Re: V2 languages

Raymond A. Brown scripsit:

> None of the Romancelangs are V2 langs.
Except the Surselvan dialect of Rhaeto-Romance, which is V2 under
heavy German influence (in Switzerland).  Old French was also V2.

> >In English I can only put one object before the verb,
> >you should avoid direct or indirect object (acusative or dative) but is not
> >a must: (John I gave the book),
>
> I don't know about American, Indian or Antipodean English, but in Brit
> English if the two objects are dislocated so that one preceeds the subject,
> we must have the prep. 'to', e.g.
So must I; "John I gave the book" sounds like a bad translation.

> Yep - generally so.  But the older form of verb-subject when actual speech
> is quoted - "I'll do it later", said John - was quite common earlier this
> century and is still heard in colloquial English, more particularly, I
> think, in rural speech than urban speech: "Then," says I, "you should
> see....." etc.
I think "said John" is quite ordinary in prose, though less ordinary
in speech.

> Yep - that, as I understand it, is what's meant by a V2 language.
AFAIK all the national Germanic langs are V2 except English; I have
no information about Frisian syntax, but I'll bet it's V2 also.

(Hmm.  Frisian is essentially Old English spoken in Dutch.)

--
John Cowan                                      cowan@ccil.org
                e'osai ko sarji la lojban.