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Universal 643:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 643:

Original
Variation of person in pronominal reference indicates greater difference in degree of respect or social distance than does variation of number.
Standardized
Variation of person in pronominal reference indicates greater difference in degree of respect or social distance than does variation of number.
Keywords
personal pronoun, person, number, respect, social distance
Domain
inflection, semantics
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute
Basis
more than one hundred languages in Head 1978
Source
Head 1978: 191,
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    Thus, in languages in which variation of number and of person are both employed to indicate social meaning in address, the hierarchy in order of increasing social distance is: 2Sg < 2Pl < 3Sg < 3Pl. (Head 1978)

    1. May 2020

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