Universal #894

Legacy number: 894

 Number  891
 Original  Iambic vs. Trochaic languages
See Graphics
 Standardized  see Graphics for Iambic vs. Trochaic languages
 Keywords  stress, syllable, unit, order, object, verb, subject, adverb, adjective, noun, attributive, agglutination, flexion, timing, stress, syllable, syllable structure, intonation contour, tone
 Domain  prosodic phonology, morphology, syntax
 Type  mutual implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  170 languages, drawn from the 197 in the Stanford Phonology Archive
 Source  Gil 1986, summarized in Plank 1998

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Discussion
Counterexamples
For counterexamples of the correlation between verb/object and noun/modifier order see ##107, 1616.
Notes
1. While everybody agrees (## 893, 11, 13 ) on the OV/agglutination and VO/flection associations, iambic rhythm goes with VO and allied orders and flexive (or no) morphology according to Donegan-Stampe (and, as to VO, also Bally et al., see #675), but with OV and agglutination according to Gil. Also it is iambic rather than trochaic that potentially has more complex syllable structures according to Donegan-Stampe, while Gil (this time in agreement with Bally) has it the other way round. Now, while Donegan-Stampe and Gil agree on the iambic/stress-timing and trochaic/syllable-timing (or also mora-timing) associations, syllable-timed languages have elsewhere been claimed to have simpler syllable structures than stress-timed languages (Bertinetto 1977, 1989; Dauer 1983; Brakel 1985) – which ought to be better news for Donegan-Stampe than for Gil. Further, stress-timing comes with agglutination for Gil, and with flection for Donegan-Stampe. <Quote from Plank 1998>2. Dryer 1986 concludes from his sample of 506 languages “... there is no evidence of adverbs to precede the adjective in OV languages, and following in VO languages; there is no evidence of any relation between the order of verb and object and the order of noun and adjective; and between the order of verb and object and the order of noun and demonstrative; both orders Rel N and N Rel are common in OV languages ”.
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. While everybody agrees (<a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=893"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">, <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=11"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">, <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=12"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0"> ) on the OV/agglutination and VO/flection associations, iambic rhythm goes with VO and allied orders and flexive (or no) morphology according to Donegan-Stampe (and, as to VO, also Bally et al., see <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=675"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">), but with OV and agglutination according to Gil. Also it is iambic rather than trochaic that potentially has more complex syllable structures according to Donegan-Stampe, while Gil (this time in agreement with Bally) has it the other way round. Now, while Donegan-Stampe and Gil agree on the iambic/stress-timing and trochaic/syllable-timing (or also mora-timing) associations, syllable-timed languages have elsewhere been claimed to have simpler syllable structures than stress-timed languages (Bertinetto 1977, Bertinetto 1989; Dauer 1983; Brakel 1985) – which ought to be better news for Donegan-Stampe than for Gil. Further, stress-timing comes with agglutination for Gil, and with flection for Donegan-Stampe. < Quote from <a class="reference" href="../ref/source_ref.php#Plank_1998">Plank 1998>

2. Dryer 1986 concludes from his sample of 506 languages "... there is no evidence of adverbs to precede the adjective in OV languages, and following in VO languages; there is no evidence of any relation between the order of verb and object and the order of noun and adjective; and between the order of verb and object and the order of noun and demonstrative; both orders Rel N and N Rel are common in OV languages".