Universals Archive
A database of proposed crosslinguistic laws and tendencies in grammar across the world’s languages. 2,029 published entries.
1,698 entries · page 34 of 34
| # | Standardized / Original | Domain | Type | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | IF there is tone, THEN vowel systems are (have stayed) relatively rich; IF there is stress accent, THEN vowel systems are (have become) impoverished. |
phonology | implication | tone, stress accent, vowel systems |
| 1960 | IF a speech community is a politically dominant, warrior people, THEN there will be stress accent; IF a speech community is a politically subordinate, peaceful people, THEN there will be tone. |
phonology, culture/mind | implication | stress accent, tone |
| 1961 | IF there is tone rather than stress accent, THEN there are no/few consonant clusters and no closed syllables other than ones closed by a nasal; IF there is stress accent rather than tone, THEN there will be consonant clusters and closed syllables, and much word-internal assimilation and dissimilation among consonants and other consonantal processes (such as articulatory strengthening in stressed syllables). |
phonology | implication | tone, stress accent, syllable structure, consonant cluster, assimilation, dissimilation |
| 1962 | IF there is isolation (i.e., no inflectional morphology), THEN word classes of noun and verb are only weakly differentiated, in the sense of (many) roots equally serving as nouns and verbs. | syntax, inflection | implication | isolation, word classes, noun, verb |
| 1963 | IF there are consonant clusters CiCj, THEN there are also stems of the form CiVCj. | phonology, morphology | implication | phonotactics, consonant cluster |
| 1964 | IF the basic word form is stem+suffix, THEN word stress, provided it is fixed, is on a non-final syllable. IF the basic word form coincides with the stem (i.e., is without suffix), THEN word stress, provided it is fixed, is on final syllable. |
phonology, morphology | implication | word stress, suffix |
| 1965 | IF a phonotactic constraint holds for a syllable-edge, THEN it also holds for a corresponding word edge, but not vice versa. | phonology, morphology | implication | word, syllable, phonotactic constraint |
| 1966 | IF a sequence of consonants (possibly only consisting of one) occurs in a consonant cluster of n members, THEN it also occurs in a corresponding cluster of n-1 members. | phonology | implication | consonant cluster, phonotactics |
| 1969 | For both stems and consonant clusters, IF less sonorant consonant combinations are permissible, THEN the corresponding more sonorant consonant combinations are also permissible: CVC > CVS > CV CC > CS > C |
phonology | implicational hierarchy | phonotactics, sonority, stem, consonant cluster |
| 1970 | IF clusters of n Cs are possible syllable-initially, THEN clusters of n-1 Cs are also possible syllable-initially, and IF clusters of n Cs are possible syllable-finally, THEN clusters of n-1 Cs are also possible syllable-finally. | phonology | implication | phonotactics, syllable, consonant cluster, complexity |
| 1971 | The Compensatory Principle: The co-occurrence patterns of hetero-organic consonants across a vowel are such that if the first consonant is more sonorous than the second according to laryngeal specification, then the second consonant will be more sonorous according to place of articulation; if the first consonant is more sonorous than the second according to place of articulation, then the second will be more sonorous according to laryngeal specification. |
phonology | implication | phonotactics, consonant, sonority |
| 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 | |
| 1978 | An existential or copulative element tends to be omitted more often in a construction which involves a full predication such as a noun complement, a locative complement, or a clausal subject than otherwise. | syntax | implication | verb, existence, copula, zero |
| 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 |
| 1981 | When a language with a full copula begins to lose it, or when a language with a zero copula begins to develop one, the use in which the change is initiated is that of identity or equivalence with a noun complement. | syntax | implication | copula, zero |
| 1984 | IF basic order is OV, THEN a frequently-used kind of subordinate clause is one with conjunctive verb forms. | inflection, syntax | implication | order, OV, subordination, conjunctive, |
| 1985 | IF basic order is OV, THEN there are compound verbs involving preverbs plus auxiliary. | syntax | implication | order, OV, compound verb, auxiliary, preverb |
| 1986 | IF basic order is OV, THEN sequences of events of the 'go, do, and return' type are expressed as 'having done, return'. IF basic order is VO, THEN sequences of events of the 'go, do, and return' type are expressed as 'go and do'. |
syntax | implication | order, OV, VO, clause combining, subordination, coordination |
