Universals Archive
A database of proposed crosslinguistic laws and tendencies in grammar across the world’s languages. 2,029 published entries.
2,017 entries · page 41 of 41
| # | Standardized / Original | Domain | Type | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 2020 | There are no (clear cases of) long-distance reciprocals. | syntax | unconditional | reciprocal, binding |
| 2021 | There is a word for FEELING (verb, adjective, or noun), undifferentiated between "bodily feelings" (sensations) and "cognitively based" feelings ("emotions"), and distinct from THINKING. | lexicon | unconditional | sensation, emotion, cognition, word class |
| 2022 | Some feelings can be described as "good" and some as "bad" (while some may be viewed as neither "good" nor "bad"). | lexicon | unconditional | sensation, emotion |
| 2023 | There are words comparable, though not necessarily identical in meaning, with cry/weep and smile/laugh; that is words referring to bodily expression of good and bad feelings. | lexicon | unconditional | emotion, sensation, body |
| 2024 | There are "emotive" interjections (i.e. interjections expressing cognitively based feelings). | syntax, lexicon | unconditional | emotion, sensation, cognition, interjection |
| 2025 | There are some "emotion terms" (i.e. terms designating some cognitively based feelings). | lexicon | unconditional | emotion, sensation, cognition |
| 2026 | There are words linking feelings with (i) the thought that "something bad can happen to me", (ii) the thought that "I want to do something", and (iii) the thought that "people think something bad about me", that is words overlapping (though not identical) in meaning with the English words afraid, angry, and ashamed. | lexicon | unconditional | emotion, sensation |
| 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 |
| 2029 | The main universal mode for describing cognitively based feelings is in terms of a comparison, that is, via LIKE, and in this, the main human strategy for talking about feelings is analogous to the main human strategy for talking about colours. | lexicon | unconditional | emotion, sensation, cognition, colour, metaphor |
| 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 |