Universal 1514: OS ⇒ no verb agreement V. agreement with two noun phrases
Original
If a language is subject-final then either transitive verbs of unmarked sentences agree with no full noun phrase in the sentence or they agree with two noun phrases.
Standardized
IF basic order is subject-final (for full noun phrases), THEN either transitive verbs of unmarked sentences agree with no full noun phrase in the sentence or they agree with two noun phrases (subject and object).
Keywords
order, subject, object, agreement
Domain
inflection, syntax
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute
Basis
Malagasy, Batak [Toba Dialect], Fijian, Gilbertese (all Malayo-Polynesian), Tzeltal (Mayan), Otomi (Oto-Manguean), Ineseño Chumash (Hokan), Baure (Arawakan), Tzotzil, Kekchi (both Mayan), Tsou (Formosan, Austronesian), although the last three languages are not surveyed in the paper
1. By SUBJECT-FINAL languages Keenan means any language in which full noun phrase subjects must follow noun phrase direct objects in the pragmatically less marked sentence types (which contain both subjects and direct objects) of the language. Sentences which are pragmatically less marked place the fewest restrictions on their contexts of appropriate use. 2a. According to Keenan (#1516), subject-final languages are always verb-initial. It means that Keenan’s claims about subject-final languages can be applied to VOS languages as well. 2b. Cf. a more general claim about verb-initial languages (#1564): With possibly greater than chance frequency, the verb in verb-initial languages either agrees with no NPs, or with two NPs.
1. By SUBJECT-FINAL languages Keenan means any language in which full noun phrase subjects must follow noun phrase direct objects in the pragmatically less marked sentence types (which contain both subjects and direct objects) of the language. Sentences which are pragmatically less marked place the fewest restrictions on their contexts of appropriate use. 2a. According to Keenan (#1516), subject-final languages are always verb-initial. It means that Keenan’s claims about subject-final languages can be applied to VOS languages as well. 2b. Cf. a more general claim about verb-initial languages (#1564): With possibly greater than chance frequency, the verb in verb-initial languages either agrees with no NPs, or with two NPs.