Author: FP

Universal 1232: Original Diachronically, local cases tend to acquire temporal meanings; in particular, a terminative local case is predestined to acquire temporal meaning. Standardized Diachronically,…

Universal 1233: complex form (locative) ⇒ from simple adposition (locative) Original All languages have at least one so-called “primitive” adposition which specifies location. If there…

Universal 1234: Original If a language provides intransitive verbs that take patients as their theme (as in English ‘These wine glasses break easily, so be…

Universal 1235: argumentless passives and unaccusatives > expletive of displaced NPs > expletives of displaced CPs (S´) > weather predicates > referential NPs Original Hierarchy…

Universal 1236: Original If a language has initial or final clusters, then it also has medial clusters. Standardized IF there are initial or final clusters,…

Universal 1237: Original Languages with uniform syllable division do not have VC.V division. Standardized IF there is uniform syllable division, THEN there is no VC.V…

Universal 1238: Original No language has uniform V.CCV division of two-segment clusters if it has final consonants. Standardized IF there are final consonants, THEN there…

Universal 1239: Original Word-Terminal Condition: if an intersyllabic sequence is divisible into occurring word-initial and word-final clusters, then the perceived boundary does not fall between…

Universal 1240: Original If a language’s only final margins are stops, then they are glottal stops. Standardized IF stops are the only final word margin,…

Universal 1241: Original No language without initial clusters has V.CCV division of two-segment clusters. Standardized IF there are no initial consonantal clusters, THEN there is…