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| Linguistic typology |
|---|
| Morphological |
| Morphosyntactic |
| Word order |
| Lexicon |
Inlinguistic typology, asubject–object–verb (SOV) language is one in which thesubject,object, andverb of a sentence always or usually appear in that order. IfEnglish were SOV, "Sam apples ate" would be an ordinary sentence, as opposed to the actualStandard English "Sam ate apples" which issubject–verb–object (SVO).
The term is often loosely used forergative languages likeAdyghe andBasque that in fact haveagents instead of subjects.
Amongnatural languages with a word order preference, SOV is the most common type (followed bysubject–verb–object; the two types account for more than 87% of natural languages with a preferred order).[3]
Languages that have SOV structure include:
Other languages allow for an SOV structure under certain conditions:
A rare example of SOV word order in English is "I (subject) thee (object) wed (verb)" in the wedding vow "With this ring, I thee wed."[4]
SOV languages have a strong tendency to usepostpositions rather thanprepositions, to placeauxiliary verbs after the action verb, to placegenitive noun phrases before the possessed noun, to place a name before a title orhonorific ("James Uncle" and "Johnson Doctor" rather than "Uncle James" and "Doctor Johnson") and to have subordinators appear at the end of subordinate clauses. They have a weaker but significant tendency to placedemonstrative adjectives before the nouns they modify.Relative clauses preceding the nouns to which they refer usually signals SOV word order, but the reverse does not hold: SOV languages feature prenominal and postnominal relative clauses roughly equally. SOV languages also seem to exhibit a tendency towards using atime–manner–place ordering ofadpositional phrases.
In linguistic typology, one can usefully distinguish two types of SOV languages in terms of their type of marking:
In practice, of course, the distinction between these two types is far from sharp. Many SOV languages are substantiallydouble-marking and tend to exhibit properties intermediate between the two idealised types above.
Many languages that have shifted to SVO word order from earlier SOV retain (at least to an extent) the properties; for example, theFinnish language, which retains a high usage of postpositions.
SOV word order is generally found in the Afroasiatic branches of theEthiopian language area (Cushitic,Omotic, and contemporaryEthio-Semitic).
Anu
I
Subject
makiina
car
Object
Anu makiina liyo
I car have-1SG.IND
Subject Object Verb
I have a car.
ተስፋዬ
Täsəfayē
Tesfaye
Subject
በሩን
bärun
the door
Object
ዘጋው
zägaw
closed
Verb
ተስፋዬ በሩን ዘጋው
Täsəfayē bärun zägaw
Tesfaye {the door} closed
Subject Object Verb
Tesfaye closed the door.
Ayyantu
Ayantu
Subject
buna
coffee
Object
dhugti
drinks
Verb
Ayyantu buna dhugti
Ayantu coffee drinks
Subject Object Verb
Ayantu drinks coffee.
Somali generally uses the subject–object–verb structure when speaking formally.
Anaa
I
Subject
furay
opened
Verb
Anaa albaab-ka furay
I door-DEF opened
Subject Object Verb
I opened the door
ህቱ
Htu
He
Subject
እግል ልሽቀ
ʾəgl ləšqä
to work
Object
ህቱ {እግል ልሽቀ} መጽኣ
Htu {ʾəgl ləšqä} mäṣʾa.
He {to work} PST-come-3SG
Subject Object Verb
He came to work.
ዳኒኤል
Daniʼēl
Daniel
Subject
ኩዑሶ
kuʻuso
ball
Object
ቀሊዑ
qäliʻu
he kicked
Verb
ዳኒኤል ኩዑሶ ቀሊዑ
Daniʼēl kuʻuso qäliʻu
Daniel ball {he kicked}
Subject Object Verb
Daniel kicked the ball.
Táání
I
Subject
Táání miishsh-áa (7e)kk-áas
I money-ABS.M.SG take-PFV.1SG
Subject Object Verb
I made money.
