Pipil language (typological overview)
Encyclopedia
This rather technical article provides a typological sketch of the Pipil language
(also known as Nawat). Another related article outlines Pipil grammar
in fuller detail. The distinctive purpose of the present article is to single out those specific features of Nawat linguistic structure that are relevant to this language's general typological classification and characterization, answering the question: What major features make this language similar to or different from other languages? Most of the assertions in this article are generalizations from information found in the Pipil grammar article.
This article is likely to be of most interest and use to readers interested in general linguistics
, language typology, and related areas such as areal typology, and especially (though not exclusively) to professional linguists. Another possible use of this article is as a thumbnail sketch of the language, a checklist of its most salient points, serving as a brief guide to the fuller language description in the Pipil grammar article.
inventory is smaller than that of most languages in the area. Phonemically relevant voice
distinctions are generally absent: stop
s are normally voiceless (though there exist some voiced allophones), as are fricatives and affricates; liquid
s, nasal
s and semivowel
s are normally voiced (though there exist voiceless allophones).
s consist of a vowel
nucleus preceded and followed by a maximum of one consonant
: (C)V(C). Word stress
is normally phonologically determined, and rarely distinctive
.
are of moderate complexity, with a fairly balanced mix of prefix
ing and suffix
ing mechanisms.
for case
or definiteness
, the morphological categories being number
, state (absolute vs. construct) and person
(of the possessor
, with construct state).
In the verbal morphology, tense
, mood
and number
(of the subject
) are marked by suffix
es, person
(of the subject, and of the object
with transitive
verbs) by prefix
es. Prefixes can also reduce a transitive verb's argument
valency
, making it either unaccusative (ta-) or unergative (mu-). A further prefix ((w)al-) adds a directional meaning component (roughly 'towards the speaker') to some verbs, though no longer productively. Derivational
suffixes can add to a verb's valency, acting as causative
s (which add a new subject as agent
) or applicatives (which add a new object as recipient). A few cases of paradigmatic suppletion
occur (witz 'comes' : walaj 'came'; ki-uni 'he drinks it (transitive)' : ati 'he drinks (unaccusative)'.
Sentence
word order
shows considerable flexibility. Pronominal
arguments
(which may represent subject
or object
) usually precede the verb
, and are only used for emphasis: compare Naja nikita 'I see him/her/it' and Naja nechita 'He/she/it sees me' (naja 'I, me').
Within the noun phrase
, determiners and quantifiers precede the head
. Adjective
s may either precede or follow the head noun. Possessors
follow possessed, and relative clause
s follow their head. There are prepositional structures.
There is pro-drop for both subject and object (i.e. subject and object pronouns are omitted in unmarked
sentences). One or two argument
s of the verb are indexed for person
and number
in the verb (one when intransitive, two when transitive
). A maximum of one object index is possible. If a transitive verb has both a patient
('direct object' in English grammar) and a recipient ('indirect object'), it is the latter which is indexed as object of the Nawat verb, e.g. Nechmaka at 'He gives me water', where nech- indexes a first-person-singular object. There is no marking on the arguments to indicate the various semantic relations so far mentioned. This is a head-marking structure, meaning that relations between a head and dependent are marked on the head (here, the verb) and not on the dependent (here, the subject or object). This is also illustrated by the above examples Naja nikita 'I see him' vs. Naja nechita 'He sees me', where the 'case' of the pronoun naja is determined by the indexing on the verb.
Head-marking patterns are found in other parts of Nawat syntax too, so the language shows consistency for this typological feature
. The canonical expression of possessive
or genitive relations is parallel: the head (i.e. the possessed) is marked with indices indicating the person of the dependent (the possessor), the noun phrase expressing which is either omitted normally if pronominal (a pro-drop phenomenon) or occurs as a noun phrase following the head and unmarked for the possessive relation, e.g. nu-nan 'my mother', i-nan 'his mother', i-nan ne kunet 'the child's mother'.
Argument valency
Another kind of typological consistency between verbal and nominal constructions is seen in the fact that just as verbs may be classified as intransitives, which do not require an object, and transitives, which require one, so some nouns in Nawat need not have a possessor while others must have one.
Some nouns change their form depending on whether they have a possessor or not, alternating between absolute and construct states, such as absolute kunet, construct -kunew 'child'; this is reminiscent of how verbs may change their forms depending on their transitivity (i.e. whether they take an object or not), e.g. intransitive waki, transitive -watza 'dry', transitive miki 'die', transitive -miktia 'kill', etc. Once again, it is changes in the head that determine the nature of the grammatical relation between the head and its dependent(s).
