Voice in Land Dayak Languages

Abstract: It has been noted that many languages spoken on the island of Borneo, Indonesia, represent a variety of different voice profiles. However, due to limited documentation, languages belonging to the Land Dayak subgroup have not been included in these prior discussions of voice. This paper represents a first step in describing the voice system in five Land Dayak languages, which diverges from the well-studied “Indonesian-type” and “Philippine-type” voice profiles and is characterized by a two-way distinction with limited morphological affixation and case marking, relying instead on word order and a preverbal analytic marker in the undergoer voice. While this patterns similarly to a “Central Bornean-type” voice system, Land Dayak languages showcase variation within this profile that suggests Central Bornean-type as a typology should be broadened. Land Dayak languages additionally show evidence of a nasal prefix N-, which functions not as a voice marker but as a transivitizer, contributing to a larger discussion on the role of (me)N- in the languages of Indonesia.