The Kelabit Language, Austronesian Voice and Syntactic Typology Charlotte Hemmings Thesis submitted for the Degree of PhD 2016 Department of Linguistics SOAS, University of London Declaration I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of SOAS, University of London, concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in this work which I present for examination. Signed:……………………………………… Date:…………………………………. 1 Abstract Western Austronesian languages are typically defined in contrast to Oceanic languages as possessing a system of ‘symmetrical’ voice alternations (Himmelmann 2005a). These are alternations in the mapping of predicate arguments to grammatical functions but, unlike passives and antipassives, do not involve syntactic detransitivisation. Instead, symmetrical voice systems appear to involve multiple transitive clause-types that are equally morphologically marked and equally syntactically transitive. This has prompted two major debates about Western Austronesian syntax, namely whether or not Western Austronesian languages have a grammatical subject, and the nature of alignment in the languages. Western-Austronesian languages are typically subdivided into Philippine-type languages and Indonesian-type languages on the basis of structural properties. Philippine-type languages are considered more conservative and Indonesian-type languages more innovative. The Apad Uat subgroup of Northern Sarawak, which includes Kelabit, is said to be split between Philippine-type and Indonesian-type languages. Consequently, it presents a unique opportunity to enter into the theoretical debates and also to question whether the existing typology can capture the full extent of variation within Western Austronesian. Using naturalistic and elicited materials gathered over six and a half months of linguistic fieldwork, this thesis presents an analysis of Kelabit grammar alongside 2 three case studies of syntactic phenomena known to differ in Philippine-type and Indonesian-type languages: voice systems; pronominal systems and word order. In each instance, the patterns in Kelabit are neither proto-typically Philippine-type, nor proto-typically Indonesian-type and hence constitute a type of their own. Moreover, they provide support for theories of alignment shift and other syntactic changes that begin with the reanalysis of the actor voice construction. Thus, it becomes apparent that the existing two-way typology is insufficient to model syntactic variation in Western Austronesian and that a more fine-grained approach is needed in order to better understand the synchronic and diachronic landscape. 3 Acknowledgements I am very grateful to the Wolfson Foundation for their generous financial support of the project. I am also grateful for grants from the Linguistics Society of America and from SOAS, University of London, which have allowed me to attend conferences and summer schools and receive feedback on my work. Most of all, I would like to thank the Kelabit community for sharing their language and their homes with me over the last few years. In particular, I would like to thank Florance Lapu Apu @ Ngabi Tepun for kindly assisting me in documenting the Kelabit language and for tireless hours of teaching me Kelabit, answering questions about the language and transcribing and translating recorded texts.1 I would also like to thank Lucy Bulan @ Sineh Raben and Jeffrey Malang @ Tadun Bala for their assistance in Pa’ Umor and Pa’ Dalih and the many people who sat and explained Kelabit grammar to me, including Lucy Bulan @ Sineh Raben Bala, David Labang @ Raben Bala, David Lian Labang, Dr Poline Bala, Julia Raja @ Sineh Raja Tuan, Lynette Smith, Datin Garnette Ridu @ Sineh La’ah Aren, Gerawat Nulun @ Udan Turun, Mary Lian, Jeffrey Malang @ Tadun Bala, Connie Aping Trang, Lucie Palan Trang, John Terawe, Yahya Talla and Kelvin Egay. In addition, I would like to thank everyone who gave up countless hours to record stories, conversations and other texts, including Florance Lapu Apu @ Ngabi Tepun, Lucy Bulan @ Sineh Raben Bala, 1 Kelabit names are introduced by an @ sign. 4 David Labang @ Raben Bala, Gerawat Nulun @ Udan Turun, Connie Aping Trang, Lucie Palan Trang, Sineh Pasang, Sineh Maren Lugun @ Dooq Ileh, Sineh Tingang @ Liat Ayu, Sineh Ngelawan Paren, Henrik Iboh @ Luun Anid, Dara Tigan, Jeffrey Malang @ Tadun Bala, Melamud Tepun, Sineh Belaan Paran, Upai Raja @ Pu’un Maran, Paran Ating, Belaan Paran, Riboh Ayu, Gerawat Riboh @ Paran Bala, Zac Lawai Labang, Jeanette Ulun @ Ratu Aren, Sineh Maran Lugun, Muda Tigan, Sineh Ngalap Ulun, Alaw Tungen @ Kera’i’ Aren, Stanley Isaac Ibuh @ Paren Kera’i’, Lian Terawe, Muring Apu, Frazier Kaya, Daud Ibuh @ Balang Gerau’, David Lian Tadun @ Ribuh Tepun and Bulan Ipang @ Pu’un Maran. Finally, I would like to thank Penghulu Robertsen Bala @ Balang Masiu and the Rurum Kelabit for supporting my research in the Kelabit Highlands. I made so many wonderful