Proto-austronesian Stress

Wolff, John (1993). "Proto-austronesian Stress". Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications (24): 1–15. doi:10.2307/20006744. ISSN 0029-8115.

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Abstract: "Proto-austronesian Stress" investigates the stress patterns present in Proto-Austronesian (PAN) languages, using evidence from languages in the Philippines and Formosa. The study highlights strong indications that PAN roots originally contained stress elements. This is evidenced by historical linguistic data suggesting that stress often fell at the end of words in Formosa, though in modern times, this stress pattern has weakened or disappeared in some languages. However, traces of the original stress contrast are still detectable through weakened or lost syllables. The research argues that variations in stress patterns across different languages, both within and beyond the Philippines and Formosa, provide robust evidence for the historical presence of stress in PAN.

The paper employs a comparative method, examining accentual patterns in Formosan and Philippine languages to trace back to PAN stress features. Despite some language-specific differences in stress, shared patterns across languages help attribute these features to the proto-language. The document notes, however, the current research is preliminary, with data on only approximately 110 forms and emphasizes the potential for uncovering more accentual data from additional languages, both within and outside the focus areas. This broader perspective underscores the idea that PAN stress influenced the development of related languages in Oceania as well.