Greenberg's linguistic universals
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| - | A '''linguistic universal''' is a pattern that occurs systematically across [[natural language]]s, potentially true for all of them. For example, ''All languages have [[noun]]s and [[verbs]],'' or ''If a language is spoken, it has [[consonant]]s and [[vowel]]s.'' Research in this area of [[linguistics]] is closely tied to the study of [[linguistic typology]], and intends to reveal generalizations across languages, likely tied to [[cognition]], [[perception]], or other abilities of the mind. The field was largely pioneered by the linguist [[Joseph Greenberg]], who derived a set of forty-five basic universals, mostly dealing with [[syntax]] (see the [[Greenberg's linguistic universals|list]]), from a study of some thirty languages. | ||
| - | ==Terminology== | + | The American linguist [[Joseph Greenberg]] (1915-2001) proposed a set of [[linguistic universals]] based primarily on a set of 30 languages. The following list is verbatim from the list printed in the appendix of Greenberg's ''Universals of Language'' and "Universals Restated", sorted by context. |
| - | Linguists distinguish between two kinds of universals: '''absolute''' (opposite: '''statistical''', often called '''tendencies''') and '''implicational''' (opposite '''non-implicational'''). Absolute universals apply to every known language and are quite few in number; an example is ''All languages have [[pronoun]]s''. An implicational universal applies to languages with a particular feature that is always accompanied by another feature, such as ''If a language has [[trial grammatical number]], it also has [[dual grammatical number]],'' while non-implicational universals just state the existence (or non-existence) of one particular feature. | + | |
| - | Also in contrast to absolute universals are '''tendencies''', statements that may not be true for all languages, but nevertheless are far too common to be the result of chance. They also have implicational and non-implicational forms. An example of the latter would be ''The vast majority of languages have [[nasal consonant]]s''.<ref>Gbe languages like [[Ewe language|Ewe]] and [[Fon language|Fon]] are examples of languages that lack true nasal consonants (see [[Gbe languages#Nasality in Gbe]]).</ref> However, most tendencies, like their universal counterparts, are implicational. For example, ''With overwhelmingly-greater-than-chance frequency, languages with normal [[subject–object–verb|SOV]] order are [[postposition]]al''. Strictly speaking, a tendency is not a kind of universal, but exceptions to most statements called universals can be found. For example, [[Latin]] is an SOV language with [[preposition]]s. Often it turns out that these exceptional languages are undergoing a shift from one type of language to another. In the case of Latin, its descendant [[Romance languages]] switched to [[subject–verb–object|SVO]], which is a much more common order among prepositional languages. | + | '''Note:''' The entries below require additional explanations and notation. The numbering is fixed to keep Greenberg's number associations, as these are commonly referenced by number, for example "Greenberg's linguistic universal number 12." |
| - | Universals may also be '''bidirectional''' or '''unidirectional'''. In a bidirectional universal two features each imply the existence of each other. For example, languages with [[postposition]]s usually have SOV order, and likewise SOV languages usually have postpositions. The implication works both ways, and thus the universal is bidirectional. By contrast, in a unidirectional universal the implication works only one way. Languages that place [[relative clause]]s before the noun they modify again usually have SOV order, so pre-nominal relative clauses imply SOV. On the other hand, SOV languages worldwide show little preference for pre-nominal relative clauses, and thus SOV implies little about the order of relative clauses. As the implication works only one way, the proposed universal is a unidirectional one. | + | ==Typology== |
| + | # "In [[declarative sentence]]s with nominal [[Subject (grammar)|subject]] and [[Object (grammar)|object]], the dominant [[word order|order]] is almost always one in which the subject precedes the object." | ||
| + | # "In languages with [[prepositions]], the [[genitive]] almost always follows the governing [[noun]], while in languages with [[postpositions]] it almost always precedes." | ||
| + | # "Languages with dominant [[verb–subject–object|VSO order]] are always [[prepositional]]." | ||
| + | # "With overwhelmingly greater than chance frequency, languages with normal [[subject–object–verb|SOV order]] are [[postposition]]al." | ||
