Month: May 2020

Universal 1925: Original If a language has two modifier constructions that differ in linear order and in linguistic distance, the construction with a prenominal modifier…

Universal 1924: Original If a language has two modifier constructions that differ in linear order and in linguistic distance, the construction with a prenominal modifier…

Universal 1923: Original If a language has two near-synonymous constructions which differ structurally in linguistic distance, they will differ semantically in (among other things) conceptual…

Universal 1922: Original If more than one modifier occurs before the noun, the order is always Dem < Num < Adj. Standardized When more than…

Universal 1921: Original It seems that all languages with subjunctive complements can use subjunctives as main clauses (though the reverse may not be true). Standardized…

Universal 1920: Original Only languages that distinguish tense and/or aspect in their verbal morphology will be likely to have an indicative-subjunctive distinction in complementation. Standardized…

Universal 1919: Original If the verb in main clauses is inflected for subject or object agreement, then the verb in any sentence-like complement type will…

Universal 1918: Original If a language lacks a definite article, it tends to lack a transitive verb of possession (‘have’). Standardized IF there is no…

Universal 1917: Original If a language lacks a definite article, it tends to lack (fully) indirect speech. Standardized IF there is no definite article, THEN…

Universal 1916: Original It seems likely that no polysynthetic language has, within its system of pronominal affixes, a set of contrasts large enough to make…