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Language & Communication

A typologist observes that in languages with postpositions, the genitive almost always precedes the noun. Which implication regarding language universals most accurately describes this phenomenon?

A)Postpositions cause genitives to shift
B)Noun order predicts postposition usage
C)Genitives and nouns lack correlation
D)Postpositions imply pre-genitive ordering

💡 Explanation

The implication observed is that languages with postpositions tend to exhibit a genitive-noun order, rather than the reverse. This represents implicational universals, because the presence of postpositions suggests a pre-genitive ordering; therefore, languages that have postpositions will likely have pre-genitive word order, rather than other possible arrangements.

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