Category: Universals Archive

Universal 1473: Original In an overwhelming majority of languages, if some form denotes the metaperson ‘speaker + hearer(s) + non-participant(s)’, then it denotes also the…

Universal 1489: Original Incorporation takes place with the verbs denoting permanent and general activity (also typical or characteristic activity) whereas “accidental” or indifferent activities take…

Universal 1505: Original The endpoint polysemy prediction:The use of a single lexeme to denote either static location in some configuration or motion into that configuration…

Universal 1521: OS ⇒ N Rel Original In subject-final languages relative clauses always present the head noun to the left of the restricting clause. Standardized…

Universal 1537: Original In verb-initial languages, subordinate markers such as complementizers, nominalizers, and subordinate conjunctions precede their clauses. Standardized IF word order is verb-initial, THEN…

Universal 1553: verb-initial ⇒ Modal Verb, Aux Verb, Neg Verb, Desiderative Verb, Volition Verb Original In verb-initial languages, if expressed by morphemically independent forms, modals,…

Universal 1569: Original If both perfective and imperfective verbs build the passive forms with reflexive marker, the constraints on the use of the agentive object…

Universal 1585: dependent-marked possession ⇒ alienable possession;head-marked possession ⇒ inalienable possession Original The inalienables take marking which is more nearly head-marking or less dependent-marking than…

Universal 1601: Vowels > Semivowels > Liquids > Fricatives > Obstruent Stops Original Nasal harmony hierarchy: Vowels > Semivowels > Liquids > Fricatives > Obstruent…

Universal 1617: Animate/Human: ?Kin/Status > Sex;Inanimate/Nonhuman: Shape > Orientation, Rigidity > Nature/Function. Original The implicational hierarchy of semantic distinctions for numeral classifier systems: Animate/Human: ?Kin/Status…