Traces of language contact: The Flores-Lembata languages in eastern Indonesia

Fricke, H.L.A. (2019)

Doctoral Thesis

This dissertation reconstructs the history of the Flores-Lembata languages (Austronesian, eastern Indonesia) by investigating traces of contact in the lexicon and grammar. Part I fills a gap in the documentation of the Flores-Lembata languages by providing a descriptive grammar of the previously undescribed Central Lembata language. Part II researches the history of the phonology and the lexicon of the Flores-Lembata languages and provides evidence for both inherited lexical items and a non-Austronesian lexical substrate. Part III examines morpho-syntactic features and their history of contact. Eight atypical structural features of the Flores-Lembata languages are described and evaluated on their potential of being the result of contact with non-Austronesian languages of the area.
It is proposed that the Flores-Lembata languages have been in contact with one or more languages typologically similar to the non-Austronesian Alor-Pantar languages that are currently spoken on two adjacent islands. This contact between Flores-Lembata languages and non-Austronesian languages must have been ongoing since the time of Proto-Flores-Lembata until after the break-up of the family into subgroups. The Lamaholot subgroups have gained more non-Austronesian features than the other subgroups. This suggests that the contact of each of the subgroups must have varied in intensity and length.

• Flores-Lembata
• contact
• reconstruction
• Austronesian
• Lamaholot
• morpho-syntax
• substrate
• lexicon

• All authors: Fricke, H.L.A.
• Supervisor: Klamer, M.
• Co-supervisor: Edwards, O.; Stapert, E.
• Committee: Blevins, J.; Kossmann, M.; Moro, F.; Muysken, P.
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University
• Date: 2019-11-13
• Title of host publication: LOT dissertation series
• Publisher: Amsterdam: LOT
• ISBN (print): 9789460933295
• Name: LOT : 544
• Sponsorship: Dutch Research Council (NWO): VICI project Reconstructing the past through languages of the present: The Lesser Sunda Islands by Prof. dr. Marian Klamer (project number: 277-70-012)