The following example is fromHokkaido Ainu.
Matkaci
girl
Subject
cep
fish
Object
hok
buy
Verb
Matkaci cep hok
girl fish buy
Subject Object Verb
The girl buys fish.
Many Austroasiatic languages inSouth Asia exhibit SOV word order typical to the region.
iɲ
I
Subject
uni
he
Object
iɲ dɔ uni ɲɛl-ke-d-e-a-ɲ
I TOP he see-ACT.AOR-TR-3SG.OBJ-IND-1SG.SUBJ
Subject Particle Object Verb
I saw him.
Dobro
Dobro
Subject
tʃiʈi
letter
Object
Dobro Soba-ke tʃiʈi kul-e-i-ten-e
Dobro Soba-OBL letter send-ACT.APPL.IPFV-3SG.OBJ-PROG-IND
Subject Recipient Object Verb
Dobro is sending a letter to Soba.
Basque in short sentences, usually, subject or agent–object–verb; in long sentences, usually, subject or agent-verb-objects:
sagarra
the apple
Object
ekarri
brought (to bring)
Verb
Enekok sagarra ekarri du
{Eneko (+ERG)} {the apple} {brought (to bring)} {AUX has}
Agent ObjectVerb {}
Eneko has brought the apple
eskatu
asked for
Agent
+ + +
+ + +
Objects
Eneritzek eskatu du {+ + +}
{Eneritz (+ERG)} {asked for} {AUX has} {+ + +}
Parts AgentVerb Objects
Eneritz requested the book nobody wanted to read
Anyway, both in spoken and written Basque, the pure SOV sentence (Eneritzek inork irakurri nahi ez zuen liburua eskatu du) is perfectly valid, just as the OVS order (Inork irakurri nahi ez zuen liburua eskatu du Eneritzek). In questions, fronting the verb in a VSO sentence is also correct (Eskatu (al) du Eneritzek inork irakurri nahi ez zuen liburua?), together with the usual SOV order (Eneritzek inork irakurri nahi ez zuen liburua eskatu (al) du?) or the SVO one (Eneritzek eskatu (al) du inork irakurri nahi ez zuen liburua?).
The Dravidian languages commonly exhibit or prefer SOV order.
ನಾನು
Naanu
I
Subject
ಮನೆ
mane
the house
Object
ಕಟ್ಟಿದೆನು
kaTTidenu
built
Verb
ನಾನು ಮನೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿದೆನು
Naanu mane kaTTidenu
I {the house} built
Subject Object Verb
I built the house.
ഞാൻ
ñān
I
Subject
പുസ്തകം
pustakam̥
(the) book
Object
എടുത്തു
eṭuttu
took
Verb
ഞാൻ പുസ്തകം എ എടുത്തു
ñān pustakam̥ (-e) eṭuttu
I {(the) book} ACC took
Subject Object {} Verb
I took the book.
Tamil being a strongly head-final language, the basic word-order is SOV. However, since it is highly inflected, word order is flexible and is used for pragmatic purposes. That is, fronting a word in a sentence adds emphasis on it; for instance, a VSO order would indicate greater emphasis on the verb, the action, than on the subject or the object. However, such word-orders are highly marked, and the basic order remains SOV.
நான் பெட்டியைத் திறப்பேன்.
Nān peṭṭi-yai tiṟa-pp-ēn.
I-NOM box-ACC open-FUT-1SG
Subject Object Verb
I will open the box.
నేను ఇంటికి వెళ్తున్నాను
Nēnu iṇṭi-ki veḷ-tunnā-nu
{I-NOM} {home-DAT} {go-PRES-1SG}
Subject Object Verb
I am going home.
The Georgian language is not extremely rigid with regards to word order, but is typically either SOV or SVO.
