Author: FP

Universal 1672: Original Standardized The consonant types on the right end of the hierarchy exercise a greater tone-lowering effect, while those at the left end…

Universal 1673: VSO ⇒ no question particle in Wh word questions Original In most VSO languages, the question particle (corresponding to the English if/whether) does…

Universal 1674: Original Standardized IF there is a phoneme all of whose allophones are variants of /x/, THEN there is a phoneme whose characteristic variant…

Universal 1675: Original Standardized IF there is a phoneme all of whose allophones are variants of /†/, THEN there is a phoneme whose characteristic variant…

Universal 1676: Original Standardized IF there is a phoneme all of whose allophones are variants of /f/, THEN there is a phoneme whose characteristic variant…

Universal 1677: Original There is a strong tendency for agent-oriented modality to be expressed by verbs, auxiliaries or non-bound particles, whereas speaker-oriented and epistemic modalities…

Universal 1678: Original Progressives (which develop from locative, postural or movement verb constructions) tend to develop into imperfectives or occasionally presents. Standardized Progressives (which develop…

Universal 1679: Original Anteriors (or perfects, which develop from stative auxiliaries plus a past participle, or from dynamic verbs such as ‘finish’ or ‘come from’)…

Universal 1680: Original Habitual grams tend to come from verbs meaning ‘live’, ‘know’ or ‘be used to’. Standardized Habitual grams tend to come from verbs…

Universal 1681: Original There is a very general principle that if one resolution operates [in determining agreement with conjoined NPs], all must operate if possible.…