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Hupa

Na-Dene family · Athapaskan branch · North America

WALS records no dominant basic order of subject, object and verb for Hupa, a group that holds 189 of the 1,376 languages it codes for this feature.

Of the 4 Na-Dene languages profiled here, Hupa departs most often from the family’s usual values.

On Order of Subject and Verb, all 8 other Na-Dene languages coded have the value “Subject precedes verb (SV)”; Hupa has “Both orders with neither order dominant”.

Hupa: order of head and dependent in 8 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.verbobjectobjectno dominant order47%46%Order of Object and Verb: Both orders with neither order dominant. 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 precedes noun (DemN). 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.
The order Hupa uses in 8 pairings of a head word and its dependent. Bars: how all languages coded for each pairing split, before or after.

Contrast Hupa with Navajo or with any other language

Uncommon values

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

Inside the Na-Dene family

Hupa matches the most frequent Na-Dene value on 25 of the 41 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (61%).

Where Hupa breaks with a clear majority of its relatives
FeatureHupaMost relatives
Voicing in Plosives and FricativesNo voicing contrastVoicing contrast in fricatives alone (4 of 4, Athapaskan branch)

Closest profiles

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

The rest of the profile

WALS codes Hupa for 44 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 35 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Hupa shares with the fewest languages comes first.

Sounds 10

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Glottalized ConsonantsEjectives only58 of 567
Consonant-Vowel RatioHigh69 of 564
Vowel Quality InventoriesSmall vowel inventory (2-4)93 of 564
Consonant InventoriesModerately large94 of 563
Syllable StructureComplex syllable structure151 of 486
Voicing and Gaps in Plosive SystemsOther242 of 567
ToneNo tones307 of 527
Presence of Uncommon ConsonantsNone449 of 567
Absence of Common ConsonantsAll present503 of 567
Front Rounded VowelsNone525 of 562

Nouns and pronouns 5

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Definite ArticlesDemonstrative word used as marker of definiteness69 of 620
Position of Pronominal Possessive AffixesPossessive prefixes255 of 902
Position of Case AffixesCase suffixes452 of 1,031
Indefinite PronounsInterrogative-based indefinites194 of 326
Comitatives and InstrumentalsDifferentiation213 of 322

Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 5

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Position of Tense-Aspect AffixesCombination of tense-aspect strategies with none primary146 of 1,131
Semantic Distinctions of EvidentialityBoth direct and indirect evidentials71 of 418
Coding of EvidentialityVerbal affix or clitic131 of 418
Suppletion According to Tense and AspectNo suppletion in tense or aspect123 of 193
Suppletion in Imperatives and HortativesNone (= no suppletive imperatives reported in the reference material)153 of 193

Word order 8

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Order of Object, Oblique, and VerbMore than one order with none dominant167 of 500
Order of Numeral and NounNumeral precedes noun (NumN)479 of 1,154
Order of Demonstrative and NounDemonstrative word precedes noun (DemN)542 of 1,225
Order of Adposition and Noun PhrasePostpositions577 of 1,184
Order of Genitive and NounGenitive-noun (GenN)685 of 1,249
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
Order of Relative Clause and NounRelative clause follows noun (NRel)579 of 824

Simple clauses 4

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Nominal and Locational PredicationIdentical117 of 386
Predicative AdjectivesPredicative adjectives have verbal encoding151 of 386
Negative MorphemesNegative particle502 of 1,157
Zero Copula for Predicate NominalsZero copula is impossible211 of 386

Vocabulary 3

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Finger and HandIdentical72 of 593
Hand and ArmDifferent389 of 617
Numeral BasesDecimal125 of 196