Seidenadel's Grammar of Bontoc Igorot: One Hundred Years On

Abstract

In 1909, Carl Wilhelm Seidenadel published a grammar, vocabulary and texts of a Philippine language that he called Bontoc Igorot. Although there are serious problems with his description of the phonology, his treatment of the syntax of the language was in some ways quite perspicacious. He was probably the first linguist to reject the traditional (at that time) treatment of the various transitive constructions of Philippine languages as passives, and offered an analysis that considered them to be active constructions. This chapter will review the work in the light of what is now known about the language, in particular his descriptions of the phonology and syntax, and relate his views to current issues in the typological characterization of the languages of the Philippines.