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Universal 67: VSO ⇒ (N A ⇒ N G)

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 67: VSO ⇒ (N A ⇒ N G)

Original
If a language has VSO word order, then if the adjective follows the noun, the genitive follows the noun.
Standardized
IF basic order is VSO, THEN IF the adjective follows the noun, THEN the genitive follows the noun.
Keywords
order, VSO, noun, adjective, attributive, genitive
Domain
syntax
Type
nested implication
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute?
Basis
sample of 350 languages in Hawkins 1983
Source
Hawkins 1979: 226, Hawkins 1980: 201, Hawkins 1983: 65
Counterexamples
VSO & NA & GN: Guajajara (Tupi); Yagua (Peba-Yaguan) (Harrison 1983, 1986: 415; Payne 1985, 1986; Dryer 1991, 2000).

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    1. Cf. #68.2. Dryer 1988: 191: “There is no evidence of any relationship between the order of Verb and Object and the order of Adjective and Noun”.Dryer 1988: 200: “There is no clear evidence for the correlation between Genitive-Noun and Adjective-Noun order.” 2. Yagua is a postpositional language. Payne 1986 therefore suggests to further restrict this nested implication to prepositional languages only:VSO & Prep => (N A=> N G).3. Since the 1990s, Hawkins proposes alternative explanations of his universals (see e.g. Hawkins 1993: 234).

    1. May 2020

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