Ngiyambaa

Family
Unknown Australia
Region
Australia
ISO 639-3
Location
0.00°, 0.00°
Notes
Features
Grammatical Data
Data Sources
none


Grammatical Data (295)
Category Grammatical Feature Grammatical Feature: Notes Feature Status Grammatical Notes Source Etymology Notes General Notes Phylogenetic Code
Phonology - Segmental Pre-/post-nasalized stops Analysis posits that the stop is the most relevant underlying phoneme. Comment in notes on whether the nasal contour is understood as a phonetic (allophonic) effect, or is phonologically contrastive. no 15 0
Phonology - Segmental Glottalized/ejective consonants Phonemic contrast [NOT counting glottal stop/fricative] no 15 0
Phonology - Segmental Palatalized stops Phonemic contrast yes 14 1
Phonology - Segmental Phonemic vowel length Does the language have long and short vowels? yes 14 1
Phonology - Segmental Phonemic glottalization/laryngealization of vowels no 15 0
Phonology - Segmental Complex onsets Onset consists of more than one consonant phoneme no 35 0
Phonology - Segmental No codas *(C)VC [no also equals highly constrained] no 35 0
Phonology - Segmental Word-final coda required Do all syllables end in a consonant? no 35 0
Phonology - Suprasegmental Contrastive tones Note how many contrastive tones No 44 0
Phonology - Suprasegmental Contrastive stress Does stress occur on different syllables with meaning difference? No 41 0
Phonology - Suprasegmental Nasalization property of morpheme or syllable In contrast to nasalization as a property of segments no 0
Phonology - Suprasegmental Nasal spreading across some morpheme boundaries Do some affixes or other morphemes take the nasal/oral properties of the root they attach to? no info x
Phonology - Suprasegmental Vowel harmony no 14-39 0
Morphology - General Verbal fusion (2+ categories marked by portmanteau morphemes on verb) Verb combines two or more categories (tense, aspect, mood, person, number, etc.) in portmanteau morphemes{ [ignore proclitics unless they are fused with values other than person/number] no 0
Morphology - General Inflection manifested by replacement of segmental or suprasegmental phonemes Stem change, tone yes 1
Morphology - General Verbal synthesis (1+ inflectional categories marked by verbal affixes) Morphological complexity in verbs - multiple inflectional affixes in a single verb word yes 336 1
Morphology - General Prefixing/suffixing inflectional morph: strongly prefixing There are many more prefixes than suffixes no 39 0
Morphology - General Prefixing/suffixing inflectional morph: strongly suffixing There are many more suffixes than prefixes yes 39 1
Morphology - General Prefixing/suffixing inflectional morph: roughly equal or one weakly preferred The numbers of suffixes and prefixes are not notably different no 39 0
Morphology - General Reduplication: full The full morpheme is reduplicated yes 37-38 1
Morphology - General Reduplication: partial Only part of the morpheme is reduplicated yes 37-38 1
Morphology - Compounding, auxiliaries, light verbs Productive NN compounding Noun compounds created from two noun phrases are common and systematically produced no info x
Morphology - Compounding, auxiliaries, light verbs Productive VV serialization (without compounding) Verb roots can be combined in a single predicate without markers of subordination (distinct from subordinating construction) or distinct inflection yes 204 1
Morphology - Compounding, auxiliaries, light verbs Productive VV compounding Serial verb constructions involve chaining of roots together in one morphophonological word yes 200-202 1
Morphology - Compounding, auxiliaries, light verbs Verb-adjunct (aka light verb) constructions There is a set of semantically weak verbs used in complex verbal constructions, e.g. 'take a nap' no 0
Morphology - Compounding, auxiliaries, light verbs Auxiliary verb(s) There are verbs that accompany main verbs of clauses and take grammatical marking not expressed by main verbs no 0
Morphology - Incorporation Incorporation of nouns into verbs is a productive intransitivizing process Verb contains nominal segment no info x
Morphology - Incorporation Productive incorporation of other elements (adjectives, locatives, etc.) into verbs Like noun incorporation, but incorporated elements are not nouns yes 200-202 1
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Noun classes/genders Nouns are organized into sets with distinct morphological treatment; usually affects all nouns and involves agreement within the NP no 0
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Number of noun classes/genders Note the (approximate) total number of noun classes/genders n/a 0
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Noun classifiers (distinct from noun classes/genders) Nouns are organized into sets, but only a limited set of nouns may be implicated, with no or limited agreement marking. If only numeral classifiers exist, indicate yes but explain. no 0
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Sex is a relevant category in noun class(ification) system for animates Masculine, feminine, neuter n/a 0
