Category: Universals Archive

Universal 955: Original In languages with both dissolvable and non-dissolvable medial clusters, the former will be significantly more frequent than the latter. Standardized IF there…

Universal 971: Original If there are analogical changes in their inflectional paradigms, short morphemes (stems and affixes) or words more likely cause a re-formation of…

Universal 987: adverbial comparative ⇒ deranking & total identity deletion Original Languages with an adverbial comparative are languages with absolute deranking and total identity deletion.…

Universal 1003: vowel > semivowel > liquid > spirant > sibilant > nasal > stop Original Resonance Hierarchy:vowel > semivowel > liquid > spirant >…

Universal 1019: Original If a language has a parts-of speech system of types 1-3/4, then it does not allow variation in the ordering of Subject…

Universal 1035: Original When stress is phonologically predictable and limited to certain syllables (i.e., does not always fall on the same syllable), the potentially stressable…

Universal 1051: Original If there is agreement within clauses, agreement is likelier to be used than not to be used within NPs. Standardized IF there…

Universal 1067: Original If there is a contrast between light and heavy syllables, then there is a contrast of vowel length. Standardized IF there is…

Universal 1083: agreement with full noun phrases ⇒ agreement with pronouns Original … languages that show agreement with full noun phrases but not with pronouns…