An introduction to Ayta Abellen Morphology and Syntax
Roger Stone and Wilhelm Nitsch

SIL International

Contents


Acknowledgements



Abstract


1 Introduction

Ayta Abellen is spoken by a group of about 3000 speakers who are mostly Negritos, living mainly in the mountain area in the western part of the Province of Tarlac and to a certain extent in the eastern part of the Province of Zambales. It is one of five Ayta dialects spoken in an area ranging from Tarlac to Bataan. The purpose of this paper is to describe major features of the phonology, morphophonemics, morphology and syntax of the Ayta Abellen language.

This document is a compilation of linguistic work done first by Wilhelm Nitsch and then Roger Stone on the Ayta Abellen language. The Phonology section is the initial work of Wilhelm Nitsch. It needs updating and revision but it is a solid initial start. The Morphophonemics section is also the initial work of Wilhelm Nitsch. It also needs further review but it has been foundational to Stone's understanding of Abellen morphophonemics. The Morphology section is a combined work. The basic outline comes from the Grammar Sketch output from FieldWorks Language Explorer. Nitsch's work on specific word classes Nitsch (2009) is inserted in the appropriate sections. The Syntax section is entirely the work of Roger Stone with the basic outline coming from the output of PAWS (Parser and Writer of Syntax). Stone's work on the Morphology and Syntax was originally published in the appendix of his M.A. thesis Stone (2010). The Appendix section entitled "Reference List for Case Markers and Linkers" is entirely from Nitsch (1998). The changes made were almost entirely related to linguistic labels and the need to use uniform labels throughout the document. The Appendix section entitled "The Marked Topic Slot" is entirely the work of Stone, originally published as a working paper Stone (2008). The language learning lessons are entirely the work of Wilhelm Nitsch. The changes made by Stone were to bring uniformity to linguistic terms and orthography.

While Stone and Nitsch agree on the vast majority of analyses (thus making this combined document possible), each had started with a different framework regarding case marking. Nitsch was influenced by Brainard (1994) in following Localist Case Grammar. Thus his original work used ergative, absolutive, and oblique labels. In Stone's thesis, both a nominative/accusative approach as well as an ergative/accusative approach were modelled computationally in syntactic parsing. It was determined that both systems required adhoc rules to achieve acceptable functionality. For this reason, Stone has stuck with the labels most comfortable to him (nominative/accusative) throughout this document. This is done not in defiant opposition of Nitsch and Brainard, but rather as a matter of convenience, with the humble belief that neither system works flawlessly without some adjustments.

This is a work in progress. The verbal analysis, while providing a system for parsing virtually all Abellen verbs, is thin in explanation of the complexities of the Abellen verbal system. It is also acknowledged that there are most certainly deficiencies in my attempt to merge the work of two linguists into one unified description of the language. Future revisions of this work will seek to address these issues as well as add material regarding Ayta discourse features (research ongoing).

2 Phonology

Ayta Abellen is a Sambalic language and is phonologically similar to the other Ayta dialects in the area and to Botolan Sambal. Research for this statement was done with Ayta Abellen speakers in Labney, Mayantoc, Tarlac and in Tangantangan, Maamot, San Jose, Tarlac from April 1989 to February 1994.[1] Because the Ayta Abellen live in an area where Ilokano is the lingua franca, borrowed Ilokano words exist in Ayta Abellen speech. Unless otherwise specified, statements in this paper refer to the phonological system of Ayta Abellen.

2.1 Phonemics[2]

2.1.1 Unambiguous syllables patterns

Ayta Abellen has two unambiguous syllables: CV and CVC.

(1)
a. ka 2SG.NOM CV
b. kət and CVC

In addition to the two unambiguous syllable patterns CV and CVC two more syllable patterns are needed: VC and V.

(2)
a. ta'əʔ gabi root VC
b. baəy house VC

(3)
a. ?awo? yes V
b. ?bawo? widow, widower V

Reasoning:

  1. The syllables [-əʔ], [-əy], [-oʔ], and [-o] are identified by syllable stress and pitch.
  2. Another reason is the usage of linkers (LK). In [babayin] `woman+LK' the LK -n is used, which is never used after a consonant.

2.1.2 Stress

Stress in Ayta Abellen is not predictable. There is primary stress, and secondary stress. One-syllable words, such as particles, have no inherent word stress. In words with a syllable break between consonants or vowels both syllables may carry equal stress, or the stress alternates between these syllables. In the examples below primary stress is marked by ", and secondary stress by '. Polysyllabic words usually have one primary stress and, if more than three syllables long, a secondary stress. Suffixation seems to cause stress to shift.[3]

(4)
a. [pçʔ] /pçʔ/ still, first
b. ["dam"wag] /damwag/ water buffalo
c. ["baəy]~[ba"əy] /baəy/ house
d. [ha"ʔa] /ha"ʔa/ banana
e. [kabó"nçʔ] /kabó"nçʔ/ enemy
f. ['dalaʔî"dîʔ] /'dalaʔî"dîʔ/ to drizzle

2.1.3 Interpretation

2.1.3.1 High vowels

The ambiguous segments [î] and [ó] are interpreted as consonants [y] and [w] respectively when they occur as syllable onset or coda and as [î] and [ó] when they occur as syllable peak. This interpretation is based on unambiguous syllable patterns and it is supported by the fact that [w] and [y] are never preceded or followed by a glottal stop belonging to the same syllable as it is done in the case of vowels.

[ó]/[w]

(5)
a. [way] /way/ which
b. [ha'təw] /ha'təw/ before
c. [nó¿] /nó¿/ if
d. [¿a'ó¿] /¿a'ó¿/ yes
e. [ko] /ko/ 1SG.GEN
f. [pa'ó¿] /pa'ó¿/ mango

[î]/[y]

(6)
a. [ya] /ya/ he
b. [bçy] /bçy/ and
c. [mî] /mî/ 1PL.EXCL.GEN
d. [nîn] /nîn/ GEN
e. [ka'î] /ka'î/ 1PL.EXCL.NOM
f. [na'î¿] /na'î¿/ QUES

2.1.3.2 Ambiguous sequences

2.1.3.2.1 Long consonants

There are no unambiguous consonant clusters in word initial or word final position; consequently, nonhomorganic consonants occuring in word medial clusters are assumed to belong to the coda of one syllable and to the onset of the following syllable (see (7)). On the basis of this pattern long consonants are interpreted as sequences of two consonants rather than one segment.

(7)
a. [¿əb¿əb] /¿əb¿əb/ type of banana
b. [pakpak] /pakpak/ bite

Examples of long consonants and their interpretation are:

(8)
a. [gəd'dəŋ] /gəd'dəŋ/ end
b. [ka'tónno] /ka'tónno/ brother
c. ['talîlîak] /'tallak/ Tarlac
d. [gay'yəm] /gay'yəm/ friend
e. [mag'gapa] /mag'gapa/ cut off[4]
f. [['kammî] /'kammî/ 1PL.EXCL.DAT[5]

2.1.3.2.2 Long vowels

Long vowels are interpreted as sequences of two vowels by analogy with the unambiguous syllable patterns. Long vowels occur in lexical morphemes where the placement of stress and pitch supports this interpretation. The second vowel usually carries the stress:

(9)
a. [ma'ambal] /ma'ambal/ python
b. [do'on] /do'on/ boundary

Long vowels also occur in grammatical morphemes where they are phonemic, usually having a short counterpart in identical environment. Unlike long vowels in lexical morphemes, the second vowel never carries the stress in grammatical morphemes:

(10)
a. [maŋga'wa¿] /maŋga'wa¿/ to clear
b. [ma:ŋga'wa¿] /maaŋga'wa¿/ the person clearing[6]

2.1.3.2.3 Ambiguous vowel sequences

The ambiguous vowel sequences are segmented as follows, the reason always being the unambiguous VV sequences:

(11)
a. [ma'¿aóŋ] /'ma'¿aóŋ/ well CV.CV.VC

2.1.3.2.4 Loan words

Loan words may contain ambiguous vowel sequences and non-homorganic sequentially modified sequences.

Ambiguous vowel sequences in loan words are dealt with according to the segmentation of these sequences in indigenous words (see 2.1.3.2.3). Non-homorganic sequentially modified sequences sequences only occur in loan words. They are also dealt with according to the unambiguous syllable patterns.

(12)
a. ['waîbeh] /'waybih/ Thursday
b. ['bîalneh] /'bîalnih/ Friday
c. ['kóalta] /'kóalta/ money

2.1.4 Phonemes

(13)
CONSONANTS bilabial alveolar palatal/velar glottal
Stops voiceless p t k ¿
voiced b d g
Continuants nasals m n ŋ
non-nasals w l y h

(14)
VOWELS -bk +bk
+hi i o
-hi a ə[7]

2.1.4.1 Evidence for contrast between phonemes

2.1.4.1.1 Consonants

p/b

(15)
a. [pó'tók] /po'tok/ shooting
b. [bó'tç¿] /bo'to¿/ penis
c. ['bapa¿] /'bapa¿/ father
d. ['baba¿] /'baba¿/ chin
e. [¿a'təp] /¿a'təp/ roof
f. [kə'təb] /kə'təb/ to stop

p/m

(16)
a. ['pawa¿] /'pawa¿/ pure
b. ['maway] /'maway/ wide
c. [da'pat] /da'pat/ work
d. [da'ma¿] /da'ma¿/ broken
e. [¿i'dap] /¿i'dap/ difficulty
f. [hi'am] /hi'am/ nine

p/w

(17)
a. [pana'¿çn /pana'¿on/ time
b. [wana'bay] /wana'bay/ all
c. ['bapa¿] /'bapa¿/ father
d. ['pawa¿] /'pawa¿/ pure
e. [haglap] /haglap/ help
f. [bəklaw] /bəklaw/ throat

b/m

(18)
a. [ba'na¿] /ba'na¿/ about
b. [ma'nçk] /ma'nok/ bird
c. [ta'ba¿] /ta'ba¿/ oil
d. [da'ma¿] /da'ma¿/ broken

b/w

(19)
a. [bay] /bay/ EMPH
b. [way] /way/ which
c. [ló'bəd] /lo'bəd/ anus
d. [ya'wəd] /ya'wəd/ betel

m/w

(20)
a. [manó'yaŋ] /mano'yaŋ/ child in law
b. [wana'bay] /wana'bay/ all
c. [tali'ma¿] /tali'ma¿/ guard
d. [¿ali'wa] /¿ali'wa/ not

t/d

(21)
a. [ta'pol] /ta'pol/ search
b. [da'pah] /da'pah/ stone
c. [bó'tç¿] /bo'to¿/ penis
d. [kó'dçl] /ko'dol/ thunder
e. [¿a'gat] /¿a'gat/ old
f. [ga'gad] /ga'gad/ only

t/n

(22)
a. [tó'bo¿] /to'bo¿/ growing
b. [no'ba¿] /no'ba¿/ but
c. [¿ə'tak] /¿ə'tak/ machete
d. [¿a'nak] /¿a'nak/ child
e. ['kalçt] /'kalot/ trap
f. ['talçn] /'talon/ field

t/l

(23)
a. [ta] /ta/ 1DU.GEN
b. [la] /la/ 3PL.GEN
c. [bî'tî] /bi'ti/ foot
d. [bî'lî] /bi'li/ price
e. [po'¿çt] /po'¿ot/ anger
f. [to'¿çl] /to'¿ol/ knee

t/y

(24)
a. [ta] /ta/ 1DU.GEN
b. [ya] /ya/ 3SG.NOM
c. [¿a'təp] /¿a'təp/ roof
d. [¿a'yəp] /¿a'yəp/ piglet
e. ['kawat] /'kawat/ sweet potato
f. ['maway] /'maway/ wide

d/n

(25)
a. ['daî] /'dai/ wish
b. [na'î¿] /na'i¿/ QUES
c. [la'dak] /la'dak/ coconut oil
d. [¿a'nak] /¿a'nak/ child
e. [¿a'lad] /¿a'lad/ fence
f. [ŋa'lan] /ŋa'lan/ name

d/l

(26)
a. ['dada¿] /'dada¿/ aunt
b. ['ladək] /'ladək/ scum of coconut
c. [hó'dît] /ho'dit/ vagina
d. [¿ó'lî¿] /¿o'li¿/ to go home'
e. [ga'gad] /ga'gad/ only
f. [ló'gal] /lo'gal/ place

d/y

(27)
a. [da'gîh] /da'gih/ rat
b. [ya'tî] /ya'ti/ this
c. [dî'kado] /di'kado/ mixture
d. [ka'bayo] /ka'bayo/ horse
e. [tə'¿əd] /tə'¿əd/ really
f. [lə'¿əy] /lə'¿əy/ neck

n/l

(28)
a. [na] /na/ now
b. [la] /la/ 3PL.GEN
c. [¿a'nak] /¿a'nak/ child
d. [¿a'lad] /¿a'lad/ fence
e. [ta'¿çn] /ta'¿on/ year
f. [to'¿çl] /to'¿ol/ knee

n/y

(29)
a. [na] /na/ now
b. [ya] /ya/ 3SG.NOM
c. ['pano] /'pano/ how
d. [['bayo] /['bayo/ new
e. [la'man] /la'man/ body
f. [gala'may] /gala'may/ finger

l/y

(30)
a. [la] /la/ 3PL.GEN
b. [ya] /ya/ 3SG.NOM
c. [dó'yo] /do'yo/ corner
d. [gó'lo] /go'lo/ trouble

k/g

(31)
a. [kó'dçl] /ko'dol/ thunder
b. [gó'dabî] /go'dabi/ match
c. [takyay] /takyay/ arm
d. [tagyaŋ] /tagyaŋ/ rib
e. ['tóapçk] /'toapok/ dust
f. ['¿apçg] /'¿apog/ shell powder

k/ŋ

(32)
a. [kî'ta] /ki'ta/ 1DU.NOM
b. [ŋî'pən] /ŋi'pən/ tooth
c. [bə'kah] /bə'kah/ tomorrow
d. [bə'ŋat] /bə'ŋat/ only
e. [¿ə'tak] //¿ə'tak/ machete
f. [¿a'taŋ] /¿a'taŋ/ stove

g/ŋ

(33)
a. [ga'tçh] /ga'toh/ times hundred
b. [ŋa'lan] /ŋa'lan/ name
c. ['kagət] /'kagət/ cargo
d. ['maŋəd] /'maŋəd/ good
e. [pə'təg] /pə'təg/ true
f. [na'təŋ] /na'təŋ/ vegetables

¿/h[8]

(34)
a. [¿o] /¿o/ or
b. [ho] /ho/ finger nail
c. [tó`¿çl] /to`¿ol/ knee
d. [pó'hç¿] /po'ho¿/ heart
e. [ta'ə¿] /ta'ə¿/ taro plant
f. [¿ó'əh] /¿o'əh/ blanket

m/n

(35)
a. [ma-] /ma-/ CTPLT
b. [na-] /na-/ PRF
c. [da'ma¿] /da'ma¿/ destroy
d. [ba'na¿] /ba'na¿/ about
e. [la'nóm] /la'nom/ water
f. [¿ó'món] /¿o'mon/ how

m/ŋ

(36)
a. [ma'nçk] /ma'nok/ bird
b. [ŋa'lan] /ŋa'lan/ name
c. [la'man] /la'man/ body
d. [ta'ŋan] /ta'ŋan/ thumb
e. [la'nóm] /la'nom/ water
f. [¿ó'dóŋ] /¿o'doŋ/ return

n/ŋ

(37)
a. [kə'na¿] /kə'na¿/ meat
b. [bə'ŋat] /bə'ŋat/ only
c. [ta'¿çn] /ta'¿on/ year
d. [ta'tçŋ] /ta'toŋ/ eggplant

w/y

(38)
a. [wa'î] /wa'i/ which
b. [ya'ó¿] /ya'o¿/ arrow
c. ['bawaŋ] /'bawaŋ/ garlic
d. ['bayad] /'bayad/ pay
e. [ha'təw] /ha'təw/ before
f. [pa'təy] /pa'təy/ die

2.1.4.1.2 Vowels

i/a

(39)
a. [tî¿] /ti¿/ NOM
b. [ta¿] /ta¿/ for

i/ə

(40)
a. [kî'dîŋ] /ki'diŋ/ forehead
b. [gə'dəŋ] /gə'dəŋ/ end

i/u

(41)
a. [mî] /mi/ 1PL.EXCL.GEN
b. [mo] /mo/ 2SG.GEN

a/ə

(42)
a. [[¿a'taŋ] /¿a'taŋ/ stove
b. [na'təŋ] /na'təŋ/ vegetables

a/o

(43)
a. [bay] /bay/ EMPH
b. [boy] /boy/ and

ə/o

(44)
a. [nə¿] /nə¿/ GEN
b. [nó¿] /no¿/ if

2.1.4.2 Description of phonemes and their allophones

/p/ is a voiceless unaspirated bilabial stop, which has the two allophones [p] and []. [p] is released and occurs only as syllable onset.

(45)
a. [pa'day] /pa'day/ rice
b. [ta'pól] /ta'pol/ search

[p̚] is unreleased[9] and occurs only as syllable coda or utterance final.

(46)
a. [map'lə] /map'lə/ strong
b. [¿i'dap] /¿i'dap/ difficult

/b/ is a voiced unaspirated bilabial stop, which has the two allophones [b] and [b]. [b] is released and occurs only as syllable onset.

(47)
a. [ban'lat] /ban'lat/ border sign
b. [ta'baʔ] /ta'baʔ/ oil

[b] is unreleased and occurs only as syllable coda or utterance final.

(48)
a. [kə'təb] /kə'təb/ to stop
b. [ʔəbʔəb] /ʔəbʔəb/ kind of banana

Note that all alveolar stops are pronounced with the tongue touching the back of the teeth.

/t/ is a voiceless, unaspirated alveolar stop which has the two allophones [t] and [t̚]. [t] is released and occurs only as syllable onset.

(49)
a. [ta'pól] /ta'pol/ search
b. [ʔə'tak] /ʔə'tak/ machete

[t̚] is unreleased and occurs only as syllable coda or utterance final.

(50)
a. [gu'lçt] /go'lot/ back (of a person)
b. [tat'lo] /tat'lo/ three

/d/ is a voiced, unaspirated alveolar stop which has two allophones: [d] and [d]. [d] is released and occurs only as syllable onset.

(51)
a. [da'pah] /da'pah/ stone
b. [ku'dçl] /ko'dol/ thunder

[d] is unreleased and occurs only as syllable coda or utterance final.

(52)
a. [hadtan] /hadtan/ tell
b. [ʔa'ladl] /ʔa'lad/ fence

/k/ is a voiceless, unaspirated back velar stop, which is pronounced further back in the oral cavity than the usual voiceless velar stop. It has two allophones: [k] and [k̚]. [k] is released and occurs only as syllable onset.

(53)
a. [ki'ta] /ki'ta/ 1DU.NOM
b. [bó'kçdl] /bo'kod/ alone

[k̚] is unreleased and occurs only as syllable coda or utterance final.

(54)
a. [pak̚'pak̚] /pak'pak/ bite
b. [bó'kçdl] /bo'kod/ machete

/g/ is a voiced, unaspirated back velar stop, which is pronounced further back in the oral cavity than the usual voiced velar stop. It has two allophones: [g] and [g]. [g] is released and occurs only as syllable onset.

(55)
a. [ga'mə̚t] /ga'mət/ hand
b. [pa'gawl] /pa'gaw/ chest

[g] is unreleased and occurs only as syllable coda.

(56)
a. [bógtçŋ] /bogtoŋ/ only
b. [pə'təgl] /pə'təg/ true

/ʔ/ is a voiceless glottal stop. It occurs as onset and coda.

(57)
a. [ʔî'dap] /ʔî'dap/ difficult
b. [bi'ʔayl] /bi'ʔay/ live
c. [pîʔpîʔl] /piʔpiʔ/ rice bird
d. [ga'waʔl] /ga'waʔ/ to clear

/h/ [h] is a voiceless glottal fricative. It occurs as onset and coda.

(58)
a. [hî'dəm] /hi'dəm/ ant
b. [pó'hçʔl] /po'hoʔ/ heart
c. ['îhtî] /'ihti/ here
d. [ʔó'əhl] /ʔó'əh/ blanket

/m/ [m] is a voiced bilabial nasal. It occurs as onset and coda.

(59)
a. [ma'nçk] /ma'nok/ bird
b. [tambakl] /tambak/ dike
c. [la'nóm] /la'nom/ water

/n/ [n] is a voiced dental nasal. It occurs as onset and coda.

(60)
a. ['nobaʔ] /'nobaʔ/ but
b. [ʔantîk̚]] /ʔantik/ kind of ant
c. [ʔî'hən] /ʔi'hən/ there

/ŋ/ [ŋ] is a voiced velar nasal. It occurs as onset and coda.

(61)
a. [ŋa'lan] /ŋa'lan/ name
b. [tóŋtóŋ] /toŋtoŋ/ converse
c. [kî'diŋ] /ki'diŋ/ forehead

/l/ is a voiced dental lateral. It has the two allophones [l] and []. [l] occurs as onset and coda, except in sequence with a second identical consonant.

(62)
a. ['labçk ] /'labok/ hair
b. [malya'dî] /malya'di/ possible
c. [ló'gal] /lo'gal/ location

[] is velarized and occurs only word medial in sequence with a second identical consonant.

(63)
a. [talîlîak] /tallak/ (city of) Tarlac

/w/ [w] is a voiced rounded bilabial semivowel. It occurs as syllable onset and coda.

(64)
a. [way] /way/ which
b. ['banwa] /'banwa/ town
c. [bantaw] /bantaw/ shoulder

/y/ [y] is a voiced unrounded palatal semivowel. It occurs as onset and coda.

(65)
a. [ya'wəd ] /ya'wəd / betel nut
b. ['ʔayta] /'ʔayta/ Ayta
c. [bó'yək̚]] /bo'yək/ piglet
d. ['maway] /'maway/ wide

/i/ [î] or [e] is a front unrounded vowel normally high open but ranging to mid open in a few cases. It occurs as syllable peak in all word positions.

(66)
a. [bîtó'ka ] /bito'ka / belly
b. [ham'pîlot] /ham'pilot/ sweet rice soup
c. [kóm'padî] /kom'padi/ male sponsor
d. ['ʔîhtî]~['ʔehte] /'ʔihti/ here

/a/ [a] is a low open central unrounded vowel. It occurs as syllable peak in all word positions.

(67)
a. [ham'pîlçt ] /ham'pilot / sweet rice soup
b. [hón'dalo] /hon'dalo/ soldier
c. [bîtó'ka] /bito'ka/ belly

/ə/ is a mid close back unrounded vowel, and occurs as syllable peak in all word positions.

(68)
a. [bə'bəy ] /bə'bəy / mouth
b. [tîb'ʔə] /tib'ʔə/ to bark at

/o/ is a back rounded vowel. It occurs as syllable peak and has the two allophones [ç], [o], and [ó] .

[ç] is a mid open back rounded vowel and occurs in final CVC syllables of a word, except immediately following [a].

[o] is a mid closed back rounded vowel and occurs in final non-CVC syllables of a word, except immediately following [a] .

(69)
a. [yo] /yo/ 3PL.GEN
b. [badî'o] /badi'o/ barangay
c. [bó'oʔ] /bo'oʔ/ widow
d. [ʔa'ho] /ʔa'ho/ dog
e. [ham'pîlot] /ham'pilot/sweet rice soup

[ó] is a high open back rounded vowel and occurs in the final syllable of CVV and CVVC words after [a], and in nonfinal syllables syllables with other syllable patterns.

(70)
a. [ka'ó] /ka'o/ 2PL.NOM
b. [ʔa'óʔ] /ʔa'oʔ/ yes
c. [gó'lo] /go'lo/ quarrel
d. [móh'kada] /moh'kada/ tobacco

2.2 Orthographic considerations

The orthography for Ayta Abellen should as much as possible conform to Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines. However, since Ilokano, spoken as second language by most of the Abellen, is the lingua franca throughout the area where Ayta Abellen is spoken, and since the Botolan Sambal hymn book is used in some churches[10], the orthography of Ayta Abellen should also conform to the tradition of these languages if possible.

2.2.1 Phonemes

The following list of phonemes could lead to an initial orthography. The symbols with the asterisk (*) are the ones that need special consideration.

(71)
Phonemes Allophonic variation Orthographic symbols
/p/ [p] [p] p
/b/ [b] [b] b
/t/ [t] [t] t
/d/ [d] [d] d
/k/ [k] [k] k[11]
/g/ [g] [g] g
/ʔ/ [ʔ] (written as -)[12]
/h/ [h] h[13]
/m/ [m] m
/n/ [n] n
/ŋ/ [ŋ] ng
/l/ [l] [lî] l
/w/ [w] w
/y/ [y] y*[14]
/i/ [i] [e] i
/a/ [a] a
/ə/ [ə] e[15]
/o/ [ɔ] [o] [ó] o[16]

Additionally, the following symbols are used in loan words and names: s, r, c (for [k]), j, and probably some others.

In summary I would suggest that the consonants be written as p, t, k, (glottal stop not written), b, d, g, h, m, n, ng, l, w, y, and vowels as i, a, e (for the mid back unrounded vowel), and o. For loan words and names the symbols s, r, c, j and possibly others will be necessary.

2.2.2 Lengthened vowels

Lengthened vowels in words like /da:n/ 'way' may be written with ā to show grammatical differences as in manggawa `to clear' vs. mānggawa `the person clearing' .

2.2.3 Pronouns, the linker a and the adverb na

I would like to separate all pronouns from adjacent words since two-syllable pronouns carry stress and are thereby considered as separate phonological words. The only problem I see with that is that the first person singular pronoun ako `I' (used as topic) is always one phonological unit with the preceding word, i.e., there is no initial glottal stop in ako (the initial glottal stop is only inserted in isolation). Likewise the linker a should be written separately from the following word to avoid words like aaanak `LK+PL+child'. Attaching this linker to the preceding word could be considered as this is done with other linkers. For example, where the adverb na is realized using the LK -y, the linker is attached to the preceding word. At normal speech speed, the linker a is phonetically attached to the preceding word by omitting the glottal stop, whereas the glottal stop of the linker a is maintained following a word ending in a vowal. But even after a consonant the LK a is pronounced with a glottal stop when the speaker "has to think" before continuing speaking. Because unlike in Tagalog, the enclitic adverb na forms always a phonological unit with the preceding word and is connected to it by a linker it should not be written as a separate word but as one word with it except when the linker a is used (for the same reason that I mentioned above concerning the linker a).

(72)
proposed alternatives gloss
akoyna ako yna or akoy na I now
malyadina malyadi na It is ready now
maamot ana maamota na It's already hot
kaganaan a kaganaana all, LK
kangko a kangkoa mine, LK
peteg a petega true+LK
mo a moa your, LK
yain a yaina that, LK

2.2.4 Punctuation

Nothing has been decided yet in this area.

2.2.5 Stress

As I see it, there should be no problem in not marking stress. Up to now I only found one or two minimal pairs distinguished by stress.

2.2.6 Reiteration of whole stems, compounds

Here the Ilokano (but I don't know how it's done) or Filipino should be followed.

2.2.7 Morphophonemic changes

For the beginning I would like to show assimilation within words and write the -N as it occurs phonetically. Across word boundaries, assimilation does not need to be or should not be shown in my opinion.

Vowels deleted from the root should not be written to avoid emphatic reading.

2.2.8 Loan words

Loan words which are completely assimilated to Abellen will be spelled as they are pronounced.

(73)
a. [tadak] /tadak/ truck

2.3 Suggested areas of needed investigation

  1. Stress shift caused by suffixation. See2.1.2
  2. The usage of lengthened vowels See 2.1.3.2.2, and footnote 7, p.5. See also 2.1.3.2.2.
  3. Vowel sequences It has been questioned if words like [ta'əʔ] 'gabi root' has one syllable, as in CVV, or two syllables, as in CV.V (see 2.1.1). It has been suggested to ask the following questions to clarify the issue.
    1. Do both [aə] and [əa] occur in words?
    2. For other sequences, for example [au], do both orders occur (without being separated by a glottal stop); e.g. [au] and [ua]? If vowel sequences have few distribution restrictions, and [u] and [i] can occur in both vowel positions in a [VV] sequence, then it is preferrable to interprete [aə] or [au] or [ai] and all other vowels sequences as a sequence of two vowels (rather than a single segment diphthong).
    3. Can stress occur on the first vowel in a VV sequence as well as the second vowel, or is stress always on the second vowel in the sequence. In order to anlyse VV as peaks of two separate syllables with a syllable boundary between the two vowels (i.e. V.V), there must be evidence that either syllable can be stressed.
    4. Another possible test for determining number of syllables in a VV sequence is to ask Ayta Abellen speakers to say words syllable by syllable. Similarily, one could consider, how many beats do the words with VV sequences have (let the LA clap to each syllable).
    5. One last possibility which would make the solution much simpler is that there may be a very weak glottal stop between vowels in words such as [taəʔ] and [kai].
  4. The palatal voiceless fricative [x] See [9].
  5. The phonology of the rounded back vowels See the description of the phoneme /o/ and its allophones [ɔ], [o], and [ó] and [13] to [15]. Especially the occurance of the mid open back rounded vowel [ó] should be checked, but the whole make up of this phoneme remained somewhat nebulous.

3 Morphophonemics

3.1 Replacement

The linker -y which occurs with a word ending on a vowel is replaced by a with words ending on a consonant.

(74)
a. loway baey ‘two houses’
b. apat a baey ‘four houses’
c. kaginta[17] a baey ‘big house’

In existential and possessive phrases only, the linker -n is used which can be deleted after a word ending on -n.

(75)
a. Homain yan beyah. ‘He has no rice.’
b. Homain beyah. ‘There is no rice.’

3.2 Deletion

3.2.1 Vowel (V1 or V2) deletion with affixation

(76)
a. he’lep + -om- → homlep to enter
b. ke’teb + ma- → mak’teb able to stop
c. le’pad + -om- → lom’pad to fly
d. ta’nem + -an → taneman => tam’nan[18] to plant
e. ka’lih + -en → kalihen => kal’yen[19] to dig
f. ha’bet + -an → ‘habtan to say
g. la’kew + -en → lak’wen place to go to
h. ka’get + -en → kadten[20] to carry
i. ma’la + ma--an → mamala’an → mamal’an to dry

3.2.2 Consonant (C1 or C2) deletion)

(77)
a. ha’liw + man- → manhaliw → mana’liw to buy
b. man- + kan → mankan → mahkan[21] → ma’han to eat(AV)
c. m- + la’kew → ma’kew to go
d. maN- +pa- → mama- AV+CAUS
e. ka’lih + -en → kalihen → kal’yen[22] to dig

3.2.3 C1V2 deletion

(78)
a. paN- + pe’teg → pamteg believing
b. maika- + tatlo → maikatlo third
c. naki- + hebat → nakibat to answer, PFV

3.3 Stress shift

3.3.1 Stress shift in combined stress group

(79)
mabi’til + a’koyna → mabi'til[23] a’koyna  I’m hungry now

3.3.2 Stress shift after affixation

(80)
a. ba’bol + -en → babo’len to tie up
b. ‘kam‘po + nag--an → nagkampo‘an to set up camp
c. ta’pol + -en → tapo’len to look for
d. ha’liw + -en → hali’wen to buy, OV

3.4 Vowel raising

(81)
a. ‘mani + ‘apat → man’yepat[24] four each
b. ‘mani + ‘anem → man’yenem[25] six each

3.5 Assimilation

3.5.1 “N-”Assimilation

The ‘N’ assimilates to specific properties of the first consonant of the root which is then often deleted.

paN- → pam- / ___ {b,p,m,o[26]}

paN- → pan- / ___ {d,t,l,n,y}

paN- → pang- / ___ {g,k,h,V[27]}

paN- → pal-[28] / ___ {l}

kaN- → kam-[29] / ___ {m}

kaN- → kan-[30] / ___ {n,t,l,y}

kaN- → kang- / ___ {k}

3.5.2 Other (V2 deletion and assimilation)

(82)
a. habet + an → habtan → hadtan[31] to say
b. kaget + -en → kad’ten to carry

3.6 Syllable change and vowel raising[32] and metastasis

(83)
a. ma.ni + a.pat → man.ye.pat four each
b. di.ag + -en → di.agen → dya.gen → day.gen to do, OV
c. limo + angka--an → ang.ka.lim.wan to be afraid
d. loa + maika- → ma.i.kal.wa second
e. koa + na- → nak.wa to get

3.7 Long vowel instead of reduplication[33]

(84)
ba’bai + ba- → ,'ba:ba’i  pl. of female

3.8 Metastasis

(85)
a. di’ag + -en → dia’gen → dya’gen → day’gen to do, OV
b. pe’teh + -en → pet’hen → peh’ten to bind using bamboo
c. ta’nem + -an → taneman → tanman → tam’nan to plant

3.9 Morpheme-fusion by V1 deletion and /n/ insertion (epenthesis)

(86)
a. a + yain → aynin LK+that
b. a + yati → ayti LK+this

4 Morphology

4.1 Introduction

This section gives a preliminary sketch of Ayta Abellen morphology following a basic item-and-arrangement model. The sketch covers the following topics:

4.2 Phonemes

Ayta Abellen has 20 phonemes as shown in the following table (the first column shows the orthographic representations):

Representation Basic IPA Symbol Name Description
' ʔ ʔ glottal stop
- ʔ ʔ glottal stop
a a a low central unrounded vowel
ā ā lengthened open front unrounded vowel
b b b voiced bilabial stop
d d d voiced alveolar stop
e e e close central unrounded vowel
g g g voiced velar stop
h h h glottal fricative
i i i high front unrounded vowel
k k k voiceless velar stop
l l l alveolar lateral
m m m bilabial nasal
n n n alveolar nasal
ng ŋ ŋ velar nasal
o o o mid back rounded vowel
p p p voiceless bilabial stop
t t t voiceless alveolar stop
u u u high back rounded vowel
w w w voiced labial-velar approximant
y y y close front rounded vowel

4.3 Morpheme types

Words in this analysis of Ayta Abellen are formed from morphemes of 8 types. The following table lists the types along with a count of how many instances are in the lexicon. Section 4.3 lists some or all of these.

Count Name Description Appendix
circumfix    A circumfix is an affix made up of two separate parts which surround and attach to a root or stem. D.3.1
19  enclitic    An enclitic is a clitic that is phonologically joined at the end of a preceding word to form a single unit. Orthographically, it may attach to the preceding word. D.3.2
infix    An infix is an affix that is inserted within a root or stem. D.3.3
35  phrase    A phrase is a syntactic structure that consists of more than one word but lacks the subject-predicate organization of a clause. D.3.4
51  prefix    A prefix is an affix that is joined before a root or stem. D.3.5
3548  root    A root is the portion of a word that (i) is common to a set of derived or inflected forms, if any, when all affixes are removed, (ii) is not further analyzable into meaningful elements, being morphologically simple, and, (iii) carries the principle portion of meaning of the words in which it functions. D.3.6
547  stem    "A stem is the root or roots of a word, together with any derivational affixes, to which inflectional affixes are added." (LinguaLinks Library). A stem "may consist solely of a single root morpheme (i.e. a 'simple' stem as in man), or of two root morphemes (e.g. a 'compound' stem, as in blackbird), or of a root morpheme plus a derivational affix (i.e. a 'complex' stem, as in manly, unmanly, manliness). All have in common the notion that it is to the stem that inflectional affixes are attached" (Crystal 1997). D.3.7
suffix    A suffix is an affix that is attached to the end of a root or stem.

This appendix lists morphemes by morphological type. Only the first ten morphemes will be listed for each morphological type.

4.3.1 Circumfix

This subsection lists all the instances.

ka- -an  'STA GV'
ka- -an  'COLL'

4.3.2 Enclitic

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

=ana   'now'
=awod  'so'
=bay  'EMPH'
=bega  'absolutely'
=bengat  'just'
=dayi  'OPT'
=ingat  'on other hand'
=kano  'it is said'
=lagi  'possibly'
=laweh  'uncertainty'

4.3.3 Infix

This subsection lists all the instances.

-in-  'PFV, OV'
-in-  'PFV'
-om-  'AV '
-om-  'PV'

4.3.4 Phrase

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

agyamakanoman  'whenever'
aniton balang  'evil spirit'
Apo Dioh  'God'
balita kothido  'hearsay'
bato balani  'magnet'
bayontao  'bachelor'
habaw nono  'breast milk'
habot maih  'corn silk'
hipilyon ngipen  'tooth brush'
indyan minggo  'Indian mango'

4.3.5 Prefix

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

[C^1][V^1]-  'PL'
[C^1][V^1]-  'EMPH'
Ø-  'N>V'
Ø-  'AV'
Ø-  'No Aspect'
Ø-  'Adj > V'
Ø-  'Num>V'
aN-  'CONT'
Dup-  'DIMUN'
i-  'CV'

4.3.6 Root

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

a'  'REL'
a   'LNK'
aba  'delay'
abagat  'rainy season'
abala  'activity'
abala  'bother'
abalayan   'parents by marriage'
abang  'rent'
abano  'cigar'
abanti  'advance'

4.3.7 Stem

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

adadoen  'plow'
adapan  'front of'
agapayan  'stay beside'
agwayen  'cut vines'
ahonbalang  'wild creature'
ampagkabawan  'being senile'
ampameyeng-peyeng  'shake head'
anak-anak  'doll'
anemagatoh  '600'
anganagen  'attack by termites'

4.3.8 Suffix

This subsection lists all the instances.

-an  'GV'
-en  'OV'

4.4 Word categories

In this analysis of Ayta Abellen there are 11 major syntactic categories for words. Some of these in turn have subcategories. The following is a complete list of the categories and subcategories that are posited (along with a count of how many instances of each are found in the lexicon; some or all of these are in the appendix).

The categories are defined as follows (the category's abbreviation is shown within square brackets):

4.4.1 Adjective [Adj]

An adjective is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a noun or pronoun, giving more information about the noun or pronoun's referent.

