Bilic—The Morphosyntax of Languages in Transit

This dissertation describes the morphosyntax of the Bilic family of languages (i.e., Tboli, Blaan, Teduray and Klata). Internal comparison and cross-linguistic typological analysis show that the family exhibits reduced voice systems and subsequent simplification in verbal morphology, simplified case-marking systems characterized by a high degree of optionality, neutralization in alignment, asymmetrical systems of Philippine type features, and incipient Indonesian-type features. The Bilic languages, therefore, are analyzed as languages-in-transit: languages that are no longer Philippine-type, but which are not quite Indonesian-type yet. These features of the Bilic languages are indicative of developments that are still inchoate in Teduray, but which have progressed significantly farther in Tboli and Blaan. To a large degree, Klata represents the typical Philippine-type systems. As such, Klata may be assigned near the point of
departure for these developments, while Tboli and Blaan may be analyzed as nearing a point of arrival that is more Indonesian-type rather than Philippine-type. Teduray sits between the two, possessing features reflective of a more complex system, but also possessing one or two features within a paradigm that have simplified into a single form. All of these transitional developments can be summarized under one process: neutralization; similarly, all features that arise as the consequences of these developments may be summarized under one property: syncretic. This is to say that case loss, mag-loss, loss of instrumental voice, and the subsequent simplification in the undergoer voices, even word order stricture and alignment shifts are all instances of neutralization. Likewise, the features that arise as the consequences of these developments are all instances of syncretism: syncretic verb forms or the obligatorily perfective undergoer voice constructions, syncretic case forms, Ø case markers, and S-A-O or neutral alignment. Features that have been described in the literature as “peculiar”, “aberrant” or “unique” are, in fact, features of transition—those that come about as the result of ongoing development, as are characteristic of languages in transit.