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Sentani

Sentanic family · Papunesia

Sentani is an SOV language, like 564 of the 1,376 languages WALS codes for basic word order.

Scored by how often each of its values recurs in the atlas, Sentani has the seventh most ordinary profile of the 409 languages compared on this measure.

The closest grammar profile to Sentani in the atlas belongs to Daga, a Trans-New Guinea language: the two agree on 48 of the 65 features both have coded.

On Weight Factors in Weight-Sensitive Stress Systems, WALS codes Sentani as “Coda consonant: closed syllables are heavy for stress”, a value held by 18 of the 500 languages coded, Lezgian and Amele among them.

Sentani: order of head and dependent in 8 constructions← beforeafter →verbsubject80%13%Order of Subject and Verb: Subject precedes verb (SV). 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 precedes verb (OV). 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: Postpositions. Of 1,184 languages coded, 577 put the noun phrase before the adposition and 511 after it.noungenitive55%37%Order of Genitive and Noun: Genitive-noun (GenN). 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 precedes noun (DemN). Of 1,225 languages coded, 551 put the demonstrative before the noun and 590 after it.nounnumeral42%53%Order of Numeral and Noun: Numeral follows noun (NNum). Of 1,154 languages coded, 479 put the numeral before the noun and 608 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 Sentani uses in 8 pairings of a head word and its dependent. Bars: how all languages coded for each pairing split, before or after.

Contrast Sentani with Daga or with any other language

Uncommon values

Values that fewer than one in ten of the coded languages share with Sentani, rarest first.

Closest profiles

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

  • Amele Trans-New Guinea54 of 75
  • Kobon Trans-New Guinea50 of 72
  • Una Trans-New Guinea36 of 52
  • Kewa Trans-New Guinea48 of 73

The rest of the profile

WALS codes Sentani for 75 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 71 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Sentani shares with the fewest languages comes first.

Sounds 15

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Consonant-Vowel RatioLow58 of 564
Weight-Sensitive StressRight-edge: Stress on ultimate or penultimate syllable65 of 500
Consonant InventoriesSmall89 of 563
Lateral ConsonantsNo laterals95 of 567
Vowel Quality InventoriesLarge vowel inventory (7-14)184 of 564
Voicing in Plosives and FricativesVoicing contrast in plosives alone189 of 567
Voicing and Gaps in Plosive SystemsOther242 of 567
Fixed Stress LocationsNo fixed stress (mostly weight-sensitive stress)220 of 502
Rhythm TypesTrochaic: left-hand syllable in the foot is strong153 of 323
The Velar NasalNo velar nasal235 of 469
Glottalized ConsonantsNo glottalized consonants409 of 567
Presence of Uncommon ConsonantsNone449 of 567
Uvular ConsonantsNo uvulars470 of 567
Absence of Common ConsonantsAll present503 of 567
Front Rounded VowelsNone525 of 562

Word structure 3

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Syncretism in Verbal Person/Number MarkingSubject person/number marking is syncretic60 of 198
Prefixing vs. Suffixing in Inflectional MorphologyPredominantly suffixing406 of 969
Case SyncretismInflectional case marking is absent or minimal123 of 198

Nouns and pronouns 15

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Third Person Pronouns and DemonstrativesRelated for all demonstratives52 of 225
Position of Pronominal Possessive AffixesNo possessive affixes260 of 902
Asymmetrical Case-MarkingNo morphological case-marking81 of 261
Position of Case AffixesNeither case affixes nor adpositional clitics379 of 1,031
Number of CasesNo morphological case-marking100 of 261
Inclusive/Exclusive Distinction in Verbal InflectionNo inclusive/exclusive opposition79 of 200
Plurality in Independent Personal PronounsPerson-number stem114 of 261
Person Marking on AdpositionsAdpositions without person marking209 of 378
Number of GendersNone145 of 257
Sex-based and Non-sex-based Gender SystemsNo gender system145 of 257
Systems of Gender AssignmentNo gender system145 of 257
Inclusive/Exclusive Distinction in Independent PronounsNo inclusive/exclusive opposition120 of 200
Numeral ClassifiersNumeral classifiers are absent260 of 400
Politeness Distinctions in PronounsSecond person pronouns encode no politeness distinction136 of 207
Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal PronounsNo gender distinctions254 of 378

Noun phrases 3

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Nominal and Verbal ConjunctionNominal and verbal conjunction are different125 of 301
Obligatory Possessive InflectionNo obligatorily possessed nouns201 of 244
Number of Possessive NounsNone reported233 of 243

Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 11

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Imperative-Hortative SystemsThe language has a maximal system, but not a minimal one133 of 375
The ProhibitiveNormal imperative + special negative182 of 496
Epistemic PossibilityOther91 of 240
Semantic Distinctions of EvidentialityNo grammatical evidentials181 of 418
Coding of EvidentialityNo grammatical evidentials181 of 418
The Morphological ImperativeSecond singular and second plural292 of 548
Position of Tense-Aspect AffixesTense-aspect suffixes667 of 1,131
Suppletion According to Tense and AspectNo suppletion in tense or aspect123 of 193
Suppletion in Imperatives and HortativesNone (= no suppletive imperatives reported in the reference material)153 of 193
Verbal Number and SuppletionNo singular-(dual)-plural pairs/triples159 of 193
The OptativeInflectional optative absent271 of 319

Word order 9

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Order of Degree Word and AdjectiveDegree word follows adjective (AdjDeg)192 of 481
Order of Demonstrative and NounDemonstrative word precedes noun (DemN)542 of 1,225
Order of Object and VerbObject precedes verb (OV)712 of 1,518
Order of Adposition and Noun PhrasePostpositions577 of 1,184
Order of Numeral and NounNumeral follows noun (NNum)608 of 1,154
Order of Genitive and NounGenitive-noun (GenN)685 of 1,249
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 Subject and VerbSubject precedes verb (SV)1,192 of 1,496

Simple clauses 11

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Subtypes of Asymmetric Standard NegationIn finiteness: Subtype A/Fin40 of 297
Symmetric and Asymmetric Standard NegationAsymmetric standard negation only: Type Asy53 of 297
Order of Person Markers on the VerbA precedes P96 of 379
Negative MorphemesNegative affix395 of 1,157
Predicative AdjectivesPredicative adjectives have nonverbal encoding132 of 386
Zero Copula for Predicate NominalsZero copula is possible175 of 386
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
Nominal and Locational PredicationDifferent269 of 386

Vocabulary 4

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
M in Second Person SingularNo m in second person singular152 of 230
M in First Person SingularNo m in first person singular177 of 230
N-M PronounsNo N-M pronouns194 of 230
M-T PronounsNo M-T pronouns200 of 230