Category: Universals Archive

Universal 1691: absolute anterior consecutive deranking ⇒ SOV Original Languages with absolute anterior consecutive deranking typically have SOV word order. Standardized IF there is absolute…

Universal 1707: Original The Law of Finals:Word-medial syllable codas are the more preferred, the less they differ from possible word-final syllable codas of the language…

Universal 1723: Original If the article co-occurs with the noun when the demonstrative or the possessive is preposed, it also co-occurs with the noun when…

Universal 1739: Original The fact that pronominal heads do not take the definite article is a very widespread and possibly universal phenomenon, explainable to an…

Universal 1755: Original For all languages, if the subject of a non-finite form is nominative, then the subject of (at least some) finite forms will…

Universal 1771: Original Nasalization is more likely to occur before continuants than stops. Standardized IF nasalization occurs before a stop, THEN it will occur before…

Universal 1787: Original Vowel Length Parameter:Vowel nasalization and N-deletion, as seperate and successive processes, occur preferentially in the context of long vowels before spreading to…

Universal 1803: Original A long high back rounded vowel does not occur without a long high front unrounded vowel. Standardized IF there is a long…

Universal 1819: Original Standardized IF there is a labialized voiceless uvular ejective stop, THEN there is a labialized voiceless velar ejective stop. Keywords stop, labial,…

Universal 1835: Original Standardized IF there is a voiceless velar nasal, THEN there is also a voiceless bilabial nasal. Keywords nasal, velar, bilabial, voice Domain…