მე
me
I
Subject
ლექსი
leksi
poem
Object
დავწერე.
davc'ere
[I]wrote
Verb
მე ლექსი დავწერე.
me leksi davc'ere
I poem {[I]wrote}
Subject Object Verb
I wrote (a) poem.
The default word order for simple clauses inGreenlandic is SOV.
Niviarsiaq qaqqaq-mut majuaq-Vuq
{girl-ABS.SG} {mountain-ALL.SG} {ascend-IND.3SG}
Subject Object Verb
The/a girl climbed the/a mountain.
SOV word order is quite common amongIndo-European languages, leading to a common hypothesis that this reflects the original preferred word order of the ancestralProto-Indo-European language. However, the question remains unsettled.
Albanian has free word order, but generally prefers SVO. SOV occurs only in poetic language.
Agimi
Agimi
Subject
librin
the book
Object
e mori
took
Verb
Agimi librin {e mori}
Agimi {the book} took
Subject Object Verb
Agimi took the book. (It was Agimi who took the book)
Armenian generally prefers SOV.
Իմ
Im
my
անունը
anunə
name
Subject
Շուշանիկ
Šušanik
Shushanik
Object
է
ē
is
Verb
Իմ անունը Շուշանիկ է
Im anunə Šušanik ē
my name Shushanik is
{} Subject Object Verb
My name is Shushanik.
Linguistic consensus holds that theProto-Germanic language had free word order but preferred SOV. While some Germanic languages (includingEnglish and mostNorth Germanic languages) have transitioned to SVO, SOV remains a feature of some major modernGermanic languages, includingGerman andDutch. However, these modern SOV Germanic languages also exhibitV2 word order, which supersedes the "default" SOV such that many sentences are rendered subject-verb-object.
Dutch is SOV combined withV2 word order. The non-finite verb (infinitive or participle) remains in final position, but the finite (i.e. inflected) verb is moved to the second position. Simple verbs look likeSVO, non-finite verbs (participles, infinitives) and compound verbs follow this pattern:
Ik
I
subject
je
you
object
Ik wil je helpen
I {want to} you help
subject FIN.verb object NFIN.verb
I want to help you.
Pure SOV order is found in subordinate clauses:
Ik
I
subject
ik
I
subject
je
you
object
Ik zei dat ik je wil helpen
I said that I you want {to help}
subject FIN.verb SUBORD.CONJ subject object FIN.verb NFIN.verb
I said that I want to help you.
German is SOV combined withV2 word order. The non-finite verb (infinitive or participle) remains in final position, but the finite (i.e. inflected) verb is moved to the second position. Simple verbs look likeSVO, compound verbs follow this pattern:
Er
He
Subject
hat
has
Auxiliary
einen
an
Apfel
apple
Object
gegessen.
eaten.
Verb
Er hat einen Apfel gegessen.
He has an apple eaten.
Subject Auxiliary {} Object Verb
He has eaten an apple.
The word order changes also depending on whether the phrase is amain clause or adependent clause. In dependent clauses, the word order is always entirely SOV (cf. alsoInversion):
Weil
Because
Conjunction
Horst
Horst
Subject
einen
an
Apfel
apple
Object
gegessen
eaten
Verb
hat.
has.
Auxiliary
Weil Horst einen Apfel gegessen hat.
Because Horst an apple eaten has.
Conjunction Subject {} Object Verb Auxiliary
Because Horst has eaten an apple.
TheGothic language, an extinctEast Germanic language, had free word order, but SOV constructions were common.
𐌲𐌿𐌼𐌰
Guma
man
Subject
𐌵𐌹𐌽𐍉𐌽
qinon
woman
Object
𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌸.
frijoþ.
loves.
Verb
𐌲𐌿𐌼𐌰 𐌵𐌹𐌽𐍉𐌽 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌸.
Guma qinon frijoþ.
man woman loves.
Subject Object Verb
The man loves the woman.
