Chlouvānem: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
| Line 437: | Line 437: | ||
==Syntax== | ==Syntax== | ||
===Constituent order=== | ===Constituent order=== | ||
Like most other Lahob languages, the preferred word order in Chlouvānem is SOV, and the language is almost completely head-final. The word order could however be better defined as ''topic-comment'', but in less common styles it is perfectly possible, thanks to case inflections, to greatly deviate from this standard order. | Like most other Lahob languages, the preferred word order in Chlouvānem is SOV, and the language is almost completely head-final. The word order could however be better defined as ''topic-comment'', but in less common styles it is perfectly possible, thanks to case inflections, to greatly deviate from this standard order.<br/> | ||
Note that Chlouvānem terminology typically distinguishes topics as ''aplidra caṃginutas'' vs. ''gu aplidra caṃginutas'' (or also ''tadgerenei aplidra caṃginutas'' or ''daradhāve aplidra caṃginutas''), translated here as "explicit topic" and "unmarked topic" (or "voice-marked topic" or "verb-marked topic") respectively. Explicit topic (''aplidra caṃginutas'') is understood as a topic marked by the particle ''mæn''. | |||
The '''subject''' - whatever agrees with the verb - is usually the topic, but there can be | The '''subject''' - whatever agrees with the verb - is usually the topic, but there can be an explicit topic which gets precedence on the subject (i.e. the "unmarked topic" triggered by the verb), as in the third of the following examples: | ||
* ''yąloe lį ulguta'' - The food has been bought by me. (food.<small>DIR.SG</small>. <small>1SG.ERG</small>. buy.<small>PERF</small>-<small>3SG.EXTERIOR.PATIENT</small>.) | * ''yąloe lį ulguta'' - The food has been bought by me. (food.<small>DIR.SG</small>. <small>1SG.ERG</small>. buy.<small>PERF</small>-<small>3SG.EXTERIOR.PATIENT</small>.) | ||
* ''lili yąlenu ulgutaṃte'' - I have bought food. (<small>1SG.DIR</small>. food-<small>ACC.SG</small>. buy.<small>PERF</small>-<small>1SG.EXTERIOR-AGENT</small>.) | * ''lili yąlenu ulgutaṃte'' - I have bought food. (<small>1SG.DIR</small>. food-<small>ACC.SG</small>. buy.<small>PERF</small>-<small>1SG.EXTERIOR-AGENT</small>.) | ||