Universals Archive
A database of proposed crosslinguistic laws and tendencies in grammar across the world’s languages. 2,029 published entries.
142 entries · page 3 of 3
| # | Standardized / Original | Domain | Type | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1508 | IF there is a lexeme denoting motion out of or motion through some configuration, THEN there is a lexeme denoting either motion “into” that configuration or static location in it. | lexicon, semantics | implication | motion, adposition |
| 1509 | IF there is a single lexeme to denote either static location in a configuration or motion “out of” that configuration, THEN there will be a single lexeme to denote either static location in some configuration or motion into that configuration. | lexicon, semantics | implication | motion, adposition |
| 1512 | IF verbs of authority and ruling use subject or object dispacement, THEN emotion verbs use these displacements as well. IF emotion verbs use subject or object dispacement, THEN emotion verbs with semantic component WANT will use subject or object dispacement. IF emotion verbs with semantic component WANT use subject or object dispacement, THEN general emotion verbs use these dispacements as well. IF general emotion verbs use subject or object displacement, THEN general psych-verbs use these displacements as well. |
syntax, semantics | implicational hierarchy | verb, semantics, subject, object |
| 1579 | IF there are any reflexive verbs derived from intransitives by adding reflexive marker and an affix (or a predicative adjective, etc.), THEN a great number of them are likely to imply intensity of action and resultant state. | morphology, syntax, semantics | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | reflexive verb, reflexive marker, intransitive, intensity of action, resultant state |
| 1580 | IF there is a complex system both of reflexive and causative constructions (with lexical or analytical causatives), THEN the reflexive construction tends to include a greater number of figurative and set phrases than the causative construction. | morphology, syntax, semantics | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | reflexive construction, causative construction |
| 1581 | IF there is a reflexive verb meaning 'to laugh', THEN it is usually not derived from the transitive base meaning 'to make somebody laugh'. | morphology, syntax, semantics | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | reflexive, causative |
| 1586 | If a language has a causative morpheme which expresses permissiveness, this morpheme usually combines with a larger group of verbal stems in this meaning than in its second meaning, factitivity, which is implied by the first. | morphology, semantics | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | causative, permissiveness, factitivity |
| 1587 | The following four causative oppositions: (1) laugh - make laugh, amuse; (2) boil - bring to boil; (3) burn - ignite (of a paper); (4) break, get broken - break in two (of a stick), display varying predispositions to expression by one or another formal opposition. Thus, A. The probability that a formal opposition with a causative morpheme will appear decreases from the first causative opposition to the fourth. B. The probability that a formal opposition with an anticausative morpheme will appear increases from the first causative opposition to the fourth. C. The probability that a conversive formal opposition will appear increases from the second causative opposition to the fourth (it was not not found at all in the first). D. Suppletive formal oppositions are encountered almost exclusively in the second and third causative oppositions, which indicates that there is a greater tendency for the first and fourth semantic oppositions to be expressed by one and the same root morpheme. |
morphology, semantics | implication | causative |
| 1588 | IF culturally basic possessed items are among ‘inalienables’, THEN part-whole and/or spatial relations are included in the ‘inalienable’ class as well. IF part-whole and/or spatial relations are among ‘inalienables’, THEN kin terms and/or body parts are included in the ‘inalienable’ class as well. |
inflection, syntax, semantics | implicational hierarchy | possession, inalienable, alienable, kinship |
| 1589 | Provided there is a split in the marking of possession, inalienable possession tends to be encoded through head-marking and alienable possession through dependent-marking. | inflection, syntax, semantics | implication | possession, inalienable, alienable, head-marking, dependent-marking |
| 1590 | IF possession is regularly head-marked, THEN there will be an opposition of alienable and inalienable possession. BY CONTRAPOSITION: IF there is no opposition of alienable and inalienable possession, THEN possession is regularly dependent-marked . |
inflection, syntax, semantics | implication | possession, alienable, inalienable, head-marking, dependent-marking |
| 1592 | IF products are among inalienables, THEN so are pet animals; IF pet animals are among inalienables, THEN so are kin terms; IF kin terms are among inalienables, THEN so are clothing items; IF clothing items are among inalienables, THEN so are inherent attributes; IF inherent attributes are among inalienables, THEN so are body parts. |
inflection, syntax, semantics | implicational hierarchy | possession, alienable, inalienable, kinship, animacy |
| 1598 | The linguistic distance between possessor and possessum is never greater for the terms in the left than it is for the terms on the right: kinsmen/body parts > artefacts. |
inflection, syntax, semantics | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | possession, alienable, inalienable, hierachy |
| 1603 | Every language has N’s and NPs of the type e → t (common nouns as predicates). | syntax, semantics | unconditional | quantification, NP, DP, semantic type |
