Universal #1614

Legacy number: 1614

 Number  1610
 Original  In languages with verb agreement, patient verb agreement appears more frequently in verb-peripheral languages [i.e. verb-initial and verb-final languages] than in verb-medial languages.
 Standardized  Whenever there is verb agreement, agreement with the patient NP is likelier if basic order is verb-peripheral (i.e., verb-initial or verb-final) than if it is verb-medial.
 Keywords  order, verb-initial, verb-final, verb-medial, agreement, verb, patient
 Domain  inflection, syntax
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  11 SOV languages: Kiowa (Kiowa-Tanoan), Burmese (Burmese-Lolo), Quechua (Andean), Hindi (Indic, IE), Diyari (Karnic, Pama-Nyungan), Pengo (Dravidian), Kanuri (Saharan), Basque (isolate), Turkish (Turkic), Japanese (Japanese-Ryukyuan), and Mende (Mande, Niger-Congo).
6 V-initial languages: Welsh (Celtic, IE), Maori (Oceanic, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian), Malagasy (Barito, Western Malayo-Polynesian), Papago (Uto-Aztecan), Maya (Mayan), and Classical Arabic (Semitic, Afro-Asiatic).
 Source  Foster & Hofling 1987: 479

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Discussion
Counterexamples
Kanuri and Turkish have verb agreement and verb-final order but do not show patient agreement (Foster & Hofling 1987: 478, Table 2).Welsh (Celtic, IE) is verb-initial, has verb agreement but no patient agreement (Foster & Hofling 1987: 490, Table 4).
Notes
1. “The higher frequency of patient agreement in verb-lateral languages may be related to the tendency noted by Schwartz (1972: 219-220, here #1271) for a true ergative (that is, nominative-ergative as opposed to accusative-ergative) ‘view of transitivity’ to appear only in verb-lateral languages. Ergativity is quite frequent in the SOV languages of our sample. It is apparent in Pengo, Diyari, Hindi, Kiowa, Basque, Mende and possibly Quechua.” (Foster & Hofling 1987: 479-480).2. “The prevalence of patient verb agreement in both verb-initial and verb-final languages suggests that the difficulties in processing strings of NPs noted for SOV languages is present, though to a lesser degree, in verb-initial languages, and that more extensive verb agreement facilitates hearer comprehension in both cases.” (ibid.).
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. "The higher frequency of patient agreement in verb-lateral languages may be related to the tendency noted by Schwartz 1972: 219-220: (here <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=1271"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">) for a true ergative (that is, nominative-ergative as opposed to accusative-ergative) 'view of transitivity' to appear only in verb-lateral languages. Ergativity is quite frequent in the SOV languages of our sample. It is apparent in Pengo, Diyari, Hindi, Kiowa, Basque, Mende and possibly Quechua." (Foster & Hofling 1987: 479-480).

2. "The prevalence of patient verb agreement in both verb-initial and verb-final languages suggests that the difficulties in processing strings of NPs noted for SOV languages is present, though to a lesser degree, in verb-initial languages, and that more extensive verb agreement facilitates hearer comprehension in both cases." (ibid.).