitive. In the BC in (188a), the theme is expressed as an unmarked core argument (P) and the location phrase is encoded as an oblique PP. In the AC in (188b), the location is expressed as an unmarked core argument while the theme companion phrase is expressed as an oblique PP; this AC is monotransitive. Thus, whether a locative‑/goal-selecting AC in Nasal is valency-increasing is in part lexically determined.
Locative- and goal-selecting ACs in Sundanese, Indonesian, South Barisan Malay, Javanese, Balantak, and Yakan are similar to those in Nasal. Some transitive bases show ditransitive structures in such ACs, while others show remapping. Other languages, such as Bugis, Balinese, Ampenan Sasak, Mori Bawah, and Madurese, appear to behave like West Coast Bajau in consistently allowing ditransitive locative‑/goal-selecting ACs with transitive bases. It is not clear how transitive bases pattern when suffixed with a locative-/goal-selecting AM in some languages of the sample, including Kendayan, Toba Batak, Ledo Kaili, Tukang Besi, and Behoa.
77.2 Locative‑ and Goal-Selecting ACs with Special Properties
Like West Coast Bajau, in Pendau all goal-selecting ACs show an increase in the value of syntactic transitivity compared to corresponding BCs. However, in locative-selecting ACs, the Pendau AM ‑i is only found to increase the transitivity of transitive bases when it co-occurs with a stem-former prefix, as mentioned in § 56.3.4. Locative-selecting ACs like that shown in (189) require both the stem-former and the AM ‑i to be used on the verb.
(189) Pendau, Locative applied phrase with stem-former
a.
bau
uo
ni-alap
ni=kai
ri=payangan.
fish
yonder
pv.rls-take
pn=grandfather
loc=boat
‘The grandfather took the fish in the boat.’ (BC)
b.
payangan
ni-pong-alap-i
ni=kai
bau
uo
boat
pv.rls-sf.tr-take-loc.appl
pn=grandfather
fish
yonder
‘The grandfather took the fish in the boat.’ (AC)(Quick 2007: 301)
Pendau locative-selecting ACs are also exceptional in that the applied phrase in such constructions may alternately be expressed as a PP (rather than an unmarked NP). According to Quick (2007: 300), the locative applied phrase can even be the pivot when it is a PP, as shown by its preverbal position in example (190).
(190) Pendau, Locative applied phrase in PP
Ribongkarongo’u
niponyoputi’u.
ri=bongkarong=’u
ni-pong-soput-i=’u
loc=hut=1sg.gen
pv.rls-sf-shoot-loc.appl=1sg.gen
‘I shot (it) at/beside my hut.’ (AC)(Quick 2007: 300)
77.3 Addressees and Recipients Marked like Goals
In some languages, the AM that marks locative‑/goal-selecting ACs is also observed in constructions where the applied phrase is an animate entity rather than a location per se. In such cases, the applied phrase may have the role of addressee or recipient.
77.3.1 Addressee-Selecting ACs
Addressee-selecting ACs are found with same AM used in locative- and goal-selecting ACs in 15 languages of the sample with more than one AM, and in three languages with only one AM (Yakan, West Coast Bajau, and Ampenan Sasak). An example of an addressee-selecting AC is given in (191) below from West Coast Bajau.
(191) West Coast Bajau, Addressee applied phrase
a.
“Buat-in
do’
aku
bue’
susu,
too’
bana
kelong=ku
tu,”
bara’=ni
m-aku.
make-pv.imp
emph
1sg
water
milk
dry
very
throat=1sg.poss
dem
[pv]tell=3sg.npiv
loc-1sg
‘ “Make me some milk, I am very thirsty,” she said to me.’ (BC)
b.
Bila
teko
me-ruma’
bara-an=ni
emma’=ni
uun
jomo
mu’
lawa’
bana.
when
arrive
loc-house
[pv]tell-loc.appl=3sg.npiv
father=3sg.poss
exist
person
there
beautiful
very
‘When she arrived home, she told her father that there was a very handsome man there.’ (AC)(Miller 2007: 286)
The base in this type of addressee-selecting AC is generally a communication verb, or verb of speaking. Some examples include Nias fa-hede-si ‘to greet s.o.’ cf. fe-hede ‘to say a greeting’, Indonesian men-cerita-i ‘to tell to s.o.’, cf. ber-cerita, ‘to tell a story’, and Muna podea-ghi ‘to shout at s.o.’ cf. podea ‘to shout’.
In some instances, when a communicative verb bears the AM, this stem has a specific, lexicalized meaning in addition to indicating that the applied phrase is an addressee. For example, Indonesian meng-(k)ata-i means ‘to scold s.o.’ or ‘to speak badly of s.o.’ (cf. ber-kata ‘to say’). In Balantak, mam-bantil-i means ‘to advise, instruct, admonish or reprimand s.o.’, or ‘to invite (s.o.) to an event’ cf. (mem-bantil-kon, ‘to inform, tell s.o.’). The Sundanese verb omong-an (cf. omong ‘to speak’) similarly means ‘to scold or advise s.o’.
However, note that addressee-selecting ACs can also be marked with the AM that marks selection of beneficiaries, instruments, and themes as the applied phrase, to the exclusion of the AM that marks selection of locative and goal roles. Some examples include Behoa mo-uli’á ‘to speak to s.o./s.t.’ (cf. mang-uli’ ‘to say’), and Duri kua-n ‘to say to s.o.’ (cf. kua ‘to say’). Addressee-selecting ACs of this type are less commonly observed than those formed with the locative- and goal-selecting applicative suffix, though of course, in languages with only one AM, it is not possible to make such a distinction.
77.3.2 Recipient-Selecting ACs
In some languages with multiple AMs, the locative-/goal-selecting AM is found on the verb in constructions where the applied phrase is a recipient. This can occur with verbs that take either a location applied phrase (inanimate goal endpoint) or a recipient applied phrase (animate recipient endpoint), as with the verbs meaning ‘to send’ or ‘to carry’. In other cases, it occurs with verbs that do not generally show an inanimate goal as a possible core argument, such as the verb meaning ‘to sell’, ‘to serve’, or ‘to give’. Some examples are shown below.
(192) Javanese, Recipient-selecting AC with ‑i
a.
aku
nguwéh-aké
buku
menyang
Laura
1sg
av.give-thm.appl
book
to
L.
‘I gave a book to Laura.’ (Theme-selecting AC)
b.
aku
nguwéh-i
Laura
buku
1sg
av.give-loc.appl
L.
book
‘I gave Laura a book.’ (Recipient-selecting AC)(Hemmings 2013: 173)
(193) Indonesian, Recipient-selecting AC with ‑i
a.
Ayah
meng-(k)irim(‑kan)
uang
kepada
saya
father
av-send-thm.appl
money
to
1sg
‘Father sent money to me.’ (Theme-selecting AC)
b.
