Universal #161

Legacy number: 161

 Number  161
 Original  No language suspends overt marking of dative or spatial functions because the referent is non-specific or indefinite.
 Standardized  Overt marking of dative or spatial functions cannot be suspended when a referent is non-specific or indefinite.
 Keywords  indirect object, spatial complement, indefinite, specific reference
 Domain  inflection, syntax
 Type  unconditional
 Status  achronic
 Quality  absolute
 Basis  languages surveyed in Blansitt 1988
 Source  inferred from Blansitt 1988: 181

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Discussion
Notes
Presumably the idea is that indefiniteness or non-specificity may condition the suspension of overt marking only for direct objects.
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
Presumably the idea is that indefiniteness or non-specificity may condition the suspension of overt marking only for direct objects.