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A Typologically Based Principle of Linearization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 March 2026

Daniel N. Maxwell
Daniel N. Maxwell*
Affiliation:
Technische Universität Berlin
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Abstract

A hierarchy is here proposed involving three groups of grammatical categories. For most three-part combinations of these categories—occurring in a specific, very common structural configuration—a rule based on this hierarchy generates two linear orders. It is shown that, on the basis of various cross-linguistic studies, one of the orders so generated is the one found in most languages. The principle proposed is shown to compare favorably with other principles which purport to account for cross-linguistic generalizations about word order.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 60 , Issue 2 , June 1984 , pp. 251 - 285
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 by the Linguistic Society of America

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