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Bajau: A Symmetrical Austronesian Language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2026

Mark Donohue
Mark Donohue*
Affiliation:
Australian National University
*
Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia [donohue@coombs.anu.edu.au]
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Abstract

Research on causative and applicative constructions has identified a class of symmetrical languages, in which either of two arguments may pattern like the direct object of a primary transitive verb. To date, symmetry of this sort has been identified only in a small geographically contiguous group of Bantu languages. Bajau, an Austronesian language of Indonesia and the Philippines, is shown to be symmetrical. Unlike the Bantu languages previously described, Bajau permits a benefactive applied object to be treated like an ordinary direct object. The restriction on the extraction of benefactive applied objects must therefore not be universal, contrary to the assumption of previous theories.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 72 , Issue 4 , December 1996 , pp. 782 - 793
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 Linguistic Society of America

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