Category: Universals Archive

Universal 196: OV ⇒ simple syllable structure Original OV languages tend to have simple syllable structure. Standardized IF basic order is OV, THEN syllable structure…

Universal 212: vocalic opposition ⇒ consonantal opposition Original IF a language has a vocalic opposition, THEN it has a consonantal opposition. Standardized IF there is…

Universal 228: case (noun) ⇒ inflection (verb) Original If nouns inflect for case, then verbs inflect for some inflectional category. Standardized IF nouns inflect for…

Universal 244: Original Inflectional systems either have all three of the following properties or none of them: (i) inflectional exponents are intimately joined to the…

Universal 260: ergative language ⇒ prefix-suffixal personal conjugation Original In ergative languages personal conjugation is of prefixal or prefix-suffixal nature. Standardized IF alignment is predominantly…

Universal 276: number (adjective V verb) ⇒ number (noun) Original If there is a regular number distinction in the forms of the adjective or of…

Universal 292: verb agreement (OBL) ⇒ verb agreement (DO) Original In all languages: if the verb agrees with the oblique object, it agrees with the…

Universal 308: Original If active and passive voices differ from each other in nominal actants form, they differ in verb form as well. Standardized IF…

Universal 324: Original If the verb agrees with subject and object and there are forms with the following arrangement of agreement affixes: s-o-V and s-V-o,…

Universal 340: Original If in a conjugation there are confixes, then at least some of them designate subject and/or object in plural.The same holds for…