Editing Algonquian languages (section)

==Grammatical features==
The Algonquian language family is known for its complex [[Polysynthetic language|polysynthetic]] [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]] and sophisticated [[verb]] system.{{sfn|Pentland|2006|p=163}} Statements that take many words to say in [[English language|English]] can be expressed with a single word. Ex: ([[Menominee language|Menominee]]) ''paehtāwāēwesew'' "He is heard by higher powers" (''paeht''- 'hear', -''āwāē''- 'spirit', -''wese''- passivizer, -''w'' third-person subject) or ([[Plains Cree language|Plains Cree]]) ''kāstāhikoyahk'' "it frightens us".  These languages have been extensively studied by [[Leonard Bloomfield]], [[Ives Goddard]], and others.

Algonquian nouns have an [[Animacy|animate/inanimate]] contrast: some nouns are classed as ''animate'', while all other nouns are ''inanimate''.{{sfn|Pentland|2006|p=163}} There is ongoing debate over whether there is a semantic significance to the categorization of nouns as animate or inanimate, with scholars arguing for it as either a clearly [[Semantics|semantic]] issue, or a purely [[Syntax|syntactic]] issue, along with a variety of arguments in between. More structurally inclined linguistic scholars have argued that since there is no consistent semantic system for determining the [[animacy]] of a noun, that it must be a purely linguistic characterization. Anthropological linguists have conversely argued the strong connection between animacy and items viewed as having spiritual importance.

Another important distinction involves the contrast between nouns marked as ''proximate'' and those marked as ''[[obviative]]''. Proximate nouns are those deemed most central or important to the discourse, while obviative nouns are those less important to the discourse.{{sfn|Pentland|2006|p=164}}

There are personal pronouns which distinguish three persons, two numbers (singular and plural), [[Inclusive and exclusive we|inclusive and exclusive first person plural]], and proximate and obviative third persons. Verbs are divided into four classes: [[Transitive verb|transitive]] verbs with an animate object (abbreviated "TA"), transitive verbs with an inanimate object ("TI"), [[Intransitive verb|intransitive]] verbs with an animate subject ("AI"), and intransitive verbs with an inanimate subject ("II").{{sfn|Pentland|2006|p=164}}

A very notable feature of the Algonquian languages is their ''[[Direct–inverse alignment|direct-inverse]]'' (also known as ''hierarchical'') [[morphosyntactic alignment]], distinguishing between an unmarked voice where the subject outranks the object in a person hierarchy and a marked voice where the opposite relation obtains.<ref>See e.g. {{cite journal
|last=Klaiman
|first=M. H.
|year=1992
|title=Inverse languages
|volume=88
|issue=3–4
|pages=227–261
|url=http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/rvogel/ws0809/synmorph/klaiman93inverse.pdf
|journal=[[Lingua (journal)|Lingua]]
|doi=10.1016/0024-3841(92)90043-i
|access-date=2022-01-14
|archive-date=2022-01-14
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114002408/http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/rvogel/ws0809/synmorph/klaiman93inverse.pdf
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>