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Universal 667: SOV ⇒ ¬information-question inversion

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 667: SOV ⇒ ¬information-question inversion

Original
While languages of all basic order types may have information-question-inversion, SOV languages are less likely than others to have it; they tend more to retain the basic constituent order of simple declarative sentences in information questions.
Standardized
IF basic word order is SOV, THEN there tends to be no inversion in information questions.
Keywords
order, interrogative sentence, information question, inversion
Domain
syntax
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical
Basis
79 languages surveyed in Ultan 1978c
Source
Ultan 1978c: 231
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP
    1. May 2020

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