Universal 412: postposition ⇒ Gender affixes on N are suffixed;
Gender affixes on N are prefixed ⇒ preposition

Universal 412: postposition ⇒ Gender affixes on N are suffixed;
Gender affixes on N are prefixed ⇒ preposition

Original

If a language is postpositional, Gender affixes on noun (if any) are suffixed.
If a language has prefixed Gender affixes, it will be prepositional.

Standardized

IF there are postpositions, THEN nominal gender affixes (if there are any) are suffixed.
IF gender affixes are prefixed, THEN there are prepositions.

Keywords

postposition, preposition, noun, gender, affix-order, suffix, prefix

Domain

inflection, syntax

Type

implication

Status

achronic

Quality

absolute

Basis

200 languages drawn from three samples: a 113-language sample by L. Stassen, a 40-language sample by J. Bybee & R. Perkins, and a 50-language sample by G. Gilligan

Source

Cutler, Hawkins, & Gilligan 1985: 729; Hawkins & Gilligan 1988: 223, cited in Moravcsik 1994a: 49

Counterexamples