Ancient Greek had free word order but generally preferred SOV sentences:
ὁ
ho
The
ανήρ
anḗr
man
Subject
τὸν
tòn
the
παĩδα
paîda
child
Object
φιλεῖ.
phileî
loves.
Verb
ὁ ανήρ τὸν παĩδα φιλεῖ.
ho anḗr tòn paîda phileî
The man the child loves.
{} Subject {} Object Verb
The man loves the child.
This is distinct fromModern Greek, where SVO is preferred.
Vedic Sanskrit, the oldest known of theIndo-Aryan languages, was an inflected language and very flexible in word order, allowing all possible word combinations. Its descendant, ClassicalSanskrit, shared this feature but generally preferred SOV sentences.
तत्त्
tát
that
Subject
(त्)वम
t(ú)vam
you
Object
सि
ási
are
Verb
तत्त् (त्)वम सि
tát t(ú)vam ási
that you are
Subject Object Verb
That you are.
Most later Indo-Aryan languages continue to prefer SOV word order, for example:
আমি ভাত খাই
ami bʰat kʰai
ami bhat khai
I.SUBJ rice.OBJ eat.PRES
Subject Object Verb
I eat rice.
Moi
I
Subject
hugre'm
guava
kha
eat
Moi hugre'm re' kha sei.
I guava ACC eat PAST.IND
Subject {} Object {} Verb
I ate the guava.
re is a particle that indicates the accusative case and 'sei' indicates past tense declarative. Here,e is pronounced as the 'i' in 'girl' and 'ei' is pronounced as the 'ay' in 'say'.
मैं
main
I
Subject
सेब
seb
apple
Object
मैं सेब {खाता हूँ}
main seb {khaataa hun}
I apple eat.PRES.M
Subject Object Verb
I eat apples.
तो
Tō
he
Subject
बियाणे
biyāṇē
seeds
Object
पेरतो
pēratō
sows
Verb
तो बियाणे पेरतो
Tō biyāṇē pēratō
he seeds sows
Subject Object Verb
He sows seeds.
म
ma
I
Subject
किताब
kitāb
book
Object
म किताब पढ्छु
ma kitāb paḍhchhu
I book read.PRES
Subject Object Verb
I read a book.
Odia:
ମୁଁ
mun
I
Subject
ଏକ
eka
an
ସେଓ
seo
apple
Object
ମୁଁ ଏକ ସେଓ {ଖାଏ}
mun eka seo {khaae}
I an apple eat.PRES.M
Subject {} Object Verb
I eat an apple.
Urdu:
میں
main
I
Subject
اسے
use
him/her
Object
دیکھا
dekha
saw
Verb
میںنےاسےدیکھا
main ne use dekha
I ERG him/her saw
Subject {} Object Verb
I saw him/her.
This preference is not fixed in all Indo-Aryan languages. Punjabi, for instance, may be characterised as following a Subject—Object—Verb typology overall, but some flexibility is permitted, and this tendency does not follow in sentences involving personal pronouns. Examples are shown here in bothShahmukhi (top, right-to-left) andGurmukhi (bottom, left-to-right). The word forms used reflect those typical of spoken language. For Shahmukhi, vocalised forms with vowel diacritics have been used to explicitly indicate the forms used; in typical writing these are omitted in most words where regular patterns allow this information to be inferred contextually.
The following sentence exhibits the typical SOV word order tendency. The verb phrase is in retrospective perfect participle form, indicating completion of the action, and takes on the feminine plural suffixes in agreement with the gender and number of the object. The subject here is a masculine plural form; in this context it does not require agreement from the verb.
چاچے
ਚਾਚੇ
cāce
Paternal uncles
Subject
چپھّیاں
ਜੱਫੀਆਂ
japphīā̃
hugs
Object
دِتِّیاں گِیاں
ਦਿੱਤੀਆਂ ਗੀਆਂ
dittīā̃ gīā̃
given gone
Verb Phrase
چاچےچپھّیاںدِتِّیاں گِیاں
ਚਾਚੇ ਜੱਫੀਆਂ {ਦਿੱਤੀਆਂ ਗੀਆਂ}
cāce japphīā̃ {dittīā̃ gīā̃}
{Paternal uncles} hugs {given gone}
Subject Object {Verb Phrase}
The paternal uncles have given hugs.
