Word Order Facts
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Bribri

Chibchan family · Western Isthmic Chibchan branch · North America

Bribri is an SOV language, like 564 of the 1,376 languages WALS codes for basic word order.

The closest grammar profile to Bribri in the atlas belongs to Bambara, a Mande language: the two agree on 37 of the 49 features both have coded.

Of the 4 Chibchan languages profiled here, Bribri follows the family’s usual values most closely.

Bribri: order of head and dependent in 8 constructions← beforeafter →verbsubject80%13%Order of Subject and Verb: Subject precedes verb (SV). Of 1,496 languages coded, 1,192 put the subject before the verb and 194 after it.verbobject47%46%Order of Object and Verb: Object precedes verb (OV). Of 1,518 languages coded, 712 put the object before the verb and 705 after it.adpositionnoun phrase49%43%Order of Adposition and Noun Phrase: Postpositions. Of 1,184 languages coded, 577 put the noun phrase before the adposition and 511 after it.noungenitive55%37%Order of Genitive and Noun: Genitive-noun (GenN). Of 1,249 languages coded, 685 put the genitive before the noun and 468 after it.nounadjective27%64%Order of Adjective and Noun: Modifying adjective follows noun (NAdj). Of 1,367 languages coded, 373 put the adjective before the noun and 879 after it.noundemonstrative45%48%Order of Demonstrative and Noun: Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem). Of 1,225 languages coded, 551 put the demonstrative before the noun and 590 after it.nounnumeral42%53%Order of Numeral and Noun: Numeral follows noun (NNum). Of 1,154 languages coded, 479 put the numeral before the noun and 608 after it.adjectivedegree worddegree wordno dominant order47%40%Order of Degree Word and Adjective: Both orders occur with neither order dominant. Of 481 languages coded, 227 put the degree word before the adjective and 192 after it.
The order Bribri uses in 8 pairings of a head word and its dependent. Bars: how all languages coded for each pairing split, before or after.

Contrast Bribri with Bambara or with any other language

Uncommon values

Values that fewer than one in ten of the coded languages share with Bribri, rarest first.

Inside the Chibchan family

Bribri matches the most frequent Chibchan value on 22 of the 37 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (59%).

Closest profiles

Languages that share the most coded values with Bribri; the count is out of the features both languages are coded for.

The rest of the profile

WALS codes Bribri for 57 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 54 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Bribri shares with the fewest languages comes first.

Sounds 12

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Lateral ConsonantsNo laterals95 of 567
Consonant InventoriesModerately small122 of 563
Voicing in Plosives and FricativesVoicing contrast in both plosives and fricatives158 of 567
Consonant-Vowel RatioAverage234 of 564
Voicing and Gaps in Plosive Systems/p t k b d g/255 of 567
The Velar NasalNo velar nasal235 of 469
Vowel Quality InventoriesAverage vowel inventory (5-6)287 of 564
Glottalized ConsonantsNo glottalized consonants409 of 567
Presence of Uncommon ConsonantsNone449 of 567
Uvular ConsonantsNo uvulars470 of 567
Absence of Common ConsonantsAll present503 of 567
Front Rounded VowelsNone525 of 562

Word structure 7

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Locus of Marking in Possessive Noun PhrasesPossessor has no marking32 of 236
Locus of Marking in the ClauseP has no marking42 of 236
Syncretism in Verbal Person/Number MarkingNo subject person/number marking57 of 198
Prefixing vs. Suffixing in Inflectional MorphologyPredominantly suffixing406 of 969
Locus of Marking: Whole-language TypologyInconsistent marking or other type121 of 236
Case SyncretismInflectional case marking is absent or minimal123 of 198
Zero Marking of A and P ArgumentsNon-zero marking219 of 235

Nouns and pronouns 10

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Asymmetrical Case-MarkingAdditive-quantitatively asymmetrical case-marking53 of 261
Position of Pronominal Possessive AffixesNo possessive affixes260 of 902
Inclusive/Exclusive Distinction in Independent PronounsInclusive and exclusive differentiated63 of 200
Inclusive/Exclusive Distinction in Verbal InflectionNo person marking at all70 of 200
Position of Case AffixesNeither case affixes nor adpositional clitics379 of 1,031
Plurality in Independent Personal PronounsPerson-number stem114 of 261
Coding of Nominal PluralityPlural suffix513 of 1,066
Person Marking on AdpositionsAdpositions without person marking209 of 378
Politeness Distinctions in PronounsSecond person pronouns encode no politeness distinction136 of 207
Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal PronounsNo gender distinctions254 of 378

Noun phrases 1

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Noun Phrase ConjunctionAND-languages: 'and' and 'with' are not identical131 of 234

Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 3

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
The ProhibitiveSpecial imperative + special negative146 of 496
Epistemic PossibilityAffixes on verbs84 of 240
Position of Tense-Aspect AffixesTense-aspect suffixes667 of 1,131

Word order 8

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Order of Degree Word and AdjectiveBoth orders occur with neither order dominant62 of 481
Order of Demonstrative and NounDemonstrative word follows noun (NDem)562 of 1,225
Order of Object and VerbObject precedes verb (OV)712 of 1,518
Order of Adposition and Noun PhrasePostpositions577 of 1,184
Order of Numeral and NounNumeral follows noun (NNum)608 of 1,154
Order of Genitive and NounGenitive-noun (GenN)685 of 1,249
Order of Adjective and NounModifying adjective follows noun (NAdj)879 of 1,367
Order of Subject and VerbSubject precedes verb (SV)1,192 of 1,496

Simple clauses 12

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Alignment of Case Marking of PronounsErgative - absolutive20 of 172
Alignment of Case Marking of Full Noun PhrasesErgative - absolutive32 of 190
Verbal Person MarkingNo person marking of any argument82 of 378
Alignment of Verbal Person MarkingNeutral alignment (no verbal person marking)84 of 380
Predicative PossessionConjunctional Possessive59 of 240
Third Person Zero of Verbal Person MarkingNo person marking of the S96 of 380
Predicative AdjectivesPredicative adjectives have mixed encoding103 of 386
Negative MorphemesNegative particle502 of 1,157
Order of Person Markers on the VerbA and P do not or do not both occur on the verb187 of 379
Zero Copula for Predicate NominalsZero copula is impossible211 of 386
Passive ConstructionsThere is no passive construction211 of 373
Nominal and Locational PredicationDifferent269 of 386

Vocabulary 1

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Numeral BasesDecimal125 of 196