| + | # "If a language has dominant [[subject–object–verb|SOV order]] and the [[genitive]] follows the governing noun, then the [[adjective]] likewise follows the noun." | ||
| + | # "All languages with dominant [[verb–subject–object|VSO order]] have [[subject–verb–object|SVO]] as an alternative or as the only alternative basic order." | ||
| - | Linguistic universals in syntax are sometimes held up as evidence for [[universal grammar]] (although [[epistemology|epistemological]] arguments are more common). Other explanations for linguistic universals have been proposed, for example, that linguistic universals tend to be properties of language that aid communication. If a language were to lack one of these properties, it has been argued, it would probably soon evolve into a language having that property.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} | + | ==Syntax== |
| + | | "If in a language with dominant [[subject–object–verb|SOV order]] there is no alternative basic order, or only [[Object–subject–verb|OSV]] as the alternative, then all adverbial modifiers of the verb likewise precede the verb. (This is the 'rigid' subtype of III.)" | ||
| + | | "When a [[yes-no question]] is differentiated from the corresponding assertion by an [[Intonation (linguistics)|intonation]]al pattern, the distinctive intonational features of each of these patterns are reckoned from the end of the sentence rather than from the beginning." | ||
| + | | "With well more than chance frequency, when question particles or affixes are specified in position by reference to the sentence as a whole, if initial, such elements are found in prepositional languages, and, if final, in postpositional." | ||
| + | | "Question particles or affixes, when specified in position by reference to a particular word in the sentence, almost always follow that word. Such particles do not occur in languages with dominant [[verb–subject–object|order VSO]]." | ||
| + | | "Inversion of statement order so that [[verb]] precedes [[Subject (grammar)|subject]] occurs only in languages where the [[question word|question word or phrase]] is normally initial. This same inversion occurs in yes-no questions only if it also occurs in [[interrogative]] word questions." | ||
| + | | "If a language has dominant [[verb–subject–object|order VSO]] in [[declarative sentence]]s, it always puts [[interrogative]] words or phrases first in interrogative word questions; if it has dominant [[subject–verb–object|order SOV]] in declarative sentences, there is never such an invariant rule. | ||
| + | | "If the nominal [[Object (grammar)|object]] always precedes the [[verb]], then verb forms subordinate to the main verb also precede it." | ||
| + | | "In [[conditional sentence|conditional]] statements, the [[conditional clause]] precedes the conclusion as the normal order in all languages." | ||
| + | | "In expressions of [[volition (linguistics)|volition]] and purpose, a subordinate verbal form always follows the main verb as the normal order except in those languages in which the nominal object always precedes the verb." | ||
| + | | "In languages with dominant [[verb–subject–object|order VSO]], an [[inflection|inflected]] auxiliary always precedes the main verb. In languages with dominant [[subject–verb–object|order SOV]], an inflected auxiliary always follows the main verb." | ||
| + | | "With overwhelmingly more than chance frequency, languages with dominant [[verb–subject–object|order VSO]] have the adjective after the noun." | ||
| + | | "When the descriptive adjective precedes the noun, the demonstrative and the numeral, with overwhelmingly more than chance frequency, do likewise." | ||
| + | | "When the general rule is that the descriptive [[adjective]] follows, there may be a minority of adjectives which usually precede, but when the general rule is that descriptive adjectives precede, there are no exceptions." | ||
| + | | "When any or all of the items ([[demonstrative]], [[numeral (linguistics)|numeral]], and [[descriptive]] adjective) precede the [[noun]], they are always found in that order. If they follow, the order is either the same or its exact opposite." | ||
| + | | "If some or all adverbs follow the adjective they modify, then the language is one in which the qualifying adjective follows the noun and the verb precedes its nominal object as the dominant order." | ||
| + | | "If in comparisons of superiority the only order, or one of the alternative orders, is [[standard-marker-adjective]], then the language is [[postposition]]al. With overwhelmingly more than chance frequency if the only order is [[adjective-marker-standard]], the language is [[preposition]]al." | ||