Ayah
meng-(k)irim-i
saya
uang
father
av-send-loc.appl
1sg
money
‘Father sent me money.’ (Recipient-selecting AC)(Arka 1993: 94–94)
(194) Balantak, Recipient-selecting AC with ‑i
a.
… kasi
ni-tarop-kon
a
wala’on
i-ya’a
na
sawe.’
then
pv.rls-serve-thm.appl
art
boiled.water
deic-dem
loc
guest
‘Then the hot drinks were served to the guests.’ (Theme-selecting AC)
b.
Tempo
man-tarop-i
suo’
men
u’uru
i-ya’a
tia
wala’on
time
av-serve-loc.appl
family
rel
new
deic-dem
with
boiled.water
‘When they serve the bride and the groom (lit. the new family) a hot drink’ (Recipient-selecting AC)(van den Berg & Busenitz 2012: 107)
Note that in these cases an alternation between the theme-selecting AM and the goal-selecting AM is often observed. Thus it appears that in these cases, a recipient applied phrase is treated like a goal. This type of recipient-selecting AC is fairly limited in the languages of the sample and usually is found only with a small number of base verbs. In comparison, constructions marked with beneficiary-selecting AMs are much more commonly observed with recipient applied phrases; such ACs are found across a much larger number of languages and with a much larger set of base verbs.
78 Circumstantial and Comitative Roles
In a relatively small number of languages of the sample, the applied phrase in an AC may be a circumstantial role, such as a reason, or purpose. Such constructions are found in Toba Batak, Balantak, Mori Bawah, Tolaki, Muna, and Tukang Besi, as well as in a limited number of examples in Pendau. With the exception of Toba Batak, all of these are languages of Sulawesi. The base verb in such a construction may typically be either intransitive or transitive. Some examples are given below.
(195) Muna, Circumstantial-selecting AC
dadi
a-laga
ta-sendai
na-mate-ghoo
ka-gharo
so
art-ant
just-little
3sg.irr-die-circ.appl
nmlz-hungry
‘so in a little while Ant will die of hunger.’ (Reason-selecting AC)(van den Berg 2013: 183)
(196) Mori Bawah, Circumstantial-selecting AC
Aku
h⟨um⟩uku-akomu
ponako-mu
1sg.fut
⟨part⟩punish-circ.appl:2sg.abs
steal-2sg.poss
‘I will punish you on account of your thievery’ (Reason-selecting AC)(Mead 2005: 704)
(197) Tukang Besi, Circumstantial-selecting AC
No-lea-ako
te
langke-a-no
te
kaitela
3.rls-load-circ.appl
core
sail-nmlz-3.poss
core
corn
‘They loaded the corn for the voyage.’ (Purpose-selecting AC)(Donohue 1999: 240)
As shown in these examples, the applied phrase in circumstantial-selecting ACs may be realized with core encoding. With transitive bases, it appears that the AC may be ditransitive. In Mori Bawah, Mead (2005: 704) specifies that it is the companion phrase, e.g. patient, which is indexed on the verb in the AC, rather than the applied phrase. Donohue (1999: 238–242) notes that in Tukang Besi, reason and purpose applied phrases in ACs show restricted access to syntactic operations compared to P arguments in base clauses, or other types of applied phrases. Neither may head an object relative clause, and purpose applied phrases are never indexed on the verb. In other languages of the sample, details about the argument structure and patterns of indexing for circumstantial-selecting ACs are not clear.
The only language of the sample with a productive comitative AC is Tukang Besi, in which such constructions are marked with the applicative suffix ‑ngkene. In Tukang Besi, a comitative applied phrase “is an equal and voluntary participant in the action indicated by the verb, but is viewed by the speaker as of secondary importance” (Donohue 1999: 228) when compared to the A argument. Comitative ACs are found with both intransitive and transitive bases in Tukang Besi. In the latter type, the applied phrase may not become the pivot of a passive clause, though it may in the former. Some examples of comitative ACs are given below. As seen in (198a), a related verb kene ‘to accompany’ can be used in a serial verb construction with a similar meaning to a comitative AC, which is shown in (198b).
(198) Tukang Besi, Comitative AC
a.
No-wila
no-kene
ta
ina-no
3.rls-go
3.rls-accompany
core
mother.3.poss
‘She went, accompanying her mother.’ (Serial verb construction)
b.
No-wila-ngkene
te
ina-no.
3.rls-go-com.appl
core
mother-3.poss
‘She went with her mother.’ (Comitative AC)(Donohue 1999: 200)
(199) Tukang Besi, Comitative AC
No-homoru-ngkene
te
kene-no
te
wurai
na
ompu-su.
3.rls-weave-com.appl
core
friend-3sg.poss
core
sarang
nom
grandparent-1sg.poss
‘My grandmother wove a sarong with her friend.’(Donohue 1999: 229)
Besides such constructions in Tukang Besi, a few other AM-marked constructions that select arguments similar to accompaniments or accompaniers are found in languages of the sample. However, these typically occur only with a very limited set of bases. Examples include Ledo Kaili ra-kande-ka ‘to be eaten with (s.t.), of side dishes’ from kande ‘to eat’ (D. Evans 2003: 72) and the similar applicative verb fumaa-ghoo ‘to eat with’ in Muna (van den Berg 2013: 123).
Otherwise applied phrases that appear to have a role of accompaniment or accompanier in ACs are mostly limited to bases expressing locomotion, e.g. ‘to run off with’, ‘to cross over with’, as discussed for theme-selecting ACs in § 76.2 above. I have treated these as theme roles though they are sometimes called accompaniers; note that in such constructions the applied phrase does not generally represent a voluntary participant in the event expressed, unlike the comitative participant in Tukang Besi ACs with ‑ngkene.
79 Other Applied Phrases
When AMs attach to intransitive bases, they often select—or license—a P argument that takes on various semantic roles. Such transitivizing ACs are found in all languages of the sample. In many cases, there is no clear monoclausal BC equivalent. To express the same semantic role in a BC, a subordinate clause or parallel clause often must be used.
79.1 Content-Selecting ACs
With bases that describe acts of speaking or cognition, an AC commonly selects a content applied phrase that is realized as the P argument. The referent of the applied phrase may be a topic, a proposition, or reported speech. An example is given from Ledo Kaili with the base jarita ‘story; talk’ in (200) below.
(200) Ledo Kaili, Content-selecting AC
a.
No-jarita=mo
madika,
nomba-ovo
susa
po-boti
nu
ana=na
nte
i
Latadaga.
av-talk=cmpl
king
av-set.date
feast
nmlz-marry
rel
child=3sg
with
pn
L.
‘The king spoke, setting the date for his daughter’s wedding with Latadaga.’ (BC)(D. Evans 2003: 149, glosses added)
b.
