A relative clause analysis of event existential constructions in Aklanon

Abstract

This study is the first to document and analyze the ‘event existential construction’ (EEC) in Aklanon (AKL), an understudied Central Philippine language. I argue for an analysis wherein the existential maj selects: (i) a relative clause, which can be headless or headed, as its complement (see Law 2010 on Tagalog), and (ii) a topic-marked argument which controls a relative-clause-internal PRO. I also introduce novel evidence to demonstrate how the relative clause analysis can be extended to account for negative event existential constructions (nEECs), which have not been addressed in EEC literature on Tagalog. This study contributes to a richer understanding of cross-linguistic variation in Philippine languages, and allows us to maintain the robust generalization that Philippine-type voice is correlated with the thematic role of the topic-marked argument.