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Sex is a relevant category in noun class(ification) system for inanimates n/a 0
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Animacy (w/o reference to sex) is a relevant category in the noun class(ification) system Animate/inanimate, human/non-human n/a 0
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Sex/gender distinction only in 3rd person pronouns add in notes section whether gender is present in other PNs or not in any PNs; consider with reference to pronouns and person marking only no 124 0
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Shape is a relevant category in the noun class(ification) system for animates n/a 0
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Shape is a relevant category in the noun class(ification) system for inanimates n/a 0
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification "Repeater" classifiers Where no distinct classifier exists, a copy of the noun itself may function in the morphosyntactic classifier "slot" n/a 0
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Numeral classifiers (specific to numerals) Special classifier forms that occur only with numerals no 0
Nominal Categories - Gender and noun classification Classifiers used as derivational suffixes to derive nouns Verb + classifier = 'thing for doing V, thing that does V, etc.' n/a 0
Nominal Categories - Number Singular number may be marked on the noun Often occurs in a small subset of nouns if a single entity is referred to, e.g. insects that normally occur in groups yes 99-101 1
Nominal Categories - Number Plural affix on noun yes 99-101, 103, 104 1
Nominal Categories - Number Plural marked by stem change or tone on noun no 0
Nominal Categories - Number Plural marked by reduplication of noun no 70 0
Nominal Categories - Number Plural word/clitic yes 102-105 1
Nominal Categories - Number Plural marked on human or animate nouns only yes 102 1
Nominal Categories - Number Pronominal plural: stem + nominal plural affix Pronouns use a nominal plural affix not specific to pronouns no 123 0
Nominal Categories - Number Unique associative plural marker e.g. 'John and his associates', 'John and them' yes 103 1
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Definite or specific articles Definite = particular referent known to both speaker and addressee; specific = particular referent known to speaker only no 128 0
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Marker of definiteness distinct from demonstratives Focus on articles/markers whose primary function is to mark definiteness yes 128 1
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Indefinite or non-specific article or marker no 128 0
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Inclusive/exclusive: in free pronominals Inclusive =us + you, exclusive = us but not you yes 123 1
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Inclusive/exclusive: in verbal inflection (bound) yes 123 1
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Distance contrasts in demonstratives (number) Note the number of distances in the demonstrative system yes 128, 135 1
Nominal Categories - Definiteness and clusivity Other contrasts in demonstratives (visibility, elevation, etc.) yes 135 1
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Gender in 3sg pronouns no 124 0
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Gender in 3pl pronouns no 124 0
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Gender in 1st and/or 2nd person pronouns no 123 0
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Formal/informal distinction in pronouns Polite pronominal variants or differential avoidance of pronouns no 123, 126 0
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Reflexive pronouns e.g. English 'himself', Spanish 'se'; distinct form(s) from basic (non-reflexive) pronominals; distinct from reflexive verbal affix no 123, 126 0
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Adpositions mark core NPs Prepositions or postpositions mark subjects, objects, beneficiaries/recipients no 0
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: number of cases Note the number of grammatical relations that may be morphologically marked on the noun yes 82-84 1
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: only non-core arguments morphologically marked Subjects, objects, beneficiaries/recipients NOT marked, but other grammatical relations are no 81 0
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: symmetrical All NPs marked if in appropriate syntactic relation; no distinction in marking based on semantics (type of entity) yes 81 1
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: asymmetrical Semantically defined subset of NPs marked for case, e.g. animates no 81 0
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: suffix or postpositional clitic yes 82-84 1
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: prefix or prepositional clitic no 82-84 0
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: infix or inpositional clitic no 82-84 0
