Martuthunira
Pama-Nyungan family · Western Pama-Nyungan branch · Australia
Martuthunira is an SVO language, like 488 of the 1,376 languages WALS codes for basic word order.
On Order of Relative Clause and Noun, WALS codes Martuthunira as “Adjoined relative clause”, a value held by 8 of the 824 languages coded, Yidiny and Diyari among them.
On Order of Adposition and Noun Phrase, WALS codes Martuthunira as “No adpositions”, a value held by 30 of the 1,184 languages coded, Ngiyambaa and Yidiny among them.
The closest grammar profile to Martuthunira in the atlas belongs to Garrwa, a Garrwan language: the two agree on 33 of the 43 features both have coded.
Contrast Martuthunira with Garrwa or with any other language
Uncommon values
Values that fewer than one in ten of the coded languages share with Martuthunira, rarest first.
- Order of Genitive and NounBoth orders occur with neither order dominant96 of 1,249
- Utterance Complement ClausesDeranked11 of 143
- Asymmetrical Case-MarkingSyncretism in relevant NP-types21 of 261
- Absence of Common ConsonantsNo fricatives48 of 567
- Expression of Pronominal SubjectsOptional pronouns in subject position61 of 711
- Relativization on ObliquesNot possible10 of 112
- Number of Cases10 or more case categories24 of 261
- ReduplicationFull reduplication only35 of 368
Inside the Pama-Nyungan family
Martuthunira matches the most frequent Pama-Nyungan value on 78 of the 111 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (70%). Among the 12 Pama-Nyungan languages profiled here, that rate ranks seventh from the top.
| Feature | Martuthunira | Most relatives |
|---|---|---|
| Order of Object, Oblique, and Verb | Verb-object-oblique (VOX) | More than one order with none dominant (11 of 12, Western Pama-Nyungan branch) |
Closest profiles
Languages that share the most coded values with Martuthunira; the count is out of the features both languages are coded for.
The rest of the profile
WALS codes Martuthunira for 121 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 109 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Martuthunira shares with the fewest languages comes first.
Sounds 18
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Consonant-Vowel Ratio | High | 69 of 564 |
| Weight Factors in Weight-Sensitive Stress Systems | Long vowel: long vowels are heavy for stress | 65 of 500 |
| Vowel Quality Inventories | Small vowel inventory (2-4) | 93 of 564 |
| Fixed Stress Locations | Initial: stress is on the first syllable | 92 of 502 |
| The Velar Nasal | Velar nasal, also initially | 147 of 469 |
| 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-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 |
| Vowel Nasalization | Contrastive nasal vowels absent | 180 of 244 |
| Presence of Uncommon Consonants | None | 449 of 567 |
| Uvular Consonants | No uvulars | 470 of 567 |
| Front Rounded Vowels | None | 525 of 562 |
Word structure 11
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Case Syncretism | Core and non-core | 22 of 198 |
| Inflectional Synthesis of the Verb | 2-3 categories per word | 24 of 145 |
| 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 |
| Syncretism in Verbal Person/Number Marking | No subject person/number marking | 57 of 198 |
| 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 |
| Exponence of Selected Inflectional Formatives | Monoexponential case | 71 of 162 |
| Fusion of Selected Inflectional Formatives | Exclusively concatenative | 125 of 165 |
| Exponence of Tense-Aspect-Mood Inflection | monoexponential TAM | 127 of 160 |
| Zero Marking of A and P Arguments | Non-zero marking | 219 of 235 |
Nouns and pronouns 21
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinal Numerals | Zero: Ordinal numerals do not exist | 33 of 321 |
| The Associative Plural | Associative plural absent | 37 of 236 |
| Person Marking on Adpositions | No adpositions | 63 of 378 |
| Plurality in Independent Personal Pronouns | Person-number stem with a pronominal plural affix | 47 of 261 |
| Distributive Numerals | No distributive numerals | 62 of 251 |
| Inclusive/Exclusive Distinction in Independent Pronouns | Inclusive and exclusive differentiated | 63 of 200 |
| Inclusive/Exclusive Distinction in Verbal Inflection | No person marking at all | 70 of 200 |
| Position of Pronominal Possessive Affixes | Possessive suffixes | 355 of 902 |
| Position of Case Affixes | Case suffixes | 452 of 1,031 |
| Third Person Pronouns and Demonstratives | Unrelated | 100 of 225 |
| Coding of Nominal Plurality | Plural suffix | 513 of 1,066 |
| Distance Contrasts in Demonstratives | Two-way contrast | 126 of 234 |
| Number of Genders | None | 145 of 257 |
| Sex-based and Non-sex-based Gender Systems | No gender system | 145 of 257 |
| Systems of Gender Assignment | No gender system | 145 of 257 |
