The Grammar of Yogad
A functional explanation
Philip W. Davis, John W. Baker, Walter L. Spitz & Mihyun Baek
Rice University
Yogad, an Austronesian language spoken on the island of Luzon, has been only sparingly mentioned in the literature on Philippine languages. This is the first detailed description of its grammar.
Chapter 1 introduces the language, briefly describing its phonology and the framework for the description to follow. Chapter 2 sets out the organization of the simple sentence and the semantics associated with its grammar. Chapter 3 is concerned with several issues centering about 'discourse'. First, the devices for managing topic are described. Second, the content of the Yogad determiners is delineated; and third, the grammar and semantics of complex sentences are discussed.
A text, which is the basis of these remarks, is included. Chapters 4 and 5 introduce the verbal affixes, which are typical of the Philippine languages. Chapter 6 deals with two additional affixes: a 'defective' affix -uhn and the affix pa-. Chapter 7 draws some conclusions from the foregoing description. The orientation is consistently functional, and the goal is always to identify the content of the grammar in an integrated way. Contents such as 'rheme', 'topic', 'role', 'voice', etc. are prominent. Iinthis vein, Yogad represents a language type which contrasts sharply with more familiar European languages.
ISBN 9783895862120. LINCOM Studies in Austronesian Linguistics 01. 250pp. 1998.
