Universal 581: (¬gender (Sg) & gender (1 non-Sg)) ⇒ gender (2 non-Sg) ⇒ gender (3 non-Sg)

Universal 581: (¬gender (Sg) & gender (1 non-Sg)) ⇒ gender (2 non-Sg) ⇒ gender (3 non-Sg)

Original

In languages without Gender distinctions in the Singular, for any one non-Singular number, the existence of a Gender distinction in 1st person implies the same Gender distinction in 2nd person, which in turn implies the same Gender distinction in 3d person.

Standardized

When there are no gender distinctions in the singular, IF there is a gender distinction in 1st person, THEN there is the same gender distinction in 2nd person for any one non-singular number, and IF there is a gender distinction in 2nd person, THEN there is the same gender distinction in 3rd person.

Keywords

gender, number, singular, non-singular, person, 1, 2, 3

Domain

inflection

Type

implication

Status

achronic

Quality

absolute

Basis

sample of Greenberg 1963; languages in Plank & Schellinger 1994a, Plank & Schellinger 1994b, Plank & Schellinger 1997

Source

suggested by Moravcsik in Plank & Schellinger 1994a: 100

Counterexamples