Universal 1587: bound nouns ⇒ head-marked possession

Universal 1587: bound nouns ⇒ head-marked possession

Original

Bound nouns appear to exist only where there is head-marked possession.

Standardized

IF there is a set of nouns which cannot occur without a possessive marker, THEN there will be head-marked possession.

Keywords

possession, head-marking, bound noun, possessive marker

Domain

inflection, syntax

Type

implication

Status

achronic

Quality

statistical

Basis

every language family and language isolate attested for North America (excluding only those six: Alsea, Beothuk, Cayuse, Kalapuyan, Molala, Yanan), also North Eurasian language families and several Australian languages

Source

Nichols 1988: 578

Counterexamples