LOT Training: Morphoyntax

class: center, middle

.mw50[![](assets/syntaxmeme.png)]

# Syntax
Ponrawee Prasertsom  
.g[LOT Training Camp 2025]
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# Word order

Order of S(ubject), O(bject) and V(erb)

- One of the first things you should figure out.
- In some languages, more than one order is possible.

[![](assets/wals_svo.png)](https://wals.info/feature/81A#2/20.3/154.5)

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# Heads and dependents

Phrases in languages almost always have heads, which carry the core meanings.

- Noun phrase: .ex[big cars]
- Verb phrase: .ex[walk slowly]
- Adposition phrase: .ex[to me] (preposition), .ex[Tokyou kara] (postposition)
- Adjective phrase: .ex[really good]

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# Head directionality

- Heads often consistently occur phrase-initially or -finally.
- For example, Thai is consistently head-initial:
  - .ex[บ้านหลังใหญ่]
  - .ex[บ้านที่ฉันอยู่]
  - .ex[เดินช้า ๆ]
  - .ex[แก่ฉัน]- .ex[]
- But this is not necessary. English, for example, is usually head-initial, but most adjectives come before nouns.
  - .ex[a big house]
  - .ex[the house that I live in]

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# Morphosyntactic alignment

In English, we have different Subject and Object pronouns:
  - .ex[They are walking.]
  - .ex[He hated them.]

In languages with more elaborate case systems, nouns in general can have different Subject and Object forms (case), as in Latvian, which uses case suffixes:

<div data-gloss>
  <p>putn-s lidoja</p>
  <p>bird-SBJ fly.PST.3</p>
  <p>‘The bird was flying.’</p>
</div>
<div data-gloss>
  <p>bērn-s zīmē sun-i</p>
  <p>child-SBJ draw.PRES.3 dog-OBJ</p>
  <p>‘The child is drawing a dog.’</p>
</div>

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# NACLO 2009, Round 2, Dyirbal

However, in Dyirbal, intransitive Subject nouns and determiners (.ex[bayi]) have the same form as transitive Objects.

<div data-gloss>
  <p><strong>bayi</strong> <strong>ŋuma</strong> ñinañu</p>
  <p>DEF father sit.PST</p>
  <p>‘The father sat.’ </p>
</div>

<div data-gloss>
  <p><strong>bayi</strong> <strong>ŋuma</strong> baŋgul ñalŋgaŋgu bur̹an</p>
  <p>DEF father DEF boy see.PST</p>
  <p>‘The boy saw the father.’</p>
</div>

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# NACLO 2009, Round 2, Dyirbal

However, in Dyirbal, intransitive Subject nouns and determiners (.ex[bayi]) have the same form as transitive Objects.

<div data-gloss>
  <p>bayi ŋuma ñinañu</p>
  <p>DEF father sit.PST</p>
  <p>‘The father sat.’ </p>
</div>

<div data-gloss>
  <p>bayi ŋuma <strong>baŋgul</strong> <strong>ñalŋgaŋgu</strong> bur̹an</p>
  <p>DEF father DEF boy see.PST</p>
  <p>‘The boy saw the father.’</p>
</div>

... and the transitive Subject has a different form.

<div data-gloss>
  <p>ŋinda <strong>bayi</strong> <strong>ñalŋga</strong> walmbin</p>
  <p>2SG DEF boy wake.PST</p>
  <p>‘You woke the boy.’</p>
</div>

Subject/Object forms are no longer across across sentences.

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# Morphosyntactic alignment

Linguists often work with S, A, O instead of Subjects and Objects.

- S(ubject) = Subject of intransitives
- A(gent) = Subject of transitives 
- O(bject) = Object of transitives

Common systems:

- Nominative-accusative: S=A≠O .lg[English, Japanese, French, Latvian, Hungarian, ...]
- Ergative-absolutive: S=O≠A .lg[Dyirbal, Hunzib, Basque, Tibetan, Georgian, ...]

.c[![](assets/alignment.svg)]

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# Morphosyntactic alignment

Real languages are not neat. Languages often have *split* systems, based on other features. Common features are:

- Verb meaning: In Central Pomo, S=A if the verb is agentive. S=O if the verb is not agentive.

.container[
.left-col[
<div data-gloss>
  <p><strong>ʔa·</strong> qʰadé·č’</p>
  <p>1SG.S<sub>A</sub> fight</p>
  <p>‘I fight.’</p>
</div>

<div data-gloss>
  <p><strong>ʔa·</strong> mú·tu̪ ʔé·čyadiw</p>
  <p>1SG.A 3SG.O chase_away</p>
  <p>‘I chased him/her away.’</p>
</div>
]
.right-col[
<div data-gloss>
  <p><strong>t̪o·</strong> ló·ya</p>
  <p>1SG.S<sub>O</sub> fall</p>
  <p>‘I fell.’</p>
</div>

<div data-gloss>
  <p>mu·l <strong>t̪o·</strong> ʔé·čyadiw</p>
  <p>3SG.A 1SG.O chase_away</p>
  <p>‘He chased me away.’</p>
</div>
]
]

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# Morphosyntactic alignment

Real languages are not neat. Languages often have *split* systems, based on other features. Common features are:

- Noun type: In Maragny, pronouns follow S=A≠O, but nouns follow S=O≠A.

.container[
.left-col[
<div data-gloss>
  <p>matya <strong>ngaya</strong> balgangandala yurdi</p>
  <p>before 1SG.A hit.HAB.PST meat.O</p>
  <p>‘I used to kill a lot of kangaroos.’</p>
</div>
<div data-gloss>
  <p><strong>ngaya</strong> nhunu wabanhi</p>
  <p>1SG.S always come.PRS</p>
  <p>‘I always come here.’</p>
</div>
]
.right-col[
<div data-gloss>
  <p><strong>nguda-nggu</strong> yurdi gamba:nhi</p>
  <p>dog-A meat.O bury.REC.PST</p>
  <p>‘The dog buried the meat.’</p>
</div>
<div data-gloss>
  <p><strong>nguda</strong> nguna:labanhi</p>
  <p>dog.S lie_about.PST</p>
  <p>‘There's dogs lying around.’</p>
</div>
]
]

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# Morphosyntactic alignment

Real languages are not neat. Languages often have *split* systems, based on other features. Common features are:

- Tense/Aspect/Mood
- Person 
- Animacy
- ...

Keep your minds open!

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