Universal #126

Legacy number: 126

 Number  126
 Original  If a language has noun before numeral, then it has noun before relative clause.
 Standardized  IF the numeral follows the noun, THEN the relative clause follows the noun.

OR, BY CONTRAPOSITION:
IF the relative clause precedes the noun, THEN the numeral precedes the noun.
 Formula  N Num ⇒ N Rel;
equivalently: Rel N ⇒ Num N
 Keywords  order, noun, numeral, relative clause
 Domain  syntax
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  sample of 350 languages in Hawkins 1983
 Source  Hawkins 1983: 85

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Discussion
Counterexamples
Rel N & N Num: Chibcha (Chibchan-Paezan), Tsang (Tibeto-Burman) (Hawkins 1983: 85).
Notes
Since the 1990s, Hawkins proposes alternative explanations of his universals (see e.g. Hawkins 1993: 234).
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
Since the 1990s, Hawkins proposes alternative explanations of his universals (see e.g. Hawkins 1993: 234).