Ojibwa (Eastern)
Algic family · Algonquian branch · North America
WALS records no dominant basic order of subject, object and verb for Ojibwa (Eastern), a group that holds 189 of the 1,376 languages it codes for this feature.
On Order of Adposition and Noun Phrase, WALS codes Ojibwa (Eastern) as “No adpositions”, a value held by 30 of the 1,184 languages coded, Cree (Plains) and Kayardild among them.
On Position of Pronominal Possessive Affixes, all 6 other Algic languages coded have the value “Possessive prefixes”; Ojibwa (Eastern) has “Prefixes and suffixes”.
Of the 5 Algic languages profiled here, Ojibwa (Eastern) follows the family’s usual values most closely.
Contrast Ojibwa (Eastern) with Passamaquoddy-Maliseet or with any other language
Uncommon values
Values that fewer than one in ten of the coded languages share with Ojibwa (Eastern), rarest first.
- Expression of Pronominal SubjectsPronominal subjects are expressed by clitics with variable host32 of 711
- Position of Polar Question ParticlesQuestion particle in second position in sentence52 of 884
- Indefinite PronounsSpecial indefinites22 of 326
- Applicative ConstructionsBenefactive object only; both bases16 of 183
- Plurality in Independent Personal PronounsPerson-number affixes25 of 261
Inside the Algic family
Ojibwa (Eastern) matches the most frequent Algic value on 34 of the 44 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (77%).
| Feature | Ojibwa (Eastern) | Most relatives |
|---|---|---|
| Order of Subject and Verb | Subject follows verb (VS) | Both orders with neither order dominant (6 of 6, Algonquian branch) |
Closest profiles
Languages that share the most coded values with Ojibwa (Eastern); the count is out of the features both languages are coded for.
The rest of the profile
WALS codes Ojibwa (Eastern) for 52 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 43 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Ojibwa (Eastern) shares with the fewest languages comes first.
Sounds 12
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Vowel Quality Inventories | Small vowel inventory (2-4) | 93 of 564 |
| Consonant Inventories | Moderately small | 122 of 563 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Absence of Common Consonants | All present | 503 of 567 |
| Front Rounded Vowels | None | 525 of 562 |
Nouns and pronouns 8
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Sex-based and Non-sex-based Gender Systems | Non-sex-based gender system | 28 of 257 |
| Definite Articles | Demonstrative word used as marker of definiteness | 69 of 620 |
| Indefinite Articles | No indefinite article but definite article | 98 of 534 |
| Number of Genders | Two | 50 of 257 |
| Systems of Gender Assignment | Semantic assignment | 53 of 257 |
| 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 1
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Nominal and Verbal Conjunction | Nominal and verbal conjunction are largely identical | 161 of 301 |
Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 2
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Semantic Distinctions of Evidentiality | No grammatical evidentials | 181 of 418 |
| Coding of Evidentiality | No grammatical evidentials | 181 of 418 |
Word order 9
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Position of Interrogative Phrases in Content Questions | Interrogative phrases obligatorily initial | 264 of 902 |
| Order of Object, Oblique, and Verb | More than one order with none dominant | 167 of 500 |
| 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 Degree Word and Adjective | Degree word precedes adjective (DegAdj) | 227 of 481 |
| Order of Genitive and Noun | Genitive-noun (GenN) | 685 of 1,249 |
| Order of Adverbial Subordinator and Clause | Initial subordinator word | 398 of 659 |
| Order of Relative Clause and Noun | Relative clause follows noun (NRel) | 579 of 824 |
Simple clauses 8
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Productivity of the Antipassive Construction | productive | 24 of 186 |
| Antipassive Constructions | Oblique patient | 30 of 194 |
| Ditransitive Constructions: The Verb 'Give' | Secondary-object construction | 65 of 378 |
| Other Roles of Applied Objects | No other roles (= Only benefactive) | 36 of 183 |
| Negative Morphemes | Negative particle | 502 of 1,157 |
| Polar Questions | Question particle | 585 of 955 |
| Nonperiphrastic Causative Constructions | Morphological type but no compound type | 254 of 310 |
| Negative Indefinite Pronouns and Predicate Negation | Negative indefinites co-occur with predicate negation | 170 of 206 |
Complex sentences 1
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| 'Want' Complement Subjects | 'Want' is expressed as a desiderative verbal affix | 45 of 283 |
Vocabulary 2
| Feature | Value | Languages sharing it |
|---|---|---|
| Hand and Arm | Different | 389 of 617 |
| Finger and Hand | Different | 521 of 593 |