Category: Universals Archive

Universal 1110: preverbs (perfective aspect) ⇒ preverbs (future tense) Original If in a language perfective aspect is expressed by help of preverbs then it is…

Universal 1126: incorporation (noun) ⇒ incorporation (pronoun) Original If nouns can be incorporated, then pronouns can also be incorporated. Standardized IF nouns can be incorporated,…

Universal 1142: passive ⇒ SOV Original Passivization is prominent in SVO languages, but not at all in OV languages. Standardized IF there is a passive,…

Universal 1158: Original If the indefinite article is derived from the cardinal ‘one’, non-numerable nouns cannot take indefinite article. Standardized IF the indefinite article is…

Universal 1174: Original If in a given language a term for a cardinal direction is introduced, then the sun provides the most likely model to…

Universal 1190: non-subjects control reflexives/reciprocals ⇒ subjects control reflexives/reciprocals Original If non-subject can control reflexives/reciprocals, then subjects can, too. Standardized IF non-subject can control reflexives/reciprocals,…

Universal 1206: Original Constraint on negating self-dual and monotone decreasing quantifiers:If a language has a syntactic construction whose semantic function is to negate a quantifier,…

Universal 1222: local case ⇒ other local expressions Original If there are local cases, then there are very likely also other expressions for localization, viz.…

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 1254: Original Labiovelar stops are less likely to participate in consonant gradation than other stops of the same series. Standardized Labiovelar stops are less…