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

abli  'valuable'
ada  'beautiful'
aep  'considerate'
aha  'sharp'
ahem   'sour'
ak-haw  'strong'
akokoh  'selfish'
aktong  'stiff, rigid'
alah  'o'clock'
alalang  'sharp'

4.4.1.1 Unaffixed adjectives

Some word bases function as adjectives with no affixation:

(87)
a. alan old (used)
b. baloktot wrong
c. bayo new
d. bogtong only
e. bokod alone
f. hohto correct
g. kanayon another
h. kolang lacking
i. lombo different
j. padiho same
k. pawa pure
l. peteg true
m. sigorado sure

4.4.1.2 Affixed adjectives

The majority of adjectives are formed by prefixing a noun base with ma-:

(88)
a. ma-ada 'beautiful'
b. ma-amot 'hot'
c. ma-bitil 'hungry'
d. ma-dinat 'dirty'

(89)
Peteg a maamot haanin.
true LK hot today.

4.4.1.3 Pluralization

Adjectives can be marked for plural number. With ma- adjectives the form -nga is prefixed between the ma- prefix and the base:

(90)
a. ma-kandi 'small (SG)'
b. manga-kandi 'small (PL)'
(91)
a. matobag 'brutal (SG)'
b. mangatobag 'brutal (PL)'
(92)
a. malake 'big (SG)'
b. mangalake 'big (PL)'

(93)
a.
Makandin bengat ti tanda ko.
'I know just a little.'
 
b.
Hatew ha mangakandi kayi po ihtibay, nadama ti paday mi.
'Then, when we were still little, our rice was destroyed.'

It is not yet known how unaffixed adjectives are pluralized.

4.4.1.4 Superlative degree

A ma- adjective forms the superlative degree by prefixing the form pinaka-:

(94)
a. pinakamatowa 'oldest'
b. pinakamakaydeng 'youngest'
c. pinakadimengdimeng 'purest'

(95)
a.
Yatin matowa ye pinakamatowa ha Labney.
‘This old one is the oldest in Labney.’

4.4.1.5 Actuality: surprise and superlativeness

Like in Tagalog there seems to be another class of adjectives that is formed by the affix ka-. This class of adjectives indicates superlativeness and surprise of the quality the base denotes. It indicates that the speaker actually saw or experienced this quality:

(96)
a. kaginta 'big'
b. kalake 'big'

(97)
a.
Miabot ako ihtew ha angkonaan lan aho, bilewen ko ket kaginta a maambal.
‘When I arrived where the dogs were, I saw a big python.’

4.4.1.6 Intensification

An intensive degree of quality denoted by an adjective is expressed by a repetition of the base. With unaffixed adjectives the base also is doubled:

(98)
a. dimengdimeng 'very pure'

(99)
Labay ko ket pinakadimengdimeng dayi.
'I like the very pure.'

4.4.1.7 Limitation

A limitation degree of the quality expressed by an adjective may be indicated be reduplicating the first CV- of the adjective

(100)
a. bobokod 'alone'

4.4.2 Adverb [Adv]

An adverb, narrowly defined, is a part of speech whose members modify verbs for such categories as time, manner, place, or direction. An adverb, broadly defined, is a part of speech whose members modify any constituent class of words other than nouns, such as verbs, adjectives, adverbs, phrases, clauses, or sentences. Under this definition, the possible type of modification depends on the class of the constituent being modified.

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

=ana   'now'
=awod  'so'
=bay  'EMPH'
=bega  'absolutely'
=bengat  'just'
=dayi  'OPT'
=ingat  'on other hand'
=kano  'it is said'
=lagi  'possibly'
=laweh  'uncertainty'

4.4.2.1 Enclitic adverbs

Enclitic adverbs are a closed set of uninflectable particles that occur usually immediately after the predicate. Any enclitic pronoun that may be present precede the enclitic adverbs. The most common enclitic adverbs and their meaning are as follows:

(101)
a. na (ana, -yna, -na) 'now, already’
b. po 'still, yet'
c. bengat 'just, only'
d. man 'emphasis, polite request'
e. dayi 'desire'
f. met 'emphasis, in contrast'
g. teed 'also'
h. kano 'reported speech'
i. lagi 'possibly'
j. nayi 'question (rhetorical)'
k. laweh 'question (certainty)'

(The enclitic adverb na takes the linker a (ana) when following words ending in a consonant; it takes the linker -y (-yna), when following words ending in the vowels a, e, or o; no linker is used when following words ending on -i (-na).)

All of the enclitic adverbs can occur without other enclitic adverbs, except teedalso’, but when more than one enclitic adverb occurs in a sentence, their relative order is fixed. The order is as follows[34]:

na/po bengat -
na/po met nayi/laweh
na/po man -
po dayi -
- met pa
- met (a) teed
- kano -
- lagi -

Example of sentences using enclitic adverbs are as follows:

(102)
No maabonoan moyna, bilewen mon manged.
no m-ka-abono-an mo=yna bilew-en mo-n ma-nged
if CTPLT-STA-fertilizer-GV 2SG.NOM=already see-OV 2SG=LK ADJ-good
When you already applied the fertilizer, watch (it) carefully.
(103)
Awo, malyadi ka po nin magodong.
awo malyadi ka po nin m-pag-odong
yes possible 2SG.NOM still LK CTPLT-DUR-return
Yes, it is possible for you to still come back.
(104)
Yabayin anan bengat ti tanda ko habiyen ha Ayta.
yain=bay a=na=n bengat ti tanda ko habi-en ha ayta
this=EMPH LK=now=LK just NOM know 1SG.GEN language=OV DAT Ayta
Just this is now what I know to say in Ayta.
(105)
Ano met nayi ye anak mo?
ano met nayi ye anak mo
how-many on-the-other-hand QUES NOM child 2SG.GEN
And how many children do you have?
(106)
Manaliw ako po man.
m-pan-haliw ako po man.
CTPLT-PL-buy 1SG.NOM still please
Please let me still buy some more.
(107)
Magtabahtabah kitawo po dayi.
m-pag-tabahtabah kitawo po dayi
CTPLT-DUR-have.snack 1PL.INCL.NOM yet OPT
I like us to have a snack yet.
(108)
Emen met pa ha legan.
emen met pa ha legan
like also still as while
Still the same as always.
(109)
Hiya met ateed.
hiya met ateed
3SG.EMPH also then
He also.
(110)
Ahe na kano labay ti kotsokotso.
ahe na kano labay ti kotsokotso
NEG 3SG.GEN it-is-said like NOM make-trouble
So she said she does not like trouble making.
(111)
Way-omen lagiy dapaten ko, wana nin laki.
way-omen lagi=ye dapat=-en ko wan-=na nin laki
how possibly=NOM do=OV 1SG.GEN said=3SG.GEN GEN male
"What will I possibly do?", thought the man.

4.4.2.2 Moveable adverbs

Moveable adverbs are full words or phrases that do not have a fixed position in the sentence.

4.4.2.2.1 Manner

Manner adverbs are either unaffixed, or, if affixed they are a subclass of ma- adjectives. Examples are:

(112)
a. manged 'well'
b. kadihko 'maybe'
c. kaya 'rather'
d. oman 'again'
e. popoh 'always'

(113)
Manged kan manloto.
ma-nged ka=n m-pan-loto
ADJ-good 2SG.NOM=LK CTPLT-PL-cook
You cook well.

4.4.2.2.2 Time

Time adverbs fall into two classes: unmarked and marked.

4.4.2.2.2.1 Unmarked time adverbs

Note that some time adverbs unmarked for case are marked for time. If they refer to the future they are marked with ma-, and if they refer to the past they are marked with na-.

(114)
a. bowan-bowan 'every month'
b. minamangaamot 'every day'
c. hine 'before'
d. naboyot 'a long time'
e. naapon 'yesterday'
f. nadeglem 'yesterday at night time'
g. nangon 'earlier (same day)'
h. hatew 'then'
i. haanin 'now'
j. mabekah 'morning'
k. madanon 'soon'
l. madeglem 'at night time'
m. lano 'later '
n. minghan 'some time in the furure'

(115)
Ha lomateng yatin domingo, minamangaamot akoynan ampoli.
ha lateng-om yati=n domingo mina-mangaamot ako=yna=n aN-poli
DAT arrive-AV this=LK week every-day 1SG.NOM=already=LK CONT-go.home
This coming week I will go home every week.
(116)
Naboyot akoynan ahe nakew ihti
n-ka-boyot ako=yna=n ahe n-ka-lakew ihti
PRF-STA-long.time 1SG.NOM=already=LK NEG PRF-STA-go here
I did not come here for a long time.
(117)
Moli akoynan madanon.
m-oli ako=yna=n ma-danon
CTPLT=go.home 1SG.NOM=already=LK ADV=soon
I’m going home soon.

4.4.2.2.2.2 Marked time adverbs

(118)
a. ha legan 'at some time ago'
b. ha kabatowan 'at the river'
4.4.2.2.3 Locative

Locative adverbs fall into two classes: marked and unmarked.

4.4.2.2.3.1 Unmarked locative adverbs

The unmarked locative adverbs include the following:

(119)
a. ihti 'here'
b. ihen 'there'
c. ihtew 'over there'

4.4.2.2.3.2 Marked locative adverbs

The marked locative consists of a noun plus the oblique case-marker ha.

(120)
a. ha likol 'behind'
b. ha lohan 'down river'

(121)
Ibat akoyna ha Kayawedan.
ibat ako=yna ha kayawedan
from 1SG.NOM=already OBL Kayawedan
I’m from Kayawedan.

(122)
Mangkomonin ako ihtibay ha badion Labney.
m-paN-konin-om ako ihti=bay ha badion labney
CTPLT=PL=reside=AV 1SG.NOM here=EMPH OBL village Labney
I’m living here in the village of Labney.

4.4.2.2.4 Instrumental

Instrumental adverbs denote the instrument used to perform an action. They are expressed as an ergative case-marked nonpersonal noun. An example is:

(123)
Antoyhoken lan etak.
aN-toyhok-en la=nin etak
CONT=stab=OV 3PL.GEN=GEN machete
They are stabbing (someone) with a machete.

4.4.2.2.5 Causal

Causal adverbs denote the reason or cause of an action or situation. They are composed of the preposition olibecause of’ plus an oblique case-marked nimonal. An example is:

(124)
Kaya-bay, ti kabibiay haanin ket magolo oli ha hilay NPA.
kaya=bay ti kabibiay haanin ket m-ka-golo oli ha hilay NPA.
therefore=EMPH NOM living now INV CTPLT-STA-trouble because.of OBL 3PL.NOM=NOM NPA
Therefore, life now is troubled because of the NPA.

4.4.2.2.6 Referential

Referential adverbs denote the subject of a locutionary action. They are composed of the preposition oliabout’ plus a locative adverb or an oblique case-marked nominal. Examples are:

(125)
Main akon itepet oli ihtibay a papel.
main ako=n i-tepet oli ihti=bay a papel
EXT 1SG.NOM=LK CV-question about this=EMPH LK paper
I have a question about this paper here.

(126)
Main ka nin tanam kangko oli ha pangaibeg ko kamo.
main ka nin tanam kangko oli ha paN-ka-ibeg ko kamo
EXT 2SG.NOM GEN feeling 1SG.DAT about OBL PL-STA-love 1SG.GEN 2SG.DAT
You have some feeling towards me about my love towards you.

4.4.2.2.7 Measurement

Measurement adverbs denote the extent of a process. They are composed of the oblique case-marker ha plus an expression of measurement.

(127)
Tianoy bayad ha maghay mitodo kanan tapih ayti.
ti-ano=ye bayad ha magha=y mitodo kana=nin tapih a-yati
each-how.many=NOM payment DAT one=NOM meter 3SG.DAT=LNK cloth LK-this
How much is the payment for one meter of this cloth?

4.4.2.2.8 Other Adverbials

The adverb agyaeven’ is used as an intensive to stress an unlikely instance. The following example is an answer to the invitation to eat.

(128)
Agya ahe ana, noba tawayan ko makandi.
agya ahe a=na, noba taway-an ko ma-kandi
even NEG LK=now, but taste-GV 1SG.GEN ADJ-small
Not so, but i will taste a little.

The adverb ahenot’ simply negates clauses and questions.

(129)
Ahe akoyna nakokonaan.
ahe ako=yna n-ka-CV-konin-an
NEG 1SG.NOM=already PRF-STA-EMPH-locate-GV
I can’t remember anymore.

(130)
Ahe, hikoy pinakamakaydeng.
ahe hiko=ye pinaka-ma-kaydeng
NEG 1SG.EMPH=NOM SUP-ADJ-young
No, I’m the youngest (answer to the question if someone is the oldest child in a family).

The adverb aliwanot’ negates adjectives.

(131)
Aliwan matoynong ye paghabi ko.
aliwa=n ma-toynong ye pag-habi ko
NEG=LK ADJ=straight NOM GER=language 1SG.GEN
My speech is not grammatical.

4.4.3 Connective [Conn]

Also known as a conjunction, a connective is a class of parts of speech whose members syntactically link words or larger constituents, and expresses a semantic relationship between them. A conjunction is positionally fixed relative to one or more of the elements related by it, thus distinguishing it from constituents such as English conjunctive adverbs.

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

=n  'COMP'
a'  'REL'
a   'LNK'
angga  'until'
bana  'because'
bayo  'before'
biha  'and then'
bilang  'like'
boy  'and'
dinan  'comparative'

4.4.3.1 Conjunctive

Two sentences that a loose coordinating connection with each are related with ket.

(132)
Maholok hilan mapo. Ket maholok met nin mapo ti CAFGU a kalalamoan mi haanin ihtibay.
more.than 1PL.NOM 10 and more.than also GEN 10 NOM CAFGU LK companion 1PL.EXCL.GEN now here.
They are more than 10. And more than 10 also are the CAFGU who are our companions here.

Two clauses in the same sentence are usually connected with boy 'and'.

(133)
Ampangan kayin bengat nin kalot, boy no main makwen kena ti tatang ko, yabayti ye an-ihaliw mi nin beyah.
eating 1PL.EXCL.NOM just GEN kalot and if EXT can.get meat NOM father 1SG.GEN this NOM buying 1PL.EXCL.GEN GEN rice
We are just eating kalot and if my father is able to get meat, this is what we are using to exchange for rice.

Two NPs can also be connected with boy 'and'.

(134)
Main hilan tanem a obi boy loko boy malabong a tatanamen la.
EXT 3PL.NOM plant LK ube and taro and many LK plants 3PL.GEN
They have ube and taro and many other plants.

4.4.3.2 Disjunctive

Disjunction is signalled by the use of o 'or'.

(135)
Ahe ko tanda no nakaoli hila o ahe.
NEG 1SG.GEN know if returned.home 3PL.NOM or NEG
I don't know if they made it home or not.

4.4.3.3 Adversative

Clauses in adversative relationship are connected with noba 'but'.

(136)
Main kayin miting noba ahe natoloy.
EXT 1PL.EXCL.NOM meeting but NEG continue
We had a meeting but it did not push through.

4.4.3.4 Reason

Reason is often shown by using ta 'for'.

(137)
Nona koyna ihti ha Burgos, ta alah tres po ye pila nan Bondar.
go.first 1SG.GEN here DAT Burgos for o'clock three still NOM line GEN Bondar
I will go ahead to Burgos for 3 o'clock still is the line (jeeps) of Bondar.

4.4.3.5 Purpose

Purpose is shown by using ta-omen 'in order that'.

(138)
Angkatongtong bengat ta-omen makit ye pinangibatan min tradition.
speaking only in.order.that will.be.seen NOM source 1PL.EXCL.GEN tradition
I am just saying this so that the source of our tradition can be seen.

4.4.4 Interjection [Interj]

An interjection is a part of speech, typically brief in form, such as one syllable or word, whose members are used most often as exclamations or parts of an exclamation. An interjection, typically expressing an emotional reaction, often with respect to an accompanying sentence, is not syntactically related to other accompanying expressions, and may include a combination of sounds not otherwise found in the language.

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

adey  'don't'
adi  'don't'
agya  'not 3SG'
ah  'ahh'
araay  'ouch!'
arooy  'oh my!'
awo  'yes'
awobay  'yes'
ay  'oh!'
bahala  'it's up to'

4.4.5 Noun [N]

"Nouns are items which display certain types of inflection (e.g. of case or number), have a specific distribution (eg. they may follow prepositions but not, say, modals), and perform a specific syntactic function (e.g. as subject or object of a sentence). Nouns are generally subclassified into common and proper types, and analysed in terms of number, gender, case, and countability." (Crystal 2008:333)

The Noun category has 1 inflectional template:

Number

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

abagat  'rainy season'
abala  'activity'
abalayan   'parents by marriage'
abang  'rent'
abano  'cigar'
abaw  'beetle'
abay  'lower abdomen'
Abellen  'Abellen'
Abelling  'Abellen'
abeng  'quail'

4.4.5.1 Mass Nouns

These nouns refer to something other than a distinct countable quantity:

(139)
a. paday ‘rice’
b. lanom ‘water’

4.4.5.2 Pluralization

Nonpersonal nouns are pluralized by reduplicating the first CV- of the singular form of the noun:

(140)
tao 'person' tatao 'persons'
katongno 'brother' kakatongno 'brothers'

If a noun base begins with a vowel, the unwritten initial glottal stop functions as a consonant:

(141)
anak 'child' aanak 'children'

If a noun base begins with two identical CV-syllables, the vowel of the first syllable is lengthened to form the plural:

(142)
babai 'woman' baba:i 'women'

4.4.5.3 Derived Nouns

Word bases can form derived nouns by the addition of derivational affixes.

4.4.5.3.1 Abstract nouns

ka- + base + -an and ka-CV + base form abstract nouns from the base:

(143)
tapol 'search' katapolan 'need'
biay ‘life’ kabiayan ‘livelihood’
haad ‘situation’ kahahaad ‘situation’

4.4.5.3.2 Locative nouns

base + -an designates a place associated with what is specified in the base:

(144)
tanem 'plant' tanaman 'plantation'
ibat 'from' ibatan 'origin'
angga 'until' anggaan 'limit'

4.4.5.3.3 Origin nouns

taga- + base refers to a person from the place designated by the base:

(145)
Germany 'Germany' taga-Germany 'person from Germany'

4.4.5.3.4 Social relationship nouns

mi- + dup + base refers to more than two people in an intimate kinship or social relationship:

(146)
katongno 'sibling' mikakatongno 'siblings'
pamilya 'family' mipapamilya 'family members'

4.4.5.3.5 Diminuative nouns

base + base refers to an imitation of what the base designates:

(147)
baey 'house' baeybaey 'dollhouse'

4.4.5.3.6 Collective nouns

ka- + dup + base + -an, refers to a group of more than two people in a companionship relationship:

(148)
lamo 'companion' kalalamoan 'group of companions'

4.4.5.3.7 Occupational nouns

ma:g- + base, refers to a person who occupation is what the base designates:

(149)
talon 'field' ma:gtalon 'farmer'

4.4.5.3.8 Associative nouns nouns

ka- + base refers to one of two people associated in a reciprocal relationship designated by the base:

(150)
tanda 'know' katanda 'acquantaince'

4.4.5.4 Gerunds

Gerunds are translatable by the ‘-ing’ form of a verb in English.

(151)
Basic form
(1) -om- + base
Aspectless Gerund
pan- + -om- + base
komodang ‘walk’ pangomodang ‘walking’
(2) maN- + base paN- + base
manganop ‘hunt’ panganop ‘hunting’

The glosses and in some cases the parsing of the underlined forms in the following examples are not certain. More data are needed to confirm or discard this analysis.

(152)
Pangwa mo ko nin magha.
paN-kowa mo ako nin magha
GER-get 2SG.GEN 1SG.NOM GEN one
Get me one!

In this example the gerund functions as imperative (ko being the beneficiary).

(153)
Impakalan naynan ahawa ko ye pamangan..
-iN-pa-kalan na=yna=nin ahawa ko ye paN-pangan
PFV-CAUS-prepare 3SG.GEN=already=GEN spouse 1SG.GEN NOM GER=eat=GV
My wife already prepared the food.

(154)
Yabayti ye panongtongen nan palmama..
yati=bay ye pan-tongtong-en na=n pan-mama
this=EMPH NOM GER-talk-OV 3SG.GEN=LK GER=chewing.preparation
This is the story of making chewing preparation.

(155)
kahahaad nin pagtalon.
kahahaad nin pag-talon
situation GEN GER-field
situation of working in the field (i.e. farming)

(156)
Pamapalanom anggan manawa yayney paday..
pan-CV-pa-lanom angga=n m-pan-dawa ya=yna=ye paday
GER-CONT-CAUS-water until=LK CTPLT=PL=fruit 3SG.NOM=already=NOM rice
Continue to water (it) until the rice bears fruit.

In this example again the gerund functions as an imperative.

(157)
Mangikonin ka nin pamatey kanla.
m-pan-i-konin ka nin pan-pa-patey kanla
CTPLT-PL-CV-locate 2SG.NOM GEN GER-CAUS-die 3PL.DAT
Place some poison (killer) to them.

4.4.6 Number [Num]

4.4.6.1 Cardinal numeral [CardNum]

A cardinal numeral is a numeral of the class whose members are considered basic in form, are used in counting, and are used in expressing how many objects are referred to.

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

anem  '6'
anemagatoh  '600'
anemapo'  '60'
apat  '4'
apatagatoh  '400'
apatapo'  '40'
gatoh  '100'
hyam  '9'
hyamagatoh  '900'
hyamapo'  '90'

4.4.6.2 Ordinal numeral [Ordnum]

An ordinal numeral is a numeral belonging to a class whose members designate positions in a sequence.

This subsection lists all the instances.

ikalwa  'second'
ikatlo  'third'
kakalwa  'second'
kakatlon  'third'
kalwa  'second'
katlo  'third'

4.4.7 Preposition [Prep]

"Prepositions are the set of items which typically precede noun phrases (often single nouns or pronouns), to form a single constituent of structure." (Crystal 2008:383)

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

=n  'GEN'
=y  'NOM'
ala  'one'
alas  '> two o'clock'
angga  'until'
bahta  'as long as'
ha  'OBL'
hilay  'PropmrkrPL'
hilay  'PLTopicmrkr'
hiyay   'TM'

4.4.8 Pronoun [Pro]

"Pronouns are the closed set of items which can be used to substitute for a noun phrase (or single noun)." (Crystal 2008:391)

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

agyahinyaman  'whatever'
ako  '1SG.NOM'
hika  '2SG.EMPH'
hikawo  '2PL.EMPH'
hikayi  '1PL.EXCL.EMPH'
hikita  '1DU.EMPH'
hikitawo  '1PL.INCL.EMPH'
hiko  '1SG.EMPH'
hila  '3PL.EMPH'
hilabayin  '3PL.EMPH'

4.4.8.1 Personal Pronoun

4.4.8.1.1 The form of personal pronouns

Personal ponouns are internally marked for case. (158) shows the personal pronouns according to case, person, and number.

(158)
Number Person EMPH Nom Gen Dat Gloss
non-plural 1 hiko
1SG.EMPH
ako/ko
1SG.NOM
ko
1SG.GEN
kangko
1SG.DAT
I, mine, to me, etc.
2 hika
2SG.EMPH
ka
2SG.NOM
mo
2SG.GEN
kammo
2SG.DAT
you, your, to you, etc.
1+2 (incl.) hikita
1DU.EMPH
kita
1DU.NOM
ta
1DU.GEN
kanta
1DU.DAT
I and you, ours, etc.
3 hiya
3SG.EMPH
ya
3SG.NOM
na
3SG.GEN
kana
3SG.DAT
he/she/it, his, etc.
plural 1 (excl.) hikayi
1PL.EXCL.EMPH
kayi
1PL.EXCL.NOM
mi
1PL.EXCL.GEN
kanmi/kammi
1PL.EXCL.DAT
we (but not you), etc.
2 hikawo
2PL.EMPH
kawo
2PL.NOM
yo
2PL.GEN
kanyo
2PL.DAT
you, yours, to you, etc.
1+2 (incl.) hikitawo
1PL.INCL.EMPH
kitawo
1PL.INCL.NOM
tawo
1PL.INCL.GEN
kantawo
1PL.INCL.DAT
we and you, etc.
3 hila
3PL.EMPH
hila
3PL.NOM
la
3PL.GEN
kanla/kalla
3PL.DAT
they, their, etc.

In addition to these pronouns there are a two composite pronouns that combine the functions of the first person singular genitive form with the second person singular and second person plural nominative forms:

kata 1SG.GEN 2SG.NOM ‘I...you (sg.)’, from ko ka

katawo 1SG.GEN 2PL.NOM ‘I...you (pl.)’, from ko kawo

The forms ko ka and ko kawo are ungrammatical and must be replaced by the appropriate composite pronouns.

(159)
Angkaaliktan kata.  ‘I’m loving you.’

4.4.8.1.2 The functions of personal pronouns

EMPH pronouns occur most often as free forms in the fronted position in a sentence which signals discourse prominence, both syntactically clause-internal as fronted noun-phrase and clause-external (as delimiting component).

(160)
a. Hikaiy ibat ha Kayawedan. ‘We (excl.) are the ones from Kayawedan.’
b. (Compare: Ibat kai ha Kayawedan. ‘We are from Kayawedan.’)
c. Hiko, ibat ako ha Germany. ‘As for me, I’m from Germany.’

NOM marked pronouns occur:

1. as constituents in all verbal clause types,

(161)
a. Angkatoloy ako. ‘I’m sleeping.’
b. Manyag hila nin baey. ‘They will make a house.’

2. as possessor in existential clauses (with mainexistence’ and homainnon-exist).’

(162)
a. Main akon tatloy baey. ‘I have three houses.’
b. Homain yan beyah. ‘He has no rice.’

3. The 3rd person singular and plural pronouns function as the base of demonstrative pronouns when affixed with the the suffixes -ti, -in and -tew, which denote the distance of an object in relation to speaker and hearer (see (170)).

GEN marked pronouns occur:

1. as constituents in all verbal clauses,

(163)
Hamhamen la yay baboy.  ‘They snatched the pig away.’

2. as possessive pronouns at noun phrase level when possessive occurs after the noun.

(164)
Tapolen mo yay etak ko.  ‘Look for my machete.’

DAT marked pronouns occur:

1. as oblique constituents in all verbal clauses,

(165)
Angkaaliket ako kamo.  ‘I love you.’

2. as oblique constituent in existential clauses,

(166)
Main ka nin tanam met kangko.  ‘You also have feelings towards me.’

3. as comment in a possessive clause,

(167)
Kangko yain.  ‘That is mine.’

4. in referential phrases,

(168)
Tongtongen ko…oli kallan māgtalon.  ‘I will talk…about the farmers.’

5. in non-verbal expressions.

(169)
a. Omon met kamo. ‘The same to you.’
b. Malake a halamat kanyo. ‘Many thanks to you.’

4.4.8.2 Demonstrative [Dem]

A demonstrative is a determiner that is used deictically to indicate a referent's spatial, temporal, or discourse location. A demonstrative functions as a modifier of a noun, or a pronoun.

(170)
Class I – personal Class II Class III
number full minimal locative temporal
singular hiyati yati ihti haanin near (d1)
plural hila yati
singular hiyain yain ihen hine some distance (d2)
plural hila yain
singular hiyatew yatew ihtew hatew far away (d3)
plural hila yatew

4.4.8.2.1 Personal demonstrative pronouns (class I)

The nominative third-person pronouns ya and hila are used to form the singular and plural of the Class I personal demonstrative pronouns respectively. The suffixes -ti, -in, and -tew show the relative distance of the item or person referred to: -ti indicates nearness (to speaker and hearer), -in indicates some distance (close to hearer, or only somewhat close to hearer and speaker), and -tew indicates distance (from both hearer and speaker).

The full forms of the singular demonstrative personal pronouns are formed by adding the prefix hi- to the minimal form. There is no formal distiction between full and minimal forms of the plural personal demonstrative pronouns.

Personal demonstrative pronouns are unmarked for case. To mark them for case the demonstrative pronouns are preceded by the personal pronouns ya or hila or by personal pronoun plus case-marker combinations, but the simple form of the demonstrative pronoun can by itself, or as part of a noun phrase realize the absolutive argument of a verbal clause. The personal demonstrative pronoun never occurs in the ergative case because its definiteness would obligatorily require it to be the absolutive argument of the clause.

(171)
a. Ipatanda ko lano no mayadi yati. ‘I will let you know later when this is finished.’
b. Aya hila yain? ‘What are these?’
c. Makew ako ha kabatoan ta oyahan ko ya yati. ‘I will go to the rive because I will wash this.’

The distribution of the minimal and the full form of the demonstrative pronoun is identical in the following positions: Both can occur as nominal modifiers in modification constructions, in genitive noun-phrases, in oblique clause constituents, and probably both occur in equative clauses and with the non-personal oblique marker ha.

(172)
a. yain a gobat ‘that war’
b. hiyatin kahahaad ‘this situation’
c. nan yain ‘of this’
d. nan hiyati ‘of this’
e. kanan yain ‘with/from that’
f. kanan hiyain ‘with/from that’
g. Tepeten na yayna ti babai kanan yain. ‘He would now ask the girl about this.’
h. Homawa yay balatang kanan hiyain. ‘The young lady was weary of this.’
i. Yati ye kaginta a baey. ‘This is the big house.’
j. Hiyabayti ye makaagat. ‘This is the oldest.’
k. ibat ha hiyain ‘from that’

But only the minimal form can be used as the free form in short answers.

(173)
Yati.  ‘This.’ (i.e. answering a question like “Which do you want?”)

4.4.8.2.2 Locative demonstrative pronouns (class II)

Locative demonstrative pronouns are formed by affixing the locative bound root ih- with basically the same suffixes (but with one vowel change) that are used to mark the personal demonstrative pronouns for relative distance of the item or person referred to (as shown in the chart 4), so that Class I and Class II demonstrative pronouns can be summarized as follows.

(174)
Class I Class I
deictic in space, time and relation: ya/hila+ deictic in space:.ih-+[35]
near (d1) 'this' -ti near (locd1) 'here'
some distance (d2) 'that' -in -en some dist. (locd2) ‘there’
far away (d3) 'that over there' -tew far away (locd3) 'over there'
4.4.8.2.3 Temporal demonstrative pronouns (class III)

The temporal demonstrative pronouns have some similarities in form with the personal demonstrative pronouns and the locative pronouns. The temporal demonstrative pronouns are also mark relative distance of the item or person referred to.

(175)
a. haanin ‘now’
b. hine ‘some time ago’
c. hatew ‘then, at that time’

4.4.8.2.4 Emphatic demonstrative pronouns

Emphatic forms of the personal demonstrative pronouns and the locative demonstrative pronouns are formed by affixing any of the forms of these pronouns with the enclitic -bay. There are no emphatic temporal demonstrative pronouns. The emphatic demonstrative pronouns occur in equative clauses and in the fronted position of verbal clauses signaling discourse prominence.

(176)
Class I Class II Class III
number full[36] minimal locative temporal
singular hiyabayti yabayti ihtibay --- near (d1)
plural hilabayti
singular hiyabayin yabayin ihenbay --- some distance (d2)
plural hilabayin
singular hiyabaytew yabaytew ihtewbay --- far away (d3)
plural hilabaytew[37]

(177)
a. Yabayin ye baey yo. ‘That is your house.’
b. Yabayin a maambal antibeen lan aho ko. ‘It was that python that my dogs barked at.’
c. Iyabayin ilakew me ha lohan. ‘That is what we take to the lowland.’
d. ...oli ha yabaytew ‘...because of that’
e. Mangkomonin ako ihtibay ha badion Labney. ‘I live here in the barangay Labney.'
f. Labay ko ihtibay, ta matana. I like it here because it’s peaceful.
g. Malabong a hadtan ko tongkol ihtibay. I have much to say about this here.
h. Ihtibay ti nagpohtoan la. It was here that they set up camp.

4.4.8.3 Interrogative pro-form [Interog Pro-form]

An interrogative pro-form is a pro-form that is used in questions to stand for the item questioned.

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

ano  'how many'
aya  'what'
aya  'which'
hinya  'what; who'
hinyain  'what is that'
hinyatew  'what is that'
hinyati  'what is this'
makano  'when'
nakano  'when'
pano  'how'

4.4.8.4 Indefinite Pronoun

agya hinya 'whoever'
agya aya 'whatever'
agya way ihtew 'wherever'
agya makano 'whenever'

4.4.9 Verb [V]

A Verb is a part of speech whose members typically signal events and actions; constitute, singly or in a phrase, a minimal predicate in a clause; govern the number and types of other constituents which may occur in the clause; and, in inflectional languages, may be inflected for tense, aspect, voice, modality, or agreement with other constituents in person, number, or grammatical gender.

The Verb category has 5 inflectional templates:

AV/PV/CV inflection template
OV/GV inflection template
PFV OV inflection template
Prolonged action template
Stative verb template

These templates are valid for not only this category, but also its subcategory: Pseudo verb.

The Verb category has 3 inflection classes: partial, motion, and state.

The Verb category has 2 inflectable features: voice in Philippine-type languages and aspect.

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

aba  'delay'
abala  'bother'
abang  'rent'
abanti  'advance'
abaw  'gather beetles'
abholto  'absolve'
abli  'value'
ablo  'out of line'
abo  'heat'
aboh  'pant'

4.4.9.1 Pseudo verb [PseudoV]

A partially inflectable verb.

The Pseudo verb category has 1 inflectional template:

Pseudo verb

This subsection lists the first ten instances.

ba'ko  'I thought'
ba'la  'they thought'
ba'mo  'you thought'
ba'na  'he thought'
bobokod  'do alone'
labay  'like'
main  'EXT'
padah  'speed up'
tanda  'know'
wanla  'they said'

4.5 Inflection

In this analysis of Ayta Abellen the following word categories are inflected:

Noun (4.5.1)
Verb (4.5.2)

In the inflectional templates expressed below, parentheses indicate that a slot is optional.

4.5.1 Noun inflection

This section lists all inflectional templates and slots for the Noun category.

4.5.1.1 Noun Templates

The category Noun has the following template.

4.5.1.1.1 Number

These are the morphemes in the noun prefix slot which inflect the stem for number. Singular nouns are not marked. [C^1][V^1] means that the first consonant and vowel are reduplicated from the stem.

(Noun pre) Stem
[C^1][V^1]-  'PL'
 

4.5.1.2 Noun Slots and Fillers

The following is a listing of the fillers of the slot involved in Noun inflection.

4.5.1.2.1 Noun pre

These are the morphemes in the noun prefix slot.

Form Gloss Definition
[C^1][V^1]-  'PL' Plural

4.5.2 Verb inflection

This section lists all inflectional templates and slots for the Verb category and its subcategories.

4.5.2.1 Verb Templates

The category Verb has the following templates.

4.5.2.1.1 AV/PV/CV inflection template

This is the inflection template for AV/PV/CV verbs. This template is valid for not only the Verb category, but also its subcategory: Pseudo verb.

Aspect Voice prefix Stem
aN-  'CONT'
-in-  'PFV'
m-  'CTPLT'
n -  'PFV'
Ø-  'AV'
i-  'CV'
-om-  'AV '
-om-  'PV'
 
4.5.2.1.2 OV/GV inflection template

This is the inflection template for OV/GV verbs. This template is valid for not only the Verb category, but also its subcategory: Pseudo verb.

Aspect Stem (Voice suffix)
aN-  'CONT'
-in-  'PFV'
m-  'CTPLT'
n -  'PFV'
 
-an  'GV'
-en  'OV'
4.5.2.1.3 PFV OV/CV inflection template

This is the inflection template for aspect-voice portmanteau forms. This template is valid for not only the Verb category, but also its subcategory: Pseudo verb.

Aspect/voice Stem
-in-  'PFV, OV'
in--  'PFV, OV'
iN-  'PFV, CV'
 
4.5.2.1.4 Prolonged action template

This is the inflection template for prolonged action stems that are derived into nouns. This template is valid for not only the Verb category, but also its subcategory: Pseudo verb. This template is a non-final template. That is, when it applies, it does not yet make a well-formed word. It requires a derivational affix to change its category and then the resulting category may have an inflectional template to complete it.

Om prefix Stem
-om-  'AV '
-om-  'PV'
 
4.5.2.1.5 Stative verb template

This is the inflection template for stative verbs. This template is valid for not only the Verb category, but also its subcategory: Pseudo verb.

Aspect Stative voice Stem (Stative voice suffix)
aN-  'CONT'
-in-  'PFV'
m-  'CTPLT'
n -  'PFV'
ka-  'STA OV'
ka- -an  'STA GV'
kai-  'STA CV'
paka-  'STA AV'
 
ka- -an  'STA GV'

4.5.2.2 Verb Slots and Fillers

The following is a listing of the fillers of the slots involved in Verb inflection.

4.5.2.2.1 Aspect

These are the morphemes in the aspect slot.

Form Gloss Definition
aN-  'CONT' Continuous aspect.
-in-  'PFV' Perfective aspect.
m-  'CTPLT' Contemplated aspect.
n -  'PFV' Perfective aspect.
4.5.2.2.2 Aspect/voice

These are the morphemes in the aspect/voice slot.

Form Gloss Definition
-in-  'PFV, OV' Perfective aspect, object voice.
in--  'PFV, OV' Perfective aspect, object voice.
iN-  'PFV, CV' Perfective aspect, conveyance voice.
4.5.2.2.3 Om prefix

These are the morphemes in the om prefix slot.

Form Gloss Definition
-om-  'AV ' Actor voice.
-om-  'PV' Patient voice.
4.5.2.2.4 Stative voice

These are the morphemes in the stative voice slot.

Form Gloss Definition
ka-  'STA OV' Stative patient voice.
ka- -an  'STA GV' Stative goal voice.
kai-  'STA CV' Stative conveyance voice.
paka-  'STA AV' Stative actor voice.
4.5.2.2.5 Stative voice suffix

These are the morphemes in the stative voice suffix slot.

