Proto-Chadic is reconstructed as having verb-initial word order, but most Chadic languages have subject-verb-object word order.
pɹˈoʊɾoʊtʃˈædɪk ɪz ɹˌiːkənstɹˈʌktᵻd æz hˌævɪŋ vˈɜːbɪnˈɪʃəl wˈɜːd ˈɔːɹdɚ, bˌʌt mˈoʊst tʃˈædɪk lˈæŋɡwɪdʒᵻz hæv sˈʌbdʒɛktvˈɜːbˈɑːbdʒɛkt wˈɜːd ˈɔːɹdɚ.