Word Order Facts
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Tuvan

Altaic family · Turkic branch · Eurasia

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

On Distributive Numerals, 13 of 16 other Altaic languages coded have the value “Marked by suffix”; Tuvan has “Marked by reduplication”.

On Front Rounded Vowels, WALS codes Tuvan as “High and mid”, a value held by 23 of the 562 languages coded, Turkish and Chuvash among them.

Tuvan: order of head and dependent in 6 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 precedes noun (AdjN). 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.
The order Tuvan uses in 6 pairings of a head word and its dependent. Bars: how all languages coded for each pairing split, before or after.

Contrast Tuvan with Chuvash or with any other language

Inside the Altaic family

Tuvan matches the most frequent Altaic value on 46 of the 55 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (84%). Among the 15 Altaic languages profiled here, that rate ranks fifth from the top.

Where Tuvan breaks with a clear majority of its relatives
FeatureTuvanMost relatives
Voicing in Plosives and FricativesVoicing contrast in plosives aloneVoicing contrast in both plosives and fricatives (7 of 7, Turkic branch)

Closest profiles

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

The rest of the profile

WALS codes Tuvan for 55 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 51 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Tuvan shares with the fewest languages comes first.

Sounds 12

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Consonant-Vowel RatioModerately low101 of 564
The Velar NasalVelar nasal, but not initially87 of 469
Syllable StructureComplex syllable structure151 of 486
Vowel Quality InventoriesLarge vowel inventory (7-14)184 of 564
Consonant InventoriesAverage201 of 563
Voicing and Gaps in Plosive Systems/p t k b d g/255 of 567
ToneNo tones307 of 527
Lateral Consonants/l/, no obstruent laterals388 of 567
Glottalized ConsonantsNo glottalized consonants409 of 567
Presence of Uncommon ConsonantsNone449 of 567
Uvular ConsonantsNo uvulars470 of 567
Absence of Common ConsonantsAll present503 of 567

Word structure 2

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Prefixing vs. Suffixing in Inflectional MorphologyPredominantly suffixing406 of 969
ReduplicationProductive full and partial reduplication278 of 368

Nouns and pronouns 8

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Ordinal NumeralsOne-th, two-th, three-th41 of 321
Definite ArticlesNeither definite nor indefinite article198 of 620
Indefinite ArticlesNeither indefinite nor definite198 of 534
Position of Pronominal Possessive AffixesPossessive suffixes355 of 902
Position of Case AffixesCase suffixes452 of 1,031
Coding of Nominal PluralityPlural suffix513 of 1,066
Indefinite PronounsInterrogative-based indefinites194 of 326
Numeral ClassifiersNumeral classifiers are absent260 of 400

Noun phrases 4

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Action Nominal ConstructionsPossessive-Accusative29 of 168
Possessive ClassificationNo possessive classification125 of 243
Obligatory Possessive InflectionNo obligatorily possessed nouns201 of 244
Number of Possessive NounsNone reported233 of 243

Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 7

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Overlap between Situational and Epistemic Modal MarkingOverlap for both possibility and necessity36 of 207
Epistemic PossibilityVerbal constructions65 of 240
The ProhibitiveNormal imperative + special negative182 of 496
The Morphological ImperativeSecond singular and second plural292 of 548
Position of Tense-Aspect AffixesTense-aspect suffixes667 of 1,131
Situational PossibilityVerbal constructions158 of 234
The OptativeInflectional optative absent271 of 319

Word order 7

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Order of Adjective and NounModifying adjective precedes noun (AdjN)373 of 1,367
Position of Polar Question ParticlesQuestion particle at end of sentence314 of 884
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 Genitive and NounGenitive-noun (GenN)685 of 1,249
Order of Subject and VerbSubject precedes verb (SV)1,192 of 1,496

Simple clauses 6

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Negative MorphemesNegative affix395 of 1,157
Comparative ConstructionsLocational Comparative78 of 167
Reciprocal ConstructionsDistinct from reflexive99 of 175
Polar QuestionsQuestion particle585 of 955
Expression of Pronominal SubjectsPronominal subjects are expressed by affixes on verbs437 of 711
Negative Indefinite Pronouns and Predicate NegationNegative indefinites co-occur with predicate negation170 of 206

Vocabulary 5

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
M-T PronounsM-T pronouns, paradigmatic27 of 230
M in First Person Singularm in first person singular53 of 230
TeaWords derived from Sinitic cha110 of 230
M in Second Person SingularNo m in second person singular152 of 230
N-M PronounsNo N-M pronouns194 of 230