Old Shalaian/Syntax

Prose Shalaian

Constituent order

Finite clauses are VOS and use ergative syntax:

preverb verb dir_obj subj ind_obj place manner time.

Infinitive clauses are VSO and accusative; the preposition mi must be used before a direct object in infinitive clauses.

Noun phrase

The structure of a Old Shalaian/Syntax noun phrase is maximally

article numeral NOUN adjective demonstrative genitive relative_clause.

Genitives use possessive affixes:

ni chaasts rái'chal = Rachel's friend (weak possession)

an-vó3ash rái'chal = Rachel's hand (strong possession)

Nominal sentences

Old Shalaian/Syntax is zero-copula for nominal sentences and for predicative adjuncts such as għar roft 'at home'. Nominal sentences in the present tense are negated with the preverb thoor.

Am shaanfs Għánameen swid?

Q.PRES woman-3SG.AN Għánameen 2SG

Are you Għánameen's wife/girlfriend?

Thoor, sháanfalna fin.

not.COP, woman-1SG-EMPH 3SG.A

No, she's *my* girlfriend.

Am għar roft Inthar? Thoor.

Is Inthar home? No, they're not.

Questions

Yes-no questions

Yes-no questions are answered using preverbs.

Wh-questions

The interrogative word always comes first in the sentence.

Predicative wh-questions are simpler:

Yakh swid?

who 2SG

Who are you?

Għaib lōkh swid?

where PST 2SG

Where have you been?

Verbal wh-questions are always cleft sentences: The material after the wh-word becomes a relative clause with the wh-word as the head. The relative clause can be a cha-clause vs. a vi-clause:

Yan vi tágħti?

yan vi ta-għát-i

what VI.PRES 2SG.S-see-INF

What do you see? (lit. What is that which you see?)

Yakh għan do'ch agħt vikh rṓzhas?

yakh għan do'ch a-għát-0 vikh rōzh-as

who here CHA.NEG.PRES 3SG.A-see-3SG.I VI.PST do.INF-3SG.H

Who here does not see what she (hon.) has done? (lit. Who here is it that does not see that which she has done?)

'There is' and 'have'

'There is' clauses use the word whid at the beginning of the word, and have-possessives use the structure whid + the thing possessed + the preposition għar + possessor. The negative of whid is yaan'ch 'there is not' (etymologically from an interrogative *yan cha' whid "where is..."), and the negative interrogative form is maand.

Yaan'ch vózhleedash għar áifer.

There is no justice in this (fact or situation).

Transitivity

Finite verbs index the arguments ergatively: the absolutive personal affixes are suffixes and the ergative affixes are prefixes.

Transitives

Transitive verbs (such as 'to hit') mark both persons on the verb. Passive verbs formed from transitives behave like intransitives and take the absolutive argument for the "patient" just like the active counterpart does. The antipassive turns the agent into the absolutive argument and uses għar with the patient.

Ditransitives

Ditransitives use tripersonal agreement:

• Causer: Ergative
• Agent: Ergative
• Patient: Absolutive

Relative clauses

Shalaian uses two different types of relative clauses, depending on the syntactic position of the head in the relative clause.

vi-clauses

Forms of the preverb vi are used when the head of the relative clause is absolutive or when relativizing a non-verbal predicate.

Headless relative clauses (indicated by that which or what in English) can be formed simply by omitting the head.

A verbal vi-clause has the form

(when intransitive) vi-preverb + verb.INF + other constituents

or

(when transitive) vi-preverb + POSSESSIVE_i-verb.INF + ergative noun_i + other constituents.

Note that:

• The infinitive form of the verb is used.
• When there is an ergative noun phrase, the strong possessive affix is used and agrees with the ergative noun phrase.

A non-verbal predicate vi-clause has a simpler form:

vi-preverb predicate.

cha-clauses

Forms of cha are used when the head of the relative clause is NOT absolutive. Unlike vi-clauses, cha-clauses use finite verbs and are more syntactically straightforward. Resumptive pronouns (referring back to the head) are usually used in a cha-clause, either on the verb or on other constituents.

Complement clauses

Like many other clause types in Shalian, complement clauses have two possible syntaxes: either finite, using forms of the preverb ith, or an infinitive construction, formed with the preposition mi + infinitive. With infinitive complement clauses, the tense is usually assumed to be the same tense as the main clause.

Time clauses

There are conjunctions for time clauses.

However, the infinitive construction għar + infinitive is more commonly used:

• għar zhá'unal = when I awake/have awakened
• zhar't lidanzháis láathvai, chōns għar kháir't. (FUT 1SG-APP-come-3SG.A together every LOC go-3SG.A = Whenever she goes, I'm going together with her.)

In infinitive clauses, the possessor of the infinitive is the absolutive noun, and mi is used in front of the ergative noun.

todo: "while", "as soon as", "before", "after", "until"

Comparison clauses

The syntax vair + form of cha is used when comparing clauses:

Ashfíl'azhal, lōkh tirṓj thogħs vair chakh lidanrú'k.

Congrats, you did [it] better than I expected.

The syntax vair + possessed form of the infinitive is used for clauses of the form "too ADJ for NOUN to VERB".

Khom ħi qōv lirwhágħan vair shéerishawh thóogħab.

be_at.3SG.I DEF.SG.I death COMP-evil than neglect-INF-1PL from-3SG.I

Death is too evil for us to neglect. (lit. more evil than our neglecting it)

Method clauses

inst + inf + abs

Purpose clauses

ben + inf + abs

Result clauses

"result" + inf + abs

Reason clauses

from/because + inf + abs

Topicalization

Topicalization involves placing the topic after the comment clause.

Cleft constructions

In cleft sentences, the present tense preverb is used before the fronted constituent.

Vor sowh vikh qonár'ads.

PRES 1PL VI.PST choose.INF-2SG.H

It's us whom you have chosen.

Poetic Shalaian

Topicalization used more often, preverbs and articles often omitted, word order freer

e.g. wairdí'nal laħchái't = I shall praise her with my song