Universal #1313
Legacy number: 1313
| Number | 1309 |
| Original | If a language is postpositional, aspect affixes on verb (if any) are suffixed with greater than chance frequency. |
| Standardized | IF there are postpositions, THEN aspect affixes on verbs are suffixed with more than chance frequency. |
| Formula | postposition ⇒ aspect affixes on V are suffixed |
| Keywords | order, postposition, verb, aspect, affix-order, suffix |
| Domain | inflection, syntax |
| Type | implication |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | statistical |
| Basis | 200 languages drawn from three samples: a 113-language sample of L. Stassen, a 40-language sample of R. Perkins & J. Bybee, and a 50-language sample compiled by G. Gilligan |
| Source | Hawkins & Gilligan 1988: 224 |
Discussion
Counterexamples
Stassen’s sample: 87% of postpositional languages with aspect affixes are suffixing, 13% are prefixing; Gilligan’s sample: 81% of postpositional languages with aspect affixes are suffixing, 19% are prefixing.
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