I
Mantari
nomba-jarita-i
kareba
ni-epe=na
ri
tona
pangane
pn
M.
av-talk-cont.appl
news
pass-hear=3sg
from
person
earlier
‘Mantari told the news he heard from a person earlier.’ (AC)(D. Evans 2003: 62, glosses added)
This example shows one common type of content-selecting AC formed with the base meaning ‘to tell (a story)’. This construction is also found in Kendayan, where ba-curità means ‘to tell (intr.)’ but ny-(c)urità-ʔàtn means ‘to tell (s.t.)’, and Sundanese, i.e. ny-(c)arita ‘to tell a story’ cf. ny-(c)arita-keun ‘to tell (s.t.), to tell about (s.t.)’. Similar applicative verbs are found in Indonesian, South Barisan Malay, Javanese, Ampenan Sasak, and Makasar, among other languages.
Other examples of content-selecting ACs with verbs of communication include Sundanese ny-(c)arios-keun ‘to talk about’, Toba Batak mang-hata-hon ‘to talk about’ from hata ‘word, talk’ (see Schachter 1984: 103), Ledo Kaili nang-oe-ka or nang-koe-ki ‘to boast about s.t.’ from nang-oe ‘to boast’ (D. Evans 2003), Muna po-kamunti-ghoo ‘to whisper about’ from po-kamunti ‘to whisper (to one another)’, and Mori Bawah pesikeno-ako ‘to ask about s.t.’ from pesikeno ‘to pose a question’. With verbs of cognition, content-selecting ACs are found with Ampenan Sasak pikir-an ‘to think about’ from pikir ‘to think’ (Khairunnisa & McDonnell in prep) and Sundanese ng-impi-keun ‘to dream about, aspire for’ from ng-impi, ‘to dream, dream of’.
79.2 Stimulus-Selecting ACs
With verbs describing emotional states or responses, ACs commonly select a stimulus (or target) applied phrase that is realized as the P argument. These ACs are found with at least one AM in all 24 languages of the sample. In corresponding BCs in these languages, the stimulus usually may be realized as an oblique PP, but in some cases there is no monoclausal equivalent to the AC. Examples from Kendayan (201) and Ampenan Sasak (202) are given below.
(201) Kendayan, Stimulus-selecting AC
a.
Berà
sidi
ià
ka
Neʔ
Kulup.
angry
very
3
loc
pn
K.
‘He was extremely angry at Kulup.’ (BC)(Adelaar 2005b: 92)
b.
Tarutama
bapaʔ=e
karas
sidi
m-(b)era-iʔ
ià …
especially
father=3.poss
hard
very
av-angry-appl
3
‘Especially his father got very angry at him …’ (AC)(Adelaar 2005b: 86)
(202) Ampenan Sasak, Stimulus-selecting AC
a.
Ie
takut.
3sg
afraid
‘(S)he is afraid.’ (BC)
b.
Ie
takut-an
berarak.
3sg
afraid-appl
spider
‘(S)he is afraid of spiders.’ (AC)(Khairunnisa & McDonnell in prep)
(203) Behoa, Stimulus-selecting AC
a.
Demi
mo-pa-láli’
bona
ti’ara
ma-tawa.
D.
av-caus-forget
in.order.to
neg
intr-laugh.
‘Demi thought about something else so he would not laugh.’ (BC)(“láli”, Shore 2016, glosses added)
b.
Mo-pa-tawa-i=a’
Susan.
av-caus-laugh-stim.appl=1sg.abs
S.
‘I laughed at Susan.’ (AC)(“mopatawai”, Shore 2016, glosses added)
In the Behoa example in (203), the verb in the AC takes both the AM ‑i and the causative prefix pa‑. The use of prefixes alongside AM suffixes in constructions of this type is found in several other languages of the sample. In Toba Batak, base verbs expressing emotional states take the fossilized prefix ha‑ in addition to the AM suffix ‑i. For example, the root tahut ‘afraid’ shows the base verb form ma-tahut ‘to be afraid’ and the AM-marked verb form mak-ka-tahut-i ‘to be afraid of (s.t.)’ (van der Tuuk 1971 [1864–1867]: 134). Similar verbs of emotion in Madurese take the non-volitional prefix ka‑ in addition to the AM ‑i in pv constructions (Davies 2010: 293–294). In Sundanese, the prefix CVng‑ (partial reduplication) is found on some stimulus-selecting ACs. This prefix also indicates greater intensity, as in (204) below, repeated from (70).
(204) Sundanese, Stimulus-selecting AC
a.
Mariam
ceurik
lantaran
indung=na
maot.
M.
cry
because
mother=3
die
‘Mariam cried because her mother died.’ (BC)
b.
Mariam
ny-(c)eung-ceurik-an
indung=na.
M.
av-rdp-cry-appl
mother=3
‘Mariam cried intensely about her mother.’ (AC)(CT1-006, based on Hanafi 1997: 22)
AM-marking is also found on stimulus-selecting ACs with intransitive perception verbs as bases. In Toba Batak, the intransitive verb marnangi means ‘to have ears, to be able to hear’, while the same root marked with ‑hon in av is manangikan meaning ‘to hear (s.t.), to listen to (s.t.)’ (van der Tuuk 1971 [1864–1867]: 101). Van der Tuuk (1971 [1864–1867]) writes that the applied phrase of manangihon “is something to/for which one listens in order to catch it, either a distant sound, or a word towards which one directs one’s hearing” (101). See § 710 below for discussion of AM-marking used with an intensifying effect on transitive base verbs of perception.
79.3 ACs with Verbs of Bodily Function
In many, but not all, languages of the sample, an AM marks selection of a P argument with intransitive base verbs describing bodily processes. Examples include Muna no-hoda-ghoo ‘to cough up (s.t.)’ from hoda ‘to cough’, Nias uta-’ö ‘to throw up (s.t.)’ from m-uta ‘to vomit’, and Makasar na-ta’-me-áng=i cera’ ‘he is pissing blood’ cf. at-ta’-mea=i ‘he is urinating’. In such cases the applied phrase may be considered a type of theme, though they are not always categorized as such in descriptive accounts. Jukes (2020: 312–314) for example, considers the applied phrase in such examples to be a type of “inherent patient”. Examples of this type are also found in Toba Batak, Ledo Kaili, and Javanese. An example of an intransitive BC and a transitive AC with a bodily function verb is given below.
(205) Sundanese, AC with bodily function verb
a.
Icih
utah.
I.
vomit
‘Icih vomited.’ (BC)
b.
Icih
ng-utah-keun
udang=na
I.
av-vomit-thm.appl
shrimp=def
‘Icih vomited up the shrimp.’ (AC)(FM4-046)
710 Aspect, Intensity and Other Semantic Effects
In the languages of the sample, AM-marking is often observed to be associated with a semantic difference in clausal meaning, such as a change in aspect, intensity, manner, or semantic characteristics of the P argument (see § 65.3).
