Category: Universals Archive

Universal 201: Original No set of case marking elements are both independent morphemes and inseparable from the head noun. Standardized IF a relational marker (case,…

Universal 217: Original This hierarchy expresses the semantic naturalness for a lexically specified noun phrase to function as agent of a true transitive verb and…

Universal 233: Original Governors either follow or they precede their governees in all of the following constructions alike: (a) subject, object, and verb, (b) nominal…

Universal 249: Original Predicate hierarchy 1A:non-presentative ascriptive predications (Xi)loc > A > N > (Xi)poss. This hierarchy says that if a predication type at a…

Universal 265: Original Active languages are characterized by dividing nouns into active (“animate”) and inactive (“inanimate”) classes and by the corresponding principle of dividing verbs…

Universal 281: plural (noun) ⇒ singular designates indefinite number of objects (noun) Original If nouns have Plural, then they have Singular which can designate an…

Universal 297: Original In all languages, inversion of the word order can be used as a logical or emotional emphasis. Standardized Inversion of word order…

Universal 313: Original In an overwhelming majority of languages all or almost all markers of the syntactic form of the indefinitive* are zero markers. Standardized…

Universal 329: Original If transitive verbs have suffix agreement in person with subjects, then at least some of intransitive verbs also agree with their subjects…

Universal 345: Nominal_predicate Subject ⇒ Verbal_predicate Subject Original If a subject usually follows the nominal predicate, then it also follows the verbal predicate. Standardized IF…