V1 or V2?: On the left in Niuean

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of word order in Niuean, a Polynesian language traditionally considered to be V1. The central issue explored is: what are the relations between languages traditionally described as V1 and those traditionally described as V2? Landing sites, motivations for movement, and movement types are compared, and although at first glance the language types seem different, many common points can be discerned. Particular attention is paid to whether Niuean, a language in which tense does not appear on the verb but rather as a separate constituent, can fit into recent hypotheses that both V1 and V2 languages arise through an attempt to avoid verb-first (*V-1) or tense-first (*T-1) orders. The conclusion is that it can, in spite of appearances, but several tricky issues emerge regarding the definition of “first”. For example, neither *V-1 nor *T-1 can be a simple phonological constraint, and it becomes evident that to determine the validity of the two constraints we need a clearer understanding of the visibility (or not) of different types of elements including null and syncretic morphemes.