Thomas Givon (2005): "In general, SOV is the oldest attested word-order in human language."

Gure oraingo helburua dá...

... aztertzea nóla banatzen zirén (banatu zitezkén) hitz-ordenak an hizkuntza-familia guztien versio zaharrenak (kasu honetan, familia biziak eta hilak ere bai).  [ikus atzoko sarrera]

zeinen inguruan atzokoan iristen genuén ondorengo konklusioa ganik Yamamoto (2005):

Laburbilduz, ikerketa horren arabera, SOV izan zitekén munduko hizkuntza (ia) guztien ordena oso zahar bat (esan dugunez, argudiagarria da ze orohar OVS izan zitekén are zaharragoa, baina izanki hain hitz-ordena ez-egonkorra, joanen zén bihurtzen SOV).

Eta jarraiki ber haria, gogora daigun ondoko hitzak ganik Thomas Givón (2005, ikus gure #73): 

Tom Givon da autoritate bat an hizkuntzalaritza funtzionala:

Functional linguistics also began to develop as a field in the 1970s, in the work of linguists such as Joan Bybee, Bernard Comrie, John Haiman, Paul Hopper, Sandra Thompson, and Tom Givon. The principal focus of functional linguistics is on explanatory principles that derive from language as a communicative system,...

Eta Tom Givon-ek (2005) dio (erantzunez ki galdera oso interesgarri bat on Bittor Hidalgo hizkuntzalari eta EHUko irakaslea):

Dear Bittor,

One could make a few methodological suggestions about how to approach the problem(s) you raised:

1. Synchronic morphology is most often the best guide for reconstructing older syntax. There is not a single shred of evidence in Japanese morphology indicating anything but SOV syntax (see Givon 1971, 1979, 1983 ed., 2001, inter alia).

2. In general, SOV is the oldest attested word-order in human language. Most natural (non-contact induced) drift is, as far as I know, always away from SOV, not toward it (Givon 1979; Ruhlen & Gell-Man, forthcoming).

3. All natural languages with 'rigid' word-order have much freer word-order in actual natural (oral) communication, with much pragmatically-determined variation. Put another way, rigid WO is relative, never absolute.

These are all old hats, by the way, so much so that I feel somewhat embarrassed to re-state them (again...).

Best regards, TG

Beraz, hor ikusten dugu noláko inportantea den bereiztea zéin baldintzatan gertatu diren hizkuntza-aldaketak (jakina, ahal den neurrian).

Argi denez, Givon-en konklusioa doa an ber direkzioa zein Yamamoto-rena, alegia-ze garai zaharretan SOV hitz-ordena zén oso-oso nagusia. [#2768] [>>>]