A grammar of Paku: a language of Central Kalimantan Author: ORCID: Daniela Diedrich 0000-0001-6459-3341 Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2018 Department of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics School of Languages and Linguistics The University of Melbourne Victoria, Australia i Abstract This thesis describes the phonology, morphology and syntax of Paku, a highly endangered East Barito language spoken in four villages in the southeast of Central Kalimantan province, Indone- sia. It has currently about fifty speakers (conservative estimate, including semi-speakers) and since children, for a variety of reasons, no longer learn the language, it is classified as moribund. This thesis is part of a ARC-funded project The South East Barito languages in Indonesia and Mada- gascar: Safeguarding their past and future concerned with the documentation of Southeast Barito languages which Paku was thought to be a member of until the recent reclassification of lan- guages in Borneo by Smith (2017). It is a contribution to the description of the rapidly declining linguistic diversity in Borneo and other parts of the world. In doing so, this thesis will also con- tribute data of Bornean languages to broader typological research. Like many other endangered languages Paku is virtually undescribed and one of the main aims of this part of the project is the thorough documentation of Paku and the compilation of an extensive corpus of data consisting of both narratives and elicited material. This will help create a record of the language before it disappears, a fate which at this stage seems inevitable. The examples used in this thesis are taken from the recorded materials as well as field notes. The data was collected during five field trips totalling nine months conducted between July 2013 and June 2017. Chapter one will introduce the Paku language and the people who use it. It will address the current linguistic situation and provide a brief overview of their traditions and customs. It also includes an overview of the methodology employed in both data collection and analysis and ex- plain some of the conventions used in this thesis. Chapter two is concerned with the phonology in Paku and includes a description of the various and at times unusual phonological processes found in Paku. Chapter three describes word classes that need to be recognised in Paku while chapters four and five focus on nominal and verbal morphology respectively. They furthermore discuss the internal structure of phrases headed by nominals and verbs. Chapter six introduces prepo- sitional phrases which can have various functions both at the phrase and clause level. Chapter seven is the beginning of the syntactic description of Paku and includes a discussion of grammat- ical relations and word order. It also identifies the different clause types found in the language. Chapter eight looks at question formation and chapter nine explores complex sentences. In Paku they include coordinated clauses, adverbial clauses, and complementation. The most intriguing features of Paku are found in the phonology of the language. For instance, Paku features extensive harmony systems. Firstly, there is comprehensive nasal harmony. This in itself is not unusual in the Austronesian world, but Paku has developed a mechanism of prevent- ing nasal spread which is almost exclusively found in languages of Borneo - nasal preplosion. Furthermore, the majority of affixes are subject to vowel harmony, a feature which sets Paku apart from other Barito languages in the area and which provides valuable insight for potential reconstruction work. Finally, Paku features nasal substitution and accretion. ii Declaration of Authorship I, Daniela Diedrich, confirm that: (i) this thesis contains only my original work towards the PhD, (ii) due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used, (iii) the length of this thesis, exclusive of tables, maps, references, and appendices, is under 100,000 words. Signed: Date: iii To my dad. iv Acknowledgements Writing this thesis was possibly the most challenging thing I’ve ever done and finishing it one of my biggest accomplishments. And as with all big achievements, there are a number of people who were instrumental in the completion of this thesis. First and foremost I would like to acknowledge the Paku people who have welcomed me into their homes and shared their knowledge with me. Iterman in particular spent countless hours explaining the language and culture of the Paku to me. Without your dedication and patience this description of the language would not have been possible. Thank you for placing your trust in me. Thank you, Fernandez, for introduced me to the Paku community, for helping me recruit speakers for my research, and for taking me to see different parts of Central Kalimantan. Your passion for the languages and culture in your home of choice are truly impressive and inspiring. I would further like to thank Fernandez, Iterman, and Ilun for adopting me into their families and thereby initiating me into the Paku community. It is an extreme honour to become part of your families and to be invited to join such a wonderful community. Thanks also to Hermann Stahlhacke and Garin at the Catholic complex in Ampah for hosting me. Garin, you deserve all of my gratitude. Without your support my time in Central Kalimantan would have been much more difficult and much less fun. Thanks heaps for driving me around, for helping me with my elicitations, for looking after me after my accident, and for becoming a good friend. In Melbourne I owe a great debt to my supervisors Nick Thieberger, Rachel Nordlinger, and Sander Adelaar who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in supporting me over the years. Thank you for your patience and for not giving up on me. I’m not sure I would have been able to to complete this project if it hadn’t been for your compassion and understanding during the early stages of my candidature. Between the three of you you bring an incredible amount of expertise to the table and I have been truly lucky to have had you on my team. Learning from all of you has made me a better linguist. Thanks, Nick, for giving me work and thereby ensuring that I could complete my thesis in Melbourne. Thanks for always making time for discussion, for finding the right balance between being tough and being encouraging, and for keeping me on track even when you didn’t have to (anymore). Thanks, Rachel, for always offering help and for reading the draft of this thesis at lightning speed. I’m always amazed by your deep understanding of all things linguistics. Thanks, Sander, first and foremost for inviting me to be part of your research project and for financing my research. Thanks also for the invaluable advice over coffee, I feel fortunate to have been able to benefit from your wealth of knowledge and experience. This thesis is better because of you. As the final member of my committee, I would like to acknowledge Lesley Stirling for being an awesome chair. v I’d like to express my gratitude to the School of Languages and Linguistics for funding my final field trip in May 2017. My sincere thanks also to Nick Thieberger and the Centre of Excellence for the Dynamic of Language for paying for data recovery from a broken hard drive. Thanks to the archives of the Basel Mission and the Vereinte Evangelische Mission in Wuppertal for allowing me access to their materials and for providing me with a work space. PhD life comes with many challenges. It has the potential to be isolating, it is often financially strenuous, and can be taxing on one’s mental health. I would therefore like to acknowledge the LAL Postgrad Club for providing students with a platform for socialising and sharing the burden of PhD life. Many thanks also to Tim McNamara who taught our first year research workshop and who made a conscious effort to foster a community of support within the cohort. Thanks to my lab mates past and present in both the Language Documentation and Phonetics labs for countless chats and encouragement. A special shout out to Ham and Josh - your friendship is one of the most valuable things I have gained during my candidature. The School of Languages and Linguistics has many excellent people - postgraduate, academic, and professional. Thanks for the interesting chats, helpful advice, and for creating a fantastic work environment. A very special thank you to David Bauer and Vanya Kapitonov, the two Latex wizards who spent hours helping me fix errors in my document. Especially in the final days before submission, on top of having a full time day job, David took on the full time night job of making this thesis look better. Thanks to my substitute family at Melbourne Handball Club for being the best friends anyone could wish for. Thanks for your constant support and for putting up with me even at times when I was probably a major pain in the backside to be around. You know who you are and I love you. In Germany I would like to thank my dear friend Jan Menge. You’re one hell of a tutor and our late night Kölsch-fuelled walks through Cologne sparked my passion for linguistics and for all things Language. I learnt more about linguistics from our chats than in many of my more formal lectures. On the note of friendship a special mention needs to go to Liz, Stefan, Jules, Anna, and Sabrina. Thanks for always having my back. You mean the world to me. No one deserves more of my gratitude than my mum Gudrun.