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: stem change no 82-84 0
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: tone no 82-84 0
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Case: comitative = instrumental Same marking for 'with a person' and 'with an instrument' no 82-84, 107 0
Nominal Categories - Numerals Base-2 At least some part of the system involves base-2 yes 73 1
Nominal Categories - Numerals Base-5 At least some part of the system involves base-5 no 73 0
Nominal Categories - Numerals Base-10 At least some part of the system involves base-10 yes 73 1
Nominal Categories - Numerals Other base (specify) 4, 20, etc. no 73 0
Nominal Categories - Numerals Etymological transparency in any numerals under 5 e.g. two = 'eye-quantity' no 73 0
Nominal Categories - Numerals Numerals do not go above 5 'Many' or some other non-exact term used yes 73 1
Nominal Categories - Numerals Numerals do not go above 10 'Many' or some other non-exact term used yes 73 1
Nominal Categories - Other nominal Tense or aspect inflection on non-verbal predicates i.e. nominal or adjectival no 0
Nominal Categories - Other nominal Person inflection on non-verbal predicates i.e. nominal or adjectival no 0
Nominal Syntax - Possession Pronominal possessive affixes: prefix on N alienable/inalienable? no 130 0
Nominal Syntax - Possession Pronominal possessive affixes: suffix on N alienable/inalienable? yes 130 1
Nominal Syntax - Possession Head/dependent marking in possessive NP: dependent e.g. 'the boy-'s dog' yes 230 1
Nominal Syntax - Possession Head/dependent marking in possessive NP: head e.g. 'the boy his-dog' no 230 0
Nominal Syntax - Possession Possessive classifiers There are special classifiers that occur with possessed entities no 0
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Morphological marking of inalienable possession Where inalienable possession differs from alienable, the former takes a morphological marker (may include an associated free particle/pronoun) no 231 0
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Morphological marking of alienable possession Where inalienable possession differs from alienable, the latter takes a morphological marker (may include an associated free particle/pronoun) yes 230-231 1
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Default marker for inalienably possessed nouns if unpossessed An inalienable noun that is in an unpossessed state must have a derivational affix or associated form no info x
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Inalienable possession of kin terms 'my-father' but *father no 230-232 0
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Inalienable possession of body parts (human/animal) 'my-leg' but *leg yes 230-232 1
Nominal Syntax - Possession - Alienability Generic human nouns are obligatorily bound/possessed Human nouns must co-occur with another noun (e.g. Hup-man, NonIndian-woman, but *man) no 230-232 0
Nominal Syntax - Adjectives Underived adjectives There are underived adjectives which do not have counterparts in other word classes n/a 70 0
Nominal Syntax - Adjectives Gender inflection on adjectives within the NP There is gender agreement/concord (animate/inanimate or masc/fem, etc.) within the NP, e.g. la casa blanca, el perro blanco no 0
Nominal Syntax - Derivation Productive nominalizing morphology: action/state (arrive/arrival) There is a morpheme which derives an event from a verb no 199-200 0
Nominal Syntax - Derivation Productive nominalizing morphology: agentive (sing/singer) There is a morpheme which derives an agent or subject from a verb yes 200 1
Nominal Syntax - Derivation Productive nominalizing morphology: object (sing/song) There is a morpheme which derives a patient or object from a verb no 199-200 0
Nominal Syntax - Derivation Productive verbalizing morphology There is a morpheme which derives a verb from a noun or adjective no 118 0
Nominal Syntax - Other NP coordination and comitative phrases marked differently 'John and Mary went to market' is marked differently from 'John went to market with Mary' yes 249; 107 1
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Dedicated past marker(s) Past tense is regularly morphologically marked on the verb or elsewhere yes 158 1
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Multiple past tenses, distinguishing distance from time of reference e.g. distant vs. recent past no 158 0
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Multiple future tenses, distinguishing distance from time of reference e.g. imminent vs. distant future no 158 0
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Dedicated future or non-past marker(s) yes 158 1
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Tense-aspect affixes: prefix no 183 0
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Tense-aspect affixes: suffix yes 183 1
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Tense-aspect affixes: tone or ablaut no 183 0
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Tense-aspect suppletion no 158; 183-184 0
