Verbs, valence and voice in Balinese, Sasak and Sumbawan

This paper investigates the interaction of verbs, valence, and voice in three closely related Austronesian languages: Balinese, Sasak, and Sumbawan. It explores how these languages encode grammatical relations and argument structure through voice alternations and valence-changing mechanisms. Drawing on descriptive and comparative data, the study highlights both shared and divergent features in their morphosyntactic systems, including the use of applicatives, passives, and symmetrical voice constructions. The analysis contributes to broader typological discussions on Western Austronesian voice systems and offers insights into the historical development and structural variation within the region. The findings underscore the importance of detailed language documentation for understanding the complexities of verb morphology and syntactic alignment in Austronesian languages (AI generated abstract, Copilot)