Kuku-Yalanji
Pama-Nyungan family · Northern Pama-Nyungan branch · Australia
Kuku-Yalanji is an SOV language, like 564 of the 1,376 languages WALS codes for basic word order.
On Coding of Nominal Plurality, WALS codes Kuku-Yalanji as “Plural by complete reduplication of stem”, a value held by 8 of the 1,066 languages coded, Indonesian and Batak (Karo) among them.
On Green and Blue, WALS codes Kuku-Yalanji as “Green and blue not both encoded in any basic color term”, a value held by 2 of the 120 languages coded, the other being Murrinh-Patha.
On The Future Tense, all 5 other Pama-Nyungan languages coded have the value “Inflectional marking of future/non-future distinction”; Kuku-Yalanji has “No inflectional marking of future/non-future distinction”.
Contrast Kuku-Yalanji with Martuthunira or with any other language
Uncommon values
Values that fewer than one in ten of the coded languages share with Kuku-Yalanji, rarest first.
- Order of Relative Clause and NounAdjoined relative clause8 of 824
- Red and YellowRed and yellow not both encoded in any basic color term3 of 120
- Order of Demonstrative and NounTwo or more of above types with none dominant67 of 1,225
- Order of Genitive and NounBoth orders occur with neither order dominant96 of 1,249
- Number of Non-Derived Basic Colour Categories3 categories10 of 119
- Absence of Common ConsonantsNo fricatives48 of 567
- Order of Object, Oblique, and VerbObject-verb-oblique (OVX)45 of 500
Inside the Pama-Nyungan family
Kuku-Yalanji matches the most frequent Pama-Nyungan value on 30 of the 44 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (68%). Among the 12 Pama-Nyungan languages profiled here, that rate ranks 11th from the top.
| Feature | Kuku-Yalanji | Most relatives |
|---|---|---|
| Indefinite Pronouns | Generic-noun-based indefinites | Interrogative-based indefinites (7 of 8, Northern Pama-Nyungan branch) |
Closest profiles
Languages that share the most coded values with Kuku-Yalanji; the count is out of the features both languages are coded for.
The rest of the profile
WALS codes Kuku-Yalanji for 48 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 36 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Kuku-Yalanji shares with the fewest languages comes first.
Sounds 16
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Consonant Inventories | Small | 89 of 563 |
| 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-Vowel Ratio | Average | 234 of 564 |
| 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 2
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Prefixing vs. Suffixing in Inflectional Morphology | Predominantly suffixing | 406 of 969 |
| Reduplication | Productive full and partial reduplication | 278 of 368 |
Nouns and pronouns 3
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Occurrence of Nominal Plurality | Plural in all nouns, always optional | 55 of 291 |
| Position of Pronominal Possessive Affixes | No possessive affixes | 260 of 902 |
| Position of Case Affixes | Case suffixes | 452 of 1,031 |
Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 4
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| The Past Tense | Past/non-past distinction marked; no remoteness distinction | 94 of 222 |
| The Perfect | No perfect | 114 of 222 |
| Perfective/Imperfective Aspect | No grammatical marking of perfective/imperfective distinction | 121 of 222 |
| Position of Tense-Aspect Affixes | Tense-aspect suffixes | 667 of 1,131 |
Word order 7
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Position of Polar Question Particles | Question particle at beginning of sentence | 129 of 884 |
| Order of Numeral and Noun | Numeral precedes noun (NumN) | 479 of 1,154 |
| Order of Adposition and Noun Phrase | Prepositions | 511 of 1,184 |
| Order of Object and Verb | Object precedes verb (OV) | 712 of 1,518 |
| Order of Adverbial Subordinator and Clause | Initial subordinator word | 398 of 659 |
| 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 2
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Ditransitive Constructions: The Verb 'Give' | Indirect-object construction | 189 of 378 |
| Polar Questions | Question particle | 585 of 955 |
Complex sentences 1
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| 'Want' Complement Subjects | The complement subject is left implicit | 144 of 283 |
Vocabulary 1
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Basic Colour Categories | 3, between 3 and 4, or 4 categories | 20 of 119 |