Category: Universals Archive

Universal 1638: Original It is characteristic for reflexive markers to develop into decausative markers cross-linguistically, and there is no evidence of the reverse process. Standardized…

Universal 1654: visual > non-visual > inferential > quotative, OR direct > indirect Original The Evidentiality Hierarchy:visual > non-visual > inferential > quotative, OR direct…

Universal 1670: Original In contiguous syllables, a contour tone may be more likely to appear if one of the two tones is low. Standardized IF…

Universal 1686: Original If SVO languages or VSO languages derank their consecutive chains, it will derank posterior predicates. Standardized IF basic order is either SVO…

Universal 1702: Original The Nucleus Law:A nucleus is the more preferred: (a) the steadier its speech sound, and (b) the less the Consonantal Strength of…

Universal 1718: indefinite article co-occurs with nouns accompanied by possessors ⇒ definite article co-occurs with nouns accompanied by possessors Original If indefinite articles co-occur with…

Universal 1734: Original The definite article may govern but is never governed by a noun-phrase-internal constituent. Standardized The definite article may govern but is never…

Universal 1750: Original If the distinction between ordinal and cardinal forms for the number 1 at some decade is by suppletion, then it is also…

Universal 1766: Original Nasal effacement applies to tautosyllabic nasals in preference to heterosyllabic nasals. Standardized IF heterosyllabic (intervocalic) nasals are effaced [deleted?], THEN tautosyllabic (preconsonantal)…

Universal 1782: Original If a language has fricative + stop onset clusters, then it has fricative + fricative onset clusters. Standardized IF there are fricative…