The AMs that mark locative- and goal-selecting ACs are also commonly found to indicate repeated, iterative, habitual or pluractional aspect, and this may occur with or without a change in argument structure. This was discussed for the Sundanese AM ‑an in § 29.2. Aspectual functions of this type are also found with Toba Batak ‑i, Salako ‑iʔ, South Barisan Malay ‑i, Indonesian ‑i, Javanese ‑i, Nasal ‑i, Balantak ‑i, Mori Bawah ‑Ci, Muna ‑Ci, and Yakan ‑an. Makasar ‑i is also sometimes observed with similar effects, but this function is “most likely no longer productive” (Jukes 2020: 306). An example of a pluractional construction is given from Muna below with the locative/goal AM ‑Ci.11
(206) Muna, pluractional aspect with ‑Ci
a.
Sau
hae
ne-ala-mu
itua?
wood
what
pass.part-take-2sg
that-emph
‘What kind of wood did you take?’
b.
Ala-hi
kaeta
sau
itu,
owa-hi
kaeta
na
ini.
take-plur
2.pol
wood
that,
bring-plur
2.pol
to
here
‘Fetch all that wood over there, bring it here.’(“ala”, van den Berg & Marafad 2016, glosses added)
In a number of languages, AMs also function to indicate intensive or careful action. This occurs with transitive verbs of perception as in Kendayan nanang-an ‘to watch, to look at’ cf. nanang ‘to see’ (Adelaar 2005b). Similar constructions are found in Indonesian, e.g. me-lihat-i ‘to scrutinize, look at intently’ cf. me-lihat ‘to see’, and Kaili Ledo, e.g. ne-talinga-ni ‘to listen to s.t. on purpose, eavesdrop’ from talinga ‘ear’, cf. nang-epe ‘to hear s.t.’ (D. Evans 2003: 44, 228).
In other cases, the intensive function of AMs indicates application of greater than usual force. For instance, Toba Batak pasak means ‘beat’, and pasak-kon may mean ‘beat with s.t.’ (instrumental applicative function) or alternately, ‘do beat s.t.’ (intensive/emphatic function) (Nababan 1981: 70). In Mori Bawah, Mead (2005: 703) notes that ‑Cako can indicate that an action “is performed in a more intense or haphazard manner (without any change in valency of the predicate)”. Interestingly, ‑Cako also indicates that an action “is performed by a large number of people” (702) with some bases, but this appears to be fairly limited in productivity. In Tukang Besi, the applicative suffix ‑(VC)i indicates “forceful application” (Donohue 1999: 243), as in pepe-ki ‘slap forcefully’, and busu-ki ‘punch with forward fist’. An example from Javanese is given below with the AM ‑i, which can indicate intensity as well as intentional action.
(207) Javanese, Greater intensity with ‑i
a.
Charlotte
ng-rusah
lawag
C.
av-break
door
‘Charlotte broke the door’
b.
Charlotte
ng-rusak-i
lawang
C.
av-break-intens
door
‘Charlotte destroyed the door’(Hemmings 2013: 171)
In Sundanese, the theme-selecting AM ‑keun is also observed to have semantic effects including greater individuation or specificity of P. An example is shown below contrasting the base verb melak and the AM-marked verb melakkeun. Both mean ‘to plant’ and both select a theme role as the P argument. In (208a), melak is used when the planting of rice is described as a general activity. In (208b), melakkeun is used in when the clause describes a planting event with a more individuated referent for P. Here, P refers to rice seeds or seedlings which have been prepared by the farmer ahead of time, as already mentioned in first clause of (208b), preceding the use of melakkeun.
(208) Sundanese, Higher individuation of P
a.
M-(p)elak
paré
ayeuna
mah
di
sawah,
di-sebut=na
ny-(s)awah
av-plant
rice
now
prt
in
rice.field
pv-call=3
av-rice.field
‘Now planting rice in a paddy is called nyawah (making paddies).’
b.
Saméméh
m-(p)acul
ilaharna
patani
sok
sa-sadia-an
binih
paré
heula.
M-(p)elak-keun
binih
paré
(gabah)
di-sebut=na
tebar.
before
av-hoe
usually
farmer
go.ahead
rdp-ready-caus
seed
rice
first
av-plant-thm.appl
seed
rice
rice.grain
pv-call=3
seed.rice
‘Before tilling the ground usually the farmer prepares rice seeds first. Planting the rice seeds (grains of rice) is called tebar (seeding rice)’.(CT1-030, based on Kustian n.d.)
Specificity effects are also reported for the Javanese applicative suffix ‑i by Vander Klok & Evans (2022), though these effects appear to apply only with a limited set of bases.
(209) Javanese, Higher specificity of P
a.
Slamet
n-(t)ulis
(buku
anyer
/
*buku-ku
sing
anyer).
S.
av-write
book
new
/
book-1sg
rel
new
‘Slamet wrote a new book / *my new book.’
b.
Slamet
n-(t)ulis
(buku-ku
sing
anyer
/
*buku
anyer)
nganggo
tulis-an
warna-warna.
S.
av-write-loc.appl
book-1sg
rel
new
/
book
new
using
write-nmlz
rdp-color
‘Slamet wrote (my new book / *a new book) with colored writing.’(Vander Klok & Evans 2022, citing Sudaryanto 1991:61–62)
In Makasar, the verb sare ‘give’ is a ditransitive verb that selects three core arguments. As shown in (210a), when sare is used without any AM-marking, the theme is always indefinite, is not indexed on the verb, and is obligatory to mention. When the AM ‑ang is affixed to sare, as shown in (210b), the selection of semantic roles and indexing of arguments shows no change. There is, however, a semantic difference in that the theme must be definite in the AM-marked clause. In addition, the theme argument may be unexpressed when the verb is marked with ‑ang, which represents a change in its syntactic properties.
(210) Makasar, Change in definiteness of the theme
a.
La=ku=sare=ko
doe’
fut=1sg=give=2sg
money
‘I’ll give you some money.’
b.
La=ku=saré-ang=ko
doek=ku
fut=1sg=give-thm.appl=2sg
money=1.poss
‘I’ll give you my money.’(Jukes 2020: 254)
Certain clauses marked with the AM ‑an show similar semantic effects in West Coast Bajau. The AM ‑an is found on many monotransitive and ditransitive verbs in av without a change in argument structure compared to base forms. Miller (2007: 293) describes these alternations, stating “when the ‑an1 suffix does occur, a specific/referential argument and/or a particular event is involved.” This is similar to the use of Yakan ‑an as an obligatory suffix in the zero-marked pv constructions with certain bases; the suffix must be used for transitive clauses with definite P arguments. In corresponding semi-transitive or ‘antipassive’ constructions marked with mag‑, P is indefinite and ‑an is not required (but may be optionally present with some lexical verbs).
Finally, AM-marking is frequently associated with lexicalized changes in verbal meaning. As mentioned in § 25.1, the Sundanese verb béré means ‘to give’, while béré-keun means ‘to hand over’. In Balantak, mim-bibit means ‘to carry in the hand’, while mim-bibit-i means ‘to attach/make a carrying strap/rope on s.t.’ (van den Berg & Busenitz 2012: 105). For further examples and discussion of the semantic functions of AMs in West Nusantara languages see Truong & McDonnell (2022).
