Category: Universals Archive

Universal 11: OV ⇒ agglutinative Original Consistent OV languages tend to be agglutinative in their morphology. Standardized IF basic order is consistently OV, THEN the…

Universal 27: SA with ligative ⇒ Internal Ligative External Original In Suffixaufnahme constructions the ligative (if there is one) is always ordered between the internal…

Universal 43: Original New (not borrowed) case forms enter the nominal morphology through the affixation of adpositions, but such a development is possible only if…

Universal 59: Original When any or all of these items — demonstrative, numeral, descriptive adjective — precede the noun, they are always found in that…

Universal 76: Original Only languages in which promotion to subject via passivization results in verb coding the semantic case of the promoted non-agent exhibit the…

Universal 92: Prep ⇒ ((N Dem v N Num ⇒ N A) & (N A ⇒ N G) & (N G ⇒ N Rel)) Original…

Universal 108: OV ⇒ Verb Interr Original In consistent OV languages, interrogative markers follow verbs, occupying final position in the sentence. Standardized IF basic order…

Universal 124: Original IF there are aspirated stops (especially voiceless labial and alveolar), THEN there is /h/. Standardized IF there are aspirated stops (especially voiceless…

Universal 140: Original If in a language a property is expressed alternatively by a noun and an adjective and there is also an associated difference…

Universal 156: Original Overt object marking in the bitransitive clause other than marking identical to instrumental implies overt dative marking. Standardized IF overt marking of…