CHAPTER 7
SYNTACTIC AND MORPHOSYNTACTIC VARIATION

7-1 Introduction

Morphosyntactic structures are morphemes belonging
to neither the noun nor verb systems but operating at both
the morphological and syntactic levels. They are (1)
particles, and (2) syntactic suffixes. Particles are
roots that take neither noun nor verb suffixes, although
they may take syntactic suffixes. Syntactic suffixes,
which occur on nouns, verbs, and particles, are subdivided
into nonfinal (independent) and final (sentence) suffixes.
Nonfinal suffixes occur on nouns, verbs, and particles
before final suffixes. On nouns nonfinal suffixes occur
after noun suffixes; on verbs they separate derivation
from inflection. Final suffixes occur after all other
suffixes, marking phrase and sentence boundaries. They
define sentence types, conveying attenuation, absolute-
ness, vouching for information, repetition of information
known to the hearer, disclaiming of knowledge, and con-
tingency; they mark yes/no questions, alternate questions,

and information questions; they list in a series, link

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