Linguistic typologyMorphological
Isolating
Synthetic
Polysynthetic
Fusional
Agglutinative
MorphosyntacticAlignment
Accusative
Ergative
Split ergative
Philippine
Active–stative
Tripartite
Marked nominative
Inverse marking
Syntactic pivot
Theta role
Word orderVO languages
Subject–verb–object
Verb–subject–object
Verb–object–subject
OV languages
Subject–object–verb
Subject–object–verbFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Subject–object–verb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb
1 of 13 3/14/13 12:45 AM
Object–subject–verb
Object–verb–subject
Time–manner–place
Place–manner–time
This box:talk · edit (//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Linguistic_typology_topics&action=edit)
In linguistic typology, a subject–object–verb (SOV) language is one in which thesubject, object, and verb of a sentence appear or usually appear in that order. IfEnglish were SOV, then "Sam oranges ate" would be an ordinary sentence, as opposedto the actual Standard English "Sam ate oranges". The label is often used for ergativelanguages such as Adyghe and Basque that do not have subjects but have an agent–object–verb order.
Contents1 Incidence2 Properties3 Examples
3.1 Albanian3.2 Arabic3.3 Azerbaijani3.4 Basque3.5 Burmese3.6 Chinese3.7 Dutch3.8 French3.9 German3.10 Hungarian3.11 Kazakh3.12 Italian3.13 Japanese3.14 Korean3.15 Latin3.16 Pashto3.17 Pashto
Subject–object–verb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb
2 of 13 3/14/13 12:45 AM
Wordorder
Englishequivalent
Proportionof languages
Examplelanguages
SOV "She him loves." 45% Japanese, Latin, Tamil
SVO "She loves him." 42% English, Mandarin, Russian
VSO "Loves she him." 9% Hebrew, Irish, Zapotec
VOS "Loves him she." 3% Malagasy, Baure
OVS "Him loves she." 1% Apalai?, Hixkaryana?
OSV "Him she loves." 0% Warao
Frequency distribution of word order in languagessurveyed by Russell S. Tomlin in 1980s.[1][2]
3.18 Persian3.19 Russian3.20 Tamil3.21 Turkish3.22 Udmurt
4 See also5 References
IncidenceAmong naturallanguages with aword orderpreference, SOV isthe most commontype (followed bysubject–verb–object;the two types accountfor more than 75% ofnatural languageswith a preferredorder).[3] Languagesthat have SOVstructure includeAinu, Akkadian,Amharic, Armenian,Assamese, Aymara, Azerbaijani, Basque, Bengali, Burmese, Burushaski, Dogonlanguages, Elamite, Ancient Greek, Hindi, Hittite, Hopi, Hungarian, Ijoid languages,Itelmen, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Kurdish, Classical Latin, Manchu, Mandelanguages, Marathi, Mongolian, Navajo, Nepali, Newari, Nivkh, Nobiin, Pāli, Pashto,Persian, Punjabi, Quechua, Sanskrit, Senufo languages, Seri, Sicilian, Sindhi,Sinhalese and most other Indo-Iranian languages, Somali and virtually all otherCushitic languages, Sumerian, Tagalog, Tibetan and nearly all other Tibeto-Burmanlanguages, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and all other Dravidian languages,Tigrinya, Turkic languages, Turkish, Urdu, Yukaghir, and virtually all Caucasianlanguages.
Subject–object–verb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb
3 of 13 3/14/13 12:45 AM
Standard Mandarin is SVO, but for simple sentences with a clear context, word orderis flexible enough to allow for SOV or OSV. German and Dutch are considered SVOin conventional typology and SOV in generative grammar. For example, in German, abasic sentence such as "Ich sage etwas über Karl" ("I say something about Karl") is inSVO word order. When a noun clause marker like "dass" or "wer" (in English, "that"or "who" respectively) is used, the verb appears at the end of the sentence for the wordorder SOV. A possible example in SOV word order would be "Ich sage, dass Karleinen Gürtel gekauft hat." (A literal English translation would be "I say that Karl abelt bought has.")This is V2 word order.
Aharon Dolgopolsky supposes the Proto-Nostratic to be SOV.
PropertiesSOV languages have a strong tendency to use postpositions rather than prepositions,to place auxiliary verbs after the action verb, to place genitive noun phrases before thepossessed noun, to place a name before a title or honorific ("James Uncle" and"Johnson Doctor" rather than "Uncle James" and "Doctor Johnson"), and to havesubordinators appear at the end of subordinate clauses. They have a weaker butsignificant tendency to place demonstrative adjectives before the nouns they modify.Relative clauses preceding the nouns to which they refer usually signals SOV wordorder, but the reverse does not hold: SOV languages feature prenominal andpostnominal relative clauses roughly equally. SOV languages also seem to exhibit atendency towards using a time–manner–place ordering of adpositional phrases.
