Universal #1646

Legacy number: 1646

 Number  1641
 Original  Syntactic functions of reflexive markers fall into an implicational hierarchy:
transitive > objective > subjective function.

If a language exhibits objective reflexive verbs it is likely to have both subjective and objective reflexive verbs, and if a language exhibits objective reflexive verbs it is very likely to have subjective reflexive verbs, but not necessarily transitive reflexive verbs.
 Standardized  IF there are transitive reflexive verbs, THEN there are objective reflexive verbs.
IF there are objective reflexive verbs, THEN there are subjective reflexive verbs.
 Formula  transitive > objective > subjective
 Keywords  reflexive
 Domain  inflection, syntax
 Type  implicational hierarchy
 Status  achronic but presumably diachronically motivated
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  over 50 Indo-European and non-Indo-European languages
 Source  Geniusiene 1987: 343

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Discussion
Notes
Reflexive verb systems comprised only of subjective reflexive verbs may be regarded as the earliest stage of evolution. The objective function is secondary to the subjective and it evolves later. The transitive dative function, as it is attested only in languages with both subjective and objective finctions of the reflexive marker (RM), seems to be secondary to both, but on the other hand, its absence in such languages as Russian, Latvian, and Armenian, with highly developed subjective and objective semantic functions of RM, seems to indicate that it is not an obligatory stage in the evolution of the syntactic functions of RMs (Geniusiene 1987: 343).
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
Reflexive verb systems comprised only of subjective reflexive verbs may be regarded as the earliest stage of evolution. The objective function is secondary to the subjective and it evolves later. The transitive dative function, as it is attested only in languages with both subjective and objective finctions of the reflexive marker (RM), seems to be secondary to both, but on the other hand, its absence in such languages as Russian, Latvian, and Armenian, with highly developed subjective and objective semantic functions of RM, seems to indicate that it is not an obligatory stage in the evolution of the syntactic functions of RMs (Geniusiene 1987: 343).