The diachronic consequences of first and second language acquisition: the change from OV to VO

A question that concerns many historical linguists is to what extent language change can be explained in terms of first or second language acquisition. Here it is argued that recent results in first and second language acquisition research point toward an interplay of these two factors in explaining language change. This is illustrated by a discussion of the change from OV to VO that took place in English, but no in Dutch