711 Causative AM-Marked Constructions
The use of AMs in forming causative constructions is quite common in languages of the sample, but not universally observed. In some languages of the sample, AMs are the primary markers for morphological causative constructions. This is the case in the three Malayic languages of the sample, as well as Nasal, Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, and Ampenan Sasak. In Nias, the prefix fa‑ should be considered primarily a causative morpheme, though it is found on a few constructions with applicative meanings, as described above.
In other languages, including Toba Batak, Madurese, Yakan, West Coast Bajau, and all 11 languages of Sulawesi represented in the sample, there is a separate causative prefix with the form pa‑, paka‑ or similar that forms morphological causative constructions. In 13 of the 15 such languages, these prefixes are the primary markers of causative constructions. In Madurese, both pa‑ and the AMs ‑agi and ‑e are productively used to form causative constructions. In Balantak, the AMs ‑i and ‑kon and causative prefixes po‑ and pa‑ are found to form causative constructions across bases according to patterns which are “lexically specific and somewhat idiosyncratic” (van den Berg & Busenitz 2012: 93–94). Even in languages where the causative prefixes are the primary markers of morphological causative constructions, AM-marked constructions in which an instigating causer is introduced may still be observed with certain lexical bases. Altogether, in 21 languages of the sample, one or more AMs forms causative constructions. In three languages, there is apparently no use of AMs to form causative constructions with any level of productivity. These are Muna, Tolaki, and Duri, all language of Sulawesi with productive causative prefixes.
An example of a causative AM-marked construction with a stative base is given below from Balantak with the locative applicative AM ‑i.
(211) Balantak, Causative function of ‑i with stative base
a.
Anak-ku
no-baloki’-mo.
child-1s
rls-big-pfv
‘My child is already big (now).’(van den Berg & Busenitz 2012: 68)
b.
Ia
mae’
na
Luwuk
mam-balaki’-i
poto-na
3sg
go
loc
Luwak
av-big-caus
photo-3sg
‘He went to Luwak to enlarge his photo.’ (Causative)(van den Berg & Busenitz 2012: 96)
With certain bases in Madurese, either the causative prefix pa‑ or an applicative suffix may be used to form a causative construction. This is shown with the AM ‑agi in the example below.
(212) Madurese, Causative constructions
a.
Mutmainah
m-(p)a-sossa
ca-kanca-na.
M.
av-caus-sad
rdp-friend-def
‘Mutmainah made her friends sad.’ (Causative)
b.
Mutmainah
ny-(s)ossa’-agi
ca-kanca-na
M.
av-sad-caus
rdp-friend-def
‘Mutmainah made her friends sad.’ (Causative)
The example below shows a causative AM-marked construction from Ampenan Sasak, with the dynamic intransitive verb kèlèp, ‘fly’.
(213) Ampenan Sasak, Causative function of ‑an
a.
Pesawat
nó
kèlèp.
plane
det
fly
‘The plane flew.’
b.
Pilòt
nó
kèlèp-an
pesawat.
pilot
det
fly-caus
plane
‘The pilot flew the plane.’(Khairunnisa & McDonnell in prep)
Note that in some causative AM-marked constructions formed with transitive bases, it is not the causee that maps to P, but the causand (e.g. patient or theme). An example is show below from Javanese with the AM ‑aké. Constructions of this type are also found in Indonesian, Sundanese, and Nasal.
(214) Javanese, Causative function of ‑aké with transitive base
a.
Bambang
gawe
dolanan
iku
kanggo
bocah
kae.
B.
make
toy
that
for
child
that
‘Bambang made that toy for that child.’(Vander Klok & Evans 2022, citing Suhandono 1994:53)
b.
Klambi-ne
di-gawè-kake
dening
gêrji.
shirt-3sg
pv-make-caus
by
tailor
‘He had his shirt made by a tailor.’(Horne 1974: 193, glosses added)
In languages with productive causative morphemes distinct from AMs, the two types of morphemes often may combine on the same verb. However, in certain languages, such as Pendau, it does not appear that causative prefixes freely combine with applicative suffixes.12
In Toba Batak, when certain transitive base verbs are marked with the prefix pa‑ and the suffix ‑hon, it does appear that ‑hon functions to select a theme applied phrase, while pa‑ introduces an instigating causer argument. Examples include pa-pahat-ton ‘to give (s.t.) to animals to eat’ from pahan ‘to eat’ and pa-djudjuk-kon ‘to give (s.t.) to someone to carry on the head’ from djudjung ‘to carry on one’s head’ (van der Tuuk 1971 [1864–1867]: 130). In certain other irregular causative verb forms, however, note that ‑hon is also required to be marked on stems formed with pa‑ in av only (see discussion of similar cases in § 65.2). These irregular causative stems are found with intransitive or stative base verbs. With such verbs, there is no clear selection of a peripheral role to map to a core argument, and thus no clear applicative function. For example, jóngjong means ‘to stand’, while pa-jóngjong means ‘to make to stand (up), pv’, but pa-jóngok-kon means ‘to make to stand (up), av’ (Nababan 1981: 103).
In Makasar, causative pa‑ combines with both the benefactive/instrumental AM suffix ‑ang and the locative/goal AM suffix ‑i. In some cases marking with the AM results in the selection of an additional definite argument, as with the verb kanre ‘eat’, which is shown in (215) below.
(215) Makasar, Causative pa‑ + AM ‑ang
a.
ku=pa-kanre=i
bembe
1=caus-eat=3
goat
‘I made/let him eat goat (meat).’(Jukes 2020: 290)
b.
ku=pa–kanre–ang=i
bembe=a
1=caus-eat-ben.appl=3
goat=def
‘I made/let him eat the goat.’(Jukes 2020: 296)
With other base verbs in Makasar, the functions of a co-occurring causative prefix and applicative suffix are not easy to distinguish clearly (see Jukes 2020: 295–297). A number of verbs, for example, bear both the prefix pi‑ and one or both of the applicative suffixes. The prefix pi‑ can function as a causative marker and also has other semantic functions. This prefix “derives forms with meanings like ‘(examine/inspect/listen) carefully or intently’ ” (Jukes 2020: 299) and in such cases may be found with or without concurrent AM-marking.
In some languages, the selection of a stimulus applied phrase with a base verb of perception or emotional state requires both an applicative suffix and another prefix. This was noted earlier for Toba Batak ha‑, a fossilized prefix of unclear function, and Sundanese CVng‑, an intensifier or simulfactive marker, as well as Makasar pi‑ above.
For languages of the sample in which the same AM shows both causative and applicative functions, the distribution of such functions across bases may be influenced by syntactic and semantic properties of the base lexeme, though certainly idiosyncratic and lexicalized patterns are also often reported. AM-marking on stative base verbs and most intransitive dynamic base verbs often results in only the introduction of an instigating causer argument. AM-marking with transitive bases, and intransitive bases of certain semantic subclasses (e.g. speech, perception, emotion as described above), commonly is associated with the selection of a peripheral role to map to a non-A argument in the clause (i.e., an applicative function). Additionally, on certain lexical bases, marking with a single AM may be associated with both the introduction of an instigating causer and the selection of an applied phrase that is not a causand. An example is given from Sundanese in (216).
