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Universal 1531: verb-initial ⇒ prefixes

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 1531: verb-initial ⇒ prefixes

Original
Verb-initial languages evidence significant prefixing, though normally there is some suffixing as well. There is a possibility of ambi-fixing (discontinuous affixes), and a somewhat greater than chance tendency for discontinuous demonstratives.
Standardized
IF word order is verb-initial, THEN there is significant prefixing [more than with other basic orders?], though normally there is some suffixing as well; and there is a possibility of ambi-fixing (discontinuous affixes), and a somewhat greater than chance tendency for discontinuous demonstratives.
Keywords
order, verb-initial, affix-order, prefix, demonstrative
Domain
morphology, syntax
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical
Basis
unknown
Source
unpublished statements of Keenan’s, reproduced in D.Payne 1990: 11
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP
    1. May 2020

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