Chinantec (Lealao)
Oto-Manguean family · Chinantecan branch · North America
Chinantec (Lealao) puts its words in verb-object-subject order (VOS), one of only 25 with that basic order among the 1,376 languages WALS codes for this feature.
On Position of Pronominal Possessive Affixes, WALS codes Chinantec (Lealao) as “Prefixes and suffixes”, a value held by 32 of the 902 languages coded, Paumarí and Trumai among them.
Contrast Chinantec (Lealao) with Tlapanec or with any other language
Uncommon values
Values that fewer than one in ten of the coded languages share with Chinantec (Lealao), rarest first.
- Suppletion According to Tense and AspectSuppletion according to aspect10 of 193
- Weight-Sensitive StressNot predictable26 of 500
- Imperative-Hortative SystemsThe language has a minimal system, but not a maximal one20 of 375
- Third Person Pronouns and DemonstrativesRelated to non-remote demonstratives14 of 225
- ReduplicationFull reduplication only35 of 368
- Plurality in Independent Personal PronounsPerson-number affixes25 of 261
Inside the Oto-Manguean family
Chinantec (Lealao) matches the most frequent Oto-Manguean value on 42 of the 64 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (66%). Among the 4 Oto-Manguean languages profiled here, that rate ranks third from the top.
Closest profiles
Languages that share the most coded values with Chinantec (Lealao); the count is out of the features both languages are coded for.
The rest of the profile
WALS codes Chinantec (Lealao) for 92 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 84 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Chinantec (Lealao) shares with the fewest languages comes first.
Sounds 16
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Tone | Complex tone system | 88 of 527 |
| The Velar Nasal | Velar nasal, also initially | 147 of 469 |
| Voicing in Plosives and Fricatives | Voicing contrast in plosives alone | 189 of 567 |
| Consonant Inventories | Average | 201 of 563 |
| Consonant-Vowel Ratio | Average | 234 of 564 |
| Fixed Stress Locations | No fixed stress (mostly weight-sensitive stress) | 220 of 502 |
| Voicing and Gaps in Plosive Systems | /p t k b d g/ | 255 of 567 |
| Vowel Quality Inventories | Average vowel inventory (5-6) | 287 of 564 |
| Weight Factors in Weight-Sensitive Stress Systems | No weight, or weight factor unknown | 261 of 500 |
| Syllable Structure | Moderately complex syllable structure | 274 of 486 |
| Lateral Consonants | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 388 of 567 |
| Glottalized Consonants | No glottalized consonants | 409 of 567 |
| Presence of Uncommon Consonants | None | 449 of 567 |
| Uvular Consonants | No uvulars | 470 of 567 |
| Absence of Common Consonants | All present | 503 of 567 |
| Front Rounded Vowels | None | 525 of 562 |
Word structure 3
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Prefixing vs. Suffixing in Inflectional Morphology | Little or no inflectional morphology | 141 of 969 |
| Syncretism in Verbal Person/Number Marking | Subject person/number marking is syncretic | 60 of 198 |
| Case Syncretism | Inflectional case marking is absent or minimal | 123 of 198 |
Nouns and pronouns 18
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinal Numerals | Zero: Ordinal numerals do not exist | 33 of 321 |
| Pronominal and Adnominal Demonstratives | Different inflectional features | 21 of 201 |
| Sex-based and Non-sex-based Gender Systems | Non-sex-based gender system | 28 of 257 |
| Coding of Nominal Plurality | Plural word | 170 of 1,066 |
| Number of Genders | Two | 50 of 257 |
| Systems of Gender Assignment | Semantic assignment | 53 of 257 |
| Person Marking on Adpositions | Person marking for pronouns only | 83 of 378 |
| Comitatives and Instrumentals | Identity | 76 of 322 |
| Asymmetrical Case-Marking | No morphological case-marking | 81 of 261 |
| Inclusive/Exclusive Distinction in Independent Pronouns | Inclusive and exclusive differentiated | 63 of 200 |
| Definite Articles | Neither definite nor indefinite article | 198 of 620 |
| Position of Case Affixes | Neither case affixes nor adpositional clitics | 379 of 1,031 |
| Indefinite Articles | Neither indefinite nor definite | 198 of 534 |
| Distance Contrasts in Demonstratives | Three-way contrast | 88 of 234 |