Verbal Categories - Mood Dedicated imperative morpheme or verb form There is a special morpheme (or morphemes, or a bare verb root where inflection is normally expected) used to signal imperative (command) mood yes 158-160 1
Verbal Categories - Mood Polite imperative morpheme There is a distinct morpheme for polite imperative constructions (specify if it has other functions in the language) no 158 0
Verbal Categories - Mood Difference between negation in imperative (prohibitive) and declarative clauses There are different strategies for marking negation in imperative and declarative clauses yes 160 1
Verbal Categories - Mood Dedicated hortative morpheme or verb form (1pl or 3rd person imperative) as opposed to imperative; the person in control of desired state of affairs is not the addressee; ex: 'Let's sing' / 'Let him sing' no 159 0
Verbal Categories - Mood Situational possibility: affix on verb Inflectional marking of capacity to do something no 0
Verbal Categories - Mood Situational possibility: verbal construction no 0
Verbal Categories - Mood Situational possibility: other marking no 0
Verbal Categories - Mood Epistemic possibility: affix on verb Modal expressing hypothesis yes 162 1
Verbal Categories - Mood Epistemic possibility: verbal construction no 0
Verbal Categories - Mood Epistemic possibility: other marking yes 256 1
Verbal Categories - Mood Marking of expected/unexpected action or result There is inflectional marking of expected/unexpected no 0
Verbal Categories - Mood Verbal frustrative Modal expressing frustration ("in vain") no 0
Verbal Categories - Mood Verbal habitual Modal expressing habituality yes 191-192 1
Verbal Categories - Mood Apprehensive construction There is a single morpheme or verb form to mean '(be careful lest) X happens' yes 1
Verbal Categories - Mood Reality status marking on verbs There are dedicated morpheme(s) for realis/irrealis 'actualized/unactualized events' yes 160-161 1
Verbal Categories - Mood Affect markers (positive/negative) Note whether these inflectional markers are positive or negative yes 242 1
Verbal Categories - Directionals Directional elements affixed to the verb There are grammaticalized elements indicating movement away, toward, there and back, etc. no 141 0
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized visual Indicates information has been witnessed visually - indicate only if an overt marker yes 275 1
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized nonvisual Indicates information has been sensed firsthand but not visually (usually heard; also smelled, tasted, felt) yes 275 1
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized inferential Indicates information has not been experienced firsthand, but inferred from some kind of evidence - indicate only if an overt marker. no 275-277 0
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized reportive Indicates speaker is not responsible for veracity of statement, merely reporting; 'allegedly' yes 276 1
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Grammaticalized quotative Indicate presence of adjacent representation of repeated discourse yes 275 1
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Other evidential Any other evidential values not represented above yes 275-277 1
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Evidentiality: verb affix or clitic yes 275 1
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Evidentiality: part of tense system Includes portmanteau morphs no 161 0
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Evidentiality: separate particle yes 275-277 1
Verbal Categories - Evidentiality Evidentiality: modal morpheme no 275-277 0
Verbal Categories - Verbal number Verbal number suppletion no 0
Verbal Categories - Other Social interaction markers Note the type of interaction no 0
Word Order No fixed basic constituent order yes 236 1
Word Order VS in intransitive clauses Verb precedes subject yes 224 1
Word Order VS in transitive clauses yes 222 1
Word Order VO in transitive clauses Verb precedes object yes 224 1
Word Order OS in transitive clauses Object precedes subject yes 224 1
Word Order Preposition-Noun n/a 0
Word Order Noun-Postposition or case suffix yes 83 1
Word Order Gen-Noun Possessive phrase composed of a free possessor and its possessum has possessor first (e.g. John's book) yes 230 1
Word Order Noun-Gen Possessive phrase composed of a free possessor and its possessum has possessum first (e.g. 'book of John') no info x
Word Order Adj-Noun Adjective precedes the noun yes 234 1
Word Order Noun-Adj Adjective follows the noun yes 225 1
Word Order Dem-Noun yes 139 1
Word Order Noun-Dem no info x
Word Order Num-Noun no info x
Word Order Noun-Num no info x
Word Order Noun-Rel Relative clause follows noun that it modifies yes 294-301 1
Word Order Rel-Noun Relative clause precedes noun that it modifies yes 294-301 1
Word Order Re<Noun>l (internally headed relative) e.g. 'the dog cat chased-NMZR got away' ('the cat that the dog chased got away') yes 296-300 1
Word Order Relative clause is correlative or adjoined e.g. 'what is running, the dog chased that cat' yes 294-301 1
