Comparative-historical analysis of the clausal structure in Reefs-Santa Cruz languages

The objective of CHAOCLRSC is to fill a significant gap in the history of Oceanic languages by providing a comparative-historical

analysis of the clausal structure in the Reefs-Santa Cruz (RSC) languages spoken on the Reef Islands and Santa Cruz (SC). Despite being

classified as Oceanic, RSC show unexpected features, including unusual patterns of clausal structure. In particular, iwoo displays a

symmetrical voice system, a type of clausal structure which is highly unusual in the Oceanic family. In this respect, iwoo differs

significantly from the other RSC languages, in that, like most Oceanic languages, they display transitivity-based systems. The presence

of a symmetrical voice system in iwoo is of interest for the history of the Oceanic subgroup, since voice systems are thought to have

been lost in the transition from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (PMP) to Proto-Oceanic (POc). Recent studies on iwoo and SC systems have

shown that the two systems are unusual in two different ways. iwoo can be seen as transitional because it retains a symmetrical

voice system with Oceanic morphology, whereas SC languages retain some voice-like characteristics in otherwise largely transitivitybased systems. Historically, the change from PMP to iwoo represents one stage of development from symmetrical voice to the

Oceanic transitivity-based system, while the differences between iwoo and SC may represent a further stage. This makes

comparative-historical work on SC clause structures an urgent priority. More broadly, understanding how the shift from a symmetrical

voice system to a transitivity-based has happened in RSC will contribute to our understanding of the general principles governing

both individual systems and, more generally, the change from one clausal system to the other