Reflexive and Reciprocal as Valency Decrease: A Morpho-syntax Study in Sasak

Abstract

This research is a descriptive study that examines the constructions of reflexive and reciprocal of valency decrease using linguistic typological theory proposed by Dixon (2012). The results of data analysis revealed that in Sasak Kuto-Kute dialect, reflexive constructions can be formed through two techniques; namely verb derivation and combination techniques. The verb derivation technique involved the addition of a nasal prefix (N) to the verb functioning as reflexive marker (REF), whilst, the combination technique employed the addition of confix n- -in followed by the pronoun diriqnya ‘him/herself’. The formation of reciprocal construction is carried out through three techniques: the use of reciprocal verbs, verb derivation and the use of reciprocal adverbs. The reciprocal verb used in the data is tempur 'meet'. Meanwhile, for verb derivation the addition of confix meng- -an on the verb kaol 'hug' makes the verb’s meaning reciprocal. In the technique of using adverbs, the sentences that bear reciprocal meaning are formed by adding the word saling ‘each other’ appearing before the bases (affixless), verbs with suffix -in and confix ke- -n. From the overall data, it was found that the verb derivation techniques for reflexive is more preferred, while for reciprocals, the technique of using adverbs is more often used compared to the other two.