Balancing and Deranking - Subordination Deranking Hierarchy

Subordination Deranking Hierarchy

Languages that use deranking for their subordinate-clause verb forms do so according to a definite pattern.

There are relatively few languages that use deranked verb forms for all subordinate clauses (examples are found amongst the Tungusic and Salishan languages) but most languages with significant verb inflection use deranking for at least some of their subordinate clauses. Exceptions can be found only amongst certain rigidly head-marking languages such as Ainu and Lakhota. Languages with deranking far down (rightward) on the hierarchy are most typically those with extensive nominal case systems. This is because in their presence information expressed by person marking on the verb is already expressed on nouns. If relations of core noun phrases are marked only on the verb, it is less uneconomic to express them in a dependent clause.

The distribution of balancing and deranking in languages that do not belong to one of the two polar types briefly discussed in the previous page follows a definite hierarchy. If balancing is used at any point, it is used for all points below it on the following list ("to the right" in traditional wording of the deranking hierarchy) Relevant clauses for each example are italicised.

1. Modals and phasals (e.g. "I begin to run")
2. Purpose clauses (e.g. "I went into the phone booth in order to ring up my friend")
3. Desideratives (e.g. "I want to write a letter") and manipulatives (e.g. "I made John fight")
4. Perception (e.g. "I see the bus passing")
5. "Before"
6. "When" and "after", plus nominative or absolutive relativisation.
7. Reason (e.g. "I cannot leave him alone, because he's gone mad") and reality condition (e.g. "If capitalism did not cause the Great Depression, government was responsible"), plus accusative or ergative relativisation.
8. Knowledge (e.g. "I know that the weather will be very hot") and propositional attitude (e.g. "I think that we should stay at home today"), plus oblique and indirect object relativisation.
9. Utterance (e.g. "He said that he was tired").