Word Order Facts
Menu

Chrau

Austro-Asiatic family · Bahnaric branch · Eurasia

Chrau is an SVO language, like 488 of the 1,376 languages WALS codes for basic word order.

Of the 9 Austro-Asiatic languages profiled here, Chrau follows the family’s usual values most closely.

On Order of Object, Oblique, and Verb, 7 of 8 other Austro-Asiatic languages coded have the value “Verb-object-oblique (VOX)”; Chrau has “More than one order with none dominant”.

Chrau: order of head and dependent in 9 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 follows verb (VO). 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: Prepositions. Of 1,184 languages coded, 577 put the noun phrase before the adposition and 511 after it.noungenitive55%37%Order of Genitive and Noun: Noun-genitive (NGen). 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 precedes noun (NumN). Of 1,154 languages coded, 479 put the numeral before the noun and 608 after it.nounrelative clause17%70%Order of Relative Clause and Noun: Relative clause follows noun (NRel). Of 824 languages coded, 141 put the relative clause before the noun and 579 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 Chrau uses in 9 pairings of a head word and its dependent. Bars: how all languages coded for each pairing split, before or after.

Contrast Chrau with Vietnamese or with any other language

Uncommon values

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

Inside the Austro-Asiatic family

Chrau matches the most frequent Austro-Asiatic value on 38 of the 45 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (84%).

Where Chrau breaks with a clear majority of its relatives
FeatureChrauMost relatives
Position of Interrogative Phrases in Content QuestionsInterrogative phrases obligatorily initialInterrogative phrases not obligatorily initial (5 of 5, Bahnaric branch)

Closest profiles

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

The rest of the profile

WALS codes Chrau for 45 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 40 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Chrau shares with the fewest languages comes first.

Sounds 1

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
The Velar NasalVelar nasal, also initially147 of 469

Word structure 2

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Prefixing vs. Suffixing in Inflectional MorphologyLittle or no inflectional morphology141 of 969
ReduplicationProductive full and partial reduplication278 of 368

Nouns and pronouns 6

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Position of Pronominal Possessive AffixesNo possessive affixes260 of 902
Definite ArticlesNeither definite nor indefinite article198 of 620
Position of Case AffixesNeither case affixes nor adpositional clitics379 of 1,031
Indefinite ArticlesNeither indefinite nor definite198 of 534
Person Marking on AdpositionsAdpositions without person marking209 of 378
Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal PronounsNo gender distinctions254 of 378

Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 7

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Position of Tense-Aspect AffixesNo tense-aspect inflection152 of 1,131
The Morphological ImperativeNo second-person imperatives122 of 548
The ProhibitiveNormal imperative + special negative182 of 496
Semantic Distinctions of EvidentialityNo grammatical evidentials181 of 418
Coding of EvidentialityNo grammatical evidentials181 of 418
Imperative-Hortative SystemsThe language has neither a maximal nor a minimal system201 of 375
The OptativeInflectional optative absent271 of 319

Word order 11

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Order of Degree Word and AdjectiveBoth orders occur with neither order dominant62 of 481
Position of Polar Question ParticlesQuestion particle at end of sentence314 of 884
Order of Genitive and NounNoun-genitive (NGen)468 of 1,249
Order of Numeral and NounNumeral precedes noun (NumN)479 of 1,154
Order of Adposition and Noun PhrasePrepositions511 of 1,184
Order of Demonstrative and NounDemonstrative word follows noun (NDem)562 of 1,225
Order of Object and VerbObject follows verb (VO)705 of 1,518
Order of Adverbial Subordinator and ClauseInitial subordinator word398 of 659
Order of Adjective and NounModifying adjective follows noun (NAdj)879 of 1,367
Order of Relative Clause and NounRelative clause follows noun (NRel)579 of 824
Order of Subject and VerbSubject precedes verb (SV)1,192 of 1,496

Simple clauses 10

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Verbal Person MarkingNo person marking of any argument82 of 378
Alignment of Verbal Person MarkingNeutral alignment (no verbal person marking)84 of 380
Third Person Zero of Verbal Person MarkingNo person marking of the S96 of 380
Predicative AdjectivesPredicative adjectives have verbal encoding151 of 386
Zero Copula for Predicate NominalsZero copula is possible175 of 386
Order of Person Markers on the VerbA and P do not or do not both occur on the verb187 of 379
Ditransitive Constructions: The Verb 'Give'Indirect-object construction189 of 378
Passive ConstructionsThere is no passive construction211 of 373
Polar QuestionsQuestion particle585 of 955
Nominal and Locational PredicationDifferent269 of 386

Vocabulary 3

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Hand and ArmIdentity: a single word denotes both 'hand' and 'arm'228 of 617
TeaWords derived from Sinitic cha110 of 230
Finger and HandDifferent521 of 593