Universal #1923

Legacy number: 1923

 Number  1917
 Original  If a language lacks a definite article, it tends to lack (fully) indirect speech.
 Standardized  IF there is no definite article, THEN there is no indirect speech.
 Keywords  definite article, indirect speech
 Domain  lexicon, discourse
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  see comments
 Source  Schwyzer 1936: 146, referring to Bloch 1934: 21, 313f.

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Discussion
Notes
1. Cf. #1924.2. It is unclear whether these two implications are meant to be valid for Indo-European only, or more generally for all languages in the area where Indo-European languages are and were spoken (Europe, Asia).
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. Cf. <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=1924"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">

2. It is unclear whether these two implications are meant to be valid for Indo-European only, or more generally for all languages in the area where Indo-European languages are and were spoken (Europe, Asia).