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Universal 1361:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 1361:

Original
If the multiplier follows the multiplicand in a particular numeral, it follows in all higher numerals which are expressed by multiplication.
Where there is this variability in multiplicand-multiplier order, the language is always one in which the numeral follows the noun.
Standardized
In numeral systems, IF the multiplier follows the multiplicand in a particular numeral, THEN it follows in all higher numerals which are expressed by multiplication.
IF there is this variability in multiplicand-multiplier order, THEN the numeral follows the noun.
Keywords
order, numeral, noun
Domain
word formation
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical
Basis
56 languages mentioned in Greenberg 1978a
Source
Greenberg 1978a: 275 (#29)
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    1. MULTIPLICAND = a quantity to be multiplied by another.2. MultiplieR = a quantity by which another is multiplied.3. In Margi (Chadic, Afro-Asiatic), for example, the order with multiplier of ten is 2×10, 3×10, etc, but where hundreds are 100×2, 100×3, etc. In this language the numeral follows the noun. 4. The general principle which underlies this generalization is the larger the number value of a numeral, the more it resembles a noun in its syntax; cf. Corbett’s statement #152 .

    1. May 2020

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