Form Gloss Definition
ka- -an  'STA GV' Stative goal voice.
4.5.2.2.6 Voice prefix

These are the morphemes in the voice prefix slot.

Form Gloss Definition Inflection Features
Ø--  'AV' Actor voice.
[voice in Philippine-type languages:actor voice]
i-  'CV' Conveyance voice. [voice in Philippine-type languages:conveyance voice] 
-om-  'AV ' Actor voice.
[voice in Philippine-type languages:actor voice]
-om-  'PV' Patient voice. [voice in Philippine-type languages:patient voice] 
4.5.2.2.7 Voice suffix

These are the morphemes in the voice suffix slot.

Form Gloss Definition Inflection Features
-an  'GV' Goal voice.
[voice in Philippine-type languages:goal voice]
-en  'OV' Object voice.
[voice in Philippine-type languages:object voice]

4.5.2.3 Pseudo verb inflection

This section lists all inflectional templates and slots for the Pseudo verb category.

4.5.2.3.1 Pseudo verb Templates

The category Pseudo verb has the following template.

4.5.2.3.1.1 Pseudo verb

This inflectional template for Pseudo verb has the following slot after the stem.

Stem (Voice suffix)
 
-an  'GV'
-en  'OV'
4.5.2.3.2 Pseudo verb Slots and Fillers

The category Pseudo verb does not define any slots. Its templates, however, may use any of these slots: aspect, aspect/voice, om prefix, stative voice, stative voice suffix, voice prefix, and voice suffix.

4.6 Derivation

The lexicon currently contains 42 derivational affixes. A number in the table below indicates the number of derivational affixes that attach to a stem of the syntactic category named in the row label to the left and produce a stem of the syntactic category named in the column label above it. (Note that it is possible for a derivational affix to have more than one mapping so the sum of the numbers in the table may be greater than the number of derivational affixes in the lexicon.)

Adj Adv CardNum N Ordnum V
Adj 6     1   1
CardNum   3 3   1 1
N 1 1   2   2
Num           1
Ordnum           1
V       10   14

The following are the derivational affixes in this analysis of Ayta Abellen:

4.6.1 From Adj to Adj

ma-  'Adj, SG' Adjective, singular.
manga-  'Adj, PL' Plural adjective marker.
ma-  'Adj, SG' Singular adjective marker.
Dup-  'DIMUN' Diminuative root reduplication.
pinaka-  'SUP' Superlative degree marker.
[C^1][V^1]-  'EMPH' Emphasis.

4.6.2 From Adj to N

ka- -an  'COLL' Collective noun marker.

4.6.3 From Adj to V

^0-  'Adj > V' Adjective to Verb null derivation.

4.6.4 From CardNum to Adv

titi-  'X per' X per.
mani-  'each' Each. Denotes distributivity of numerals.
ti-  'each' Each. Denotes distributivity of numerals.

4.6.5 From CardNum to CardNum

[C^1][V^1]-  'EMPH' Emphasis.
manga-  'approximately' Approximately.
labin-  '10 +' Ten plus X.

4.6.6 From CardNum to Ordnum

ika-  'ORD NUM ' Ordinal number marker.

4.6.7 From CardNum to V

maika-  'ord num verbalizer' Ordinal number verbalizer.

4.6.8 From N to Adj

^0-  'N > Adj' Noun to adjective null derivation.

4.6.9 From N to Adv

mina-  'every' Every.

4.6.10 From N to N

ka- -an  'COLL' Collective noun marker.
mi-  'SOC REL' Social relationship noun marker.

4.6.11 From N to V

^0-  'N>V' Noun to verb null derivation.

4.6.12 From Num to V

^0-  'Num>V' Number to verb null derivation.

4.6.13 From Ordnum to V

ka-  'STA NUM' Ordinal number to verb derivation.

4.6.14 From V to N

pāg-  'PA.GER' Prolonged singular action gerundivizer.
pāy-  'REC.PA.GER' Reciprocal prolonged action gerundivizer.
pangi-  'PL.DETR.GER' Plural action detransitive gerundivizer.
pāngi-  'PL.PA.DETR.GER' Plural prolonged action detransitive gerundivizer.
pāN-  'PL.PA.GER' Plural prolonged action gerundivizer.
māN-  'OCCUP' Occupational noun marker.
ka-  'ASSOC' Reciprocal association marker.
paN -  'PL.GER' Plural action gerundivizer.
pag-  'SG.GER' Singular action gerundivizer.
māg-  'OCCUP' Occupational noun marker.

4.6.15 From V to V

Citation form Gloss Definition To inflection class
ka-  'STA' Stative.  
paki-  'REQ' Request mode.  
pangi-  'PL.DETR' Plural, detransitive.  
pāngi-  'PL.DETR' Plural, detransitive.  
Dup-  'DIMUN' Diminuative root reduplication.  
[C^1][V^1]-  'EMPH' Emphasis.  
pai-  'CAUS.2TRANS' Causative mode, bitransitive. partial
pa-  'CAUS' Causative. Denotes that someone permits or causes someone to do something. partial
pag-  'DUR' Durative mode. Verbal action spans a duration of time. partial
paka-  'APT' Aptative mode. Signals that a noun phrase has an actor relationship to a transitive verb, denoting abilitative action. partial
paki-  'REQ' Request mode. Signals that an active verb has an actor relationship to a noun phrase, indicating a request for social action. partial
paN -  'PL' Plural action mode. Indicates that plurality of events taking place.  
pay-  'REC' Reciprocal mode. Signals that the actors referred to by the noun phrase are involved in reciprocal action to each other. partial
pi-  'HAB' Habitual mode. Signals that the event is occurring habitually. partial

4.7 Clitics

In this analysis of Ayta Abellen there are 19 clitics.

Form Gloss Definition Category Attaches to:
=ana   'now' Now, already. Signals that a condition, an action or process has reached a certain actual state. Adverb Any category
=awod  'so' So, therefore, then. Expression signals inference relation. Adverb Any category
=bay  'EMPH' Forming long or maybe better emphatic forms of demonstrative pronouns, conjunctions and adverbs. Adverb Any category
=bega  'absolutely' Absolutely. Not even a little bit. Adverb Any category
=bengat  'just' Just. Adverb Any category
=dayi  'OPT' Optative mood. Added to express a wish of the speaker that an action be possible. Adverb Any category
=ingat  'on other hand' On other hand, rather. Adverb Any category
=kano  'it is said' Supposedly; so they said; so he said; so it is said; according to. (Often an expression of doubt). Adverb Any category
=lagi  'possibly' Possibly; perhaps. Adverb Any category
=laweh  'uncertainty' Marks questions, often denoting uncertainty. Adverb Any category
=manayti  'surprise' Denotes mild surprise at new information, or an unexpected event or situation, or in expressing an afterthought. Adverb Any category
=modin  'same' Same as always. Adverb Any category
=n  'COMP' Complementizer. Connective Any category
'GEN' Genitive case marker contraction. Preposition Any category
=nayi  'QUES' Marks an utterance as a question, often denoting politeness. Adverb Any category
=pa  'still' Still. Adverb Any category
=po  'yet' Yet, still. Adverb Any category
=tana  'just ' Just. Adverb Any category
=teed  'also, too' Also, too. Adverb Any category
=y  'NOM' Nominative case marker contraction. Preposition Any category

4.8 Morpho-syntactic Feature System

Ayta Abellen has a morpho-syntactic feature system with the feature structure types listed in section 4.8.1 and the features given in section 4.8.2.

4.8.1 Morpho-syntactic Feature Structure Types

Ayta Abellen has a feature system with the following feature structure types:

4.8.1.1 Inflection

Ayta Abellen verbs have the following features:

Name Description
voice in Philippine-type languages Philippine-type languages (e.g. Tagalog and Cebuano as well as some in Malaysia) have a voice or focus system in which the verb selects the semantic role of the grammatical subject. The verb has an affix which indicates the semantic role of the nominative marked argument.
aspect Aspect is a grammatical category associated with verbs that expresses a temporal view of the event or state expressed by the verb.

4.8.1.2 Pronoun agreement

Features common to agreement on pronouns. It has the following features:

Name Description
case Case is a grammatical category determined by the syntactic or semantic function of a noun or pronoun.

4.8.2 Morpho-syntactic Features

Ayta Abellen has a morpho-syntactic feature system with the following features:

4.8.2.1 Aspect

Aspect is a grammatical category associated with verbs that expresses a temporal view of the event or state expressed by the verb. It has the following possible values:

Name Abbreviation Description
continuous aspect cont Continuous aspect is an imperfective aspect that expresses an ongoing, but not habitual, occurrence of the state or event expressed by the verb.
perfective aspect pfv Perfective aspect is an aspect that expresses a temporal view of an event or state as a simple whole, apart from the consideration of the internal structure of the time in which it occurs.
contemplated aspect ctplt Contemplated aspect is an aspect that expresses an action that is not started but is anticipated.

4.8.2.2 Case

Case is a grammatical category determined by the syntactic or semantic function of a noun or pronoun. It has the following possible values:

Name Abbreviation Description
dative case dat Dative case is a case that marks any of the following: (1) Indirect objects (for languages in which they are held to exist); (2) Nouns having the role of (a) recipient (as of things given), (b) beneficiary of an action, or (c) possessor of an item.
nominative case nom Nominative case is the case that identifies clause subjects in nominative-accusative languages. Nouns used in isolation have this case.
genitive case gen Genitive case is a case in which the referent of the marked noun is the possessor of the referent of another noun. The genitive case can also be used for the actor in non actor voice sentences.

4.8.2.3 Voice in Philippine-type languages

Philippine-type languages (e.g. Tagalog and Cebuano as well as some in Malaysia) have a voice or focus system in which the verb selects the semantic role of the grammatical subject. The verb has an affix which indicates the semantic role of the nominative marked argument. It has the following possible values:

Name Abbreviation Description
actor voice AV The nominative marked argument has the semantic role of actor.
patient voice PV The nominative marked argument has the semantic role of patient.
object voice OV The nominative marked argument is the object toward which the verbal action is directed.
conveyance voice CV The nominative marked argument has the semantic role of a theme being conveyed in some way by the verbal action.
goal voice/focus GV The nominative marked argument has the semantic role of goal or recipient.

4.9 Allomorphy

This analysis of Ayta Abellen has phonological conditioning of allomorphs.

4.9.1 Phonological Environments

The following is a complete list of the phonological environments that condition allomorphs in this analysis:

Representation Name Description Count
/ # _ [Bil] _ Bil Stem Initial, Before Bilabial 2 instances
/ # _ [V] _ V Stem initial, Before Vowel 8 instances
/ [C] _ [C] _ After Consonant 2 instances
/ _ [C^1][V^1] CV Redup Consonant Vowel Reduplication 2 instances
/ _ [V^1] _ [V^1] Before reduplicated Vowel 2 instances
/ # _ [Alv] _ Alv Stem Initial, Before Alveolar 2 instances
/ # _ [Vel] _ Vel Stem Initial, Before Velar 2 instances
/ # [C] _ C _ After stem-initial Consonant 2 instances
/ # [Nas] _ [Nas] _ After Stem-initial Nasal 11 instances
/ # [Nas] _ [C] # [Nas] _ [C] After stem initial Nasal and before Consonant 1 instance
/ # [Nas] _ [V] # [Nas] _ [V] After stem initial Nasal and before Vowel 1 instance
/ # _ # _ Word initial 7 instances
/ # _ [V^1] V Redup Vowel Reduplication 1 instance
/ # _ h _ h Before h 1 instance
/ [Nas] _ _ Nas Following Nasal 7 instances
/ _ [V] _ [V] Before Vowel 3 instances
/ _ a _a Before a 1 instance
/ _ w _ w Before w 2 instances
/ y _ y _ After y 1 instance

The following is a complete list of the phonological environments that condition infix positioning in this analysis:

Representation Name Description Count
/ # _ [V] _ V Stem initial, Before Vowel 7 instances
/ [C] _ [C] _ After Consonant 2 instances
/ # [C] _ C _ After stem-initial Consonant 4 instances
/ # _ # _ Word initial 2 instances
/ _ w _ w Before w 2 instances

4.9.2 Inflection Classes

This analysis of Ayta Abellen also has allomorphy that is lexically conditioned by inflection class.

The category Verb has the inflection classes shown in the following table. There is no default inflection class for this category.

Name Description Stem count Affix count
Motion Motion verbs  36 stems 3 affixes
Partial Partially inflectable  14 stems 1 affix
State Change of state verbs  35 stems 3 affixes

4.10 Natural Classes

The following natural classes have been defined in this analysis of Ayta Abellen.

Class Phonemes Class Name
Alv   d,  h,  l,  n,  t Alveolar plus
Bil   b,  m,  p Bilabial
C   b,  d,  g,  h,  k,  l,  m,  n,  ŋ,  p,  t,  w,  y,  ʔ Consonant
Glot   h Glottal
Nas   m,  n,  ŋ Nasal
V   a,  e,  i,  o,  u Vowel
Vel   g,  k,  ŋ Velar

4.11 Residue

4.11.1 Ad hoc constraints

The following sets of morphemes or allomorphs never co-occur in the same wordform, but the morphological description given above does not yet offer an explanation. They are listed as follows:

4.11.1.1 Morpheme ad hoc sequences

The following table delineates the sets of morphemes which may not co-occur:

Key morpheme Cannot occur Other morphemes
Ø- 
'N>V'
N>V
Adjacent before
ka- 
'ASSOC'
V>N
Ø- 
'N>V'
N>V
Anywhere around
pag- 
'GER'
V>N
Ø- 
'N>V'
N>V
Adjacent before
Ø- 
'N>V'
N>V
-in- 
'PFV'
V:Aspect
Adjacent before
Ø- 
'AV'
V:Voice prefix

4.11.1.2 Allomorph ad hoc sequences

The following table delineates the sets of allomorph/morpheme pairs which may not co-occur:

Key allomorph/morpheme Cannot occur Other allomorph/morphemes
pa
'CAUS'
Adjacent after
m
'CTPLT'
Ø
'AV'
Anywhere around
Ø
'CTPLT'
Ø
'AV'
Adjacent before
a
'CAUS'

5 Syntax

The syntax outline that follows was generated using PAWS.

5.1 Introduction

The Ayta Abellen language is spoken in the province of Tarlac in the Philippines. There are approximately 3,500 speakers. Ayta Abellen is a member of the Sambal language subgroup.

After giving information on the syntactic typology of the language, the grammar begins by describing the smaller phrases which can modify other phrases before moving through several types of nominal phrases and on to adpositional phrases. Basic, main clause sentences are then covered, followed finally by various types of embedded clauses and constructions involving changes in word order.

This is a description of the syntax of Ayta Abellen based on the answers given to the PAWS Starter Kit. Examples from Tagalog are supplied for each section for comparison.

5.2 Word Order Typology

Tagalog as well as most Philippine languages are Verb-Subject-Object languages.

The basic word order of Ayta Abellen in transitive sentences is also VSO, as shown in the following examples:

(178)
a.
N-am-Ø-yay ya=n pilak ye Pablo kangko.
PFV-PL-AV-give 3SG.NOM=GEN money NOM Pablo 1SG.DAT
'Pablo gave money to me.'
 
b.
Bogbog-en la ya=n la-laki
CTPLT-beat-OV 3PL.GEN 3SG.NOM=GEN PL-man
 
ye Juan ha loob baey na.
NOM Juan DAT inside house 3SG.GEN
'The men will beat Juan inside his house.'
 
c.
Am-paolay-an na ya=n Apo Dioh ye laki.
CONT-abandon-GV 3SG.GEN 3SG.NOM=GEN Lord God NOM man
'The man is being abandoned by God.'

In keeping with the head-initial typology, Ayta Abellen has prepositions (section 5.9.2).

Possessors occur after the noun being possessed (section 5.6.4). Adjective phrases occur on either side (but not both sides) of the noun they are modifying (section 5.6.5). Relative clauses occur after the head noun (section 5.14).

In Ayta Abellen, pro-drop of the nominative marked argument is allowed for subject, direct object, and indirect object (section 5.11.2).

Ayta Abellen has auxiliaries which are written as separate words (section 5.11.3).

In Yes/No questions, there is a question marker which occurs in the second position of the sentence (section 5.13.1). In content questions, an interrogative phrase moves to the front of the clause (section 5.13.2).

5.3 Quantifiers and Quantifier Phrases

Quantifiers can show up in various places in a nominal phrase. Most languages have four sets of quantifiers:

Each type will be considered in turn.

5.3.1 Quantifiers which modify the whole nominal phrase

Quantifiers meaning all or not seem to be a category of their own. They usually occur first (or last) in a nominal phrase, in a position distinct from the other quantifiers but in the same place as degree words like only and just (which can also act as focus markers, to be discussed in section 5.18) and words that mean the same as almost (which can also co-occur with all), so we will refer to them as special degree words. These words modify the whole nominal phrase, as in all five children, only Sue's three children, nearly all John's young children and just this many children. Note that not can occur in place of or before these other special degree words, as in not the children, not all five children, not just this many children or not only Sue's three children.

Tagalog quantifiers which can modify the whole nominal phrase include words like lahat 'all', halos 'almost all', and lang 'only'. Examples of nominal phrases are:

(179)
lahat ng mga anak ni Rosie
all GEN PL child GEN Rosie
'all the children of Rosie'
(180)
ang mga hayop sa bukid lang
NOM PL animal DAT mountain only
'only the animals in the mountains'

Ayta Abellen uses the following to express these notions:

(181)
Ayta Abellen meaning
kaganaan
pawa
'all'
haloh
'almost all'
bengat
'only or just'

In Ayta Abellen, these are expressed as separate words which modify the whole nominal phrase. They occur on either side (but not both sides) of the rest of the nominal phrase. Ayta Abellen positive nominal phrase examples include:

(182)
a.
kaganaan a tanam nan laki
all LNK feelings GEN man
'all the man's feelings'
 
b.
hilan kaganaan ti hahapon a manga-tobag
NOM all NOM Japanese LNK PL-cruel
'all the cruel Japanese (soldiers)'
 
c.
yabayin anan bengat
this now just
'just this now'
 
d.
maghay kolap bengat
one blink only
'just the blink of an eye'

5.3.2 Quantifiers which do not co-occur with Determiners

The second set includes quantifiers like some, every, and no, which do not allow any other articles, demonstratives or possessors in the nominal phrase. English examples include some sad children, almost every little girl that I see and no black dogs. Because they take the place of articles, demonstratives and possessors, we will treat these quantifiers as determiners with their own phrase structure rule.

Philippine languages like Tagalog have quantifiers which act as the only determiner in the nominal phrase as in (183) and (184).

(183)
bawat tao
each person
'each person'
(184)
tuwing umaga
every morning
'every morning'

Ayta Abellen has the following positive quantifiers which act as the only determiner in the nominal phrase:

(185)
Positive Quantifiers
balang
'each'
pawa
'all'
kaganaan 'all'

Ayta Abellen examples of positive quantifier determiners in full nominal phrases include:

(186)
a.
balang magha kanla
each one DAT.3PL
'each one of them'
 
b.
kaganaan a ta-tao
all LNK PL-person
'all people'

5.3.3 Other Quantifiers and Degree words

Other quantifiers, like many, much, and few, come in a different position in the nominal phrase. In English, this is after an article, demonstrative or possessor and before an adjective and noun, as in John's many black dogs. Further, these quantifiers can be modified by degree words such as very and so, as in very many dogs or so much waste.

In Tagalog these quantifiers, marami 'many' and kaunti 'few', generally precede the noun with the possessor or demonstrative following the noun, as in,

(187)
sa mga maraming aso ni Juan
DAT PL many dog GEN Juan
'to the many dogs of Juan'
(188)
ang kaunting tubig na ito
NOM little water LNK this
'this little amount of water'

Ayta Abellen has the following quantifiers of this type:

Quantifiers
malabong
'many'
makandi
'few'

Ayta Abellen has degree words which can modify the quantifiers. These degree words occur on either side of the quantifier. Ayta Abellen examples include:

(189)
a.
malabong a tobat hila=y ta-tao
many LNK very NOM=NOM PL-person
'very many are the people'
 
b.
tobat a malabong ye n-a-kwa na
very LNK many NOM PFV-STA.OV-get 3SG.GEN
'very many is what he got'
 
c.
makandi ya=n tobat
few 3SG=LNK very
'it is very few'

5.3.4 Numbers

Numbers cannot be modified by the degree words like the quantifiers can, though they occur in the same position. Cardinal numbers can, however, be modified by ordinal numbers and by next and last, as in the first twenty boys or the next one hundred years. Ordinal numbers and next and last can also modify nouns directly, as in the third girl and the last boy. Since these modifiers (including ordinal numbers) also act as regular adjectives in modifying nouns directly, they act syntactically like adjectives.

5.3.4.1 Cardinal Numbers

Tagalog cardinal numbers can be modified by ordinal numbers and by 'next' and 'last', as in,

(190)
yong unang isang daan
those first one hundred
'those first one hundred'
(191)
ang susunod na baente na taon
NOM next LNK twenty LNK year
'the next twenty years'

The basic forms for Ayta Abellen cardinal numbers are given in the following chart:

(192)
Cardinal Numbers
1 through 10
magha 'one'
loa 'two'
tatlo 'three'
apat 'four'
lima 'five'
anim 'six'
pito 'seven'
walo 'eight'
hyam 'nine'
mapo 'ten'
11 through 20
mapo boy magha 'eleven'
mapo boy loa 'twelve'
mapo boy tatlo 'thirteen'
mapo boy apat 'fourteen'
mapo boy lima 'fifteen'
mapo boy anim 'sixteen'
mapo boy pito 'seventeen'
mapo boy walo 'eighteen'
mapo boy hyam 'nineteen'
loampo 'twenty'
30 through 100 (by tens)
tatlompo' 'thirty'
apatapo' 'forty'
limampo' 'fifty'
anemapo' 'sixty'
pitompo' 'seventy'
walompo' 'eighty'
hyamapo' 'ninety'
maghay gatoh 'one hundred'

Larger cardinal numbers can be compounds which may be written as separate words, such as one hundred thirty three, four thousand and three or six thousand one hundred and thirty three. Examples of compound numbers in Ayta Abellen include:

(193)
a.
malibo boy hiyam a gatoh boy apatapo boy lima.
thousand and nine LNK hundred and forty and five
'1945'

5.3.4.2 Ordinal Numbers

Tagalog ordinal numbers, with the exception of una first, are formed by adding the prefix ika-, as in ikalawa second, ikatlo third, ikaapat fourth. Ordinal numbers can also modify nouns directly, as in,

(194)
ikalawang buwan
second month
'second month'

In Ayta Abellen, ordinal numbers also may be formed by adding a prefix to the cardinal number. The first ten ordinal numbers are:

(195)
Ordinal Numbers
first through tenth
ona 'first'
ikalwa 'second'
ikatlo 'third'
ikapat 'fourth'
ikalima 'fifth'
ikanem 'sixth'
ikapito 'seventh'
ikawalo 'eighth'
ikahyam 'ninth'
ikapo' 'tenth'

When the ordinal numbers in Ayta Abellen modify a cardinal number, as in the first twenty boys, they occur before the cardinal number.

Ayta Abellen examples of the use of ordinal numbers and the modifiers meaning "last" or "next" within a nominal phrase include:

(196)
a.
ikaloa=n baey ha wanan
second=LNK house DAT right
'second house on the right'
 
b.
hoyot a mangaamot
last LNK day
'last day'

5.4 Adverbs and Adverb Phrases

Adverbs express four basic types of information:

These types have different characteristics as to which positions they may occupy and how they may be modified. Each type will be covered in turn.

Languages normally have degree words which can modify at least some types of adverbs. Ayta Abellen has such degree words. These degree words occur after the adverb. The degree words can modify temporals, locatives, and manner adverbs, but reason or purpose adverbs are not modified.

5.4.1 Temporal Adverbs

Temporal adverbs include the English words: already, then, soon, now, later, and always. Examples including degree word modifiers are: very soon, much later and only now. Many languages also have a negative temporal adverb meaning 'no when', such as never in English.

Tagalog temporal adverbs include: madalas 'often', minsan-minsan 'sometimes', mamaya 'sometimes', ngayon 'now', noong 'back then', nang 'when', buhat 'from', mula 'from', palagi 'always', and hanggang 'until'. Degree for temporal adverbs is communicated in a variety of ways like using a past particle in mula pa noon 'from back then', or adding a prefix as in napakadalas 'very often'. The Tagalog negative temporal adverb phrase kahit kailan literally means 'even when'.

Examples of Ayta Abellen positive temporal adverbs and any degree words which can modify them include:

(197)
a.
ha hatew
DAT time-past
'in time past'
 
b.
haanin
now
'now'
 
c.
lano
later
'later'
 
d.
lanang
always
'always'
 
e.
popoh
always
'always'
 
f.
papainghan
later
'later (in the day)'

Examples of these positive temporal adverbs in sentences include:

(198)
a.
Main ya=n hakit paibat ha hatew.
EXT 3SG.NOM=GEN sickness from when time-past
'He has been sick from earlier.'
 
b.
Haanin lalo ya=n Ø-om-way ye ginit na.
now more 3SG.NOM=COMP CTPLT-AV-widen NOM tear 3SG.GEN
'Now, the tear will get even wider.'
 
c.
Lano madeglem, m-Ø-akew kitawo ha baey na.
later tonight CTPLT-AV-go 1PL.INCL DAT house 3SG.GEN
'Later tonight we will go to his house.'
 
d.
Lanang ya=n am-pag-Ø-habi=n
always 3SG.NOM=GEN CONT-PL-AV-speaking=GEN
 
laban ha gobyerno.
against DAT government
'Always he is speaking against the government.'
 
e.
Popoh hila=n am-pay-Ø-tipon ha baey la.
always 3PL.NOM=LNK CONT-REC-AV-gather DAT house 3PL.GEN
'Always they are gathering together at their house.'
 
f.
"Papainghan ana," wana.
later now 3SG.said
"Later in the day," he said.

The time element of a sentence can also be expressed by other types of words or phrases, such as: nominal phrases yesterday, last night, next year, tomorrow, a long time ago; prepositional phrases for a long time, in a little while, at 10 o'clock; and adverbial clauses while you are working, when Sue arrived. These phrases occur in the same positions as the temporal adverbs, normally either initially or finally in the clause. See section 5.6 for the structure of nominal phrases and section 5.9 for information on pre/post-positional phrases. See also section 5.15.1 for examples of temporal adverbial clauses.

5.4.2 Locative Adverbs

Locative adverbs include the English words: here, there, everywhere. Locative adverbs can be modified by only and right, as in: only here, right here and right there.

Locative adverbs in Tagalog include: dito 'here', diyan 'there (near hearer)', and doon 'there (far)'. Locative adverbs can be modified by lang 'only', as in diyan lang 'there only'.

Examples of Ayta Abellen positive locative adverbs and any degree words which can modify them include:

(199)
a.
ihti
here
'here (near speaker)'
 
b.
ihen
there
'there (near hearer)'
 
c.
ihtew
there
'there (far)'
 
d.
ihti bengat
here only
'here only'
 
e.
ihen bengat
there only
'there only'
 
f.
ihtew bengat
there only
'there only'

Examples of positive locative adverbs and degree words in complete sentences include:

(200)
a.
Ø-I-lakew yo ya ihti kangko.
CTPLT-CV-bring 2PL.GEN 3SG.NOM here 3SG.DAT
'Bring him here to me.'
 
b.
Ano=y tao a anti ihen?'
how.many=NOM people LNK present there
'How many people are present there?'
 
c.
Malabong hila=y tatao ihtew a n-ang-Ø-an.
many 3PL=NOM people there LNK PFV-PL-AV-eat
'Many are the people there who ate.'

Location is often also expressed by a prepositional phrase, such as: in the mountains, at San Jose, over there. Many languages allow just a nominal phrase, consisting of a proper noun or description of the place. Locative expressions may normally occur either initially or finally in the clause, or as complements to motion verbs. See section 5.11.4 for examples with motion verbs.

5.4.3 Manner Adverbs

Manner adverbs directly modify the verb and usually end in -ly in English. These manner adverbs can be modified by very and so, as in: very quickly, so slowly and very well.

In Tagalog manner adverbs tend to occur clause final and are introduced with the word nang or the linker na/-ng, as in,

(201)
Kailangan natin=g k<um>ain na=ng mabilis.
must 1PL.GEN=LNK <PFV.AV>eat GEN=LNK quickly
'We must eat quickly.'
(202)
Bigla siya=ng <um>upo.
suddenly 3SG.NOM=LNK <PFV.AV>sit
'Suddenly she sat down.'

(First example from Schachter and Otanes 1972.)

The position of manner adverbs is similar for Ayta Abellen with the adverb being marked with the enclitic =n on the previous word. Examples include:

(203)
a.
Ø-Bilew-en mo=n manged.
CTPLT-look-OV 2SG=LNK well
'You look at it well.'
 
b.
Ø-I-galang mo=n loboh.
CTPLT-CV-honor 2SG=GEN wholeheartedly
'You wholeheartedly honor him.'

5.5 Adjectives and Adjective Phrases

In many grammars, numbers, quantifiers, articles, and demonstratives are considered adjectives, but each of them has a different distribution from the qualitative adjectives, so they will each have distinct syntactic categories. This section is limited to considering qualitative adjectives that express size, color, age, texture, form, or quality. One characteristic of this type of adjective is that more than one can modify a noun and in general the order of the adjectives can change (with a slight change in meaning due to the scope of the modification). For example, hard dull brass rods versus dull hard brass rods versus brass hard dull rods, etc. The position of adjectives within the nominal phrase will be dealt with in section 5.6.5.

Qualitative adjectives themselves may be modified. Some English examples are: very big, so blue, extremely large, very well built and very easily forgotten. Not all combinations of words work due to semantics and other considerations, but in general it seems that certain degree words and manner adverbs or manner adverb phrases can modify adjectives.

Tagalog has qualitative adjectives, such as,

(204)
B<in>igay niya ang magandang bulaklak sa akin
<PFV.OV>give 3SG.GEN NOM beautiful flower DAT 1SG.DAT
'He gave the beautiful flower to me.'
(205)
Meron sila=ng masipag na anak
EXT 3PL.NOM=LNK industrious LNK child
'They have an industrious child.'

(Examples taken from Schachter and Otanes (1972).)

These adjectives can be either intensified or moderated. Intensification is done through reduplication as in pagod na pagod 'very tired' or butas-butas 'full of holes' or by using the napaka- prefix as in napakaganda 'very beautiful'. Moderation is expressed by using medyo 'rather' before the adjective as in medyo gutom 'rather hungry' or with nang kaunti after the adjective as in magugulo ng kaunti 'somewhat troublesome'.

Ayta Abellen has qualitative adjectives as in (206a). Intensification of adjectives is done with the degree marker tobat which can occur either after the adjective (206b) or before the adjective as in (206c). Intensification is also expressed through stem reduplication as in (206d). Moderation is expressed with the word makandi as in (206e).

(206)
a.
maalale a ihip
deep LNK thought
'deep thought'
 
b.
mayadet a tobat a baey
big LNK very LNK house
'very big house'
 
c.
tobat a mayadet a baey
very LNK big LNK house
'very big house'
 
d.
matagay a matagay a matondol
high LNK high LNK mountain
'very high mountain'
 
e.
makandi=n kataangan
small=LNK distance
'small distance'

5.6 Nominal Phrases

Nominal phrases can be very complex. This section concentrates on those with common nouns as the lexical head. Modification by articles, demonstratives, possessors, quantifiers and degree words, adjective phrases, pre/post-positional phrases and noun compounds is considered. Participles are also covered, but nominal phrases headed by proper names are handled in section 5.7 and those headed by pronouns, demonstratives, and quantifiers are handled in section 5.8. Relative clauses are covered in section 5.14.

The basic order of elements allowed in nominal phrases in Ayta Abellen is:

(207)
(Dem) (QP) (AdjP) ((N) N) N (AdjP) (QP) (Poss) (Deg)

Each of these phrases will be discussed and exemplified in sections E.6.3-5.6.6, after first dealing with agreement and case marking.

5.6.1 Agreement

Many languages require agreement between at least some of the modifiers and the head noun. While English only has number agreement, in other languages this agreement may also include animacy, class, or gender.

Tagalog has no agreement features between the noun and modifiers for number, animacy, or gender.

In Ayta Abellen, there is also no number agreement. Instead, number marking comes from the number or quantifier. Further, there is no agreement in animacy, class number, nor gender between the modifiers and the head noun.

5.6.2 Case

Nouns and their modifiers may also be marked for case. The most common case system is nominative-accusative. This is the system English has, though only pronouns are marked for case in English. In a nominative-accusative system, subjects of both transitive and intransitive verbs are in nominative case, while direct objects are accusative case. Possessors are genitive case. The nominative pronouns in English are: I, we, you, he, she, they. The accusative pronouns are: me, us, you, him, her, them. The genitive pronouns include: my, our, your, his, her, their. Therefore, we say They hit him and not Them hit he.

In an ergative-absolutive case system, subjects of transitive verbs are marked with the ergative case, while objects of transitive verbs and subjects of intransitive verbs are marked with the absolutive case. The case of possessors is not set cross-linguistically. Some languages with an ergative-absolutive system simply have different sets of verbal agreement markers, but no marking on nouns.

Some languages are even more complex in that they normally have a nominative-accusative system but under some conditions the case system switches to ergative-absolutive. This is called "split ergativity."

The case system of Philippine languages has been a topic of debate among linguists studying Philippine languages. Some have argued for an ergative analysis (Brainard, Gault) while others (Kroeger, etc.) have argued for a nominative-accusative analysis of the case system. The existence of different focuses or voices is a primary complicating factor. Just looking at actor focus verbal sentences, Tagalog (and other Philippine languages) have a nominative-accusative system as the actor (subject) is marked with the ang 'NOM' marker in both transitive and intransitive sentences. Non actor focus sentences are transitive but the difficulty in determining what the true subject is in these constructions makes it also hard to determine whether Tagalog is truly ergative. It is helpful just to say that Tagalog is nominative-accustive for actor voice verbal predications.

Ayta Abellen has a nominative-accusative case system in the same sense as Tagalog. Subjects of both transitive and intransitive verbs are marked in the same way for actor voice transitive verbal sentences and use the same set of pronouns, but objects of transitive verbs are marked differently.

The pronoun sets will be given in section 5.8.

5.6.3 Articles and Demonstratives

In English, the articles are a, an, and the. English demonstratives include this, that, these, and those. Some simple examples are: a book, an apple, the book, the books, this apple and those books.

In English, articles and demonstratives do not co-occur in the same nominal phrase, and both occur before the noun. Some languages allow both to co-occur in the same phrase, and they may occur in different positions with respect to the noun. Therefore, they need distinct syntactic categories. Some languages only have one set, either articles or demonstratives. A few languages may not have either type expressed as separate words.

Tagalog does not have articles but does have optional demonstratives that precede the noun, including ito 'this', iyan 'that (near)', and iyon 'that (far)'.

Ayta Abellen has only demonstratives that are realized as separate words, no articles. The demonstratives are not marked for case. The demonstrative occurs before the noun. The presence of a demonstrative is always optional. Examples of nominal phrases including articles and/or demonstratives as allowed in Ayta Abellen include:

(208)
a.
yati=n pag-katongtong tawo
this=LNK GER-discuss 1PL.INCL.GEN
'this discussion of ours'
 
b.
yain a mangga
this LNK mango
'this mango'
 
c.
yatew a kayo
that LNK tree
'that tree'

5.6.4 Possessors

Possession can normally be expressed by a possessive pronoun (to be addressed in section 5.8) or by a full nominal phrase. Many languages also add some kind of marking, such as the 's in English, as an indication of possession. These markings are either affixes (or clitics) on the head noun or phrase-level clitics which attach to one end of the whole phrase. The English marking is this second type, because alongside phrases where the 's appears to attach to the head noun, as in the boy's mother, there are phrases which clearly show that the clitic attaches to the end of the whole nominal phrase, such as the boy that I just talked to's mother or the girl in green's wonderful speech. Possessors can also be embedded in one another, as in the boy's sister's dog.

In Tagalog, possession can be shown with an existential possessive clause, as in,

(209)
May lapis ang bata.
EXT pencil NOM child
'The child has a pencil.'

or with the possessor modifier following the head noun, as in,

(210)
lapis ng bata
pencil GEN child
'child's pencil'

But the possessor does not always follow the head noun as there are constructions where both a modifier and a possessor can precede the head noun, as in,

(211)
maliit kong anak
small 1SG.GEN child
'my small child'

(Examples taken from Schachter and Otanes (1972).)

In Ayta Abellen, possession can also be shown with existential possessive clauses. In non existential sentences the possessor modifiers follow the head noun but unlike Tagalog there are no forms where the possessor can precede the head noun. Examples of possessed nominal phrases with simple and embedded possessors in Ayta Abellen include:

(212)
a.
Main ya=n damwag ye Totoy.
EXT 3SG.NOM=GEN water.buffalo NOM Totoy
'Totoy has a water buffalo.'
 
b.
damwag nan Totoy
water.buffalo GEN Totoy
'Totoy's water buffalo'
 
c.
damwag nin katongno nan kapitan
water.buffalo GEN sibling GEN captain
'captain's brother's water buffalo'
 
d.
baey nin ali nan Vangie'
house GEN younger.sibling GEN Vangie
'Vangie's younger sister's house'

Examples with relative clauses within the possessor here, included in simple full sentences are:

(213)
a.
In-om-alih ya=yna=y indo nin laki
PFV-AV-left 3SG.NOM=now=NOM mother GEN man
 
a k<in>atongtong ko.
REL <PFV>talk 1SG.GEN
'The mother of the man that I was talking to left already.'

As seen in the examples above, Ayta Abellen does not have any special marking to distinguish possessors from any other nominal phrase. The possessors take genitive case marking but these same surface forms can function as subjects or indirect objects in other sentences. The possessor occurs after the noun being possessed.