By contrast, in the following sentence the person involved, referred to by a first-person pronoun, is the object rather than the subject. The significance of people as a semantic category takes precedent over the SOV word order tendency, and the person is typically first even in sentences where that person is the object. The pronoun "mainū̃" has the postposition "nū̃" agglutinated to it, approximately meaning "to." Abstract concepts like desires and emotions typically come "to" people as agentive subjects.
مینُوں
ਮੈਨੂੰ
mainū̃
Me-to
Object
سیب
ਸੇਬ
seb
apple
Subject
چاہِیدا
ਚਾਹੀਦਾ
cāhīda
desiring
Verb
اے
ਏ
ae
exists
Copula
مینُوںسیبچاہِیدااے
ਮੈਨੂੰ ਸੇਬ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਏ
mainū̃ seb {cāhīda} ae
Me-to {apple} desiring exists
Object Subject Verb Copula
I want an apple.
Thecopula in Punjabi is extraverbal in function. While it can constitute the predicate of a sentence on its own, it does not enter the verb phrase when used alongside a full lexical verb. Instead, it acts as a marker of existence remote to or near to the situation. Some western dialects such as Pothohari have forms of the copula to indicate occurrence of a situation in the future.[5]
However, some Indo-Aryan languages exhibitV2 word order in combination with SOV, most prominentlyKashmiri. The non-finite verb (infinitive or participle) remains in final position, but the finite (i.e. inflected) part of the verb appears in second position. Simple verbs look likeSVO, whereas auxiliated verbs are discontinuous and adhere to this pattern:
کور
kuur
girl
Subject
چہے
chhi
is
Auxiliary
ثونٹہ
tsũũţh
apples
Object
کہیوان
khyevaan
eating
Verb
کور چہے ثونٹہ کہیوان
kuur chhi tsũũţh khyevaan
girl is apples eating
Subject Auxiliary Object Verb
The girl is eating apples.
Given that Kashmiri is aV2 language, if the wordtsũũţh 'apple' comes first then the subjectkuur 'girl' must follow the auxiliarychhi 'is':tsũũţh chhi kuur khyevaan [Lit. "Apples is girl eating."]
Also, the word order changes depending on whether the phrase is in amain clause or in certain kinds ofdependent clause. For instance, inrelative clauses, the word order is SOVAux:
| Main clause + Subordinate Clause | میے ان سوہ کوریوس ثونٹہ کہیوان چہے | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transcription | => | mye | eny | swa kuur | => | ywas | tsũũţh | khyevaan | chhi |
| Gloss | => | I | brought | that girl | => | who | apples | eating | is |
| Parts | Main clause => | Subject | Verb | Object | Relative clause => | Subject | Object | Verb | Auxiliary |
| Translation | I brought the girlwho is eating apples. | ||||||||
TheIranian languages almost uniformly exhibit SOV word order:
Ez
I
Subject
xwarin
food
Object
dixwim
eat
Verb
Ez xwarin dixwim
I food eat
Subject Object Verb
I eat food.
Kurdish (Sorani):
من
I
Subject
خواردن
food
Object
دەخۆم
eat
Verb
من خواردن دەخۆم
I food eat
Subject Object Verb
I eat food.
Ossetian:
Алан
Alan
Alan
Subject
чиныг
činyg
book
Object
кæсы
kæsy
reads
Verb
Алан чиныг кæсы
Alan činyg kæsy
Alan book reads
Subject Object Verb
Alan reads a book.
Pashto:
زۀ
Zə
Subject
کار
kaar
Object
کوم
kawəm
Verb
زۀکارکوم
Zə kaar kawəm
Subject Object Verb
I do the work.
