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Khangaþyagon Word Order

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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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Morphology Syntax Pronouns


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