Many languages throughout the world do not have a clear-cut subject-object paradigm, and this can be a challenging concept. This talk introduces a different approach to syntax and understanding of real-world events and how to define roles, and how this manifests in syntactically diverse languages. Many advantages of this approach are presented and why it is the foundation of Glossika's syntax database, and how you can better understand the quirky phenomena occurring in western languages. Then we'll look at specific examples from Austronesian languages covering Taiwan out to Polynesia, with a focus on Formosan languages spoken in Taiwan. The way focus and ergativity work will be presented in an easy-to-understand way. Then we'll interact with a native Paiwan speaker on stage to acquire the Paiwan language sentence structure, discussing each step along the way.

Glossika.com

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The Language Event
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Filming & Editing: Simos Batzakis