Re: deeply embedded VSO nightmare

From: "Matthew Pearson"

> This kind of operation is called 'Heavy-NP Shift', and many languages have
it, including English. In English, for example, direct objects are usually
immediately adjacent to the verb:

> However, if the direct object is especially 'heavy', it can shift to a
sentence-final position, as shown below.

I'm finding this in Géarthnuns. If any predicate gets too bogged down with
long relative clauses or participial phrases, the final verb (Géarthnuns is
SOV) gets booted up, and the copious clause follows. So:

Sí lé söi sasatsöit chí gdhalsív tel.
I-nom past a woman-acc the corner-loc see
I saw a woman on the corner.

Sí lé söi sasatsöit höi chí gdhalsív argnözélötöit tel.
I-nom past a woman-acc HÖI the corner-loc standing-acc see
I saw a woman standing on the corner.

Sí lé söi sasatsöit höi chí gdhalsív argnözélötöit zhö sí ovmalsít lökfalöt
thlanélötöit tel.
I-nom past a woman-acc HÖI the corner-loc standing-acc and a dress-acc
pink-acc wearing-acc see
I saw a woman in a pink dress standing on the corner.

But:

Sí lé chöi sasatsöit höi chí gdhalsív argnözélötöit tel, chöit
                                                                        ^^^
lé che véríthsek, gü söit lí sethet chí razhílsíb içte höiçíbrön sho,
ngamath.
I-nom past the woman-acc HÖI the corner-loc standing-acc see, who past the
wife-dat, THAT she-nom fut she-
      ^^^
acc the work-postpositonal after meet-discoursive SHO, tell
I saw the woman standing on the corner who told her wife that she would meet
her after work.

Kou

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