Word Order Question word is clause initial 'what', 'who', etc. come first in interrogative clause yes 148 1
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking in full NPs: nominative-accusative w/ marked accusative Objects of transitive clauses ('P') have a unique marker, while subjects of transitive ('A') and intransitive ('S') clauses are unmarked or share a different marker from that occurring on objects no 83 0
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking in full NPs: nominative-accusative w/ marked nominative Subjects of transitive and intransitive clauses share a marker, while objects of transitives are unmarked no 83 0
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking in full NPs: ergative-absolutive Subjects of intransitive clauses and objects of transitives share a unique marker, while subjects of transitive clauses are unmarked or have a different marker yes 83 1
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking in full NPs: tripartite Intransitive subjects, transitive subjects, and transitive objects all receive distinct case markers no 83 0
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking in full NPs: active-inactive Subjects of intransitive clauses are treated two different ways: like subjects of transitives if they are more agent-like (e.g. he jumped), and like objects of transitives if they are more patient-like (e.g. he fell asleep) no 83 0
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: marked accusative yes 122 1
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: marked nominative yes 122 1
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: ergative-absolutive yes, no, mixed, other yes 121 1
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: tripartite no 120-127 0
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of case marking of pronouns: active-inactive no 120-127 0
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of verbal person-marking: nominative-accusative Same as above, for pronominal affixes/clitics on verbs no 0
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of verbal person-marking: ergative-absolutive yes, no, mixed, other no 0
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of verbal person-marking: active-inactive no 0
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of verbal person-marking: hierarchical Marking of A and P depends on their relative ranking on a hierarchy (usually 1>2>3 or 2>1>3) no 0
Simple Clauses - Alignment Alignment of verbal person-marking: split More than one of the above systems is represented in person marking, depending on e.g. person (e.g. 1/2 vs. 3), tense-aspect value, main vs. subordinate clause type, etc. no 0
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Pronominal subjects: pronouns in subject position Pronominal subjects are free pronouns that occur in the same position as full NP subjects yes 88 1
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Pronominal subjects: prefixes on verb Pronominal subjects are marked as verbal prefixes (free pronouns may be another option) no 123, 126 0
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Pronominal subjects: suffixes on verb Pronominal subjects are marked as verbal suffixes (free pronouns may be another option) no 124 0
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Pronominal subjects: clitics on variable host Pronominal subjects are clitics that can attach to verbs, nominal constituents, etc. yes 124-125 1
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Pronominal subjects: pronouns in non-subject position Pronominal subjects are free pronouns but do not normally occur in the position expected for full NP subjects no 120 on 0
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Person marking on intransitive verbs Intransitive verbs take person-marking clitics/affixes no 0
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Person marking (of agents) on transitive verbs Transitive verbs take subject (A) markers no 0
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Person-marking (of objects) on transitive verbs Transitive verbs take object (P) markers no 0
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking 3rd person zero in verbal person marking: subjects 3rd person subjects are not overtly marked within the verbal person-marking system no 0
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking 3rd person zero in verbal person marking: objects 3rd person objects are not overtly marked within the verbal person-marking system yes 1
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Number can be marked separately from person on the verb Verbal person marking exists, but number is (or can) be marked separately n/a 0
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Possessive affixes/clitics on nouns are same as verbal person markers Where nouns take possessive affixes, these are the same as the person-marking affixes n/a 0
