Universal #146

Legacy number: 146

 Number  146
 Original  Tendency: in SOV-languages adjectives can be the head of NPs whereas SVO-languages and VSO-languages tend to require a dummy head noun ('thing', 'person', 'one').
 Standardized  IF basic order is SOV, THEN adjectives can be the head of NPs.
IF basic order is SVO or VSO, THEN adjectives tend to be unable to be heads of NPs and to require a dummy head noun ('thing', 'person', 'one').
 Keywords  order, SOV, SVO, VSO, NP, head, adjective, dummy head noun
 Domain  syntax
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  ?
 Source  Stassen 1992 (via Hurford & Kirby)

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Discussion
Counterexamples
Old Egyptian (Afro-Asiatic): adjectives occur with or without a head noun; e.g. nfr-t [good-FEM] vs. jX-t nb nfr-t [thing-FEM every good-FEM]) (F. Kammerzell, p.c.);