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Part of
Austronesian Undressed: How and why languages become isolating
Edited by David Gil and Antoinette Schapper
[Typological Studies in Language 129] 2020
► pp. 287–338

Chapter 6
Are the Central Flores languages really typologically unusual?

| University of California, Berkeley

The languages of Central Flores (Austronesian) are typologically distinct from their nearby relatives. They have elaborate numeral classifier systems, quinary numeral systems, and lack all bound morphology. McWhorter (2019) proposes that their isolating typology is due to imperfect language acquisition of a Sulawesi language, brought to Flores by settlers from Sulawesi in the relatively recent past. I propose an alternative interpretation, which better accounts for the other typological features found in Central Flores: the Central Flores languages are isolating because they have a strong substrate influence from a now-extinct isolating language which belonged to the Mekong-Mamberamo linguistic area (Gil 2015). This explanation better accounts for the typological profile of Central Flores and is a more plausible contact scenario.

Keywords: Central Flores languages, Eastern Indonesia, isolating languages, Mekong-Mamberamo linguistic area, substrate influence
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
    • 2.1The Mekong-Mamberamo language area
    • 2.2McWhorter’s view of isolating languages
    • 2.3McWhorter’s definition of linguistic complexity
    • 2.4McWhorter’s proposed historical scenario
  • 3.Introduction to the languages of Flores
    • 3.1Languages of West Flores: Manggarai
    • 3.2Languages of East Flores: Sika, Lamaholot
    • 3.3Languages of Central Flores: Lio, Ende, Nage, Keo, Ngadha, Rongga
  • 4.Central Flores languages have typical Mekong-Mamberamo typology
    • 4.1The passing gesture
    • 4.2Repeated dental clicks expressing amazement
    • 4.3Conventionalised greeting with “where?”
    • 4.4‘eye day’ to ‘sun’ lexicalisation
    • 4.5d/t place of articulation asymmetry
    • 4.6Numeral classifiers
    • 4.7Verby adjectives
    • 4.8Basic SVO constituent order
    • 4.9Iamitive perfects
    • 4.10‘Give’ causatives
    • 4.11Low differentiation of adnominal attributive constructions
    • 4.12Weakly developed grammatical voice
    • 4.13Isolating word structure
    • 4.14Short words
    • 4.15Low grammatical-morpheme density
    • 4.16Optional thematic-role flagging
    • 4.17Optional TAM marking
    • 4.18Summary: Mekong-Mamberamo features in Central Flores languages
  • 5.Additional evidence from the Central Flores numeral system
  • 6.Historical proposal for Central Flores languages
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 21 October 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.129.06eli
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