Applicative Constructions
Simple clauses · one world map for each value
WALS codes 183 languages for this feature. The most frequent value, “No applicative construction”, covers 100 of them (55%); the least frequent, “Non-benefactive object only; transitive base only”, is recorded for a single language.
That value is most frequent in Eurasia (84% of the 56 languages coded there) and least frequent in Papunesia (31% of 29).
All 16 Indo-European languages coded have “No applicative construction”.
Austronesian is the most divided, its largest group reaching only 5 of 14.
Benefactive object only; both bases16 languages · 9%
Benefactive object only; transitive base only4 languages · 2%
Benefactive and other; both bases49 languages · 27%
Benefactive and other; transitive base only2 languages · 1%
Non-benefactive object only; both bases9 languages · 5%
Non-benefactive object only; transitive base only1 language · 1%
Non-benefactive object only; intransitive base only2 languages · 1%
No applicative construction100 languages · 55%
One map per value; each dot is a language WALS codes with that value.
By macro-area
| Value | Africa | Eurasia | Papunesia | Australia | North America | South America |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benefactive object only; both bases | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Benefactive object only; transitive base only | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Benefactive and other; both bases | 14 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 14 | 3 |
| Benefactive and other; transitive base only | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-benefactive object only; both bases | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Non-benefactive object only; transitive base only | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Non-benefactive object only; intransitive base only | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| No applicative construction | 11 | 47 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 15 |
| All values | 31 | 56 | 29 | 15 | 31 | 21 |
Inside the largest families
| Family | Coded | Most frequent value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indo-European | 16 | No applicative construction | 100% |
| Austronesian | 14 | Benefactive and other; both bases | 36% |
| Niger-Congo | 14 | Benefactive and other; both bases | 57% |
| Afro-Asiatic | 8 | No applicative construction | 62% |
| Trans-New Guinea | 8 | Benefactive object only; both bases | 38% |
Languages to explore
The most fully coded languages with each value.
- Benefactive object only; both bases: Amele, Kannada, Chamorro, Yaqui, Alamblak, Kewa
- Benefactive object only; transitive base only: Indonesian, Asmat, Una
- Benefactive and other; both bases: Georgian, Hausa, Tagalog, Malagasy, Greenlandic (West), Swahili
- Benefactive and other; transitive base only: Abkhaz
- Non-benefactive object only; both bases: Tiwi, Yagua, Epena Pedee, Ju|'hoan, Yidiny, Koyraboro Senni
- Non-benefactive object only; transitive base only: Jakaltek
- Non-benefactive object only; intransitive base only: Fijian, Wambaya
- No applicative construction: English, French, Russian, Finnish, Spanish, Turkish
From the same chapter
- Other Roles of Applied Objects 183 languages