Category: Universals Archive

Universal 734: Original The Minimal Distribution of Zero Copulas:If a language allows a zero copula at all, it will minimally select this option for predicate…

Universal 750: Original The Universal of Multiple N/L-Switching:In cases of conditioned multiple N/L-switching, the nominal strategy is limited to the Present Tense. Standardized IF there…

Universal 766: Original There is a highly significant tendency for languages to have at least one primary fricative. Standardized There is at least one primary…

Universal 782: voiced primary oral stop ⇒ unvoiced primary oral stop Original The presence of a voiced primary oral stop in a language is highly…

Universal 798: tensedness ⇔ nouny adjectives Original The Tensedness Universals of Adjective Encoding:A. If a language is tensed, it will have nouny adjectives. If a…

Universal 814: Original Long vowels (also diphthongs) and tone occur as a rule only in stressed syllables. Standardized IF a vowel (or diphthong) is long…

Universal 830: right-extraposed RelCl ⇒ embedded v left-extraposed relatives Original If a language has right-extraposed relative clauses, then it also has either embedded or left-extraposed…

Universal 846: Original Languages with stop + stop almost always have both stop + fricative and fricative + stop combinations. Standardized In initial clusters, IF…

Universal 862: Original Except for voiced nasal followed by homorganic unvoiced obstruent, an unvoiced consonant or sequence of unvoiced consonants in initial clusters immediately preceding…

Universal 878: Original Every language with initial clusters contains at least one cluster with an initial consonant in the dental-alveolar region. Standardized IF there are…