Universal 1303: postposition ⇒ Plural affixes on N are suffixed

Universal 1303: postposition ⇒ Plural affixes on N are suffixed

Original

If a language is postpositional, plural affixes on noun (if any) are suffixed with considerably greater than chance frequency.

Standardized

IF there are postpositions, THEN plural affixes on nouns are suffixed with considerably greater than chance frequency.

Keywords

order, postposition, noun, number, plural, affix-order, suffix

Domain

inflection, syntax

Type

implication

Status

achronic

Quality

statistical

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

Gilligan’s sample: 94% of postpositional languages with plural affixes are suffixing, 6% are prefixing.