| + | | "If in apposition the proper noun usually precedes the common noun, then the language is one in which the governing noun precedes its dependent genitive. With much better than chance frequency, if the common noun usually precedes the proper noun, the dependent genitive precedes its governing noun." | ||
| + | | "If the relative expression precedes the noun either as the only construction or as an alternate construction, either the language is postpositional, or the adjective precedes the noun or both." | ||
| + | | "If the [[pronominal]] object follows the verb, so does the nominal object." | ||
| + | }} | ||
| - | [[Michael Halliday]] has argued for a distinction between '''descriptive''' and '''theoretical''' categories in resolving the matter of the existence of linguistic universals, a distinction he takes from [[J.R. Firth]] and [[Louis Hjelmslev]]. He argues that "theoretical categories, and their inter-relations construe an abstract model of language...; they are interlocking and mutually defining". Descriptive categories, by contrast, are those set up to describe particular languages. He argues that "When people ask about "universals", they usually mean descriptive categories that are assumed to be found in all languages. The problem is there is no mechanism for deciding how much alike descriptive categories from different languages have to be before they are said to be "the same thing" <ref>Halliday, M.A.K. 2002. A personal perspective. In On Grammar, Volume 1 in the Collected Works of M.A.K. Halliday. London and New York: Continuumm p12.</ref> | + | == Morphology == |
| - | + | {{Main|Morphology (linguistics)}} | |
| - | ==In semantics== | + | {{Ordered list|start=26 |
| - | In the domain of [[semantics]], research into linguistic universals has taken place in a number of ways. Some linguists, starting with [[Gottfried Leibniz|Leibniz]], have pursued the search for a hypothetic irreducible semantic core of all languages. A modern variant of this approach can be found in the [[Natural Semantic Metalanguage]] of [[Anna Wierzbicka|Wierzbicka]] and associates.<ref>see for example Goddard & Wierzbicka (1994) and Goddard (2002).</ref> Other lines of research suggest cross-linguistic tendencies to use body part terms metaphorically as [[adposition]]s,<ref>Heine (1997)</ref> or tendencies to have morphologically simple words for cognitively salient concepts.<ref>Rosch et al. (1976)</ref> The human body, being a physiological universal, provides an ideal domain for research into semantic and lexical universals. In a seminal study, Cecil H. Brown (1976) proposed a number of universals in the semantics of body part terminology, including the following: in any language, there will be distinct terms for <small>BODY</small>, <small>HEAD</small>, <small>ARM</small>, <small>EYES</small>, <small>NOSE</small>, and <small>MOUTH</small>; if there is a distinct term for <small>FOOT</small>, there will be a distinct term for <small>HAND</small>; similarly, if there are terms for <small>INDIVIDUAL TOES</small>, then there are terms for <small>INDIVIDUAL FINGERS</small>. Subsequent research has shown that most of these features have to be considered cross-linguistic tendencies rather than true universals. Several languages, for example [[Tidore language|Tidore]] and [[Kuuk Thaayorre language|Kuuk Thaayorre]], lack a general term meaning 'body'. On the basis of such data it has been argued that the highest level in the [[partonomy]] of body part terms would be the word for 'person'.<ref>Wilkins (1993), Enfield et al. 2006:17.</ref> | + | | "If a language has discontinuous [[affix]]es, it always has either [[prefix]]ing or [[suffix]]ing or both." |
| - | + | | "If a language is exclusively [[suffix]]ing, it is [[postposition]]al; if it is exclusively [[prefix]]ing, it is [[preposition]]al." | |
| - | ==See also== | + | | "If both the [[derivation (linguistics)|derivation]] and [[inflection]] follow the [[root (linguistics)|root]], or they both precede the root, the derivation is always between the root and the inflection." |
| - | * [[Greenberg's linguistic universals]] | + | | "If a language has inflection, it always has derivation." |
| - | * [[Cultural universal]] | + | | "If the verb has categories of [[person-number]] or if it has categories of [[grammatical gender|gender]], it always has [[tense-mode]] categories." |
| - | + | | "If either the subject or object noun agrees with the verb in gender, then the adjective always agrees with the noun in gender." | |
| - | ==Notes== | + | | "Whenever the verb agrees with a nominal subject or nominal object in gender, it also agrees in number." |
