10.1 - The first position
In Anawanda, the first slot of a clause is very special, in that only certain constituents are allowed to occurr there. When none such constituent is available, one is supplied, often with no real semantic function.
The first position is always filled by either the topicalised (see Paragraph 10.3) element, if any, or by a clausal conjunction (see Paragraph 8.3). In default, one of the auxiliary verbs is used, whose only role is to host the chain of cross-referencing clitics. The usage of clausal conjunctions is widespread in any register and style of the language, though.
It is possible, although rare, to have minimal clauses with no clitics. Such clauses are allowed to drop the first position altogether. But, if one or more clitics are present, the first slot cannot be empty.
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