5.6.4.1 Possessors and Articles Or Demonstratives Occurring Together

In English, possessors and articles or demonstratives do not co-occur in the same nominal phrase, unless the possessor is expressed in a prepositional phrase. For example, those [the boy's] books is ungrammatical; instead one would use those books [of his] to express the same thought. Some other languages allow both possessors and articles or demonstratives to occur in the same phrase, so the first example above would be grammatical.

In Tagalog, nominal possessors can occur in the same phrase as demonstratives where the demonstrative precedes the noun and the possessor follows the noun, as in,

(214)
ito=ng lapis ko
this=LNK pencil 1SG.GEN
'this pencil of mine'

In Ayta Abellen, like Tagalog, nominal possessors may occur in the same phrase as demonstratives, as in,

(215)
yati=n lapih ko
this=LNK pencil 1SG.GEN
'this pencil of mine'

5.6.4.2 Possessor Case

With the normal nominative-accusative case system followed by Ayta Abellen, possessors are marked with the genitive case.

In some languages, the possessor agrees with the case of the head noun. In other languages, the possessor is marked with its own case, say genitive, while the head noun is marked with case depending on its position relative to the verb: nominative or accusative, ergative or absolutive depending on the case system.

In Tagalog and Ayta Abellen, there is no case agreement for possessed NPs.

5.6.5 Adjective Phrase Modifiers

Adjective phrases (AdjP) were discussed earlier in section 5.5. Adjective phrases which modify a noun occur close to the noun, yielding nominal phrases such as: just those very few old, dirty books, all the boy’s many black dogs and only the first one hundred very eager young boys. As the English examples show, adjectives all occur before the noun, and more than one adjective phrase is allowed. This is handled by a recursive rule.

In Tagalog, adjective phrases tend to precede the noun they modify, as in (216).

(216)
lahat ng mga hinog na mangga
PL GEN PL ripe LNK mango
'all ripe mangoes'

But adjective phrases can also follow the noun they modify, as in (217).

(217)
mangga na nasa bahay
mango LNK present house
'mangoes in the house'

In Ayta Abellen, adjective phrases also precede the noun they modify, as in (218).

(218)
kaganaan a manga-naom a mangga
all LNK PL-ripe LNK mango
'all the ripe mangoes'

But adjective phrases can also follow the noun they modify, as in (219).

(219)
kaganaan a ta-tao a anti ihen ha baey ko
all LNK PL-person LNK present there DAT house 1SG.GEN
'all the people there at my house'

5.6.6 Noun Compounds

Many languages are like English, in that they have noun modifiers. It may seem like all nouns can also be used as adjectives, but a closer look reveals that true adjectives come before the noun modifier, as in large, round [syrup bottle] but not *round, syrup large bottle. Therefore, noun modifiers will be treated as compound nouns which are written as separate words.

In the English examples above, bottle is clearly the head noun rather than syrup, because syrup is restricting the type of bottle, not the other way around. In all compound nouns and noun modifier constructions in English, the head is the right-most noun in the series.

In Tagalog, the left-most noun is the head of the compound, as in,

(220)
tubig ulan
water rain
'rainwater'
(221)
tanod bayan
guard town
'policeman'

Ayta Abellen also has compound nouns that are written as separate words. The left-most noun is the head in these constructions. Examples include:

(222)
a.
tambal dagih
medicine rat
'rat poison'
 
b.
polot panilan
honey honeybee
'honey'
 
c.
labok maih
hair corn
'corn silk'

5.7 Proper Names

Proper names are a special kind of noun that act syntactically just like other nouns. In English, some proper names can stand alone, like Sue and Russia. Others are like compound nouns, such as George Washington. Proper names may also contain articles and/or pre/post-positional phrases, as in the United States of America. Many languages require an article before a name. Appositives also occur, possibly including a possessor, as in my son, David. In addition, proper names can be modified by adjectives and relative clauses, as in the good, old USA or the Susan Welch that I know.

In Tagalog, personal proper names are required to be marked for case with si (NOM), ni (GEN), or kay (DAT). Non personal proper names such as place names are marked with sa (DAT). Proper names can be modified by demonstratives, as in,

(223)
si Juan
NOM Juan
'Juan'
(224)
ito=ng Juan
this=LNK Juan
'this Juan'

Ayta Abellen has a pronominal agreement system. When there are proper noun NPs, coreferential pronouns agreeing in case, person, and number occur in their usual positions in the clause while the full NPs follow later in the sentence. When there are no other intervening particles or arguments it appears that the personal proper name argument is yay as in (225).

(225)
N-ag-Ø-habi ya=y Pabling kanna.
PFV-DUR-AV-speak 3SG.NOM=NOM Pabling 3SG.DAT
'Pabling spoke to him.'

But when there is an intervening particle, like met 'also' in (226), it can be seen that there is both a pronoun and a case marker.

(226)
N-ag-Ø-habi ya met ye Pabling kanna.
PFV-DUR-AV-speak 3SG.NOM also NOM Pabling 3SG.DAT
'Pabling also spoke to him.'

This leads to the conclusion that the correct analysis of yay in (225) should be ya=y as in (227).

(227)
N-ag-Ø-habi ya=y Pabling kanna.
PFV-DUR-AV-speak 3SG.NOM=NOM Pabling 3SG.DAT
'Pabling spoke to him.'

The same is true for proper nouns marked as genitive (228a) and dative (228b). Non personal proper names are marked with the dative ha as in (228c). Proper names can also be marked with a demonstrative as in (228d).

(228)
a.
baey na=n Pabling.
house 3SG.GEN=GEN Pabling
'Pabling's house'
 
b.
kana=n Apo Dioh.
3SG.DAT=GEN Lord God
'to God'
 
c.
ha Tarlac.
DAT Tarlac
'to Tarlac'
 
d.
yati=n Pidigo.
this=LNK Pidigo
'this Pidigo'

Examples of proper names with prepositional phrases in Ayta Abellen include:

(229)
a.
ibat kana=n Apo Dioh.
from 3SG.DAT=LNK Lord God
'from God'
 
b.
palakew ha Tarlac.
headed DAT Tarlac
'headed toward Tarlac'

Examples of proper names modified by relative clauses included in simple full sentences in Ayta Abellen include:

(230)
a.
Am-Ø-pahalamat ako kana=n Apo Dioh
CONT-AV-thank 1SG.NOM 3SG.DAT=LNK Lord God
 
a n-am-Ø-yay kangko nin kaganaan.
REL PFV-PL-AV-give 1SG.DAT GEN all
'I am thanking God who gave everything to me.'
 
b.
Hiyay Pidigo a matoa, main ya=n hakit.
TM Pidigo REL old EXT 3SG.NOM=GEN sickness
'Pidigo who is old is sick.'

5.8 Pronouns

Pronouns come in various types, including personal pronouns, possessives, reflexives, reciprocals, and indefinites. These pronouns normally stand alone in the place of a nominal phrase, but in some languages they may be modified by determiners and quantifiers. Each of these types and issues will be looked at in turn, after covering the agreement features on all types of pronouns.

5.8.1 Agreement Features on Pronouns

Pronouns normally have either more than or the same number of agreement features as nouns have.

Tagalog and Ayta Abellen pronouns have agreement features for person and number. The following chart shows the features used for pronouns in Ayta Abellen.

(231)
Type of feature Feature
person first exclusive
person first inclusive
person second
person third
number singular
number dual
number plural

5.8.2 Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns normally have either more than or the same number of case features as nouns have.

In Tagalog, personal pronouns have the same number of case features as nouns. Tagalog can be viewed as having a nominative-accusative case system. Pronouns and nouns are marked for nominative, genitive, and dative case.

Ayta Abellen has a pronominal system similar to Tagalog. There are also three distinct sets of pronouns that correspond to nominative, genitive, and dative case. The personal pronouns which correlate to nominative marked nominal phrases are shown here, beginning with first person, then second person, then the third person pronouns.

(232)
Nominative marked personal pronouns
Pronoun Feature Gloss
ako 1SG 'I'
kita 1PL.DU 'we'
kayi 1PL.EXCL 'we'
kitawo 1PL.INCL 'we'
ka 2SG 'you'
kawo 2PL 'you'
ya 3SG 'he/she/it'
hila 3PL 'they'
Genitive marked personal pronouns
Pronoun Feature Gloss
=ko 1SG 'my'
=ta 1PL.DU 'our'
=mi 1PL.EXCL 'our'
=tawo 1PL.INCL 'our'
=mo 2SG 'your'
=yo 2PL 'your'
=na 3SG 'his/her/its'
=la 3PL 'their'
Dative marked personal pronouns
Pronoun Feature Gloss
kangko 1SG 'to me'
kanta 1PL.DU 'to us'
kammi 1PL.EXCL 'to us'
kantawo 1PL.INCL 'to us'
kammo 2SG 'to you'
kanyo 2PL 'to you'
kanna 3SG 'to him'
kanla 3PL 'to them'
Emphatic personal pronouns
Pronoun Feature Gloss
hiko 1SG 'I'
hikita 1PL.DU 'we'
hikayi 1PL.EXCL 'we'
hikitawo 1PL.INCL 'we'
hika 2SG 'you'
hikawo 2PL 'you'
hiya 3SG 'he/she/it'
hila 3PL 'they'

5.8.3 Possessive Pronouns

Many languages also have possessive pronouns which can stand alone, such as yours, mine, theirs and hers in English. These are distinct from those pronouns which can occur in possessor position, such as your, my, their and her, which were exemplified under personal pronouns above.

Tagalog does not have any possessive pronouns that stand alone as a nominal phrase.

Ayta Abellen also does not have any possessive pronouns that stand alone as a nominal phrase.

5.8.4 Reflexives

Reflexives are another type of pronouns that most languages have. They occur only in the same case as direct objects and normally must agree with the subject in person, gender, and number features. Examples in English are: herself, himself, themselves and myself. Some languages have a completely separate set of pronoun forms for reflexives, others use a phrase which consists of a noun (usually meaning ‘self’) that is possessed by the pronoun that refers back to the subject, some languages have a verbal affix which indicates reflexive action, and some languages do not distinguish reflexive constructions at all.

Reflexives in Tagalog are expressed by the noun sarili 'self' modified by a pronoun possessor as in sarili ko 'my self' or sa aking sarili 'to my self'.

Ayta Abellen also has reflexives which are phrases consisting of a certain noun with a pronoun as the possessor. The forms used for reflexives are given here, beginning with first person, then second person, then third person:

Reflexive pronouns
Reflexive Gloss
hadili ko 'my self'
hadili yo 'your self'
hadili na 'his self'

Some examples with a reflexive used in oblique and object positions of a simple sentence are:

(233)
a.
Ahe na h<in>abi ye tongkol ha hadili na.
not 3SG.GEN <PFV.OV>speak NOM about DAT self 3SG.GEN
'He did not speak about his self.'
 
b.
H<in>abi na ha hadili na,
<PFV.OV>speak 3SG.GEN DAT self 3SG.GEN
 
wana, "Peteg awod yain."
he-said true then that
'He said to himself, "So that then is true."'
 
c.
Ø-I-ligtah mo=y hadili mo.
CTPLT-CV-save 2SG.GEN=NOM own 2SG.GEN
'You save yourself.'
 
d.
Ø-Biha-en yo=y hadili yo.
CTPLT-careful.OV 2PL.GEN=NOM self 2PL.GEN
'Take care of yourself.'

5.8.5 Reciprocals

Reciprocals are similar to reflexives except that they only occur with plural subjects. They may be formed in the same way reflexives are, or they may be distinct. For example, in English, the reciprocal forms are phrases: each other and one another. Some languages use only a verbal affix to indicate reciprocal action of the plural subject, others have separate pronouns, others use a possessed noun phrase or a quantified noun phrase (as in English), and some do not mark reciprocal action at all.

Tagalog uses the mag- -an and nag- -an circumfixes attached to the verb to indicate reciprocal action, as in,

(234)
Mag-tulung-an tayo.
CTPLT.REC-help-REC 1PL.INCL.NOM
'We will help each other.'
(235)
Nag-halik-an sila.
PFV.REC-kiss-REC 3PL.NOM
'They kissed each other.'

Ayta Abellen also uses a verbal prefix pay- to indicate reciprocal action.

(236)
a.
n-a-pay-Ø-tipon
PFV-STA-REC-AV-gather
'gathered together'
 
b.
n-a-pay-Ø-tongtong
PFV-STA-REC-AV-talk
'talked together'
 
c.
n-a-pay-Ø-laban
PFV-STA.OV-REC-AV-fight
'fought each other'

Some examples of reciprocals in sentences are:

(237)
a.
Hilay Ayta, n-a-pay-Ø-tipon hila.
TM Ayta PFV-STA-REC-AV-gather 3PL.NOM
'The Aytas, they gathered together.'
 
b.
Nangon, n-a-pay-Ø-tongtong
Earlier, PFV-STA-REC-AV-discuss
 
kayi ha baey ko
1PL.EXCL.NOM DAT house 1SG.GEN
'Earlier, we discussed together at my house.'
 
c.
Hilay Ayta boy Hapon,
TM Ayta and Japanese
 
n-a-pay-Ø-laban hila=yna.
PFV-STA-REC-AV-fight 3PL.NOM=now
'The Ayta and Japanese fought each other.'

5.8.6 Indefinites

In English, indefinites include everybody, everything, everyone, anybody, something, etc. Also, nobody, nothing, none are negative versions of the indefinite pronouns. Note that these are made up of a quantifier (positive or negative) plus an indefinite generic noun. Some languages may not merge them into a single word, as in no one for English.

Haspelmath (2000) says that "In Tagalog, existential sentences are used where other languages use specific indefinite pronouns." The following examples are given for positive and negative existential sentences:

(238)
May d<um>ating kahapon.
EXT <PFV.AV>arrive yesterday
'Someone came yesterday.'
(239)
Walang d<um>ating kahapon.
none <PFV.AV>arrive yesterday
'No one arrived yesterday.'

In spite of the preference for existential sentences for indefinites there are indefinite pronouns sinuman 'whoever' and kailanman 'whenever' which can occur in "a restricted range of functions" Haspelmath (2000).

Ayta Abellen also has a preference for expressing indefinites with existentials but does allow a limited number of indefinite pronouns. In Ayta Abellen, some or all of the positive indefinites are merged into single-word pronouns. Examples of the positive indefinite pronouns include:

Positive Indefinite Pronouns
hinyaman
'whoever, whatever'
makanoman
'whenever'
wayihtewman 'wherever'

An example of a single word indefinite pronoun nominal phrase can be seen in (240a).

(240)
a.
Manged ya=n pag-ameyan nin agya hinyaman.
good 3SG.NOM=LNK GER-shade GEN even whatever
'It's good at shading even whatever.'

5.8.7 Pronouns as the Head of a Nominal Phrase

Though pronouns and also demonstratives, quantifiers, and numbers can stand alone as a nominal phrase in the right context, sometimes modifiers are also allowed. In most languages, these elements cannot be modified by possessors, adjectives, or other quantifiers, although they can be modified by a degree word, an article and/or a demonstrative. English examples of this type include the following: all twelve, only he, just two and just those few.

In Tagalog, pronouns can be modified by a degree word, as in,

(241)
siya lang
3SG.NOM only
'only he'
(242)
ito lang
this only
'only this'

Examples of this type in Ayta Abellen include:

(243)
a.
hiya bengat
3SG.NOM only
'him only'
 
b.
yati bengat
this only
'this only'

In addition, it is possible to have a pronoun or quantifier modified by a relative clause, as in all those who will go with us and only these two which I saw. Examples of this type in Ayta Abellen, included in full sentences are:

(244)
a.
Ma-ligha hila a
Adj-happy 3PL.NOM REL
 
n-aki-Ø-lamo kammi.
PFV-REQ-AV-companion 1PL.EXCL.DAT
'They who joined with us were happy.'
 
b.
N-a-baha yati=n loa a n-a-kit ko.
PFV-STA.OV-wet these=LNK two REL PFV-STA.OV-see 1SG.GEN
'These two which I saw were wet.'

This distribution discussed for English can be accounted for by classifying pronouns, demonstratives, quantifiers, and numbers as NPs (rather than DPs) in the expanded DP tree structure for nominal phrases. However, some languages allow pronouns to be modified by possessors and adjectives as well, so the correct category in that case is N. A few languages may require pronouns to stand alone without any modification at all, making them only DPs. (Possessive, reflexive, and reciprocal pronouns are always DPs, since they must stand alone.)

For Tagalog and Ayta Abellen, the correct category or level in the tree structure for personal pronouns and other elements which can occur without a head noun is NP, like in English, because they can be modified by degree words, demonstratives, relative clauses and PPs, but not by possessors or adjectives. The optional PP occurs after the element acting as the head of the nominal phrase.

5.9 Pre/Post-Positional Phrases

This section covers the internal structure of PPs, which can be either prepositional or postpositional phrases. Possible modifiers are considered first, then the type of PP, and finally the complements allowed.

Philippine languages like Tagalog do not have an easily identifiable set of prepositions. The case markers (ang, ng, sa) have many overlapping characteristics with prepositions but they are best labeled "proclitics" (Kroeger 1993). One of those proclitics, sa, is sometimes labeled as the only true preposition in Tagalog. But because it also marks dative case, it is probably best not labeled as a preposition. There are a few other words that can be safely called prepositions such as taga as in taga Maynila 'from Manila', para as in para kay Jose 'for Jose' or para sa mga tao 'for the people', and galing as in galing sa Maynila 'coming from Manila.'

Ayta Abellen also has case marking proclitics (ye, nin, ha) that are not labeled prepositions in this grammar description. Like Tagalog, there is a small set of words that can more easily be labeled prepositions such as taga 'from', ibat 'from', palakew 'going to'. These, with the exception of taga, are used with the dative case marker ha (see 9.3).

5.9.1 Modifiers

There are normally a few degree words that can modify a whole PP, such as just and right in just around the corner and right to the last second. Ordinal numbers and adjectives can also modify PPs, as in next in line and first out the door. In addition, certain manner adverbs can modify PPs, as in almost in the hole, mostly up the tree, squarely on the table, and nearly upon the enemy.

Tagalog does not regularly allow modifiers to prepositional phrases although in some special cases this can occur as in unang galing sa Maynila 'first one from Manila'. But it should be mentioned that this is really an elided form where a noun like tao 'person' has been left out.

Ayta Abellen also does not regularly have any modifiers which occur either before or after PPs syntactically. Like Tagalog, a contracted form of onan taon ibat ha Maynila 'first person from Manila' could result in onan ibat ha Maynila 'first from Manila', appearing to be a modfier of the PP. But this is a contracted form and neither degree words nor ordinals nor adverbials can modify PPs as separate words.

5.9.2 Head Type

Prepositions come before their complements, while postpositions come afterward. English has prepositions, as shown in for Joe and by the river. The prepositions or postpositions may be separate words, or they may be clitics which are attached to the edge of the complement or to its head.

Tagalog and Ayta Abellen have prepositions only. They are all separate syntactic words. See the examples in the next section.

5.9.3 Complements within PP

Prepositions or postpositions normally take a nominal phrase for their complements, as in to [Bill's house] and under [the giant Sycamore tree].

Tagalog prepositions can take a nominal phrase for the complement of a PP, as in (245).

(245)
para sa mga importanteng tao sa Maynila
for DAT PL important people DAT Manila
'for the important people in Manila'

Ayta Abellen prepositions can also take a nominal phrase complement of a PP, as as in (246).

(246)
palakew ha baey na=n Pabling
toward DAT house 3SG.GEN=GEN Pabling
'toward the house of Pabling'

5.9.3.1 Locative Adverb Complements

Most languages will allow locative adverbs as complements of prepositions or postpositions, such as over there and in here.

Tagalog allows locative adverbs as complements of prepositions as in:

(247)
Mula roon, p<um>unta sila sa Bagiuo.
from there <PFV.AV>go 3PL.NOM DAT Bagiuo
'From there, they went to Bagiuo.'

Ayta Abellen also allows locative adverbs as complements of prepositions as in:

(248)
Paibat ihtew, n-Ø-akew hila ha banwa=n Angeles.
from there, PFV-AV-go 3PL.NOM DAT city=LNK Angeles
'From there, they went to the town of Angeles.'
(249)
Maligha hila=y tatao a taga ihtew
happy 3PL=NOM people LNK from there
'The people who are from there are happy.'

5.9.3.2 Locative PP Complements

Locative prepositions and postpositions are a special group in that they can take another locative PP as their complement. English examples of this type include: up [to the top], around [behind the shed] and over [by the table].

Tagalog and Ayta Abellen have locative prepositions which take a locative PP complement, as seen in (250) and (251).

(250)
galing sa ilalim ng bahay niya
from DAT underneath GEN house 3SG.GEN
'from underneath his house'
(251)
ibat ha hilong nin mangga
from DAT under GEN mangga
'from under the mango tree'

5.10 Austronesian Voice and Case patterns

Tagalog and other Austronesian languages have a rich voice and case marking system. Kroeger (1993) says, "Each verbal clause must contain one and only one nominative argument. A characteristic property of all Philippine-type languages is that the thematic role of the nominative element is reflected in a verbal affix which I will call the voice marker."

(252)
B<um>ili ang lalake ng isda sa tindahan.
<PFV.AV>buy NOM man GEN fish DAT store
'The man bought fish at the store.'
(253)
B<in>ili ng lalake ang isda sa tindahan.
<PFV.OV>buy GEN man NOM fish DAT store
'A man bought the fish at the store.'
(254)
B<in>il-han ng lalake ng isda ang tindahan.
<PFV>buy-GV GEN man GEN fish NOM store
'At the store the man bought fish.'

Kroeger (1993) further says, "The voice marker in each example reflects the role of the nominative argument in that clause: AV for 'Active Voice' (indicating that the nominative argument is the Actor); OV for 'Objective voice'; DV for 'Dative/Locative Voice.'"

Ayta Abellen has a voice system similar to Tagalog. Voice is marked on the verb which indicates the semantic role of the nominative argument. While different terms are used here for the different voices, they are very similar to the three kinds of voice in the Tagalog examples above. Here I use AV for Actor voice, CV for Conveyance voice, and GV for Goal voice.

(255)
M-am-Ø-yay ya=n haa kammo.
CTPLT-AV-give 3SG.NOM=GEN banana 2SG.DAT
'He will give a banana to you.'
(256)
Ø-I-byay na ye haa kammo.
CTPLT-CV-give 3SG.GEN NOM banana 2SG.DAT
'He will give the banana to you.'
(257)
Ø-Bi-an na ka=n haa.
CTPLT-give-GV 3SG.GEN 2SG.NOM=GEN banana
'He will give you a banana.'

Each argument is marked for case. For a nominative analysis there are three cases: nominative, genitive, and dative. Some view the nominative marked argument as the grammatical subject of the sentence. Others regard the actor or agent of the sentence to be the subject. With this analysis the case marking of the subject is not the same for all voices with the subject being marked with nominative case for actor voice and genitive case for all other voices.

5.11 Basic, Single-Clause Sentences

This section covers intransitive, copular, transitive, ditransitive and passive sentences in their basic surface word order (i.e. not changed by focus, topic, interrogative, or negation constructions). As noted in section 1, the typology of Ayta Abellen is VSO, so the basic word order is the verb in initial position, then the subject, then any complements. The order with any auxiliaries present will be discussed in section 5.11.3.

Before discussing each of the sentence types in turn, general issues of inflection and agreement features, pro-drop, and auxiliaries will be covered.

5.11.1 Inflection Features

Verbs usually carry inflection features, such as tense, aspect, and/or mood. In most cases, these features are added by affixes, but may also be part of irregular verb forms.

Tagalog verbs are inflected for aspect. Schachter and Otanes (1972) define three aspects.

(258)
Type of feature Feature
aspect continuative
aspect imperfective
aspect perfective


Ayta Abellen verbs are also inflected for aspect.

(259)
Type of feature Feature
aspect continuative
aspect contemplated
aspect perfective

5.11.2 Pro-Drop

Some languages are pro-drop languages which allow a subject and/or object to be missing. For example, in Spanish the normal way to say "I buy a book" is Compro un libro rather than with the overt subject pronoun included: Yo compro un libro. This is not allowed in English, except for imperatives. (The missing subject of infinitives in embedded complements will be covered in section 5.12.)

Tagalog is a pro-drop language. Kroeger (1998) says "Virtually any argument can be referred to with zero anaphora, including oblique recipients."

In Ayta Abellen, pro-drop is also allowed in any type of sentence and for any type of argument as evidenced by the deletion of the subject in (260a), the direct object in (260b), and the indirect object in (260c).

(260)
a.
Ket ahe ana n-an-Ø-dawa.
and not now PFV-PL-AV-fruit
'And [it] did not now bear fruit.'
 
b.
K<ing>wa ko=yna.
<PFV.OV>-take 1SG.GEN=already
'I took [it] already.'
 
c.
Haanin, Ø-i-byay mo=yna=y haa.
now CTPLT-CV-give 2SG.GEN=now=NOM banana
'Now, you give the bananas [to him].'

5.11.3 Auxiliaries

Some languages have auxiliary elements that are separate words, and some can have more than one auxiliary element before the main verb. Examples for English transitive single-clause sentences include: The boy will hit the ball, The boy might have hit the ball and The boy might have been hitting the ball.

In some languages verbal negation is an auxiliary element, while in others it is simply a verbal affix. English has both the negative auxiliary not, which is a separate word that must always follow another auxiliary, and the contraction form -n't, which is written as a suffix on the auxiliary. Examples of English negative transitive single-clause sentences include:The boy did not hit the ball, The boy won't hit the ball and The boy might not have hit the ball.

Tagalog has a negative auxilary hindi 'not'. This is the only type of verbal negation in the language.

Ayta Abellen has a negative auxiliary ahe 'not' which is written as a separate word, and that is the only type of verbal negation in the language. There is no negative verbal affix nor negative auxiliary affix. The negative auxiliary may be the only auxiliary in the phrase; no other auxiliary is required.

See section 5.16.2 for examples of these negative elements used in sentences and further discussion of the negation constructions in Ayta Abellen.

5.11.4 Intransitives and Motion Verbs

Simple intransitives do not have any complements after the verb, such as in The girl swims. Motion verbs include a location in the form of either a PP or adverb. English examples of motion verbs include The girl ran around the track, My mother went to the store and My teacher came here.

Examples of Tagalog intransitive verb sentences are:

(261)
Nag-la~laro ang mga bata.
AV-CONT~play NOM PL child
'The children are playing.'
(262)
Um-upo siya.
PFV.AV-sit 3SG.NOM
'He sat down.'

Examples of simple intransitive sentences in Ayta Abellen include:

(263)
a.
T<in><om>angoy ya.
<PFV><AV>-swim 3SG.NOM
'He swam.'
 
b.
Am-pang-Ø-an hila po.
CONT-PL-AV-eat 3PL.NOM still
'They are still eating.'

An example of a Tagalog motion verb sentence is:

(264)
P<um>unta sila sa dagat.
<PFV.AV>-go 3PL.NOM DAT ocean
'They went to the ocean.'

Ayta Abellen examples with motion verbs include:

(265)
a.
N-Ø-ayew ya=y babayi ha gilid dagat.
PFV-AV-run 3SG.NOM=NOM woman DAT side ocean
'The woman ran to the seashore.'
 
b.
N-Ø-akew ya ha banwa.
PFV-AV-go 3SG.NOM DAT city
'He went to the city.'
 
c.
Hiyay maihtodo ko, n-Ø-akew ya ihti.
TM teacher 1SG.GEN PFV-Ø-go 3SG.NOM here
'My teacher came here.'

5.11.5 Copular Constructions

Copular sentences can have an adjective, PP, or nominal phrase following the copular verb. Some languages do not require a copular verb or auxiliary to be present. English examples include The girl is pretty, She seems nice, The girl is in charge and He is the leader.

Tagalog copular sentences do not require a copular verb Kroeger (1998) although it has been proposed that Tagalog has a null copula which sometimes is overt in the form of maging 'become' Richards (2009).

Ayta Abellen copular sentences also do not require a copular verb as seen in (266) and (267).

(266)
Yabayin ye baey ko.
that NOM house 1SG.GEN
'That is my house.'
(267)
Manged ye pakibat mo.
good NOM answer 2SG.GEN
'Your answer is good.'

5.11.6 Transitives and Ditransitives

Examples of English transitive single-clause sentences include The batter will hit the ball, My baby wants that toy and The dog might have buried his bone.

Examples of Tagalog transitive sentences include:

(268)
B<in>ili niya ang isda.
<PFV.OV>buy 3SG.GEN NOM fish
'He bought the fish.'

Ayta Abellen examples of transitive sentences include:

(269)
a.
H<in>aliw na ya=n anak ko
<PFV.OV>buy 3SG.GEN 3SG.NOM=GEN child 1SG.POSS
 
ye digalo.
NOM gift
'My child purchased the gift.'
 
b.
Ø-Bogbog-en na ya=n Totoy
CTPLT-beat-OV 3SG.GEN 3SG.NOM=GEN Totoy
 
ye kaaway na.
NOM enemy 3SG.GEN
'Totoy will beat up his enemy.'

Ditransitives are verbs where a subject can take two objects. The second object can be expressed as a PP or as a nominal phrase. Some languages, like English, allow both types via dative movement, as in The girl gave the gift to her mother and The girl gave her mother the gift.

For Tagalog ditransitive verbs both the theme and the recipient are nominal phrases. In conveyance voice constructions like (270) the theme is a nominative marked nominal phrase while the recipient is a dative marked nominal phrase.

(270)
I-bi~bigay niya ang sapatos sa nanay niya.
CV-CTPLT~give 3SG.GEN NOM shoes DAT mother 3SG.GEN
'He will give the shoes to his mother.'

But for goal voice, the first object is a nominative marked nominal phrase with the semantic role of recipient while the second object is a genitive marked nominal phrase with the semantic role of theme, as in,

(271)
Bi~bigy-an niya ang nanay niya=ng sapatos.
CTPLT~give-GV 3SG.GEN NOM mother 3SG=GEN shoes
'He will give his mother shoes.'

In Ayta Abellen, like Tagalog, both objects in a ditransitive clause are expressed as nominal phrases. When all three objects are full nominal phrases, the argument with the semantic role of actor is typically marked as topic and left dislocated as in (272a). When pronouns are used for both the actor and the recipient, the order of the arguments remains the same as in (272b). The order of arguments for ditransitive clauses does change, however, for different voices. With the goal voice example in (272a) the order is actor (genitive), recipient (nominative), theme (genitive). For object voice in (272c), the order is actor (genitive), theme (nominative), recipient (dative). This same order (with different case markings) is true for actor voice (272d).

(272)
a.
Hiyay Pabling, Ø-biy-an na ya=n tapih
TM Pabling CTPLT-give-GV 3SG.GEN 3SG.NOM=GEN cloth
 
ye indo na.
NOM mother 3SG.GEN
'Pabling will give some cloth to his mother.'
 
b.
Ø-Biy-an na ya=n tapih
CTPLT-give-GV 3SG.GEN 3SG.NOM=GEN cloth
'He will give some cloth to his mother.'
 
c.
Ø-I-byay mo=y kaganaan a
CTPLT-CV-give 2SG.GEN=NOM all LNK
 
bandi mo kanlan mangaidap.
wealth 2SG.GEN DAT.PL poor
'You give all your wealth to the poor.'
 
d.
M-an-Ø-aliw ya=n beyah
CTPLT-PL-AV-buy 3SG.NOM=GEN rice
 
kanan ali na.
DAT younger-sibling 3SG.GEN
'He will buy rice from his younger sibling.'

5.12 Complement Clauses

There are various types of embedded clauses which are complements of main verbs. Complement clauses function as a argument of a verb. There is some degree of cross-linguistic similarity in the types of clausal complements that verbs subcategorize for. Adjectives acting as the predicate of the sentence may also subcategorize for the various types of clausal complements. Examples of each type of clausal complement will be given in the next section, followed by a discussion of the complementizers and their position in declarative embedded clauses. See section 5.13 for similar discussion for questions and section 5.14 for relative clauses.

5.12.1 Types of Complement Clauses

Each of the following subsections exemplifies a particular subcategorization requirement for a verb (or other category of head - see section 5.15 for examples of Adverbial Clauses).

5.12.1.1 A Finite Complement

Verbs which take a finite complement, with or without a complementizer, include the following examples in English: I believe Jill to be my friend, Jill insists (that) she is my friend and I know (that) he likes me.

Examples of Tagalog verbs which take a finite complement include (273) and (274) where na is the complementizer.

(273)
Alam ko na da~Ø-rating din ang araw.
know 1SG.GEN COMP CTPLT~AV-arrive also NOM day
'I know that the day will arrive.'
(274)
Na-ni~niwala ako na hindi
STA-CONT~trust 1SG.NOM COMP NEG
 
na-tu~tulog ang Diyos.
STA-CONT-sleep NOM God
'I believe that God does not sleep.'

Examples of this type in Ayta Abellen include (275a), (275b), and (275c) where a is the complementizer.

(275)
a.
M-atanda-an la a n-Ø-akew ya ihtew.
CTPLT-know-GV 3PL.GEN REL PFV-AV-go 3SG.NOM there
'They will know that he went there.'
 
b.
Ket an-habi-en la a an-topad-en
and CONT-say-OV 3PL.GEN REL CONT-fulfil-OV
 
la=y kaotohan.
3PL.GEN=NOM law
'And they are saying that they are fulfilling the law.'
 
c.
Am-pag-Ø-habi hila a m-ag-Ø-ilyadi
CONT-DUR-AV-say 3PL.NOM REL CTPLT-DUR-AV-become
 
ka=n kapitan.
2SG.NOM=GEN captain
'They are saying that you will become captain.'

5.12.1.2 A Nonfinite Complement

Verbs which take only a nonfinite complement without a complementizer, but the subject is dropped when it is coreferent with the main clause subject, including the following examples in English: I want to come to the party and I want Joe to come to the party.

Examples in Tagalog include (276) where the subject is overt and (277) where the subject is coreferent with the main clause subject. The complement is connected to the main clause with the =ng linker which Richards (1999) labels an allomorph of the na complementizer.

(276)
B<in>a~balak ni Maria=ng m-aka-Ø-pagaral
<OV>CONT~plan GEN Maria=LNK CTPLT-APT-AV-study
 
ang anak niya sa UP.
NOM child 3SG.GEN DAT UP
'Maria is planning for her child to be able to study at UP.'

(Example taken from Aldridge (2006).)

(277)
Gusto ni Maria=ng b<um>ili ng libro.
want GEN Maria=LNK <PFV.AV>buy GEN book
'Maria wants to buy a book.'

(Example taken from Aldridge (2005).)

Examples in Ayta Abellen do not have an overt subject but rather the subject as coreferent with the main clause subject. The complements are linked to the main clause using the forms =y (278a) and =n (278b).

(278)
a.
Tanda ko=y m-ag-Ø-habi nin Ayta.
know 1SG.GEN=NOM CTPLT-DUR-AV-speak GEN Ayta
'I know how to speak Ayta.'
 
b.
Ang-ihip-en la ya=n Ø-paty-en.
CONT-think-OV 3PL.GEN 3SG.NOM=LNK CTPLT-die-OV
'They are thinking of killing him.'

5.12.1.3 A Nonfinite Complement with a Coreferent Subject

Verbs which take only a nonfinite complement without a complementizer, and the subject must be coreferent with the main clause subject and dropped, include the following examples in English: Joe tried to come to the party and I tried to think of more examples.

Tagalog allows a nonfinite complement with a coreferent subject but requires a complementizer as in (279). In this situation it can be said that there is obligatory control, that the actor of the complement clause is obligated to be coreferential with the subject of the matrix clause.

(279)
N-a-pilit-an si Charlie=ng hiram-in
PFV-STA-force-GV NOM Charlie=COMP borrow-OV
 
ang pera sa bangko.
NOM money DAT bank
'Charlie was forced to borrow money from the bank.'

(Example taken from Kroeger (1993).)

The same is true for Ayta Abellen with a complementizer being required and the actor of the complement clause being obligated to be coreferential with the subject of the matrix clause, as in (280).

(280)
N-a-pilit ya=n in-om-alih ihtew.
PFV-STA.OV-force 3SG.NOM=COMP PFV-AV-leave there
'He was forced to leave there.'

5.12.1.4 An Object plus a Complement Clause

Verbs which take a direct object as well as either a finite or nonfinite clause complement include the following examples in English: I will persuade Joe that he should come to the party and I will persuade Joe to come to the party.

Examples of this in Tagalog are:

(281)
S<in>abih-an ako ni Luz na
<PFV>say-GV 1SG.NOM GEN Luz COMP
 
i-b<in>igay mo na ang pera kay Charlie.
CV<PFV>give 2SG.GEN already NOM money DAT Charlie
'I was told by Luz that you already gave the money to Charlie.'

(Example taken from Kroeger (1998).)

(282)
H<in>imok ni Maria si Juan=g suriin
<PFV.OV>persuade GEN Maria NOM Juan=COMP examine
 
ng bago=ng doktor.
GEN new=LNK doctor
'Maria persuaded Juan to be examined by the new doctor.'

(Example taken from Miller (1988).)

Examples of this type in Ayta Abellen include:

(283)
a.
An-habi-en ko kanan Alma a
CONT-say-OV 1SG.GEN DAT Alma COMP
 
m-Ø-akew ya ha banhal nan katongno na.
CTPLT-AV-go 3SG.NOM OBL wedding GEN sibling 3SG.GEN
'I am telling Alma that she will go to her brother's wedding.'
 
b.
Pilit-en mo hila=y ta-tao
force-OV 2SG.GEN 3PL.NOM=NOM PL-person
 
a m-Ø-akew ihti.
COMP CTPLT-AV-go here
'You force the people to come here.'

