The challenges of symmetrical voice languages for Universal Dependencies

Abstract

Abstract This chapter deals with problems that arise when attempting to apply a Universal Dependencies (UD) annotation to languages which have more than one basic transitive construction, that is, where the subject is not by default an agent, and the object is not by default a patient. While non-agentive subjects are well known from passive constructions, agentive objects are hardly known and are not widely attested. They occur in symmetrical voice languages in western Austronesia, as illustrated in this paper with data from Tagalog. Other issues are raised by existential and possessive constructions, which also pose some challenges in symmetrical voice languages. Our main finding is that UD, in principle, is flexible enough to accommodate all the special constructions found in symmetrical voice languages. However there are alternative solutions for the two problems we have singled out here, and it is not easy to determine which of these is the “best”.