(216) Sundanese, Portmanteau use of ‑an
a.
Cai
hujan
ng-(k)ucur=na
ka
solokan.
water
rain
av-flow=3
to
gutter
‘Rain water flows to the gutter.’
b.
Icih
ng-(k)ucur-keun
cai
kana
gelas.
I.
av-flow-caus.thm.appl
water
into
glass.
‘Icih poured water into a glass.’
c.
Gelas
di-kucur-an
cai
ku
Icih.
glass
pv-flow-caus.loc.appl
water
by
I.
‘The glass had water poured into it by Icih.’(CT1-023)
In example (216a), the base verb kucur ‘flow’ is shown to be intransitive without AM-marking. It bears the av prefix ng‑ but no applicative affix, and takes a single S argument, cai hujan ‘rain water’. In example (216b), the AM ‑keun forms a causative construction with kucur. Here the verb ng-(k)ucur-keun takes an A argument that is an instigating causer, Icih ‘personal name’, and a P argument that is a causand, cai ‘water’. However, in example (216c), when the AM ‑an occurs on the base verb kucur, the resulting clause shows both a causative and applicative meaning. The verb selects a goal applied phrase gelas ‘drinking cup’, which maps to the pivot argument in pv, while the causand cai ‘water’ is realized as a second non-A core argument appearing in postverbal position.
This type of construction is also possible with transitive bases, in which case the selection of a peripheral role as a non-A core argument may be more unexpected. Consider the following alternation from Sundanese with the verb injeum ‘to borrow’. In the BC in (217a), the A argument refers to the agent, i.e. borrower, while the P argument refers to the entity that is transferred in possession, i.e. the theme, or thing borrowed. In the AC in (217b), the A argument now refers to an instigating causer, who is not the borrower, but the entity who allows the borrowing to occur, i.e. the lender. In this case it must be a third-party lender, who is not the owner of the thing borrowed. Contra expectation, we do not see the borrower selected as the P argument in the AC in (217b), instead the theme remains the P argument (and represents the applied phrase), and the borrower is expressed in an oblique PP, ka Icih ‘to Icih’. This AC is similar in structure to the causative example in (214) above from Javanese with the AM ‑aké.
(217) Sundanese, Causative + Theme-selecting construction
a.
Icih
ng-injeum
duit
ka
abi.
I.
av-borrow
money
to
me
‘Icih borrowed money from me.’ (BC)(CT1-003)
b.
Duit
abi
di-injeum-keun
ka
Icih
ku
Ema.
money
1sg
pv-borrow-caus.thm.appl
to
I.
by
mother.
‘My money was lent out to Icih by Mother.’ (AC)(CT1-003)
Similar examples are found with recipient applied phrases, as in (218).
(218) Javanese, Causative + Recipient-selecting construction
a.
Buku-ne
tak
silih.
book-3.poss
1sg
borrow
‘I borrowed his book.’ (BC)
b.
Bocah=e
di-silih-i
sarung.
child=3
pv-borrow-caus.loc.appl
sarong
‘They lent the child a sarong.’ (AC)(Horne 1974: 554, glosses added)
However, such examples are not necessarily limited to verbs that express events of caused motion or transfer. Other verbs may acquire the meaning of caused motion or transfer when an applicative affix associated with that constructional meaning is affixed to a base. In the example below, the BC in (219a) describes a perception event in which there is no sense of movement of a theme. In the AC marked with ‑keun in (219b), however, the event described is both a caused perception event and a caused motion event. The A argument is understood as an instigating causer rather than a perceiver, and the applied phrase kaos kaki Udi ‘Udi’s socks’ is both a theme and a stimulus.
(219) Sundanese, Causative + Theme-selecting construction
a.
Abi
ng-ambeu
kue
haneut.
1sg
av-smell
cookie
warm
‘I smell warm cookies.’ (BC)
b.
Kaos
kaki
Udi
di-ambeu-keun
ka
adi=na.
clothing
foot
U.
pv-smell-caus.thm.appl
to
younger.sibling=3.poss
‘Udi forced his younger sibling to smell his socks (by moving them close to his/her face).’ (AC)(CT1-015)
These examples underscore that AM-marked constructions in these languages may have constructional meanings that are both causative and applicative. This is found even in languages with a separate causative morpheme, e.g. Balantak bolos-ii ‘to lend s.o. s.t’, from bolos ‘to borrow s.t.’, while Balantak also has the causative prefixes pa‑, and po‑ (van den Berg & Busenitz 2012). However, it appears that introduction of an instigating causer is limited to a very small number of bases with Balantak ‑ii.
712 Applicatives and Voice
In the languages of the sample, ACs typically freely co-occur across other major voice constructions including av, pv, and passive voice constructions. As reported in § 67.1, this is the norm in languages of West Nusantara. It is also evident from examples of ACs given above in this chapter, which frequently have been shown in both av and pv constructions. Even in languages that show reduced semantic transitivity in certain A-oriented constructions, ACs tend to combine freely with these clause types. As mentioned above, Makasar is one such language. ACs in Makasar freely combine with the semi-transitive prefix aN(N)‑ and another so-called actor focus prefix aN‑ (see Jukes 2020: 306). Examples were also given of ACs in the ‘antipassive’ construction in Mori Bawah in (166) and in what may be called semi-transitive clauses with the ae‑ class prefixes in Muna in (152). Likewise, in languages that have a passive construction, ACs generally freely occur with it, as in Ampenan Sasak, which is shown in (220). In the AC in (220b), the verb bears both the passive prefix te‑ and the AM suffix ‑an. The applied phrase, in this case a goal, is selected as the pivot argument when this is the case.
(220) Ampenan Sasak, Passive with goal-selecting AC
a.
Dengan
tólóq
babak
bajur
leq
ramuan.
people
put
bark
bajur
loc
potion
‘People put bajur tree bark in the potion.’ (BC)
b.
Ramuan
te-tólóq-an
babak
bajur
siq
dengan.
potion
pass-put-loc.appl
bark
bajur
by
people
‘The tree bark was added to the potion (lit. made thing) by people.’ (AC)(Khairunnisa & McDonnell in prep)
In terms of syntactic restrictions on co-occurrence of ACs with other major voice constructions, as discussed above in § 75.3 above, certain ditransitive ACs in Sundanese may occur in pv but usually not av. Likewise, in Pendau, goal ACs marked with ‑i and instrumental ACs marked with ‑a’ do not occur in av (see § 56.3.4). Quick (2007: 304–305) also mentions that a number of roots in Pendau require that the verb be marked with the locative/goal applicative ‑i in pv, as in (221a), whereas marking with the same AM does not occur in av, as in (221b). With the same root, omitting the AM ‑i in pv or including it in av is ungrammatical.
(221) Pendau, pv construction requiring -i
a.
