Universal 1309: postposition ⇒ aspect affixes on V are suffixed

Original: If a language is postpositional, aspect affixes on verb (if any) are suffixed with greater than chance frequency.
Standardized: IF there are postpositions, THEN aspect affixes on verbs are suffixed with more than chance frequency.
Keywords: order, postposition, verb, aspect, affix-order, suffix
Domain: inflection, syntax
Type: implication
Status: achronic
Quality: statistical
Basis: 200 languages drawn from three samples: a 113-language sample of L. Stassen, a 40-language sample of R. Perkins & J. Bybee, and a 50-language sample compiled by G. Gilligan
Source: Hawkins & Gilligan 1988: 224

Counterexamples: Stassen’s sample: 87% of postpositional languages with aspect affixes are suffixing, 13% are prefixing; Gilligan’s sample: 81% of postpositional languages with aspect affixes are suffixing, 19% are prefixing.

FP