Oceanic Linguistics · 2005 · 98 citations · 5 references
Language StudiesLinguisticsComparative LinguisticsHistorical LinguisticsLinguistic AnthropologyComparative PhonologyLanguage ChangePacific LanguagesWord OrderWord Order TypologyAustronesian LanguagesDiachronic Word Order ChangeLinguistic Phylogenetics
It has been claimed that the appearance of SVO order in a non-Austronesian language of New Guinea and its environs is evidence of contact and influence from Austronesian languages. I suggest that, because SVO is an innovative order in Austronesian languages as well, the influence might well be in the other direction, from a period before the popularization of SOV in New Guinea.
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