For a discrete infinity of reasons, Ian Roberts is to be celebrated. Here we discuss how his important work has caused us to rethink what could be, arguably, the most unbelievable and extraordinary aspect of language: its universality. In partic- ular, we proffer Roberts’ theory of parameter hierarchies to corroborate an economy thesis – a thesis implying that the quiddities of language transcend human language, and would obtain of any language anywhere in the universe.