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Universal 1336:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 1336:

Original
Universal Hierarchy of Markedness of basic word orders:
SOV < SVO < OVS < VOS < VSO < OSV
Standardized
Universal Hierarchy of Markedness of basic word orders:
SOV < SVO < OVS < VOS < VSO < OSV
Keywords
order, hierarchy, markedness, SOV, SVO, OVS, VOS, VSO, OSV
Domain
syntax
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute
Basis
languages mentioned in Moreno 1987
Source
Moreno 1987: 186
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    1. According to Moreno, VSO does not do so well because it violates contiguity of functionally related categories, viz. V and O. However, the principle of S-before-O may ultimately rank it above contiguous OVS and VOS. 2. For possible variants, apart from mentioning the examples of Warao (Paezan) (basic: OSV, variant: SOV), Hixkaryana (Ge-Pano-Carib) (basic: OVS, variant: SOV), and Irish (Celtic, Indo-European) (basic: VSO, variant: SVO), Moreno seems to rely on Dezsö (1970: 53), who gives these correspondences (see #1339):Basic: OSV – Variants: SOV;Basic: OVS – Variants: SOV, SVO;Basic: VSO – Variants: SVO, VOS;Basic: VOS – Variants: SOV, SVO;3. See more recent work on word order flexibility, including these collections: Payne (ed.) 1992, Downing & Noonan (eds.) 1995, Siewierska (ed.) 1998.

    1. May 2020

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