Universal 176: N G ⇒ N Rel;
equivalently: Rel N ⇒ G N
- Original
- If the genitive follows the noun, then the relative clause follows the noun.
- Standardized
- IF the genitive follows the noun, THEN the relative clause follows the noun.
OR, BY CONTRAPOSITION:
IF the relative clause precedes the noun, THEN the genitive precedes the noun. - Keywords
- noun, order, attributive, relative clause
- Domain
- syntax
- Type
- implication
- Status
- achronic
- Quality
- absolute
- Basis
- sample of 350 languages in Hawkins 1983
- Source
- Hawkins 1983: 83
- Counterexamples
Since the 1990s, Hawkins proposes alternative explanations of his universals (see e.g. Hawkins 1993: 234).