| - | {{Reflist}} | + | | "When number agreement between the noun and verb is suspended and the rule is based on order, the case is always one in which the verb precedes and the verb is in the singular." |
| - | + | | "No language has a [[trial number]] unless it has a [[dual (grammatical number)|dual]]. No language has a dual unless it has a [[plural]]." | |
| - | ==References== | + | | "There is no language in which the plural does not have some nonzero [[allomorph]]s, whereas there are languages in which the singular is expressed only by zero. The dual and the trial are almost never expressed only by zero." |
| - | *Brown, Cecil H. (1976) "General principles of human anatomical partonomy and speculations on the growth of partonomic nomenclature." ''American Ethnologist'' 3, no. 3, Folk Biology, pp. 400–424 | + | | "If a language has the category of gender, it always has the category of number." |
| - | *Comrie, Bernard (1981) ''Language Universals and Linguistic Typology.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press. | + | | "A language never has more gender categories in nonsingular numbers than in the singular." |
| - | * Croft, W. (2002). ''Typology and Universals''. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. 2nd ed. ISBN 0521004993 | + | | "Where there is a case system, the only case which ever has only zero allomorphs is the one which includes among its meanings that of the subject of the intransitive verb." |
| - | *Enfield, Nick J. & Asifa Majid & Miriam van Staden (2006) 'Cross-linguistic categorisation of the body: Introduction' (special issue of ''Language Sciences''). | + | | "Where [[morpheme]]s of both number and case are present and both follow or both precede the noun base, the expression of number almost always comes between the noun base and the expression of case." |
| - | *Ferguson, Charles A. (1968) 'Historical background of universals research'. In: Greenberg, Ferguson, & Moravcsik, ''Universals of human languages'', pp. 7–31. | + | | "When the [[adjective]] follows the noun, the adjective expresses all the [[inflection]]al categories of the noun. In such cases the noun may lack overt expression of one or all of these categories." |
| - | *Goddard, Cliff and Wierzbicka, Anna (eds.). 1994. ''Semantic and Lexical Universals - Theory and Empirical Findings''. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. | + | | "If in a language the verb follows both the nominal subject and nominal object as the dominant order, the language almost always has a [[case system]]." |
| - | *Goddard, Cliff (2002) '[http://www.une.edu.au/lcl/nsm/pdf/Goddard_Ch1_2002.pdf The search for the shared semantic core of all languages]'. In Goddard & Wierzbicka (eds.) ''Meaning and Universal Grammar - Theory and Empirical Findings'' volume 1, pp. 5–40, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. | + | | "All languages have [[pronominal]] categories involving at least three persons and two numbers." |
| - | *Greenberg, Joseph H. (ed.) (1963) ''Universals of Languages''. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. | + | | "If a language has gender categories in the noun, it has gender categories in the [[pronoun]]." |
| - | *Greenberg, Joseph H. (ed.) (1978a) ''Universals of Human Language'' Vol. 4: ''Syntax''. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. | + | | "If a language has gender distinctions in the first person, it always has gender distinctions in the second or third person, or in both." |
| - | *Greenberg, Joseph H. (ed.) (1978b) ''Universals of Human Language'' Vol. 3: ''Word Structure''. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. | + | | "If there are any gender distinctions in the [[plural]] of the pronoun, there are some gender distinctions in the singular also." |
| - | *Heine, Bernd (1997) ''Cognitive Foundations of Grammar''. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press. | + | }} |
| - | *Song, Jae Jung (2001) Linguistic Typology: Morphology and Syntax. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education (Longman). | + | |
| - | *Rosch, E. & Mervis, C.B. & Gray, W.D. & Johnson, D.M. & Boyes-Braem, P. (1976) '[[Basic Objects In Natural Categories]]', ''Cognitive Psychology'' 8-3, 382-439. | + | |
| - | *Wilkins, David P. (1993) ‘From part to person: natural tendencies of semantic change and the search for cognates’, ''Working paper No. 23'', Cognitive Anthropology Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. | + | |
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The American linguist Joseph Greenberg (1915-2001) proposed a set of linguistic universals based primarily on a set of 30 languages. The following list is verbatim from the list printed in the appendix of Greenberg's Universals of Language and "Universals Restated", sorted by context.
