Full Description
This is a detailed application of the methods of linguistic analysis to the sentence structure of Malay. It is based on extended analysis of short dramatic texts in colloquial Malay by Dato' Dr Haji Zainal-Abidin bin Ahmad, best know under his pen name Za'ba. Miss Lewis' analyses are, with certain modifications, kept within the grammatical framework which she deduced from a thesis presented by Dr E. M. F. Payne in 1964. She has shown that the framework is viable when applied to actual texts, though her analysis leads to certain modifications and extensions of the original plan. The book has a double interest. Students with a basic knowledge of Malay will find that the investigation into sentence formation refines their understanding of the language. Linguists interested in the application of a formal grammatical framework to the sentences of a Austronesian language will welcome this pioneer study.
Contents
Preface; List of symbols and abbreviations used; 1. Introduction; 2. The units of Malay syntax; 3. The word; 4. Phrases and groups; 5. Clauses; 6. Sentences; 7. Further examples of the included clause; 8. Further examples of transformation; 9. A pivot-noun phrase?; 10. Short analyses of consecutive sentences from the texts, with tabulated results; Appendices; The texts; List of works cited; Glossary for the texts; Index to footnotes; List of sentences analysed or discussed.
