Universal 1308: SOV ⇒ tense affixes on V are suffixed

Universal 1308: SOV ⇒ tense affixes on V are suffixed

Original

If a language has SOV, tense affixes on verb (if any) are suffixed with greater than chance frequency.

Standardized

IF basic order is SOV, THEN tense affixes on verbs are suffixed with greater than chance frequency.

Keywords

order, SOV, verb, tense, affix-order, suffix

Domain

inflection, syntax

Type

implication

Status

achronic

Quality

statistical

Basis

200 languages drawn from three samples: a 113-language sample by L. Stassen, a 40-language sample by J. Bybee & R. Perkins, and a 50-language sample by G. Gilligan

Source

Cutler, Hawkins, & Gilligan 1985: 729; Hawkins & Gilligan 1988: 224

Counterexamples

Stassen’s sample: 91% of SOV languages with tense affixes are suffixing, 9% are prefixing; Perkins-Bybee’s and Gilligan’s samples: 100% of postpositional languages with tense affixes are suffixing.