Biwdiw syntax

Main article: Biwdiw

This page gives an extensive description of Biwdiw syntactical features.

Main clause and word order

Biwdiw is a mainly SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) language, but there are clear traces hinting to a previous underlying SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) order.

wīruliw līlušɛc subɛ 
the man sees the dog

The quite rich case system allows every other possible word order, but most of them prove to be very marked and infrequently used. SVO order is essentially used in the main clause. Other orders with a clear role and a frequent usage in the main clause are:

• VSO (Verb-Subject-Object), which marks interrogative clauses, namely simple questions.

līlušɛc wīruliw subɛ 
does the man see the dog?

• OVS (Object-Verb-Subject), which marks the so-called passive construct.

subɛ līluš wīruliw
the dog is seen by the man

• VOS (Verb-Object-Subject), which marks the passive construct in a interrogative clause.

līluš subɛ wīruliw
is the dog seen by the man?

When another verb is found inside a main clause, it is placed in the final position of the sentence. Both possible verbal positions are called primary verbal position and secondary verbal position.

SV1O(C)V2

Modal verbs, the auxiliary verb çɛňiwgɛ, to be, and the negative verb hīsiwgɛ, to do not, tend to be placed in the primary position, and cause the supported verb to move in the secondary position.

wīruliw hīsjɛc(V1) subɛšu līlušiwgɛ(V2)
the man does not see the dog

wīruliw çɛňɛc(V1) subɛšu līlušiwgɛ(V2)
the man will (repeatedly) see the dog

wīruliw pjɛgisjɛc(V1) subɛšu līlušiwňiwgɛ(V2)
the man can see the dog

When another verb is placed in the primary position, the previous verbal form is moved in the end of the secondary position.

wīruliw çɛňɛc(V1) subɛšu līlušiwgɛ(V2) → wīruliw hīsjɛc(V1) subɛšu līlušiwgɛ çɛňiwgɛ(V2)
the man will (repeatedly) see the dog → the man will not (repeatedly) see the dog

The other elements in the sentence are usually placed in the order “place-manner-cause-time”, although they are basically freer than the main elements. An object in the dative case, when conveying the indirect object, tends to be placed before the direct object of the sentence.

A peculiar feature is the verbal infinitival agreement: when infinitival forms, as nominal forms of the verbs, take a direct object, are regarded as an expression of belonging, and the direct object is declined in the ablative case.

hīsū subɛšu līlušiwgɛ
I do not see the dog

Nouns

The noun cluster is formed by a noun, carrying the main meaning, and by other noun-type forms, namely adjectives, which specify this meaning or add other meanings to the main noun. Inside of a noun cluster, the noun can be replaced by a pronoun.

The noun usually closes the noun cluster, being preceded by every other specifying form. Thus, other elements conveying possession and belonging are always placed before the noun, as well as every attributive adjective.

wīrurɛ sōgu
the man’s house

ūdjušu liwlā
my hand

çōbā hōnɛ
the young woman

However, especially in texts from the later period, specifying forms in the ablative case can also be placed after the noun.

liwlāhiw wīrušu
the hands of the man

The role of the noun cluster in the sentence and its number are marked by case and number endings. These endings mark also other adjectival elements inside the noun cluster, resulting this in the process called nominal agreement.

Both attributive and predicative adjectives agree in case and number with the noun they specify. Other elements, which convey possession or belonging do not agree with the main nominal form.

çōbāliw wīruliw hiwmēx sōguxjɛ
the young man is going home

ūdjunurɛ sōgu
our house

çōbāhiw hōnɛhiw
the two young women

hōnɛnu çɛňun çōbānu 
the women are young

The agreement among nouns and adjectives is not a universal phenomenon. Indefinite adjectives, indeed, usually do not agree with the nominal form, neither in case nor in number.

The grammar role of noun clusters can be further specified by prepositions, which are placed before the cluster. Thus, it can be stated that the noun cluster can be introduced by a preposition.

cɛgiʎugū gū sōguxjɛ
I am talking about the house

The cases

The grammatical role of the noun cluster in a sentence is conveyed by some endings. These endings are bound to grammatical cases, with usually well-defined roles.

The cases in Biwdiw language are 6, and one more already falling out of use in the pre-classical period:

• Agentive
• Passive
• Ablative
• Genitive
• Dative
• Causative
• Instrumental (obsolete)

The grammatical roles and all possible differences in usage among similar cases are enlisted below:

The active-stative alignment

The case system of Biwdiw language is based on a morphological alignment called agentive-stative type (also called in Piti philological studies the agentive-passive alignment). This kind of alignment is essential different from the nominative-accusative alignment, which is widespread among most European languages, and from the even rarer ergative-absolutive alignment.

In an agentive-stative alignment the choice of the case relies on the intrinsic ability of the subject to be an active agent in the sentence or not. Unlike the ergative-absolutive alignment, subjects of an intransitive verb can also be agentive subjects, if the action is performed with a certain degree of animacy or intentionality. This usually also depends on the semantic nature of the verb itself. Let’s see two examples:

• to jump: this verb is considered as grammatically intransitive, but the described action involves an activity and a will from the subject. Thus, the alignment selects the agentive case for such subjects.
• to fall: this verb is considered as grammatically intransitive, but the described action involves no active engagement or no active will from the subject. It is more regarded as an incidental event, even if it implies some kind of motion. Thus, the alignment selects the passive case for such subjects.

The system selects only the passive case for direct objects of transitive verbs. Potential confusion is avoided, as the agentive case and the passive case cannot be selected for two kinds of elements which may be in the same sentence.

The general usage rule for these cases is:

• Subject of a transitive verb: agentive case
• Active subject of an intransitive verb: agentive case
• Inactive subject of an intransitive verb: passive case
• Direct object of a transitive verb: passive case

Examples:

subɛliwAGEN ňɛmīčɛc wīruPASS
the dog is biting the man
(subɛliw is the subject of the transitive verb ňɛmīčiwgɛ and is declined in the agentive case, while wīru is the object of the verb and it is declined in the passive case)

subɛliwAGEN wūšɛč
the dog is running away
(subɛliw is the subject of the intransitive verb wūšɛčiwgɛ, for which it is an active subject. As such, it intentionally and actively performs the action, and it is declined in the agentive case)

subɛPASS čēlun
the dog is sleeping
(subɛ is the subject of the intransitive verb čēluniwgɛ, for which it is an unactive subject. As such, it does not intentionally and actively perform the action, and it is declined in the passive case)

The rules of this system are interlaced with the class system. Class II nouns cannot be declined in the agentive case at all. Sentences in which these elements might be transitive or active subjects are usually differently arranged, as such nouns cannot be in the agentive case:

the storm spoiled the harvest → the harvest spoiled because of the storm
jumɛʈōdɛ hɛhusīš čumiku

However, some natural entities can be perceived as animate, as having their own will, like sjɛňu, light, šiwči, water, hɛčo, wind, and they may optionally be regarded as class I nouns. In such cases these nouns can be active subjects of transitive verbs and be declined in the agentive case.

Conversely, Biwdiw has an underlying nominative-accusative synctactical order, SVO. The subject of the sentence, regardless of its selected case in the active-sative sistem, is placed before the verb in primary position, and the direct object of a transitive verb is placed after the verb in primary verbal position. An active-stative system usually selects a SOV or VSO order, and the choice of a SVO order hints to a fully undergoing syntactic change.