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Gender distinguished in verbal person markers For any person, verbal person markers exhibit different forms depending on the gender (masc/fem, animate/inanimate, etc.) of the referent n/a 0
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice Ditransitive constructions: indirect object In ditransitives (e.g. 'John gives a book to Bill'), the theme (book) is treated in the same way as are objects of transitives, while the recipient/beneficiary (Bill) is treated differently yes 131, 134 1
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice Ditransitive constructions: double object In ditransitives (e.g. 'John gives Bill a book'), both the theme (book) and the recipient/beneficiary (Bill) is treated in the same way as are objects of transitives yes 131-132 1
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice Ditransitive constructions: secondary object In ditransitives, the recipient/beneficiary is treated in the same way as are objects of transitives, while the theme (book) is treated differently no 131-134 0
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Reciprocal: dedicated morpheme Verb becomes reciprocal through use of reciprocal morpheme associated with the verb (may be attached to the verb root). This morpheme is only used to mean reciprocal. yes 166 1
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Reflexive: dedicated morpheme Verb becomes reflexive through use of reflexive morpheme associated with the verb (may be attached to the verb root). This morpheme is used only to mean reflexive. yes 166 1
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Reciprocal/reflexive: same morpheme Verb becomes reciprocal or reflexive through use of a morpheme that means either reciprocal or reflexive which attaches to the root of the verb no 166 0
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Passive Passive voice usually involves a change to the verb, while the object of the active voice verb is promoted to subject in the passive voice, and the former subject is deleted/demoted no info x
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Antipassive Like passive, but deletes or demotes the object of a transitive verb; usually found in ergative languages no info x
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Other intransitivizing morphology There is/are some other mechanism(s) for reducing valency yes 151 1
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Applicative: benefactive Applicative adds a beneficiary/maleficiary object argument to the verb n/a 0
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Applicative: other Applicative adds some other object argument to the verb n/a 0
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: prefix Causative is morphological and is attached before the root of the verb no 163 0
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: suffix Causative is morphological and is attached after the root of the verb yes 163, 165 1
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative marked by circumfix, stem change, or tone Morphological causative other than simple prefix/suffix no 163-166 0
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: serial verb or analytical construction Causative construction that involves periphrasis or serialization no 163 0
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: dedicated 'make do by proxy' Indicates that the causer does not directly cause the action of the verb to be realized, but does so by inducing someone else to carry out the action, e.g. 'John had the house painted.' no 163 0
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Causative: dedicated sociative Indicates that causer participates in event no 163 0
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Increasing Other transitivizing morphology (adds valence) There is/are some other mechanism(s) for increasing valency yes 163 1
Simple Clauses - Negation Clausal negator is a preposed element Clausal negator is a preposed element yes 239 1
Simple Clauses - Negation Clausal negator is a postposed element Clausal negator is a postposed element no 239 0
Simple Clauses - Negation Negatives: affix Negatives: affix no 239 0
Simple Clauses - Negation Negatives: particle Negatives: particle yes 239 1
Simple Clauses - Negation Negatives: auxiliary verb Negatives: auxiliary verb no 239 0
Simple Clauses - Negation Negatives: double Standard (non-emphatic) negation typically requires two morphemes, e.g. French 'ne V pas' no 239 0
Simple Clauses - Negation Distinct negative form for 'NP does not exist' no info x
Simple Clauses - Negation Distinct negative expression 'I don't know' Lexical expression or highly idiomatic phrase no info x
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Polar questions: interrogative particle Yes/no questions distinguished from declaratives by interrogative particle no 259 0
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Polar questions: verb morphology Yes/no questions distinguished from declaratives by interrogative verb morphology no 259 0
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Polar questions: word order Yes/no questions distinguished from declaratives by word order (esp. subject-verb inversion) no 259 0
