SecondPosition Clitics and Subordinate Clauses in Pashto

Pashto () is an IndoIranian language spoken primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Among its most interesting syntactic properties are secondposition clitics (often called Wackernagelposition clitics) and the way these clitics interact with subordinate clauses. This page presents an overview of the phenomenon, the type of clitics involved, their distribution, and the implications for clauseinternal hierarchy.

1. What are secondposition clitics?

Secondposition clitics are prosodically weak elements that consistently attach to the first phonological phrase (or prosodic word) that follows the clauses left edge, regardless of the lexical category of the intervening material. In Pashto they are normally clitic pronouns (object pronouns, dative clitics) and some discourse particles.

Typical Pashto clitics

• Directobject pronoun clitics: / (3rd person), // (1st/2nd sg.)
• Dative/instrumental clitics: //
• Discourse particles: again, also, (focus marker)

These clitics cannot appear in the preverbal field; instead they obligatorily occupy the second position after any initial adverbial, topicalized phrase, or even after a full NP that functions as a clauseinitial element.

2. The syntax of secondposition attachment

2.1 Basic clause pattern

Pashto is a SubjectObjectVerb (SOV) language, but the preverbal slot can host a range of constituents:

If a discourse adverb precedes the clause, the clitic must follow it:

2.2 Interaction with topicalisation

Topicalised NPs can appear clauseinitially. The clitic still follows the topicalised phrase:

Note that the clitic is phonologically attached to the first word (), producing a single phonological unit, yet syntactically it is understood as the object pronoun of the verb .

3. Subordinate clauses in Pashto

Pashto has several types of subordinate clauses: relative clauses, complement clauses (thatclauses), purpose clauses, and conditional clauses. Their internal word order is also SOV, but the position of the secondposition clitic obeys the same rule as in main clauses: it follows the leftmost element of the subordinate clause.

3.1 Relative clauses

Here the relative pronoun introduces the clause. The clitic - attaches to the first noun () that follows the pronoun.

3.2 Complement (that) clauses

In complement clauses the clitic can attach to the verb itself or to a preceding noun, depending on what the clause initially presents.

3.3 Purpose and conditional clauses

The conditional marker occupies the clauseinitial position; the clitic follows the first lexical item that follows it.

4. Why a secondposition rule?

Two complementary explanations have been proposed.

4.1 Prosodic account

Wackernagels original observation was that clitics attach to the left edge of the prosodic phrase that follows the clauseinitial pause. In Pashto, the clauseinitial pause can be created by adverbs, topics, or complementizers. The clitic then forms a single phonological word with whatever follows.

4.2 Syntacticinformationstructure account

From a syntactic perspective, the clitic is considered part of the focus projection. The clauseinitial element is often a topic or a discourse marker, and the clitic marks the new information that follows. This explains why it never precedes the topicalised material.

5. Interaction with multiple clitics

Pashto can host more than one clitic in the same clause, forming a fixed order:

The placement of the whole clitic cluster is still after the first preverbal element.

6. Comparative note

Secondposition clitics are not unique to Pashto. They appear in other Iranian languages (e.g., Kurdish, Persian) and in certain Balkan languages (e.g., Albanian). However, Pashtos strict SOV order and its rich set of object clitics make the phenomenon especially transparent for learners.

7. Summary

• Secondposition clitics in Pashto are obligatorily placed after the first preverbal constituent, whatever that constituent may be.
• The rule applies uniformly to main clauses and to subordinate clauses (relative, complement, purpose, conditional).
• Both prosodic and informationstructure explanations account for the distribution.
• Complex clitic clusters respect the same secondposition boundary.

Understanding this alignment helps explain many seemingly irregular word orders in Pashto and provides insight into the interface between syntax, morphology, and phonology in the language.

Further reading:

• Jamil, A. (2014). Cliticization in Pashto: A SyntacticProsodic Approach. Kabul University Press.
• Mahmood, S. (2019). SecondPosition Clitics and Information Structure in Eastern Pashto. Journal of Iranian Linguistics 31(2): 145170.
• Wackernagel, H. (1908). Zur Phonologie des Altgriechischen. Leipzig: Teubner.