Philippine Indigenous Languages Lecture Series: Cebuano [ceb]

Описание: [Philippine Indigenous Languages Lecture Series]
CEBUANO [ceb]: An Affix-Based Subcategorization of Cebuano Verbs

Divine Angeli Endriga
Assistant Professor
UP Department of Linguistics
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The ninth installment of the 2025 Philippine Indigenous Languages Lecture Series (PILLS) will be on the subcategorization of verbs in Cebuano [ceb]

ABSTRACT
This study provides a preliminary affix-based subcategorization of Cebuano verbs, centering on how affixation interacts with the language’s focus system. Drawing on a corpus of 100 verbs, the research applies theta-theory and the concepts of focus and subcategorization to analyze five thematic roles: Agent, Patient, Locative, Benefactive, and Instrumental. Each role is examined in relation to the affixes that mark it—mu-, mag-, ma- (Agent); on, -an, ʔi (Patient); on, -an (Locative); -an (Benefactive); and ʔipang (Instrumental). The findings show that affixes do not correspond in a strict one-to-one relation with focus roles: on marks both Patient and Locative, while -an spans Patient, Locative, and Benefactive. Certain verbs permit multiple affixes for the same role, particularly in the Agent focus where mu-, mag-, and ma overlap with nuanced distinctions. The data further reveal that Agent focus is the most widely attested, while Benefactive is the least. By categorizing verbs through the affixes they select per focus, this work highlights the fluidity and constraints of the Cebuano verbal system. The research concludes with recommendations for extending the corpus, including additional affixes and modal forms, and incorporating syntactic analysis for a fuller account of Cebuano verb behavior.