Journal of Social Science and Human Research Studies (JSSHRS)

Grammatical Alignment in the Pasir Pengaraian Dialect of Riau Malay: A Typological Study Based on the Pivot System

Nasution, Khairina, Mulyani, Rozanna, -, Khairawati, -, Nurlela, Suri, Nursukma

27 June 2026 · Vol. 2, Issue 6, pp. 875-883

DOI: 10.65150/EP-jsshrs/V2E6/2026-26

Abstract

This study aims to describe and determine the grammatical alignment system at the syntactic level of Riau Malay, Pasir Pengaraian Dialect (RMPPD). Framed within linguistic typology, the analysis focuses on the syntactic treatment of three core arguments: S (intransitive subject), A (trowitive agent), and P (trossitive patient). Adopting Dixon's Pivot System framework, this study examines mechanisms of coreference and noun phrase (NP) deletion in complex clauses. The research employs a qualitative descriptive approach, drawing on data from native speakers of RMPPD elicited through controlled elicitation techniques targeting eleven possible interclausal coreferential relations. The findings show that direct NP deletion is acceptable only when the deleted argument occupies the S or A function. In contrast, the P argument does not enjoy such syntactic privilege unless it undergoes structural changes, such as passivization or topicalization, which promote P to subject status. These results demonstrate that RMPPD operates an S/A pivot system and can therefore be classified as a nominative-accusative language at the syntactic level.

Keywords: grammatical alignment, syntactic typology, pivot system, S/A pivot, nominative-accusative, Riau Malay

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Nasution, Khairina, Mulyani, Rozanna, -, Khairawati, -, Nurlela, Suri, & Nursukma (2026). Grammatical Alignment in the Pasir Pengaraian Dialect of Riau Malay: A Typological Study Based on the Pivot System. Journal of Social Science and Human Research Studies, 2(6), 875-883. https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jsshrs/V2E6/2026-26

@article{Nasution2026,
  title   = {Grammatical Alignment in the Pasir Pengaraian Dialect of Riau Malay: A Typological Study Based on the Pivot System},
  author  = {Nasution and Khairina and Mulyani and Rozanna and - and Khairawati and - and Nurlela and Suri and Nursukma},
  journal = {Journal of Social Science and Human Research Studies},
  year    = {2026},
  volume  = {2},
  number  = {6},
  pages   = {875-883},
  doi     = {10.65150/EP-jsshrs/V2E6/2026-26},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jsshrs/V2E6/2026-26}
}

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