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Dong (Southern)

Tai-Kadai family · Kam-Tai branch · Eurasia

Dong (Southern) is an SVO language, like 488 of the 1,376 languages WALS codes for basic word order.

On Uvular Consonants, WALS codes Dong (Southern) as “Uvular continuants only”, a value held by 11 of the 567 languages coded, French and Japanese among them.

The closest grammar profile to Dong (Southern) in the atlas belongs to Hmong Njua, a Hmong-Mien language: the two agree on 33 of the 40 features both have coded.

On Order of Subject and Verb, all 9 other Tai-Kadai languages coded have the value “Subject precedes verb (SV)”; Dong (Southern) has “Both orders with neither order dominant”.

Dong (Southern): order of head and dependent in 6 constructions← beforeafter →verbsubjectsubjectno dominant order80%13%Order of Subject and Verb: Both orders with neither order dominant. 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.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.
The order Dong (Southern) uses in 6 pairings of a head word and its dependent. Bars: how all languages coded for each pairing split, before or after.

Contrast Dong (Southern) with Hmong Njua or with any other language

Uncommon values

Values that fewer than one in ten of the coded languages share with Dong (Southern), rarest first.

Inside the Tai-Kadai family

Dong (Southern) matches the most frequent Tai-Kadai value on 22 of the 26 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (85%).

Closest profiles

Languages that share the most coded values with Dong (Southern); the count is out of the features both languages are coded for.

The rest of the profile

WALS codes Dong (Southern) for 42 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 38 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Dong (Southern) shares with the fewest languages comes first.

Sounds 12

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
ToneComplex tone system88 of 527
Voicing in Plosives and FricativesNo voicing contrast182 of 567
Vowel Quality InventoriesLarge vowel inventory (7-14)184 of 564
Consonant InventoriesAverage201 of 563
Consonant-Vowel RatioAverage234 of 564
Voicing and Gaps in Plosive SystemsOther242 of 567
Syllable StructureModerately complex syllable structure274 of 486
Lateral Consonants/l/, no obstruent laterals388 of 567
Glottalized ConsonantsNo glottalized consonants409 of 567
Presence of Uncommon ConsonantsNone449 of 567
Absence of Common ConsonantsAll present503 of 567
Front Rounded VowelsNone525 of 562

Nouns and pronouns 10

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Asymmetrical Case-MarkingNo morphological case-marking81 of 261
Distance Contrasts in DemonstrativesThree-way contrast88 of 234
Number of CasesNo morphological case-marking100 of 261
Third Person Pronouns and DemonstrativesUnrelated100 of 225
Person Marking on AdpositionsAdpositions without person marking209 of 378
Number of GendersNone145 of 257
Sex-based and Non-sex-based Gender SystemsNo gender system145 of 257
Systems of Gender AssignmentNo gender system145 of 257
Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal PronounsNo gender distinctions254 of 378
Pronominal and Adnominal DemonstrativesSame forms143 of 201

Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 2

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
The Morphological ImperativeNo second-person imperatives122 of 548
The ProhibitiveNormal imperative + normal negative113 of 496

Word order 7

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Position of Polar Question ParticlesQuestion particle at end of sentence314 of 884
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 Adjective and NounModifying adjective follows noun (NAdj)879 of 1,367
Position of Interrogative Phrases in Content QuestionsInterrogative phrases not obligatorily initial615 of 902

Simple clauses 7

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
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
Passive ConstructionsThere is a passive construction162 of 373
Order of Person Markers on the VerbA and P do not or do not both occur on the verb187 of 379
Polar QuestionsQuestion particle585 of 955
Antipassive ConstructionsNo antipassive146 of 194
Productivity of the Antipassive Constructionno antipassive146 of 186