Resumen de Criteria for establishing the inventory of semantic participants and voices in Tagalog
The number of different voice constructions is controversial in Philippine linguistics. There are two approaches to establishing the voice inventory: (1) based on the number of voice affixes; (2) based on semantics of constructions, using opaque definitions of roles without any formal basis. Tagalog data supports neither approach. Many verbal roots form voice paradigms of up to seven members. The ungroundedness in any formal properties in the second approach often leads to different sets of voices with significant subjective variation. This paper suggests employing formal criteria for establishing an exhaustive inventory of semantic roles and voices in Tagalog: (1) Distinct marking in non-subject position; (2) co-occurrence of voice forms in paradigms; (3) co-occurrence of participants in constructions; (4) existence of a co-referential voice form. 16 participants and 13 voices are established in Tagalog, using the suggested criteria, which also provide a possibility for creating a typology of Philippine voice inventories.
