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1. May 2020
FP
One Comment

Universal 1142: passive ⇒ SOV

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 1142: passive ⇒ SOV

Original
Passivization is prominent in SVO languages, but not at all in OV languages.
Standardized
IF there is a passive, THEN basic word order will be SVO rather than (S)OV.
Keywords
diathesis, voice, order, SVO, OV
Domain
syntax
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical
Basis
unspecified
Source
W.P.Lehmann 1978b: 22
Counterexamples
FP

FP

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One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    1. According to Lehmann 1978b: 22, passivization is essentially a tool for achieving topicalization for the object and such a tool is unnecessary in OV structures. 2. This statement predicts that among SVO languages there will be a significantly larger percentage of languages having a passive than among OV languages. Haspelmath 1990: 61 notes that of the 37 SOV-languages of the Gramcats sample only 13 (35%) languages have a passive and of the 30 SVO-languages 8 (27%) languages have a passive.

    1. May 2020

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