Donohue, Mark2015-12-080029-8115http://hdl.handle.net/1885/37259It has been claimed that the appearance of SVO order in a non-Austronesian language of New Guinea and its environs is evidence of contact and influence from Austronesian languages. I suggest that, because SVO is an innovative order in Austronesian languages as well, the influence might well be in the other direction, from a period before the popularization of SOV in New Guinea.200510.1353/ol.2005.00332015-12-08