Palan
roguntuninyo.
palan
ro-guntung-i=nyo
lamp
pv.irr-light-loc.appl=3sg.gen
‘He/she will light the lamp.’
b.
A’u
mo-guntung
palan.
a’u
M-pong-guntung
palan
1sg
av.irr-sf-light
lamp.
‘I will light the lamp.’(Quick 2007: 304)
Similar restriction are reported by Miller (2007: 192–193) for West Coast Bajau and Brainard & Behrens (2002) for Yakan, where AM-marking with ‑an is required on some roots in pv but optional in av. This type of restriction may be related to a general tendency for pv constructions to show higher semantic transitivity, and greater individuation or affectedness for the P argument (and thus the applied phrase in ACs). Thus, while ACs do typically co-occur with av and other A-oriented constructions in the languages of the sample, the use of AM-marking and pv does show a correlation in at least some West Nusantara languages, e.g. Besemah (South Barisan Malay) (McDonnell 2016: 214–215), and this is likely driven by tendencies in discursive usage that have become grammaticalized. See also Donohue (2001), which examines the use of Tukang Besi ACs in natural texts and finds an overwhelming tendency for applied phrases to be pivots in discourse. This and other syntactic restrictions noted in this section are in keeping with the proposal made in Chapter 6, that pivot-neutral ACs are derived from earlier pivot-selecting constructions, in which the peripheral role of location, goal, beneficiary, instrument, or theme, exclusively maps to the pivot relation.
Despite a general lack of syntactic restrictions on voice in ACs across the sample, the combination of voice and applicative morphology allows a participant with a peripheral semantic role, such as a beneficiary, instrument, goal, or location, among others, to be the pivot (see Davies 2005 for in-depth discussion of these points in Madurese). Furthermore, it is well-known that pivots in symmetrical voice languages are the syntactically privileged argument and thus play an important role in syntactic operations, such as relativization and focus (see e.g. Arka 2003, Riesberg 2014b). In many of the languages of the sample, whether symmetrical or not, such operations are usually restricted to the pivot or subject, and if not, at least to core arguments.
In the languages of West Nusantara, relativization is typically marked by a ‘gap’ in the relative clause, which is co-referential with the head noun. In languages of the sample, the relative clause may be introduced with a linker particle or relativizer, or may be headless, as in Makasar and West Coast Bajau, among others. In asymmetrical voice languages like Nias, Muna, and Mori Bawah, relative clauses, or participial structures that function like headless relative clauses, show A-oriented and P-oriented alternations, which are not observed in main clauses. Thus an applied phrase may be the head noun of a P-oriented relative clause in these languages, provided that it is eligible to be the pivot or subject in P-oriented clause types (see § 67.3). With the exceptions of Ampenan Sasak and Makasar, the argument that is co-referential with the head noun is restricted to the pivot (or analogous privileged syntactic relation). In Makasar a single argument in the clause may be co-referential with head noun (see below). In Ampenan Sasak, access to relativization is restricted only to core arguments (see Khairunnisa 2022: 84–87).
In Nasal, as is typical for two-way symmetrical voice languages of the sample, voice alternations and applicatives are used together to modulate access of peripheral semantic roles to relativization. As shown in (222a) and (223a), in Nasal, when the verb in the relative clause is in pv, only P may be the head noun. When AM-marking is used together with a pv construction, the applied phrase maps to the P argument, and thus may serve as the head noun of the relative clause. In (222b), the verb in the relative clause is marked with the goal-selecting AM ‑i, and accordingly, the goal applied phrase is the head noun. In (222b), the verb in the relative clause is marked with the instrument-selecting AM ‑kun, and accordingly, the instrument applied phrase is the head noun.
(222) Nasal, Instrument-selecting AC in relative clause
a.
tulis-an
[sai
di-tulis
anak=ku
jenu]
kak
ku=hapus.
write-nmlz
rel
pv-write
child=1sg.poss
earlier
pfv
1sg.npiv=[pv]erase
‘I erased the writing that my child wrote (on the wall).’ (BC)
b.
sisai
[sai
di-tulis-i
anak=ku
jenu]
kak
ku=bekhesih-kun.
wall
rel
pv-write-loc.appl
child=1sg.poss
earlier
pfv
1sg.npiv=[pv]clean-caus
‘I cleaned the wall that my child wrote on.’ (AC)(McDonnell fieldnotes)
(223) Nasal, Goal-selecting AC in relative clause
a.
manuk
[sai
ku=panggul
jenu]
lijung.
chicken
rel
1sg.npiv=[pv]hit
earlier
flee
‘the chicken that I hit earlier ran away.’ (BC)
b.
tungkuk
[sai
ku=panggul-kun
khan
manuk
jenu]
patuh.
staff
rel
1sg.npiv=[pv]hit-inst.appl
with
chicken
earlier
break
‘the staff that I used to hit the chicken broke.’ (AC)(McDonnell fieldnotes)
In Makasar, generally only the P argument may be the head noun of the relative clause in zero-marked transitive clauses (Jukes 2020). Again, a peripheral semantic role is only eligible to be the head noun when the verb in a relative clause is marked with an AM. This is shown in (224). Here the verb is marked with the locative/goal AM ‑i, and accordingly, the locative applied phrase is the head noun. In (225), likewise the verb is marked with the instrumental AM ‑ang, and accordingly, the instrument applied phrase is the head noun. Thus, the use of ACs in combination with voice alternations modulates access of phrases expressing different sets of semantic roles to relativization. In this respect, the combination of P-oriented voice constructions with pivot-neutral applicatives together functions like lv and cv alternations (pivot-selecting applicatives) in Philippine-type languages (see § 67.2).
(224) Makasar, Goal-selecting AC in relative clause
sikola
[na=mange-i=a
agang=ku]
baji’=i.
school
3=go-loc.appl=def
friend=1.poss
good=3
‘the school my friend goes to is good.’ (AC)(Jukes 2020: 229)
(225) Makasar, Instrument-selecting AC in relative Clause
sele’
[ni-buno-ang=a=i]
tarang=i.
kris
pass-kill-inst.appl=def=3
sharp=3
‘the kris he was killed with was sharp.’ (AC)(Jukes 2020: 229)
Additionally, certain focus and clefting constructions are also restricted to the pivot argument, or to core arguments more generally, in many languages of West Nusantara. In Makasar, for instance, a peripheral semantic role is only eligible to be focused in clauses where the verb bears AM-marking (Jukes 2020: 228). This is shown in (226). Here, the argument in preverbal position receives special pragmatic focus. Canonical word order in Makasar is verb-initial.
