Category: Universals Archive

Universal 1065: Original No language has a rule which (i) places stress on antepenultimate syllables, but (ii) fails to place a stress on words consisting…

Universal 1081: Original Where contrastive aspiration is neutralized before liquids and nasals, the occurring phone is not aspirated or if released not to the same…

Universal 1097: Original If a language has to maintain a high number of vowel distinctions which are perceptually close to each other, then the addition…

Universal 1113: special marking in yes-no questions ⇔ no syntactic wh-movement Original Wh-in-situ languages have special markings in yes-no questions, and languages with special markings…

Universal 1129: Original If there is incorporation, then the syntactic relations between the complex of incorporated and incorporator and its absolute complements are of an…

Universal 1145: Original Languages with basic passives commonly have more than one formally distinct passive construction. Standardized IF there is one (basic) passive construction, THEN…

Universal 1161: indefinite article (mass nouns) ⇒ indefinite article (plural nouns) Original If the indefinite article determines mass nouns, then it is also used for…

Universal 1177: Original There are contrasting transfer patterns for thumbs and big toes on the one hand and the remaining digits on the other: Whereas…

Universal 1193: Original If the head of a restrictive relative clause does function as the subject of the restricting clause then no personal pronoun will…

Universal 1209: incorporation of indirect objects ⇒ incorporation of non-agental subjects ⇒ incorporation of direct objects Original If a language incorporates indirect objects, then it…