Persian:
من
man
I
Subject
سیب
sib
apple
Object
منسیبمیخورم
man sib mikhoram
I apple eat.1.PRES
Subject Object Verb
I am eating an apple.
Talysh:
Merd
Man
Subject
kitob
book
Object
handedə
reading
Verb
Merd kitob handedə
Man book reading
Subject Object Verb
The man is reading a book.
The Zaza language usually uses a subject–object-verb structure,[6] but it sometimes uses subject-verb-object too.
O
He
Subject
ey
it
Object
kırışeno
carries
Verb
O ey kırışeno
He it carries
Subject Object Verb
He carries it.
Classical Latin was aninflected language and had a very flexible word order and sentence structure, but the most usual word order in formal prose was SOV.
amat
loves
Verb
Servus puellam amat
Slave.NOM girl.ACC loves
Subject Object Verb
The slave loves the girl.
Again, there are multiple valid translations (such as "a slave") that do not affect the overall analysis.
Although their common ancestor Latin had free word order and preferred SOV, the modernRomance languages lost theLatin declension that enabled free word order and in general require subject-verb-object structures. However, remnants of SOV remain, particularly thecliticobject pronouns common in Romance grammar. For instance, inFrench:
Nous
We
Subject
les-avons.
them/those-have
Object-Verb
Nous les-avons.
We them/those-have
Subject Object-Verb
We have those/them
AndPortuguese:
Todos
Everybody
Subject
aqui
here
amam
love
Verb
Todos aqui te amam
Everybody here you.PRCL love
Subject {} Object Verb
Everybody here loves you.
Aquilo
It/that
Subject
entristeceu
saddened
Verb
Aquilo me entristeceu
It/that me.PRCL saddened
Subject Object Verb
It saddened me.
And inSpanish:
Yo
I
Subject
lo
it
Object
como
eat
Verb
Yo lo como
I it eat
Subject Object Verb
I eat it
Contrast this with the SVO structure of a sentence with an explicit object (again in Spanish):
Yo
I
Subject
como
eat
Verb
tortillas
tortillas
Object
Yo como tortillas
I eat tortillas
Subject Verb Object
I eat tortillas
The SOV tendency can also be seen when usingauxiliary verbs, e.g. inItalian:
Io
I
Subject
lo
it
Object
sto
am
Auxiliary
mangiando
eating
Verb
Io lo sto mangiando
I it am eating
Subject Object Auxiliary Verb
I am eating it
SOV also appears in Portuguese using a temporal adverb, optionally with the negative:
Nós
We
Subject
já
already
[não]
[not]
temos
have
Verb
Nós já [não] os temos
We already [not] them.MASC have
Subject {} {} Object Verb
(Positive) We already have them.
(Negative) We do not have them anymore.
Nós
We
Subject
ainda
still
[não]
[not]
temos
have
Verb
Nós ainda [não] os temos
We still [not] them.MASC have
Subject {} {} Object Verb
(Positive) We still have them.
(Negative) We do not have them yet.
And in a suffix construction for thefuture andconditional tenses:
Eu
I
Subject
fá-lo-ei
do-it-will
Object
amanhã
tomorrow
Verb
Eu fá-lo-ei amanhã
I do-it-will tomorrow
Subject Object Verb
I will do it tomorrow.
SVO form:Eu hei-de fazê-lo amanhã oreu farei o mesmo amanhã
The basic principle in Japanese word order is that modifiers come before what they modify. For example, in the sentence "こんな夢を見た。" (Konna yume o mita),[7] the direct object "こんな夢" (this sort of dream) modifies the verb "見た" (saw, or in this casehad). Beyond this, the order of the elements in a sentence is relatively free. However, because the topic/subject is typically found in sentence-initial position and the verb is typically in sentence-final position, Japanese is considered an SOV language.[8]
ジョン
Jon
John
Subject
台所
daidokoro
kitchen
本
hon
book
Object
読み
yomi
read
Verb
ジョンは台所で本を読みました。
Jon wa daidokoro de hon o yomi mashita
John TOP kitchen LOC book ACC read {POL.PAST}
Subject {} {} {} Object {} Verb {}
John read a book in the kitchen.