| Indefinite Pronouns | Interrogative-based indefinites | 194 of 326 |
| Numeral Classifiers | Numeral classifiers are absent | 260 of 400 |
| Politeness Distinctions in Pronouns | Second person pronouns encode no politeness distinction | 136 of 207 |
| Comitatives and Instrumentals | Differentiation | 213 of 322 |
| Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal Pronouns | No gender distinctions | 254 of 378 |
| Pronominal and Adnominal Demonstratives | Same forms | 143 of 201 |
Noun phrases 6
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Genitives, Adjectives and Relative Clauses | Adjectives and relative clauses collapsed | 33 of 138 |
| Action Nominal Constructions | No action nominals | 42 of 168 |
| Possessive Classification | Two classes | 94 of 243 |
| Adjectives without Nouns | Adjective may occur without noun, and without marking | 73 of 124 |
| Obligatory Possessive Inflection | No obligatorily possessed nouns | 201 of 244 |
| Number of Possessive Nouns | None reported | 233 of 243 |
Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 15
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| The Prohibitive | Special imperative + normal negative | 55 of 496 |
| The Morphological Imperative | Second person number-neutral | 89 of 548 |
| Coding of Evidentiality | Verbal affix or clitic | 131 of 418 |
| Epistemic Possibility | Other | 91 of 240 |
| Semantic Distinctions of Evidentiality | Only indirect evidentials | 166 of 418 |
| The Past Tense | Past/non-past distinction marked; no remoteness distinction | 94 of 222 |
| The Future Tense | Inflectional marking of future/non-future distinction | 110 of 222 |
| The Perfect | No perfect | 114 of 222 |
| Imperative-Hortative Systems | The language has neither a maximal nor a minimal system | 201 of 375 |
| 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 |
| Suppletion According to Tense and Aspect | No suppletion in tense or aspect | 123 of 193 |
| Suppletion in Imperatives and Hortatives | None (= no suppletive imperatives reported in the reference material) | 153 of 193 |
| Verbal Number and Suppletion | No singular-(dual)-plural pairs/triples | 159 of 193 |
| The Optative | Inflectional optative absent | 271 of 319 |
Word order 7
| 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 Numeral and Noun | Numeral precedes noun (NumN) | 479 of 1,154 |
| Order of Demonstrative and Noun | Demonstrative word precedes noun (DemN) | 542 of 1,225 |
| Order of Object and Verb | Object follows verb (VO) | 705 of 1,518 |
| 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 19
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Ditransitive Constructions: The Verb 'Give' | Secondary-object construction | 65 of 378 |
| Polar Questions | Interrogative intonation only | 173 of 955 |
| Verbal Person Marking | No person marking of any argument | 82 of 378 |
| Alignment of Verbal Person Marking | Neutral alignment (no verbal person marking) | 84 of 380 |
| Alignment of Case Marking of Full Noun Phrases | Nominative - accusative (standard) | 46 of 190 |
| Third Person Zero of Verbal Person Marking | No person marking of the S | 96 of 380 |
| Alignment of Case Marking of Pronouns | Nominative - accusative (standard) | 61 of 172 |
| Symmetric and Asymmetric Standard Negation | Symmetric standard negation only: Type Sym | 114 of 297 |
| Subtypes of Asymmetric Standard Negation | Non-assignable (no asymmetry found) | 114 of 297 |
| Negative Morphemes | Negative particle | 502 of 1,157 |
| Passive Constructions | There is a passive construction | 162 of 373 |
| Order of Person Markers on the Verb | A and P do not or do not both occur on the verb | 187 of 379 |
| Applicative Constructions | No applicative construction | 100 of 183 |
| Other Roles of Applied Objects | No applicative construction | 100 of 183 |
| Reciprocal Constructions | Distinct from reflexive | 99 of 175 |
| Periphrastic Causative Constructions | Purposive type but no sequential type | 68 of 118 |
| Antipassive Constructions | No antipassive | 146 of 194 |
| Productivity of the Antipassive Construction | no antipassive | 146 of 186 |
| Nonperiphrastic Causative Constructions | Morphological type but no compound type | 254 of 310 |
Complex sentences 5
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Reason Clauses | Deranked | 42 of 169 |
| 'When' Clauses | Deranked | 51 of 174 |
| 'Want' Complement Subjects | The complement subject is left implicit | 144 of 283 |
| Purpose Clauses | Deranked | 102 of 170 |
| Relativization on Subjects | Gap | 125 of 166 |
Vocabulary 7
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Numeral Bases | Restricted | 20 of 196 |
| 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 |
| Finger and Hand | Different | 521 of 593 |