Category: Universals Archive

Universal 1418: Original It is almost always possible to use the least marked indicative verb from in a narrative context. Standardized It is almost always…

Universal 1434: many tenses ⇒ ¬ aspect Original A large number of tense oppositions correlates with the absence of aspect differentiation. Standardized IF there are…

Universal 1450: Original In all languages, if some form denotes the metaperson ‘hearer’ in the non-singular, then this form includes among its meanings the metaperson…

Universal 1466: Original In all languages, if the metaperson ‘speaker + non-participant(s)’ is not the only meaning of some form, then this form must also…

Universal 1482: Original If a language has a special form with the meaning ‘hearers’ and/or ‘hearer(s) + non-participant(s)’, then it has a special form with…

Universal 1498: Original A hierarchy of grammaticalization from verb to complementizer to adverbial conjunction.If a language uses the morpheme at a given level on the…

Universal 1514: OS ⇒ no verb agreement V. agreement with two noun phrases Original If a language is subject-final then either transitive verbs of unmarked…

Universal 1530: OS ⇒ ¬ overt copula Original Subject-final languages generally do not have overt copulas. Standardized IF subject full noun phrases follow object full…

Universal 1546: Original In verb-initial languages, there is probably less agreement of adjectives with common nouns than in verb-final languages, especially case agreement. Standardized The…

Universal 1562: Rel N ⇒ ¬ relative pronouns;N Rel & strict verb-initial ⇒ ¬ relative pronouns Original There are no relative pronouns (i.e., no strong…