Adposition
Other relations between a verb and its noun phrase complements or adjunct
s are expressed by means of a small number of prepositions or relational constructions. The relational construction itself, e.g. nu-wan 'with me', i-wan 'with him/her/it/', i-wan ne kunet 'with the child', is internally just like possessive constructions, with wan playing the same role as a construct noun.
with no verbal component may be made a clause
's grammatical nucleus. Some of these take subject indices just like verbal predicates, but tense can only be expressed periphrastically in such sentences.
Negation is achieved by placing a negative particle in front of the predicate. Yes-no question
s have no special grammatical marking, while wh-questions are identified by the presence of a question word, which usually precedes the verb (or other predicate).
Subordinate clauses are either introduced by a subordinator in clause-initial position or else are juxtaposed with no subordinating conjunction
.
Pipil language
Pipil is a Uto-Aztecan language descended from Nahuatl which was spoken in several parts of present day Central America before the Spanish conquest. It is on the verge of extinction in western El Salvador and has already gone extinct elsewhere in Central America...
(also known as Nawat). Another related article outlines Pipil grammar
Pipil grammar
This article provides a grammar sketch of the Nawat or Pipil language, an endangered language spoken by the Pipils of western El Salvador, belonging to the Nahua group within the Uto-Aztecan language family...
in fuller detail. The distinctive purpose of the present article is to single out those specific features of Nawat linguistic structure that are relevant to this language's general typological classification and characterization, answering the question: What major features make this language similar to or different from other languages? Most of the assertions in this article are generalizations from information found in the Pipil grammar article.
This article is likely to be of most interest and use to readers interested in general linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, language typology, and related areas such as areal typology, and especially (though not exclusively) to professional linguists. Another possible use of this article is as a thumbnail sketch of the language, a checklist of its most salient points, serving as a brief guide to the fuller language description in the Pipil grammar article.
Phoneme inventory
The Nawat phonemePhoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
inventory is smaller than that of most languages in the area. Phonemically relevant voice
Phonation
Phonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of phonetics. Among some phoneticians, phonation is the process by which the vocal folds produce certain sounds through quasi-periodic vibration. This is the definition used among those who study laryngeal anatomy and physiology...
distinctions are generally absent: stop
Stop consonant
In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &...
s are normally voiceless (though there exist some voiced allophones), as are fricatives and affricates; liquid
Liquid consonant
In phonetics, liquids or liquid consonants are a class of consonants consisting of lateral consonants together with rhotics.-Description:...
s, nasal
Nasal consonant
A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :...
s and semivowel
Semivowel
In phonetics and phonology, a semivowel is a sound, such as English or , that is phonetically similar to a vowel sound but functions as the syllable boundary rather than as the nucleus of a syllable.-Classification:...
s are normally voiced (though there exist voiceless allophones).
Other aspects
SyllableSyllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
s consist of a vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
nucleus preceded and followed by a maximum of one consonant
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
: (C)V(C). Word stress
Stress (linguistics)
In linguistics, stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence. The term is also used for similar patterns of phonetic prominence inside syllables. The word accent is sometimes also used with this sense.The stress placed...
is normally phonologically determined, and rarely distinctive
Distinctive feature
In linguistics, a distinctive feature is the most basic unit of phonological structure that may be analyzed in phonological theory.Distinctive features are grouped into categories according to the natural classes of segments they describe: major class features, laryngeal features, manner features,...
.
Morphology
Inflectional and derivational morphologyMorphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
are of moderate complexity, with a fairly balanced mix of prefix
Prefix
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the root of a word. Particularly in the study of languages,a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the words to which it is affixed.Examples of prefixes:...
ing and suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
ing mechanisms.
Nominal morphology
In the nominal morphology there is no inflectionInflection
In grammar, inflection or inflexion is the modification of a word to express different grammatical categories such as tense, grammatical mood, grammatical voice, aspect, person, number, gender and case...
for case
Grammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
or definiteness
Definiteness
In grammatical theory, definiteness is a feature of noun phrases, distinguishing between entities which are specific and identifiable in a given context and entities which are not ....
, the morphological categories being number
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
, state (absolute vs. construct) and person
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
(of the possessor
Possession (linguistics)
Possession, in the context of linguistics, is an asymmetric relationship between two constituents, the referent of one of which possesses the referent of the other ....
, with construct state).
Verbal morphology
| Morphological verb categories |
|---|
|
In the verbal morphology, tense
Grammatical tense
A tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place.Bernard Comrie, Aspect, 1976:6:...
