2.3. Word order

Word order refers to the sequence in which the main constituents in a clause are articulated. The main constituents are the verb and its arguments [Syntax - 2.1.], although the position of the adverbials and other adjuncts in a sentence is also relevant.

The concept of word order applies only to cases where the subject, object, verb, and other constituents are articulated sequentially. Sometimes two constituents may be articulated simultaneously, e.g. a verb and its subject or a verb and an adverb. In these cases, the concept of word order is not relevant. Further, various categories, such as negation, can be expressed non-manually, which gives rise to simultaneous articulation. Again, this is not part of word order. For these reasons, the examples below only show the signs that are ordered one after the other in a sentence without taking note of any form of simultaneous expression, be it manual or non-manual.