> Languages like German and Japanese have markings on nouns that convey the role each noun plays within the sentence, allowing them to have freer word order than English.
Since when has German a freer word order than English?
German has precise and strict rules about the placement of
1. normal verbs
2. verbs used in conjunction with modal verbs
3. conjunctions
4. particles in separable verbs
5. stressed parts of the sentence
And we are not talking about rules followed only by prescriptivist grammarians, but very common rules used in everyday conversations.
The article (the PR article, not the academic paper that I haven't read) looks like a poorly researched piece.
Since when has German a freer word order than English?
German has precise and strict rules about the placement of
1. normal verbs 2. verbs used in conjunction with modal verbs 3. conjunctions 4. particles in separable verbs 5. stressed parts of the sentence
And we are not talking about rules followed only by prescriptivist grammarians, but very common rules used in everyday conversations.
The article (the PR article, not the academic paper that I haven't read) looks like a poorly researched piece.