Universal #1654

Legacy number: 1654

 Number  1649
 Original  Sentential NP Position Hierarchy:
clause-final position > clause-initial position > clause-internal position.
 Standardized  FINAL-OVER-INITIAL-POSITION HYPOTHESIS: IF sentential NPs and simple NPs of the same grammatical relation differ in their relative tendencies to occur in clause-final position as opposed to clause-initial position, THEN sentential NPs will exhibit a greater tendency than simple NPs to occur in clause-final position rather than clause-initial position.

INITIAL-OVER-INTERNAL-POSITION HYPOTHESIS: IF sentential NPs and simple NPs of the same grammatical relation differ in their relative tendencies to occur in clause-initial position as opposed to clause-internal position, THEN sentential NPs will exhibit a greater tendency than simple NPs to occur in clause-initial position rather than clause-internal position.

FINAL-OVER-INTERNAL-POSITION HYPOTHESIS: IF sentential NPs and simple NPs of the same grammatical relation differ in their relative tendencies to occur in clause-final position as opposed to clause-internal position, THEN sentential NPs will exhibit a greater tendency than simple NPs to occur in clause-final position rather than clause-internal position.
 Formula  clause-final position > clause-initial position > clause-internal position
 Keywords  order, clause-final, clause-internal, clause-initial, simple NP, sentential NP
 Domain  syntax
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  languages surveyed by Dryer 1980, including Wappo (Yukian), Hopi, Yaqui, Tarahumara (all Uto-Aztecan), Persian, Latin, Lithuanian, English, Welsh, Marathi (all IE), Turkish (Altaic), Wichita (Caddoan), Mojave (Hokan), Lakhota (Siouan), Finnish (Uralic), Malagasy, Toba Batak, Woleaian, Indonesian (all Austronesian), Blackfoot, Ojibwa (both Algonquian), Jacaltec (Mayan), Kinyarwanda (Bantu), Hare (Athabaskan), Japanese (Japanese-Ryukyuan), Thai (Daic), Tuscarora (Iroquioan), Mandarin Chinese (Sino-Tibetan), and others
 Source  Dryer 1980: 126

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Discussion
Counterexamples
Final-Over-Internal-Position Hypothesis: Jacaltec (Mayan). Final-Over-Initial-Position Hypothesis: Mandarin Chinese (Sino-Tibetan), possibly English and Jacaltec (Dryer 1980: 176-184).
Notes
Final-Over-Internal-Position and Final-Over-Initial-Position Hypotheses are stronger for sentential NPs WITH initial complementizers. (Dryer 1980: 168)
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
Final-Over-Internal-Position and Final-Over-Initial-Position Hypotheses are stronger for sentential NPs WITH initial complementizers. (Dryer 1980: 168)