5.12.2 Complementizer Position

English has two complementizers which mark declarative embedded clauses, that for finite clauses and for for nonfinite clauses. In other languages the complementizers for embedded declarative clauses may or may not be overt, and in some languages they are clitics which are written attached to another word.

In Tagalog there are two complementizer forms for declarative embedded clauses: 1) na 'that' and 2) =ng which Richards (1999) says "corresponds to the affix ". Ayta Abellen similarly has two complementizer forms: 1) a 'that' 2) =n which is a contracted form of nin. It also does not have an explicit gloss in English. The complementizer occurs before the embedded clause.

5.13 Questions

This section considers the main clause and embedded clause varieties of Yes/No questions and content questions.

5.13.1 Yes/No Questions

In English, main clause yes/no questions are formed by moving an auxiliary verb in front of the subject. Other languages use a Yes/No question marker or special complementizer instead of the fronted auxiliary. This is the case in embedded Yes/No questions in English; no auxiliary fronting is allowed but whether or if fills the complementizer position. Since languages may act differently in main clause and embedded clause Yes/No questions, each will be covered separately.

5.13.1.1 Main Clause Yes/No Questions

English examples of main clause Yes/No questions, showing the required fronting of an auxiliary, include: Are you going to the store?, Will Sue buy the present for her mother? and Could the boy have hit the ball?

Tagalog Yes/No questions are formed by inserting the ba marker in the 2nd position as in,

(284)
Ikaw ba ang bago=ng dating?
2SG.NOM QUES NOM new=LNK arrival
'Are you the new arrival?'

Questions can also be marked with a rising pitch on the last word even without the ba marker, as in,

(285)
N-aka-Ø-punta kayo?
PFV-APT-AV-go 2PL.NOM
'Were you able to go?'

In Ayta Abellen main clause yes/no questions, there are two question markers nayi and laweh. These question markers are written as separate words and occur in the second position of the sentence (or third if there is a preceding pronoun). In Ayta Abellen also a yes/no question can be marked with rising pitch on the last word, even without an overt question marker in the sentence.

Ayta Abellen examples of main clause yes/no questions include:

(286)
a.
M-Ø-akew ka laweh ha banwa?
CTPLT-AV-go 2SG.NOM QUES DAT city
'Will you go to the city?'
 
b.
N-Ø-akew ka nayi ihti a m-ang-Ø-an?
PFV-AV-go 2SG.NOM QUES here LNK CTPLT-PL-AV-eat
'Did you come here to eat?'

5.13.1.2 Embedded Clause Yes/No Questions

English examples of embedded clause yes/no questions, showing the presence of the question markers or complementizers, include: I wonder whether she will come, I will know if she goes and Sue wonders whether the boy could have hit the ball.

Tagalog has a complementizer kung 'if, when' for embedded yes/no questions. An example is:

(287)
Hindi ko alam kung b<um>ili ng isda ang babae.
NEG 1SG.GEN know whether <PFV.AV>buy GEN fish NOM woman
'I don't know whether the woman bought fish.'

(Example taken from Law and Gärtner (2005).)

In Ayta Abellen embedded clause yes/no questions, there is a complementizer no for embedded question clauses. The complementizer is written as a separate word and occurs before the rest of the embedded question.

Ayta Abellen examples of embedded clause yes/no questions include:

(288)
a.
Tawan no m-Ø-akew ya ihtibay.
don't-know COMP CTPLT-AV-go 3SG.NOM here
'I don't know if he will come here.'
 
b.
Tanda ko no peteg ye h<in>abi na.
know 1SG.GEN whether true NOM <PFV.OV>say 3SG.GEN
'I know whether what he said is true.'

5.13.2 Content Questions

Content questions differ from yes/no questions in that they contain an interrogative word or phrase, known as wh-phrases in English because they almost all begin with wh.

Tagalog has separate word interrogatives:

(289)
Interrogatives used in content questions
alin
'which'
ano 'what'
sino 'who'
kailan 'when'
saan 'where'
bakit 'why'
paano 'how'

The corresponding interrogative words in Ayta Abellen are shown in the following chart.

(290)
Interrogatives used in content questions
aya 'what'
hinya 'who'
makano, nakano 'when'
wayihtew 'where'
taket 'why'
wayemen 'how'

Of the examples of interrogative words above, most simply stand alone as pronouns or adverbs, but how can either be a manner adverb by itself or a degree word modifying an adjective, as in how big or a degree word modifying a quantifier, as in how many children; what can either be a pronoun by itself or a demonstrative modifying a noun, as in what books; which never stands alone but always modifies a noun as a demonstrative, as in which boy; and whose can be either a stand alone possessive pronoun, or it can fill the possessor position in a nominal phrase, as in whose toys.

In Tagalog, paano 'how' is used as an interrogative pronoun while gaano 'how' is used as a degree word modifying a quantity as in,

(291)
Paano ang lakad niya?
how NOM walk 3SG.GEN
'How does he walk?'
(292)
Gaano kalayo ang ilog?
how far NOM river
'How far away is the river?'

(Examples taken from Schachter and Otanes (1972).)

Tagalog has interrogative words that can modify a noun, as in,

(293)
Alin libro?
which book
'Which book?'

The word kanino 'whose' fills the possessor position in a nominal phrase, as in,

(294)
Kanino=ng bahay ito?
whose=LNK house this
'Whose house is this?'

In Ayta Abellen the word way-emen 'how' is used both as an interrogative pronoun (295) and as a degree word modifying a quantity. When modifying a quantity, the word wayemen 'how' occurs only before the adjective as in (296),

(295)
Wayemen ye pag-biay mo?
how NOM GER-live 2SG.GEN
'How is your living?'
(296)
Wayemen kakadang ye labok na?
how long NOM hair 3SG.GEN
'How long is his hair?'

Ayta Abellen has interrogative words that can modify a noun, as in,

(297)
Hinya=y liblo yati?
whose=NOM book this
'Whose book is this?'

The word hinya 'who, whose' fills the possessor position in a nominal phrase, as in,

(298)
Hinya=y ngalan a n-aka-Ø-holat ihti?
whose=NOM name LNK PFV-APT-AV-write here
'Whose name is written here?'

Depending on the basic word order of the language, content questions may be formed with or without fronting an interrogative phrase. Head-final languages (SOV, OVS, and OSV) usually do not have movement of an interrogative phrase in content questions, while head-initial languages (SVO, VOS, and VSO) usually require fronting of an interrogative phrase. In languages without fronting for interrogatives, the phrase structure of a content question will either be the same as a Yes/No question with a question marker or auxiliary in the complementizer position or just the same as a normal sentence. In either case, the interrogative phrase appears in its normal argument positon. Many SOV languages optionally allow movement of an interrogative phrase to the position immediately before the verb.

In both main clause and embedded content questions in Tagalog and Ayta Abellen, an interrogative phrase moves to the front of the clause.

5.13.2.1 Main Clause Content Questions

English examples of main clause content questions, showing the required fronting of an interrogative phrase, include: Which boy hit the ball?, Who might have hit the ball?, What did the boy hit?, When will she come? and Where is the leader?

In Tagalog content questions there is fronting of the interrogative pronouns as in (299). For cleft equative sentences like (300) the noun phrase is marked with nominative case. When the noun phrase is a headless relative clause as in (301), the clause is also marked with nominative case.

(299)
Kailan siya da-Ø-rating?
when 3SG.NOM CTPLT-AV-arrive
'When will he arrive?'
(300)
Nasaan ang bangko?
where NOM bank
'Where is the bank?'
(301)
Ano ang n-a-kita niya doon?
what NOM PFV-STA.OV-see 3SG.GEN there
'What did he see there?'

In Ayta Abellen main clause content questions there is also fronting of the interrogative pronouns with no marker or auxiliary fronting as in (302). Interrogative cleft sentences have similar case marking patterns to Tagalog as seen in (303) and (304).

(302)
Makano ya=n m-Ø-akew ihti?
when 3SG=COMP CTPLT-AV-go here
'When will he come here?'
(303)
Wayihtew ya=y anak ko?
where NOM=NOM child 1SG.GEN
'Where is my child?'
(304)
Hinya=y n-a-kit yo?
what=NOM PFV-STA.OV-see 2PL.GEN
'What did you see?'

5.13.2.2 Embedded Clause Content Questions

English examples of embedded clause content questions, showing the required fronting of an interrogative phrase, include: I know who hit the ball, I wonder when she will come and I will ask what the boy hit.

Tagalog has embedded clause content questions, as in,

(305)
Magta-tanong ako kung kanino=ng lapis ito.
CTPLT.AV-ask 1SG.NOM COMP who=LNK pencil this
'I will ask whose pencil this is.'

The complementizer kung occurs before the interrogative pronoun.

In Ayta Abellen embedded clause content questions, there is a complementizer no 'if, when' written as a separate word. The complementizer occurs immediately before a fronted interrogative pronoun. A complementizer and fronted interrogative phrase are required in every embedded content question.

Ayta Abellen examples of embedded clause content questions include:

(306)
a.
Tanda ko no hinya ka.
know 1SG.GEN COMP who 2SG.NOM
'I know who you are.'
 
b.
M-an-Ø-epet ako no hinya=y
CTPLT-PL-AV-ask 1SG.NOM COMP who=NOM
 
n-am-Ø-yay nin pilak.
PFV-PL-AV-give GEN money
'I will ask who gave money.'

5.14 Relative Clauses

Relative clauses normally modify a head noun and have one of four structures:

Some languages also allow one of the above structures to occur by itself as a nominal phrase without a head noun to modify, usually called "headless" relative clauses.

"Tagalog and most Philippine-type languages are examples of languages which can relativize only on subjects" (Kroeger 2004:181). Tagalog has a relativizer ligature =ng which can also occur as a separate word na depending on phonological environment of the preceding phoneme. Tagalog is an example of the third structure listed above. An example of a relative clause in Tagalog is:

(307)
Matalino ang lalaki=ng b<um>asa ng diyario.
intelligent NOM man=REL <PFV.AV>read GEN newspaper
'The man who read a newspaper is intelligent.'

Tagalog does allow headless relative clauses, as in,

(308)
ang n-DUR-Ø-nakaw ng kotse mo
NOM PFV-DUR-AV-steal GEN car 2SG.GEN
'the one who stole your car'

(Examples taken from Sabbagh (2008).)

Ayta Abellen also is an example of the third structure listed above. Only subjects can be relativized. Relative clauses occur after the head noun. The relative marker a occurs before the sentence part of the relative clause.

Examples of relative clauses in Ayta Abellen include:

(309)
a.
kagalingan a d<in>yag la
skillfulness REL <PFV.OV>do 3PL.GEN
'skillfulness that they did'
 
b.
laki a ibat ha lale
man REL from DAT forest
'man from the forest'

Full sentences containing the above relative clauses are as follows:

(310)
a.
Hiyay kagalingan a d<in>yag la,
TM skillfulness REL <PFV.OV>do 3PL.GEN
 
n-an-Ø-yag hila=n baey.
PFV-PL-AV-do 3PL.NOM=GEN house
'They skillfully made a house.'
 
b.
L<in><om>ateng ya=ynay laki a ibat ha lale.
<PFV><AV>arrive 3SG.NOM=now man REL from DAT forest
'The man from the forest arrived.'

Ayta Abellen does allow headless relative clauses, as in (311).

(311)
Hila=y n-an-Ø-yag nin tori,
3PL.NOM=NOM PFV-PL-AV-make GEN tower
 
n-ang-a-Ø-igat hila.
PFV-PL-STA-AV-surprise 3PL.NOM
'The ones who made the tower, they were surprised.'

5.15 Adverbial Clauses

This section considers the complements that can follow temporal and reason adverbs, which were introduced in section 5.4.1. All of these adverbial clauses (or phrases) act the same as simple adverbs, so they will be considered AdvPs with the appropriate type of complement. Adverbial clauses of these types normally may occur either sentence-initially or sentence-finally.

5.15.1 Adjuncts of Temporal Adverbs

English examples of temporal adverbs with adjuncts used in full sentences include:

  1. [Since then], John has been moody.
  2. John has been home [since last week].
  3. [Since John has been home from the hospital] he is doing better.
  4. John is feeling fine [now that he is home from the hospital].
  5. The dog followed Sue everywhere [when she returned from college].
  6. [When she returned from college], the dog followed Sue everywhere.

These examples show that particular temporal adverbs subcategorize for certain types of complements. In (1) since is followed by another temporal adverb, in (2) by a temporal nominal phrase, and in (3) it has a sentential adjunct. Examples (5) and (6) show that when also takes a finite sentential adjunct, whereas now in (4) has a finite clausal adjunct with a complementizer.

Tagalog temporal adverbs can occur sentence initial (312), sentence final (313), or sentence medial (314). Adverbial sentential adjuncts are common as in (315).

(312)
Mula noon, hindi siya n-aka-pag-Ø-trabaho.
from then not 3SG.NOM PFV-APT-DUR-AV-work
'Since then, he has not been able to work.'
(313)
T<um>ira ako roon hanggang 1950.
<PFV.AV>live 1SG.NOM there until 1950
'I lived there until 1950.'
(314)
N-ag-Ø-bakasyon si Pedrong minsan sa Bagiuo.
PFV-DUR-AV-vacations NOM Pedro sometimes DAT Bagiuo
'Pedro vacations sometimes in Bagiuo.'
(315)
Nang m-aka-Ø-lampas ng ala una, pu-Ø-punta na tayo.
when CTPLT-APT-AV-pass GEN o'clock one CTPLT-AV-go now 1PL.INCL
'After one o'clock we will go.'

In Ayta Abellen, the preference is for temporal adverbial phrases to occur sentence initial (316a). Both a temporal adverb and an adverb sentential adjunct can occur before the main clause of the sentence (316b). The adverbial sentential adjuncts occur after the adverb but before the verb. Temporal adverbial phrases can also occur at the end of the sentence (316c) but not sentence medial. Examples of temporal adverbial clauses in Ayta Abellen, included in full sentences are:

(316)
a.
Ha anti ko ha lale, am-pam-Ø-ahaka
DAT present 1SG.GEN DAT forest CONT-PL-AV-climbing
 
ko ha matondol.
1SG.NOM DAT mountain-peak
'When I am in the forest, I am climbing to the mountain peak.'
 
b.
Hatew, ha n-an-Ø-ambot hila=y hahapon,
past DAT PFV-PL-AV-win NOM.PL=NOM Japanese
 
in-om-alih ya=y General Mcarthur.
PFV-AV-left 3SG=NOM General McArthur
'Before, when the Japanese won, General McArthur left.'
 
c.
Am-pag-Ø-painawa kawo po nayi angga haanin?
CONT-DUR-AV-rest 2PL.NOM still RHET until now
'Are you still resting until now?'

5.15.2 Complements of Reason Adverbs

Turning now to adverbial phrases or clauses which express reason or purpose, we find adverbs which stand alone, such as therefore and so, along with those that take various types of complement clauses. English examples of reason or purpose adverbs which take clausal complements include:

  1. John rushed to the hospital [because Sue was in an accident].
  2. [Since Jill said that she likes him], Joe smiles all the time.
  3. Bill rushed to the airport [so that he could see Kay before she left].
  4. The troops threw grenades at the enemy [in order to escape].
  5. The troops threw grenades at the enemy [in order for the prisoners to escape].

In the examples above, because and since take only finite sentential complements and so takes a finite clausal complement with a complementizer. In contrast, in order takes either a nonfinite sentential complement with a pro-dropped subject or a nonfinite clausal complement with a complementizer.

Examples of Tagalog reason or purpose adverbial clauses are:

(317)
Kaya, b<in>ili niya ang lahat ng sapatos.
so PFV-buy-OV 3SG.GEN NOM all GEN shoes
'So she bought all the shoes.'
(318)
Dahil sa magandang pananalita niya,
Because of good speaking 3SG.GEN,
 
n-an-Ø-iwala sila sa kaniya.
PFV-PL-AV-believe 3SG.NOM DAT 3SG.DAT
'Because of his beautiful words, they believed in him.'
(319)
Ø-Puntah-an niya ang barangay nila
CTPLT-go-GV 3SG.GEN NOM barangay 3PL.GEN
 
upang Ø-ipaliwanag ang g<in>awa niya.
in.order.to CTPLT-CV-explain NOM <PFV.OV>do 3SG.GEN
'He will go to their barangay in order to explain what he did.'

Examples of reason or purpose adverbial clauses in Ayta Abellen, included in full sentences are:

(320)
a.
Kayabay, n-apatey la ya=y Amerikano.
so PFV-kill 3PL.GEN 3SG.NOM=NOM American
'So, they killed the American.'
 
b.
Oli ha kabiangan nin nakem na,
because DAT hardness GEN inner.being 3SG.GEN
 
n-a-poot-Ø ya=y indo na.
PFV-STA.OV-anger 3SG.NOM=NOM mother 3SG.GEN
'Because of the hardness of his inner being, his mother became angry.'
 
c.
M-ag-Ø-pahyal ya ha baey nan balatang
CTPLT-DUR-AV-visit 3SG.NOM DAT house GEN woman
 
taomon na m-ahadt-an ti labay na.
so.that 3SG.GEN CTPLT-say-GV NOM want 3SG.GEN
'He will visit the house of the young woman so that he will say what he wants.'

5.16 Negation Constructions

All languages have the ability to express negation. This is usually achieved through the use of:

All of the above have been covered as individual items in previous sections (as noted). After discussing the type of negation system Ayta Abellen uses, the data given will be reviewed here by category or phrase type, as well as adding examples used in complete sentences and discussing any co-occurrence restrictions between the various negative elements.

5.16.1 Type of Negation System

Languages fall into two major classifications with respect to negation: Polarity Changing languages versus Negative Concord languages, exemplified by standard English and Spanish or Black English, respectively.

Polarity Changing languages normally allow only a single negative element in the sentence for negation to be expressed (though technically any odd number of negatives expresses negative polarity) because the presence of two (or any even number of) negative elements changes the polarity back to positive. For example, John saw nothing is negative, but John didn't see nothing is positive because it means the same as John saw something. The version with a negative auxiliary is expressed as John didn't see anything, using what is known as a negative polarity item in object position. Such negative polarity items may occur as subjects in some contexts without any other negation present, such as Anyone may come, but they may only occur in object position when some higher (technically c-commanding) element is negative. For example, one can say Nobody saw anyone and Nowhere will they find anyone but without the negative subject or fronted negative adverb the negative auxiliary must be used, as in We did not see anyone and They will not find anyone anywhere.

In Negative Concord languages, any number of negative elements expresses negative polarity, so in a Negative Concord version of English (such as Black English) John didn't see nothing is the correct way to express a negative sentence with a negative object. In these languages, similarly to the restriction on negative polarity items in Polarity Changing languages, a negative element may normally occur in subject position or a fronted position without any other negative element present, but a negative object may only occur when some higher (technically c-commanding) element is negative. Some Negative Concord languages have the stronger restriction that any negative argument must co-occur with verbal negation and still others require fronting of the negative argument, similarly to the fronting of question words or phrases in content questions.

Tagalog and Ayta Abellen are Polarity Changing languages, since the polarity changes between positive and negative with each instance of negation. Tagalog has negative polarity items in: kahit anuman 'whatever', kahit sinuman 'whoever', kahit kailanman 'whenever', and kahit saanman 'wherever'. The equivalents in Ayta Abellen are: agya hinyaman 'whatever, whoever', agya makanoman 'whenever', and agya wayihtewman 'wherever'. The negative pronouns, determiners, and adverbs may occur in object position or the normal adverb position even when there is another negative element in the sentence.

5.16.2 Auxiliary and Verbal Negation

Tagalog has the negative auxiliary hindi which is written as a separate word. Examples in full sentences are:

(321)
Hindi pwede yan.
not possible that
'That's not possible.'
(322)
Hindi siya masipag.
not 3SG.NOM industrious
'He is not industrious.'

We saw in section 5.11.3 that Ayta Abellen has one negative auxiliary which is written as a separate word, and that is the only type of verbal negation in the language. There is no negative verbal affix nor negative auxiliary affix. The negative auxiliary may be the only auxiliary in the phrase; no other auxiliary is required. The negative auxiliary word in Ayta Abellen is ahe 'not'.

Examples of the negative auxiliary word used in a complete sentence include:

(323)
a.
Ahe malyadi yain.
not possible that
'That is not possible.'
 
b.
Ahe ya n-ang-Ø-an nangon.
not 3SG.NOM PFV-PL-AV-eat earlier
'He did not eat earlier today.'

5.17 Coordination Constructions

This section considers basic coordination constructions where there is an overt conjunction between the conjuncts, including coordination at the sentence level and at the verb phrase, nominal phrase, and adjective level. More complex types of coordination constructions, such as lists without overt conjunctions between each conjunct, gapping, appositives and comparatives, will need to be dealt with later.

In English, the conjunctions which can be used between two conjuncts are: and, or, but and and/or. In addition, there are coordination constructions which require an initial conjunction, such as either...or and neither...nor constructions. Some languages also use a word meaning with as a conjunction between nominal phrases.

Ayta Abellen uses the following conjunctions between conjuncts:

(324)
Coordinating conjunctions
Ayta Abellen meaning
boy
ket
ta
'and'
o
'or'
noba
'but'

5.17.1 Sentence-level coordination

Sentence-level coordination includes most types of sentences, including declaratives and questions. Some English examples are:

  1. John went to the office this morning but he did not return.
  2. When did the mail come and where is my package?
  3. Either I will come to the party or I will send my sister.

Tagalog has sentence-level coordination constructions using conjunctions such as: at (a), o (b), and pero (c).

(325)
T<um>ahol ang aso at n-a-takot-Ø ang pusa.
<PFV.AV>bark NOM dog and PFV-STA.OV-afraid NOM cat
'The dog barked and the cat got scared.'
(326)
M-Ø-agaaral ka ba o m-a-tutulog.
CTPLT-AV-study 2SG.NOM QUES or CTPLT-STA.OV-sleep
'Are you going to study or sleep?'
(327)
T<um>awag ako kaninang umaga pero wala ka.
<PFV.AV>call 1SG.NOM earlier morning but not.exist 2SG.NOM
'I called this morning, but you were not there.'

(Tagalog examples taken from Gallo-Crail (2010).)

Ayta Abellen examples of sentence-level coordination include:

(328)
a.
Ket am-paty-en la hila boy
and CONT-kill-OV 3PL.GEN 3PL.NOM and
 
antoyhoken la=n etak.
CONT-stab-OV 3PL=GEN machete
'And they are killing them and stabbing them with machetes.'
 
b.
Malabong ana=n pag-obda noba ahe ko po
many now=LNK GER-work but NEG 1SG.GEN yet
 
malyadi=n m-ag-Ø-obda.
can CTPLT-DUR-AV-work
'Much now is the working but I still cannot work.'

5.17.2 Verb clause coordination

Verb phrase coordination is exemplified in the following English sentences:

  1. Bill ran the race and won the prize.
  2. I will come to the party or send my sister.
  3. I will not come to the party nor send my sister.

Tagalog allows verb clause coordination where the same subject is used for two clauses. Examples include:

(329)
P<um>unta na kami sa may tindahan
<PFV.AV>go now 1PL.EXCL.NOM DAT EXIST store
 
at b<um>ili ng inumin.
and <PFV.AV>buy GEN drink
'We went to the store and bought something to drink.'

Ayta Abellen examples with verb clause coordination include:

(330)
a.
Hiyay lota ye am-paka-Ø-pa-tobo
TM soil NOM CONT-APT-AV-CAUS-grow
 
boy am-Ø-pakapadawa nin bini.
and CONT-AV-yield GEN seed
'The soil is what makes the seed grow and bear fruit.'
 
b.
Ahe m-a-lokoloko
NEG CTPLT-STA.OV-cheat
 
boy ahe m-aki-Ø-halehale ha Iloko.
and NEG CTPLT-REQ-AV-mix DAT Ilokano
'They will not be cheated and are not mixing with the Ilokanos.'

5.17.3 Nominal phrase coordination

Nominal phrase coordination is exemplified in the following English sentences:

  1. Bill ran in the Boston Marathon and the Olympics.
  2. My sister or I will be there.
  3. Neither my sister nor I will be there.
  4. I will come to the wedding and/or the reception.

Tagalog has nominal phrase coordination as can be seen in this example:

(331)
Hu-hugas-an ko ang mga tenedor at mga kutsara.
CTPLT-wash-GV 1SG.GEN NOM PL forks and PL spoons
'I will wash the forks and spoons.'

Ayta Abellen examples with nominal phrase coordination include:

(332)
a.
M-ang-Ø-gawa kayi=n Ø-tamn-an mi=n
CTPLT-PL-AV-work 1PL.EXCL CTPLT-plant-GV 1PL.EXCL=LNK
 
pa-paday boy bo-botey boy nakahinadi.
PL-rice and PL-taro and others
'We will work together to plant rice and taro and other things.'
 
b.
N-ag-Ø-kamain ana=n Iloko boy Ayta.
PFV-DUR-AV-have now=GEN Ilokano and Ayta
'There came to be now Ilokanos and Aytas.'

5.17.4 Adjective coordination

Adjective coordination is exemplified in the following English sentences:

  1. The black and white dog belongs to my son.
  2. The sore on your leg is ugly and painful and dangerous.
  3. My sister wants a red or blue candle.

Tagalog adjective coordination is done with the conjunction at, as in:

(333)
Maganda at mayaman si Rosa.
beautiful and rich NOM Rosa
'Rosa is beautiful and rich.'

(Tagalog example from Schachter and Otanes (1972).)

Ayta Abellen adjective coordination is done with the conjunction boy, as in:

(334)
a.
manga-yadet boy manga-tampa a baey
PL-big and PL-beautiful LNK house
'big and beautiful house'

5.18 Topic and Focus Constructions

This section considers two types of constructions which draw attention to a particular element. Since topics occur outside of focus constructions, they will be considered first. The following example shows that a single sentence may have both a topic and a focused phrase. In this case, the topic Bill is introduced by the topic marker as for, then the focused phrase soccer, which has been moved out of its regular place in the sentence follows.

5.18.1 Topics and Topic Markers

As defined here, topic constructions consist of a topic phrase followed by a complete sentence or question and usually set apart by punctuation. Certain markers may be used to set off topics, as shown in the following English examples:

  1. As for John, I think he will make a good doctor.
  2. Speaking of Jill, where is she?

Topic in Tagalog is marked syntactically through left dislocation with a resumptive pronoun or morphologically by the word ay which occurs after the topic phrase. This understanding of the "ay inversion" is supported by McKaughan (1973), Kroeger (1993), Kaufman (2005), and Hirano (2006). Sentence examples include:

(335)
Si Juan ay isang magsasaka.
NOM Juan INV a farmer
'Juan is a farmer.'
(336)
Ang mga tao rito ay mabait.
NOM PL person here INV nice
'The people here are nice.'

Ayta Abellen has topic phrases introduced by hiyay which occur before the main sentence and are separated by a pause. Some examples include:

(337)
a.
Hiyay Pabling, n-Ø-akew ya ha banwa.
TM Pabling PFV-AV-go 3SG.NOM DAT city
'Pabling went to the city.'
 
b.
Hiyay laki, labay na ya=n
TM man want 3SG.GEN 3SG.NOM=COMP
 
kalogoden ti babai.
love-OV NOM woman
'The man wants to be in love with the woman.'
 
c.
Hiyay alaga nan beyah ha hatew, baente pisos
TM value GEN rice DAT time.past twenty pesos
 
ye maghay kaban.
NOM one kaban
'The value of rice before was twenty pesos per kaban.'

In Ayta Abellen, the topic phrase is marked by certain words or phrases.The topic markers occur before the topic phrase itself. For more information about topic marking in Ayta Abellen, see Stone (2008).

(338)
Topic markers
Topic Markers Meaning
hiyay 'SG'
hilay 'PL'
yati 'this'
yain 'that'
yatew 'that (far)'

5.18.2 Focused Phrases and Focus Markers

In contrast to topics, while focus constructions also have an element fronted which may be set off by punctuation, the phrase in focus is moved from its normal position in the sentence, leaving a gap. Certain markers, such as only in English, may be used to mark the focused phrase. Focus constructions are not used frequently in SVO languages, since the subject is usually in focus and is already first in the normal order. Other word orders, such as VSO languages, may make extensive use of focus constructions. English examples of focus constructions include:

  1. Girls, I like __.
  2. Soccer, Bill plays __ best.
  3. Only that boy, Jerry hit __ .

Tagalog and Ayta Abellen do not allow a focus phrase to be moved before or after the rest of the sentence out of its normal position. Focus phrase constructions in these languages are usually cleft sentences as in (339) for Tagalog and (340) for Ayta Abellen.

(339)
Isda ang gusto ko.
fish NOM want 1SG.GEN
'Fish is what I want.'
(340)
Yati ye labay ko=n habi-en.
this NOM want 1SG.GEN=COMP say-OV
'This is what I want to say.'

5.19 Exclamations and Greetings

This section considers various types of common utterances which are not complete sentences. We will deal with greetings, interjections and exclamations in turn.

5.19.1 Greetings

Greetings typically consist of a particular word or phrase, either standing alone or followed by a name or nominal phrase describing the peson or animal being greeted. Some are full sentences or full questions, such as How do you do? How are you? and Have a good day! which do not need to be treated separately. Some examples of English greetings are:

  1. Hi!
  2. Howdy!
  3. Hello, Jill.
  4. Goodby.
  5. Good day, sir.
  6. Good morning, Bob.
  7. Good afternoon.
  8. Good evening.
  9. Good night, sweet baby.

Some Tagalog examples are:

(341)
a.
Kumusta?
how
'How are you?'
 
b.
Magandang umaga po.
good morning RESP
'Good morning.'

Examples of greetings in Ayta Abellen include:

(342)
a.
Komohta?
how-are
'How are you?'
 
b.
Koko=yna.
1SG=now
'I will go now.'

5.19.2 Interjections

Interjections typically consist of a particular word or phrase that is used alone, usually with an exclamation point following it. Though many of the words in interjections are not used in any other situation, regular adjectives are also used in this way. Some examples of interjections in English are:

  1. Ouch!
  2. Gross!
  3. Cool!
  4. Jumping Jehoshaphat!
  5. Jiminy Cricket!

Examples of interjections in Tagalog include:

(343)
Aba!
hey
'Hey!'
(344)
Salamat!
thanks
'Thanks!'

Examples of interjections in Ayta Abellen include:

(345)
a.
Hi!
expr
'Hi! (expression denoting disagreement)'

Yes and No answers to questions will be treated similarly to interjections. Ayta Abellen uses the following words to express these answers:

(346)
Interjections
Ayta Abellen meaning
Awo
Awobay
'yes'
Ahe
Aliwa
'no'

A. Reference List for Case Markers and Linkers

A.1 Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how case markers and linkers are used in Ayta Abellen. As seen from the list of case markers and linkers below, there are three homonyms between the allomorphs of these case markers and linkers: /-y/, /-n/, and /nin/. It was therefore necessary to do some analysis to decide in which cases these forms are case markers and in which cases they are linkers. This paper is also meant as a reference tool in deciding these cases of homonymy when new texts are interlinearized. Also, this paper should provide a basis for further discussion on the topic. Any suggestion from the reader is welcomed. This paper is preliminary in character in that it is based on a limited number of texts. So it needs to be verified through other texts.

Basically, case markers mark the functions of nouns or noun phrases in a sentence. Linkers function on levels below and above sentence level. Case markers are not to be confused with linkers. As in other Philippine languages LINKING is a characteristic device of Ayta Abellen grammar.

Linking is the connecting of the elements of a word or construction by means of a special connecting element, or LINKER. The linker has as its sole function the indication of a relation between the elements it connects, and has no meaning apart from the indication of this relation.

A.2 Case markers

The following chart shows the free form case marking particles according to case.

(347)
NOM GEN DAT
ye, ti nin (ne) [38] ha

In the examples below the case markers, linkers and phrases studied are identified be underlining. Morpheme lines may be simplified.

A.2.1 NOM markers ye and ti

The Nominative case markers in Ayta Abellen are ye and ti, corresponding to ang in Tagalog. The marker ti is a borrowing from Ilokano and is only used when the preceding word ends in a consonant (the glottal is not written), but the marker ye can also be used in these cases.

A.2.1.1 In basic and expanded verbal sentences

(348)
Kalyen mo ye patatah.
kali-en mo ye patatah
dig-OV 2SG.GEN NOM potato
Dig out the potatoes.
(349)
Angkadten nay kaget la.
aN-kaget-en na=ye kaget la
CONT=carry=OV 3SG.GEN=NOM load 3PL.GEN
She carries their load.
(350)
Tongtongen ko haanin ti kabibiay.
tongtong-en ko haanin ye kabibiay
tell=OV 1SG.GEN now NOM life
I will now tell about life.

A.2.1.2 In non-verbal sentences

A.2.1.2.1 In adjective and numeral type sentences

(351)
Maidap ye kahahaad.
ma-idap ye kahahaad
ADJ-difficult NOM situation
The situation is difficult.
(352)
Maidap ti kahahaad min Ayta.
ma-idap ye kahahaad mi=nin Ayta
ADJ-difficult NOM situation 1PL.EXCL.GEN=GEN Ayta
The situation of us Aytas is difficult.
(353)
Maholok anan labinwalo ye taon ko hatew ha lomateng yain a gobat.
ma-holok ana=a labin-walo ye taon ko hatew ha lateng-om- yain a gobat
ADJ-more.than already=LK teen-eight NOM year 1SG.GEN then DAT arrive-AV that LK war
I was already more than eighteen years old when the war arrived.
(354)
Maholok nin mapo ti kapgo a kalalamoan mi.
ma-holok a mapo ye kapgo a ka--an-CV-lamo mi
ADJ-more.than LK ten NOM CAFGU LK COL-PL-companion 1PL.EXCL.GEN
Our companions, the CAFGU, are more than ten.

A.2.1.2.2 In nominal type sentences

(355)
Yabayti ye alahan.
Yabayti ye alahan
this NOM boundary
This is the boundary.
(356)
Hiya ye ibat ha Germany.
hiya ye ibat ha germany
3SG.EMPH NOM from DAT Germany
He is the one from Germany.
(357)
Hiyay ibat ha Germany
hiya=ye ibat ha germany
3SG.EMPH=NOM from DAT Germany
He is the one from Germany.
(358)
Hikoy Wilhelm.
hiko=ye wilhelm
1SG.EMPH=NOM Wilhelm
I’m Wilhelm.
(359)
Yabayin ti ogali nin Ayta hine.
yabayin ye ogali nin ayta hine
this NOM custom GEN Ayta before
That was the custom of the Ayta before.
(360)
Ket yabayin anan bengat ti mahabi ko.
ket yabayin ana=a bengat ye m-a-habi ko
and this now=LK just NOM CTPLT-STA-say 1SG.GEN
And that only now is what I can say.
(361)
Yabayin anan bengat ti tanda kon habiyen ha Ayta.
yabayin ana=a bengat ye tanda ko=a habi-en ha ayta
this now=LK just NOM know 1SG.GEN=LK speak=OV DAT Ayta
That only now is what I know to say in Ayta.
(362)
Ihtibay ti nagkampoan la.
ihti=bay ye n-pag-kampo-an la
here=EMPH NOM PFV-DUR-camp-GV 3PL.GEN
Here is the place where they set up camp.

A.2.1.2.3 In existential sentences

(363)
Homain nin anggaan ti pagpotog nin kanyon.
homain a anggaan ye pag-potog nin kanyon
NEG.EXT LK ending NOM GER-bang GEN canon
The banging of the cannon had no end.
(364)
Homain ti Amerikano a nakew ihtibay.
homain ye amerikano a na-lakew ihti=bay
NEG.EXT NOM Amerikano LK PFV-go here=EMPH
No American came here. (Lit. None were the Americans who came here.)

A.2.1.3 In sentence processes

A.2.1.3.1 In questions

(365)
Anoyna ye anak mo, ama?
ano=yna ye anak mo ama
how.many=already NOM child 2SG.GEN Sir
How many children do you already have, Sir?
(366)
Ayay ngalan mo?
aya=ye ngalan mo
what=NOM name 2SG.GEN
What is your name?
(367)
Aya met ti ngalan mo?
aya met ye ngalan mo
what on.the.other.hand NOM name 2SG.GEN
And what is your name?

A.2.1.3.2 In delimiting components

(368)
Hiya ye babai, angkadten na ye kaget la
hiya ye babai an-kaget-en na ye kaget la
3SG.EMPH NOM woman CONT-carry-OV 2SG.GEN NOM load 3PL.GEN
The woman, she caries their load.

A.2.1.4 In nominative pronominal cross reference constructions

Pronominal cross reference constructions are very common in Ayta Abenlen. They occur in many if not most sentences except in sentences without common nouns and personal nouns, i.e., where only pronouns are used. The following chart gives an overview of all occuring pronominal cross references.

number EMPH NOM GEN DAT
singular hiyay = hiya ye yay = ya ye
ya ti
nan = na nin kanan = kana nin
plural hilay = hila ye hilay = hila ye lan = la nin
min = mi nin
kanlan = kanla nin

In the position after the respective case marker the following categories can occur: common nouns, personal nouns, demonstratives, verbal clauses and probably yet more categories. The whole ranges of functions of pronominal cross reference needs yet to be studied.

In this section occurences of the nominative pronominal reference constructions are shown (cf. A.2.2.3).