In linguistic typology one can usefully distinguish two types of SOV language interms of their type of marking:
dependent-marking has case markers to distinguish the subject and the object,which allows it to use the variant OSV word order without ambiguity. This typeusually places adjectives and numerals before the nouns they modify and isexclusively suffixing without prefixes. SOV languages of this first type includeJapanese and Tamil.
1.
head-marking distinguishes subject and object by affixes on the verb rather thanmarkers on the nouns. It also differs from the dependent-marking SOV languagein using prefixes as well as suffixes, usually for tense and possession. Becauseadjectives in this type are much more verb-like than in dependent-marking SOVlanguages, they usually follow the nouns. In most SOV languages with asignificant level of head-marking or verb-like adjectives, numerals and related
2.
Subject–object–verb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb
4 of 13 3/14/13 12:45 AM
quantifiers (like "all", "every") also follow the nouns they modify. Languages ofthis type include Navajo and Seri.
In practice, of course, the distinction between these two types is far from sharp. ManySOV languages are substantially double-marking and tend to exhibit propertiesintermediate between the two idealised types above.
ExamplesAlbanian
Sentence Agimi librin e mori.Words Agimi librin e moriGloss Agimi the book tookParts Subject Object VerbTranslation Agimi took the book. (It was Agimi who took the book)
Arabic
Sentence . يیعبدوونن إإيیانا كانواا ماWords كانواا ما إإيیانا يیعبدوونن
Glossكانواا ما (are
not+nominative "u"ending)
us+accusative) إإيیانا"a" ending)
.they worship+3) يیعبدووننmasculine plural "un"ending)
Transliteration mā kānū ʾiyyānā yaʿbudūnaParts Subject Object VerbTranslation They do not worship us.
Azerbaijani
Sentence Yusuf almanı yedi .Words Yusuf almanı yediGloss Joseph the apple ateParts Subject Object VerbTranslation Joseph ate the apple.
Subject–object–verb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb
5 of 13 3/14/13 12:45 AM
Basque
Basque does not have subjects, but has an agent–object–verb order in transitiveclauses:
Sentence Enekok sagarra ekarri du.Words Enekok sagarra ekarri duGloss Eneko (+ERGative) the apple brought (to bring) AUX hasParts Subject Object VerbTranslation Eneko has brought the apple
Burmese
Burmese is an analytic language.
Sentence Words
IPA ŋànga
ɡaga.
seʔkù búse'ku bu:
ɡògou
pʰwìɴhpwin.
dède
Gloss I (subj) box (obj) open (pres)Parts Subject Object Verb
Translation I open the box.
Chinese
Generally, Chinese languages are all SVO languages. However, especially inMandarin, SOV is tolerated as well. There is even a special structure to form a SOVsentence.
Sentence 我把苹果吃了.Words 我 把 苹果 吃了.Transliteration Wǒ bǎ píngguǒ chīleGloss I sign for moving object before the verb apple ateParts Subject Sign Object VerbTranslation I ate the apple.
Subject–object–verb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb
6 of 13 3/14/13 12:45 AM
Dutch
Dutch is partly SOV. For simple verbs, it is SVO, but for compound verbs, theinflected root is moved to the end of the sentence. That is called the V2 word order.
Sentence Wij hebben je geholpen.Parts Wij hebben je geholpenGloss We have you helpedParts Subject + aux Object inflected VerbTranslation We helped you
French
The French language usually uses a subject–verb–object structure, but when usingmost pronouns, it places enclitics before the verb. That is sometimes mistaken forSOV word order.
Sentence Nous les avons.Parts Nous les-avons.Gloss We them/those-haveParts Subject Object-VerbTranslation We have those/them
German
German is partially SOV. For simple verbs, it is SVO, but for compound verbs, theinflected root is moved to the end of the sentence. That is called the V2 word order.
SentenceWords Horst hat einen Apfel gegessenGloss Horst has an apple eatenParts Subject + aux Object inflected VerbTranslation Horst ate an apple.
The word order changes also depending on whether the phrase is a main clause or adependent clause. In dependent clauses, the word order is always entirely SOV (cf.also Inversion):
Subject–object–verb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb
7 of 13 3/14/13 12:45 AM
SentenceWords Weil Horst einen Apfel gegessen hatGloss Because Horst an apple eaten hasParts Subject Object inflected Verb + auxTranslation Because Horst ate an apple.
Hungarian
Sentence Pista kenyeret szel.Words Pista kenyeret szelGloss Pista bread slicesParts Subject Object VerbTranslation Pista slices bread.
Kazakh
Sentence Дастан кітап оқыды.Words Дастан кітап оқыдыTransliteration Dastan kitap oqıdıGloss Dastan the book readParts Subject Object VerbTranslation Dastan read the book.
Italian
The Italian language usually uses a subject–verb–object structure.
