Month: May 2020

Universal 1915: polysynthesis ⇒ ¬ semantically significant determiners Original The lack of semantically significant determiners seems to be a property of the polysynthetic languages as…

Universal 1914: Original OV languages, on the whole, tend to have a marked accusative. Standardized IF basic order is OV, THEN the “promoted” direct object…

Universal 1913: Original VO languages tend to have an unmarked accusative. Standardized IF basic order is VO, THEN the “promoted” direct object tends to be…

Universal 1912: Original In addition to DAT/BEN objects, other object cases lower on the topicality hierarchy may also be “promoted” to DO — but always…

Universal 1911: Original If a language has an optative mood, it also has a subjunctive or an imperative mood. Standardized IF there is an optative…

Universal 1910: Original If a language has modal particles, it also has modal adverbials. Standardized IF there are modal particles, THEN there are modal adverbials.…

Universal 1909: Original If a language allows for the marker of predicative possession to be part of the range of functions covered by the marker…

Universal 1908: Original If in a language the grammatical expression of predicative possession requires the use of the marker of either comitative or instrumental, then…

Universal 1907: Original If in a language the marker for instrumental forms part of the mode of expression of predicative possession, then there is a…

Universal 1906: Original If a language keeps comitative and instrumental formally distinct and if one of the two forms part of the mode of expression…