Definite Articles
Nouns and pronouns · one world map for each value
WALS codes 620 languages for this feature. The most frequent value, “Definite word distinct from demonstrative”, covers 216 of them (35%); the least frequent, “No definite article but indefinite article”, covers 45.
That value is most frequent in Africa (45% of the 177 languages coded there) and least frequent in South America (20% of 46).
Among families with at least eight coded languages, Central Sudanic is the most uniform: 9 of 12 have “Definite word distinct from demonstrative”.
Uto-Aztecan is the most divided, its largest group reaching only 5 of 15.
Definite word distinct from demonstrative216 languages · 35%
Demonstrative word used as marker of definiteness69 languages · 11%
Definite affix on noun92 languages · 15%
No definite article but indefinite article45 languages · 7%
Neither definite nor indefinite article198 languages · 32%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Definite word distinct from demonstrative | 79 | 31 | 57 | 8 | 32 | 9 |
| Demonstrative word used as marker of definiteness | 14 | 13 | 23 | 3 | 13 | 3 |
| Definite affix on noun | 43 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 2 |
| No definite article but indefinite article | 7 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Neither definite nor indefinite article | 34 | 64 | 39 | 11 | 19 | 31 |
| All values | 177 | 148 | 139 | 26 | 84 | 46 |
Inside the largest families
| Family | Coded | Most frequent value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austronesian | 88 | Definite word distinct from demonstrative | 52% |
| Niger-Congo | 75 | Definite word distinct from demonstrative | 47% |
| Afro-Asiatic | 50 | Definite affix on noun | 44% |
| Indo-European | 47 | Definite word distinct from demonstrative | 36% |
| Sino-Tibetan | 36 | Neither definite nor indefinite article | 56% |
| Trans-New Guinea | 22 | Neither definite nor indefinite article | 36% |
| Eastern Sudanic | 20 | Definite affix on noun | 40% |
| Uto-Aztecan | 15 | Neither definite nor indefinite article | 33% |
| Altaic | 13 | Neither definite nor indefinite article | 62% |
| Central Sudanic | 12 | Definite word distinct from demonstrative | 75% |
| Austro-Asiatic | 10 | Definite word distinct from demonstrative | 40% |
| Pama-Nyungan | 10 | Neither definite nor indefinite article | 50% |
| Arawakan | 9 | Definite word distinct from demonstrative | 44% |
| Hokan | 9 | Definite word distinct from demonstrative | 44% |
Languages to explore
The most fully coded languages with each value.
- Definite word distinct from demonstrative: English, French, Spanish, Hungarian, Basque, German
- Demonstrative word used as marker of definiteness: Indonesian, Swahili, Tukang Besi, Burushaski, Meithei, Latvian
- Definite affix on noun: Supyire, Arabic (Egyptian), Hebrew (Modern), Armenian (Eastern), Haida, Kunama
- No definite article but indefinite article: Turkish, Japanese, Lezgian, Amele, Persian, Lango
- Neither definite nor indefinite article: Russian, Finnish, Korean, Evenki, Khalkha, Hindi