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A historical view on areal distribution of word order around the world

Summary This paper surveys the history of areal distribution of word order based on data from some 3,000 languages. When the current areal distribution of word order is viewed synchronically, only two or three word order types, namely, consistent VO and (sub)consistent OV types occupy almost equally vast areas on the globe. When the distribution is considered from a historical point of view, however, it is very likely that most of the areas had been covered with (S)OV-type languages and that the areas of a VO type had been very restricted before many large language families expanded after the Neolithic age.