Universal 239: free word order ⇒ declension for case, number, gender

Universal 239: free word order ⇒ declension for case, number, gender

Original

If constituent order is free, all potentially declinable kinds of nominal words in relationships of determination – nouns, pronouns, adjectives (including articles) – are declined at least for case, the cardinal relational category, but presumably for number and gender as well.

Standardized

IF constituent order is free, THEN all potentially declinable kinds of nominal words in relationships of determination — nouns, pronouns, adjectives (including articles) — are declined at least for case, the cardinal relational category, but presumably for number and gender as well.

Keywords

order, noun, pronoun, adjective, article, case, number, gender

Domain

inflection, syntax

Type

implication

Status

achronic

Quality

absolute

Basis

French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, Breton, Gaelic, English, German, Swedish, Ancient Greek, Polish (all Indo-European), Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew (all Semitic, Afro-Asiatic), Saami (Uralic), Chinese (Sino-Tibetan), Quechua (Andean)

Source

Beauzée 1767

Counterexamples