Difference between revisions of "Implicational universal"
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==Example== | ==Example== | ||
− | <p>An implicational universal is the tendency for [[typological classification | verb-final languages (OV languages)]] to also exhibit postposition instead of preposition. This is confirmed in the Anatolian branch of Indo-European by Luwian, Palaic and Hittite, which all feature clause-final verbs as well as postpositional phrases. However, a very trivial example of a violation of this implication is provided by one of the best known ancient Indo-European languages, Latin, which features clause-final verbs but uses prepositional phrases, thereby exhibiting a mixed head-final and head-initial order in its phrasal architecture.</p> | + | <p>An implicational universal is the tendency for [[typological classification | verb-final languages (OV languages)]] to also exhibit postposition instead of preposition. This is confirmed in the Anatolian branch of [[language family | Indo-European]] by Luwian, Palaic and Hittite, which all feature clause-final verbs as well as postpositional phrases. However, a very trivial example of a violation of this implication is provided by one of the best known ancient Indo-European languages, Latin, which features clause-final verbs but uses prepositional phrases, thereby exhibiting a mixed head-final and head-initial order in its phrasal architecture.</p> |
==References== | ==References== | ||
Greenberg, J.H. 1963. Universals of Language, Cambridge, MA. | Greenberg, J.H. 1963. Universals of Language, Cambridge, MA. |
Latest revision as of 10:55, 20 July 2023
Contents
Translations
universale implicazionale | universaux implicationnels | Implikationen
Article
Concept introduced by Greenberg (1963), who observed that the presence of some typological features within a language will generally predict, with a fair level of accuracy, the presence of other features.
Contrary to absolute universals, the implications between typological structures are not infallible: several cases exist in which an expected match is not present in one language. Therefore, the label "universal", which survives as it has become traditional, is in fact a misnomer.
Example
An implicational universal is the tendency for verb-final languages (OV languages) to also exhibit postposition instead of preposition. This is confirmed in the Anatolian branch of Indo-European by Luwian, Palaic and Hittite, which all feature clause-final verbs as well as postpositional phrases. However, a very trivial example of a violation of this implication is provided by one of the best known ancient Indo-European languages, Latin, which features clause-final verbs but uses prepositional phrases, thereby exhibiting a mixed head-final and head-initial order in its phrasal architecture.
References
Greenberg, J.H. 1963. Universals of Language, Cambridge, MA.