| 1604 | IF there are DPs of types other than e, THEN there are DPs of type e. When there are no DPs distinct from NPs, NPs can be used as type e. |
syntax, semantics | implication | quantification, NP, DP, semantic type |
| 1621 | IF there are numeral classifiers distinguishing anything else, THEN there are numeral classifiers distinguishing animate/human and inanimate/nonhuman. For animate/human class: IF a numeral classifier system distinguishes objects by their sex, THEN it also distinguishes them by social status (including kinship relations). For inanimate/nonhuman class: IF a numeral classifier system distinguishes objects by orientation, THEN it also distinguishes them by shape. IF a numeral classifier system distinguishes objects by their rigidity, THEN it also distinguishes them by shape. IF a numeral classifier system distinguishes objects by their nature/function, THEN it also distinguishes them by shape. |
inflection, syntax, semantics | implicational hierarchy | numeral classifier, animacy<br> |
| 1622 | IF there are classifiers for edible possessed items, THEN there are for nonedible ones, and vice versa. For the edible class: IF a possessive classifier system distinguishes objects by state of food, THEN it also distinguishes them by manner of ingestion. For the nonedible class: IF a possessive classifier system distinguishes objects by purpose or function, THEN it also distinguishes them by value. |
inflection, syntax, semantics | implication | possessive classifier<br> |
| 1623 | IF there are predicate classifiers for anything else, THEN there are predicate classifiers distinguishing animate and inanimate. IF for animates there are predicate classifiers for anything other than Posture, THEN there are predicate classifiers for Posture. IF for inanimates there are predicate classifiers in terms of Individuation and/or Rigidity, THEN there are predicate classifiers in terms of Shape/Orientation. |
inflection, syntax, semantics | implication | predicate classifier, animacy<br> |
| 1624 | IF there are noun class distinctions for anything else, THEN there is a noun class distinction in terms of animacy. IF for humans/animates there are distinctions other than for sex gender, THEN there is a distinction in terms of sex gender. IF or nonhumans/inanimates there are distinctions other than Nature or Individuation, THEN there is a distinction in terms of Nature or Individuation. |
inflection, syntax, semantics | implication | noun class, animacy |
| 1626 | IF there is a distinct word class of adjectives, THEN nouns are characterised by the feature [+ Shape]. | syntax, semantics | implication | word class, adjective, noun |
| 1627 | In numeral classifier languages: When concrete objects are counted, the numeral always occurs with the appropriate classifier. |
syntax, semantics<br> | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | numeral classifier, numeral |
| 1628 | In languages with double numeral systems, there is a correlative tendency of the A form to be syntactically dependent [i.e. this form cannot stand alone but must be immediately followed by the item counted], and the B form to be independent. | syntax, semantics | unconditional | double numeral systems |
| 1644 | Evolution of semantic functions of subjective reflexive markers: semantic reflexivity > ‘partitive object’ and/or autocausative > absolute and/or reciprocal. (a) RMs with the primary semantic reflexive function are the starting point of evolution, (b) RMs with the semantic reflexive and "partitive object" and/or autocausative functions are in the advanced stage of evolution; (c) RMs with a complete range of semantic subjective functions may be regarded as "mature", and (d) RMs lacking the semantic reflexive (and next to it "partitive object") function(s) are in the final, decaying stage of development. |
syntax, semantics | target < source | reflexive |
| 1659 | IF there are evidentials encoding direct evidence, THEN there are evidentials for indirect evidence. IF there is an evidential category for visual evidence, THEN there is evidential category for non-visual evidence. IF there is an evidential category for inferential evidence, THEN there is evidential category for quotative evidence. |
inflection, syntax, semantics | implicational hierarchy | evidentiality hierarchy |
| 1790 | The shorter a linguistic expression is, the more likely it is will be associated with familiarity and high frequency of occurrence. The longer a linguistic expression is, the more likely it is will be associated with unfamiliarity and low frequency of occurrence. |
morphology, syntax, semantics | implication | iconicity, complexity, length, formality, register, frequency |
| 1922 | IF there is polysynthesis, THEN no more than a two-way contrast in definiteness, indefiniteness, genericity, and referentiality is conveyed by the bound pronominal affixes of agreement morphology alone. | inflection, syntax, semantics | implication | polysynthesis, pronoun, agreement, definite, indefinite, generic, referential |
| 1929 | If a language has two near-synonymous constructions which differ structurally in linguistic distance, they will differ semantically in (among other things) conceptual distance in a parallel fashion. | morphology, syntax, semantics | unconditional | linguistic distance, conceptual distance |
| 1932 | Diminutives tend to contain high front vowels, whereas augmentatives tend to contain high back vowels. | phonology, semantics | unconditional | diminutive, augmentative, vowel, high, front, back, iconicity |
| 1972 | Every language has at least one set of forms or constructions whose primary function (or one of several major functions) is to denote existence, generally with respect to location in space or time, but in the limiting case existence apart from specific location. In other words, every language has an existential element such as a verb or particle, and the denotation of existence is never merely a marginal function of something else. | syntax, semantics | unconditional | verb, particle, existence |