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Polar questions: intonation only Yes/no questions distinguished from declaratives by intonation only no 259 0
Simple Clauses - Interrogatives Content questions: word order differs from declaratives Content questions distinguished from declaratives by word order (esp. subject-verb inversion) as well as by presence of Q-word (who, what, etc.) no 259 0
Simple Clauses - Predication Predicate adjectives: verbal Adjectives act like verbs in predicative position no 70 0
Simple Clauses - Predication Predicate adjectives: nominal Adjectives act like nouns in predicative position yes 70 1
Simple Clauses - Predication Zero copula for predicate nominals is possible Predicate nominals may occur without a copula (i.e. grammatical in some circumstances, if not all) yes 234 1
Simple Clauses - Predication Headless relative clauses Compare Eng 'the one that fell' (but in Eng 'one' could be considered a head) yes 299 1
Simple Clauses - Predication Headless relative clauses are the dominant or only form of relative clause Relative clauses that form a constituent with a head noun (in a single noun phrase) are rare or nonexistent; some descriptions may refer to adjoined or correlative clauses. no 294-301 0
Simple Clauses - Predication Relative clause may occur with a noun classifier/class marker It may be unclear whether the classifier is the nominal head of the construction or is an agreement marker on the relative clause n/a 0
Simple Clauses - Predication Relativizer is a verbal affix yes 294-301 1
Simple Clauses - Predication Morphological relativizer is homophonous with nominalizer The same morpheme marks a relative clause and is a nominalizer on verbs (and/or other word classes) no 291 0
Simple Clauses - Desiderative expressions Grammaticalized verbal desiderative Indicates that the subject desires to carry out the action denoted by the verb (distinct from verb 'want', but may be grammaticalized from it) no info x
Simple Clauses - Other Clause chaining Clauses can be grouped such that only one bears most of the verb morphology, and the others are marked as to whether they share a subject with this reference clause. no 0
Simple Clauses - Other Morphologically marked switch-reference system There are special markers to indicate same vs. different subject when two clauses are combined no info x
Simple Clauses - Other Morphologically marked distinction between simultaneous and sequential clauses Morphology (usually on verb) distinguishes between clauses denoting events that occur at the same time or in sequence no info x
Morphology - General Does verb root reduplication have an iterative function? no 70 0
Morphology - General Does noun root reduplication have a plural/pluractional function? yes 270 1
Morphology - General Does adjective root reduplication mean ‘real’ X? no 70 0
Morphology - General Does verb root reduplication have a distributive function? no 70 0
Morphology - General Does verb root reduplication have a pluractional function? no 70 0
Morphology - General Does noun root reduplication have an iterative function? no 70 0
Morphology - General Does adjective root reduplication mean ‘fake’ X? no 70 0
Morphology - General Does adjective root reduplication mean ‘very’ X? no 70 0
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Does the language have ergative and instrumental syncretism? yes 85 1
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Does the language have a distinct genitive case? yes 86 1
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Is the locative related to the ergative with vowel change? yes 82-84 1
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Is case marked on just one word in an NP? no 230 0
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Is case marked on all (non-pronominal) words in an NP? yes 230 1
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Are any subordinate verbs (or whole clauses) marked with case to indicate their function? no 0
Nominal Categories - Case and adpositions Does ergative mark discourse functions of focus/unexpectedness? no info x
Nominal Categories - Derivation Is there a evidence for derivational morphology being distinct from inflectional on nouns? yes to any of HG 95-97 entails yes to this; yep; this is more general but not just about derivation (would also include proprietive, for example, not necessarily derivation that changes word class) yes 82-119 1
Nominal Categories - Number Does the language have a minimal/augment system? no 0
Nominal Categories - Number Does the language have a unit augment system? no 0
Nominal Categories - Number Does the language mark dual on nouns? yes 102 1
Nominal Categories - Number Does the language mark plural on nouns? yes 99-101 1
Nominal Categories - Number Does the language have group/collective nominal suffixes? yes 103-105 1
Nominal Categories - Number Does the language have suppletive plural verbs? no 0
Nominal Categories - Number Does the language have suppletive plural adjectives? no 0
