Alt-Veyata syntax

Sentence typological profile

• Alt-Veyata is syntactically a real transitional stage.
• Conservative speech prefers SOV or generally later verb patterns.
• SVO is already clearly established in national Koine and commercial language.
• Non-verbal predicates often remain copulaless in the unmarked present tense.
• Marked predication with tense, negation or irrealis uses fera as a supporting verb.

Main clause

Basic pattern

• Conservative: Subjekt - Objekt - Verb
• Code: Subjekt - Verb - Objekt

Examples:

• Nu sei pethan nava. = I give food to the person.
• Nu nava sei pethan. = I give food to the person.
• Ara thalor zeya. = The council is new.

Verbal complex

• Particles close to the verb are to the left of the main verb, the future to the right:
• Nu no veyra.
• Nu sai veyra.
• Nu hana veyrana.
• Nu kei veyra.
• Nu veyra ra.

Noun phrase

Basic structure

• Pattern: (Determiner) + Nomen + Adjektiv + (Genitivphrase) + (Relativsatz)
• The default position of the adjective is after the noun.

Examples:

• ara thalor zeya
• ena kevara zorin
• nu=ren drun torim
• ara nor ya se=ren thalor zeya draz

Genitive and possession

• Genitive and possessive phrases typically appear before the head:
• nu=ren naar
• se=ren thalor
• nor=ren kevara

Oblique usage

• The Oblique marks targets, receivers and some older locative fields:
• veruni = to/in the port
• thalori = the council
• sei = the person, to the person

Non-verbal predication

• Present nominal and adjective predicates are regularly without a copula:
• ara thalor draz
• ara kevara zorin
• nu=ren drun torim
• As soon as the predication is marked, fera occurs:
• ara toren no fera torim
• ara thalor ferana zeya
• ara kevara kei fera zorin

Negation

• no is on the left edge of the verbal complex.
• It negates predicates, not just individual words.

Examples:

• Nu no veyra.
• Nu no sai veyra.
• Ara toren no fera torim.

Interrogative sentences

Polar questions

• The most common Koine form uses sentence final ka:
• Se seyra ka?
• Nu tala ka?
• Ara toren torim ka?
• Conservative speech may favor intonation without particles, especially in ritual dialogues.

Content questions

Examples:

• Sher veyra?
• Shel nu kera?
• Shem se tura?
• Shemi pethan nu kera?

Coordination

Examples:

• Nu veyra va se sova.
• Nu veyra dar se no sova.

Subordinate clauses

Connectors

Trends

• Conservative styles have more frequent verb delay in the subordinate clause.
• Koineforms already allow the same order as in the main clause, as long as readability remains high.
• This means that Old Veyata is syntactically freer than Veyrathi and less tightly clamped than Veythar.

Examples:

• Nu veyra dei se tala. = I say that the person is leaving.
• Dun se no veyra, nu kei sherra. = If the person doesn't speak, I would ask.
• Nu veyra vath se no sova. = I speak because the person is not listening.
• Nu veyra para se myra. = I speak so that the person knows.
• Mira se tala, nu sai veyra. = While the person is walking, I am speaking.
• Tora se no sova, nu veyra. = Although the person does not hear, I speak.

Relative clauses

• The marker ya is on the left edge of the relative clause.
• The relative clause follows the reference noun.
• Old Veyata is even freer than the later standard languages; both compact and more detailed relative joins are possible.

Examples:

• ara nor ya se=ren thalor zeya draz
• ara kevara ya nu wera zorin

Stylistic drift

• SOV appears older, denser, more solemn or close to the law.
• SVO appears koine-like, supra-regional and pre-standard.
• This double possibility is one of the most important points at which the later split is preparing:
• Veyrathi makes SVO the norm.
• Veytharisch turns the old mobility into a verb second/verb final system.