Category: Universals Archive

Universal 818: Original Standardized Normal hierarchy of increasing markedness in vowels: /E / ⇒ /a/ ⇒ /e/ ⇒ /i/ ⇒ /ü/ ⇒ /ö/ ⇒ /œ…

Universal 834: Original Languages with two or more r-types are unlikely to restrict the contrast to place alone. Standardized In languages with more than two…

Universal 850: Original In final clusters, the existence of at least one liquid + nasal cluster implies the existence of at least one liquid +…

Universal 866: Original In final clusters, the existence of at least one sequence consisting of a nasal followed by a liquid, a nasal followed by…

Universal 882: Original Maximal back vowel height is never higher than maximal front vowel height, although the converse may be true. Standardized IF maximal back…

Universal 898: coalescence of the object ⇔ non-referentiality of object & habitual aspect Original The coalescence of the object generally goes hand in hand with…

Universal 914: speaker (1st person pronouns) > addressee (2nd person pronouns) > kin > rational > human > animate > inanimate Original Whenever there is…

Universal 930: Original Standardized IF there are syllabic obstruents, THEN there will be syllabic s§ or s§‡ (given that there is nonsyllabic s or s‡).…

Universal 946: Original The more a language is fusional, the more phonological rules are needed to serve morphological fusion. Standardized The more a language is…

Universal 962: (DefArt ≠ Dem) & VO ⇒ DefArt N;(DefArt ≠ Dem) & OV ⇒ N DefArt Original The more distinct the definite article form…