Word Order and Linearization

Abstract

Word order and linearization are major areas of linguistic inquiry within all linguistic traditions: descriptive, theoretical, and typological. This article concentrates on the typological perspective centering on the notion of ‘basic order.’ It begins with a consideration of the notion of basic order, then proceeds to review the distribution of word order patterns on a cross-linguistic basis, and next presents a brief account of the host of interrelated factors deemed to underlie the recurring linearizations. The article closes with a specification of the major problems posed for theory specific accounts of universal word order phenomena.