Khangaþyagon Word Order

Basic word order

Khangaþyagon's syntax is strongly head-initial

Basic sentence structure

Word order in sentences is VSO. As subjects and objects are not distinguished by morphology, this does not vary.

eskri rik glaf

eskr-	i	rik	glaf
ride	3P	man	horse

The man rides the horse.

Infinitive clauses

Infinitives have no subject, so word order in infinitive clauses is VO.

seguno babal

segun-	o	babal
follow	INF	butterfly

To follow a butterfly (a wild goose chase)

Noun phrases

The head noun comes first in the noun phrase. It is followed by its dependents in order of weight, lightest first, ie adjectives, dependent noun phrases, and subordinate clauses.

glaf tark vlakhmarkuz u peshti yi rissuwani

glaf	tark	vlakh-	mark-	uz	u	pesht-	i	yi	rissu-	wan-	i
horse	black	folk	chief	GEN	such that	run	3P	3P	fast	ADV	3P

The king's black horse that runs swiftly.

When more than one adjective is present, the ones with the closest semantic association with the head noun (ie those that could most naturally compound with it) occur first, ie nearest the head.

khorrhassass kemni mœza

khorr-	hassass	kemni	mœza
fire	serpent	green	great

The great green dragon.

This is the opposite order to English (where noun phrases are head last)

Adverbs

Placement of adverbs and adverbial noun phrases is fairly free, but results in a change of emphasis. An adverb may occur clause initially, after the verb, or clause finally. If the adverb is placed at the beginning of the clause, the adverb itself is emphasised. If it is placed immediately after the verb, its applicability to the verb is emphasised. If it is placed clause finally, its apllicability to the entire clause is emphasised.

When an adverb qualifies an attributive adjective, it follows the adjective immediately.

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--PeteBleackley 03:54, 1 June 2006 (PDT)