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Universal 1734:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 1734:

Original
The definite article may govern but is never governed by a noun-phrase-internal constituent.
Standardized
The definite article may govern but is never governed by a noun-phrase-internal constituent.
Keywords
definite article, NP, government
Domain
syntax
Type
unconditional
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute
Basis
languages surveyed in Moravcsik 1994b, including Hungarian, Mari (both Finno-Ugric), Albanian (Albanian, IE), Classical and Modern Greek (Greek, IE), English, German, Swedish, Dutch, Frisian, Old Icelandic (all Germanic, IE), Welsh, Breton, Manx (all Celtic, IE), Spanish, Rumanian, Romantsch, Latin, Sardinian, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Catalan, Italian, Occitan (all Romance, IE), Macedonian (Slavic, IE), Abkhaz (NW Caucasian), Turkish (Turkic, Altaic), Maltese (Semitic, Afro-Asiatic), Basque (isolate), Jicaltepec Mixtec (Oto-Manguean), Samoan (Oceanic, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian), Berbice Dutch Creole, Toba (Western Malayo-Polynesian), Chantyal (?)
Source
Moravcsik 1994b
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP
    1. May 2020

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