Recently published: A grammar of Balantak (Eastern Sulawesi)

[Malcolm Ross]

Recently published (and downloadable for free):
 
Authors: René van den Berg and Robert L. Busenitz
Title: A grammar of Balantak, a language of Eastern Sulawesi
326 pages. SIL International, 2012
SIL e-Books 40
http://sil.org/silepubs/abstract.asp?id=928474549492
 
This is the first comprehensive grammar of Balantak, an Austronesian language spoken in Eastern Sulawesi, based on years of interaction with the language. Balantak is a conservative Celebic language which has several interesting features, including rich morphophonemics (the 2nd person possessive suffix -Vm, for instance, has 20 allomorphs), a three-way voice system (agent, patient and locative voice), a tripartite verbal opposition between realis, irrealis and gerunds, an intriguing article and a very rich demonstrative system with seven roots and some 250 derived forms.
The description takes a structural and theory-neutral approach towards the language, letting the patterns of Balantak inform the analysis and description. Questions of language typology only play a minor role, though the study tries to be typologically informed and relevant. Six interlinearized texts, supplemented with some frequency patterns, complete the description.
 
Please send comments and reactions to: r.vandenberg at sil.org.pg
 


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