Category: Universals Archive

Universal 929: syllabic stops V syllabic affricates ⇒ syllabic fricatives Original If a language contains syllabic stops or affricates, it contains syllabic fricatives. Standardized IF…

Universal 945: Original Of the two vowels i and ü, i may originate from ü but not ü from i. Standardized When there is i…

Universal 961: Original … definite articles are often synchronically identical with or clearly related to demonstratives which are also in the overwhelming majority of cases…

Universal 977: Original If there are analogical changes in their inflectional paradigms, the stems and affixes of common nouns are more likely replaced than stems…

Universal 993: absolute deranking ⇒ SOV v VSO;absolute deranking ⇒ ¬ SVO Original Languages with absolute consecutive deranking have either SOV or VSO . Standardized…

Universal 1009: Original Accent on the third syllable from the left edge and on the fourth syllable from the right edge are unattested patterns in…

Universal 1025: Original If a language has a parts-of speech system of types 1-2/3, then it does not allow variation in the order of Head…

Universal 1041: Original If stress is phonologically predictable and automatic (i.e., always on the same syllable), then there are phonemic distinctions of vowel quantity. Standardized…

Universal 1057: Original If verbs agree in Person, they are likelier not to agree than to agree in Gender. Standardized IF verbs agree in person,…

Universal 1073: Original Syllabification across a word boundary may be less likely in a language with initial stress than in a language with final stress.…