The shift from OV to VO and an analytic tendency of languages

Abstract

Abstract Some linguists discovered the importance of the shift from OV to VO order to the development of the Indo-European languages. A question arises whether the shift OV > VO has only affected the development of some categories or, maybe, also the analytic tendency of the Indo-European languages. A comparison of some features permitting the differentiation of languages on a synthetic – analytic scale in Latin (with an OV order) and in Polish (with a VO order) would contribute towards the solution of this problem: Latin is only a little more synthetic than Polish. The complex problem why Polish is only a little more analytic still awaits explanation.