Definition

Noun: A linguistic universal is a pattern, rule, or feature that is found in all known human languages. These are fundamental principles that underlie the structure and function of language as a whole, suggesting inherent properties of the human capacity for language.

Usage

This term is primarily used in the academic field of linguistics. It refers to abstract, underlying commonalities across languages, not to specific words or surface-level similarities. * The existence of linguistic universals supports the theory of an innate, biological basis for language. * Researchers study linguistic universals to understand the deep structure of human cognition.

Examples

• The fact that all languages have nouns and verbs is considered a linguistic universal.
• One proposed linguistic universal is that all languages have ways to form questions.
• The search for linguistic universals is a central goal of theoretical linguistics.

Advanced Usage

• Absolute vs. Statistical Universals: An is true for all languages without exception (e.g., all languages have vowels). A is a strong tendency found in the vast majority of languages (e.g., most languages have subject-verb-object or subject-object-verb word order).
• Implicational Universal: This is a conditional rule stating that if a language has feature X, it will also have feature Y. For example, if a language has a dual number (for two items), it also has a plural number.

Variants and Related Words

• Universal Grammar (UG): A related but distinct theoretical concept. UG is a hypothesized innate set of grammatical principles and parameters that constrain the form of any possible human language. Linguistic universals are the observable patterns that UG seeks to explain.
• Language Universal: A less common, synonymous phrase for "linguistic universal."

Synonyms

• Language universal
• Universal linguistic feature

Antonyms

• Language-specific feature
• Idiosyncratic rule

Related Concepts and Phrases

• Innate Language Faculty: The inherent human capacity for language, of which linguistic universals are evidence.
• Principles and Parameters: A framework within generative grammar where "principles" are the universals shared by all languages, and "parameters" account for cross-linguistic variation.

Noun

1. (linguistics) a grammatical rule (or other linguistic feature) that is found in all languages