Kipin/Syntax

Kipin syntax is governed mainly by information structure. The basic word order is SVO, but new information is fronted and old information moved back, creating a highly variable word order. Noun phrases may be characterised and adjective-noun, noun-genitive and relative clause-noun. Kipin lacks adverbs, but verbs may be qualified by adverbial phrases, which are treated as applied arguments of the verb. There are also a number of periphrastic constructions which express grammatical categories that are not expressed in the morphology.

Glossing

In glossed examples, the interlinears have three rows. The first gives the surface form of each component of the utterance, the second gives the underlying form, and the third the associated meaning. The following abbreviations are used

1

First person

2

Second person

3

Third person

A

Animal gender

ACC

Accusative

APPL

applicative

COP

Copula

DIST

Distant

ERG

Ergative

FUT

Future

H

Human gender

INAN

Inanimate gender

PL

Plural

REC

Recent