(369)
Main anem hila ye aanak ko.
main anem hila ye a-anak ko
EXT six 3PL.NOM NOM PL-child 1SG.GEN
I have six children.
(370)
Way-ihtew yay angkonaan mo?
way-ihtew ya=ye an-konin-an mo
where 3SG.NOM=NOM CONT-locate-GV 2SG.GEN
Where do you live?
(371)
Nadakep la hilay hapon.
n-ka-dakep la hila=ye hapon
PFV=STA=capture 3PL.GEN 3PL.NOM=NOM Japanese
They captured the Japanese.
(372)
Nanepet ya ti laki kanan balatang...
n-pan-tepet ya ye laki kana=nin balatang
PFV-PL-question 3SG.NOM NOM man 3SG.DAT=GEN unmarried.girl
The man asked the girl.
(373)
Pinatey hilan kaganaan ti hapon ihtibay.
pa-in-patey hila=n kaganaan ye hapon ihti=bay
CAUS-PFV-die 3PL.NOM=LK all NOM Japanese there=EMPH
All the Japanese were killed here.
(374)
Nakibat ya met ti babayi, "Ao, kaka, wana nin babayi."
n-paki-hebat ya met ye babayi awo kaka wana nin babayi
PFV-REQ-answer 3SG.NOM also NOM female yes older.brother said GEN female
The girl answered, "Yes, older brother, said the girl."
(375)
Matampa yan konaan ti logal mo.
ma-tampa ya=n konaan ye logal mo
ADJ-nice 3SG.NOM=LK location NOM place 2SG.GEN
The place where you live is nice.

A.2.1.5 In pseudo-verb plus complement sentences

These construction are similar to the basic and expanded non-verbal clauses above A.2.1.1. The complement is always an nominative nominalised clause in these commend plus genitive type sentences. The genitive NP, usually a pronoun, of the comment predicate is cross-referenced with the underlying nominative NP of the complement clause, which is therefore deleted in the nominative NP.

(376)
Tanda mo lawey maghabin Ayta.
tanda mo lawe=ye m-pag-habi=nin Ayta
know 2SG.GEN QUES=NOM CTPLT-DUR-speak=GEN Ayta
Do you indeed know how to speak Ayta?(Lit.:Is what you indeed know the speaking of Ayta?)
(377)
Labay koy makew ha Labney.
labay ko=ye ma-lakew ha Labney
like 1SG.GEN=NOM CTPLT-go DAT Labney
I like to go to Labney.

(Lit.:”What I would like is to go to Labney.” This sentence is analysed in comparison with the labay kon construction in A.3.5)

(378)
Labay ko ye magadal nin Ayta.
labay ko ye m-pag-adal nin Ayta
like 1SG.GEN NOM CTPLT-DUR-study GEN Ayta
I like to study Ayta.
(379)
Malyadinay makew ha Manila.
malyadi=na=ye ma-lakew ha Manila
possible=already=NOM CTPLT-go DAT Manila
It is already possible to go to Manila. (Lit: 'To go to Manila is already possible.')
(380)
Malyadi lawey makitongtong ako kamo?
malyadi lawe=ye m-paki-tongtong ako kamo?
possible QUES=NOM CTPLT-REQ-talk 1SG.NOM 2SG.DAT
Can I talk to you? (Lit: 'Is my talking to you possible?')

The following question is left for further investigation: Even though it seems that the use of {ye/-y} and/or {ti} is determinded by morphological reasons, i.e., ti normally only occurs following a word ending on a consonant, it should be asked what other factors may determing the use of ti rather than ye/-y.

A.2.2 The GEN marker nin

The genitive case marker (sometimes called non-topic marker) in Ayta Abellen in it’s full form is nine which is shortened to nin in normal speech. It can be shortened to a suffixed -n after vowels.

A.2.2.1 Marking constituents in verbal sentences

It marks constituents in basic and expanded verbal sentences. In expanded sentences it marks relations like instrument, method, periods of time etc. In similarity to the nominative markers, it also marks the second part of genitive pronominal cross reference constructions.

(381)
Nakew ako ihti nin magadal nin habin Ayta.
na-lakew ako ihti a m-pag-adal nin habi=nin ayta
PFV-go 1SG.NOM here LK CTPLT-DUR-study GEN language=GEN Ayta
I came here to study the Ayta language.
(382)
Ampanyag akon baey.
aN-pan-diyag ako=nin baey
CONT-PL-make 1SG.NOM=GEN house
I’m making a house.
(383)
Hiyay laki, ampanyagem nin kampilan.
hiyay laki aN-pan-yagem nin kampilan
TM man CONT-PL-arm.oneself GEN sword
The man arms himself with a sword.

A.2.2.2 Marking genitive in specifying constructions

The genitive marker nine (shortened form nin) is used in specifying genitive constructions. It serves to specify the referent of the preceding head noun. These constructions are divided into a number of classes on the basis of the kind of specification expressed.

A.2.2.2.1 Marking the whole in part-whole relations

The whole in these constructions may be a thing, a location or an event.

(384)
atep nin baey
atep nin baey
roof GEN house
roof of the house
(385)
doyo nin Pilipinah
doyo nin pilipinah
corner GEN Philippines
corner of the Philippines
(386)
pag-ka-yadi nin pag-ka-dakep
GER-STA-finish GEN GER-STA-capture
finishing of the capturing

A.2.2.2.2 Marking the possessor in possessor-possessed relations

(387)
ogali nin Ayta
ogali nin ayta
custom GEN Ayta
customs of the Ayta
(388)
hondalo nin Hapon
hondalo nin Hapon
soldier GEN Japan
sodiers of Japan

A.2.2.2.3 Marking the result

(389)
ti nandogyan nin idap
ye n-pan-dogi-an nin idap
NOM PFV-PL-cause-GV GEN difficulty
the cause of the difficulty

The nin-construction denotes the result of the referent.

A.2.2.2.4 Marking the appellative

(390)
habin Ayta
habi=nin ayta
language=GEN Ayta
the Ayta language
(391)
badyon Labney
badyo=nin labney
bario=GEN Labney
bario of Labney
(392)
panaon boan nin Septiembre
panaon boan nin septiembre
time month GEN September
time (of the) month of September

Note that in this example panaon and bowan may stand in apposition and no linker may be required. Or, it may be a genitive construction but because of the first word ends on -n the linker is omitted. More data are needed to decide this case.

A.2.2.2.5 Marking time specifications

(393)
timpon panggawa
timpo=nin panggawa
time=GEN clearing
time of clearing

A.2.2.2.6 Marking the scope

This is the most general class of nin-construction.

(394)
alahan nin magha boy magha
alahan nin magha boy magha
boundary GEN one and one
boundary for each one
(395)
gobat nin hondalo
gobat nin hondalo
fight GEN soldier
war
(396)
kahahaad nin kabibiay
kahahaad nin kabibiay
situation GEN life
the situation of life
(397)
kahahaad nin taga-Labney
kahahaad nin taga-=labney
situation GEN from=Labney
situation of the Labneyans
(398)
kabono nin tao
kabono nin tao
enemy GEN people
enemy of the people
(399)
kaganaan nin baey
kaganaan nin baey
all GEN house
all of the houses
(400)
pagpotog nin kanyon
pag-potog nin kanyon
GER-sound GEN cnnon
banging of the canon

A.2.2.3 Used in pronominal cross reference constructions

(401)
Hiyay ngalan la nin girilya hatew Hopbalahop.
Hiyay ngalan la nin girilya hatew hopbalahop
TM name 3PL.GEN GEN guerilla before Hopbalahop
The name of them, the guerillas before was Hopbalahop.
(402)
Yabayin ti peteg a ogali min Ayta.
Yabayin ye peteg a ogali mi=nin ayta
this NOM true LK custom 1PL.EXCL.GEN=GEN Ayta
That is the true custom of us Ayta.
(403)
Ayay ngalan nan yati ha habi yo?
aya=ye ngalan na=nin yati ha habi yo
what=NOM name 3SG.GEN=GEN this DAT language 2PL.GEN
What is this in your language?
(404)
Magha koynan kidihtiano, inoman nan Jesu Christo
magha ko=yna=n kidihtiano -in-oman na=nin jesu christo
one 1SG.GEN=now=GEN Christian PFV=renew 3SG.GEN=GEN Jesu Christ.
I’m now one of the Christians, renewed by Jesus Christ.
(405)
Anihip-ihipen nan laki.
an-ihipihip-en na=nin laki
CONT-thought-OV 3SG.GEN=GEN man
The man was thinking.

A.2.3 The DAT marker ha

The oblique marker ha marks non-nuclear grammatical relations such as location, time and medium. Ha is also used in combination with conjunctions to denote purpose and reason subordinated clauses and phrases.

A.2.3.1 In expanded sentences

A.2.3.1.1 Spatial location

(406)
Bobokod ko pa ha logal ayti.
bobokod ko pa ha logal a-yati
alone 1SG.GEN still DAT place LK-this
I'm still alone at this place.
(407)
Hiyay anak, lomipay ya ha banlat.
hiyay anak -om-lipay ya ha banlat
TM child AV-cross 3SG.NOM DAT boundary.mark
The child crossed at the boundary mark.
(408)
Hikoy ibat ha Germany.
hiko=ye ibat ha germany
1SG.EMPH=NOM from DAT Germany
I'm from Germany.

A.2.3.1.2 Temporal location

(409)
Hiya ha maghay dominggo moli akon minamangaamot.
hiya ha magha=a domingo m-oli ako=a minamangaamot
TM DAT one=LK week CTPLT-go.home 1SG.NOM=LK every.day
It is the next week that I will go home every day.
(410)
Tongtongen ko haanin ti kahahaad ha lomateng ti gobat ihti ha Pilipinah.
tongtong-en ko haanin ye kahahaad ha -om-lateng ye gobat ihti ha Pilipinah
tell-OV 1SG.GEN today NOM situation DAT AV-arrive NOM war here DAT Philippines
Today I will tell about the situation at the time when the war arrived here in the Philippines.

A.2.3.1.3 Mediate location

(411)
Yabayin anan bengat ti tanda kon habien ha Ayta.
yabayin ana=a bengat ye tanda ko=a habi-en ha ayta
that now=LK only NOM know 1SG.GEN=LK say-OV DAT Ayta
That now only is what I know how to say in Ayta.

A.2.3.2 In complex sentences

A.2.3.2.1 Purpose: omen ha

(412)
Hiya ye laki ampanyagem nin kampilan boy yao a omen ha no main hila nin katomhang, nakahagana ya ti laki.
hiya ye laki an-pan-yagem nin kampilan boy yao a emen ha no main hila nin katomhang n-paka-hagana ya ye laki
TM NOM man CONT-PL-arm.oneself GEN sword and bow.and.arrow LK like DAT if EXT 3PL.NOM LK enemy PFV-APT-meet 3SG.NOM NOM man
The man arms himself with a sword and with bow and arrow so that, if they have an enemy, the man is able to meet him.

A.2.3.2.2 Reason: oli ha

(413)
Kayabay ti kabibiay haanin magolo oli ha hilay NPA.
kayabay ye kabibiay haanin ma-golo oli ha hila=ye NPA
therefore NOM living today ADJ-troublesome because DAT 3PL.NOM=NOM NPA
Therefore, the circumstances today are troublesome because of the NPA.

A.3 Linkers

The different linkers are used on the levels of noun phrase, sentence expension, complex sentence and discourse. In existential phrases the thing that is existent or non-existent forms a kind of noun phrase with main ‘existent’ or homain ‘non-existent’, so a linker is used to connect the two. Linkers are also used in certain kinds of genitive type constructions. The linker a is used in many different ways so the examples of its usage are not exhaustive.

The most commonly used linker is nin which is usually abbreviated to -n and suffixed to the preceeding word ending on a vowel. The linker a is used after a word ending on a consonant (including glottal stop which is not written). The linker nin is not used in this case. After a word ending on -n the linker can be either a or nin, or may be deleted, especially in existential phrases with main and homain.

(414)
makandi nin bengat makandin bengat
ma-kandi a bengat
ADJ-little LK just
just a little
(415)
kitawo nin kaganaan kitawon kaganaan
kitawo a kaganaan
1PL.INCL.NOM LK all
all of us
(416)
matampa a baey (*matampa nin baey)
ma-tampa a baey
ADJ-nice LK house
(a) nice house
(417)
kaganaan a baey / kaganaan nin baey
kaganaan a baey kaganaan a baey
all LK house all LK house
all houses
(418)
Homain beyah. Homain yan beyah.
homain beyah homain ya=a beyah
NEG.EXT rice NEG.EXT 3SG.NOM=LK rice
There is no rice. He has no rice.

A.3.1 In Compound numbers

(419)
Pitompo
pito-a-po
seven-LK-times.ten
Seventy.
(420)
Anempo
anem-Ø-po
six-LK-times.ten
Sixty.

A.3.2 In noun phrases

In noun phrases linkers are used to connect modifiers with the head noun. Members of a variety of word-classes can be used as modifiers. Among them are adjectives, nouns, demonstratives, and interrogatives.

A.3.2.1 With adjectives as modifiers

(421)
matiboen baey
ma-tiboe=a baey
ADJ-whole=LK house
whole house
(422)
naonan domingo
naona=a domingo
old =LK week
last week
(423)
maloke a tao
ma-loke a tao
ADJ-bad LK person
bad person

A.3.2.2 With adverbs as modifiers

(424)
Maghan bengat.
magha=a bengat
one=LK just
Just one.

A.3.2.3 With nouns as modifiers

(425)
Ket maholok met nin mapo ti KAPGO a kalalamoan mi haanin ihti.
ket ma-holok met nin mapo ye kapgo a kalalamoan mi haanin ihti
and ADJ-more.than however GEN ten NOM CAFGU LK companion 1PL.EXCL.GEN today here
And today our CAFGU-companion-group here consists of more than ten (people).

A.3.2.4 With demonstratives as modifiers

(426)
Kaginta yatin baey.
kaginta yati=a baey
big this=LK house
This house is big.

A.3.2.5 With numerals as modifiers

(427)
apat a baey
apat a baey
four LK house
four houses
(428)
Main magha ye anak ko.
main magha a anak ko
EXT one LK child 1SG.GEN
I have one child.

A.3.2.6 With interrogatives as modifiers

(429)
Way-ihtew a logal ye ibatan mo?
way-ihtew a logal ye ibatan mo
where LK place NOM from.place 2G.GEN
Which place do you come from?

A.3.2.7 With relative clauses as modifiers

(430)
Matampa yan konaan ti logal mo.
ma-tampa ya=a konaan ye logal mo
ADJ=nice 3SG.NOM=LK location NOM place 2SG.GEN
The place where you live is nice.

A.3.3 In existential sentences

Note that the noun-marker is optional but usually absent when the preceding word ends on -n.

(431)
Main hilan banlat.
main hila=a banlat
EXT 3PL.NOM=LK boundary.mark
They have a boundary mark.
(432)
Homain ya po nin beyah.
homain ya po a beyah
NEG.EXT 3SG.NOM yet LK rice
He still has no rice.
(433)
Homain hebat.
homain hebat
NEG.EXT answer
There is no answer.
(434)
Main hila nin getedan.
main hila a getedan
EXT 3PL.NOM LK somewhere.to.go
They have a place to go to.
(435)
Homain ti Amerikano a nakew ihtibay.
homain ye amerikano a na-lakew ihtibay
NEG.EXT NOM Americans LK PFV-go here
The Americans had no one to come here.

A.3.4 In verb clauses

A.3.4.1 Linking moveable adverbs

The linker -n is used to connect a modifying moveable adverbs.

(436)
Moli akoynan madanon.
m-oli ako=yna=a madanon
CTPLT-go.home 1SG.NOM=already=LK soon
I'm going home soon.
(437)
Hiya ha naonan domingo ampoli akon minamangaamot.
hiya ha naonan domingo am-poli ako=a minamangaamot
TM DAT first week CONT-go.home 1SG.NOM=LK every.day
Last week I went home every day.

A.3.4.2 Linking initial adverbs

Malyadi is not a preudo-verb since the syntactic structure differs from the pseudo-verb + complement clause described elswhere in this paper. Malyadi is instead an indicative verb that is commonly functioning as an adverb to the finite verb of the clause, denoting possibility.

(438)
Malyadi kitan maytongtong.
malyadi kita=a m-pay-tongtong
possible 1DU=LK CTPLT-REC-talk
We can talk with each other.
(439)
Malyadi ko met nin mangalogod kamo, ta angkaibegan kata, wana nin laki.
malyadi ko met a m-paN-ka-logod kamo ta an-ka-ibeg-an kata wana nin laki
possible 1SG.GEN also LK CTPLT-PL-STA-woo 2SG.DAT REAS CONT-STA-love-GV 1SG.2SG said GEN man
I can, on the other hand, woo you, because I love you, said the man.

Note that the linker a instead of nin (following met) is grammatical even though nin is commonly used in such cases.

(440)
malyadi lawe a magodong ako po?
malyadi lawe a m-pag-odong ako po
possible QUES LK CTPLT-DUR-return 1SG.NOM yet
Can I come back yet?

A.3.4.3 Linking verbal modifier

(441)
Naboyot yan (ya a) nangihip.
n-ka-boyot ya=a ya a n-pan-ihip
PFV-STA-long.time 3SG.NOM=LK 3SG.NOM LK PFV-PL-thought
He thought for a long time.
(442)
Anihip-ihipen nan laki: Yatew ti hinabi nan babayi kadihko, wana nin lakin nangihip.
an-ihipihip-en na=nin laki yatew ye -in-habi na=nin babayi kadihko wan=na nin laki=a n-paN-ihip
CONT-think-OV 3SG.GEN=GEN male that NOM PFV.OV-speak 3SG.GEN=GEN female maybe said=3SG.GEN GEN male=LK PFV-GEN-thought
The boy was thinking for a long time: That maybe was what the girl said, thus the boy thought.

A.3.4.4 Linking the enclitic adverb na

The enclitic adverb nanow, already’ is an exception from other enclitic adverbs in that it is the only one to be connected by a linker to the preceding word. The linkers -y (after vowels except /-i/, in which case no linker is used) and a (after consonants) are used.

(443)
Moli kayna.
m-oli ka=yna
CTPLT-go.home 2SG.NOM=now
Go home now.
(444)
Makadang ana.
ma-kadang a=na
ADJ-long LK=already
(It's) long already.
(445)
Malyadina.
malyadi=na
possible=already
(It's) possible already.

A.3.5 In pseudo-verb plus complement sentences

The following examples are to be studied in comparison with the examples in A.2.1.1. There the complement sentences function as absolutive elements of the whole sentence whereas the pseudo-verbs ± location, identified by an ergative NP (usually a pronoun), is the comment. In the examples in this section the absolutive NP is only a part of the complement of the whole construction, which thereby is not a comment-absolutive complement construction. Unlike in the examples in A.2.1.1 there is no cross-referencing between the NP of the pseudo-verb and the absolutive NP of the complement clause. As in any clause one absolutiv NP of the complement clause has a certain role relationship to the verb of the complement clause. Finally, as these constructions are similar to complex sentences, the nin between the pseudo-verb part and the complement is analysed as a linker.[39]

(446)
Labay kon matandaan ye ngalan mo, ama.
labay ko=a ma-tanda-an ye ngalan mo ama
like 1SG.GEN=LK CTPLT-learn-GV NOM name 2SG.GEN Sir
I would like to know your name, Sir.
(447)
Labay kon makew ka ha Maamot.
labay ko=a ma-lakew ka ha maamot
like 1SG.GEN=LK CTPLT-go 2SG.NOM DAT Maamot
I like you to go to Maamot.

A.3.6 In complex sentences

Linkers are used to connect the components of complex sentences.

(448)
Nakew ako ihti nin magadal nin habin Ayta.
na-lakew ako ihti a m-pag-adal nin habi=nin ayta
PFV-go 1SG.NOM here LK CTPLT-DUR-study GEN language=GEN Ayta
I came here to study the Ayta language.
(449)
No timpon panggawa, manggawa kayin tamnan papaday.
no timpo=a panggawa m-pan-gawa kayi=a tanam-an CV-paday
if time=LK clearing CTPLT-PL-clear 1PL.EXCL=LK plant-place PL-rice
If it's the time of clearing, we clear to plant rice.
(450)
Hiyay laki ampanyagem nin kampilan boy yao a emen ha no main hila nin katomhang, nakahagana ya ti laki.
hiyay laki an-pan-yagem nin kampilan boy yao a omen ha no main hila a katomhang n-paka-hagana ya ye laki.
TM man CONT-PL-arm.oneself GEN sword and bow.and.arrow LK so that DAT if EXT 3PL.NOM LK enemy PFV-APT-meet 3SG.NOM NOM man
The man arms himself with a sword so that if they have an enemy, the man is able to meet (him).
(451)
Ket yabayin met ti antongtongen ko a natandaan ko kanla a hiyay ogali la hatew.
ket yabayin met ye an-tongtong-en ko a na-tanda-an ko kanla a hiyay ogali la hatew
and that however NOM CONT-tell-OV 1SG.GEN LK PFV-know-GV 3PL.DAT LK TM custom 3PL.GEN then
And that however is what I am telling about what I learned from them about their custom.

A.3.7 Used as rhetorical device

The linker a is used as a rhetorical device (hesitancy), for example, when starting a story after an introductional part or for filling a rhetorical pause.

(452)
A maholok anan labin walo ye taon ko...
a ma-holok ana=a labin walo ye taon ko
LK ADJ-more.than already=LNK teen eight NOM year 1SG.GEN
I was already more than eighteen years old...
(453)
Haanin, ta nayadi yatew a ihtolya a hoglongan ko nin ihtolya a tongkol ha kahahaad nin...
haanin ta nayadi yatew a ihtolya a hoglong-an ko nin ihtolya a tongkol ha kahahaad nin
now REAS finished that LK story LK extension 1SG.GEN GEN story LK about DAT situation GEN
Today, because that story is finished, I will extend the story about the situation of...


B. The Marked Topic Slot

B.1 Introduction

Philippine languages are known to allow fronting of information such as through the “ay-inversion” in Tagalog. While there is now much agreement that the information preceding ay in Tagalog is a marked topic, this has not always been the case. In 1958 McKaughan (1958) had labelled the ang phrase as the Topic and many linguists such as Wolfenden (1961), Schachter and Otanes (1972) and Naylor (1975) followed suit. McKaughan (1973) changed his position and subsequent work by Kroeger (1993), Kaufman (2005) and Hirano (2006) has since proven that the ay-inversion construction is really what marks Topic in Tagalog. This conclusion, that the ay-inversion construct marks topic, fits well with the data to be presented in this paper regarding the Ayta Abellen language, a member of the Sambal language family on Luzon. Other members of the Sambal language family are: Ayta Ambala, Ayta MagIndi, Ayta MagAnchi, Ayta Magbukun, Bolinao, Botolan Sambal, and Tina Sambal. A quick survey of work related to fronted information in these other Sambal languages might be helpful.

In Antworth (1979) he labelled the preposed hay marker in Botolan Sambal as a “full nonpersonal nominative case marker”. But later in his discussion on topicalization he gives examples of the hay marker occuring in left-dislocation and he refers to the information that follows it as the topic

Ramos and Chiu (2004) have labelled hay in Ayta Ambala as a Determiner for non-personal subjects. But example sentences in their paper have definite structural similarities with examples from Botolan Sambal, Tina Sambal and Ayta Abellen. Hay in Ayta Ambala appears preposed before a noun phrase that has a comma (pause) after it in the English gloss.

Goschnick says that in Tina Sambal fronting is used when there is a change of topic/theme. She describes the structure of the fronted position by saying that “these fronted items have to be definite and are therefore marked by yay just like the focused parts of a clause. New themes are usually separated from the rest of the clause by the particle ay or kot or by a pause.” Goschnick (2005).

This paper will show that Ayta Abellen also has a preposed position followed by a pause which is to a large degree similar to the ay-inversion pattern of Tagalog and the yay/hay patterns in the related Sambalic languages. Four tests for topichood will be used to determine whether this construction is in fact the topic of the sentence.

The Ayta Abellen data for this paper comes primarily from stories recorded by native speakers Rodante Capiendo, Efren Capiendo, Emilio Laurzano, and the late Leonardo Francisco. But several other recorded stories as well were consulted along with a large corpus of translated material which was repeatedly checked for naturalness by three native speakers. In addition to this, the author has lived with the Ayta Abellen people for almost three years and has tested as an FSI level 3 speaker of the language.

B.2 Topic Definitions

Lambrecht (1994) has described topic in these words, “A referent is interpreted as the topic of a proposition if in a given discourse the proposition is construed as being about the referent, i.e. as expressing information which is relevant to and which increases the addressee’s knowledge of this referent.”

Barlaan (1999), working from a Comment-Topic paradigm, concludes that “fronting an NP in Isnag is not topicalization, since I consider topicalization as putting an NP not normally in a topic position into the topic position.” He concludes that “fronted information is new, asserted, negatable, and questionable information” which is characteristic of a Comment rather than a Topic.

Shi (2000) has said with regard to Chinese that “the topic is an unmarked NP (or its equivalent) that precedes a clause and is related to a position inside the clause; a topic represents an entity that has been mentioned in the previous discourse and is being discussed again in the current sentence.” This definition, however, would not permit a speaker to introduce a new marked topic and then begin discussing it.

Kroeger (2004) says that the “TOPIC is often defined intuitively as the thing which the sentence is ‘about.’ Now, in order to say something about a particular entity, the speaker must assume that the hearer can identify that entity. Thus the topic is normally something that the hearer has some knowledge about.” This is the definition that will be used for this paper with the assumption that new information to the discourse can be marked as topic if it is “something that the hearer has some knowledge about” or if the information is sufficiently introduced so that it can become what the matrix clause “is about”.

B.3 Ayta Abellen left-dislocation structure

Ayta Abellen has three morphological case markers, which I have labelled Nominative (NOM), Genitive (GEN), and DAT (Dative).[40] The forms of the case markers are listed below:

NOM GEN DAT
Common noun markers ye, ti[41] nin ha
Personal name markers (SG) yay nan kanan
Personal name markers (PL) hilay lan kanlan

Ayta Abellen, like other Philippine languages, has a basic VSO word order as illustrated in (454)1. Nouns cannot precede the verb unless they appear in a left-dislocation position followed by a pause. Sentence (454) would only be said when Pabling is known as a participant in the scene. If Pabling had not previously been mentioned in the story we would get sentence (455). Ayta Abellen has a marker hiyay which precedes nominals in the left-dislocation position. It can mark personal proper names (455) which are then referenced with a resumptive pronoun or a nominalized clause (456) which has no resumptive pronoun.

(454)
Namiay yay Pabling nin haa ha katongno na.
PRF-give NOM Pabling GEN banana DAT sibling 3SG.GEN
Pabling gave a banana to his sibling
(455)
Hiyay Pabling, nakew ya ha banwa.
TM Pabling PRF-go 3SG.NOM DAT town
Pabling went to town.
(456)
Kaya-bay hiyay dinyag ko kanan hiyain, nakew ako nin nangwan binila ta kinalot kon tampol ye o na.
so-EMP TM PRF-do 1SG.GEN DAT this PRF-go 1SG.NOM COMP PRF-take rattan and PRF-tie 1SG.GEN quickly NOM head 3SG.GEN
So what I did at that time, I went to get rattan and I quickly tied up its head.

The hiyay construction occurs almost exclusively in left dislocation. I say almost exclusively because it can occur to the right of the pause in exceptional equative clauses (see B.7). But the normal pattern is that hiyay cannot mark NPs in the matrix clause (457). When the agent is already known, the name of the agent is marked with yay in the matrix clause (458).

(457)
*Nakew hiyay Pabling ha banwa.
PRF-go TM Pabling DAT town
Pabling went to town.
(458)
Nakew yay Pabling ha banwa.
PRF-go NOM Pabling DAT town
Pabling went to town.

For coordinate clauses in a single sentence, another hiyay left dislocation (delimited by a pause) can be inserted after the coordinating conjunction and then referenced with a resumptive pronoun (459).

(459)
Main oowel a ahe angkatey boy hiyay apoy ihtew, ahe ya angkalep.
EXT PL-worm REL NEG CONT-die and TM fire there NEG 3SG.NOM CONT-go.out
There are worms which are not dying and the fire there, it does not go out.

There can never be two occurrences of hiyay in a left dislocation (460) position unless hiyay marks individuals connected with a coordinating conjunction who will later be referenced together in the predication through the resumptive 3PL pronoun hila (461).

(460)
*Haanin, hiyay Juan, hiyay Carmelita, nakitongtong hila kana.
now TM Juan TM Carmelita PRF-REQ-talk 3PL.NOM 3SG.DAT
Now Juan and Carmelita talked to him.
(461)
Hiyay Santiago boy hiyay Juan, hinomaley hila kanan Apo Jesus.
TM Santiago and TM Juan PRF-near 3PL.NOM DAT Lord Jesus
Santiago and Juan, they went near to Jesus.

Nitsch (2009) labelled the function of hiyay as one of prominence and gave the following chart of “pronominal cross references”. Nitsche also hypothesized that hiyay is derived from hiya ye where ye is what he labelled the Class I Absolutive case marker (but which I have been labelling NOM). While the use of hiyay is obviously related to discourse prominence, this paper will show here that it is actually marking Topic while at the same time serving as a pronominal cross reference.

(462)
Number Class 0 (EMPH) Class I (NOM) Class II (GEN) Class III (DAT)
Singular hiyay = hiya ye yay = ya ye
ya ti
nan = na nin kanan = kana nin
Plural hilay = hila ye hilay = hila ye lan = la nin
min = mi nin
kanlan = kanla nin

Another construction that matches Nitsche’s conclusion about the derivation of the topic marker hiyay can be seen in (463) where instead of finding hiya linked with the nominative marker ye to form hiyay we see hiya linked with the dative marker to form hiya ha. This fronted adverbial clause has no resumptive pronoun.

(463)
Hiya ha anti ko ha lale, ampamahaka ko ha matondol nin Naboko.
TM DAT present 1SG.GEN DAT forest CONT-go.up 1SG.GEN DAT hill GEN Naboko
When I was in the forest, I was going up the mountain of Naboko.

A deictic connected to an NP can also appear in left dislocation (464). It can be referenced anaphorically in the matrix clause as in (464) or through a resumptive pronoun as in (465). The difference between the use of hiyay and the deictics is in the level of specificity. Deictics refer to more specific information in that the object referenced is in some sense visible to the speaker.

(464)
Yabayin a maambal, antibeen lan aho ko.
this-EMPH LK python CONT-bark-OV 3PL.GEN dog 1SG.GEN
That python, [it] is being barked at by my dogs.
(465)
Yain a anak, ahe ya natey, no aliwan angkatoloy yan bengat.
This LK child NEG 3SG.NOM PRF-die if NEG CONT-sleep 3SG.NOM only
This child, she has not died, but rather she is just sleeping.

So now we see that there are six different words which can precede the left-dislocated construction.

Hiyay Hiya + nominative marker Singular
Hilay Hila + nominative marker Plural
Hiya ha Hiya + dative marker Adverbials
Yatin a Deictic + linker Near speaker
Yain a Deictic + linker Near hearer
Yatew a Deictic + linker Far from speaker and hearer

Pronouns can also occur in the left-dislocation position, but only pronouns of a specific class. Nitsche said that “The prominence pronouns (Class 0) may be viewed as derived from class I pronouns and prefixed with hi-.” Nitsch (2009) These pronouns, called emphatic pronouns by other Philippine linguists, are then referenced through resumptive pronouns in the matrix clause as we see in (467).

(466)
Number Person Class 0
PROM (TOP)
non-plural 1 hiko
P1S
2 hika
P2S
1+2 (incl.) hikita
P12S
3 hiya
P3S
plural 1 (excl.) hikayi
P1P
2 hikawo
P2P
1+2 (incl.) hikitawo
P12P
3 hila
P3P
(467)
Hiko, katapolan akon magdanah nin malabong a kaidapan.
P1S must 1S CON-experience GEN many LK difficulty
As for me, I must experience many difficulties.

There are three basic ways of marking topic: morphologically (topic marker), syntactically (fronted position), or phonologically (pause afterwards). These three corroborate in Ayta Abellen and set forth the initial hypothesis of topic marking because there is sufficient evidence of morphological markers in fronted position followed by a pause. What is still needed is evidence to prove that the information encoded between hiyay and the pause is in fact a topic. This will be the focus of section B.5.

B.4 What can be Marked in the Left-Dislocation position

Only the SUBJ can occur in the left-dislocation position. A variety of NPs with different semantic roles can occur in this position such as: agent NP (468), theme NP (469), patient NP (470), and location NP (471). Further research may discover other semantic roles which can occur in this position. But all of these are grammatical SUBJ.

(468)
Haanin, hilay tataon nanyag tori, nangaiigat hila.
Now TM people made tower PRF-surprise 3PL.NOM
Now, the people who made the tower, they were shocked.
(469)
Ta hiyay tori, intagay lan intagay.
For TM tower PRF.OV-raise 3PL.GEN raised
For the tower, they raised [it] and raised [it].
(470)
Hilay tataon ampaghakit nin hadi-hadi, pinataah na hilan Apo Jesus.
TM people CONT-sick GEN various CAUS-PRF.OV-heal 3SG.GEN 3PL.NOM Lord Jesus
The people sick with different kinds of diseases, Jesus healed them.
(471)
Hiya ha anti ko ha lale, ampamahaka ko ha matondol nin Naboko.
TM DAT present 1SG.GEN DAT forest CONT-go-up 1SG.GEN DAT hill GEN Naboko
When I was in the forest, I was going up the mountain of Naboko.

In example (472) we can see that possessors can also be preposed. The topic phrase (in this case a pronoun) is the possessor of bi-ay ‘life’ in the following temporal phrase.

(472)
Hiko, ha pinangibatan nin bi-ay ko, wanabay ya.
1SG.EMPH DAT PRF-from-GV GEN life 1SG.GEN like-this 3SG.NOM
I, at the beginning of my life, it was like this.

B.5 Testing the hiyay topic hypothesis

B.5.1 WH-question test

WH-question words can never occur in the left dislocation position and can never be marked with hiyay (473). This ban on the use of interrogatives in the hiyay marked left-dislocation slot suggests that focused information in general is not permitted in this position.

(473)
*Hiyay hinya, nakew ha banwa.
TM who PRF-go DAT town.
Who went to town?

Kroeger says that “Our basic assumption is that a single element cannot function as both topic and focus at the same time, since the same piece of information cannot be simultaneously old and new in a single context.” Kroeger (2004) Since we know that a question word places pragmatic focus on the part of the answer that replaces the WH-question word, we want to find out if hiyay ever marks the pragmatically focused part of an answer.

In response to the question in (474) we can see that the focused information of the kalatkatbackpack’ can occur after the verb (475) but it cannot occur before the verb through topicalization (476). We could, however, have pseudo-cleft answers where the presupposed information appears in the left-dislocation and the focused information occurs after the pause ((477) and (478)).

(474)
Ayay dinyag mo ihtew?
what=NOM PRF.OV-do 2SG.GEN there
What did you do/make there?
(475)
Nanyag kayin kalatkat ihtew.
PRF-do 1PL.EXCL.NOM=GEN backpack there
We made a backpack there.
(476)
*Hiyay kalatkat, dinyag mi ihtew.
TM backpack PRF.OV-do 1PL.EXCL.GEN there
The backpack, we made it there.
(477)
Hiyay dinyag mi ihtew, nanyag kayin kalatkat.
TM PRF.OV-do 1PL.EXCL.GEN there PRF-do 1PL.EXCL.NOM=GEN backpack
What we did there, we made a backpack.
(478)
Hiyay dinyag mi ihtew, kalatkat.
TM PRF.OV-do 1PL.EXCL.GEN there backpack
What we made there is a backpack.

If the information brought into focus through a WH-question is a location (479) coded with an OBL, we get similar results. The focused OBL can occur after the verb (480). The focused OBL cannot be fronted either with a pause (481) or without a pause (482). The OBL cannot take the marker hiya (483). Finally the voice can be changed for the presupposed information from the question and that information marked as topic (484), resulting in just the location appearing on the other side of the pause.

(479)
Way-ihtew ka makew?
Where 2SG.NOM CTPLT-go
Where will you go?
(480)
Makew ako ha Angeles.
CTPLT-go 1SG.NOM DAT Angeles
I will go to Angeles.
(481)
*Ha Angeles, makew ako.
DAT Angeles CTPLT-go 1SG.NOM
To Angeles, I will go.
(482)
*Ha Angeles ako makew.
DAT Angeles 1SG.NOM CTPLT-go
To Angeles I will go.
(483)
*Hiya ha Angeles, makew ako.
TM DAT Angeles CTPLT-go 1SG.NOM
To Angeles, I will go.
(484)
Hiyay lakwen ko, Angeles.
TM go-OV 1SG.GEN Angeles
The place where I will go is Angeles.

For the verbless example in (485) Pabling is the focused element and that name cannot be marked with hiyay (486) although the known information from the question can be repeated in a hiyay marked left dislocation and then the answer given after the pause (487).

(485)
Ayay ngalan mo?
what=NOM name 2SG.GEN
What is your name.
(486)
*Hiyay Pabling.
TM Pabling
Pabling.
(487)
Hiyay ngalan ko, Pabling.
TM name 1SG.GEN Pabling
My name is Pabling.

So with both verbal and non-verbal sentences we can see evidence from the WH-question test that the left-dislocated information marked with hiyay has characterics of being a Topic.

B.5.2 Negation test

We know that negation also generally takes scope over focused elements. So, we want to ask the question of whether negation can occur in the the left-dislocation position with hiyay. Or to put it another way, we want to test if negation can ever take scope over something marked with hiyay. There are two negation words in Ayta Abellen but neither ahe (488) nor aliwa (489) can take scope over a constituent marked with hiyay in left-dislocation.

(488)
*Ahe hiyay Emilio, nangan ya.
NEG TM Emilio PRF-eat 3SG.NOM
(cf. Emilio did not eat.)
(489)
*Aliwa hiyay Emilio, nangan ya.
NEG TM Emilio PRF-eat 3SG.NOM

A thorough search through our data corpus reveals only a few rare instances where either of the Ayta Abellen negators (ahe, aliwa) ever occurs inside the left dislocation position. In these exceptional cases, though, the scope of the negation does not cover the marked topic. Rather the negation is merely a part of a headless relative clause (490). The overwhelming majority of cases of negation occur in the matrix clause (491) where topic marking doesn’t occur.