, mood
Grammatical mood
In linguistics, grammatical mood is a grammatical feature of verbs, used to signal modality. That is, it is the use of verbal inflections that allow speakers to express their attitude toward what they are saying...
and number
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
(of the subject
Subject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
) are marked by suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
es, person
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
(of the subject, and of the object
Object (grammar)
An object in grammar is part of a sentence, and often part of the predicate. It denotes somebody or something involved in the subject's "performance" of the verb. Basically, it is what or whom the verb is acting upon...
with transitive
Transitive verb
In syntax, a transitive verb is a verb that requires both a direct subject and one or more objects. The term is used to contrast intransitive verbs, which do not have objects.-Examples:Some examples of sentences with transitive verbs:...
verbs) by prefix
Prefix
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the root of a word. Particularly in the study of languages,a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the words to which it is affixed.Examples of prefixes:...
es. Prefixes can also reduce a transitive verb's argument
Verb argument
In linguistics, a verb argument is a phrase that appears in a syntactic relationship with the verb in a clause. In English, for example, the two most important arguments are the subject and the direct object....
valency
Valency (linguistics)
In linguistics, verb valency or valence refers to the number of arguments controlled by a verbal predicate. It is related, though not identical, to verb transitivity, which counts only object arguments of the verbal predicate...
, making it either unaccusative (ta-) or unergative (mu-). A further prefix ((w)al-) adds a directional meaning component (roughly 'towards the speaker') to some verbs, though no longer productively. Derivational
Derivation (linguistics)
In linguistics, derivation is the process of forming a new word on the basis of an existing word, e.g. happi-ness and un-happy from happy, or determination from determine...
suffixes can add to a verb's valency, acting as causative
Causative
In linguistics, a causative is a form that indicates that a subject causes someone or something else to do or be something, or causes a change in state of a non-volitional event....
s (which add a new subject as agent
Agent (grammar)
In linguistics, a grammatical agent is the cause or initiator of an event. Agent is the name of the thematic role...
) or applicatives (which add a new object as recipient). A few cases of paradigmatic suppletion
Suppletion
In linguistics and etymology, suppletion is traditionally understood as the use of one word as the inflected form of another word when the two words are not cognate. For those learning a language, suppletive forms will be seen as "irregular" or even "highly irregular". The term "suppletion" implies...
occur (witz 'comes' : walaj 'came'; ki-uni 'he drinks it (transitive)' : ati 'he drinks (unaccusative)'.
Word order
| Word order |
|---|
|
Sentence
Sentence (linguistics)
In the field of linguistics, a sentence is an expression in natural language, and often defined to indicate a grammatical unit consisting of one or more words that generally bear minimal syntactic relation to the words that precede or follow it...
word order
Word order
In linguistics, word order typology refers to the study of the order of the syntactic constituents of a language, and how different languages can employ different orders. Correlations between orders found in different syntactic subdomains are also of interest...
shows considerable flexibility. Pronominal
Pronominal
Pronominal can be used either to describe something related to a pronoun or to mean a phrase that acts as a pronoun in the context of nominal. An example of the second case is, "I want that kind". The phrase "that kind" stands in for a noun phrase, or nominal, that can be deduced from context, and...
arguments
Verb argument
In linguistics, a verb argument is a phrase that appears in a syntactic relationship with the verb in a clause. In English, for example, the two most important arguments are the subject and the direct object....
(which may represent subject
Subject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
or object
Object (grammar)
An object in grammar is part of a sentence, and often part of the predicate. It denotes somebody or something involved in the subject's "performance" of the verb. Basically, it is what or whom the verb is acting upon...
) usually precede the verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
, and are only used for emphasis: compare Naja nikita 'I see him/her/it' and Naja nechita 'He/she/it sees me' (naja 'I, me').
Within the noun phrase
Noun phrase
In grammar, a noun phrase, nominal phrase, or nominal group is a phrase based on a noun, pronoun, or other noun-like word optionally accompanied by modifiers such as adjectives....
, determiners and quantifiers precede the head
Head (linguistics)
In linguistics, the head is the word that determines the syntactic type of the phrase of which it is a member, or analogously the stem that determines the semantic category of a compound of which it is a component. The other elements modify the head....
. Adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
s may either precede or follow the head noun. Possessors
Possession (linguistics)
Possession, in the context of linguistics, is an asymmetric relationship between two constituents, the referent of one of which possesses the referent of the other ....
follow possessed, and relative clause
Relative clause
A relative clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun phrase, most commonly a noun. For example, the phrase "the man who wasn't there" contains the noun man, which is modified by the relative clause who wasn't there...
s follow their head. There are prepositional structures.
Head or dependent marking
| HEAD-marking constructions |
|---|
|
There is pro-drop for both subject and object (i.e. subject and object pronouns are omitted in unmarked
Markedness
Markedness is a specific kind of asymmetry relationship between elements of linguistic or conceptual structure. In a marked-unmarked relation, one term of an opposition is the broader, dominant one...
sentences). One or two argument
Verb argument
In linguistics, a verb argument is a phrase that appears in a syntactic relationship with the verb in a clause. In English, for example, the two most important arguments are the subject and the direct object....
s of the verb are indexed for person
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
and number
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
in the verb (one when intransitive, two when transitive
Transitive verb
In syntax, a transitive verb is a verb that requires both a direct subject and one or more objects. The term is used to contrast intransitive verbs, which do not have objects.-Examples:Some examples of sentences with transitive verbs:...
