Languages which are closely related areally or genetically may differ considerably in the extent to which they allow zero encoding. For instance, while Austronesian languages typically opt for zero encoding, a full copula is mandatory in a closely related group of three Austronesian languages from northern and central Vanuatu (Ambrym, Big Nambas, and Paamese).
That pretty much answers my original question, yeah. While there are some areas of the Earth where zero-copula languages are more common than others, there isn't a real strong "this language family does/that language family doesn't" thing going on.
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Date: 2012-10-16 02:25 am (UTC)Languages which are closely related areally or genetically may differ considerably in the extent to which they allow zero encoding. For instance, while Austronesian languages typically opt for zero encoding, a full copula is mandatory in a closely related group of three Austronesian languages from northern and central Vanuatu (Ambrym, Big Nambas, and Paamese).
That pretty much answers my original question, yeah. While there are some areas of the Earth where zero-copula languages are more common than others, there isn't a real strong "this language family does/that language family doesn't" thing going on.