| 1987 | IF basic order is OV, THEN plural marking on nouns is optional, and is avoided in particular when nouns are accompanied by numerals. | inflection, syntax | implication | order, OV, plural, numeral |
| 1988 | (i) IF subordinate clauses precede their main clauses, THEN quotations precede the quoting verb. (ii) IF there are conjunctive verb forms, THEN the conjunctive of a verb 'to say' is used as a quotation marker following after the quote. |
syntax | implication | order, subordination, speech reporting, quotative, verb, conjunctive |
| 1989 | IF the lexical items for existential or copulative function form a word class of their own, THEN its negative will be distinct from other negatives. | syntax | implication | word class, verb, copula, existence, negation |
| 1990 | IF the lexical items for existential or copulative function are lexically separate in the present tense, THEN they share a single past tense. | syntax | implication | verb, existence, copula, tense, present, past |
| 1991 | The negative of past tense forms of the lexical items for existential and copulative function tends to be more regular in formation than the present-tense negative. | inflection, syntax | implication | verb, existence, copula, negation, tense, past, present |
| 1992 | IF the lexical items for existential and copulative function are separate, and they are in a suppletive relation with verbs meaning 'become' and 'stay', then 'become' will be related to the copula and 'stay' to the existential verb. | inflection, syntax, lexicon | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | verb, existence, copula, suppletion |
| 1994 | The lexical meaning of adjectives is historically more stable than that of nouns, since it is simpler (simple property concepts vs. names for property bundles). On the other hand, adjectives become more easily obsolete than nouns and their diachronic turnover is faster than that of nouns, since when there is not much meaning in the first place its bleaching is tantamount to loss. Adjectives are more easily borrowed than nouns, since their meanings are simpler and easier to grasp. |
lexicon | implication | word class, adjective, noun, borrowing |
| 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 |
| 1998 | IF there are gender-number-person contrasts on the predicate agreeing in these categories with the subject, THEN there are the same contrasts on subject pronouns. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, verb, gender, number, person, pronoun |
| 1999 | IF a bound form is morphologically replaced through analogical levelling or otherwise, THEN the corresponding free form is also replaced, or has already been replaced. | inflection, syntax | implication | free form, bound form, analogy, levelling |
| 2004 | IF there is a gender distinction in any pronoun other than 3rd person, THEN there will be a gender distinction (the same?) in 3rd person. | inflection | implication | pronoun, person, gender |
| 2005 | The higher the (simple) cardinal numerals, the unlikelier they are to agree in gender. | inflection, syntax | implication | numeral, agreement, gender |
| 2006 | IF an agreement target can agree [in gender, number, or whatever], THEN typically it must agree, even if the agreement controller lacks the appropriate features. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, gender, number |
| 2007 | IF infinitive phrases are non-prototypical controllers of agreement in gender and number, requiring neutral agreement forms, THEN so are clauses. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, gender, number, infinitive, clause |
| 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 |
| 2009 | When gender agreement is in decline, IF target words other than personal pronouns continue to agree in gender, THEN personal pronouns also continue to agree in gender. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, gender, personal pronoun |
| 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 |
| 2013 | If there is contrastive pitch accent, then there is a vocalic length contrast.If there is a vocalic length contrast, then there cannot also be contrastive dynamic (=stress) accent.If there is contrastive dynamic (=stress) accent, then there cannot also be contrastive vowel length.[i.e., and vice versa] | prosodic phonology | implication | pitch, stress, vowel length |
| 2014 | IF augmentatives/diminutives can be formed from Determiners, THEN they can also be formed from Adverbs, Numerals, Pronouns, or Interjections;IF from Adverbs, Numerals, Pronouns, or Interjections, THEN also from Adjectives or Verbs;IF from Adjectives or Verbs, THEN from Nouns. | word formation | implicational hierarchy | augmentative, diminutive, word class, noun, adjective, verb, adverb, numeral, pronoun, interjection, determiner |
