Split intransitivity in Lamaholot (East Flores, Indonesia)

Split intransitivity has been identified in many languages, including some Eastern Indonesia languages, but the East Adonara Lamaholot (Eastern Indonesia) may be considered as uncommon by the fact it displays all kinds of Split Intransitivity features that have been separately described for a series of languages. This language displays a complex split intransitivity, involving a Split-S (lexically fixed alignment) and a Fluid-S (fluid alignment) triggered by a series of contexts, which can accounted for by Proto-Roles properties as defined by Dowty (1991). The subject (S) is either seen as “agent-like” (SA), unmarked, or as “patient-­like” (SP), thus marked by verbal agreement. The Split-S involves verbs expressing feeling, sentience, biological functions or motion verbs, which must agree with their subject. The properties ‘± Control’ and ‘± Affected’ seem more crucial than ‘± Volition’ for Fluid-S. Aspect features can overlap this Split-S; for instance, motion verbs (excluding displacement) become telic when complemented by a locative prepositional phrase (PP). Perfect aspect is marked by the same verbal agreement as SP, on stative verbs, nouns used as a predicate, or displacement verbs. It appears that in Lamaholot dialects westward from Adonara (Eastern tip of Flores) and eastward (on Lembata Island), the split intransitivity systems are highly eroded, and their remains became lexicalized.