Diyari
Pama-Nyungan family · Central Pama-Nyungan branch · Australia
Diyari is an SOV language, like 564 of the 1,376 languages WALS codes for basic word order.
On Order of Relative Clause and Noun, WALS codes Diyari as “Adjoined relative clause”, a value held by 8 of the 824 languages coded, Martuthunira and Yidiny among them.
On Coding of Evidentiality, WALS codes Diyari as “Mixed systems”, a value held by 10 of the 418 languages coded, Georgian and Khalkha among them.
On Periphrastic Causative Constructions, all 6 other Pama-Nyungan languages coded have the value “Purposive type but no sequential type”; Diyari has “Sequential type but no purposive type”.
Contrast Diyari with Djapu or with any other language
Uncommon values
Values that fewer than one in ten of the coded languages share with Diyari, rarest first.
- Productivity of the Antipassive Constructionpartially productive14 of 186
- Absence of Common ConsonantsNo fricatives48 of 567
- Order of Object, Oblique, and VerbObject-verb-oblique (OVX)45 of 500
- Antipassive ConstructionsAntipassive with patient-like argument left implicit18 of 194
- Other Roles of Applied ObjectsLocative18 of 183
Inside the Pama-Nyungan family
Diyari matches the most frequent Pama-Nyungan value on 48 of the 65 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (74%). Among the 12 Pama-Nyungan languages profiled here, that rate ranks fourth from the top.
Closest profiles
Languages that share the most coded values with Diyari; the count is out of the features both languages are coded for.
Outside the Pama-Nyungan family, the best match is Kayardild (Tangkic), with 39 of 60 features alike.
The rest of the profile
WALS codes Diyari for 65 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 56 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Diyari shares with the fewest languages comes first.
Sounds 16
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Consonant-Vowel Ratio | High | 69 of 564 |
| Vowel Quality Inventories | Small vowel inventory (2-4) | 93 of 564 |
| Fixed Stress Locations | Initial: stress is on the first syllable | 92 of 502 |
| Voicing in Plosives and Fricatives | No voicing contrast | 182 of 567 |
| Consonant Inventories | Average | 201 of 563 |
| Voicing and Gaps in Plosive Systems | Other | 242 of 567 |
| Rhythm Types | Trochaic: left-hand syllable in the foot is strong | 153 of 323 |
| Weight Factors in Weight-Sensitive Stress Systems | No weight, or weight factor unknown | 261 of 500 |
| Weight-Sensitive Stress | Fixed stress (no weight-sensitivity) | 281 of 500 |
| Syllable Structure | Moderately complex syllable structure | 274 of 486 |
| Tone | No tones | 307 of 527 |
| 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 |
| Front Rounded Vowels | None | 525 of 562 |
Word structure 6
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Locus of Marking: Whole-language Typology | Consistently dependent-marking | 46 of 236 |
| Locus of Marking in the Clause | P is dependent-marked | 63 of 236 |
| Locus of Marking in Possessive Noun Phrases | Possessor is dependent-marked | 98 of 236 |
| Prefixing vs. Suffixing in Inflectional Morphology | Predominantly suffixing | 406 of 969 |
| Reduplication | Productive full and partial reduplication | 278 of 368 |
| Zero Marking of A and P Arguments | Non-zero marking | 219 of 235 |
Nouns and pronouns 6
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Definite Articles | Demonstrative word used as marker of definiteness | 69 of 620 |
| Number of Genders | Two | 50 of 257 |
| Systems of Gender Assignment | Semantic assignment | 53 of 257 |
| Sex-based and Non-sex-based Gender Systems | Sex-based gender system | 84 of 257 |
| Position of Case Affixes | Case suffixes | 452 of 1,031 |
| Indefinite Pronouns | Interrogative-based indefinites | 194 of 326 |
Noun phrases 4
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Possessive Classification | Two classes | 94 of 243 |
| Noun Phrase Conjunction | AND-languages: 'and' and 'with' are not identical | 131 of 234 |
| Obligatory Possessive Inflection | No obligatorily possessed nouns | 201 of 244 |
| Number of Possessive Nouns | None reported | 233 of 243 |
Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 2
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Semantic Distinctions of Evidentiality | Both direct and indirect evidentials | 71 of 418 |
| Position of Tense-Aspect Affixes | Tense-aspect suffixes | 667 of 1,131 |
Word order 8
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Position of Interrogative Phrases in Content Questions | Interrogative phrases obligatorily initial | 264 of 902 |
| Position of Polar Question Particles | No question particle | 355 of 884 |
| Order of Demonstrative and Noun | Demonstrative word precedes noun (DemN) | 542 of 1,225 |
| Order of Object and Verb | Object precedes verb (OV) | 712 of 1,518 |
| Order of Numeral and Noun | Numeral follows noun (NNum) | 608 of 1,154 |
| Order of Genitive and Noun | Genitive-noun (GenN) | 685 of 1,249 |
| Order of Adjective and Noun | Modifying adjective follows noun (NAdj) | 879 of 1,367 |
| Order of Subject and Verb | Subject precedes verb (SV) | 1,192 of 1,496 |
Simple clauses 8
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Polar Questions | Interrogative intonation only | 173 of 955 |
| Predicative Possession | Conjunctional Possessive | 59 of 240 |
| Applicative Constructions | Benefactive and other; both bases | 49 of 183 |
| Nominal and Locational Predication | Identical | 117 of 386 |
| Predicative Adjectives | Predicative adjectives have nonverbal encoding | 132 of 386 |
| Negative Morphemes | Negative particle | 502 of 1,157 |
| Zero Copula for Predicate Nominals | Zero copula is possible | 175 of 386 |
| Nonperiphrastic Causative Constructions | Morphological type but no compound type | 254 of 310 |
Complex sentences 1
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Relativization on Subjects | Gap | 125 of 166 |
Vocabulary 5
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Hand and Arm | Different | 389 of 617 |
| M in Second Person Singular | No m in second person singular | 152 of 230 |
| M in First Person Singular | No m in first person singular | 177 of 230 |
| N-M Pronouns | No N-M pronouns | 194 of 230 |
| M-T Pronouns | No M-T pronouns | 200 of 230 |