Category: Universals Archive

Universal 1528: OS ⇒ passive Original All subject-final languages have passive forms of verbs (ones in which the object of the active verb functions as…

Universal 1544: verb-initial ⇒ verbal case-marking Original In verb-initial languages, verbal case marking is attested to a very significant degree. Standardized IF word order is…

Universal 1560: verb-initial ⇒ no verb agreement V. agreement with two noun phrases Original With possibly greater than chance frequency, the verb in verb-initial languages…

Universal 1576: Original If a language has a complex system both of reflexive constructions and causative constructions (with lexical or analytical causatives), the former tends…

Universal 1592: internal relative clause ⇒ OV ⇒ left-branching NP structure Original The restriction of internally headed relative clauses to OV languages implies that these…

Universal 1608: Original Permeability of classes of consonants to nasalization: vowels > {[h], glottal stop (=laryngeal segments)} > w, y (=oral glides) > r,l (=liquids)…

Universal 1624: Original In languages with double numeral systems, there is a correlative tendency of the A form to be syntactically dependent [i.e. this form…

Universal 1640: Original The principal functions within the objective recessive diathesis develop in the following succession:decausative > passive > impersonal. Languages with the reflexive impersonal…

Universal 1656: Original Lineal kinship term is unmarked as against collateral, consanguineal is unmarked as against affinal, the less remote from the speaker (measured in…

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…