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Waskia

Trans-New Guinea family · Kowan branch · Papunesia

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

On M-T Pronouns, WALS codes Waskia as “M-T pronouns, non-paradigmatic”, a value held by 3 of the 230 languages coded, the others being Greenlandic (West) and Yimas.

Waskia: 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 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 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 Waskia uses in 8 pairings of a head word and its dependent. Bars: how all languages coded for each pairing split, before or after.

Contrast Waskia with Amele or with any other language

Uncommon values

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

Inside the Trans-New Guinea family

Waskia matches the most frequent Trans-New Guinea value on 29 of the 44 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (66%). Among the 16 Trans-New Guinea languages profiled here, that rate ranks eighth from the top.

Closest profiles

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

  • Amele Trans-New Guinea32 of 43
  • Kobon Trans-New Guinea31 of 43
  • Daga Trans-New Guinea26 of 42
  • Kanuri Saharan27 of 44
  • Canela Macro-Ge24 of 40

The rest of the profile

WALS codes Waskia for 44 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 41 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Waskia shares with the fewest languages comes first.

Word structure 6

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Locus of Marking in the ClauseP is double-marked58 of 236
Locus of Marking in Possessive Noun PhrasesPossessor is head-marked78 of 236
Prefixing vs. Suffixing in Inflectional MorphologyPredominantly suffixing406 of 969
Locus of Marking: Whole-language TypologyInconsistent marking or other type121 of 236
ReduplicationProductive full and partial reduplication278 of 368
Zero Marking of A and P ArgumentsNon-zero marking219 of 235

Nouns and pronouns 6

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Indefinite ArticlesIndefinite word distinct from numeral for 'one'102 of 534
Position of Pronominal Possessive AffixesPossessive prefixes255 of 902
Definite ArticlesDefinite word distinct from demonstrative216 of 620
Position of Case AffixesNeither case affixes nor adpositional clitics379 of 1,031
Comitatives and InstrumentalsDifferentiation213 of 322
Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal PronounsNo gender distinctions254 of 378

Noun phrases 4

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Possessive ClassificationTwo classes94 of 243
Noun Phrase ConjunctionWITH-languages: 'and' and 'with' are identical103 of 234
Obligatory Possessive InflectionNo obligatorily possessed nouns201 of 244
Number of Possessive NounsNone reported233 of 243

Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 1

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Position of Tense-Aspect AffixesTense-aspect suffixes667 of 1,131

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 follows noun (NDem)562 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
Verbal Person MarkingPerson marking of only the A argument73 of 378
Predicative PossessionConjunctional Possessive59 of 240
Predicative AdjectivesPredicative adjectives have nonverbal encoding132 of 386
Negative MorphemesNegative particle502 of 1,157
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
Order of Person Markers on the VerbA and P do not or do not both occur on the verb187 of 379
Alignment of Verbal Person MarkingAccusative alignment212 of 380
Passive ConstructionsThere is no passive construction211 of 373
Polar QuestionsQuestion particle585 of 955
Nominal and Locational PredicationDifferent269 of 386

Vocabulary 4

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Numeral BasesRestricted20 of 196
M in First Person Singularm in first person singular53 of 230
M in Second Person Singularm in second person singular78 of 230
N-M PronounsNo N-M pronouns194 of 230