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1. May 2020
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Universal 1449:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 1449:

Original
In no language is there a special form to denote the metaperson ‘hearer’ in the non-singular.
Standardized
In no language is there a special form to denote the metaperson ‘hearer’ in the non-singular.
Keywords
personal pronoun, person, 2nd, hearer, number, non-singular, inclusive, exclusive
Domain
inflection, syntax, lexicon
Type
unconditional
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical (according to author absolute)
Basis
400 world-wide distributed languages, see Sokolovskaja 1980: 98-99; Sokolovskaja surveyed systems of independent personal pronouns only.
Source
Sokolovskaja 1980: 91, U 11
Counterexamples
Languages having inclusive/exclusive opposition in the 2nd person, e.g. Ghomala (Benue-Congo, Niger-Kordofanian) (Wiesemann 1986: viii). ??? Abkhaz (N. Caucasian) (EF, FP).Bavarian German (Simon 2000).
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  1. FP
    FP

    1. Sokolovskaja recognizes the following metapersons:’speaker’, ‘hearer’, ‘non-participant’, ‘speaker + hearer(s)’, ‘speaker + non-participant(s)’, ‘hearer(s) + non-participant(s)’, and ‘speaker + hearer(s) + non-participant(s). 2. This universal follows from #1454.3. Cf. a similar statement by Greenberg, #1948.

    1. May 2020

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