Note: The entries below require additional explanations and notation. The numbering is fixed to keep Greenberg's number associations, as these are commonly referenced by number, for example "Greenberg's linguistic universal number 12."
Typology
- "In declarative sentences with nominal subject and object, the dominant order is almost always one in which the subject precedes the object."
- "In languages with prepositions, the genitive almost always follows the governing noun, while in languages with postpositions it almost always precedes."
- "Languages with dominant VSO order are always prepositional."
- "With overwhelmingly greater than chance frequency, languages with normal SOV order are postpositional."
- "If a language has dominant SOV order and the genitive follows the governing noun, then the adjective likewise follows the noun."
- "All languages with dominant VSO order have SVO as an alternative or as the only alternative basic order."
Syntax
| "If in a language with dominant SOV order there is no alternative basic order, or only OSV as the alternative, then all adverbial modifiers of the verb likewise precede the verb. (This is the 'rigid' subtype of III.)" | "When a yes-no question is differentiated from the corresponding assertion by an intonational pattern, the distinctive intonational features of each of these patterns are reckoned from the end of the sentence rather than from the beginning." | "With well more than chance frequency, when question particles or affixes are specified in position by reference to the sentence as a whole, if initial, such elements are found in prepositional languages, and, if final, in postpositional." | "Question particles or affixes, when specified in position by reference to a particular word in the sentence, almost always follow that word. Such particles do not occur in languages with dominant order VSO." | "Inversion of statement order so that verb precedes subject occurs only in languages where the question word or phrase is normally initial. This same inversion occurs in yes-no questions only if it also occurs in interrogative word questions." | "If a language has dominant order VSO in declarative sentences, it always puts interrogative words or phrases first in interrogative word questions; if it has dominant order SOV in declarative sentences, there is never such an invariant rule. | "If the nominal object always precedes the verb, then verb forms subordinate to the main verb also precede it." | "In conditional statements, the conditional clause precedes the conclusion as the normal order in all languages." | "In expressions of volition and purpose, a subordinate verbal form always follows the main verb as the normal order except in those languages in which the nominal object always precedes the verb." | "In languages with dominant order VSO, an inflected auxiliary always precedes the main verb. In languages with dominant order SOV, an inflected auxiliary always follows the main verb." | "With overwhelmingly more than chance frequency, languages with dominant order VSO have the adjective after the noun." | "When the descriptive adjective precedes the noun, the demonstrative and the numeral, with overwhelmingly more than chance frequency, do likewise." | "When the general rule is that the descriptive adjective follows, there may be a minority of adjectives which usually precede, but when the general rule is that descriptive adjectives precede, there are no exceptions." | "When any or all of the items (demonstrative, numeral, and descriptive adjective) precede the noun, they are always found in that order. If they follow, the order is either the same or its exact opposite." | "If some or all adverbs follow the adjective they modify, then the language is one in which the qualifying adjective follows the noun and the verb precedes its nominal object as the dominant order." | "If in comparisons of superiority the only order, or one of the alternative orders, is standard-marker-adjective, then the language is postpositional. With overwhelmingly more than chance frequency if the only order is adjective-marker-standard, the language is prepositional." | "If in apposition the proper noun usually precedes the common noun, then the language is one in which the governing noun precedes its dependent genitive. With much better than chance frequency, if the common noun usually precedes the proper noun, the dependent genitive precedes its governing noun." | "If the relative expression precedes the noun either as the only construction or as an alternate construction, either the language is postpositional, or the adjective precedes the noun or both." | "If the pronominal object follows the verb, so does the nominal object." }}
Morphology
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