Universal #1343

Legacy number: 1343

 Number  1339
 Original  An element which serves as a semantic link between two other elements is likely to occur in linear order between them.
 Standardized  IF an element serves as a semantic link between two other elements, THEN it is likely to occur in linear order between them.
 Keywords  order, iconicity
 Domain  syntax, semantics
 Type  no genuine implication; rather: provided that
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  50 languages sample in Maxwell 1979
 Source  Maxwell 1984: 252, discussed in Moreno 1987: 193

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Discussion
Notes
This principle suggests these preferred positions for relational markers on NPs (adpositions, cases), which link these NPs to their verb: S-suffix/postp O-suffix/postp V; V-prep/prefix-O prep/prefix-S. SVO is mixed, requiring pre- and post-posed relational markers to conform to this iconicity principle: S-suffix / postp V prep / prefix O from which this is supposed to follow:SOV languages with suffixing morphology will have an unmarked (i.e. agglutinative) morphology, whereas VOS languages with a prefixing morphology will also present a less marked morphology than VOS languages with suffixes (Cf. #1342). (Moreno 1987)
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
This principle suggests these preferred positions for relational markers on NPs (adpositions, cases), which link these NPs to their verb:
S-suffix/postp O-suffix/postp V;
V-prep/prefix-O prep/prefix-S.


SVO is mixed, requiring pre- and post-posed relational markers to conform to this iconicity principle:
S-suffix / postp V prep / prefix O
from which this is supposed to follow:
SOV languages with suffixing morphology will have an unmarked (i.e. agglutinative) morphology, whereas VOS languages with a prefixing morphology will also present a less marked morphology than VOS languages with suffixes (Cf. <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=1342"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">). (Moreno 1987)