A closely related quality of the language is that it is broadlyhead-final.[10]
내–가상자–를열–ㄴ–다.
Nae-ga sangja-reul yeonda.
Subject Object Verb
I open the box.
–가/–이-ga/-i is a particle that indicates the subject. –를/–을-(r)eul is a particle that indicates the object.나na "I" is changed to내–nae- before –가-ga, and the verb stem열–yeol- is changed to여–yeo- before –ㄴ다-nda.
Би ном уншив.
Би
Bi
I
Subject
ном
nom
a book
Object
уншив
unshiv
read
Verb
{Би ном уншив.} {} {}
Би ном уншив
Bi nom unshiv
I {a book} read
Subject Object Verb
I read a book.
Quechuan languages have standard SOV word order. The following example is from Bolivian Quechua.
Ñuqa-qa papa-ta mikhu-rqa-ni
I-TOP potato-ACC eat-PAST-1SG
Subject Object Verb
I ate potatoes.
SOV is believed to have been the "default" order of theprotolanguage of theSino-Tibetan family. Most Sino-Tibetan languages exhibit SOV order; however, the largest sub-branch of the family, the Sinitic or Chinese languages, are uniformly SVO, with some SOV-derived features.
Burmese is ananalytic language.
ငါ
ŋà
nga
I
Subject
ရေသန့်ဘူး
seʔkù bú
se'ku bu:
water bottle
Object
ဖွင့်
pʰwìɴ
hpwin.
open
Verb
ငါ က ရေသန့်ဘူး ကို ဖွင့် တယ်
ŋà ɡa̰ {seʔkù bú} ɡò pʰwìɴ dè
nga ga. {se'ku bu:} gou hpwin. de
I SUBJ {water bottle} OBJ open PRES
Subject {} Object {} Verb {}
I open the water bottle.
Generally,Chinese varieties all feature SVO word order. However, especially inStandard Mandarin, SOV is tolerated as well. There is even a special particle把 (bǎ) used to form an SOV sentence.[11]
The following example that uses 把 is controversially labelled as SOV. 把 may be interpreted as a verb, meaning "to hold". However, it does not mean to hold something literally or physically. Rather, the object is held figuratively, and then another verb is acted on the object.[citation needed]
SOV structure is widely used in railway contact in order to clarify the objective of the order.[12]
我
Wǒ
I
Subject
把
bǎ
sign for moving object before the verb
Sign
蘋果
píngguǒ
apple
Object
吃了.
chīle.
ate
Verb
我 把 蘋果 吃了.
Wǒ bǎ píngguǒ chīle.
I {sign for moving object before the verb} apple ate
Subject Sign Object Verb
I ate the apple. (The apple we were talking about earlier)
ꯑꯩ
Ei
I
Subject
ꯐꯨꯠꯕꯣꯜ
football
football
Object
ꯁꯥꯅꯩ
sanei
play
Verb
ꯑꯩ ꯐꯨꯠꯕꯣꯜ ꯁꯥꯅꯩ
Ei football sanei
I football play
Subject Object Verb
I play football.
ꉢ
nga
I
Subject
ꌧꅪ
syp-hni
(an) apple
Object
ꋠ
zze.
(to) eat
Verb
ꉢ ꌧꅪ ꋠ
nga syp-hni zze.
I {(an) apple} {(to) eat}
Subject Object Verb
I eat an apple.
TheTungusic languages exhibit SOV word order by default.
Бэе
Beje
man
Subject
Бэе бэеткэнмэ ичэрэн.
