empandel bithîon
13.0 constituent order
This section describes the
major word order parameters of ámman
îar,
in particular the order of the major constituents of a clause, i.e. the verb and
its S-, A- and P- function arguments, as well as the constituent order within the NP
and VP.
In addition to describing
the preferred or neutral word order parameters, this section will describe
constituent word order as it is affected by pragmatic considerations of Focus
and Topic.
When pragmatic considerations are ignored, the preferred
word order for ámmanîar is
what is called, in standard linguistic terminology, SOV. I, however,
find this classification insufficiently complete and prefer the following
description of preferred ámmanîar
word order. The order of words
described here does not change in interrogative or exclamatory sentences; these
are distinguished from indicative sentences only by intonation.
The preferred word order
for intransitive constructions is S
[Obl] V [Loc], where S
represents the single
S-function
argument of the intransitive predicate,
[Obl]
represents an optional non-locative oblique
argument of the predicate, V
represents the lexical
verb,
and [Loc]
represents an optional locative argument
of the predicate.
alan allildirros erallildrel allildronar életh
He washed with soap in the bathroom.
alan allildirros erallildrel allildronar eleth.
S Obl V Loc AUX .
he with soap wash in the bathroom did .
The position of the
auxiliary verb AUX
is semantically determined by the argument structure of the predicate.
In the absence of a patientive or theme argument, the auxiliary verb
takes sentence final position S V AUX.
i dais ergabdhel i daurar életh
The tiger pounced in the forest.
i tais ergabdhel i taurar eleth.
S=AGT V Loc AUX .
the tiger pounce in the forest did .
Otherwise, the auxilliary
verb immediately precedes the patient/Theme
particle (PTP) which in turn
precedes the patientive/theme argument, AUX PTP S V thus,
eliras eni thoren orgöirar
The eagle is dying.
eliras en- i thoren orgöirar.
AUX PTP S=PAT V .
is the eagle dying .
For transitive
constructions the preferred word order is A
AUX PTP
P [Obl] V [Loc], where A
represents the A-function
argument of the transitive predicate, AUX represents the auxilliary
verb, PTP
the Patientive/Theme Particle, P
represents the P-function argument of the predicate, [Obl]
represents an optional non-locative oblique
argument, V
represents the lexical verb
and [Loc] represents an optional locative argument.
alan életh áni dais cûos erechöiron i daurar
He killed the tiger with a bow in the forest.
alan eleth an- i tais cûos erechoiron i taurar .
A AUX PRP P Obl V Loc .
He did the tiger with bow kill in the forest.
Within the NP,
the preferred word order is N
[Gen] [Adj] [PP], where Gen
represents an associative (Genitive) relation, N
represents the head noun, Adj
represents any adjective modifiers of the head noun and PP
represents an optional postposition, thus,
i linnar ainurrîon inainîen adhla
After the holy song of the Ainur
i linnar ainurrîon inainien adhle .
N Gen Adj PP .
the song of the ainur holy after .
The preferred word order for the VP is V [Adv][Loc], where V represents the
lexical verb form, Adv is an
optional adverbial, and Loc
is an optional locative argument, thus
enir anarîel murmarth orgirve murmdirar
The woman is sleeping quietly in bed.
(elieth) enir anarîel murmarth orgirve murmdirar.
V Adv Loc .
(is ) the woman sleep quietly in bed .
The position of the auxiliary verb is semantically
determined by the rules of predicate inflection. As such, it is bound more to the predicate than to the VP and
is discussed above under intransitive and transitive word order.
It
is important to note that the preferred word order for locative noun phrases is
in adverbial position, i.e. following the lexical verb (and any optional
adverbial modifiers).
The topic (T)
of a sentence is the person or thing about which something is said.
The essential piece of new information that is carried by a sentence is
called its focus (F).
ámman
îar
tends to prefer TFV
word order (i.e. topic focus
verb), placing the focus
immediately before the verb, thus
vaisa életh áni gáldran erechöiron
Who killed Galdor?
életh áni gáldran i luthîelle erechöiron
Luthiel killed Galdor.
eleth ani galdran i luthielle erechoiron.
T=PAT F=AGT V .
did Galdor Luthiel kill .
Note that the pragmatic tendency to place the focus
immediately before the verb overrules the standard APV word order.
ir ægnoranne életh anir isilduran erechöiron
ægnor killed Isildur.
nai luthîelle
What about Luthiel?
i luthîelle életh áni gáldran erechöiron
Luthiel killed Galdor.
i luthielle eleth ani galdran erechoiron.
T=AGT F=PAT V .
Luthiel did Galdor kill .
In this example Luthiel has been introduced as the
Topic and the fact that she killed Galdor
is new information and thus the focus.
NOTE:
In the expression nai luthîelle (literally "and Luthiel as agent"),
the case of the noun (here ergative) determines the role being questioned.
See also the following example.
ir ægnoranne életh anir isilduran erechöiron
ægnor killed Isildur.
nai gáldran
What about Galdor?
életh áni gáldran i luthîelle erechöiron
Luthiel killed Galdor.
eleth ani galdran i luthielle erechoiron.
T=PAT F=AGT V .
did Galdor Luthiel kill .
In this example, Galdor has been introduced as the Topic
and the fact that he was killed by Luthiel is new information and thus
the focus.
Again
in the expression nai gáldran (literally "and Galdor as patient"),
the case of the noun (here absolutive) determines the role being questioned.
As will be seen in a
subsequent section, subordinate clauses use inverted word order, i.e. V [Loc] S [Obl] for
intransitive clauses and V
[Loc] A P [Obl] for transitive clauses, thus,
erüe endarth ir ardar en alan iluvatarren eliveth anir ainur erechûelmon
Eru who in Arda is called Iluvatar created the Ainur.
erue endarth ir ardar en alan iluvatarren.
V Loc S Obl .
Eru named in Arda he Iluvatar .
eliveth anir ainur erechûelmon.
did the Ainur create .
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