The Cross-Linguistic Distribution of Adjective Ordering Restrictions

Abstract

English displays well-known restrictions on the ordering of multiple prenominal adjectival modifiers (see Bloomfield, 1933; Whorf, 1945; Lance, 1968; Vendler, 1968; Quirk et al, 1972 among numerous others). Most descriptions include a hierarchy such as the following: QUALITY > SIZE > SHAPE > COLOR > PROVENANCE.¹

We would like to thank the large number of people who have given us helpful discussion and comments on this work: D. Bolinger, G. Chierchia, C. Condoravdi, G. Diffloth, J. Higginbotham, D. Hindle, J. Hirschberg, P. Kiparsky, M. Liberman, M. Rooth, D. Schulz, L. Waugh, and the editors and two anonymous reviewers for this volume. For providing us with native judgments we wish to thank the following: J. van Santen (Dutch); T. Papathomas, A. Fountoukidis, D. Lappas, G. Nikolakopoulou, T. Pappas, S. Papastavridis (Greek); H. S. Gopal (Kannada); O. Fujimura, Y. Tada, E. Wada (Japanese); S. Witayasakpan (Thai); M. Achour (Arabic); G. Diffloth (French); A. Ní Chasaide, C. Ó Dochartaigh (Irish). Thanks also to J. Levin for pointing us to the Mokilese facts.