ABSTRACT
There are generally estimated to be about 4,000 to 6,000 languages in the world. Depending on where the distinction between languages and dialects is drawn, the total number of the languages of the world may easily shoot up to 7,000. 1 This sheer number alone gives one at least a rough idea of the immense diversity of the languages of the world. A moderate example of this diversity comes from basic word order – which will be discussed in detail in Chapter 2. Consider the following six sentences, each exhibiting one of the six basic word orders.
Korean (SOV)
kiho-ka
saca-lɨl
cha-ass-ta
Keeho-NOM
lion-ACC
kick-PST-IND
‘Keeho kicked the/a lion.’
Thai (SVO)
khon
níi
kàt
mǎa tua nán
man
this
bite
dog CL that
‘This man bit that dog.’
Welsh (VSO)
Lladdodd
draig
ddyn
killed
dragon
man
‘A dragon killed a man.’
Malagasy (VOS)
manasa ny
lamba
ny
vehivavy
wash
the
clothes
the
woman
‘The woman is washing the clothes.’
Panare (OVS)
piʔ
kokampö
unkïʔ
child
washes
woman
‘The woman washes the child.’
Nadëb(OSV)
samũ̀ũ̀y
yi
qa-wùh
howler-monkey
people
eat
‘People eat howler-monkeys.’
