Proto-Oceanic *ma- and the adjectives: Oceanic as seen through possibly productive morphology in Tukang Besi

Abstract

An article in volume 40 of this journal discusses the history of the suffix *ma- in Oceanic languages, and compares the functions found in these languages with those attested in some non-Oceanic Austronesian languages. The current article adds some refinements based on a careful consideration of data from Tukang Besi, and provides a basis for questioning the simple bipartite divisions employed in classifying morphology in the earlier article. It is shown how reference to some of the synchronically attested morphological processes in Tukang Besi can help to model the Oceanic data. Show more