object + subject + verb;
the verb being understood to be the verbal theme only—not its tense and mode signs. Where either of the above arrangements occurs, we may consider it to be an indication of the incorporative tendency; but as mere position is insufficient evidence, incorporation may be present in other arrangements of the elements of the proposition.
As a fair example of polysynthesis in nouns, we may select the word for “cross” in the Cree. The Indians render it by “praying-stick” or “holy wood,” and their word for “our praying-sticks” (crosses) is:
N't'ayamihewâttikuminânak.
This is analyzed as follows:
n't', possessive pronoun, ½ person plural.
ayami, something relating to religion.
he, indicative termination of the foregoing.
w, a connective.
âttik, suffix indicating wooden or of wood.