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Linguistic typology
Morphological
Analytic
Isolating
Synthetic
Fusional
Agglutinative
Polysynthetic
Oligosynthetic
Morphosyntactic
Alignment
Nominative–accusative
Marked nominative
Ergative–absolutive
Split ergative
Symmetrical voice
Active–stative
Tripartite
Nominative–absolutive
Direct-inverse
Ditransitive/Monotransitive
Secundative
Indirective
Zero-marking
Dependent-marking
Double-marking
Head-marking
Null-subject
Syntactic pivot
Theta role
Word order
VO languages
Subject–verb–object
Verb–subject–object
Verb–object–subject
OV languages
Subject–object–verb
Object–subject–verb
Object–verb–subject
V1 word order
V2 word order
OS word order
Free word order
Time–manner–place
Place–manner–time
Lexicon
Color terms
Numerals
v
t
e
The syntactic pivot is the verb argument around which sentences "revolve" in a given language. This usually means the following:
If the verb has more than zero arguments, then one argument is the syntactic pivot.
If the verb agrees with at least one of its arguments, then it agrees with the syntactic pivot.
In coordinated propositions, in languages where an argument can be left out, the omitted argument is the syntactic pivot.
The first two characteristics have to do with simple morphosyntax, and from them, it is quite obvious the syntactic pivot in English (and most other European languages) is called the subject. An English verb cannot lack a subject (even in the imperative mood, the subject is implied to be "you" and is not ambiguous or unspecified) and cannot have just a direct object and no subject; and (at least in the present tense, and for the verb to be) it agrees partially with the subject.
The third point deserves an explanation. Consider the following sentence:
I shot the deer and killed it.
There are two coordinated propositions, and the second proposition lacks an explicit subject, but since the subject is the syntactic pivot, the second proposition is assumed to have the same subject as the first one. One cannot do so with a direct object (in English). The result would be ungrammatical or have a different meaning:
*I shot the deer and I killed.
The syntactic pivot is a feature of the morphosyntactic alignment of the language. In nominative–accusative languages, the syntactic pivot is the so-called "subject" (the argument marked with the nominative case). In ergative–absolutive languages, the syntactic pivot may be the argument marked with the absolutive case but not always so since ergative languages are often not "pure" and show a mixed behaviour (they can have ergative morphology and accusative syntax).
Languages with a passive voice construction may resort to it to allow the default syntactic pivot to shift its semantic role (from agent to patient) in a coordinated proposition:
The syntacticpivot is the verb argument around which sentences "revolve" in a given language. This usually means the following: If the verb has more...
compromised computer for attacks Syntacticpivot, the argument of the verb around which the sentence revolves Pivot language, an artificial or natural...
to use single inflectional morphemes to denote multiple grammatical, syntactic, or semantic features. For example, the Spanish verb comer ("to eat")...
synthesize many concepts into a single word, using affixes regularly. Syntactic roles are assigned to words primarily by word order. For example, by changing...
not limited to phonological typology, which deals with sound features; syntactic typology, which deals with word order and form; lexical typology, which...
Zero-marking Dependent-marking Double-marking Head-marking Null-subject Syntacticpivot Theta role Word order VO languages Subject–verb–object Verb–subject–object...
morpheme-to-word ratio. Rule-wise, a synthetic language is characterized by denoting syntactic relationship between the words via inflection and agglutination, dividing...
concept is that of an analytic language, which uses unbound morphemes or syntactical constructions to indicate grammatical relationships. Isolating and analytic...
but from the agreement of the verb with the subject as well as other syntactic and contextual cues such as word order and meaning[citation needed])....
polysynthetic languages is a tendency to use head marking as a means of syntactic cohesion. This means that many polysynthetic languages mark grammatical...
every gismu (basic word, not counting particles) involves pre-determined syntactical roles for every gismu coming after it in a clause, though it does involve...
Distinctions may be made morphologically (through case and agreement), syntactically (through word order), or both. The following notations will be used...
language would treat the "she" in "she runs" as morphologically and/or syntactically distinct from either argument in "he likes her". Which languages constitute...
formal device for representing syntactic argument structure—the number and type of noun phrases—required syntactically by a particular verb. For example...
linguistics, word order (also known as linear order) is the order of the syntactic constituents of a language. Word order typology studies it from a cross-linguistic...
manifests itself as a voice affix on the verb that corresponds to the syntactic role of a noun within the clause, that is either marked for a particular...
parameters. However, the Yuman language Havasupai is reported to have a purely syntactic case system, with a suffix -č marking all subjects of transitive and intransitive...
Dutch embedded clauses suggest an underlying SOV order with specific syntactic movement rules which change the underlying SOV order, deriving a surface...
for by Winarno.': 1 Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help); The syntacticpivot can be placed before the predicate, as shown: gaukan king no-gutu AV...
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