Re: head-initial structure

Mike S:
> Garrett Jones <alkaline@...> wrote:
> >i'm considering having no inflectional affixes at all, with plurality and
> >tense appearing as quantifiers and auxiliary verbs. But, derivation will be
> >prefixing. Are you not doing derivation at all?
>
> BTW If you choose to implement inflections, I do think you
> have the right idea regarding placing them in front, near
> the header, as you mentioned in the other post.
IIRC, there is a typological association between head-initiality
and prefixing, but also, independently of head/dependent ordering,
a general tendency for suffixation to be preferred over prefixation.
I forget what the reason for that is supposed to be, but perhaps it
is because word-beginnings are more salient than word-endings, and
it is more helpful to devote salience to the base than to the affix.

(BTW, my own conlang is rigorously and absolutely head-initial,
and highly isolating. The single series of affixes are prefixes.)

--And.