Universal 261: ergative language ⇒ ObjectSubject markers

Universal 261: ergative language ⇒ ObjectSubject markers

Original

In ergative languages personal verb affixes are arranged such that the object marker almost always precedes the subject marker.

Standardized

IF alignment is predominantly ergative, THEN of verbal person markers those for object (if present) almost always precede those for subject.

Keywords

alignment, ergative, verb, person, affix-order, subject, object

Domain

inflection, syntax

Type

implication

Status

achronic

Quality

statistical

Basis

different language families in Klimov 1973

Source

Klimov 1973: 102

Counterexamples

The so-called suffixal languages of Australia (Klimov 1973)