klitik

Klitik, also known as clitic, refers to a grammatical unit that is phonologically light and relies on a host word for its pronunciation and syntactic interpretation. A klitik is typically not a free word; it cannot usually stand alone as a main element of a clause and instead attaches to another word within the sentence. Clitics are often unstressed and behave more like bound morphemes or particles than independent words.

Klitik can be classified by its position relative to the host. Proclitics attach to the preceding word, while enclitics attach to the following word. Some languages allow clitics to cluster around a phrase or to move within a clause, creating constraints on where they can appear. Prosody, syntax, and information structure commonly influence their placement. This edge-sensitive behavior distinguishes clitics from full affixes and from independent words.

Common functions of klitik include pronouns, conjunctions, articles, mood or aspect markers, and discourse particles. They frequently convey grammatical relations or pragmatic meaning without adding full lexical content. Cross-linguistically, clitics appear in many language families, including Romance, Slavic, and Austronesian languages, and their exact behavior varies by language.

In linguistic analysis, klitik occupy an intermediate space between words and affixes. They are syntactically bound to a host but retain a degree of autonomy in their use and interpretation. Studying clitics involves syntax, phonology, and prosody, as researchers describe how placement, stress, and morphosyntactic agreements interact across languages.