Sentence Io sto mangiando una melaParts I amGloss I amParts Subject Object-VerbTranslation I am eating an apple
Japanese
Subject–object–verb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb
8 of 13 3/14/13 12:45 AM
Sentence 私が箱を開けます。Words 私 が 箱 を 開けます。
Romanization watashi ga hako o akemasu.Gloss I (sub) box (obj) open(polite)Parts Subject Object Verb
Translation I (am the one who) open(s) the box.
The markers が (ga) and を (o) are, respectively, subject and object markers for thewords that precede them. Technically, the sentence couldbe translated a number ofways ("I open a box", "It is I who open the boxes", etc.), but this does not affect theSOV analysis.
Japanese has some flexibility in word order, so an OSV is also possible. (箱を私が開けます。)
Korean
Sentence 내내가 상상자자를 연연다.Words 내내 가 상상자자 를 연연 다.
Romanization nae ga sangja reul yeon da.Gloss I (nominative) box (accusative) open (indicative)Parts Subject Object Verb
Translation I open the box.
'가 (ga)/이 (i)' is a particle that indicates the nominative case. '를 (reul)/을 (eul)' is aparticle that indicates the accusative case. '다 (da)' indicates the declarative.
※ Here, '나 (na, I (pronoun))' is changed to '내 (nae)' before '가 (ga)'.
Latin
Classical Latin was an inflected language and had a very flexible word order andsentence structure, but the most usual word order was SOV.
Subject–object–verb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb
9 of 13 3/14/13 12:45 AM
Sentence Servus puellam amatWords Servus puellam amatGloss Slave (nom) girl (acc) lovesParts Subject Object Verb
Translation The slave loves the girl.
Again, there are multiple valid translations (such as "a slave") that do not affect theoverall analysis.
Pashto
Sentence . کومم کارر ززههWords ززهه کارر کوممGloss (Subject Pronoun) ززهه (Noun) کارر (verb) کوممTransliteration ze kaar kawumParts Subject Object VerbTranslation I do the work.
Pashto
Sentence
ووړووخو ککګمن پشو and ووړووخو پشو ککګمن
what about this? which one is the subject in ووړووخو پشو ککګمن ,grammatically it is correct but semantically wrong|-
Persian
Sentence . میخوررمم سيیب منWords من سيیب میخوررممGloss I apple eat (first person present tense)Transliteration man seeb mikhoramParts Subject Object VerbTranslation I am eating an apple.
Russian
Subject–object–verb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb
10 of 13 3/14/13 12:45 AM
Russian is an inflected language and very flexible in word order; it allowsall possible word combinations.
Sentence Она его любитWords Она его любитGloss Она (nom) его (acc) любитParts Subject Object Verb
Translation She loves him
Tamil
Sentence நநாா## தா# ெெபப''((ைய +ற-ேப#.
Words நநாா## தா# ெெபப''(( ைய ++றற-ேப#。Romanization Nān tān peṭṭi yai tiṟappēn.
Gloss I (nominative) box (accusative) open(indicativeverb)
Parts Subject Object VerbTranslation I (am the one who) open(s) the box.
The தா# (tān) and ைய (yai) are, respectively, nominative and accusativemarkers for the subject and object that respectively precede them. The தா#(tān) is optional in the Tamil language. The sentence may literally betranslated as 'I [who am] the box [which] open shall.'
The sentence may also be translated, although less frequently, as ெப'(ையநா# தா# +ற-ேப# (Peṭṭiyai nāṉ tāṉ tiṟappēn), or simply, ெப'(ைய+ற-ேப# (Peṭṭiyai tiṟappēn) as Tamil is a null-subject language becausethe indicative verb at the end of the word indicates the 1st person subject.This follows the object-subject-verb (OSV) pattern.
Turkish
Sentence Yusuf elmayı yedi.
Subject–object–verb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb
11 of 13 3/14/13 12:45 AM
Words Yusuf elmayı yediGloss Joseph the apple ateParts Subject Object VerbTranslation Joseph ate the apple.
Udmurt
Sentence мoн книгa лыӟӥcькo.Words мoн книгa лыӟӥcькo.Gloss I a book to readParts Subject Object VerbTranslation I am reading a book.
See alsoTopic-prominent languageSubject–verb–objectObject–subject–verbObject–verb–subjectVerb–object–subjectVerb–subject–objectCategory:Subject–object–verb languages
References^ Introducing English Linguistics International Student Edition by Charles F.Meyer (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MWbrvUiYzSkC&pg=PA36)
1.
^ Russell Tomlin, "Basic Word Order: Functional Principles", Croom Helm,London, 1986, page 22
2.
^ Crystal, David (1997). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language (2ndedition ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-55967-7.
3.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Subject–object–verb&oldid=543872385"Categories: Linguistic typology Subject–object–verb languages
This page was last modified on 13 March 2013 at 16:31.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
Subject–object–verb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb
12 of 13 3/14/13 12:45 AM
additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., anon-profit organization.
Subject–object–verb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb
13 of 13 3/14/13 12:45 AM
Top Related