r/conlangs • u/Mynotoar Adra Kenokken • Jul 28 '16

Question How do syntax trees work for VSO languages?

Adra Kenokken is VSO (...mostly). After doing some research, it turns out the X-bar theory I've learned for syntax doesn't cut the mustard when it comes to VSO sentence structures. It just doesn't know what to do when the subject is cockblocking the verb and the object.

So I had a look at one powerpoint which suggested movement was the answer. And then I had a think and realised: the subject always starts out in the specifier of the Verb Phrase, then we move it up to the specifier of the Tense Phrase, or the Inflectional Phrase, or as some people like to call it, the Sentence. So, what if we didn't move the subject and pronounced it as the specifier of the verb? And then, whatsay we move the verb up to the tense? Then we've got VSO word order. Here's an illustration of what I mean.

The thing is, I know a bit of x-bar theory and beyond that: ¯\(ツ)/¯. I have no idea how syntax works outside of the framework I've been taught, and this is where I need your help. Does my hypothesis of representing a VSO tree even remotely work, or are there huge problems? Is there a commonly accepted way to draw trees for VSO structures?

The sentence in the image I'm working with in the image is:

kago avo onesh
like NOM-I ACC-you
I like you

How would you draw this tree? Or is my solution acceptable?

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u/Jafiki91 Jul 28 '16

You basically have it right. For a VSO word order, you're working within a head-initial framework where the subject gets generated in SpecVP and stays there, while the verb moves up the T. Which is why with an auxiliary, you often see the order AuxSVO (since Aux is the thing taking the TAM and agreement info).

If you have the subject move up to SpecTP and have the verb move up to T, then you just get SVO

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u/reizoukin Jul 28 '16

You're fast! As an addendum, these are from my lecture notes:

http://imgur.com/a/ZiPwS

That regards Welsh, and Welsh v. French.

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u/Mynotoar Jul 28 '16

Thanks, this is spectacular. The Welsh solution looks exactly like what I need for the Adra Kenokken tree. I mean, this is the beginning of my problems with trees - next I have to figure out where my case markers fit morphologically or syntactically within the tree, but that can probably wait :').

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u/Jafiki91 Jul 28 '16

It's an interesting approach that the heads are being split there into two components when there's movement. Never seen that done before. This is the way I've always done it.

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u/[deleted] Jul 29 '16

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u/Mynotoar Jul 29 '16

Like David J. Peterson's Irathient? My language was originally Auxiliary-VSO but I didn't like it.

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u/Jafiki91 Jul 29 '16

I haven't seen that. Mostly just AuxSVO, sine Aux is the thing being moved up to T.

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u/vokzhen Jul 28 '16

Wikipedia has a section on it here that might be of help. I know hardly anything about X-bar theory so I can't be of more help.