US EditionStudy of 1,700 Languages Finds Shared Grammar Rules
Researchers found strong evidence for about one-third of 191 proposed grammatical universals after testing more than 1,700 languages.
- Researchers analyzed over 1,700 languages using Grambank, the largest grammatical database ever assembled, led by Annemarie Verkerk of Saarland University and Russell Gray of Max Planck Institute. The study found that one-third of long-debated linguistic universals have strong statistical support.
- Previous research struggled to eliminate hidden connections between related languages, weakening statistical results and obscuring how languages change over time. The team utilized Bayesian spatio-phylogenetic analyses to test 191 proposed universals with greater rigor than most earlier studies.
- Findings show strong support for recurring patterns including word order preferences—whether verbs come before or after objects—and hierarchical structures marking grammatical relationships. These patterns appeared repeatedly across unrelated languages worldwide, suggesting shared cognitive pressures shape how humans organize language.
- "In the face of huge linguistic diversity, it is intriguing to find that languages don't evolve at random," Verkerk said. She emphasized that language change must be central to explaining these universal patterns.
- The study helps narrow the focus for future research by identifying which universals withstand rigorous testing. Scientists aim to investigate the specific cognitive and communicative forces that guide how humans organize language across cultures.
10 Articles
10 Articles
Shared universal pressures in the evolution of human languages - Nature Human Behaviour
Despite the great diversity of human languages, recurring grammatical patterns (termed ‘universals’) have been found. Using the Grambank database of more than 2,000 languages, spatiophylogenetic analyses reveal that while only a third of 191 putative universals have robust statistical support, there are still preferred feature configurations that have evolved repeatedly — consistent with shared cognitive and communicative pressures having shaped…
New study: Despite global linguistic diversity, grammar often shares similar structures
A team of researchers from Saarbrücken and Leipzig has examined around 1,700 languages to identify structures that might occur universally. Of 191 grammatical patterns – known as linguistic universals – one third were found to be present in the languages studied. The team, led by Annemarie Verkerk of Saarland University and Russell Gray from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, has published its findings in Na…
Enduring patterns in world's languages: One-third of grammatical 'universals' stand up to rigorous testing
Despite the vast diversity of human languages, specific grammatical patterns appear again and again. A new study reveals that around a third of the long-proposed "linguistic universals"—patterns thought to hold across all languages—are statistically supported when examined with state-of-the-art evolutionary methods.
The Independent
The Independent (US)Surprising hidden pattern connecting over 1,500 languages found
Findings point to shared cognitive pressures forcing evolution of languages
Science Daily
dailycomposite.comStudy of 1,700 languages reveals surprising hidden patterns
A massive new analysis of over 1,700 languages shows that some long-debated “universal” grammar rules are actually real. By using cutting-edge evolutionary methods, researchers found that languages tend to evolve in predictable ways rather than randomly. Key patterns—like word order and grammatical structure—keep reappearing across the globe. The results suggest shared human thinking and communication pressures shape how all languages develop.
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