Transitivity in Longgu: The Interdependence of Verb Classes and Valency-Changing Derivations

Longgu (Southeast Solomonic) provides an example of the complexity of transitivity in Oceanic languages. This paper outlines the challenges of describing the relationship between morphology and valency-changing devices, and the role that valency-changing devices have in determining the primary valency of a verb in the language. It argues for the need to treat transitivity as an integrated whole, and shows that while subclasses of verbs can be established without regard to morphology, a much fuller understanding is gained through investigating the functions of the verbal morphology. These functions are linked to the semantic transitivity of the clause as well as to valency-changing