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Universal 189: ≥7 cases ⇒ case(s) for local relations

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 189: ≥7 cases ⇒ case(s) for local relations

Original
Any case system with over a certain number of cases in it (probably somewhere around seven) will express locational relations with case forms.
Standardized
IF there are around seven cases or more, THEN locational relations with be expressed by case forms; but not vice versa.
Keywords
case system, local case
Domain
inflection, syntax, semantics
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute
Basis
languages mentioned in Kilby 1983
Source
Kilby 1983: 55
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    The reverse is not true. Russian, for example, has six cases as compared to the five of Manchu (Tungus, Altaic), but only the latter expresses location in its case system in a systematic way. (Kilby 1983: 55)

    1. May 2020

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