A causative element precedes the root of the causativized verb in subject-final languages.
Standardized
IF subject full noun phrases follow object full noun phrases, THEN a causative element precedes the root of the causativized verb.
Keywords
order, subject, object, causative
Domain
morphology, 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. 2. W. Lehmann (#15) claims that the position of the causative element is dependent on the property of verb/object order: Causative elements are placed before verb roots in VO languages. Languages in Keenan’s sample are of VO order, therefore it is questionable whether the position of causative elements directly correlates with subject/object order.
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. 2. W. Lehmann (#15) claims that the position of the causative element is dependent on the property of verb/object order: Causative elements are placed before verb roots in VO languages. Languages in Keenan’s sample are of VO order, therefore it is questionable whether the position of causative elements directly correlates with subject/object order.