Dominant transitive word order[1] refers to the most frequent order in which S (the subject), V (the verb) and O (the direct object) appear in a declarative sentence. This order can be determined by examining an independent[2] sentence that includes a transitive verb and meets the following criteria:
- V expresses a conscious, willful action (as opposed to passive experiencing, sensing, being, or states) that requires two arguments to form a grammatical clause: an agent and a patient.
- S is the agent of the action described by V.
- O is the patient of the action described by V.
- Both S and O are complete nouns, rather than pronouns or verbal affixes.
If only one intransitive word order is grammatical in the language, the dominant and basic word order will be identical. If more than one word order is possible[3], however, these may differ in frequency of use. Determining the dominant word order is based on the following principles:
- If no word order is at least twice as frequent as the second most frequent word order, there is no dominant word order.
- The word order that occurs with at least twice the frequency of second most frequent word order is the dominant order.[4]
Frequency is based on statistical analysis of representative corpora. Since there is no absolute definition of what constitutes a sufficient amount and quality of data to constitute a representative sample of the language, new statistical analyses may refute the findings of earlier studies.
Types:
NoBWO: There is no dominant intransitive word order.
?DWO: For objective reasons, the dominant word order cannot be determined.[5]
SV~O: In the dominant word order, S always precedes V, but the position of O may vary relative to these two items.[6]
VS~O: In the dominant word order, V always precedes S, but the position of O may vary relative to these two items.
SO~V: In the dominant word order, S always precedes O, but the position of V may vary relative to these two items.
OS~V: In the dominant word order, O always precedes S, but the position of V may vary relative to these two items.
VO~S: In the dominant word order, V always precedes O, but the position of S may vary relative to these two items.
OV~S: In the dominant word order, O always precedes V, but the position of S may vary relative to these two items.
VSO: The dominant word order is VSO.
SVO: The dominant order is SVO.
SOV: The dominant order is SOV.
VOS: The dominant order is VOS.
OVS: The dominant order is OVS.
OSV: The dominant order is OSV.
[1] (Statistically) dominant word order is not the same as basic word order. See the parameter Basic transitive word order.
[2] The sentence must be complete and cannot be a subordinate clause.
[3] It is unnecessary to note the restrictions, if any, on the use of a given word order, such as grammatical, pragmatic or stylistic criteria.
[4] The basic and dominant word orders of a language may differ from one another. For example, a language with clearly SOV as its basic word order may have no dominant word order or even SVO as its dominant word order. For the criteria to determine basic word order, see the parameter Basic word order (S, V, O).
[5] A typical example is when there is insufficient relevant data for statistical analysis. (Not to be confused with yet unanalyzed data.)
[6] If O is restricted from appearing in one of the three possible positions (before, between, or after S and V), this should be included in the commentary. This applies to all other values in which the position of one item (not necessarily O) varies, while the other two are fixed.