Category: Universals Archive

Universal 387: h V [ +high ] ⇒ h V [ +low ] Original /h/ occurs more frequently preceding a low vowel than a high…

Universal 403: Original If a construction involves a free and a bound constituent which convey the same meaning and one of them is optional, it…

Universal 419: verb agreement (indefinite constituent) ⇒ verb agreement (definite constituent) Original There is no language where, given a constituent class including both definite and…

Universal 435: head-marking ⇒ low complexity;dependent-marking ⇒ high complexity Original Head-marking is associated with low complexity, dependent marking with high complexity, where complexity is the…

Universal 451: 3 person (possessor) ⇒ 3 person (possessee) Original A possessor marked for 3rd person implies a possessee so marked in the same construction.…

Universal 467: (number marker (noun) = number marker (verb)) ⇒ (number marker (noun) = number marker (3 person verb)) Original If marking for nominal and…

Universal 483: DO & IO are indicated by fixed word order ⇒ DO & IO are indicated by morphosyntactic marking Original 80 % of the…

Universal 499: Original In conditional statements, the conditional clause precedes the conclusion as the normal order in all languages. Standardized In conditional statements, the conditional…

Universal 515: Original All languages have pronominal categories involving at least three persons and two numbers. Standardized All languages have pronominal categories involving at least…

Universal 531: Original The smallest value for L in numeral systems with arithmetical operations is 4. Standardized IF a numeral system has arithmetical operations, THEN…