(490)
Hilay ahe naghimba talaga, naghimba hila.
TM NEG PRF-worship truly PRF-worship 3PL.NOM
Those who really did not go to church, they came to church.
(491)
Ahe kitawo no ahe yay Apo Dioh.
NEG 1PL.EXCL.NOM if NEG NOM Lord God
We would not be if not for the Lord.

B.5.3 Contrastive Focus Test

We can also find pragmatic focus in situations where old information is refuted as false and the new information bears focus. In example (492) a speaker has tinapaybread’ for sale. In (493) the responder says that it is not bread that he wants to buy but rather beyahrice’. The information in focus here is beyah. It would not be a grammatical response to move beyah into the topic, or presupposed information slot (494). This test again shows the incompatability of marked topic information with pragmatic focus.

(492)
Main kayin tinapay.
EXT 1PL.EXCL.NOM bread
We have bread.
(493)
Aliwan tinapay ye labay kon haliwen, no aliwan beyah.
NEG=GEN bread NOM want 1SG.GEN=GEN buy-OV if NEG=GEN rice
It’s not bread I want to buy, but rather rice.
(494)
*Hiyay beyah, labay kon haliwen. Aliwan tinapay.
TM rice want 1SG=GEN buy-OV NEG=GEN bread
Rice, I want to buy. Not bread.

B.5.4 Focus-Sensitive Adverbials Test

Kaufman (2005)has said that “focus sensitive elements will be ungrammatical if syntactically forced to associate with a topic as presupposed information should not be available for modification.” (Kaufman 2005:180) The Ayta Abellen particle agyaeven’ will be used for this test. It occurs phrase initial and automatically places focus on the phrase it precedes. In example 40 narrow focus is placed on the angels of God by the particle agya. What is confusing here is that we have one of the surface forms (hilay) which I said previously is a topic marker. This would seem to be an example showing that we have a topic marker modifying information which the focus sensitive adverbial takes scope over. But this is not really the case as hilay can be either a topic marker or a NOM case marker for plural nouns, which is the function in this case. This also is what Nitsche had proposed and he defended it with this footnote “The third person plural emphatic pronoun has the same form as the third person plural topic-pronoun, probably to avoid the reduplication of hi-, i.e. *hihila.” Nitsch (2009)

(495)
Agya hilay aanghil nan Apo Dioh, ahe la tanda.
even NOM PL-angel GEN Lord God NEG 3PL.GEN know
Even the angels of God, they don’t know.

It would be better to apply the test on information marked with hiyay or a deictic. Here we see that we can never have agya associated with this type of information.

(496)
*Agya hiyay Pabling, nakew ya ha banwa.
even TM Pabling PRF-go 3SG.NOM DAT town
Even Pabling, he went to town.
(497)
*Agya yatew a aho, ahe ya nangan.
even that LK dog NEG 3SG.NOM PRF-eat
Even that dog, it did not eat.

So once again we see that the left-dislocation topic position is not compatible with focused elements. Based on the results of these five tests it seems appropriate to conclude that the information in this position is in fact the topic.

B.6 Establishing Order in the Left-Dislocation position

It is not just topics that can be preposed in Ayta Abellen. Locative phrases can be preposed (498) as can temporal phrases (499). It is possible to have more than one preposed temporal phrase, each separated by a pause (500) and usually both are preceded with the OBL marker ha.

(498)
Ihtew ha banwa, inlako koy hahaa ko.
there DAT town PRF.OV-sell 1SG.GEN=NOM PL-banana 1SG.GEN
There in town, I sold my bananas.
(499)
Hatew a mangaamot, nakew ako ha lale nin nanganop.
Back-then LK day PRF-go 1SG.NOM DAT forest COMP PRF-hunt
On a day in the past, I went to the forest to hunt.
(500)
Ha hatew, ha tiempo nin Hapon boy gida, hiyay ahawa ko, nakilaban nin hapon boy NPA.
DAT back-then DAT time GEN Japan and war TM spouse 1SG.GEN PRF-REQ-fight GEN Japan and NPA
Back then, in the time of the Japanese and the war, my husband, he fought against the Japanese and the NPA.

When there is both a marked topic and a temporal or location phrase in the left-dislocation position, there seems to be a preferred ordering of the locative or temporal expression being first. I have found only one counterexample and it was in a translated text (rather than a natural text) so I hypothesize that while there may not be an absolute grammatical order rule, there certainly is a very strong preference to put the marked topic last, closest to the matrix clause (501).

(501)
Haanin, ha domondon a biernes, hiyay Pabling, makew ya ha banwa.
now DAT next LK Friday TM Pabling CTPLT-go 3SG.NOM DAT town
Now, next Friday, Pabling, he will go to town.

Therefore, I propose that the general template for left-dislocation in Ayta Abellen looks like this:

(502)
1 (ha) 2 (hiyay)
Discourse Marker (Deictic) + Temporal Hiyay + Topic Matrix clause
(Deictic) + Location Deictic + Topic

But this template does not work for the topic pronouns. When a topic pronoun is used, it must precede the temporal and locative information as can be seen in example (503) (repeated from (471)) and (504).

(503)
Hiko, ha pinangibatan nin bi-ay ko, wanabay ya.
1SG.EMPH DAT PRF-from-GV GEN life 1SG.GEN like-this 3SG.NOM
I, at the beginning of my life, it was like this.
(504)
*Ha pinangibatan nin bi-ay ko, hiko, wanabay ya.
DAT PRF-from-GV GEN life 1SG.GEN 1SG.EMPH like-this 3SG.NOM
At the beginning of my life, I was like this.

So in the case of a pronoun as topic, the following template is the preferred order.

1 (Pronoun) 2 (hiyay)
Discourse Marker Topic pronoun (Deictic) + Temporal Matrix clause
(Deictic) + Location

B.7 Can hiyay ever occur outside of left-dislocation?

The hiyay topic marker can occur after the pause in a verbless equative sentence (505). It was noted earlier that hiyay can be used to introduce new prominent characters to the discourse. When hiyay occurs marking information that is not preposed, this function of introducing new characters is what is taking place. The preposed information in this sentence marked with hiyay is the topic while the information after the pause introduces new characters.

(505)
Hiyay pinaglamo nan Apo Jesus, hiyay Pedro, Santiago, boy hiyay Juan.
TM PRF-DUR-accompany GEN Lord Jesus TM Pedro Santiago and TM Juan
Those Jesus had companion with him were Pedro, Santiago, and Juan.

B.8 Philippine Cross-linguistic perspective on Topic marking

Katagiri (2006) has said that the issues regarding topic and focus will be clearer after studies with other Philippine languages have been completed. This paper helps clarify some of the features of Ayta Abellen topic marking. These features can now be compared with other Philippine languages.

The Botolan Sambal marker hay only marks impersonal topics, while the Ayta Abellen hiyay marks both personal and impersonal topics.

Tina Sambal uses fronting to change the topic. But in that language both NP arguments in left-dislocation and NP arguments in the matrix clause are marked with the same yay case marker. In Ayta Abellen there is a contrast with hiyay in left-dislocation and yay in the matrix clause. So, while it does appear that Tina Sambal is using fronting to encode changing topics, it doesn’t use a distinct marker to show this.

Topic marking in Ayta Abellen also has differences with Tagalog. In Tagalog the ay marker occurs after the preposed topic and roughly matches the position of the pause in Ayta Abellen. But Tagalog doesn’t have any preposed marker like the Abellen hiyay.

We can summarize what we know at this point about the various surface structures like this:

Language Topic Marker Topic Delimiter
Ayta Abellen Hiyay/Hilay
Deictic
Topic pronoun
pause, ket[42]
Ayta Ambala Hay pause
Botolan Sambal Hay
Hi/Hili
Deictic
ay
Tina Sambal Yay ay
kot
pause
Tagalog - ay

B.9 Conclusion

In this paper I have attempted to show that the information Ayta Abellen marks in left-dislocation is in fact the topic. While the topic precedes the verb, there are other types of information such as location and temporal points of departure which can also be preposed. These types of information are distinguished from topics by not being marked with hiyay or a deictic. Ayta Abellen personal topics are referenced through resumptive pronouns or zero anaphora.

The results of the WH-question, Negation, Focus-Sensitive Adverbials, and Contrastive Topic tests all point to the conclusion that this preposed information is a marked topic that cannot bear pragmatic focus. Ayta Abellen only allows SUBJ and possessors to be marked as topic. When there is more than one preposed element, the preferred order is for the locative or temporal phrase to occur first before the topic. In the case of topic pronouns, the preferred order is reversed with the pronoun occuring before other preposed information.

Finally, we have seen that similar types of topic marking occur in other Sambalic languages and Tagalog. Further studies and comparisons will help clarify these similarities and differences.


C. Language Learning Lessons

These are 9 language learning lessons developed by Wilhelm Nitsch.

C.1 Lesson 1

C.1.1 Text: Introducing Oneself / Greetings and Leave Takings

Drill: Repeat each sentence once!

(506)
a. Way-omen kawo? How are you?
b. Hiyay ngalan ko, Wilhelm Nitsch. My name is Wilhelm Nitsch.
c. Hiko'y ibat ha Germany. I'm from Germany.
d. Nakew ako ihti a mag-adal nin habin Ayta. I came here to study the Ayta language.
e. Yabay-in anan bengat ti tanda kon habiyen ha Ayta. That is all I know to say in Ayta.
f. Wanabay ana. Goodbye to all of you.

C.1.2 Vocabulary

Nouns

(507)
a. ngalan name
b. habi say/language

Verbs

(508)
a. nakew came/went, AV.PRF
b. mag-adal study, AV.CTPLT
c. tanda know, OV
d. habiyen know, say, OV.CTPLT

Pronouns

(509)
a. kawo you (2PL.NOM)
b. ko my (1SG.GEN)
c. ako I (1SG.NOM)
d. hiko I (1SG.EMPH)
e. hiya (3SG.EMPH)

Case Markers

(510)
a. ti/ye NOM
b. ne/nin GEN
c. ha DAT

Adverbs

(511)
a. ibat from/originate
b. ihti here
c. anan bengat only, just
d. ana now,already

Interrogative pronoun

(512)
a. way-omen how

Linkers

(513)
a. -n, a LNK

Demonstrative Pronoun

(514)
a. yabay-in that (near hearer)

C.1.3 Substitution drills (pronouns)

Drill: Repeat the sentence once or say the new sentence after cue is given!

C.1.3.1 

(515)
a. Hiyay ngalan ko, Wilhelm Nitsch. My name is Wilhelm Nitsch.
b. Hiyay ngalan mo Wilhelm Nitsch Your name is Wilhelm Nitsch.
c. Baey tawo yati. This is our (incl) house.
d. Baey mi yati. This is our (excl) house.
e. Yabayti ye baey yo. This is your (pl) house.
f. Yabay-in ye baey la. That is their house

C.1.3.2 

(516)
a. Ibat ako ha Germany. I'm from Germany.
b. Ibat ka ha Germany. You're from Germany.
c. Ibat ya ha Germany. He/she is from Germany.
d. Ibat kitawo ha Germany. We (incl.) are from Germany.
e. Ibat kayi ha Germany. We (excl.) are from Germany.
f. Ibat kitawo ha Germany. You (pl.) are from Germany.
g. Hilay ibat ha Germany. They are from Germany.

C.1.3.3 

(517)
a. Nakew ako ihti a mag-adal nin habin Ayta. I came here to study the Ayta language.
b. Nakew ka ihti a mag-adal nin habin Ayta. You (sg.) came here to study the Ayta language.
c. Nakew ya ihti a mag-adal nin habin Ayta. He/she came here to study the Ayta language.
d. Nakew kitawo ihti a mag-adal nin habin Ayta. We (incl.) came here to study the Ayta language.
e. Nakew kayi ihti a mag-adal nin habin Ayta. We (excl.) came here to study the Ayta language.
f. Nakew kawo ihti a mag-adal nin habin Ayta. You (pl.) came here to study the Ayta language.
g. Nakew hila ihti a mag-adal nin habin Ayta. They came here to study the Ayta language.

C.1.3.4 

(518)
a. Way-omen ka? How are you (sg)?
b. Way-omen ya? How is he/she?
c. Way-omen kawo? How are you (pl)?
d. Way-omen hila? How are they?

C.1.4 Greetings and leave takings

Drill: Repeat each sentence once!

C.1.4.1 GREETINGS

(519)
a. Way-omen kawo? How are you(pl)?
b. Way-ihtew kawo ibat? Where do you come from?
c. Way-ihtew kawo makew? Where are you going?

C.1.4.2 LEAVETAKINGS

(520)
a. Wanabay ana. Good bye (to all of you).

C.1.4.3 RESPONSES

(521)
a. Omen met pa ha legan. Just like before. (Response to "How are you?")
b. Awo. Yes. (Response to "Good bye.")

C.1.5 Verb makew, Actor Voice

C.1.5.1 PERFECTIVE ASPECT

(522)
Nakew ako ha Labney naapon.
PRF-go 1SG.NOM OBL Labney yesterday
I went to Labney yesterday.

C.1.5.2 PROPOSED ASPECT

(523)
a.
Makew ako ha Labney.
CTPLT-go 1SG.NOM OBL Labney
I'm going to Labney (action started).
 
b.
Makew ako ha Labney mabekah.
CTPLT-go 1SG.NOM OBL Labney tomorrow
I will go to Labney tomorrow.
 
c.
Labay koy makew ha Labney mabekah.
want I CTPLT-go OBL Labney tomorrow
I would like to go to Labney tomorrow.

C.1.6 Grammar notes

  1. Note that the Ayta use different pronouns if the hearer is included or excluded C.1.3.1.
  2. Hiyay and hikoy in C.1.3.2 are contracted forms of hiya ye and hiko ye respectively.
  3. Hi- forms are possible in all cases in C.1.3.2 but they are not commonly used with kitawo, kayi and kawo.
  4. The verbs in Ayta Abellen do not display tenses but aspect. There are three aspects: perfective (PRF), continuous (CONT) and contemplated (CTPLT). But it seems, that with some verbs like makew (see C.1.5.2) and muli (see C.3.4) contemplated aspect is often used instead of continuous.
  5. Note the Linkers -n as in: habi nin Ayta = habin Ayta and a as in: ihti a mag-adal... Not here but often in normal speech speed the final glottal stop of a is dropped (as in C.1.3.3).
  6. Instead of ...ihti a mag-adal... you can say ...ihtin mag-adal....

C.1.7 Culture Notes

  1. The Ayta Abellen usually refer to their language as "Ayta". But they agree if asked if they call themselves Abellen, Abenlen, or Aberlen.
  2. To greet an older person you add ama: Way-omen ka ama? Ama literally means "uncle", but it is also used with non-relatives as a form of respect, corresponding to the English word "sir".

C.2 Lesson 2

C.2.1 Text: Meeting someone on the path/Greetings

LL=Language Learner AS=Ayta: Abellen Speaker

(524)
a. LL: Way-omen ka, ama? How are you, Sir?
b. AS: Omen met pa ha legan. I'm like before.
c. LL: Way-ihtew ka ibat? Where did you come from?
d. AS: Ibat ako ha Kayawedan. Way ihtew ka makew? I'm coming from Kayaudan. Where are you going?
e. LL: Muli akoyna. I'm going home now.
f. AS: Hay hika payna. It's up to you.

C.2.2 Vocabulary

Pronouns

(525)
a. ka you (2SG.NOM)
b. hika you (2SG.EMPH)

Nouns

(526)
a. ama uncle/sir/mister

Verbs

(527)
a. moli go home, AV, CTPLT
b. makew come/go, AV, CTPLT

Adverbs

(528)
a. met also,too
b. pa still
c. legan before (in the past)

Interrogative pronoun

(529)
a. way-ihtew where

C.2.3 Drills

C.2.3.1 Pronoun

(530)
a. Hikoy ibat ha Kayawedan. I'm from Kayawedan.
b. Hikay ibat ha Kayawedan. You (sg) are from Kayawedan.
c. Hiyay ibat ha Kayawedan. He/she is from Kayawedan.
d. Hikitay ibat haq Kayawedan. We (Du) are from Kayawedan.
e. Hikayiy ibat haq Kayawedan. We (excl) are from Kayawedan.
f. Hikawoy ibat ha Kayawedan. You (pl) are from Kayawedan.
g. Hilay ibat ha Kayawedan. They are coming from Kayawedan.

C.2.3.2 Question word 'where'

(531)
a. Way-ihtew ka nangibat? Where did you come from?
b. Way-ihtew ka makew? Where are you going?
c. Way-ihtew ka makew mabekah? Where will you go tomorrow?
d. Way-ihtew yay angkonaan mo? Where are you living?
e. Way-ihtew yay baey mo? Where is your house?
f. Way-ihtew yay ama mo? Where is your uncle?
g. Way-ihtew yay haa? Where is the banana?

C.2.4 Verb mag-adal

C.2.4.1 Completed Aspect

(532)
Nag-adal ako nin habin Ayta.
AV-study 1SG.NOM GEN language-LNK Ayta
I studied the Ayta language.

C.2.4.2 Progressive Aspect

(533)
Ampag-adal ako nin habin Ayta.
AV-study 1SG.NOM GEN language-LNK Ayta
I'm studying the Ayta language.

C.2.4.3 Proposed Aspect

(534)
Mag-adal ako nin habin Ayta mabekah.
AV-study 1SG.NOM GEN language-LNK Ayta tomorrow
I will study the Ayta language tomorrow.

C.2.5 Numbers 1-10

(535)
a. magha 1
b. lowa 2
c. tatlo 3
d. apat 4
e. lima 5
f. anem 6
g. pito 7
h. walo 8
i. hiyam 9
j. mapo 10

C.2.6 Pronunciation drill

C.2.6.1 IN FIRST SYLLABLE

(536)
a. hebat answer
b. met also/too
c. ket and
d. peteg true
e. ye NOM

C.2.6.2 IN SECOND AND THIRD SYLLABLE

(537)
a. baey house
b. mabekah tomorrow
c. matekbe' short
d. Kayawedan Kayawedan

C.2.6.3 IN LAST SYLLABLE

(538)
a. mahilem afternoon
b. angkading-ey ashamed
c. oweh blanket
d. habiyen say
e. adalen study
f. anem six
g. naekew come/go
h. Labney Labney
i. ahe no/not
j. matekbe' short

C.2.7 Grammar notes

  1. yay in C.2.3.2 may be a contracted form of ya ye, where ya may be omitted; and ihtew in way-ihtew yay/ye may be omitted, but then only ye is used.
  2. The difference in Tagalog between galing and taga is also made in Ayta: ibat and taga. But ibat is used in referring to a location where someone just came from (from a walk or trip) and also when refering to the place of residence or origin; taga is only used in referring to a place of origin, i.e. the lacation where one is born or currently living.
  3. Pronoun Chart:
    (539)
    Nominative marked personal pronouns
    Pronoun Feature Gloss
    ako 1SG 'I'
    kita 1PL.DU 'we'
    kayi 1PL.EXCL 'we'
    kitawo 1PL.INCL 'we'
    ka 2SG 'you'
    kawo 2PL 'you'
    ya 3SG 'he/she/it'
    hila 3PL 'they'
    Genitive marked personal pronouns
    Pronoun Feature Gloss
    =ko 1SG 'my'
    =ta 1PL.DU 'our'
    =mi 1PL.EXCL 'our'
    =tawo 1PL.INCL 'our'
    =mo 2SG 'your'
    =yo 2PL 'your'
    =na 3SG 'his/her/its'
    =la 3PL 'their'
    Dative marked personal pronouns
    Pronoun Feature Gloss
    kangko 1SG 'to me'
    kanta 1PL.DU 'to us'
    kammi 1PL.EXCL 'to us'
    kantawo 1PL.INCL 'to us'
    kammo 2SG 'to you'
    kanyo 2PL 'to you'
    kanna 3SG 'to him'
    kanla 3PL 'to them'
    Emphatic personal pronouns
    Pronoun Feature Gloss
    hiko 1SG 'I'
    hikita 1PL.DU 'we'
    hikayi 1PL.EXCL 'we'
    hikitawo 1PL.INCL 'we'
    hika 2SG 'you'
    hikawo 2PL 'you'
    hiya 3SG 'he/she/it'
    hila 3PL 'they'

C.2.8 Cultural notes

  1. Greetings among the Aytas take the form of questions. They perform basically the same function as the English question how are you?
  2. Respect for older persons is not shown by certain grammatical forms like 2PL or a partical like po in Tagalog. Instead, you use the words ama 'uncle' or 'dadaq 'aunt'.
  3. Instead of Hay hi'ka 'payna 'it's up to you know' you can say 'Anti kamo, having the same meaning.

C.3 Lesson 3

C.3.1 Text: Opening a text with an older person

(540)
a. LL: Labay kon matandaan ye ngalan mo, ama. I would like to know your name, Sir.
b. AS: Malyadi. That's ok.
c. LL: Hiyay ngalan ko Wilhelm Nitsch. My name is Wilhelm Nitsch.
d. Hikoy ibat ha Germany. I'm from Germany.
e. Aya met ti ngalan mo (, ama)? And what is your name, (Sir) ?
f. AS: Hiyay ngalan ko Leonardo Franzisco. My name is Leonardo Franzisco.
g. LL: Ampag-adal ako nin habin Ayta. I'm studying the Ayta language.
h. Labay koy makitongtong kamo nin habin Ayta. I would like to talk with you in the Ayta language.
i. Anoynay taon mo, ama? How old are you, Sir?
j. AS: Anempo boy anem. Sixty six.
k. LL: Ano met nayi ye anak mo? And how many children do you have?
l. AS: Main anem hila ye anak ko. I have six children.
m. LL: Aya met nayi ye abala yo, ama? And what is your work, Sir?
n. AS: Ampanggawa kayi ihti. We are clearing (the forest etc).
o. LL: Malake a halamat, ta makew akoyna. Many thanks, because I`m going now.

C.3.2 Vocabulary

Pronoun

(541)
kamo  with you

Auxiliary Verbs

(542)
a. labay like
b. malyadi be possible

Verbs

(543)
a. matandaan now
b. ampag-adal study, AV, CONT
c. makitongtong converse, AV, CTPLT
d. ampanggawa work, AV, CONT

Question Words

(544)
a. aya what
b. ano how many

Nouns

(545)
a. taon year
b. anak child
c. abala work
d. halamat thanks

Noun marker

(546)
ye  (NOM)

Adverb

(547)
na  now, already

Adjective

(548)
malake  big, many, much

Conjunction

(549)
a. boy and
b. taq because

C.3.3 Drills

C.3.3.1 Question word aya 'what'

(550)
a. Aya yati? What is this (near speaker)?
b. Aya yain? What is that (near hearer)?
c. Aya yatew? What is that (far from both)?
d. Aya hila yati? What are these (near speaker)?
e. Aya hila yain? What are those (near hearer)?
f. Aya hila yatew? What are those (far from both)?

C.3.3.2 Pronouns Dative case

(551)
a. Makitongtong ya kangko. He will converse with me.
b. Makitongtong ya kamo. He will converse with you (sg).
c. Makitongtong ya kana. He will converse with him.
d. Makitongtong ya kanta. He will converse with us (du).
e. Makitongtong ya kanmi. He will converse with us (excl).
f. Makitongtong ya kanyo. He will converse with you (pl).
g. Makitongtong ya kanla. He will converse with them.

C.3.3.3 Auxiliary verb la'bay 'like'

(552)
a. Labay kon matandaan ye ngalan mo. I would like to know your name.
b. Labay koy koy makitongtong kamo I would like to converse with you.
c. Labay koy mag-adal kamo nin habin Ayta. I would like to learn the Ayta language from you.
d. Labay koy makew ha Labney mabekah. I would like to go to Labnay tomorrow.
e. Labay koy mag-adal nin habin Ayta. I would like to learn the Ayta language.

C.3.3.4 Numbers 1-10

(553)
a. Anoy nay anak mo, ama? How many children do you have, Sir?
b. Main magha ye anak ko. I have one child.
c. Main luwa hila ye aanak ko. I have two children.
d. Main tatlo hila ye aanak ko. I have three children.
e. Main apat hila ye aanak ko. I have four children.
f. Main lima hila ye aanak ko. I have five children.
g. Main anem hila ye aanak ko. I have six children.
h. Main pito hila ye aanak ko. I have seven children.
i. Main walo hila ye aanak ko. I have eight children.
j. Main hiyam hila ye aanak ko. I have nine children.
k. Main mapo hila ye aanak ko. I have ten children.

C.3.4 Verb mo'liq 'go home'

C.3.4.1 COMPLETED ASPECT

C.3.4.1.1 ACTOR VOICE

(554)
a. Noli ako naapon. I went home yesterday.
b. Noli ka naapon. You went home yesterday.
c. Noli ka lawe naapon. Did you go home yesterday?
C.3.4.1.2 OBJECT VOICE

(555)
a. Nakanoy ing-oli mo? When did you go home?
b. Aya ye odah a ing-oli mo na'-apon? When did you go home yesterday?

C.3.4.2 PROPOSED ASPECT

C.3.4.2.1 ACTOR VOICE

(556)
a. Moli akoyna. I'm going home now (action not yet started or started already).
b. Moli kayna! Go home!
C.3.4.2.2 OBJECT VOICE

(557)
a. Makanoy i-oli mo? When will you go home?
b. Aya ye odah i-oli mo mabekah? At what time will you go home tomorrow?

C.3.4.3 CONTINUOUS ASPECT, Actor Voice

C.3.5 Numbers (2) 11-100

(558)
a. labin magha etc. 11
b. luwampo 20
c. luwampo boy magha etc. 21
d. tatlompo 30
e. apatapo 40
f. limampo 50
g. anempo 60
h. pitompo 70
i. walompo 80
j. hiyamapo 90
k. magatoh (irreg.) 100

C.3.6 Grammar notes

  1. The case marker ye can be exchanged by yay or ti, but ye is most commonly used.
  2. Instead of using the EMPH pronoun as in hikoy ibat ha Germany the NOM pronoun may be used: ibat ako ha Germany. Note the change in word order!
  3. Note that the continuous aspect of moli 'go home' is most commenly only used in iterative actions like in C.3.4.3. The same is true for makew 'go, come' (see C.1.5). The reason may be, that the aim of the action, ie the reaching of the destination, is still contemplated.
  4. Note that the word final [h] is not always pronounced anymore.

C.4 Lesson 4

C.4.1 Text: Obtaining Information/using numbers

(559)
a. LL: Naboyot akon ahe nakew ihti. I didn`t come here for a long time.
b. Papanoy nay bi-ay mo haanin, kompadi? How is your life today, kompadre?
c. AS: Manged met pa. I'm fine.
d. LL: Hikoy Wilhelm. I'm Wilhelm.
e. Mangkomonin ako ihti ha badyon Labney. I'm living here in the Barangay of Labn+y.
f. Malyadi lawey makitongtong kamo ha Ayta, kompadi? May I converse with you in Ayta, kompadre?
g. AS: Malyadi, kompadi. That`s o.k.,kompadre.
h. LL: Aya yati? What is this (near speaker)?
i. Aya yain/ayain? What is that (near hearer)?
j. Aya yatew? What is that over there?
k. Halamat, kaka, kokoyna. Thanks, older brother; I'm going now.
l. Malyadin mag-odong ako ihti? May I come back here?
m. AS: Awo, malyadi. Yes, you may.

C.4.2 Vocabulary

Adverbs

(560)
a. naboyot a long time
b. haanin today
c. manged fine, well

Verbs

(561)
a. mangkomonin reside, AV, CTPLT
b. makitongtong converse, AV, CTPLT
c. kukoyna go,leave
d. mag-odong return, come back, AV, CTPLT

Nouns

(562)
a. bi-ay life
b. labney large kind of rattan
c. badyo barangay
d. kompadi Sp. compadre

Question Particle

(563)
a. lawe denoting a question

Affirmation

(564)
a. awo yes

Negation

(565)
a. ahe no

Interrogative Pronoun

(566)
a. papano how (qualitative)

C.4.3 Drills

C.4.3.1 Interrogative Pronoun papano 'how'

(567)
a. Papanoynay bi-ay mo haanin, kompadi? How is your life today, kompadre?
b. Papano hilay pamilya mo haanin, kompadi? How is your family today, kompadre?
c. Papano ye aanak mo haanin, kompadi? How are your children today, kompadre?
d. Papano ye kahaha-ad yo ihti, kompadi? How is your situation here, kompadre?
e. Papano ye apit yo, kompadi? How is your harvest, kompadre?
f. Papanoy kabi-ayan tawo, kakatongno? How is our means of livelihood, kompadre?

C.4.3.2 Substitution drill, locations

(568)
a. Mangkomonin ako ihti ha badyon Labney. I'm living here in the Barangay of Labney.
b. Mangkomonin ako ihti ha lale. I'm living here in the forest.
c. Mangkomonin ako ihti ha mabakil. I'm living here in the mountains.
d. Mangkomonin ako ihti ha banwa .I'm living here in the town.
e. Mangkomonin ako ihti ha Pilipinah. I'm living here in the Philippines.

C.4.3.3 Auxiliary verb malyadi 'possible'

(569)
a. Malyadi lawey makitongtong kamo ha Ayta? May I converse with you in Ayta?
b. Malyadi lawey manepet kanyo? May I ask you something?
c. Malyadi lawen edamen ko ye etak mo? May I borrow your bolo?
d. Malyadin moli akoyna? May I go home now?
e. Malyadi kon ihabin kaganaan. I can say everything.
f. Malyadi kon maghabin matekbe. I can give a short talk.
g. Malyadi lawey makipraktis kamo nin habin Ayta? May I practice the Ayta language with you?
h. Malyadi nay makew ha Manila. It's prepared to go to Manila.
i. Malyadi akoynan makew ha Manila. I'm prepared to go to Manila.
j. Malyadin mag-odong ako ihti. May I came back here?

C.4.3.4 Numbers 11-20

(570)
a. Main kan damwag? Do you have water buffalos?
b. Awo. Main akon labin magha a damwag. Yes. I have eleven water buffalos.
c. Awo. Main akon labin luwa a damwag. Yes. I have twelve water buffalos.
d. Awo. Main akon labin tatlo a damwag. Yes. I have thirteen water buffalos.
e. Awo. Main akon labin apat a damwag. Yes. I have fourteen water buffalos.
f. Awo. Main akon labin lima a damwag. Yes. I have fifteen water buffalos.
g. Awo. Main akon labin anem a damwag. Yes. I have sixteen water buffalos.
h. Awo. Main akon labin pito a damwag. Yes. I have seventeen water buffalos.
i. Awo. Main akon labin walo a damwag. Yes. I have eighteen water buffalos.
j. Awo. Main akon labin hiyam a damwag. Yes. I have nineteen water buffalos.
k. Awo. Main akon labin lowampo a damwag. Yes. I have twenty water buffalos.

C.4.4 Helpful phrases

(571)
a. Aya ye taloh nan hiyati ha Tagalog? What does this mean in Tagalog?
b. Hohto lawe ye paghabi ko nin Ayta? Is my Ayta correct?
c. Hohto lawe yain? Is that correct?
d. Ahe ko matalohan, ali. I don't understand, younger brother/sister.
e. Ahe ko tanda. I don't know.
f. Tanda ko. I know.
g. Madanon bengat. Just a minute.
h. Papakanaen mo ye maghabi? Could you please speak slowly?
i. Matalohan ko, kaka. I understand, older brother.
j. Pangingalo mo ta ohiken mo. Please repeat.
k. Pagpanopayaan mo ko. Excuse me.
l. Aya yati ha Ayta? What is this in Ayta?
m. Nayadi akoyna. I'm finished.

C.4.5 Numbers (3) 101-1000

(572)
a. magatoh boy magha 101
b. magatoh boy mapo 110
c. magatoh boy lowampo 120
d. magatoh boy lowampo boy magha 121
e. lowang gatoh 200
f. tatloy gatoh 300
g. apat a gatoh 400
h. limang gatoh 500
i. anem a gatoh 600
j. pitoy gatoh 700
k. walong gatoh 800
l. hiyam a gatoh 900
m. maghay libo 1000

C.4.6 Grammar notes

  1. Note the Linkers =y and =n: lawe=y and na=y, lawe=n, Malyadi=n and ko=n. The full forms ye for =y and nin for =n can be used instead, but they are not commonly used. =y is used.
  2. Note that in C.4.3.3 the pluralized form aanak is optional. The simple form anak may be used instead which is the case with other such words also.
  3. Note also the usage of the DAT pronouns kamo 'with you' and kanyo 'you' or 'to you' in C.4.3.3.
  4. Note the usage of hila 'they' in C.4.3.13.1 here. It functions here as a pluralizer.
  5. Note the maki- prefix in C.4.3.3. It is used to ask permission.
  6. Note the stress shift to the left in 'tanda in : Ahe ko 'tanda vs Tan'da ko.
  7. Raising the tone seems to be the typical intonation pattern for a question, see the question in C.4.3.4 and Aya yati ha Ayta? in C.4.4.
  8. Instead of Mangkomonin you can say angkomonin (see C.4.1).
  9. The ako in Malyadin mag-odong ako ihti may be shifted to the left: Malyadi akon mag-odong ihti. Note that ako then takes the LK -n.
  10. Kokoyna may (historically) be a abbreviation of makew akoyna.
  11. Multiples of hundred are form as follows: the cardinal number (one to nine) + LK + gatoh 'times one hundred'. When the cardinal number ends on a vowel, the usual LK is -y (but the LKs -n and -ng are also accaptable); those cardinals ending on a consonant take the LK a.
  12. Where Tagalog uses three words for 'to know', i.e. marunong, kilala and alam, Ayta always uses tanda.

C.4.7 Cultural notes

  1. If you meet a person for the very first time you can use the TEXT starting as follows: Papanoy nay bi-ay mo, kompadi? How is you life, kompadre? As with the other greeting (see lessons 1-3) you don't use this greeting every time you meet a person. If you visit some in his house you shout "Apo" before you enter the house and then start the conversation. If you ask a friend how he is he will tell you if he is sick. A stranger will still say "Manged met pa" in that case.
  2. The Barangay Labney is named after the rattan labney that grows in the forrest there and is sold to buyers for export.
  3. Kayawedan means 'place where yawed is planted'. Yawed 'betel leaf pepper' is a climbing plant and was first planted in Kayawedan by Kresensyo Bautista around 1920. By this he became the founder of that village.
  4. The usage of katongno 'brother, sister' is similar to the one of kapatid in Tagalog. You can address any person with it regardless if male or female, older or younger, Christian or not.
  5. Kompadi 'Sp. compadre' can be used to address 1. a male sponsor as in matrimony, 2. the father of the one being married, 3. any man at same age.

C.5 Lesson 5

C.5.1 Text: Discussing one's family / kinship terms

(573)
a. Apo! Hello!
b. Omabot ka! Come in!
c. Nakew ako ihti a makiplaktih kamo nin habin Ayta. I came here to practice the Ayta language with you.
d. Awo, Malyadi. That's o.k.
e. Way-omen ti bi-ay? How is life?
f. Manged met pa. It's still good.
g. Main akon kaget a litlato nin pamilya mi. I have brought a picture of our family.
h. Yati ye ahawa ko. This is my spouse.
i. Boy yati ye bapa ko. And this is my father.
j. Boy yabayti ye indo ko. And this is my mother.
k. Hilabayti hila ye aanak ko. These are my children.
l. Pawa hilan babayi ye aanak ko. My children are all girls.
m. Yabayti ye Anneli. Hiyabayti ye makaagat. This is Anneli. She is the oldest.
n. Boy yabayti ye Salome. Hiyabaytiy bonak. And this is Salome. She is the middle one.
o. Boy Esther Ruth ye ikatlo. And Esther Ruth is the third one.
p. Malake a halamat kanyo, ta hinaglapan yo ko. Many thanks to you, because you helped me.
q. Mag-odong akoynaman no minghan a mangaamot. I will come back some other day.
r. Wanabay ana, kokoyna. Good bye, I'm going now.

C.5.2 Vocabulary

Verbs

(574)
a. omabot come here AF, PRP
b. makiplaktih practice AF, PRP
c. kaget bring, carry
d. hinaglapan help, LF, CMP
e. mag-odong return, come back AF, PRP

Nouns

(575)
a. bi-ay life
b. litlato picture (span. litrato)
c. pamilya family (span. familia)
d. mangaamot day, sun

Demonstrative Pronouns

(576)
a. hiyabayti this
b. hilabayti these

Adverbs

(577)
a. pawa pure, only
b. babayi female
c. naman on the other hand
d. minghan sometimes

Conjunctions

(578)
a. no if, when

Interjection

(579)
a. apo hello (see cultural notes)

Kinship terms

(580)
a. ahawa spouse
b. bapa father
c. indo mother
d. anak child
e. makaagat oldest child
f. bonak middle child
g. ikatlo third child
h. pinakamakaydeng youngest child
i. kaka older sibling
j. ampo parent in law
k. apo grandparent
l. aanak children
m. kaka a laki older brother
n. kaka a babayi older sister

C.5.3 Drills

C.5.3.1 Identity (see note 6.3)

(581)
a. Yati ye ahawa ko. This is my spouse.
b. Yati ye bapa ko. This is my father.
c. Yati ye indo ko. This is my mother.
(582)
a. Yabayti ye ahawa ko. This is my spouse.
b. Yabayti ye bapa ko. This is my father.
c. Yabayti ye indoq ko. This is my mother.
(583)
a. Ahawa ko yati. This is my spouse.
b. Bapa ko yati. This is my father.
c. Indo ko yati. This is my mother.

(584)
Hilabayti ye aampo ko.  These are my parents in law.

C.5.3.2 Question word Aya 'who'

(585)
a. Aya ye bapa mo? Who is your (S) father?
b. Aya ye indo mo? Who is your (S) mother?
c. Aya ye kaka mo a babayi? Who is your older sister?
d. Aya ye kaka mo a laki? Who is your older brother?
e. Aya yain a tao? Who is that person?
f. Aya yatew a anak? Who is that child over there?

