N-M Pronouns
Vocabulary · one world map for each value
WALS codes 230 languages for this feature. The most frequent value, “No N-M pronouns”, covers 194 of them (84%); the least frequent, “N-M pronouns, non-paradigmatic”, covers 11.
That value is most frequent in Eurasia (100% of the 49 languages coded there) and least frequent in North America (66% of 62).
All 10 Austronesian languages coded have “No N-M pronouns”.
Hokan is the most divided, its largest group reaching only 4 of 8.
No N-M pronouns194 languages · 84%
N-M pronouns, paradigmatic25 languages · 11%
N-M pronouns, non-paradigmatic11 languages · 5%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No N-M pronouns | 27 | 49 | 36 | 22 | 41 | 19 |
| N-M pronouns, paradigmatic | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 6 |
| N-M pronouns, non-paradigmatic | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| All values | 31 | 49 | 39 | 22 | 62 | 27 |
Inside the largest families
| Family | Coded | Most frequent value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trans-New Guinea | 14 | No N-M pronouns | 93% |
| Austronesian | 10 | No N-M pronouns | 100% |
| Indo-European | 10 | No N-M pronouns | 100% |
| Niger-Congo | 10 | No N-M pronouns | 80% |
| Pama-Nyungan | 9 | No N-M pronouns | 100% |
| Afro-Asiatic | 8 | No N-M pronouns | 88% |
| Hokan | 8 | No N-M pronouns | 50% |
Languages to explore
From the same chapter
- M in Second Person Singular 230 languages