Universal #825

Legacy number: 825

 Number  822
 Original  Correlatives are limited to verb-final languages, and in fact, are largely limited to "loose" verb-final ones, namely which permit some NPs, especially "heavy" ones to occur to the right of the verb without any special effect of foregrounding or backgrounding.
 Standardized  IF there are correlatives, THEN basic order is loosely verb-final.

OR BY CONTRAPOSITION:
IF basic order is not loosely verb-final, THEN there are no correlatives.
 Formula  correlative ⇒ verb-final;
 Keywords  relative clause, correlative, order, verb-final
 Domain  syntax
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  absolute
 Basis  languages mentioned in </r>Downing 1978</r>, </r>Keenan 1985b</r>
 Source  Keenan 1985b: 164; Downing 1978: 400; unpublished statements of Keenan’s about verb-initial languages reproduced in D.Payne 1990: 14

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Discussion
Notes
1. Correlatives are not attested in rigid verb-final languages such as Japanese (Japanese-Ryukyuan) and Turkish (Turkic, Altaic).They are not attested in rigid SVO or verb-initial languages.2. Cf. Downing: “ Correlative relative constructions with a definite Rel NP and unreduced nominal heads are found only in languages in which verbs follow their objects in the basic word order”.
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. Correlatives are not attested in rigid verb-final languages such as Japanese (Japanese-Ryukyuan) and Turkish (Turkic, Altaic). They are not attested in rigid SVO or verb-initial languages.

2. Cf. Downing: "Correlative relative constructions with a definite Rel NP and unreduced nominal heads are found only in languages in which verbs follow their objects in the basic word order".