Rhythm Types
Sounds · one world map for each value
WALS codes 323 languages for this feature. The most frequent value, “Trochaic: left-hand syllable in the foot is strong”, covers 153 of them (47%); the least frequent, “Dual: system has both trochaic and iambic feet”, covers 4.
That value is most frequent in Australia (78% of the 59 languages coded there) and least frequent in Africa (25% of 16).
Among families with at least eight coded languages, Basque is the most uniform: 9 of 11 have “Absent: no rhythmic stress”.
Indo-European is the most divided, its largest group reaching only 13 of 34.
Trochaic: left-hand syllable in the foot is strong153 languages · 47%
Iambic: right-hand syllable in the foot is strong31 languages · 10%
Dual: system has both trochaic and iambic feet4 languages · 1%
Undetermined: no clear foot type37 languages · 11%
Absent: no rhythmic stress98 languages · 30%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trochaic: left-hand syllable in the foot is strong | 4 | 33 | 41 | 46 | 14 | 15 |
| Iambic: right-hand syllable in the foot is strong | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 5 |
| Dual: system has both trochaic and iambic feet | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Undetermined: no clear foot type | 3 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| Absent: no rhythmic stress | 8 | 37 | 28 | 7 | 16 | 2 |
| All values | 16 | 88 | 86 | 59 | 52 | 22 |
Inside the largest families
| Family | Coded | Most frequent value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austronesian | 60 | Trochaic: left-hand syllable in the foot is strong | 50% |
| Pama-Nyungan | 41 | Trochaic: left-hand syllable in the foot is strong | 76% |
| Indo-European | 34 | Trochaic: left-hand syllable in the foot is strong | 38% |
| Uralic | 15 | Trochaic: left-hand syllable in the foot is strong | 67% |
| Afro-Asiatic | 12 | Trochaic: left-hand syllable in the foot is strong | 50% |
| Trans-New Guinea | 12 | Absent: no rhythmic stress | 50% |
| Basque | 11 | Absent: no rhythmic stress | 82% |
| Uto-Aztecan | 8 | Trochaic: left-hand syllable in the foot is strong | 75% |
Languages to explore
The most fully coded languages with each value.
- Trochaic: left-hand syllable in the foot is strong: English, Finnish, Spanish, Indonesian, Hungarian, Georgian
- Iambic: right-hand syllable in the foot is strong: Evenki, Hixkaryana, Mapudungun, Asmat, Urubú-Kaapor, Passamaquoddy-Maliseet
- Dual: system has both trochaic and iambic feet: Wichita, Yidiny
- Undetermined: no clear foot type: French, Greenlandic (West), Chamorro, Krongo, Rapanui, Armenian (Eastern)
- Absent: no rhythmic stress: Russian, Turkish, Amele, Khalkha, Malagasy, Slave