Category: Universals Archive

Universal 109: SVO ⇒ S Neg V O Original The most common position for negatives in SVO languages is between the subject and the verb,…

Universal 125: Original If a language has both SOV in a full sentence and determining N+determined N in a Noun Phrase, then it has at…

Universal 141: Adj(shape) ⇒ Adj(color) & Adj(size) Original If a language has adjectives for shape, it has adjectives for colour and size. Standardized IF the…

Universal 157: Original If an adposition occurs as both object marker and allative marker, it also occurs as dative marker. Standardized IF an adposition occurs…

Universal 173: Prep ⇒ (N Dem ⇒ N G) Original If a language is prepositional, then if the demonstrative follows the noun, the genitive follows…

Universal 189: ≥7 cases ⇒ case(s) for local relations Original Any case system with over a certain number of cases in it (probably somewhere around…

Universal 205: Original No set of case marking elements express neither subject-object nor concrete relations. Standardized IF a relational marker (case, adposition) does not express…

Universal 221: Original In all languages: each free root morpheme (in contrast to the non-root morpheme) is expressed with more than one consonant phoneme. Standardized…

Universal 237: category X (adjective) ⇒ category X (noun) Original If adjectives inflect for any category, nouns inflect for this category as well. Standardized IF…

Universal 253: possessive predication ⇒ localizing predication Original Predicate hierarchy 1B: (Xi/0)loc > (Xi)possthis hierarchy states that presentative localizing predications are more easily predicable than…