Negation

van der Auwera, Johan and Van Olmen, Daniel and Vossen, Frens (2024) Negation. In: The Oxford Guide to the Malayo-Polynesian Languages of Southeast Asia :. Oxford Guides to the World's Languages . Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 875-887. ISBN 9780198807353

Abstract

This chapter surveys the expression of standard negation, existential negation, negative indefiniteness and prohibitive negation in a data set of 207 Malayo-Polynesian languages of Asia and Madagascar. Standard negators are etymologically heterogeneous, but formally homogeneous in the sense that they are typically unbound and preverbal. This positional preference is associated with a universal ‘Neg Early’ principle. To explain postverbal and circumverbal negators we discuss the ‘Jespersen Cycle’ as well as language contact. There is a lot of evidence for deriving standard negators from existential ones – through the ‘Negative Existential Cycle’. Negative existential constructions (‘there is not’) are presented in a five-way typology together with positive existential constructions. Negative indefiniteness (‘nobody’) is discussed together with positive indefiniteness (‘somebody’) and special attention is paid to existential strategies (‘there is (not) a person’). The prohibitive negators are overwhelmingly dedicated – and thus different from standard negators. Like standard negators they are typically unbound and preverbal. Exceptions are explained in terms of the ‘Jespersen Cycle’ and language contact too.