Object-initial languages

[Noel Rude]

For what it's worth ...

    Sometimes I wonder why OVS languages aren't common.  In free word order
languages, such as those I work with (Sahaptian), OV and VS orders are quite
common ... as might be predicted on universal pragmatic principles (e.g.,
Doris Payne, ed., Pragmatics of Word Order Flexibility, TSL 22, 1992).
Probably the rarety of syntacticised OVS has been accounted for, but I'd be
interested in a brief fill in if possible.

    Noel

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Kuzar" <kuzar at research.haifa.ac.il>
To: <FUNKNET at listserv.rice.edu>
Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2002 2:24 AM
Subject: Object-initial languages


Dear colleagues,
I his recent textbook, Andrew Carnie (2002) Syntax: A Generative
Introduction, p. 18-19, says:
"Oversimplifying slightly, most languages put the order of elements in
a sentence in one of the following word orders: SVO, SOV, VSO. A few
languages use VOS. No (or almost no)(6) languages use OSV, OVS."
Note (6) reads:
"This is a matter of some debate. Derbyshire (1985) has claimed that the
language Hixkaryana has object initial order."
Obviously, the very definition of the term subject (and object) may
depend on theoretical considerations (ergative languages?), and so would
the idea of the unmarked or default order.
I am interested in functionally-oriented comments on this issue. Are
there really no object initial languages?
Thanks
Roni
====================================
                 Dr. Ron Kuzar
Address:   Department of English Language and Literature
                 University of Haifa
                 IL-31905 Haifa, Israel
Office:       +972-4-824-9826, fax: +972-4-824-9711
Home:       +972-2-6414780, Cellular: +972-5-481-9676
Email:        kuzar at research.haifa.ac.il
Site:ý          http://research.haifa.ac.il/~kuzar
====================================