| Number of Cases | No morphological case-marking | 100 of 261 |
| Inclusive/Exclusive Distinction in Verbal Inflection | No inclusive/exclusive opposition | 79 of 200 |
| Intensifiers and Reflexive Pronouns | Intensifiers and reflexive pronouns are formally identical | 94 of 168 |
| Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal Pronouns | No gender distinctions | 254 of 378 |
Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 9
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| The Prohibitive | Special imperative + normal negative | 55 of 496 |
| Position of Tense-Aspect Affixes | Combination of tense-aspect strategies with none primary | 146 of 1,131 |
| The Optative | Inflectional optative present | 48 of 319 |
| Semantic Distinctions of Evidentiality | No grammatical evidentials | 181 of 418 |
| Coding of Evidentiality | No grammatical evidentials | 181 of 418 |
| The Morphological Imperative | Second singular and second plural | 292 of 548 |
| Situational Possibility | Verbal constructions | 158 of 234 |
| Suppletion in Imperatives and Hortatives | None (= no suppletive imperatives reported in the reference material) | 153 of 193 |
| Verbal Number and Suppletion | No singular-(dual)-plural pairs/triples | 159 of 193 |
Word order 13
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Order of Subject and Verb | Subject follows verb (VS) | 194 of 1,496 |
| Position of Polar Question Particles | Question particle at beginning of sentence | 129 of 884 |
| Position of Interrogative Phrases in Content Questions | Interrogative phrases obligatorily initial | 264 of 902 |
| Order of Genitive and Noun | Noun-genitive (NGen) | 468 of 1,249 |
| Order of Numeral and Noun | Numeral precedes noun (NumN) | 479 of 1,154 |
| Order of Object, Oblique, and Verb | Verb-object-oblique (VOX) | 210 of 500 |
| Order of Adposition and Noun Phrase | Prepositions | 511 of 1,184 |
| Order of Demonstrative and Noun | Demonstrative word follows noun (NDem) | 562 of 1,225 |
| Order of Object and Verb | Object follows verb (VO) | 705 of 1,518 |
| Order of Degree Word and Adjective | Degree word precedes adjective (DegAdj) | 227 of 481 |
| Order of Adverbial Subordinator and Clause | Initial subordinator word | 398 of 659 |
| Order of Adjective and Noun | Modifying adjective follows noun (NAdj) | 879 of 1,367 |
| Order of Relative Clause and Noun | Relative clause follows noun (NRel) | 579 of 824 |
Simple clauses 13
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal Person Marking | Person marking of only the A argument | 73 of 378 |
| Symmetric and Asymmetric Standard Negation | Symmetric standard negation only: Type Sym | 114 of 297 |
| Subtypes of Asymmetric Standard Negation | Non-assignable (no asymmetry found) | 114 of 297 |
| Negative Morphemes | Negative particle | 502 of 1,157 |
| Passive Constructions | There is a passive construction | 162 of 373 |
| Alignment of Case Marking of Pronouns | Neutral | 79 of 172 |
| Third Person Zero of Verbal Person Marking | No zero realization of third person S forms | 181 of 380 |
| Order of Person Markers on the Verb | A and P do not or do not both occur on the verb | 187 of 379 |
| Alignment of Case Marking of Full Noun Phrases | Neutral | 98 of 190 |
| Alignment of Verbal Person Marking | Accusative alignment | 212 of 380 |
| Polar Questions | Question particle | 585 of 955 |
| Expression of Pronominal Subjects | Pronominal subjects are expressed by affixes on verbs | 437 of 711 |
| Nonperiphrastic Causative Constructions | Morphological type but no compound type | 254 of 310 |
Complex sentences 5
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose Clauses | Balanced | 38 of 170 |
| 'When' Clauses | Balanced | 84 of 174 |
| Relativization on Obliques | Gap Strategy | 55 of 112 |
| Reason Clauses | Balanced | 90 of 169 |
| Relativization on Subjects | Gap | 125 of 166 |
Vocabulary 7
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Numeral Bases | Hybrid vigesimal-decimal | 22 of 196 |
| Number of Basic Colour Categories | 7 or between 7 and 8 categories | 14 of 119 |
| Number of Non-Derived Basic Colour Categories | 5 categories | 56 of 119 |
| Green and Blue | Green-or-blue ('grue') | 68 of 120 |
| Hand and Arm | Different | 389 of 617 |
| Red and Yellow | Red and yellow | 98 of 120 |
| Finger and Hand | Different | 521 of 593 |