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Shared universal pressures in the evolution of human languages

Nature Human Behaviour volume 10, pages 16–17 (2026)Cite this article

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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 the evolutionary dynamics of languages.

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Fig. 1: The evolution of a word-order universal on the global language tree.

References

  1. Greenberg, J. H. in Universals of Language (ed. Greenberg, J. H.) 73–113 (MIT Press, 1963). The seminal article by the founder of modern linguistic typology, in which 45 implicational universals were first presented.

  2. Dunn, M., Greenhill, S. J., Levinson, S. C. & Gray, R. D. Evolved structure of language shows lineage-specific trends in word-order universals. Nature 473, 79–82 (2011). By attempting comparative phylogenetics using linguistic data, this article demonstrates that there is only limited evidence for word order universals.

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  3. Skirgård, H. et al. Grambank reveals the importance of genealogical constraints on linguistic diversity and highlights the impact of language loss. Sci. Adv. 9, eadg6175 (2023). This paper introduces Grambank, a comprehensive database of the morphosyntax of the world’s languages.

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  4. Haspelmath, M. The best-supported language universals refer to scalar patterns deriving from processing cost. Behav. Brain Sci. 32, 457–458 (2009). This paper makes the case that hierarchical (or scalar) universals are the best supported language universals, and explains why.

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  5. Hawkins, J. A. Cross-Linguistic Variation and Efficiency (Oxford Univ. Press, 2014). This book explores how cognitive efficiency drives structured cross-linguistic variation.

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This is a summary of: Verkerk, A. et al. Enduring constraints on grammar revealed by Bayesian spatiophylogenetic analyses. Nat. Hum. Behav. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02325-z (2025).

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Shared universal pressures in the evolution of human languages. Nat Hum Behav 10, 16–17 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02355-7

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