ИСТИНА

The paper discusses the relation of Germanic word order systems based on the Verb-Second Constraint (=V2 systems) and word order systems with clitic clusters in clausal 2nd position (= systems with Wackernagel’s Law ~ W-systems ~ systems with C-oriented clitics). V2 languages are typologically rare outside Europe, while languages with 2nd position clitics are attested both in Old and Modern Indo-European Languages (cf. Hittite, Avestan, Old Greek, Old Novgorod Russian, Serbo-Croat, Czech, Slovene, Pashto, Ossetic) and in a number of non-Indo-European languages, cf. Kabyle Berber (Afroasiatic), Lummi (Salish), Makah (Wakashan), Warlpiri and Djaru (Pama-Nyungan), Quiavini Zapotec (Otomangean), Mayo (Uto-Aztecan) etc. It is plausible that all languages with Wackernagel’s law, irrespective of their genetic origin, share a number of constraints on clitic placement (clusterization rules, movement patterns, orientation of clitics.