| 2015 | IF the attributive noun (genitive, esp. when morphologically unmarked) precedes the head noun, THEN (i) nominal affixes (for case, number, gender/class) and adpositions are postposed (suffixes, postpositions), (ii) pronominal possessives precede the head noun, (iii) attributive adjectives precede the head noun, (iv) verbal affixes (person, number) and pronouns (for subject) precede the verb, (v) direct objects (accusative, esp. when morphologically unmarked) precede the verb. IF the attributive noun (genitive, esp. when morphologically unmarked) follows the head noun, THEN (i) nominal affixes (for case, number, gender/class) and adpositions are preposed (prefixes, prepositions), (ii) pronominal possessives follow the head noun, (iii) attributive adjectives follow the head noun, (iv) verbal affixes (person, number) and pronouns (for subject) follow the verb, (v) direct objects (accusative, esp. when morphologically unmarked) follow the verb. |
syntax, culture/mind | implication | order, attribution, possessive, genitive, object, adjective |
| 2016 | Overall Dependency Hierarchy between Grammatical Systems: 1. Polarity (I) 2. Tense; Aspect; Evidentiality (II) 3. { Person; Reference classification (gender etc.) (III) 4. { Number (III) } 5. Case (IV) } This basically indicates that a grammatical system may be dependent on any system above it in the hierarchy. The lower system may have a different set of choices available according to which term is chosen from the higher system. The braces indicate mutual dependencies (i) between person and reference classification, and number; and (ii) between number and case. Further expectations: 1. Mood should not be dependent on aspect, number, or case; mood should not be dependent on polarity, nor vice versa. 2. Definiteness is probably to be added quite low in the hierarchy, just above Case and below Number, or at the same level as Case or Number (Definiteness may depend on Number, and vice versa; Definiteness may depend on number, and vice versa). |
inflection | implicational hierarchy | polarity, tense, aspect, evidentiality, person, gender, number, case, neutralization, syncretism |
| 2017 | When a system does show functional markedness it is generally the case that (i) when the number of choices in the system is reduced, in a particular context, the unmarked term will always be retained, and will have its semantic scope extended; and (ii) if the choices in system X depend on that made in system Y, we will always expect more choices in X to be associated with the unmarked than with the marked terms from Y.Markedness distributions:Polarity: positive is functionally and almost always formally unmarked, and negative marked;Number: singular is almost always functionally and often also formally unmarked;Person: if any person, then 3rd;Tense, Aspect: often no unmarked term, or crosslinguistically variable;Case: generally case that covers intransitive subject function is unmarked, but sometimes also accusative;Reference classification: often masculine unmarked, sometimes feminine. | inflection | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | markedness, polarity, tense, aspect, evidentiality, person, gender, number, case |
| 2018 | IF there is switch-reference marking, THEN alignment for (all) syntactic purposes is accusative. | inflection, syntax | implication | switch-reference, alignment, accusative |
| 2019 | (i) IF there are classifiers for other contrasts, THEN there are ones for the contrast human/nonhuman or animate/inanimate;(ii) IF there are genders or noun classes for other contrasts, THEN there are ones for the contrast human/nonhuman or animate/inanimate.(iii) There is a contrast human/nonhuman or animate/inanimate recognized by some grammatical forms (such as interrogative pronouns) or rules. | inflection, syntax | implication | classifier, gender, animacy |
| 2030 | IF there is Scrambling, then basic order is SOV. | syntax | implication | order, SOV, scrambling |
| 2031 | IF there are word-initial geminates, THEN there are also medial geminates. | phonology | implication | consonant, geminate, word |
| 2032 | IF there are voiced word-initial geminate stops, THEN there are also voiceless word-initial geminate stops. | phonology | implication | consonant, geminate, voice |
| 2033 | IF there are contour tones in place X on any of the hierarchies in (a)-(d), THEN there are contour tones also lower on each hierarchy:(a) syllable type: CVV >> CVR >> (CVO) >> CV(b) number of syllables: monosyllabic >> bisyllabic >> polysyllabic(c) prominence: stressed >> unstressed, root >> affix syllable(d) tone: R >> F >> H, L | phonology | implicational hierarchy | tone, contour tone |
| 2034 | Generally agreed upon "facts" about contour tones (marked = more complex, rarer): (a) contour tones are more marked than level tones; (b) rising tones are more marked than falling tones; (c) rising-falling and falling-rising tones are more marked than rising and falling tones. Markedness generalizations:The more marked a tone is, (i) the more likely it is absent in a tone system;(ii) the more likely it is to be restricted to a hospitable tone bearing unit (e.g. long, prominent, sonorous). |
phonology | implication | tone, contour tone, level tone, markedness |