18 Basic clausal syntax
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Bruno Olsson
Abstract
This chapter describes the building blocks of clausal syntax. Criteria for argumenthood are discussed in §18.1. The obligatory kernel of the clause is the verb complex, and such minimal sentences are described in §18.2. Constituent order of the clause is free, but there is a clear statistical preference for placing the verb after its arguments (§18.3.1). Coastal Marind is a prime example of a so-called ‘discourse configurational language’, in which the syntactic organisation of the clause is not based on syntactic or semantic roles (subject, object, agent, etc.) but on discourse functions such as topic and focus. The discourse functions of arguments usually have consequences for the shape of the verb, most importantly in the choice of a so-called Orientation prefix marking the role of the focused constituent. This means that it is often impossible to tease apart syntax from morphology. The morphosyntax of focus was dealt with in Chapter 11, so in §18.3.2 of this chapter I will summarise some of that information and put it in a broader syntactic context, along with brief discussion of topics §18.3.3. In §18.4 I describe a class of adverbial expressions that have a fixed position before the verb complex. Secondary predicates are discussed in §18.5. The final section is a brief description of the Presentational construction (§18.6).
Abstract
This chapter describes the building blocks of clausal syntax. Criteria for argumenthood are discussed in §18.1. The obligatory kernel of the clause is the verb complex, and such minimal sentences are described in §18.2. Constituent order of the clause is free, but there is a clear statistical preference for placing the verb after its arguments (§18.3.1). Coastal Marind is a prime example of a so-called ‘discourse configurational language’, in which the syntactic organisation of the clause is not based on syntactic or semantic roles (subject, object, agent, etc.) but on discourse functions such as topic and focus. The discourse functions of arguments usually have consequences for the shape of the verb, most importantly in the choice of a so-called Orientation prefix marking the role of the focused constituent. This means that it is often impossible to tease apart syntax from morphology. The morphosyntax of focus was dealt with in Chapter 11, so in §18.3.2 of this chapter I will summarise some of that information and put it in a broader syntactic context, along with brief discussion of topics §18.3.3. In §18.4 I describe a class of adverbial expressions that have a fixed position before the verb complex. Secondary predicates are discussed in §18.5. The final section is a brief description of the Presentational construction (§18.6).
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- List of maps, tables and figures XVII
- Abbreviations and conventions XXI
- 1 Preliminaries 1
- 2 Phonology 24
- 3 Nominals, their morphology and derivation 48
- 4 Pronouns and demonstratives 84
- 5 Nominal gender 101
- 6 Adpositions and particles 120
- 7 The syntax of phrases 146
- 8 Overview of the verb 172
- 9 Participant indexing I: The Actor, Dative and Genitive prefixes 187
- 10 Participant indexing II: Undergoer alternations 221
- 11 The system of Verb Orientation 253
- 12 Valence classes 297
- 13 Valence-changing constructions 319
- 14 Tense and aspect 354
- 15 Mood, attitude and engagement 396
- 16 Distribution of events in time and space 423
- 17 The Auxiliary, copula clauses and light verbs 452
- 18 Basic clausal syntax 479
- 19 Non-declarative speech acts 500
- 20 Combinations of clauses 522
- Appendix: Texts 552
- Bibliography 573
- Index 585
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- List of maps, tables and figures XVII
- Abbreviations and conventions XXI
- 1 Preliminaries 1
- 2 Phonology 24
- 3 Nominals, their morphology and derivation 48
- 4 Pronouns and demonstratives 84
- 5 Nominal gender 101
- 6 Adpositions and particles 120
- 7 The syntax of phrases 146
- 8 Overview of the verb 172
- 9 Participant indexing I: The Actor, Dative and Genitive prefixes 187
- 10 Participant indexing II: Undergoer alternations 221
- 11 The system of Verb Orientation 253
- 12 Valence classes 297
- 13 Valence-changing constructions 319
- 14 Tense and aspect 354
- 15 Mood, attitude and engagement 396
- 16 Distribution of events in time and space 423
- 17 The Auxiliary, copula clauses and light verbs 452
- 18 Basic clausal syntax 479
- 19 Non-declarative speech acts 500
- 20 Combinations of clauses 522
- Appendix: Texts 552
- Bibliography 573
- Index 585
