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Universal 708:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 708:

Original
[…] eine Sprache, die es […] liebt, modifizierende oder grammatische Elemente in großer Zahl dem Wortstamm unterzuordnen, wird keine Neigung zu einem freien und stark zentralisierenden Akzent entwickeln, der zur lautlichen Reduktion von Nebensilben führen würde.
Standardized
IF morphology is agglutinative, THEN (stress) accent will be demarcating, falling on word edges (either on initial or final syllables), rather than be free and centralizing, and there consequently will not be much phonological reduction of initial or final syllables.
Keywords
agglutination, accent, reduction
Domain
phonology, morphology
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical
Basis
impressionistic, inspired by lgs such as Turkish, Manchu, Mongolian, Hungarian
Source
Berger 1992: 9, 11-12
Counterexamples
Burushaski, with agglutinative morphology but with a free and strongly centralizing expiratory accent, causing affix and stem reductions (leading even to zero stems); probably also Ket, Basque, Caucasian lgs (Berger 1992)

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP
    1. May 2020

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