地理及亲缘关系视阈下的语序类型研究

A Study of Word Order Types from Geographical and Genealogical Viewpoints

笔者收集了约3,000种语言的基本语序数据,对其地理分布和亲缘关系分布进行了研究,证明了以下几点。拥有不和谐语序的语言数量众多,但仅有2至3种(准)和谐的语序类型在地球上可以形成面积大致相当的巨大连片区域,不和谐的语序类型往往在其周边区域呈变动式分布。此外,对语序的地理分布进行历史追溯,我们推测SOV语言曾占地球大部分区域的可能性极高。

The author, collecting data on basic word order of some 3,000 languages, has investigated the geographical and genealogical distribution of word order, and demonstrated the following points. Although there are many languages with inconsistent word order, there are only two or three(sub)consistent word order types which occupy almost equally vast continuous areas on the earth. What is more, the inconsistent types are located, often transitionally, around the(sub)consistent types. If we trace the geographical distribution of word order back to the past, it is very likely that most areas of the globe were once representative of SOV-type languages.