The Austronesian languages
Language family · Papunesia, Eurasia, Africa
WALS includes 324 Austronesian languages in 31 branches; 311 of them are in Papunesia.
Basic word order: SVO in 98 of the 168 members coded, then VSO in 25, no dominant order in 19, SOV in 14.
The most solid shared trait: all 49 members coded for Nominal and Locational Predication have different.
Of these, 32 have a full page on this site.
Word order against the world
Members with at least 30 coded features, compared with every language WALS codes for each pairing.
dependent before the headboth or otherafter the head
- Subject and verbAustronesian45% · 43% of 60All WALS80% · 13% of 1,496
- Object and verbAustronesian8% · 88% of 60All WALS47% · 46% of 1,518
- Noun phrase and adpositionAustronesian5% · 92% of 59All WALS49% · 43% of 1,184
- Genitive and nounAustronesian19% · 74% of 58All WALS55% · 37% of 1,249
- Adjective and nounAustronesian7% · 86% of 59All WALS27% · 64% of 1,367
- Demonstrative and nounAustronesian16% · 77% of 56All WALS45% · 48% of 1,225
- Numeral and nounAustronesian47% · 43% of 58All WALS42% · 53% of 1,154
- Relative clause and nounAustronesiannone · 95% of 55All WALS17% · 70% of 824
- Degree word and adjectiveAustronesian24% · 55% of 42All WALS47% · 40% of 481
Shared and split traits
| Feature | Most frequent value | Members |
|---|---|---|
| Nominal and Locational Predication | Different | 49 of 49 |
| Number of Cases | No morphological case-marking | 23 of 23 |
| Relativization on Subjects | Gap | 17 of 17 |
| Vowel Nasalization | Contrastive nasal vowels absent | 15 of 15 |
| Utterance Complement Clauses | Balanced | 13 of 13 |
| Suppletion in Imperatives and Hortatives | None (= no suppletive imperatives reported in the reference material) | 12 of 12 |
| M-T Pronouns | No M-T pronouns | 10 of 10 |
| M in First Person Singular | No m in first person singular | 10 of 10 |
| Feature | Largest group | Members |
|---|---|---|
| Action Nominal Constructions | Other: Minor patterns | 2 of 10 |
| Occurrence of Nominal Plurality | Plural in all nouns, always obligatory | 10 of 33 |
| Consonant Inventories | Moderately small | 14 of 45 |
| Locus of Marking in the Clause | P has no marking | 4 of 12 |
| Locus of Marking in Possessive Noun Phrases | Possessor is head-marked | 4 of 12 |
Members
| Language | Branch | Basic order | Features coded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acehnese | Malayo-Sumbawan | no dominant order | 67 |
| Adzera | Oceanic | SVO | 32 |
| Agta (Central) | Greater Central Philippine | not coded | 24 |
| Alune | Central Malayo-Polynesian | not coded | 25 |
| Ambae (Lolovoli Northeast) | Oceanic | not coded | 28 |
| Ambai | South Halmahera - West New Guinea | not coded | 22 |
| Anejom | Oceanic | VOS | 31 |
| Arosi | Oceanic | not coded | 29 |
| Atayal | Atayalic | not coded | 39 |
| Bajau (Sama) | Sama-Bajaw | not coded | 27 |
| Bajau (West Coast) | Sama-Bajaw | not coded | 21 |
| Batak (Karo) | Northwest Sumatra-Barrier Islands | no dominant order | 92 |
| Batak (Toba) | Northwest Sumatra-Barrier Islands | VOS | 43 |
| Biak | South Halmahera - West New Guinea | not coded | 29 |
| Bikol | Greater Central Philippine | not coded | 20 |
| Bontok | Northern Luzon | not coded | 22 |
| Buru | Central Malayo-Polynesian | not coded | 21 |
| Cebuano | Greater Central Philippine | VSO | 31 |
| Cham (Western) | Malayo-Sumbawan | not coded | 27 |
| Chamorro | Chamorro | VSO | 126 |
| Cèmuhî | Oceanic | not coded | 24 |
| Drehu | Oceanic | no dominant order | 89 |
| Enggano | Enggano | not coded | 22 |
| Erromangan | Oceanic | SVO | 42 |
| Fijian | Oceanic | no dominant order | 126 |
| Futuna-Aniwa | Oceanic | SVO | 34 |
| Gumawana | Oceanic | SOV | 31 |
| Halia | Oceanic | not coded | 22 |
