Universal #1548

Legacy number: 1548

 Number  1544
 Original  In verb-initial languages, verbal case marking is attested to a very significant degree.
 Standardized  IF word order is verb-initial, THEN there is relational marking (agreement, applicative, etc.) associated with the verb.
 Formula  verb-initial ⇒ verbal case-marking
 Keywords  order, verb-initial, verbal case-marking
 Domain  inflection, syntax
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  unknown
 Source  unpublished statements of Keenan’s, reproduced in D.Payne 1990: 13

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Discussion
Notes
Verbal case marking means that verbs carry affixes indicating that an instrumental, goal locative, benefactee, etc. is present, and the correspoinding full NPs carry no adpositions or distinctive case marking.
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
Verbal case marking means that verbs carry affixes indicating that an instrumental, goal locative, benefactee, etc. is present, and the correspoinding full NPs carry no adpositions or distinctive case marking.