Category: Universals Archive

Universal 1295: unobservable > irreversible observable > monovalent reversible > bivalent locational Original Hierarchy of resultative formation:unobservable > irreversible observable > monovalent reversible > bivalent…

Universal 1311: SOV ⇒ causative affixes on V are suffixed Original If a language has SOV, causative affixes on verb (if any) are suffixed with…

Universal 1327: Original Every human language makes use of distinction of vowel color. Standardized Every human language makes use of distinction of vowel color. Keywords…

Universal 1344: VO ⇒ adjective-marker-standard;OV ⇒ standard-marker-adjective Original In comparative structures (e.g. ‘taller than John’) there’s a correlation betweenVO order and adjective-marker-standard order and between…

Universal 1360: Original Only a base is ever multiplied by 1. Standardized In numeral systems, only a base is ever multiplied by 1. Keywords numeral…

Universal 1376: FG (relative clause) on H(n) ⇒ FG (WH-question) on H(n) Original Relative Clause and WH-Question Filler: In languages that have filler-gap structures for…

Universal 1392: Original Deletion of past tenses in non-initial (or non-final) verbs of conjunctive series implies deletion of future tenses in the same environment. Standardized…

Universal 1408: Original The higher the number of principle phonemes, the higher the probability of redundancy. Standardized The higher the number of principle phonemes, the…

Universal 1424: Original Secondary oral stops, apart from borrowings, are the results of diachronic developments from clusters. Standardized Secondary oral stops, apart from borrowings, are…

Universal 1440: Original In no language are there pronominal forms differentiating the number of elements within a metaperson, e.g. special forms for ‘hearer + hearer…