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Una

Trans-New Guinea family · Mek branch · Papunesia

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

On Voicing and Gaps in Plosive Systems, WALS codes Una as “Both missing”, a value held by 3 of the 567 languages coded, Ket among them.

On Numeral Bases, WALS codes Una as “Extended body-part system”, a value held by 4 of the 196 languages coded, Kobon among them.

On Syncretism in Verbal Person/Number Marking, all 10 other Trans-New Guinea languages coded have the value “Subject person/number marking is syncretic”; Una has “Subject person/number marking is never syncretic”.

Una: order of head and dependent in 9 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.nounrelative clause17%70%Order of Relative Clause and Noun: Relative clause precedes noun (RelN). 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 precedes adjective (DegAdj). Of 481 languages coded, 227 put the degree word before the adjective and 192 after it.
The order Una uses in 9 pairings of a head word and its dependent. Bars: how all languages coded for each pairing split, before or after.

Contrast Una with Usan or with any other language

Uncommon values

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

Inside the Trans-New Guinea family

Una matches the most frequent Trans-New Guinea value on 52 of the 70 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (74%). Among the 16 Trans-New Guinea languages profiled here, that rate ranks second from the top.

Where Una breaks with a clear majority of its relatives
FeatureUnaMost relatives
Case SyncretismInflectional case marking is never syncreticInflectional case marking is absent or minimal (9 of 10)

Closest profiles

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

The rest of the profile

WALS codes Una for 70 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 64 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Una shares with the fewest languages comes first.

Sounds 13

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Consonant-Vowel RatioModerately low101 of 564
The Velar NasalVelar nasal, but not initially87 of 469
ToneSimple tone system132 of 527
Vowel Quality InventoriesLarge vowel inventory (7-14)184 of 564
Voicing in Plosives and FricativesVoicing contrast in plosives alone189 of 567
Consonant InventoriesAverage201 of 563
Syllable StructureModerately complex syllable structure274 of 486
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
Front Rounded VowelsNone525 of 562

Word structure 1

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Prefixing vs. Suffixing in Inflectional MorphologyPredominantly suffixing406 of 969

Nouns and pronouns 14

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Ordinal NumeralsOne-th, two-th, three-th41 of 321
Asymmetrical Case-MarkingAdditive-quantitatively asymmetrical case-marking53 of 261
Position of Pronominal Possessive AffixesPossessive prefixes255 of 902
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
Comitatives and InstrumentalsDifferentiation213 of 322
Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal PronounsNo gender distinctions254 of 378

Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 9

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Situational PossibilityAffixes on verbs63 of 234
The ProhibitiveSpecial imperative + special negative146 of 496
Epistemic PossibilityAffixes on verbs84 of 240
Semantic Distinctions of EvidentialityNo grammatical evidentials181 of 418
Coding of EvidentialityNo grammatical evidentials181 of 418
Overlap between Situational and Epistemic Modal MarkingNo overlap105 of 207
The Morphological ImperativeSecond singular and second plural292 of 548
Position of Tense-Aspect AffixesTense-aspect suffixes667 of 1,131
The OptativeInflectional optative absent271 of 319

Word order 11

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Order of Relative Clause and NounRelative clause precedes noun (RelN)141 of 824
Position of Polar Question ParticlesNo question particle355 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 Degree Word and AdjectiveDegree word precedes adjective (DegAdj)227 of 481
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 16

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Alignment of Case Marking of PronounsErgative - absolutive20 of 172
Order of Person Markers on the VerbP precedes A57 of 379
Alignment of Case Marking of Full Noun PhrasesErgative - absolutive32 of 190
Polar QuestionsInterrogative verb morphology164 of 955
Other Roles of Applied ObjectsNo other roles (= Only benefactive)36 of 183
Symmetric and Asymmetric Standard NegationSymmetric standard negation only: Type Sym114 of 297
Subtypes of Asymmetric Standard NegationNon-assignable (no asymmetry found)114 of 297
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
Antipassive ConstructionsNo antipassive146 of 194
Productivity of the Antipassive Constructionno antipassive146 of 186
Nonperiphrastic Causative ConstructionsMorphological type but no compound type254 of 310