Universal #67
Legacy number: 67
| Number | 67 |
| Original | If a language has VSO word order, then if the adjective follows the noun, the genitive follows the noun. |
| Standardized | IF basic order is VSO, THEN IF the adjective follows the noun, THEN the genitive follows the noun. |
| Formula | VSO ⇒ (N A ⇒ N G) |
| Keywords | order, VSO, noun, adjective, attributive, genitive |
| Domain | syntax |
| Type | nested implication |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | absolute? |
| Basis | sample of 350 languages in Hawkins 1983 |
| Source | Hawkins 1979: 226, Hawkins 1980: 201, Hawkins 1983: 65 |
Discussion
Counterexamples
VSO & NA & GN: Guajajara (Tupi); Yagua (Peba-Yaguan) (Harrison 1983, 1986: 415; Payne 1985, 1986; Dryer 1991, 2000).
Notes
1. Cf. #68.2. Dryer 1988: 191: “There is no evidence of any relationship between the order of Verb and Object and the order of Adjective and Noun”.Dryer 1988: 200: “There is no clear evidence for the correlation between Genitive-Noun and Adjective-Noun order.” 2. Yagua is a postpositional language. Payne 1986 therefore suggests to further restrict this nested implication to prepositional languages only:VSO & Prep => (N A=> N G).3. Since the 1990s, Hawkins proposes alternative explanations of his universals (see e.g. Hawkins 1993: 234).
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2.Dryer 1988: 191: "There is no evidence of any relationship between the order of Verb and Object and the order of Adjective and Noun". Dryer 1988: 200: "There is no clear evidence for the correlation between Genitive-Noun and Adjective-Noun order."
3. Yagua is a postpositional language. Payne 1986 therefore suggests to further restrict this nested implication to prepositional languages only: VSO & Prep ⇒ (N A ⇒ N G).
4. Since the 1990s, Hawkins proposes alternative explanations of his universals (see e.g. Hawkins 1993: 234).