% pubman genre = article
@article{item_3384178,
title = {{Is Malayo-Polynesian a primary branch of Austronesian? A view from morphosyntax}},
author = {Chen, Victoria and Kuo, Jonathan and Gallego, Maria Kristina S. and Stead, Isaac},
language = {eng},
issn = {0176-4225; 1569-9714},
doi = {10.1075/dia.21019.che},
publisher = {John Benjamins Publishing},
address = {Amsterdam},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-08-04},
abstract = {{An understudied morphosyntactic innovation, reanalysis of the Proto-Austronesian (PAn) stative intransitive prefix {\textasteriskcentered}ma- as a transitive affix, offers new insights into Austronesian higher-order subgrouping. Malayo-Polynesian is currently considered a primary branch of Austronesian, with no identifiably closer relationship with any linguistic subgroup in the homeland ( Blust 1999 , 2009/2013 ; Ross 2005 ). However, the fact that it displays the same innovative use of ma- with Amis, Siraya, Kavalan and Basay-Trobiawan and shares the merger of PAn {\textasteriskcentered}C/t with this group suggests that Malayo-Polynesian and East Formosan may share a common origin {\textendash} the subgroup that comprises the four languages noted above. This observation points to a revised subgrouping more consistent with a socio-historical picture where the out-of-Taiwan population descended from a seafaring community expanding to the Batanes and Luzon after having developed a seafaring tradition. It also aligns with recent findings in archaeology and genetics that (i) eastern Taiwan is the most likely starting point of Austronesian dispersal ( Hung 2005 , 2008 , 2019 ; Bellwood 2017 ; Bellwood {\&} Dizon 2008 ; Carson {\&} Hung 2018 ) and (ii) that the Amis bear a significantly closer relationship with Austronesian communities outside Taiwan ( Capelli et al. 2001 ; Trejaut et al. 2005 ; McColl et al. 2018 ; Pugach et al. 2021 ; T{\"a}tte et al. 2021 ). Future investigation of additional shared innovations between Malayo-Polynesian and East Formosan could shed further light on their interrelationships.}},
journal = {{Diachronica}},
volume = {39},
number = {4},
pages = {449--489},
}