Universal #1386
Legacy number: 1386
| Number | 1382 |
| Original | No language with SVO or VSO basic order will have a clause final auxiliary. |
| Standardized | IF basic word order is SVO or VSO, THEN an auxiliary is clause medial or clause initial. OR: IF an auxiliary occurs in a clause initial position, THEN word order will be rigid V-initial. |
| Keywords | auxiliary, order, SVO, VSO, VOS |
| Domain | syntax |
| Type | implication |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | absolute |
| Basis | 20 languages in Steele 1978, see Steele 1978: 18 |
| Source | Steele 1978: 42, also cited in Heine 1993: 24 |
Discussion
Counterexamples
Classical Aztec (Uto-Aztecan) has an initial AUX but relatively free word order. (Steele 1978: 35)
Notes
Cf. #503.
Comment
Cf. <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=503"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">
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