Category: Universals Archive

Universal 1159: Original Indefinite articles are generally short – that is, they never have more than two syllables. Standardized Indefinite articles are generally short; that…

Universal 1175: ‘north’ &/v ‘south’ ⇒ ‘east’ &/v ‘west’ Original Languages having terms for ‘north’ and/or ‘south’ typically have terms for ‘east’ and/or ‘west’ but…

Universal 1191: Original If a reflexive/reciprocal can be an indirect object and/or circumstantial, then a reflexive/reciprocal can also be either direct object or possessive. Standardized…

Universal 1207: Original Dual quantifier universal:If a natural language has a basic determiner for each of D and d then these are semantically equivalent to…

Universal 1223: Original If there is a local case other than locative, then there will also be a locative. Standardized IF there is a local…

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 1255: Original The less sonorous a vowel (or class of vowels), the more prone it will be to assimilate; and conversely, the more sonorous…

Universal 1271: Original Categories which can be used as a ‘perfect of result’ (i.e. to say that something has happened that has a result at…

Universal 1287: Original The Verb-Object Bonding Principle (VOB):The object of a transitive verb is more tightly bounded to the verb than is its subject. Standardized…

Universal 1303: postposition ⇒ Plural affixes on N are suffixed Original If a language is postpositional, plural affixes on noun (if any) are suffixed with…