Skip to content

Universal 119:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 119:

Original
If NP-internal constituents agree in two categories these will most likely be number and gender or number and person, depending on whether the targets are modifiers/determiners (and the controllers head nouns) or head nouns (and the controllers attributive nouns). The second-most likely combination of two categories with modifier/determiner targets is that of number and case; and the only other permissible combination of two categories is that of gender and case.
Standardized
IF NP-internal constituents agree in two categories, THEN these will most likely be number and gender or number and person, depending on whether the targets are modifiers/determiners (and the controllers head nouns) or head nouns (and the controllers attributive nouns). The second-most likely combination of two categories with modifier/determiner targets is that of number and case; and the only other permissible combination of two categories is that of gender and case.
Keywords
NP, agreement, number, gender, case, person
Domain
inflection, syntax
Type
no genuine implication; rather: provided that
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute
Basis
45 languages surveyed in Plank 1994a
Source
Plank 1994a : 55 ()
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP
    1. May 2020

Comments are closed.