Skip to content

Universal 1298: postposition ⇒ Indefiniteness affixes on N are suffixed

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 1298: postposition ⇒ Indefiniteness affixes on N are suffixed

Original
If a language is postpositional, indefiniteness affixes on noun (if any) are suffixed.
Standardized
IF there are postpositions, THEN indefiniteness affixes on nouns are suffixed.
Keywords
order, postposition, noun, indefinite, affix-order, suffix
Domain
inflection, syntax
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute
Basis
200 languages drawn from three samples: a 113-language sample by L. Stassen, a 40-language sample by J. Bybee & R. Perkins, and a 50-language sample by G. Gilligan
Source
Cutler, Hawkins, & Gilligan 1985: 729; Hawkins & Gilligan 1988: 223
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    Moravcsik 1994: 49 summarized universals of Hawkins & Gilligan (here ##413, 1302, 1304, and 1307) in a more general form:In postpositional languages, nominal affixes, if any, are suffixed with considerable greater than chance frequency.

    1. May 2020

Comments are closed.