Ik
Eastern Sudanic family · Kuliak branch · Africa
Ik puts its words in verb-subject-object order (VSO), one of only 95 with that basic order among the 1,376 languages WALS codes for this feature.
On Order of Demonstrative and Noun, WALS codes Ik as “Demonstrative suffix on noun”, a value held by 28 of the 1,225 languages coded, Nandi and Dinka among them.
On Glottalized Consonants, WALS codes Ik as “Ejectives and implosives”, a value held by 14 of the 567 languages coded, Hausa and Oromo (Harar) among them.
The closest grammar profile to Ik in the atlas belongs to Russian, an Indo-European language: the two agree on 31 of the 49 features both have coded.
Contrast Ik with Russian or with any other language
Uncommon values
Values that fewer than one in ten of the coded languages share with Ik, rarest first.
- Order of Genitive and NounBoth orders occur with neither order dominant96 of 1,249
Inside the Eastern Sudanic family
Ik matches the most frequent Eastern Sudanic value on 29 of the 49 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (59%). Among the 11 Eastern Sudanic languages profiled here, that rate ranks seventh from the top.
| Feature | Ik | Most relatives |
|---|---|---|
| Syllable Structure | Complex syllable structure | Moderately complex syllable structure (14 of 14) |
Closest profiles
Languages that share the most coded values with Ik; the count is out of the features both languages are coded for.
The rest of the profile
WALS codes Ik for 49 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 44 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Ik shares with the fewest languages comes first.
Sounds 11
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Consonant Inventories | Moderately large | 94 of 563 |
| Tone | Simple tone system | 132 of 527 |
| Voicing in Plosives and Fricatives | Voicing contrast in both plosives and fricatives | 158 of 567 |
| Vowel Quality Inventories | Large vowel inventory (7-14) | 184 of 564 |
| Consonant-Vowel Ratio | Average | 234 of 564 |
| Voicing and Gaps in Plosive Systems | /p t k b d g/ | 255 of 567 |
| Lateral Consonants | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 388 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 5
| 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 |
| Zero Marking of A and P Arguments | Non-zero marking | 219 of 235 |
Nouns and pronouns 4
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| The Associative Plural | Special bound associative plural marker | 48 of 236 |
| Position of Case Affixes | Case suffixes | 452 of 1,031 |
| Occurrence of Nominal Plurality | Plural in all nouns, always obligatory | 133 of 291 |
| Coding of Nominal Plurality | Plural suffix | 513 of 1,066 |
Noun phrases 3
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Possessive Classification | No possessive classification | 125 of 243 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| The Morphological Imperative | Second singular and second plural | 292 of 548 |
| Position of Tense-Aspect Affixes | Tense-aspect suffixes | 667 of 1,131 |
Word order 8
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Order of Subject and Verb | Subject follows verb (VS) | 194 of 1,496 |
| Position of Interrogative Phrases in Content Questions | Interrogative phrases obligatorily initial | 264 of 902 |
| Position of Polar Question Particles | Question particle at end of sentence | 314 of 884 |
| Order of Adposition and Noun Phrase | Prepositions | 511 of 1,184 |
| Order of Object and Verb | Object follows verb (VO) | 705 of 1,518 |
| Order of Numeral and Noun | Numeral follows noun (NNum) | 608 of 1,154 |
| 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 7
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Predicative Adjectives | Predicative adjectives have verbal encoding | 151 of 386 |
| Negative Morphemes | Negative particle | 502 of 1,157 |
| Zero Copula for Predicate Nominals | Zero copula is possible | 175 of 386 |
| Ditransitive Constructions: The Verb 'Give' | Indirect-object construction | 189 of 378 |
| Polar Questions | Question particle | 585 of 955 |
| Expression of Pronominal Subjects | Pronominal subjects are expressed by affixes on verbs | 437 of 711 |
| Nominal and Locational Predication | Different | 269 of 386 |
Complex sentences 2
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| 'Want' Complement Subjects | The complement subject is left implicit | 144 of 283 |
| Relativization on Subjects | Gap | 125 of 166 |
Vocabulary 2
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Hand and Arm | Different | 389 of 617 |
| Finger and Hand | Different | 521 of 593 |