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Universal 662: ¬(rising terminal V higher pitched V special stress) yes-no question contour ⇒ postposition

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 662: ¬(rising terminal V higher pitched V special stress) yes-no question contour ⇒ postposition

Original
Nonoccurrence of a rising terminal, higher pitched or special stress yes-no-question-contour implies postpositional language.
Standardized
IF yes-no questions do not have a rising terminal, higher pitched or special stress contour, THEN there are postpositions.
Keywords
interrogative sentence, yes-no question, intonation, stress, postposition
Domain
syntax, prosodic phonology
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute
Basis
79 languages surveyed in Ultan 1978c
Source
Ultan 1978c: 230
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    Intonation of yes-no questions almost always involves rising terminal, higher pitched, or special stress contours. The few languages in Ultan’s sample with falling question intonation are all postpositional.

    1. May 2020

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