). A maximum of one object index is possible. If a transitive verb has both a patient
Patient (grammar)
In linguistics, a grammatical patient, also called the target or undergoer, is the participant of a situation upon whom an action is carried out. A patient as differentiated from a theme must undergo a change in state. A theme is denoted by a stative verb, where a patient is denoted by a dynamic...
('direct object' in English grammar) and a recipient ('indirect object'), it is the latter which is indexed as object of the Nawat verb, e.g. Nechmaka at 'He gives me water', where nech- indexes a first-person-singular object. There is no marking on the arguments to indicate the various semantic relations so far mentioned. This is a head-marking structure, meaning that relations between a head and dependent are marked on the head (here, the verb) and not on the dependent (here, the subject or object). This is also illustrated by the above examples Naja nikita 'I see him' vs. Naja nechita 'He sees me', where the 'case' of the pronoun naja is determined by the indexing on the verb.
Head-marking patterns are found in other parts of Nawat syntax too, so the language shows consistency for this typological feature
Linguistic typology
Linguistic typology is a subfield of linguistics that studies and classifies languages according to their structural features. Its aim is to describe and explain the common properties and the structural diversity of the world's languages...
. The canonical expression of possessive
Possession (linguistics)
Possession, in the context of linguistics, is an asymmetric relationship between two constituents, the referent of one of which possesses the referent of the other ....
or genitive relations is parallel: the head (i.e. the possessed) is marked with indices indicating the person of the dependent (the possessor), the noun phrase expressing which is either omitted normally if pronominal (a pro-drop phenomenon) or occurs as a noun phrase following the head and unmarked for the possessive relation, e.g. nu-nan 'my mother', i-nan 'his mother', i-nan ne kunet 'the child's mother'.
Argument valencyValency (linguistics)In linguistics, verb valency or valence refers to the number of arguments controlled by a verbal predicate. It is related, though not identical, to verb transitivity, which counts only object arguments of the verbal predicate...
restrictions
Another kind of typological consistency between verbal and nominal constructions is seen in the fact that just as verbs may be classified as intransitives, which do not require an object, and transitives, which require one, so some nouns in Nawat need not have a possessor while others must have one.Some nouns change their form depending on whether they have a possessor or not, alternating between absolute and construct states, such as absolute kunet, construct -kunew 'child'; this is reminiscent of how verbs may change their forms depending on their transitivity (i.e. whether they take an object or not), e.g. intransitive waki, transitive -watza 'dry', transitive miki 'die', transitive -miktia 'kill', etc. Once again, it is changes in the head that determine the nature of the grammatical relation between the head and its dependent(s).
AdpositionAdpositionPrepositions are a grammatically distinct class of words whose most central members characteristically express spatial relations or serve to mark various syntactic functions and semantic roles...
s
Other relations between a verb and its noun phrase complements or adjunctAdjunct
Adjunct may refer to:* Adjunct , words used as modifiers* Adjunct professor, a professor who does not hold a permanent position at a particular academic institution* Adjuncts, sources of sugar used in brewing...
s are expressed by means of a small number of prepositions or relational constructions. The relational construction itself, e.g. nu-wan 'with me', i-wan 'with him/her/it/', i-wan ne kunet 'with the child', is internally just like possessive constructions, with wan playing the same role as a construct noun.
Predication and sentence types
There is no general copula; instead, a nominal (or other non-verbal) predicatePredicate (grammar)
There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. Traditional grammar tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies. The other understanding of predicates is inspired from work in predicate calculus...
with no verbal component may be made a clause
Clause
In grammar, a clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition. In some languages it may be a pair or group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate, although in other languages in certain clauses the subject may not appear explicitly as a noun phrase,...
's grammatical nucleus. Some of these take subject indices just like verbal predicates, but tense can only be expressed periphrastically in such sentences.
Negation is achieved by placing a negative particle in front of the predicate. Yes-no question
Yes-no question
In linguistics, a yes–no question, formally known as a polar question, is a question whose expected answer is either "yes" or "no". Formally, they present an exclusive disjunction, a pair of alternatives of which only one is acceptable. In English, such questions can be formed in both positive...
s have no special grammatical marking, while wh-questions are identified by the presence of a question word, which usually precedes the verb (or other predicate).
Subordinate clauses are either introduced by a subordinator in clause-initial position or else are juxtaposed with no subordinating conjunction
Grammatical conjunction
In grammar, a conjunction is a part of speech that connects two words, sentences, phrases or clauses together. A discourse connective is a conjunction joining sentences. This definition may overlap with that of other parts of speech, so what constitutes a "conjunction" must be defined for each...
.