friends during my time in the Kelabit Highlands and am very grateful to all of you. Mulaq-mulaq terima kasih ngen muyuh ngabi! There are numerous others who helped me during my time in Malaysia. I would like to express my particular gratitude to Datuk Robert Ridu @ La’ah Aren, Datin Garnette Ridu @ Sineh La’ah Aren, Dr Poline Bala, Marilyn Raja, Lilla Raja, Lucy Bulan @ Sineh Raben Bala, David Labang @ Raben Bala, Dr Philip Raja, Datin Sri Mariam Balan, Dato Gerawat Gala, Datin Esther Balan, Datu Robert Lian @ Balang Ngalibun, Datin Dr Katharine Pearce, Dato Isaac Lugun, Datin Nikki Lugun, Datin Valerie Mashman and Datu Ose Murang for all their help in accommodating me, introducing me to many friends in Malaysia and helping me prepare for my research. Special thanks also go to Julia Raja and Lynette Smith for helping to teach me some useful Kelabit phrases before I arrived in Malaysia and for putting me in touch with family and friends. 5 I am also very grateful to those who helped me with institutional support whilst in Malaysia. Firstly, I thank the Sarawak State Planning Unit for approving my application to conduct research in Sarawak. Secondly, I would like to thank the Miri Resident for approving extended periods of research in the Kelabit Highlands. Thirdly, I am grateful to Ipoi Datan and the staff at the Sarawak Museum, who helped me to obtain a research visa and gave me access to their wonderful archival resources. Fourthly, I would like to thank Dr Norazuna Bt Norahim and colleagues at the UNIMAS Centre for Languages who offered help and advice whilst in Kuching. Particular thanks go to all the participants who recorded pear stories in Kuching Sarawak Malay and to Mohamad Fairuz Ali Ayen for kindly transcribing and translating the texts. Furthermore, I would like to thank Miss Bibi Aminah Abdul Ghani and colleagues at Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia for their help and guidance whilst in Miri and all the participants who recorded pear stories in Miri Sarawak Malay. Many thanks to Prof. Dr Alvin Yeo, Dr Soubakeavathi Rethinasamy and colleagues at the Institute of Social Informatics and Technological Innovations, UNIMAS, Sarawak, for inviting me to present at the ISITI, and sharing their experiences of working with languages in Sarawak. Finally, thanks go to Dr Roger Harris for inviting me to join the eBario Knowledge Fair in November 2013. Next, I would like to thank the many researchers who have previously worked in Sarawak for their helpful guidance and support throughout the project. Firstly, I would like to thank Monica Janowski, for introducing me to Bario, encouraging me to help document the Kelabit language and readily sharing her expertise along the way. Thanks also go to Borbala Nyiri, Lindsay-Lloyd Smith and Dr Jayl Langub for their willingness to answer practical questions and offer guidance. I would like to thank Matthew Amster for sending me a copy of the Kelabit Dictionary and Professor Robert 6 Blust, Dr Mary Tay and Professor Amsah Haji Omar for sharing their previous knowledge of working with the Kelabit language. I am grateful to Dr Wallace Chafe and Dr Jay Crain for sharing texts in Malay and Lun Bawang and to Colin Davis for making available his map of the Kelabit Highlands. Finally, I would like to give particular thanks to Beatrice Clayre for giving me feedback on my research and for our many fruitful discussions on Sa’ban, Kelabit and Lundayeh. I owe many thanks to the Department of Linguistics at SOAS, University of London. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the support of my Supervisor, Peter Austin, who has given me guidance and feedback throughout my research. In addition, thanks go to my supervisory committee, Friederike Lüpke and Chris Lucas, for advice on preparation for fieldwork and academic writing during the upgrade process and throughout the PhD. Moreover, I would like to especially thank Candide Simard for invaluable advice on prosody and her contribution and guidance in relation to my work on clitic pronouns. Further thanks are due to Mandana Seyfeddinipur for encouraging me to apply to the Linguistics Society of America summer school where I received training in documentation, typology and theory, and to Irina Nikolaeva and Lutz Marten for insightful feedback on presentations at SOAS. I would also like to thank my fellow students at SOAS, particularly those involved in Language Landscape and the SOAS Grammar Group. It has been a great pleasure to know everyone who has made my experience at SOAS so special. Particular thanks go to Eleanor Ridge and Lauren Gawne for feedback on drafts of the thesis. Finally, I would like to thank Pak Sallehuddin bin Abdullah Sani for teaching me Indonesian and checking through the Indonesian examples in the thesis. I am also very grateful to the wider academic community and all of the linguists who have taken time to comment on my research in progress.