The Comparative Method in Synchronic Linguistics: The Case of Word Order

In this article I discuss the comparative method in formal linguistics when applied to word order phenomena in Italian, English and German. I argue that the comparison has to rest on sound theoretical basis in order to reach interesting conclusions. These languages might prima facie all look Subject...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inArmenian Folia Anglistika Vol. 16; no. 1 (21)
Main Author Alessandra Giorgi
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Yerevan State University 15.04.2020
Subjects
Germanic
Romance
syntax
Verb Second
word order
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ISSN1829-2429
2579-3039
DOI10.46991/AFA/2020.16.1.009

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Summary:In this article I discuss the comparative method in formal linguistics when applied to word order phenomena in Italian, English and German. I argue that the comparison has to rest on sound theoretical basis in order to reach interesting conclusions. These languages might prima facie all look Subject- Verb-Object – SVO – languages, with some puzzling issues arising in German. At a closer look however, I will show that English and Italian pattern together as their basic word order – i.e., SVO – goes, as opposed to German, an SOV language. Conversely, English and German pattern together with respect to a property typical, even if not exclusively so, of Germanic languages, i.e. Verb Second.
ISSN:1829-2429
2579-3039
DOI:10.46991/AFA/2020.16.1.009