Universal #1638

Legacy number: 1638

 Number  1633
 Original  There is a definite negative correlation between Question-word Movement and verb-final ordering.
 Standardized  IF basic order is verb-final, THEN there will be no WH-movement, and vice versa.
 Formula  verb-final ⇒ ¬ Wh-movement
 Keywords  order, verb-final, Wh-movement
 Domain  syntax
 Type  mutual implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  absolute
 Basis  unspecified
 Source  Bach 1971: 161

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Discussion
Notes
1. Cf. Greenberg’s universal 12 (#499), statistically confirmed by Ultan, that Question Movement seems to be confined to non-SOV languages. 2. Bach is not claiming the opposite implication of Greenberg’s, since there are SVO languages (for example Tlingit (Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit), Thai (Daic), and Arabic (Semitic, Afro-Asiatic)) without Question Movement.[Is Arabic generally SVO? ]3. Cf. a similar generalization by Baker (#1637) on languages with free word order.
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. Cf. Greenberg's universal 12 (<a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=499"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">), statistically confirmed by Ultan, that Question Movement seems to be confined to non-SOV languages.

2. Bach is not claiming the opposite implication of Greenberg's, since there are SVO languages (for example Tlingit (Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit), Thai (Daic), and Arabic (Semitic, Afro-Asiatic)) without Question Movement. [Is Arabic generally SVO? ]

3. Cf. a similar generalization by Baker (<a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=1637"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">) on languages with free word order.