Universal #1376

Legacy number: 1376

 Number  1372
 Original  A lexically distinct form of verb HAVE is generally missing in verb peripheral languages (i.e. SOV, VOS). That is, a verb HAVE is generally confined to SVO languages.
 Standardized  IF basic word order is verb-peripheral (i.e. SOV, VOS), THEN there tends to be no transitive verb of possession HAVE.

IF there is a transitive verb HAVE, THEN basic word order is SVO.
 Formula  SOV v. VOS ⇒ ¬ verb HAVE;
verb HAVE ⇒ SVO
 Keywords  order, verb, possession
 Domain  syntax, lexicon
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  languages mentioned in Mahajan 1997
 Source  Mahajan 1997 1997: 38

← Back to Universals Archive

Discussion
Counterexamples
German, Dutch (Germanic, Indo-European), Basque (isolate): SOV & verb HAVE (see discussion in Mahajan 1997);Mizo, Hmar, Aimol (all Tibeto-Burman): SOV & verb HAVE (Subbarao 1998: 15-16).
Notes
1. The explanation has to do with ergativity, an alignment pattern allegedly confined to verb-peripheral languages (see #1271). Ergative languages generally lack verb HAVE (see Trask 1979: 388). To explain this, Mahajan (1997: 41) assumes that an empty P, which originates as a sister of the subject, incorporates into the auxiliary BE to yield HAVE in non-ergative languages. In ergative languages the P-incorporation is not possible, so the absence of HAVE in those languages.2. Mahajan considers only SOV and VSO types as verb-peripheral languages. It is not clear whether this generalization is valid also for the other verb-peripheral languages: OSV and VOS.3. A transitive verb of possession has elsewhere been claimed to be confined to languages spoken in complex societies based on the individual (rather than communal, kinship-group) acquisition and control of property (see Webb 1977). This cultural parameter in turn has been claimed to correlate positively with ergativity (see Plank (ed.) 1979).
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. The explanation has to do with ergativity, an alignment pattern allegedly confined to verb-peripheral languages (see <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=1271"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">). Ergative languages generally lack verb HAVE (see <v>Trask 1979</v>: 388). To explain this, Mahajan 1997: 41: assumes that an empty P, which originates as a sister of the subject, incorporates into the auxiliary BE to yield HAVE in non-ergative languages. In ergative languages the P-incorporation is not possible, so the absence of HAVE in those languages.

2. Mahajan considers only SOV and VSO types as verb-peripheral languages. It is not clear whether this generalization is valid also for the other verb-peripheral languages: OSV and VOS.

3. A transitive verb of possession has elsewhere been claimed to be confined to languages spoken in complex societies based on the individual (rather than communal, kinship-group) acquisition and control of property (see Webb 1977). This cultural parameter in turn has been claimed to correlate positively with ergativity (see Plank (ed.) 1979).