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Universal 1412:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 1412:

Original
All languages have constructions whose primary function is to place new or contrastive topics at the beginning of the sentence.
Standardized
All languages have constructions whose primary function is to place new or contrastive topics at the beginning of the sentence.
Keywords
topic, comment, order
Domain
syntax
Type
unconditional
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute
Basis
a sample of 30 languages, see Gundel 1988: 210;
100 languages of Mallinson & Blake 1981 sample- see Mallinson & Blake 1981: 134-144
Source
Mallinson & Blake 1981: 151, Gundel 1988: 231
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    1. Mallinson & Blake: More topical material tends to come nearer to the beginning of the clause (to the left) than non-topical material. 2. Cf. ##382, 1417, 1418.

    1. May 2020

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