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Does the language have bound pronouns? yes to any of HG 173-175 entails yes to this; not necessarily? - CB yes 120 1
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Are the bound pronouns distinct from the free pronouns? yes 85 1
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Does the language mark moiety distinctions in pronouns? no 123, 126 0
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Does the language mark generational distinctions in pronouns? no 123, 126 0
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Are 'who' and 'what' distinct words? yes 264 1
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Is there an inclusive/exclusive distinction in the dual? yes 123 1
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Is there an inclusive/exclusive distinction in the plural? yes 123 1
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Is there a gender distinction in third person dual pronouns? no 126 0
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Are there clitic pronouns? yes 124 1
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Are there object clitic pronouns? yes 124 1
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories Are there distinct possessive and IO pronouns? yes 121, 130 1
Nominal Categories - Pronominal categories When there are both object and subject clitic pronouns, does the object pronoun follow the subject one? no 131 0
Simple Clauses - Discourse Is there a focus position? include the position in the ‘form’ notes no 0
Simple Clauses - Discourse Is there a topic position? include the position in the ‘form’ notes yes 130 1
Simple Clauses - Negation Is verbal negation a separate word? related to, and maybe equivalent to, HG 206-207 (not equivalent if verbal negation is being treated separately from clausal negation) yes 239 1
Simple Clauses - Negation Does the negative marker precede the verb? related to, and maybe equivalent to, HG 203 (not equivalent if verbal negation is being treated separately from clausal negation) yes 239 1
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Are there second position clausal clitics? yes 129-133 1
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Is tense marked on pronouns? no 122, 124 0
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Are there predicative clitics (e.g. Darkinyung grammar p35) no 0
Simple Clauses - Tense Does the language have tense/mood/etc particles (free words)? yes 242-244 1
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Is reflexive/reciprocal marked on the verb? =yes to any of HG 188-190; not necessarily; e.g. YN has a reflexive marker but it doesn’t go on the verb. yes 166 1
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Does reflexive/reciprocal change the conjugation class? yes 166 1
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Is there a reflexive/reciprocal particle? no 166 0
Simple Clauses - Valence and voice - Decreasing Is the passive typically used only with adversative semantics? n/a 0
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Is there an inchoative suffix? no info x
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Is there a distinct present tense verbal suffix? yes 160-161 1
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Is there a continuous aspect suffix? yes 196 1
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Is there a punctual aspect suffix? no 183-197 0
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Can tense and aspect cooccur? yes 195-196 1
Verbal Categories - Aspect and tense Is tense marked on nouns? no 0
Verbal Categories - Mood Do positive commands take the same morphology as negative commands? yes 159-160 1
Verbal Categories - Mood Is a negative command formed from a nominalised verb (eg. "no talking!")? no 141, 239 0
Verbal Categories - Other Is the verb ‘say’ the same as the verb ‘do’? no info x
Verbal Categories - Other Does the language have body part compound verbs? no 202 0
Verbal Categories - Other Are there verbal agreement clitics? no 0
Verbal Categories - Other Is there a verb 'be'? yes 225 1
Verbal Categories - Other Are there verb conjugation classes? yes 153 1
Verbal Categories - Other Is there a conjugation for uninflecting verbs? n/a 0
Verbal Categories - Other Is there a grammatical category of associated motion? no info x
Verbal Categories - Other Does the language have kinship verbs? That is, are the words which designate kinship relations such as ‘mother’ and ‘father’ verbs in the language? no info x
Verbal Categories - VerbalNumber Does the language have suppletive plural nouns? no 0
Word Order Are there discontinuous NP constituents? yes 232 1
Word Order Is word order fixed in noun phrases? no 236 0
Word Order Is word order fixed in verb phrases? no 236 0
Simple Clauses - Pronouns and person marking Pronominal subjects: second position clitics Pronominal subjects are clitics that can attach to verbs, nominal constituents, etc. no 0
Phonology - Segmental Prestopped segments list which segments in the ‘form’ column no 0