Category: Universals Archive

Universal 1089: Original Nearly all languages have contrasting labial and dental nasals. Standardized Nearly all languages have contrasting labial and dental nasals. Keywords nasal, consonant,…

Universal 1105: Original The absolute or nominative form of a noun will be used in citation. Standardized The absolute or nominative form of a noun…

Universal 1121: Original If the nominal dual is restricted to nouns other than those denoting natural pairs, the pronominal dual is unrestricted. Standardized IF the…

Universal 1137: Original If the nominal dual is restricted to nouns other than those denoting natural pairs, dual marking is avoided with these nouns if…

Universal 1153: Rel N ⇒ N Rel Original For any language, preposed relative clause implies postposed relative clause. Standardized IF there are preposed relative clauses,…

Universal 1169: distributive-key universal quantifier ⇒ simple universal quantifier Original If a language possesses a distributive-key universal quantifier, it possesses a simple universal quantifier. Standardized…

Universal 1185: Original Terms for deictic orientation may themselves serve as models for developing nomenclatures for cardinal orientation, but not vice versa. Standardized When terms…

Universal 1201: Original Determiner universal:Every natural language contains basic expressions (called determiners) whose semantic function is to assign to common count noun denotations (i.e., sets)…

Universal 1217: case (postposition) ⇒ case (noun) Original If postpositions inflect for case, then nouns will also inflect for case. Standardized IF postpositions inflect for…

Universal 1233: complex form (locative) ⇒ from simple adposition (locative) Original All languages have at least one so-called “primitive” adposition which specifies location. If there…