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The Branching Direction Theory of Word Order Correlations Revisited

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Part of the book series: Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory ((SNLT,volume 76))

In this paper, I discuss implications for the Branching Direction Theory proposed by Dryer (1992a) for accounting for the Greenbergian word order correlations if one assumes much flatter constituent structures than those assumed in Dryer (1992a) and in much work in generative syntax. Some correlations that are not accounted for by the Branching Direction Theory if we assume flatter constituent structures, such as the order of article and noun, can be accounted for by proposals in Hawkins (1994).

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Dryer, M.S. (2009). The Branching Direction Theory of Word Order Correlations Revisited. In: Scalise, S., Magni, E., Bisetto, A. (eds) Universals of Language Today. Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, vol 76. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8825-4_10

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