Universal 1635: productive noun-incorporation ⇒ head-marking Original Languages with productive noun incorporation must be of the head-marking type. Standardized IF there is productive noun incorporation,…
Month: May 2020
Universal 1634: polysynthesis ⇒ ¬ nonfinite verb forms Original IF there is polysynthesis (essentially, noun incorporation and bound agreement/cross-reference markers for subject and object(s) on…
Universal 1633: verb-final ⇒ ¬ Wh-movement Original There is a definite negative correlation between Question-word Movement and verb-final ordering. Standardized IF basic order is verb-final,…
Universal 1632: polysynthesis ⇒ Wh-movement Original In polysynthetic languages, interrogative phrases are constrained to appear in clause-initial position. Standardized IF there is polysynthesis, THEN interrogative…
Universal 1631: polysynthesis ⇒ ¬ true quantifiers Original Polysynthetic languages should not have non-referential quantified NPs – that is, NPs comparable to ‘everyone’, ‘everything’, ‘nobody’,…
Universal 1630: polysynthesis ⇒ ¬ NP reflexive Original All polysynthetic languages will lack overt NP anaphors, at least as objects. Standardized IF there is polysynthesis,…
Universal 1629:
Posted in Universals Archive
Universal 1629: Original If the language has the basic order “focus-before-topic”, then the secondary topic would follow the focus. Correspondingly, in languages where object precedes…
Universal 1628:
Posted in Universals Archive
Universal 1628: Original If the language has the basic order “topic-before-focus”, then the secondary topic would precede the focus. Correspondingly, in languages where subject precedes…
Universal 1627:
Posted in Universals Archive
Universal 1627: Original If a language has the order VOS, OVS, OSV and has a double object construction, the patient in that clause should precede…
Universal 1626:
Posted in Universals Archive
Universal 1626: Original There is no language where the double object causative would be the only possible causative construction. Standardized IF there is a double…