Hand-book of Volapük/28

by Charles E. Sprague

ORDER OF WORDS

The exercises have given an idea of the usual order in which the words in a sentence are placed. Except that the adjectiv follows, instead of preceding the word which it qualifies, this order is about the same as in English.

The general principle is that the word which limits or describes follows that which is limited or described, or, to use Prof. Kerckhoffs' expression, the determinant follows the determined.

The predicate or verb follows the subject or kimfal.

The object or kimifal follows the verb, and the kimefal, being a more remote object, is placed still later.

The kimafal or possessiv follows the thing possessed. In English the possessor comes first if it is exprest by the possessiv case, but if exprest by of it comes after.

The adverb follows the verb which it modifies, but if it modifies an adjectiv then the adverb precedes the adjectiv. This is an apparent exception to the general rule of position; the adverb may, however, be considered as forming a compound word with the adjectiv ; the rule being, in compound words, the opposit to the rule of position, viz., that the determinant precedes the determined.

The negativ adverb no precedes the word which it denies, on the same principle.

Although the regular order of words in a sentence is that just explained, yet it is not rigorously fixed. For the sake of emphasis or special effect words may be transposed, provided the sense be not obscured. The terminations often enable such transposition to take place without confusion.

Thus, "the man loves the woman," may be expressed in several ways :

1. Man löfom vomi. 2. Vomi löfom man. 3. Löfom man vomi. 4. Vomi man löfom. 5. Man vomi löfom.

We give these forms because they may occasionally be met with in reading; we recommend, however, that the regular form, No. 1, be habitually used.

Form No. 5, where the kimifal precedes the verb, is one which German writers of Volapük are fond of using in subordinate sentences, following the order of their own language. For example, they will say

,,If man vomi löfom,"

although without the ,,if" they would follow the natural order ,,man löfom vomi." This is a German idiom and has nothing to recommend it in Volapük.

lf we examin the English sentence "the man loves the woman" we see that no transposition can take place without destroying the sense, because we can only distinguish the subiect from the object by position. If we had a different ending for the objectiv, like the kimifal, then we might transpose.