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Universal 1578:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 1578:

Original
If both the reflexive marker and the causative marker in a language are affixes, both are: (a) either prefixes (cf. Abkhaz, Amharic, Klamath), or (b) suffixes (Yakut, Quechua, Aymara) or (c) the reflexive marker is a prefix and the causative marker is a suffix (Georgian, Ainu, Nivkh, Luganda, Shoshone); it is unlikely for the reflexive marker to be a suffix and the causative marker, a prefix.
Standardized
IF both reflexive marker and the causative marker are affixes, THEN it is unlikely for the reflexive marker to be a suffix and the causative marker a prefix. The likelihood is that they are both prefixes or both suffixes, or that the reflexive is a prefix and the causative a suffix.
Keywords
reflexive marker, causative marker, affix-order, suffix, prefix
Domain
morphology
Type
no genuine implication; rather: provided that
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical
Basis
languages surveyed in Nedjalkov 1980
Source
Nedjalkov 1980: 227
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    The reciprocal marker (if there is one distinct from reflexive marker) is similar in this respect to the causative marker (Nedjalkov 1980: 227).

    1. May 2020

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