Task:
Work out what the three unattested (= non-occurring) phrase orders are and state the generalization about possible phrase orders in Makhuwa.
In order to do this, you will need to look at what the three attested orders and then the three unattested orders have in common. Why might a language have such a restriction, do you think?
Unattested word orders:
Embedded clause-Subject-Verb Subject-embedded clause-Verb Embedded clause-Verb-Subject
Verb<the embedded clause
Verb often has strict subcategorization and selectional requirements in relation to the embedded clause
2. Tongan
Examine the data in (1) to (6) of this exercise and determine what case system is found in Tongan, either nominative/ accusative alignment (S = A ≠ O) or ergative/absolutive alignment (S = O ≠ A).
Make clear exactly what the evidence is for your conclusion.
Describe precisely how case is represented in Tongan: cite the correct terms for the cases.
In this exercise, all the case markers are indicated with the same gloss, case . Of course, they are not all the same, and different markers have different roles in the clause. You will need to work out for yourself which is which, by figuring out the role of each marker! (The character that looks like a quotation mark is a letter of the alphabet in Tongan, and represents a specific consonant, a glottal stop. It has no relevance to the answer here.)
Ergative/absolutive alignment(S=O≠A)
ABS marker=’a ERG marker =’e