| 1973 | Every language has at least one set of forms or constructions whose primary function (or one of several major functions) is to denote copulative relationships (e.g., identity, equivalence, class membership, class inclusion, attribution of property). In other words, every language has at least one copula or copula constructions, even if this is a zero of some kind which clearly contrasts with other elements commutable with it. | syntax, semantics | unconditional | verb, copula, zero |
| 1975 | There is a tendency for the existential, copulative, and verb-category carrying dummy elements of a language (a) synchronically to interpenetrate in complex patterns of suppletion, semantic overlapping, and partial homonymy, and (b) diachronically to merge, split, and otherwise restructure among themselves. | inflection, syntax, semantics | unconditional | verb, existence, copula, auxiliary, suppletion, homonymy |
| 1976 | There are severe limitations on the kinds of synchronic patterns and diachronic restructurings which may occur in existential-copulative-auxiliary systems, and such patterns and changes are related to syntactic characteristics of a very general typological nature. In other words, a particular pattern of constructions of 'being' tends to reflect the general syntactic character of the language, and changes in the pattern tend to form part of general typological shifts. | inflection, syntax, semantics | implication | verb, existence, copula, auxiliary |
| 1977 | Tenseless or present-tense copulative expressions connecting nouns are more likely to vary diachronically between zero and overt morphemic marking than other copulative expressions or existential or auxiliary expressions. On the one hand, the N1 is N2 construction is the most likely place for optional omission and eventual full deletion, and, on the other hand, when the language has a zero copula, this same construction is the most likely place for the appearance of a new copulative marker. | inflection, syntax, semantics | implication | |
| 1979 | A grammatical element is less likely to be omitted the greater the ambiguity which would result from its omission. | syntax, semantics | implication | ellipsis, ambiguity |
| 1980 | Existential verbs of indefinite subjects tend toward clause-initial position. | syntax, semantics | unconditional | verb, existence, definiteness, subject, order |
| 1996 | IF there is a gender system, THEN the domain of animate nouns is further differentiated; IF there is a system of noun classification, THEN the domain of inanimate nouns is further differentiated. |
inflection, syntax, semantics | implication | gender, noun class, animacy |
| 1997 | It is more natural for a two-term gender distinction in the plural, human vs. non-human, to come about, through semantic reanalysis, from the two-term distinction human male vs. other than the other way round. | inflection, syntax, semantics | target < source | gender, animacy, human, masculine, feminine |
| 2000 | All grammars leak. | phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, etc. | unconditional | analogy, iconicity, economy, plumbing |
| 2008 | The Agreement Hierarchy:attributive < predicate < relative pronoun < personal pronoun(i) Possible agreement pattern are constrained as follows: As we move rightwards along the hierarchy, the likelihood of semantic agreement [in gender or number] [with hybrid nouns] will increase monotonically (that is, with no intervening decrease).(ii) Whenever, in a given position on the Agreement Hierarchy there is a difference between the agreements found in the nominative and in the oblique cases, the likelihood of semantic agreement in the nominative will be as high as or higher than the likelihood of semantic agreement in the oblique cases.(iii) When stacked targets of a given controller stand in different agreement forms, the further target will show semantic agreement.(iv) If parallel targets show different agreement forms, then the further target will show semantic agreement.(v) For any particular target type, the further it is removed from its controller, the greater the likelihood of semantic agreement. | inflection, syntax, semantics | implicational hierarchy | agreement, gender, number, case, nominative, oblique |
| 2011 | The type of gender resolution system found is constrained by the [gender] assignment system of the language. Languages with strict semantic assignment systems [...] have semantic resolution systems, as do those with predominantly semantic systems [...]. Languages with formal assignment systems may have semantic resolution [...], syntactic (=formal) resolution [...], or mixed resolution [...]. Informally speaking, gender resolution may be "more semantic" but not "less semantic" than gender assignment. | inflection, syntax, semantics | implication | agreement, coordination, resolution rules, gender |
| 2027 | (i) Cognitively based feelings can be described via observable bodily "symptoms" (that is, via some bodily events regarded as characteristic of these feelings). (ii) In all languages, cognitively based feelings can be described with reference to bodily sensations, general or localized. (iii) In all languages, cognitively based feelings can be described via figurative "bodily images" (referring to imaginary events and processes taking place inside the body). |
semantics | unconditional | emotion, sensation, cognition, body, metaphor |
| 2028 | There are alternative grammatical constructions for describing (and interpreting) cognitively based feelings, conceptualizing "emotions" as "involuntary" or as "uncontrollable", or as "overwhelming" and "irresistible", or as "active" and in some sense "voluntary", and so on. | syntax, semantics | unconditional | cognition, sensation, emotion, synonymy |