Chlouvānem: Difference between revisions

Line 300:

==Syntax==

===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.

The '''subject''' - whatever agrees with the verb - is usually the topic, but there can be another explicitely stated topic (denoted by the particle ''mæn'') which gets precedence on the subject (triggered by the verb), as in the third of the following examples:

Line 306:

* ''lili yąlenu ulgutaṃça'' - I have bought food. (1SG.DIR. food-ACC.SG. buy.PERF-1SG.EXTERIOR-AGENT.)

* ''liliā ñæltah mæn yąloe lilie ulguta'' - My sister, I bought the food [for her]. (1SG.GEN. sister.DIR.SG. TOPIC. food.DIR.SG. 1SG.ERG. buy.PERF-3SG.EXTERIOR.PATIENT.)

The '''topic''' is explicitely marked with ''mæn'' if it does not coincide with the subject and does not have any syntactical role in the sentence. Some common structures where explicit topics are always used rank among the most basic sentences:

* ''lili mæn ekāṃlahīlah fliven'' "I am 21 (Chlouvānem age)/20 years old (English age)"<ref>Chlouvānem age reckoning counts the number of the ongoing year, not how many years have passed - thus a newborn is in its first year, and a 20-years-old is in its twenty-first year.</ref>, glossed: 1SG.DIR. TOPIC. twentyfirst.PARROT.DIR.SG. go.MONODIR-IND.PRES.3S.EXTERIOR.PATIENT.

* ''lili mæn ñæltadi undau'' "I have two sisters", glossed 1SG.DIR. TOPIC. sister-DIR.DUAL. be-IND.PRES.3D.EXTERIOR.PATIENT. — the verb "to have" is always translated by this construction.

* ''lili mæn kite domani teitė [uñyāt]'' "in my house there are eight rooms", glossed 1SG.DIR. TOPIC. house-LOC.SG. room-.GEN.SG. eight. [be-IND.PRES.3P.EXTERIOR.PATIENT.]

===Noun phrase===

@@ Line 300: / Line 300: @@
 ==Syntax==
 ===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.
 The '''subject''' - whatever agrees with the verb - is usually the topic, but there can be another explicitely stated topic (denoted by the particle ''mæn'') which gets precedence on the subject (triggered by the verb), as in the third of the following examples:
@@ Line 306: / Line 306: @@
 * ''lili yąlenu ulgutaṃça'' - I have bought food. (<small>1SG.DIR</small>. food-<small>ACC.SG</small>. buy.<small>PERF</small>-<small>1SG.EXTERIOR-AGENT</small>.)
 * ''liliā ñæltah mæn yąloe lilie ulguta'' - My sister, I bought the food [for her]. (<small>1SG.GEN</small>. sister.<small>DIR.SG</small>. <small>TOPIC</small>. food.<small>DIR.SG</small>. <small>1SG.ERG</small>. buy.<small>PERF</small>-<small>3SG.EXTERIOR.PATIENT</small>.)
+The '''topic''' is explicitely marked with ''mæn'' if it does not coincide with the subject and does not have any syntactical role in the sentence. Some common structures where explicit topics are always used rank among the most basic sentences:
+* ''lili mæn ekāṃlahīlah fliven'' "I am 21 (Chlouvānem age)/20 years old (English age)"<ref>Chlouvānem age reckoning counts the number of the ongoing year, not how many years have passed - thus a newborn is in its first year, and a 20-years-old is in its twenty-first year.</ref>, glossed: <small>1SG.DIR</small>. <small>TOPIC</small>. twentyfirst.<small>PARROT.DIR.SG</small>. go.<small>MONODIR-IND.PRES.3S.EXTERIOR.PATIENT</small>.
+* ''lili mæn ñæltadi undau'' "I have two sisters", glossed <small>1SG.DIR</small>. <small>TOPIC</small>. sister-<small>DIR.DUAL</small>. be-<small>IND.PRES.3D.EXTERIOR.PATIENT</small>. — the verb "to have" is always translated by this construction.
+* ''lili mæn kite domani teitė [uñyāt]'' "in my house there are eight rooms", glossed <small>1SG.DIR</small>. <small>TOPIC</small>. house-<small>LOC.SG</small>. room-<small>.GEN.SG</small>. eight. [be-<small>IND.PRES.3P.EXTERIOR.PATIENT</small>.]
 ===Noun phrase===