Beje bejetkenme ičeren
man boy-ACC see-NFUT-3SG
Subject Object Verb
The man saw the boy.
| Sentence | ᠪᡳ ᠪᡠᡩᠠ ᠪᡝ ᠵᡝᠮᠪᡳ |
|---|---|
| Gloss | ᠪᡳ bi I Subject ᠪᡠᡩᠠ buda meal Object ᠵᡝᠮᠪᡳ jembi eat Verb ᠪᡳᠪᡠᡩᠠᠪᡝᠵᡝᠮᠪᡳ bi buda be jembi I meal ACC eat Subject Object {} Verb I eat a meal. |
TheTurkic languages all exhibit flexibility in word order, so any order is possible. However, the SOV order is the "default" one that does not connote particular emphasis on any part of the sentence; alternate orders are possible, but are used for emphasis. For instance, inTurkish, the following is the "default" way of saying "Murat ate the apple":
Murat
Murat
Subject
elmayı
apple
Object
yedi
ate
Verb
Murat elmayı yedi
Murat apple ate
Subject Object Verb
Murat ate the apple.
However, this sentence could also be constructed as OSV (Elmayı Murat yedi.), OVS (Elmayı yedi Murat.), VSO (Yedi Murat elmayı.), VOS (Yedi elmayı Murat.), or SVO (Murat yedi elmayı.), to indicate the relative importance of the subject, object, or the verb.
Similarly, inUzbek this SOV sentence is neutral:
ketdi.
went
Verb
Anvar Xivaga ketdi.
Anvar.NOM {to Khiva.DAT} went
Subject Object Verb
Anvar went to Khiva.
(The marker "ga" is a dative case marker for the object that precedes it.)
But the sentence can be changed into OSV as well ("Xivaga Anvar ketdi") to change the emphasis ("It was Anvar who went to Khiva").
The same holds inKazakh, where the below is neutral:
Дастан
Dastan
Dastan
Subject
кітап
kitap
book
Object
Дастан кітап оқыды
Dastan kitap oqıdı
Dastan book {read-PST}
Subject Object Verb
Dastan read a book.
But an OSV sentence (кітапты Дастан оқыды;it was Dastan who read the book) can be used to change the emphasis.
Other examples of SOV sentences in Turkic:
Ümid
Umid
Subject
ağac
tree
Object
Ümid ağac əkəcək
Umid tree {plant-FUT}
Subject Object Verb
Umid will plant a tree.
Биз
Biz
We
Subject
алма
alma
apple
Object
Биз алма жедик
Biz alma jedik
We apple {eat-PST-1PL}
Subject Object Verb
We ate an apple.
The "idealized" profile of theUralic languages has subject–verb–object word order. However, some Uralic languages, including theSamoyedic languages,[13] someSámi languages andHungarian, exhibit SOV.
Theprotolanguage of the Uralic language family is understood to have exhibited SOV order.[14][15]
Hungarian word order is free, although the meaning slightly changes. Almost all permutations of the following sample are valid, but with stress on different parts of the meaning.
Pista
Pista
Subject
szeletel
slices
Verb
Pista kenyeret szeletel
Pista bread.ACC slices
Subject Object Verb
Pista slices bread.
Manne
I
Subject
Manne gajpem åastam
I {hat-ACC} buy.1SG
Subject Object Verb
I buy the hat.
Мoн
Mon
I
Subject
книгa
kńiga
a book
Object
лыӟӥськo
lydźiśko
to read
Verb
Мoн книгa лыӟӥськo
Mon kńiga lydźiśko
I {a book} {to read}
Subject Object Verb
I am reading a book.
Hama
Hama
Subject
mo
rice
Object
ŋwa
eat
Verb
Hama na mo ŋwa
HamaCOMP rice eat
Subject {} Object Verb
Hama ate rice.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)As regards constituent order, Proto-Uralic was most obviously an SOV language with postpositions.