Re: Verb-second ... verb-penultimate languages?

R A Brown wrote:

> Yahya Abdal-Aziz wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 21 Apr 2006, Jim Henry wrote: [snip]
>>
>>> Does anyone know of any verb-penultimate languages?
>>> I suppose they would be VS in intransitive sentences,
>>> SVO in transitive, and SOVA where there is a sentential adverb;
>>> maybe SOVR (source/recipient last) in ditransitive sentences?
>>> Part of me suspects this is unnatural, and yet it doesn't seem any
>>> odder w.r.t. V2 languages than OVS or OSV languages, which
>>> do exist in small numbers.
>>> ------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>> How would this work?  To get an idea of it, I need to
>> create an example or two.
>>
> [examples snipped]
>
>> An example that is not subject-final is a little harder for me to
>> envisage.
>
>
> I agree.
>
> As I understand it, the so-called V2 languages, it's really: TOPIC +
> VERB + REST OF SENTENCE.
>
> Of course the topic is more often the the grammatical subject; but
> when the topic is not the subject, we front the topic and the
> grammatical subject is 'tucked away' after the verb.
>
I'm not sure.  Can you count a whole clause as a topic? Example from German:

Weil ich der Koenig bin, sollte ich mein Land regieren
Because I am the King, I should govern my country

I'm actually not meaning this a criticism so much as a query.  Do
clauses count as topics, especially one like the above?

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