--- In nostratic@..., "Marc Verhaegen" <marc.verhaegen@...> wrote:

>
> >Articles are very common in vso-languages and often found in svo-
> >languages.
>
> Interesting. Is this so, that articles are far more typical of VO

than of OV

> languages?
>
> >> Thanks, Knut.
>
> Marc

Hi!

The use of articles in the Near East and Europe has an interesting
history.

About 3000 years ago,only the semitic vso-languages in the near east
used articles. Then the idea of using articles spread to Greek, and
then further to latin/romance and north to the germanic languages and
celtic languages.

However, every language used its own materials to form articles,
mostly pronons as the definite article, and the word "One" as
indefinite article.

By now there is a sharp border going through Europe from north to
south. West of this border every language has articles, east of it
articles are mostly not used.