Word Order Facts
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The Sino-Tibetan languages

Language family · Eurasia

WALS includes 146 Sino-Tibetan languages in 22 branches; all of them are in Eurasia.

Basic word order: SOV in 81 of the 89 members coded, then SVO in 8.

The most solid shared trait: all 120 members coded for Order of Subject and Verb have subject precedes verb (SV).

Of these, 13 have a full page on this site.

Every Sino-Tibetan language in WALS, placed at the point the atlas gives for it.

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 verb
    Sino-Tibetanbefore: 28100% · none of 28
    All WALSbefore: 1192both or other: 110after: 19480% · 13% of 1,496
  • Object and verb
    Sino-Tibetanbefore: 23after: 582% · 18% of 28
    All WALSbefore: 712both or other: 101after: 70547% · 46% of 1,518
  • Noun phrase and adposition
    Sino-Tibetanbefore: 19both or other: 4after: 179% · 4% of 24
    All WALSbefore: 577both or other: 96after: 51149% · 43% of 1,184
  • Genitive and noun
    Sino-Tibetanbefore: 28100% · none of 28
    All WALSbefore: 685both or other: 96after: 46855% · 37% of 1,249
  • Adjective and noun
    Sino-Tibetanbefore: 13both or other: 3after: 1246% · 43% of 28
    All WALSbefore: 373both or other: 115after: 87927% · 64% of 1,367
  • Demonstrative and noun
    Sino-Tibetanbefore: 16both or other: 3after: 859% · 30% of 27
    All WALSbefore: 551both or other: 84after: 59045% · 48% of 1,225
  • Numeral and noun
    Sino-Tibetanbefore: 6both or other: 2after: 2021% · 71% of 28
    All WALSbefore: 479both or other: 67after: 60842% · 53% of 1,154
  • Relative clause and noun
    Sino-Tibetanbefore: 17both or other: 4after: 274% · 9% of 23
    All WALSbefore: 141both or other: 104after: 57917% · 70% of 824
  • Degree word and adjective
    Sino-Tibetanbefore: 11both or other: 2after: 658% · 32% of 19
    All WALSbefore: 227both or other: 62after: 19247% · 40% of 481

Shared and split traits

Where the family agrees most
FeatureMost frequent valueMembers
Order of Subject and VerbSubject precedes verb (SV)120 of 120
Order of Genitive and NounGenitive-noun (GenN)88 of 88
Position of Interrogative Phrases in Content QuestionsInterrogative phrases not obligatorily initial85 of 85
Absence of Common ConsonantsAll present26 of 26
Negative Indefinite Pronouns and Predicate NegationNegative indefinites co-occur with predicate negation13 of 13
Nominal and Locational PredicationDifferent13 of 13
Number of GendersNone10 of 10
Sex-based and Non-sex-based Gender SystemsNo gender system10 of 10
Where it is most divided
FeatureLargest groupMembers
Number of CasesNo morphological case-marking2 of 8
Order of Object, Oblique, and VerbOblique-object-verb (XOV)6 of 18
Inflectional Synthesis of the Verb2-3 categories per word3 of 9
Ordinal NumeralsOne-th, two-th, three-th3 of 9
Voicing in Plosives and FricativesVoicing contrast in both plosives and fricatives9 of 26

Members

LanguageBranchBasic orderFeatures coded
AkhaBurmese-Lolonot coded22
AngamiAngami-Pochurinot coded23
AoCentral NagaSOV41
ApataniTaninot coded21
AthpareHimalayishnot coded26
BaiMacro-BaiSVO33
BawmKuki-ChinSOV82
BelhareHimalayishnot coded39
BodoBrahmaputrannot coded34
BurmeseBurmese-LoloSOV123
ByansiBodicnot coded32
CantoneseChineseSVO78
ChangBrahmaputrannot coded21
ChantyalBodicnot coded23
ChepangHimalayishnot coded24
Chin (Mara)Kuki-Chinnot coded21
Chin (Siyin)Kuki-Chinnot coded21
Chin (Tiddim)Kuki-Chinnot coded31
DigaroDigaroannot coded28
DumiHimalayishnot coded26
GaroBrahmaputranSOV89
GurungBodicnot coded23
HakkaChinesenot coded23
HayuHimalayishSOV31
JingphoBrahmaputranSOV38
Karen (Bwe)Karennot coded22
Karen (Sgaw)KarenSVO37
Kayah Li (Eastern)KarenSVO75
KhalingHimalayishnot coded24
KhamHimalayishSOV32
KokborokBrahmaputrannot coded23
LadakhiBodicSOV76
LahuBurmese-LoloSOV69
LaiKuki-ChinSOV43
LaloBurmese-Lolonot coded24
LepchaHimalayishSOV75
LimbuHimalayishnot coded51
LisuBurmese-Lolonot coded23
MandarinChineseSVO138
MeitheiManipurinot coded122
MikirKarbicnot coded24
MisingTaninot coded22
MizoKuki-ChinSOV38
Naga (Mao)Angami-Pochurinot coded21
Naga (Tangkhul)Tangkhul-Maringnot coded29
Nar-PhuBodicnot coded20
Newar (Dolakha)HimalayishSOV31
Newari (Kathmandu)HimalayishSOV38
NyishiTaninot coded30
QiangNa-Qiangicnot coded22
RawangNungishnot coded29
SemaAngami-Pochurinot coded28
SikkimeseBodicnot coded21
Tamang (Eastern)BodicSOV40
Tibetan (Modern Literary)Bodicnot coded20
Tibetan (Standard Spoken)BodicSOV61
TshanglaBodicnot coded22

Not listed: 89 further Sino-Tibetan languages with fewer than 20 coded features.