C.5.4 Questions (to show personal interest in others)

(586)
a. Ayay ngalan mo? What is your name?
b. Anoy nay taon mo? How old are you?
c. Main kayna lawen ahawa? Are you alreade married?
d. Main kayna lawen aanak? Do you have children already?
e. Ano met nayi ye aanak mo? And how many children do you have?
f. Way-ihtew yay angkonaan mo? Where do you live?
g. Aya ye abala yo? What is your work?

C.5.5 Verb manyag 'make'

C.5.5.1 Perfective aspect

(587)
Nanyag yay Domingo nin iknoan.
make.PERF.AV NOM Domingo GEN seat
Domingo made something to sit on.

C.5.5.2 Continuous aspect

(588)
Ampanyag kayi nin baey.
make.CONT.AV 1PL.EXCL GEN house
We are making a house.

C.5.5.3 Contemplated aspect

(589)
Manyag hila nin olnah.
make.CTPLT.AV 3PL GEN sled
They will make a carabao sled.

C.5.6 Grammar notes

  1. Note that the sentences *ahawa ko yabayti or *ahawa ko hiyabayti are ungrammatical. Only yati can be used both at the beginning or end of the sentence (see C.5.3.1).
  2. A command can basically take three forms depending on the 'stress' one applies to it. Tapolen mo ye damwag! 'Look for the kalabao!' is the most simple and 'strongest' command. To use it may even imply that you are angry. Pangingalo mo ta tapolen mo ye damwag! 'Please look for the Kalabao!' and Malyadi lawen tapolen mo ye damwag! 'Could you look for the Kalabao?' are 'soft' commands. The latter may be the softest one.
  3. In C.5.3.1 there seems to be no difference in meaning between the three sentences, e.g. Yati ye ahawa ko/yabayti ye ahawa ko/ahawa ko yati.
  4. Note that hinaglapan in 1 has the location in focus which in this case is me, but the focus form of me is ko here, not ako. So there are two forms for the 1SG and in GV the minimal form ko is frequently used.

C.5.7 Cultural notes

  1. Apo 'hello' is what you shout when you come to an house you want to visit, similar to the Tao po in Tagalog. Apo is a respectful term of address used to an older man or woman or a 'professional', or a person of authority like God (in prayer). Apo also means grandparent and also grandchild.
  2. You show interest in a person by asking certain questions (see C.5.4).
  3. Kinship terms are often the same for both male and female. Examples: ahawa 'spouse, male or female' anak 'son or daughter' kaka 'older sibling' ampo 'father or mother in law'.
  4. Examples where the terms are not the same: bapa 'father' indo 'mother' ama 'uncle' dada 'aunt'
  5. Aytas express thankfulness mostly through actions (giving fruits, wild pig meat etc), but also in words like halamat.

C.6 Lesson 6

C.6.1 Text: To politely accept/refuse an offer of merienda (a snack)

(590)
a. Apo! Hello!
b. Homlep ka! Come in!
c. Papanoy kabi-ayan tawo, kakatongno? How are our means of life, brethren?
d. Manged metbay. They are still good.
e. No malyadi dayi ket abaen kita po, ta main akon ibalita kamo, kaka. If possible I would like to disturb you, because I have something to tell you, older brother.
f. Malyadi. Aya nayi ti labay mon ibalita? Ok. What do you want to tell?
g. Way-ihtew ya ye ahawa mo? Where is your spouse?
h. Ihtew ya ha banwa. Magbalingatngat ka po dayi! She is in town. Have a merienda first!
i. Agya ahe ana. Noba tawayan ko makandi. Even so not now. But I will taste a little bit.

C.6.2 Vocabulary

Verbs

(591)
a. homlep come in, AV, CTPLT
b. abaen disturb, GV, CTPLT
c. ibalita tell, OV, CTPLT
d. magbalingatngat have/eat merienda AV, CTPLT
e. tawayan taste, GV, CTPLT

Adverbs

(592)
a. dayi (I) wish
b. agya (conj.) even if/so
c. makandi little

Conjunction

(593)
a. noba but

Other

(594)
a. anti kammo it's up to you

C.6.3 Drills

C.6.3.1 Vocabulary drills

C.6.3.1.1 Commands
(595)
a. Homlep ka! Come in!
b. Omabot Come here!
c. Lomipay Come across!
d. Lumwah Go out!
e. Manik Come up!
f. Homlep Come in!

C.6.3.1.2 Addresses

(596)
a. Papanoy kabi-ayan tawo, kakatongno? How are our means of life, brethren?
b. Papanoy kabi-ayan tawo, kompadi? How are our means of life, brother?
c. Papanoy kabi-ayan tawo, gayyem? How are our means of life, friend?
d. Papanoy kabi-ayan tawo, amigo? How are our means of life, friend?
e. Papanoy kabi-ayan tawo, kaka How are our means of life, older brother/sister?
f. Papanoy kabi-ayan tawo, kakatongno? How are our means of life, brethren?

C.6.3.2 Grammatical drills

C.6.3.2.1 Pronouns
(597)
a. No malyadi dayi ket abaen kita po, ta main akon ibalita kammo,kaka. If possible I would like to disturb you, because I have something to tell you, Sir.
b. No malyadi dayi ket abaen na ka po, ta main yan ibalita kammo, kaka. If possible he would like to disturb you, because he has something to tell you, Sir.
c. No malyadi dayi ket abaen mi ka po, ta main kayin ibalita kammo, kaka. If possible we(excl) would like to disturb you, because we(excl) have something to tell you, Sir.
d. No malyadi dayi ket abaen la ka po, ta main hilan ibalita kammo, kaka. If possible they would like to disturb you, because they have something to tell you, Sir.

C.6.3.2.2 Verbs
(598)
a. Aya nayi ti labay mon ibalita? What do you like to tell?
b. Aya nayi ti labay mon diyagen? What do you like to do?
c. Aya nayi ti labay mon habiyen? What do you like to say?
d. Aya nayi ti labay mon tongtongen? What do you like to converse?
e. Aya nayi ti labay mon ibalita? What do you like to tell?

C.6.3.2.3 Stimulus response drills
(599)
a. Way-ihtew ya ye ahawa mo? Where is your spouse?
b. Way-ihtew ya ye anak mo? Where is your child?
c. Way-ihtew ya ye bapa mo? Where is your father?
d. Way-ihtew ya ye indo mo? Where is your mother?
e. Way-ihtew ya ye ahawa mo? Where is your spouse?

(600)
Ihtew ya ha banwa.  She is in town.

(601)
a. Magbalingatngat ka po dayi! Have a merienda first!
b. Mamigat ka po dayi! Have breakfast first!
c. Mangaldaw ka po dayi! Have lunch first!
d. Mandem ka po dayi! Have supper first!

(602)
Agya ahe ana. Noba tawayan ko makandi.  Even so not now. But I will taste a little bit.

C.6.4 Grammar notes

There are two particles denoting a question: la'we and nayi (see C.6.3.2.2 and C.4.1). Lawe is used more frequently than nayi and there is the tendency that it is used in 'normal' questions. It also tends to be the more polite particle (if used with a 'soft voice'). The word nayi more than lawe tends to adds the notion of wonder, surprise, fright or anger etc. if the intonation is accordingly, i.e. if you raise your voice, otherwise it is a 'normal' question. Both of these particles can be used in any question, but they are usually left out in questions which contain a interrogative pronoun like Aya 'what' or papano 'how'. They may even left out in questions which contain no interrogative pronoun and require 'yes' or 'no' as answer, but they are most commonly used in these type of questions.

The position of these particles within the sentence is as follows:

  1. Non complex sentences

    In general, the question particle is placed before the topic of the sentence, but in the case of a personal pronoun topic it comes after it. In detail one can observe the following:

    1. In nonverbal clauses which take the form of commend+topic
    2. In yes-no questions (which require yes or no as answer and have no interrogative pronoun)
    3. After comment and topic, if the topic is represented by a personal pronoun:
      (603)
      Amerikano ya nayi?  Is he an Americano?
    4. Otherwise between comment and topic:
      (604)
      a. Hohto lawe ye taloh nan hiyati? Is the meaning of this right?
      b. Hohto lawe yain? Is that correct?
    5. In information questions which contain an interrogative pronoun that takes the place of the comment
      1. After the pers.pron.topic:
        (605)
        a. Way-omen kawo lawe? How are you(PL)?
        b. Way-ihtew ya nayi ye ama mo? Where is your uncle?
      2. Before the non pers.pron.topic but after other particles and pluralizers:
        (606)
        a. Papano lawe ye kabi-ayan tawo? How are our means of life?
        b. Way-omen lawe ye bi-ay mo? How is your life?
        c. Aya met lawe ye ngalan mo? And what is your name?
        d. Aya hila lawe yati? What are these?
        e. Makano nayi ye ioli mo? When will you go home?
  2. In pseudo verb complex sentences
    1. Between the two clauses, before the linker (often taking the linker):
      (607)
      a. Malyadi lawey makiplaktih nin habin Ayta? Is it possible to practice the Ayta language?
      b. Malyadi ako lawen mag-odong? May I come back?
      c. Malyadi nayi nin damen ko ye etak mo? Is it possible that I borrow your bolo?
    2. In yes-no questions
      1. After the personal pronoun topic:
        (608)
        Moli kayna nayi?  Are you going home now?
      2. Before the non pers.pron.topic:
        (609)
        Tanda mo lawe ye maghabin Ayta?  Do you know how to speak Ayta?
    3. In information questions (after the personal pronoun topic)
      (610)
      a. Way-ihtew kawo lawe ibat? Where are you(P) coming from?
      b. Ta makew ka nayi ha banwa? Why will you go to town?
      c. Way-ihtew ka lawe makew mabekah? Where are you going tomorrow?
      d. Ta ahe ka nayi nakew? Way did you not go?
  3. In existential/possessional clauses
    1. Between the pers.pron. and the linker:
      (611)
      a. Main kayna lawen ahawa? Do you have a spouse already?
      b. Main kayna nayi nin ahawa? Do you have a spouse already?

C.6.5 Cultural notes

5.1 Meals

  1. Merienda.
    The Aytas use to have meriendas where they drink coffee or eat fruits, but often a merienda takes the place of a main meal because of lack of food. If they go to the field they take a merienda along.
  2. Main meals.

    There are usually three main meals: breakfast, lunch and supper. The main ingrediance is rice, but if there is no rice they drink just coffee or wild honey mixed with water. If they cannot find honey they eat any kind of fruits (if they have no rice) or root crops (for example wild Ubi) as main meal.

    The Aytas are also deer hunters using self made traps (made out of ropes). They even eat the meat if the animal is dead for a few days already.

  3. Offering food.
    If you visit the Aytas they may offer you food, if they have. You can hardly refuse if you want to be polite. So you should taste a little bit at least (see C.6.1). The Aytas are generally poor. If an Ayta visits you in your house you should offer something to eat and to drink: coffee, cockies, sweet rice soup or whatever you have. They would be glad to get some 'wine', which of course you will not offer to them.

Note the usage of the small commands in C.6.3.1.1. They are o.k. if you invite the person to come to you (all but Lomwah ka!) But used in this form when sending the person away: Lomwah ka! 'Go out' would indicate that you are angry with the person. You could say Pangingalo mo ta lomwah ka 'please go out' instead, but it is not the custom to send people away.

C.7 Lesson 7

C.7.1 Text: Shopping at a Sari-Sari store in Labney

(612)
a. Manaliw ako po man. Please let me buy something.
b. Ayay haliwen mo? What are you going to buy?
c. Manyono ye bili nin pap? How much is one pop (cola)?
d. Manyokloy peho. Three pesos.
e. Biyan mo ko nin magha. Give me one.
f. Anti ya ye hokli mo. Here is your change.

C.7.2 Vocabulary

Verbs

(613)
a. manaliw buy, AV, CTPLT
b. haliwen buy, OV, CTPLT
c. biyan give,GV, CTPLT

Adverbs

(614)
a. po yet, still
b. man please

Distributive Numeral

(615)
manyoklo  three each

Interrogative Pronoun

(616)
manyono  how much (price)

Nouns

(617)
a. bili price, cost
b. pap pop cola
c. peho peso
d. hokli change (Tag.suk'li)

Interjection

(618)
anti  here!

C.7.3 Drills

C.7.3.1 Proposed actions, AV

(619)
a. Manaliw ako po man. Please let me buy (something).
b. Maglako ako po man. Please let me sell (something).
c. Mangan ako po man. Please let me eat (something).
d. Matoloy ako po man. Please let me sleep.
e. Magpainawa ako po man. Please let me rest.

C.7.3.2 Proposed actions, OV

(620)
a. Ayay haliwen mo? What are you going to buy?
b. Ayay ilako mo? What are you going to sell?
c. Ayay kanen mo? What are you going to eat?
d. Ayay inomen mo? What are you going to drink?
e. Ayay diyagen mo? What are you going to make?

C.7.3.3 Vocabulary drill: things common to buy in Labney

(621)
a. Manyono ye bili nin pap? How much is a pop cola?
b. Manyono ye bili nin tinapay? How much is bread?
c. Manyono ye bili nin higadilyo? How much is a cigarette?
d. Manyono ye bili nin alak? How much is liquor?
e. Manyono ye bili nin beyah? How much is milled rice?

C.7.3.4 Telling the price

(622)
a. Manyokloy piho. It's three pesos each.
b. Manilwa piho. It's two pesos each.
c. Manyepat piho. It's four pesos each.
d. Manilima piho. It's five pesos each.
e. Manipo piho. It's ten pesos each.

C.7.3.5 Requests

(623)
a. Biyan mo ko nin magha. Give me one.
b. Pangwa mo ko nin magha. Bring me one.
c. Pandakep mo ko nin magha. Catch me one.
d. Pa'muda mo ko nin magha Pick me one.
e. Pamoti mo ko nin magha Pick me one.
f. Pamili mo ko nin magha. Select me one.

C.7.3.6 Vocabulary drill

(624)
a. Anti ya ye hokli mo. Here is your change.
b. Anti ya ye etak mo. Here is your bolo.
c. Anti ya ye pilak mo. Here is your money.
d. Anti ya ye kowalta mo. Here is your money.
e. Anti ya ye damwag mo. Here is your water buffalo.
f. Anti ya ye anak mo. Here is your child.

C.7.4 Telling the price

There are three ways of telling the price.

The most common one is found in column 1. The meaning is '___ peso each'.

(625)
a. Mameho. (irreg.) Timaghay peho. It's one peso each.
b. Manilway peho. Tiluay peho. It's one peso each.
c. Manyokloy peho. Tiokloy peho. It's one peso each.
d. Manyepat a peho. Tiapat a peho. It's one peso each.
e. Manilimay peho. Tilimay peho. It's one peso each.
f. Manyenem a peho. Tiyenem a peho. It's one peso each.
g. Manipitoy peho. Tipitoy peho. It's one peso each.
h. Maniwaloy peho. Tiwaloy peho. It's one peso each.
i. Manihiyam a peho. Tihiyam a peho. It's one peso each.
j. Manipo a peho. Tipo a peho. It's one peso each.

The third possible form is simply the cardinal number+LK, e.g. mag'hay ('peho).

From 11 to 19 the forms are as follows:

(626)
a. Manilain maghay peho. 11 pesos each
b. Manilabin loway peho. 12 pesos each
c. etc.

All other forms are formed accordingly: mani + cardinal numbers

C.7.5 Cultural Notes

  1. People buy most commonly wine, cigarettes, tinapay, beer, cooking oil, garlic, black pepper, salt and salted fish.
  2. If you have something made by the Aytas they often like (milled) rice as payment.
  3. If there is a good harvest of rice the people sell some of it at the public market in Mayantoc to be able to buy other things like GI for the roof of their house.
  4. Biyan mo ko nin magha 'give me one' is a polite way to say it. However, to be even more polite you can say: Biyan mo ko man nin magha 'Please give me one.' Man has the meaning 'please' as in Ilokano.
  5. The form mani- in C.7.4 is unique Ayta Abellen.

C.8 Lesson 8

C.8.1 Text: Weather (talking on the way)

(627)
a. AS: Way-ihtew ka makew? Where are you going?
b. LL: Kanan kaka Luding. Hika nayi? To older brother Luding. And you?
c. AS: Ihen bengat. Just over there.
d. LL: Madaem haanin. It's cloudy today.
e. AS: Awo. Malyadi kitan maytongtong. Yes. We are able to converse.
f. LL: Noba naapon maamot. But yesterday it was hot.
g. AS: Awo. Peteg a maamot naapon. Yes. It was really hot yesterday.
h. Bilewen mo yain nin maowep! Look at those dark clouds!
i. LL: Mangodan ya kadihko. Maybe it will rain.
j. AS: Ampangodan ana! It's raining already!
k. LL: Awo. Malge ana. Omamey kita. It's strong already. Let's take shade.

C.8.2 Vocabulary

Adverbs

(628)
a. ihen over there
b. peteg really, true
c. kadihko maybe
d. malge strong

Verbs

(629)
a. maytongtong converse AV, CTPLT
b. bilewen look, OV, CTPLT
c. mangodan rain, AV, CTPLT
d. ampangodan rain, AV, CONT
e. umamey take shelter, AV, CTPLT

Adjectives

(630)
a. madaem cloudy (normal)
b. maamot hot
c. maowep cloudy (dark)

Pronoun

(631)
ya  it (neuter here)

C.8.3 Drills

C.8.3.1 Persons as Locations

(632)
a. Makew ako kanan kaka Luding. I'm going to older brother Luding.
b. Makew ako kanan dada Pilahia. I'm going to aunt Pilahia.
c. Makew ako kanan ali Silyang. I'm going to younger brother Sily.
d. Makew ako kanan ama Bili. I'm going to uncle Bili.
e. Makew ako kanan angken Duming. I'm going to nephew Duming.
f. Makew ako kanan kaka Luding. I'm going to older brother Luding.
g. Makew ako kanan I'm going to older brother Luding.

C.8.3.2 Class 1&3 pronouns

(633)
a. Hika nayi way lakwen mo? And where are you (SG) going?
b. Hiya nayi way lakwen na? And where is he going?
c. Hikita nayi way lakwen ta? And where is our (DU IN) going?
d. Hikitawo nayi way lakwen tawo? And where is our (PL IN) going?
e. Hikawo nayi way lakwen yo? And where are you (PL) going?
f. Hika nayi way lakwen mo? And where are you (SG) going?

C.8.3.3 Adjectives

(634)
a. Madaem haanin. It's cloudy today.
b. Maamot haanin. It's hot today.
c. Maodan haanin. It's rainy today.
d. Matapok haanin. It's dusty today.
e. Maliteh haanin. It's very dark clouded today.
f. Madaem haanin. It's cloudy today.

C.8.3.4 Activities in PRP Aspect

(635)
a. Awo. Malyadi kitan maytongtong. Yes. We are able to converse.
b. Awo. Malyadi kitan mikno. Yes. We are able to sit down .
c. Awo. Malyadi kitan komodang. Yes. We are able to walk.
d. Awo. Malyadi kitan mangabala. Yes. We are able to work.
e. Awo. Malyadi kitan maytongtong. Yes. We are able to converse.

C.8.3.5 Stimulus-Response Drill

(636)
a. Noba naapon maamot. But yesterday it was hot.
b. Noba ha kaingitan, maamot. But in the rainy season it was hot.
c. Noba hiya ha napalabah a dominggo, maamot. But last week it was hot.
d. Noba nangon maamot. But earlier it was hot.
e. Noba hiya ha napalabah a bowan maamot. But last month it was hot.

(637)
a. Awo. Peteg a maamot naapon. Yes. It was really hot yesterday.
b. Awo. Peteg a maamot nangon. Yes. It was really hot earlier.
c. Awo. Peteg a maamot ha kaingitan. Yes. It was really in the rainy season.
d. Awo. Peteg a maamot hiya ha napalabah a dominggo. Yes. It was really hot last week.
e. Awo. Peteg a maamot hiya ha napalabah a bowan. Yes. It was really hot last month.

C.8.3.6 Emphasization

(638)
a. Bilewen mo yain nin maowep! Look at those very dark clouds!
b. Bilewen mo yain nin malge a odan! Look at the very strong rain!
c. Bilewen mo yain nin matapok a tobat! Look that it is very much dusty!
d. Bilewen mo yain nin maayepayep! Look at those strong winds!
e. Bilewen mo yain nin madalaidi a manged! Look at those just drizzling!
f. Bilewen mo yain nin maowep! Look at those very dark clouds!

C.8.3.7 Weather Substitution Drill

Example: odan 'rain'

Frames:

(639)
a. PRF: Nangodan ya naapon. It rained yesterday.
b. CONT: Ampangodan ya haanin. It's raining today.
c. CTPLT: Mangodan ya kadihko mabekah. Maybe it will rain tomorrow.

Any of the following can be substituted in the frames:

kodol 'thunder'

(640)
a. PRF: nandol
b. CONT: ampandol
c. CTPLT: mandol

ayep 'wind'

(641)
a. CMP: nag-ayep
b. PROG: ampag-ayep
c. CTPLT: mag-ayep

tapok 'dust'

(642)
a. PRF: natapok
b. CONT: ampagtapok
c. CTPLT: matapok

maamot 'hot'

(643)
a. PRF: nag-amot
b. CONT: ampag-amot
c. CTPLT: mag-amot

owep 'cloud'

(644)
a. PRF: nag-owep
b. CONT: ampag-owep
c. CTPLT: mag-owep

dalaydi 'drizzle'

(645)
a. CMP: nanalaydi
b. PROG: ampagdalaydi
c. PRP: magdalaydi

C.8.4 Grammar Notes

  1. Note that Kanan kaka Lu'ding in C.8.1 is elliptical. The full form is Makew ako kanan kaka Luding 'I'm going to older brother Luding.'
  2. If the location (where you go to etc.) is personal, DAT pronouns are used, even in combination with names - see 5.1: kanan or kana nin, where -n or nin is a LK.
  3. The expression of strength varies with the object described. For example:
    (646)
    a. malge strong (rain, wind)
    b. makdey strong (man, animal)
    c. maple (water, flood, river, earthquake)
  4. Hypothesis: The personal pronouns hiya and ya 'he/she' (EMPH and NOM) are also used as neuter pronouns, as in:
    (647)
    a. Noba hiya ha napalaba... But last... (see 3.5).
    b. Mangodan ya kadihko. Maybe it will rain (see C.8.1).

C.8.5 Cultural Notes

  1. If you meet someone in the hot sun you don't talk much,
    (648)
    Awo. Malyadin kitan maytongtong.  Yes. We are able to converse (because it's cloudy)
  2. Topics of conversation if some Ayta friends meet after some time are: where to go to, where to come from, the work (farming, earnings, enviting each other to lay out traps to catch wild pigs), kind of life in the mountains, family (sometimes, because of jealousy, marriage separation), the old times, sometimes the weather.

C.9 Lesson 9

C.9.1 Text: Asking for regular help in learning the language

(649)
a. AS: Labay mo lawe ihti ha Pilipinah? Do you like it here in the Philippines?
b. LL: Awo, labay ko, ta mahimpet ti tatao ihti. Yes, I like it, because the people here are friendly.
c. AS: Papanoyna ye kaboyot mo ihti? How long are you already here?
d. LL: Tatlo boy kapaldowaynay taon ko ihti. I've been here already for three and a half years.
e. Kokoyna ta malabong po ye lakwen ko. I'm going now because I still will go to many other places.
f. Malyadi lawe a mag-odong ako po a magplaktih nin habin Ayta? Is it possible for me to come back to practice the Ayta language?
g. AS: Malyadi. It's possible.
h. LL: Labay kon maadal ye habin Ayta. I like to study the Ayta language.
i. Leng-en mo man no hohto paghabi ko nin Ayta. Malake a haglap mo kangko yati. Please listen, if my speaking Ayta is correct. This is a big help to me.

C.9.2 Drills

C.9.2.1 Qualities of people

(650)
Labay mo lawe ihti ha Pilipinah?  Do you like it here in the Philippines?

(651)
a. Awo, labay ko, ta mahimpet ti tatao ihti. Yes, I like it because the people here are friendly.
b. Awo, labay ko, ta manged ti tatao ihti. Yes, I like it because the people here are good.
c. Awo, labay ko, ta mahipeg ti tatao ihti. Yes, I like it because the people here are industrious.
d. Awo, labay ko, ta matiga ti tatao ihti. Yes, I like it because the people here are clean.
e. Awo, labay ko, ta maayoh ti tatao ihti. Yes, I like it because the people here are tidy.
f. Awo, labay ko, ta mahimpet ti tatao ihti. Yes, I like it because the people here are friendly.

C.9.2.2 Periods of time

(652)
Papanoyna ye kaboyot mo ihti?  How long are you already here?

(653)
a. Tatlo boy kapaldowaynay taon ko ihti. I'm here already for three and a half years.
b. Maghaynay taon ko ihti. I'm here already for one year.
c. Magha boy kapaldowaynay taon ko ihti. I'm here already for one and a half years.
d. Lowaynay taon ko ihti. I'm here already for two years.
e. Lowa boy kapaldowaynay taon ko ihti. I'm here already for two and a half years.
f. Lowa boy tatlon ikapat anay taon ko ihti. I'm here already for two and three fourth years.
g. Tatloynay taon ko ihti. I'm here already for three years.
h. Tatlo boy maghay ikapat anay taon ko ihti. I'm here already for three and one fourth years.
i. Tatlo boy kapaldowaynay taon ko ihti. I'm here already for three and a half years.

C.9.2.3 Leave takings

(654)
a. Kokoyna, ta malabong po ye lakwen ko. I'm going now, because I still have to go to many other places.
b. Moli akoyna, ta malabong po ye lakwen ko. I'm going home now, because I still have to go to many other places.
c. Makew akoyna, ta malabong po ye lakwen ko. I'm going now, because I still have to go to many other places.
d. Intayna, ta malabong po ye lakwen ko. Let's go now, because I still have to go to many other places.
e. Tayna, ta malabong po ye lakwen ko. Let's go now, because I still have to go to many other places.
f. Kokoyna, ta malabong po ye lakwen ko. I'm going now, because I still have to go to many other places.

C.9.2.4 Further requests

(655)
a. Malyadi lawe a mag-odong ako po a magplaktih nin habin Ayta? Is it ok that I come back to practice the Ayta language?
b. Malyadi lawe a makew ako po a magplaktih nin habin Ayta? Is it ok that I go to practice the Ayta language?
c. Malyadi lawe a makilakew ako po a magplaktih nin habin Ayta? Is it ok that I go (with someone) to practice the Ayta language?
d. Malyadi lawe a moli ako po a magplaktih nin habin Ayta? Is it ok that I go home to practice the Ayta language?
e. Malyadi lawe a mag-odong ako po a magplaktih nin habin Ayta? Is it ok that I come back to practice the Ayta language?

C.9.2.5 Things to study

(656)
a. Labay kon maadal ye habin Ayta. I like to study the Ayta language.
b. Labay kon maadal ye maghakay ha damwag. I like to study riding on a water buffalo.
c. Labay kon maadal ye manyag nin tambong-tambong. I like to study the making of tambong-tambong.
d. Labay kon maadal ye mananem nin paday. I like to study the planting of rice.
e. Labay kon maadal ye ogali nin Ayta. I like to study the Ayta culture.
f. Labay kon maadal ye habin Ayta. I like to study the Ayta language.

C.9.2.6 Listening to different languages

(657)
a. Leng-en mo man no hohtoy paghabi ko nin Ayta. Please listen if may speaking Ayta is correct.
b. Leng-en mo man no hohtoy paghabi ko nin Ilokano. Please listen if may speaking Ilokano is correct.
c. Leng-en mo man no hohtoy paghabi ko nin Tagalog. Please listen if may speaking Tagalog is correct.
d. Leng-en mo man no hohtoy paghabi ko nin Ingles. Please listen if may speaking English is correct.
e. Leng-en mo man no hohtoy paghabi ko nin German. Please listen if may speaking German is correct.
f. Leng-en mo man no hohtoy paghabi ko nin Ayta. Please listen if may speaking Ayta is correct.

C.9.2.7 Pronouns

(658)
a. Malake a haglap mo kangko yati. This is a big help of yours to me.
b. Malake a haglap mo kana yati This is a big help of yours to him.
c. Malake a haglap mo kammi yati This is a big help of yours to us(excl).
d. Malake a haglap mo kanla yati This is a big help of yours to them.
e. Malake a haglap mo kangko yati This is a big help of yours to me.

C.9.3 Culture Notes

There are several other languages spoken in the area where the Ayta Abenlen live, mainly Ilokano and Botolan Sambal, but not much Tagalog. It depends on the people to talk to which language is used by the Ayta Abellen. This is even more the case now after the eruption of mount Pinatubo, since people from other language group moved into the area. People are in general very willing and helpful when someone wants to learn their language. Also people like to talk.

C.9.4 Grammar Notes

C.9.4.1 Linkers and determiners at NP level

The main linker (LK) at the NP level is -y, which is replaced by a following a word ending on a consonant:

(659)
a.
lowa=yna=y taon
two=already=LK year
 
b.
malake a haglap
big LK help

But the linker -n (which might be a borrowing) may be used instead of -y:

(660)
tatlo=n ikapat
three=LK fourth

C.9.4.2 At sentence level

Complement clauses are most often added to certain clauses which include pseude-verb clauses using determiners. The non-topic determiner -n (=nin/ne) precedes the complement clause,

  1. If the main clause includes a personal pronoun:
    (661)
    Labay ko=n maadal ye habi=n Ayta.
    like 1SG=GEN study NOM language=LK Ayta
  2. If the main clause does not include a personal pronoun and the complement clause is not in actor voice:
    (662)
    Malyadi lawe=n edamen ko ye etak mo?
    possible QUES=LK borrow 1SG.GEN NOM machete 2SG.GEN
  3. If the main clause does not include a personal pronoun then the complement clause is preceded by the topic determiner -y (=ye), when the complement clause is an actor voice clause:
    (663)
    Malyadi lawe=y makiplaktih kamo nin habi=n Ayta?
    possible QUES=NOM practice 2SG.DAT GEN language=LK Ayta?
  4. If the speaker does not intend to give prominence to any of the clauses of the sentence then the linker a is used. The meaning is then usually 'to' or 'in order to':
    (664)
    Malyadi lawe a mag-odong ako po a magplaktih nin habi=n Ayta?
    may QUES LK come.back 1SG.NOM yet LK practice GEN language=GEN Ayta


D. ABBREVIATIONS

(665)
Abbreviation Meaning
ADJ Adjective
ADV Adverb
APT Aptative mode
ASSOC Associative
AV Actor voice
CAUS Causative
COLL Collective
COMP Complementizer
CONT Continuous aspect
CTPLT Contemplated aspect
CV Conveyance voice
D Determiner
D' Determiner'
DAT Dative case
DEM Demonstrative
DET Detransitive
DIM Diminuative
DIS Distributive mode
DP Determiner phrase
DUP Reduplication
DUR Durative mode
EMPH Emphatic
EXT Existential
EXCL Exclusive
FLEx FieldWorks Language Explorer
GEN Genitive case
GER Gerundizer
GV Goal voice
I' Inflection
INCL Inclusive
INST Instantaneous action
INV Inversion
IP Inflectional phrase
LNK Linker
N Noun
N' Noun'
NLP Natural language processing
NOM Nominative case
NP Noun Phrase
OPT Optative mood
ORD NUM Ordinal number
OV Object voice
PA Prolonged action
PFV Perfective aspect
PL Plural action mode
Pron Pronoun
PV Patient voice
REC Reciprocal action mode
REQ Social request mode
RES Respect particle
RHET Rhetorical question marker
SG Singular
SOC Social request mode
SPEC Specifier
STA Stative mode
SUP Superlative
TM Topic marker
VP Verb phrase
VSO Verb-Subject-Object


Endnotes

[1]

Many thanks go to the Ayta Abellen speakers in those barrios, especially to Mr. Leonardo Francisco and Mr. Rodante Capiendo, who were my main language assistants.

[2]

The phonetic symbols used in this paper are those found in Pike (1947). Stress marks precede stressed syllables. Stress in CVC.CVC roots is not marked as it varies freely.

[3]

[pçʔ] /pçʔ/ `still; first' ["dam"wag] /damwag/ `water buffalo' ["baəy]~[ba"əy] /baəy/ `house' [ha"ʔa] /ha"ʔa/ `banana' [kabó"nçʔ] /kabó"nçʔ/ `enemy' ['dalaʔî"dîʔ] /'dalaʔî"dîʔ/ `to drizzle' No study has been done on this yet.

[4]

This example and the next are not good examples in that they each consist of two morphemes (mag-+gapa and kaN-+mi), but they nevertheless support the present interpretation.

[5]

The two m in the word kammi clearly belong to two syllables since it comes from kaN- + mi; the N- assimilates to the following m.

[6]

The usage of lengthened vowels should be studied in depts to find clear patterns. As is seems gerundivizing prefixes are often lengthened, for example the a in panggawa 'clearing' is clearly a long vowel.

[7]

It has been questioned if this vowel really is a back vowel. To my ears it is, but others may hear a mid vowel.

[8]

In the "southern dialect" (spoken in Maamot) I (Nitsch) have found another phone (something like a palatal voiceless fricative [x]) that is probably a allophone of the phoneme /h/. Presently I am collecting data that contain this sound which is quite rare. It should be included in this paper at a later date.

[9]

"Unreleased" for this and the following stops means either that its articulation ends at the same time or after the end of the breath stream (utterance final), or that a second consonant is articulated before the first is released (unreleased transition).

[10]

It is used at least in Tangantangan in the south of the language area.

[11]

K is always used for /k/ except in names which are traditionally spelled with c.

[12]

I would like to try not writing the glottal stop /ʔ/ at all the reason being the difficulty others have had teaching speakers of related languages to write this stop. According to Jenny Golden, the people don't like to write the glottal stop using the symbol -, and if they write it they do so inconsistently. Also, Jenny stated, "The people know their language"; they know where the glottal stops are. The hyphen (-) could then unmistakably be used for other purposes (compound words, reiteration of whole stems, etc.). One exception might be necessary, i.e., in cases of ambiguity or when reading a word otherwise becomes a real stumbling-block, like in boko `bone', were the glottal stop follows the /k/ (bok-o) .

[13]

/h/ occurs frequently in Ayta Abellen as it replaces /s/ in many borrowed words. /s/ is not an indigenous phoneme but is often used in borrowed words. So h should be used to symbolize /h/, and s should be kept for borrowed words usually pronounced using /s/.

[14]

The semivowels /w/ and /y/ should not be used to separate vowel clusters where one vowel is a high vowel as is done in some cases in Filipino, since Ilokano, the lingua franca, does not do this.

(i)
a. /hiam/ hiam nine
b. /loa/ lua two
[15]

For /e/ [ə] I again would like to follow the Ilokano and Botolan Sambal way of symbolizing, i.e., to use e. The advantage would be to keep the symbols simple. It needs to be tested, however, what affect this would have on the pronunciation of loan words which contain [e]. A solution might be to spell those words withi, or to keep the e and possibly have some of those words mispronounced initially with an [ə].

[16]

O is used to symbolize /o/ [ɔ] , [o], [ó] since the [ó] is pronounced close to [o] (which sometimes is close to [ɔ]). So [o] best represents this morpheme. Initially I followed the Ilokano orthography where u is used in penultimate and antepenultimate syllables but becomes o in the final syllable, but I now follow the Botolan Sambal and Tina Sambal orthography using only one symbol to make learning to read and write easier. The preference of indigenous speakers should be observed on this point .

[17]

This word ends on the glottal stop.

[18]

For the occurring n-m metastasis see 3.8.

[19]

For the occurring h-deletion and vowel raising see 3.2.2 and 3.4 and 3.6.

[20]

For the occurring consonant assimilation to point of articulation see 3.5.2.

[21]

For the occurring assimilation see 3.5.

[22]

For the occurring syllable and vowel raising see 3.6.

[23]

The low stress marker marks secondary stress.

[24]

This is done in the northern dialect of Labney.

[25]

This is done in the northern dialect of Labney.

[26]

Usually the N- assimilates to ng- before o.

[27]

This includes the vowels i, a, o. No example has been found for the vowel e.

[28]

This is a rare assimilation; it may fluctuate with pan-.

[29]

But the form kanmi exists besides the form kammi.

[30]

But the form kalla exists besides the form kanla.

[31]

Both forms are correct.

[32]

Note that in all of the following examples a high vowel changes its position from the syllable peak to the syllable onset or coda whereby its function changes from a vowel to a consonant.

[33]

Another way of looking at it is that the pluralization of some nouns just involves lengthening of V1.

[34]

The order given is based on a relativly small body of text. More reseach needs to be done to confirm of correct this analysis.

[35]

It was suggested by one analyst that the cranberry-morph (pseudo morpheme) ih- may originate from the misunderstood Spanish esta 'it is' with changing the stressed final syllable into the similar Abenlen deictic elements. Ih- is most of the time pronounced as [eh] (there is range in pronounciation), which led to this hypothesis (because of the more open Spanish vowel). [e] is found in Abenlen only in these Class II demonstative pronouns and in (other) borrowed words. But this may only be a mere coincidence since ihti fits well into the pattern of the other demonstrative pronouns.

[36]

These full form emphatic demonstrative pronouns have phonological variants, i.e., i- instead of hi-, for example iyabayin ‘that’.

[37]

An example of this demonstrative has not yet been found.

[38]

The case-marker ne is only used in the northern part of the language area (around Labney, Mayantoc, Tarlac).

[39]

In Ayta Abellen the complement of the pseudo-verb is not a complement in the traditional sense since a complement is traditionally defined as valency dependent to another constituent which here would be the pseudo-verb. In Ayta Abenlen it depends on the syntactic structure of the complement which ‘connector’ between the pseudo-verb and the ‘complement’ is used.

[40]

Nitsche had originally labelled these as ABS, ERG/GEN, and OBL.

[41]

The use of ti is an obvious borrowing from Ilokano.

[42]

Ilokano borrowing.


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