Verb Subject Object
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Verb Subject Object (VSO) is a term in linguistic typology. It represents one type of languages when classifying languages according to the sequence of these constituents in neutral expressions: Ate Sam oranges.
Examples of languages with VSO word order include formal (especially Classical) Arabic, the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, that is Gaelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx) and Brythonic languages (Welsh, and Breton with the exception of Cornish[1]), Classic Maya, ancient Egyptian, Tagalog, Cebuano, Hawaiian, Pangasinan, Māori, Classical Hebrew, and Tongan. Very formal, literary Spanish will occasionally employ the form as well, such as in Cervantes: "Vino la cena, y vinieron músicos..."(The dinner came, and the musicians entered...). This construction is employed only rarely in modern Spanish.
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[edit] Examples
Formal Arabic is a prime example of a language that favors VSO. For example:
| Sentence | قرأ المدرس الكتاب | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Words | الكتاب | المدرس | قرأ | ||
| DIN 31635 | al-kitāba | al-mudarrisu | Qara'a | ||
| Gloss (words are in reverse order as Arabic is written right-to-left) |
Read the teacher the book. | ||||
| Parts | Object | Subject | Verb | ||
| Translation | Read - the teacher - book. | ||||
In Welsh, some tenses use simple verbs, which are found at the beginning of the sentence followed by the subject and any objects. An example of this is the preterite:
| Sentence | Siaradodd Aled y Gymraeg | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Words | Siaradodd | Aled | y Gymraeg |
| Gloss | spoke | Aled | DEF Welsh |
| Parts | Verb | Subject | Obect |
| Translation | Aled spoke Welsh | ||
Other tenses may use compound verbs, where the conjugated form of, usually, bod (to be) precedes the subject and other verb-nouns come after the subject. Any objects then follow the final verb-noun. This is the usual method of forming the present tense:
| Sentence | Mae Aled yn siarad y Gymraeg | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Words | Mae | Aled | yn siarad | y Gymraeg |
| Gloss | is | Aled | V-N.speak | DEF Welsh |
| Parts | Aux. Verb | Subject | Verb-Noun | Object |
| Translation | Aled speaks Welsh | |||
[edit] Inversion into VSO
There are many languages which switch from SVO (Subject Verb Object) order to VSO order with different constructions, usually for emphasis. For example, sentences in English poetry can sometimes be found to have a VSO order; Arabic sentences use an SVO order or a VSO order depending on whether the subject or the verb is more important.
Non-VSO languages that use VSO word order in questions include English, many Germanic languages, French, and Spanish (though not always).
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Jenner, Henri. 1904. A Handbook of the Cornish Language London: D. Nut p.158
