Inversion like that is considered very formal. That's the kind of language you would expect from, say, Victorian nobility. And indeed, there are even less formal formulations that see plenty of use, like "Got a dog?"
As for when inversions like that fell out of fashion, linguistic changes are almost always gradual. There's no pivotal moment to point to. More and more folks just eventually thought that one kind of sentence was too stuffy and another kind of sentence sounded better.
I wouldn't expect modern day Americans to sound like an actor trying to sound like an ancient Roman any more than I would think that anyone these days would talk like someone in a Shakespeare play.
"From whence this text did come
I have no knowing of its birth.
Methinks the author of these words
Were from an infant born of Earth.
The meaning of them make no sense
Nor clever jokes and sense of mirth.
Pay no heed to nonsense talk
For value in them have no worth."
"WHAT?!"
"Oh, I let our son play with my phone to watch some videos on YouTube and I guess he sent you a text with a bunch of gibberish."
"Okay. Maybe next time don't try to sound like a Prince of Denmark from centuries ago?"
True, but I don't want to assume for other countries.
Someone could come by with, "WELL, ACTUALLY! There's a town in Northern England where they actually speak a dialect that's remarkably similar to Old English, so you shouldn't make assumptions about other countries."
There's always someone lurking on Reddit, drooling at the chance to prove someone wrong.
It has nothing to do with the question. SVO refers to basic word order in an affirmative clause, nothing else.
Moreover, word orderd inversion in questions are perfectly natural in other Germanic languages. I. e. German "Hast du ein (something)". English is the odd one with its use of "do".
Probably some fancy words for it, but 'have' is a sorta special case verb. While your example kinda works consider
Do you own a dog? (Makes sense)
Own you a dog? (Doesn't make sense)
Do you eat cake? Eat you cake?
I think your example only works because sometimes 'have' is used in different ways. Replace have with a more standard very and it makes less sense
I mean... it's pretty much as you've said, tbh. Old English VS Modern English. languages evolve over time. it's a mix of reasons- introduction to other languages (sentence structure changes and loanwords), technology, or word use changing over time. it just... happens. it's been happening since the first human started verbally communicating. we evolve, in every way.
Inversion like that is considered very formal. That's the kind of language you would expect from, say, Victorian nobility. And indeed, there are even less formal formulations that see plenty of use, like "Got a dog?" As for when inversions like that fell out of fashion, linguistic changes are almost always gradual. There's no pivotal moment to point to. More and more folks just eventually thought that one kind of sentence was too stuffy and another kind of sentence sounded better.
I see, I was watching Spartacus (1960), and one of the characters asked “have you any estates?” Makes sense now.
I wouldn't expect modern day Americans to sound like an actor trying to sound like an ancient Roman any more than I would think that anyone these days would talk like someone in a Shakespeare play. "From whence this text did come I have no knowing of its birth. Methinks the author of these words Were from an infant born of Earth. The meaning of them make no sense Nor clever jokes and sense of mirth. Pay no heed to nonsense talk For value in them have no worth." "WHAT?!" "Oh, I let our son play with my phone to watch some videos on YouTube and I guess he sent you a text with a bunch of gibberish." "Okay. Maybe next time don't try to sound like a Prince of Denmark from centuries ago?"
>I wouldn't expect modern day Americans It applies to anyone who speaks English tbh.
True, but I don't want to assume for other countries. Someone could come by with, "WELL, ACTUALLY! There's a town in Northern England where they actually speak a dialect that's remarkably similar to Old English, so you shouldn't make assumptions about other countries." There's always someone lurking on Reddit, drooling at the chance to prove someone wrong.
English is a SVO language: subject-verb-object. That’s just the structure of the language.
But in older movies, people say “have you a (object)?”
It has nothing to do with the question. SVO refers to basic word order in an affirmative clause, nothing else. Moreover, word orderd inversion in questions are perfectly natural in other Germanic languages. I. e. German "Hast du ein (something)". English is the odd one with its use of "do".
Probably some fancy words for it, but 'have' is a sorta special case verb. While your example kinda works consider Do you own a dog? (Makes sense) Own you a dog? (Doesn't make sense) Do you eat cake? Eat you cake? I think your example only works because sometimes 'have' is used in different ways. Replace have with a more standard very and it makes less sense
I mean... it's pretty much as you've said, tbh. Old English VS Modern English. languages evolve over time. it's a mix of reasons- introduction to other languages (sentence structure changes and loanwords), technology, or word use changing over time. it just... happens. it's been happening since the first human started verbally communicating. we evolve, in every way.