adverbs, such as always, are usually placed after the direct object in Kalenjin. Finally, Kalenjin is unusual among verb-initial languages, in expressing possession with a transitive verb HAVE. Other verb-initial languages of the Nilotic language family, such as Maasai, also express possession with the use of a transitive verb HAVE. Case Kalenjin is a marked nominative language: nominative case is the only case that is marked in the language, while all other cases (accusative, genitive, dative etc.) are left unmarked. Nominative case is marked through tone only. Negation Negation is expressed with the prefix ma-/maa-, which attaches to the verb. It precedes the subject agreement prefix, but it follows the tense prefixes. Topicalization There are two strategies for topicalization in the language, according to Creider (1989). In the unmarked case, a topicalized subject appears at the end of the sentence, retaining its nominative case marking. In the marked case, the topicalized element appears at the beginning of the sentence and is followed by the topic marker kò. In this case, if the topicalized element is a subject, it loses its nominative case. Interrogative sentences Yes-no questions are formed by attaching the question particle –í to the last word of a sentence. There are three ways of forming wh-questions in Kalenjin. In the first one, the wh-word remains in situ (and retains any case marking it has). In the second one, the wh-word appears in topic position (it is followed by the topic marker kó and it loses its nominative case marking if it is a subject). The third strategy is only possible with predicative sentences, in which case the predicate appears in topic position, with the wh-word remaining in situ. The three strategies for a predicative sentence are illustrated in (7-9) below for Nandi (Creider 1989: 143). The Lord's Prayer in Kalenjin References Creider, Chet A., and Jane Tapsubei Creider. 1989. A Grammar of Nandi. Hollis, Alfred Claud. 1909. Nandi: Their Language and FolkLore. Negro Universities Press. Jerono, Prisca. 2012. Tugen Word Order. A Minimalist Program. Unpublished PhD. Dissertation: University of Nairobi. Rottland, Franz. 1982. Die Südnilotischen Sprachen: Beschreibung, Vergelichung und Rekonstruktion (Kölner Beiträge zur Afrikanistik vol. 7). Berlin: Dietrich Reimer. Toweett, Taaitta. 1979. A Study of Kalenjin linguistics. Kenya Literature Bureau. External links Kalenjin–English Dictionary Kalenjin Word of the Day A Kalenjin website PanAfrican L10n page on Kalenjin Languages of Kenya Kalenjin languages Verb–subject–object languages