| Hawaiian | Oceanic | VSO | 66 |
| Hoava | Oceanic | not coded | 23 |
| Iaai | Oceanic | SVO | 56 |
| Iban | Malayo-Sumbawan | SVO | 38 |
| Ifugao (Batad) | Northern Luzon | not coded | 22 |
| Indonesian | Malayo-Sumbawan | SVO | 138 |
| Irarutu | South Halmahera - West New Guinea | SVO | 34 |
| Jabêm | Oceanic | SVO | 30 |
| Javanese | Javanese | not coded | 28 |
| Kairiru | Oceanic | not coded | 25 |
| Kambera | Central Malayo-Polynesian | not coded | 36 |
| Kapampangan | Central Luzon | not coded | 25 |
| Kele | Oceanic | not coded | 21 |
| Kilivila | Oceanic | no dominant order | 103 |
| Kiribati | Oceanic | VOS | 71 |
| Kosraean | Oceanic | SVO | 41 |
| Kwaio | Oceanic | SVO | 44 |
| Lamaholot | Central Malayo-Polynesian | not coded | 28 |
| Lampung | Lampungic | not coded | 29 |
| Lenakel | Oceanic | SVO | 46 |
| Leti | Central Malayo-Polynesian | not coded | 20 |
| Lewo | Oceanic | not coded | 23 |
| Longgu | Oceanic | not coded | 22 |
| Loniu | Oceanic | SVO | 35 |
| Lusi | Oceanic | SVO | 40 |
| Mae | Oceanic | not coded | 21 |
| Maisin | Oceanic | not coded | 25 |
| Malagasy | Barito | VOS | 130 |
| Manam | Oceanic | SOV | 39 |
| Manggarai | Central Malayo-Polynesian | not coded | 26 |
| Manobo (Western Bukidnon) | Greater Central Philippine | not coded | 22 |
| Maori | Oceanic | VSO | 129 |
| Minangkabau | Malayo-Sumbawan | no dominant order | 32 |
| Mokilese | Oceanic | SVO | 55 |
| Mono-Alu | Oceanic | not coded | 21 |
| Mor | South Halmahera - West New Guinea | not coded | 25 |
| Motu | Oceanic | not coded | 27 |
| Muna | Celebic | SVO | 48 |
| Mussau | Oceanic | not coded | 22 |
| Mwotlap | Oceanic | not coded | 20 |
| Nakanai | Oceanic | SVO | 31 |
| Ngad'a | Central Malayo-Polynesian | not coded | 23 |
| Nias | Northwest Sumatra-Barrier Islands | VOS | 33 |
| Niuean | Oceanic | VSO | 35 |
| Nuaulu | Central Malayo-Polynesian | SVO | 32 |
| Paamese | Oceanic | SVO | 89 |
| Paiwan | Paiwan | no dominant order | 106 |
| Palauan | Palauan | SVO | 53 |
| Pangasinan | Northern Luzon | not coded | 23 |
| Paulohi | Central Malayo-Polynesian | not coded | 26 |
| Pohnpeian | Oceanic | SVO | 50 |
| Puluwat | Oceanic | not coded | 29 |
| Rapanui | Oceanic | VSO | 119 |
| Rotuman | Oceanic | SVO | 33 |
| Rukai (Tanan) | Rukai | no dominant order | 40 |
| Sakao | Oceanic | not coded | 20 |
| Saliba (in Papua New Guinea) | Oceanic | SOV | 31 |
| Samoan | Oceanic | no dominant order | 59 |
| Sawu | Central Malayo-Polynesian | not coded | 20 |
| Seediq | Atayalic | not coded | 20 |
| Sinaugoro | Oceanic | not coded | 28 |
| Sio | Oceanic | not coded | 27 |
| Sisiqa | Oceanic | not coded | 20 |
| Sonsorol-Tobi | Oceanic | not coded | 21 |
| Sundanese | Malayo-Sumbawan | SVO | 44 |
| Taba | South Halmahera - West New Guinea | SVO | 99 |
| Tagalog | Greater Central Philippine | VSO | 131 |
| Tahitian | Oceanic | VSO | 42 |
| Tausug | Greater Central Philippine | not coded | 24 |
| Tawala | Oceanic | SOV | 37 |
| Tboli | Bilic | not coded | 24 |
| Teop | Oceanic | not coded | 22 |
| Tetun | Central Malayo-Polynesian | SVO | 46 |
| Tigak | Oceanic | SVO | 56 |
| Timugon | North Borneo | not coded | 22 |
| Tinrin | Oceanic | no dominant order | 49 |
| Tolai | Oceanic | SVO | 41 |
| Tondano | Minahasan | not coded | 28 |
| Tongan | Oceanic | no dominant order | 34 |
| Tsou | Tsou | not coded | 23 |
| Tukang Besi | Celebic | VOS | 127 |
| Tuvaluan | Oceanic | OVS | 49 |
| Ulithian | Oceanic | not coded | 26 |
| Ura | Oceanic | not coded | 20 |
| Urak Lawoi' | Malayo-Sumbawan | not coded | 25 |
| Woleaian | Oceanic | SVO | 31 |
| Wolio | Celebic | not coded | 25 |
| Yapese | Yapese | VSO | 55 |
Not listed: 208 further Austronesian languages with fewer than 20 coded features.