Re: V2 (plus Géarthnuns serendipity)

From: "Matt Pearson"

> >> So that Géarthnuns could be called SAOV, where A means "auxilliary"?
> >
> >Much as I'm tempted to call it an auxiliary and call it a day,
> I would be comfortable calling the "shléts" an "auxiliary" on the grounds
> that it marks tense/aspect/agreement type things, but is an independent
> element (rather than, say, an affix on the verb).  The notion of
"auxiliary"
> is not--or should not--be inextricably linked to verb-ness, IMO.
Okay, okay, it's an auxiliary. :)  Thanks to Nik, Dirk, and Matt for their
input.

> You might want to have a look at the Australian language Warlpiri (a.k.a.
> Walbiri), which is just like Géarthnuns in that tense/aspect/agr features
> are indicated by a particle (called an "auxiliary") which follows the
> first constituent of the clause--i.e., the V2 position.  This particle
> cliticises onto--i.e., forms a phonological unit with--the immediately
> preceding element, and hence cannot occur as an utterance on its own.
> The only real difference between Warlpiri and Géarthnuns in
> this respect is that in Warlpiri the order of the verb and its arguments
> is quite free (although SOV predominates), whereas in Géarthnuns the
> position of the verb is more strict.
Too kewl.

> Other languages with short, clitic-like, V2 auxiliaries include some of
> the South Slavic languages of the Balkans, among them Serbo-Croatian.
Perhaps that could be something the speakers picked up during their eastward
schlep across Europe and Asia before they settled.

Kou