Universal #356

Legacy number: 356

 Number  355
 Original  In the languages where the verb agrees with subject and object, if there are forms like o-V-s, and there are no forms like s-V-o, then in this language the dominant word order is the order with the final position of the predicate (SOV).
 Standardized  Whenever there is verb agreement with subject and object, IF the orderings of agreement markers on verbs include o-V-s but not s-V-o, THEN basic word order is SOV.
 Formula  (o-V-s) & ¬(s-V-o) ⇒ dominant order is SOV
 Keywords  order, SOV, verb agreement, subject, object, affix-order
 Domain  inflection, syntax
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  languages surveyed in Kozinsky 1981
 Source  Kozinsky 1981

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Discussion
Counterexamples
Tonkawa (Coahuiltecan)(Kozinsky 1981)
Notes
The s-V-o and o-V-s orderings have an opposite influence on word order (##355, 356). In 16 languages where these orderings coexist, the distribution of word orders is middle-statistical (Kozinsky 1981).[Is "middle-statistical" = "random"? ]
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
The s-V-o and o-V-s orderings have an opposite influence on word order (<a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=355"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">, <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=356"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">). In 16 languages where these orderings coexist, the distribution of word orders is middle-statistical (Kozinsky 1981).

[Is "middle-statistical" = "random"? ]