Order of Demonstrative and Noun
Word order · one world map for each value
WALS codes 1,225 languages for this feature. The most frequent value, “Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem)”, covers 562 of them (46%); the least frequent, “Demonstrative prefix on noun”, covers 9.
That value is most frequent in Africa (73% of the 329 languages coded there) and least frequent in South America (8% of 95).
All 16 Altaic languages coded have “Demonstrative word precedes noun (DemN)”.
Hokan is the most divided, its largest group reaching only 4 of 11.
Demonstrative word precedes noun (DemN)542 languages · 44%
Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem)562 languages · 46%
Demonstrative prefix on noun9 languages · 1%
Demonstrative suffix on noun28 languages · 2%
Demonstrative simultaneously before and after noun17 languages · 1%
Two or more of above types with none dominant67 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demonstrative word precedes noun (DemN) | 43 | 200 | 62 | 48 | 105 | 84 |
| Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem) | 240 | 65 | 193 | 22 | 34 | 8 |
| Demonstrative prefix on noun | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Demonstrative suffix on noun | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Demonstrative simultaneously before and after noun | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Two or more of above types with none dominant | 19 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 3 |
| All values | 329 | 288 | 273 | 82 | 158 | 95 |
Inside the largest families
| Family | Coded | Most frequent value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niger-Congo | 167 | Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem) | 83% |
| Austronesian | 161 | Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem) | 78% |
| Sino-Tibetan | 109 | Demonstrative word precedes noun (DemN) | 61% |
| Afro-Asiatic | 67 | Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem) | 55% |
| Indo-European | 67 | Demonstrative word precedes noun (DemN) | 90% |
| Trans-New Guinea | 50 | Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem) | 64% |
| Pama-Nyungan | 46 | Demonstrative word precedes noun (DemN) | 52% |
| Eastern Sudanic | 31 | Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem) | 52% |
| Uto-Aztecan | 26 | Demonstrative word precedes noun (DemN) | 85% |
| Austro-Asiatic | 23 | Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem) | 65% |
| Central Sudanic | 23 | Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem) | 78% |
| Oto-Manguean | 20 | Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem) | 75% |
| Altaic | 16 | Demonstrative word precedes noun (DemN) | 100% |
| Arawakan | 14 | Demonstrative word precedes noun (DemN) | 79% |
Languages to explore
The most fully coded languages with each value.
- Demonstrative word precedes noun (DemN): English, French, Russian, Finnish, Spanish, Turkish
- Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem): Indonesian, Amele, Basque, Arabic (Egyptian), Swahili, Vietnamese
- Demonstrative suffix on noun: Somali, Nandi, Tonkawa, Ik, Tashlhiyt, Dinka
- Demonstrative simultaneously before and after noun: Malagasy, Beja, Tümpisa Shoshone, Lai, Zande
- Two or more of above types with none dominant: Hausa, Tagalog, Maori, Greenlandic (West), Zulu, Lakhota