(226) Makasar, Focused location applied phrase
tapper=e’
ku=empo-i.
mat=ec
1=sit-loc.appl
‘I sit on a mat.’ (AC)(Jukes 2020: 311)
In West Coast Bajau, a similar focus construction is observed (Miller 2007: 206–207). Again, the argument in preverbal position receives special pragmatic focus, though in West Coast Bajau this position is restricted specifically only to pivot arguments. As shown in (227a), in pv clauses, the P argument is the pivot and thus can be focused in the preverbal position. Accordingly, when the verb is marked with the AM ‑an, a peripheral semantic role is eligible to be focused. This is shown in (227b), where the beneficiary applied phrase is the pivot and thus may appear in preverbal position, receiving pragmatic focus. Non-pivot arguments cannot be fronted in the same manner. Again, the use of ACs in combination with voice alternations modulates access of phrases expressing different sets of semantic roles to positions of structural and discursive prominence. Just as with relativization, in Philippine-type languages, it is lv and cv constructions that are used to provide access to peripheral semantic roles to fronting and clefting constructions in a similar manner (see § 67.2).
(227) West Coast Bajau, Focused beneficiary applied phrase
a.
Telumpa’
e
boi
beli=ni
ta’
Kuzik.
shoes
dem
cmpl
[pv]buy=3sg.npiv
loc
K.
‘She bought the shoes for Kuzik.’ (BC)
b.
Kuzik
boi
beli-an=ni
telumpa’
e
dilaw.
K.
cmpl
[pv]buy-ben.appl=3sg.npiv
shoes
dem
yesterday
‘She bought Kuzik the shoes yesterday.’ (AC)(Miller 2007: 206)
713 Summary of Findings
In this chapter, I have presented a functional typology of ACs and other AM-marked constructions based on 24 languages of West Nusantara showing pivot-neutral applicatives. In this concluding section, I summarize some key distributional patterns evident from the data presented.
In languages of the sample, ACs show differing structural properties depending on the role of the applied argument. ACs with beneficiary applied phrases most commonly occur only with transitive bases. Beneficiary-selecting ACs usually show an increase in the number of core arguments over a corresponding BC, such that these ACs are maximally ditransitive. One exception is benefactive ACs marked with Balantak ‑kon, which are maximally monotransitive and valency-preserving with transitive bases.
Instrument-selecting ACs are quite often maximally monotransitive, with the companion phrase (patient or goal) remapped to an oblique phrase. This occurs especially in Malayic languages and languages of Java and Sumatra. In Pendau and a number of other languages of Sulawesi, instrumental ACs are maximally ditransitive. Most languages with instrument-selecting ACs also have theme-selecting ACs marked with the same AM. The two constructions share semantic similarities in that most instrument applied phrases, like themes, express an entity that is directed into motion. Theme ACs are generally monotransitive in the languages of the sample, with remapping of the companion phrase when the BC is transitive.
Goals, locations, and addressees are typically marked with the same AM. The syntactic properties of these locative- and goal-selecting ACs are more diverse than other types of ACs. With some exceptions, locative- and goal-selecting ACs typically occur with both intransitive and transitive bases, and with transitive bases, may either increase clausal transitivity or show remapping of the companion phrase.
When AMs that mark beneficiaries, instruments, goals, and/or locations attach to intransitive bases, they may also select applied phrases expressing various other semantic roles, including content, stimulus, and the theme-like product of a bodily process. These constructions result in monotransitive ACs. For many ACs of this type, there is no monoclausal BC equivalent.
AM-marked constructions may also show non-applicative functions. Thus some AM-marked constructions do not show selection of an applied phrase but instead have a purely semantic effect such as indicating repeated or pluractional aspect, greater intensity, or changes in the properties of non-A arguments, such as individuation, definiteness, or specificity.
Causative functions are also attested for AMs, but not equally across all languages of the sample. Eight languages of the sample show no productive causative morphology distinct from AMs. The other 16 show productive causative prefixes, and in 14 of these, such prefixes are the most productive markers of morphological causative constructions by far. In many such cases, AM-marking and causative prefixation may combine. In all but three languages of the sample, one or both AMs that mark ACs can also mark causative constructions. For these affixes, AM-marked constructions may be both causative and applicative, with the AM functioning to select both a causer A argument and a peripheral role as a non-A core argument.
Finally, in West Nusantara languages with symmetrical voice systems, the pivot plays an important role in syntactic operations, and the combination of P-oriented voice marking and applicative morphology allows peripheral semantic roles, such as beneficiaries, instruments, goals, and locations, to be the pivot. This is significant because access to many syntactic operations, such as relativization and certain fronting constructions, is reserved for the pivot in many of the languages in the sample. Analogous patterns are also found in many languages with asymmetrical or marginally symmetrical voice systems, which may retain an alternation between P-oriented constructions and A-oriented constructions only in relative clauses or participial structures. In this way, the selection of voice alternations plus use of applicatives modulates access of constituents expressing peripheral roles to positions which are privileged syntactically (e.g. pivot, head noun of relative clause) and prominent in discourse (e.g. focused, or highly topical).
An earlier version of this chapter was published as McDonnell & Truong (2024a). Here it has been significantly expanded and revised with the addition of 16 languages to the original eight included in the sample, and incorporation of the constructional framework and typological categories used in this study.
Van den Berg & Busenitz (2012) describe two types of P-oriented constructions in Balantak, one in which the agent may be freely expressed (called ‘agented pv’), and one in which the agent is suppressed and cannot be overtly mentioned (called ‘agentless pv’). The two are distinctly marked, and the latter may be considered a kind of passive construction.
The article o is not used with NPs immediately following the verb in Muna (van den Berg 2013: 102).
In some parts of Sulawesi, it is common to call a person according to the name of their oldest child. Hence in example (160), Umáne Lembá ‘Papa Lembá’, or literally ‘Lembá’s father,’ would commonly be used in place of this individual’s given name.
Beneficiary-selecting ACs in Madurese show an unusual property in that certain verb stems retain marking with the ng‑ av prefix in pv clauses (see Davies 2010: 301–302).
In Sundanese, the ‑keun suffix marks instrumental ACs as well as benefactive ACs with certain verbs, while pang- ‑keun exclusively marks benefactive ACs. In Balantak, ‑kon marks both instrumental and benefactive ACs, while ‑ii exclusively marks benefactive ACs.
This sentence has other possible interpretations, and may also be interpreted as a benefactive AC, e.g. ‘I will wash it for them.’ (see van den Berg 2013: 180).
In Nias, there is one construction that may be considered a theme-selecting applicative, which is formed with the prefix fa‑, usually a causative marker, and the verbs meaning ‘to pelt’ and ‘to throw’, see Brown (2001: 228–232).
The term Pak Haji refers to a distinguished man who has completed a religious pilgrimage.
For example (186), Miller (2007: 283) states that the suffix ‑an applies “vacuously” and is optional in the BC without any change in the argument or oblique (see §710 for discussion). Thus, in (186a), it is possible to use the ‑an suffix without any change in argument structure. However, in (186b), the ditransitive construction requires the applicative suffix ‑an.
The form kaeta in example (206) is used in informal imperatives and means something like ‘for us (incl.)’ (van den Berg 2013: 72).
However, see Quick (2007: 284) for one example in which pa‑ is analyzed as both a causative marker and a stem forming prefix when used with the applicative suffix ‑a’.