Category: Universals Archive

Universal 1180: ‘leg’ ⇒ ‘arm’ Original If in a given language there is a separate term for ‘leg’ (as opposed to ‘foot’), then there is…

Universal 1196: Adj ⇒ Adj(color) & Adj(dimension) & Adj(age) & Adj(value) Original If a language has a category of adjectives, this class is likely to…

Universal 1213: extended system of local cases ⇒ extended system of local postpositions Original If there is an extensive system of local cases, then there…

Universal 1229: posterior local case ⇒ superior & inferior local case Original If there are posterior local cases, then there will also be both superior…

Universal 1245: Original The complete elimination of a language’s initial vowels, whether by loss or by consonant problems, is less likely than the complete elimination…

Universal 1261: assimilation of vowels with high tone ⇒ assimilation of vowels with low tone Original Assimilation of vowels with high tone implies assimilation of…

Universal 1277: Original If the direct object is marked in the unitransitive clause, the indirect object will be marked in the bitransitive clause. Standardized IF…

Universal 1293: possessive resultative ⇒ subjective resultative ⇒ objective resultative Original The presence of possessive resultatives implies subjective resultatives, and this in turn implies objective…

Universal 1309: postposition ⇒ aspect affixes on V are suffixed Original If a language is postpositional, aspect affixes on verb (if any) are suffixed with…

Universal 1325: Original Every human language has a distinction between one-referent and two-referent predicators. Standardized Every human language has a distinction between one-referent and two-referent…