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Muna

Austronesian family · Celebic branch · Papunesia

Muna is an SVO language, like 488 of the 1,376 languages WALS codes for basic word order.

The closest grammar profile to Muna in the atlas belongs to Lango, an Eastern Sudanic language: the two agree on 31 of the 43 features both have coded.

Of the 38 Austronesian languages profiled here, Muna follows the family’s usual values most closely.

Muna: order of head and dependent in 9 constructions← beforeafter →verbsubject80%13%Order of Subject and Verb: Subject follows verb (VS). 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.noungenitive55%37%Order of Genitive and Noun: Noun-genitive (NGen). 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 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.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.adjectivedegree word47%40%Order of Degree Word and Adjective: Degree word follows adjective (AdjDeg). Of 481 languages coded, 227 put the degree word before the adjective and 192 after it.
The order Muna uses in 9 pairings of a head word and its dependent. Bars: how all languages coded for each pairing split, before or after.

Contrast Muna with Lango or with any other language

Inside the Austronesian family

Muna matches the most frequent Austronesian value on 39 of the 48 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (81%).

Closest profiles

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

The rest of the profile

WALS codes Muna for 48 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 47 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Muna shares with the fewest languages comes first.

Sounds 4

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Fixed Stress LocationsPenultimate110 of 502
Rhythm TypesTrochaic: left-hand syllable in the foot is strong153 of 323
Weight Factors in Weight-Sensitive Stress SystemsNo weight, or weight factor unknown261 of 500
Weight-Sensitive StressFixed stress (no weight-sensitivity)281 of 500

Word structure 1

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Prefixing vs. Suffixing in Inflectional MorphologyApproximately equal amounts of suffixing and prefixing147 of 969

Nouns and pronouns 7

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
The Associative PluralSpecial non-bound associative plural marker47 of 236
Position of Case AffixesNeither case affixes nor adpositional clitics379 of 1,031
Position of Pronominal Possessive AffixesPossessive suffixes355 of 902
Plurality in Independent Personal PronounsPerson-number stem114 of 261
Coding of Nominal PluralityPlural suffix513 of 1,066
Person Marking on AdpositionsAdpositions without person marking209 of 378
Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal PronounsNo gender distinctions254 of 378

Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 7

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Position of Tense-Aspect AffixesTense-aspect prefixes153 of 1,131
The ProhibitiveNormal imperative + special negative182 of 496
Epistemic PossibilityOther91 of 240
Overlap between Situational and Epistemic Modal MarkingNo overlap105 of 207
The Morphological ImperativeSecond singular and second plural292 of 548
Imperative-Hortative SystemsThe language has neither a maximal nor a minimal system201 of 375
Situational PossibilityVerbal constructions158 of 234

Word order 12

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Order of Subject and VerbSubject follows verb (VS)194 of 1,496
Order of Adverbial Subordinator and ClauseMore than one type of adverbial subordinators with none dominant93 of 659
Order of Genitive and NounNoun-genitive (NGen)468 of 1,249
Order of Degree Word and AdjectiveDegree word follows adjective (AdjDeg)192 of 481
Position of Polar Question ParticlesNo question particle355 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
Order of Relative Clause and NounRelative clause follows noun (NRel)579 of 824

Simple clauses 10

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Polar QuestionsInterrogative intonation only173 of 955
Comparative ConstructionsConjoined Comparative34 of 167
Order of Person Markers on the VerbA precedes P96 of 379
Negative MorphemesNegative particle502 of 1,157
Third Person Zero of Verbal Person MarkingNo zero realization of third person S forms181 of 380
Verbal Person MarkingPerson marking of both the A and P arguments193 of 378
Alignment of Verbal Person MarkingAccusative alignment212 of 380
Passive ConstructionsThere is no passive construction211 of 373
Expression of Pronominal SubjectsPronominal subjects are expressed by affixes on verbs437 of 711
Nonperiphrastic Causative ConstructionsMorphological type but no compound type254 of 310

Complex sentences 6

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Purpose ClausesBalanced38 of 170
'When' ClausesBalanced84 of 174
Relativization on ObliquesGap Strategy55 of 112
Reason ClausesBalanced90 of 169
Relativization on SubjectsGap125 of 166
Utterance Complement ClausesBalanced114 of 143