Universal 1561: verb-initial ⇒ ¬ overt copula
- Original
- Verb-initial languages normally have no overt copula.
- Standardized
- IF word order is verb-initial, THEN there is no overt copula.
- Keywords
- order, verb-initial, copula
- Domain
- syntax
- Type
- implication
- Status
- achronic
- Quality
- absolute
- Basis
- unknown
- Source
- unpublished statements of Keenan’s, reproduced in D. Payne 1990: 15
- Counterexamples
Cf. claim #1543 about subject-final langugages, which are all of VOS order, according to Keenan’s survey (#1516): Subject-final languages generally do not have overt copulas.