Universal #989

Legacy number: 989

 Number  985
 Original  Languages with an allative comparative are languages with absolute posterior consecutive deranking and total identity deletion.
 Standardized  IF there is allative comparative, THEN there is absolute posterior consecutive deranking and total identity deletion.
 Formula  allative comparative ⇒ absolute posterior consecutive deranking & total identity deletion
 Keywords  comparative, deranking, identity deletion
 Domain  syntax
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  sample of 110 languages
 Source  Stassen 1984: 172, Stassen 1985: 107

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Discussion
Counterexamples
Breton (Celtic, Indo-European) where the Allative Comparative is not matched by a deranked consecutive-chain, at least not in the present stage of the development of the language; Kanuri (Nilo-Saharan) presents the rare case of a comparative which has not been modeled on a strict chaining construction, but rather on the semantically related final construction (for discussion of these counterexamples see Stassen 1985: 142ff.)
Notes
1. The allative comparative is an instance of fixed-case adverbial comparative constructions, in which the standard NP is invariably marked as a constituent part of a goal phrase.2. The deranked consecutive chains can be divided into two typologically significant classes, on the basis of whether it is the anterior predicate or the posterior predicate which is affected by the deranking procedure. The first class is referred to as ANTERIOR (CONSECUTIVE) DERANKING, the second one as POSTERIOR (CONSECUTIVE) DERANKING. 3. Languages in which the deranking procedure does not obtain a structural condition on subject-identity and where a deranked predicate can have its own overt subject are called ABSOLUTE deranking languages. 4. Cf. ##985, 995.
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. The allative comparative is an instance of fixed-case adverbial comparative constructions, in which the standard NP is invariably marked as a constituent part of a goal phrase.

2. The deranked consecutive chains can be divided into two typologically significant classes, on the basis of whether it is the anterior predicate or the posterior predicate which is affected by the deranking procedure. The first class is referred to as ANTERIOR (CONSECUTIVE) DERANKING, the second one as POSTERIOR (CONSECUTIVE) DERANKING.

3. Languages in which the deranking procedure does not obtain a structural condition on subject-identity and where a deranked predicate can have its own overt subject are called ABSOLUTE deranking languages.

4. Cf. <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=985"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">, <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=995"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">.