Universal #364
Legacy number: 364
| Number | 363 |
| Original | In flective and introflective languages word forms tend to be between two and three syllables long, agglutinative and incorporating languages tend to have longer word forms, and isolating languages shorter ones. |
| Standardized | IF morphology is flexive or introflexive, THEN word forms tend to be two or three syllables long. IF morphology is agglutinative or incorporating, THEN word forms tend to be longer. IF bound morphology is lacking (i.e. a language is isolating), THEN word forms tend to be shorter. |
| Formula | flexive V introflexive ⇒ 2-3 syllable long words; agglutinative V incorporating ⇒ longer than 2-3-syllable words; isolating ⇒ shorter than 2-3 syllable words. |
| Keywords | flexion, introflexion, agglutination, incorporation, isolation, word length, syllable |
| Domain | phonology, morphology, lexicon |
| Type | mutual implication |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | statistical |
| Basis | unspecified |
| Source | Dressler 1985, adapted from Skalicka: Plank 1996, Plank 1998 |
Discussion
Notes
Since in Skalicka’s "ideal constructs" traits are supposed to be mutually conducive, the implications should be seen as mutual rather than only one-way. For a tabular summary of Skalicka's typological "constructs" see Plank 1998: 204-205.Dressler suggests that word length as in flexive languages (2-3 syllables) is optimal from the point of view of processing such units. Agglutinative languages favour semantic transparency over ease of processing.
Comment
Since in Skalicka's "ideal constructs" traits are supposed to be mutually conducive, the implications should be seen as mutual rather than only one-way. For a tabular summary of Skalicka's typological "constructs" see Plank 1998: 204-205. Dressler suggests that word length as in flexive languages (2-3 syllables) is optimal from the point of view of processing such units. Agglutinative languages favour semantic transparency over ease of processing.
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