Re: R: Re: Greenberg's universals

On Thu, 14 Sep 2000 12:49:58 +0200 Dan Sulani <dnsulani@...>
writes:
> Semitic, VSO? Examples, please?
> The Hebrew that I am exposed to daily
> seems pretty SVO to me!
> FWIW, Hebrew has a definite article
> and lacks the indefinite article.
> (I believe that the situation in Arabic is similar.)
>
> Dan Sulani
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> likehsna rtem zuv tikuhnuh auag inuvuz vaka'a.
> A word is an awesome thing.
-

Biblical (and i think all pre-Modern) Hebrew was VSO:

Bibl. _vayomer Hashem "yehi or!"_
vs.
Mod. _Hashem amar "yehi or!!"_

("God said, "let there be light!")


Bibl. _vatehi ha'aretz safa ahhat udevarim ahhadim_
vs.
Mod. _ha'aretz hayta safa ahhat udevarim ahhadim_

("the land was one language and few words")


Mishnaic _amar r' aqiva, "..."_
vs.
Mod. _r' aqiva amar, "..."_


-Stephen (Steg)
 "dilma dama dehahu gavra sumaq ttefei."