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Universal 125:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 125:

Original
If a language has both SOV in a full sentence and determining N+determined N in a Noun Phrase, then it has at least some postpositions, which historically come either from verbs (ex. Bengali), or from nouns (ex. Mande languages (W. Africa)).
Standardized
IF basic order is SOV and determining elements precede determined elements in noun phrases, THEN there will be at least some postpositions, which historically derive either from verbs or from nouns.
Keywords
order, SOV, noun, determiner, postposition, verb, grammaticalization
Domain
syntax
Type
implication
Status
diachronic?
Quality
absolute
Basis
languages in Hagège 1982
Source
Hagège 1982: 936
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    Cf. relevant Greenberg universals, which are presented as being achronic, though.

    1. May 2020

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