The Uto-Aztecan languages
Language family · North America
WALS includes 44 Uto-Aztecan languages in 8 branches; all of them are in North America.
Basic word order: SOV in 15 of the 28 members coded, then no dominant order in 7, SVO in 3, VSO in 3.
The most solid shared trait: all 27 members coded for Position of Tense-Aspect Affixes have tense-aspect suffixes.
Of these, 11 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 verbUto-Aztecan56% · 25% of 16All WALS80% · 13% of 1,496
- Object and verbUto-Aztecan44% · 38% of 16All WALS47% · 46% of 1,518
- Noun phrase and adpositionUto-Aztecan67% · 13% of 15All WALS49% · 43% of 1,184
- Genitive and nounUto-Aztecan67% · 13% of 15All WALS55% · 37% of 1,249
- Adjective and nounUto-Aztecan56% · 25% of 16All WALS27% · 64% of 1,367
- Demonstrative and nounUto-Aztecan79% · none of 14All WALS45% · 48% of 1,225
- Numeral and nounUto-Aztecan100% · none of 14All WALS42% · 53% of 1,154
- Relative clause and nounUto-Aztecannone · 87% of 15All WALS17% · 70% of 824
- Degree word and adjectiveUto-Aztecan86% · none of 7All WALS47% · 40% of 481
Shared and split traits
| Feature | Most frequent value | Members |
|---|---|---|
| Position of Tense-Aspect Affixes | Tense-aspect suffixes | 27 of 27 |
| Absence of Common Consonants | All present | 9 of 9 |
| Presence of Uncommon Consonants | None | 9 of 9 |
| Glottalized Consonants | No glottalized consonants | 9 of 9 |
| Numeral Classifiers | Numeral classifiers are absent | 8 of 8 |
| Order of Numeral and Noun | Numeral precedes noun (NumN) | 20 of 21 |
| Reduplication | Productive full and partial reduplication | 11 of 12 |
| Order of Degree Word and Adjective | Degree word precedes adjective (DegAdj) | 11 of 12 |
| Feature | Largest group | Members |
|---|---|---|
| The Prohibitive | Normal imperative + normal negative | 3 of 12 |
| Definite Articles | Neither definite nor indefinite article | 5 of 15 |
| Weight Factors in Weight-Sensitive Stress Systems | No weight, or weight factor unknown | 4 of 12 |
| Indefinite Articles | Neither indefinite nor definite | 5 of 14 |
| Third Person Zero of Verbal Person Marking | Zero in all 3rd person forms | 3 of 8 |
Members
| Language | Branch | Basic order | Features coded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cahuilla | Northern Uto-Aztecan | SOV | 91 |
| Chemehuevi | Northern Uto-Aztecan | no dominant order | 37 |
| Comanche | Northern Uto-Aztecan | SOV | 94 |
| Cora | Corachol | VSO | 30 |
| Cupeño | Northern Uto-Aztecan | not coded | 25 |
| Eudeve | Opata-Eudeve | not coded | 21 |
| Guarijío | Tarahumaran | not coded | 20 |
| Hopi | Northern Uto-Aztecan | SOV | 47 |
| Huichol | Corachol | not coded | 24 |
| Kawaiisu | Northern Uto-Aztecan | no dominant order | 47 |
| Luiseño | Northern Uto-Aztecan | no dominant order | 46 |
| Mono (in United States) | Northern Uto-Aztecan | not coded | 20 |
| Nahuatl (Huasteca) | Aztecan | not coded | 21 |
| Nahuatl (Michoacán) | Aztecan | not coded | 20 |
| Nahuatl (North Puebla) | Aztecan | SVO | 35 |
| Nahuatl (Tetelcingo) | Aztecan | SVO | 96 |
| Nevome | Tepiman | not coded | 22 |
| O'odham | Tepiman | no dominant order | 68 |
| Paiute (Northern) | Northern Uto-Aztecan | SOV | 34 |
| Pima Bajo | Tepiman | not coded | 24 |
| Pipil | Aztecan | no dominant order | 61 |
| Tarahumara (Central) | Tarahumaran | not coded | 23 |
| Tarahumara (Western) | Tarahumaran | not coded | 28 |
| Tepehuan (Northern) | Tepiman | VSO | 41 |
| Tepehuan (Southeastern) | Tepiman | not coded | 26 |
| Tümpisa Shoshone | Northern Uto-Aztecan | SOV | 56 |
| Ute | Northern Uto-Aztecan | no dominant order | 33 |
| Yaqui | Cahita | SOV | 126 |
Not listed: 16 further Uto-Aztecan languages with fewer than 20 coded features.