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Zande

Niger-Congo family · Ubangi branch · Africa

Zande is an SVO language, like 488 of the 1,376 languages WALS codes for basic word order.

On Order of Demonstrative and Noun, WALS codes Zande as “Demonstrative simultaneously before and after noun”, a value held by 17 of the 1,225 languages coded, Malagasy and Beja among them.

On Sex-based and Non-sex-based Gender Systems, 18 of 22 other Niger-Congo languages coded have the value “Non-sex-based gender system”; Zande has “Sex-based gender system”.

On Number of Genders, WALS codes Zande as “Four”, a value held by 12 of the 257 languages coded, Burushaski and Pirahã among them.

Zande: order of head and dependent in 7 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 follows verb (VO). 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: Prepositions. Of 1,184 languages coded, 577 put the noun phrase before the adposition and 511 after it.noungenitivegenitiveno dominant order55%37%Order of Genitive and Noun: Both orders occur with neither order dominant. 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.noundemonstrativedemonstrativeDemonstrative before and after Noun45%48%Order of Demonstrative and Noun: Demonstrative simultaneously before and after noun. 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.
The order Zande uses in 7 pairings of a head word and its dependent. Bars: how all languages coded for each pairing split, before or after.

Contrast Zande with Ewe or with any other language

Uncommon values

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

Inside the Niger-Congo family

Zande matches the most frequent Niger-Congo value on 27 of the 41 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (66%). Among the 27 Niger-Congo languages profiled here, that rate ranks 15th from the top.

Closest profiles

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

The rest of the profile

WALS codes Zande for 41 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 34 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Zande shares with the fewest languages comes first.

Sounds 10

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
ToneSimple tone system132 of 527
Voicing in Plosives and FricativesVoicing contrast in both plosives and fricatives158 of 567
Vowel Quality InventoriesLarge vowel inventory (7-14)184 of 564
Consonant InventoriesAverage201 of 563
Consonant-Vowel RatioAverage234 of 564
Voicing and Gaps in Plosive Systems/p t k b d g/255 of 567
Glottalized ConsonantsNo glottalized consonants409 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 MorphologyApproximately equal amounts of suffixing and prefixing147 of 969

Nouns and pronouns 6

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Coding of Nominal PluralityPlural prefix126 of 1,066
Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal PronounsGender distinctions in 3rd person singular only61 of 378
Systems of Gender AssignmentSemantic assignment53 of 257
Position of Pronominal Possessive AffixesPossessive suffixes355 of 902
Position of Case AffixesCase suffixes452 of 1,031
Person Marking on AdpositionsAdpositions without person marking209 of 378

Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 1

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Position of Tense-Aspect AffixesTense-aspect prefixes153 of 1,131

Word order 6

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Order of Adjective and NounModifying adjective precedes noun (AdjN)373 of 1,367
Order of Adposition and Noun PhrasePrepositions511 of 1,184
Order of Object and VerbObject follows verb (VO)705 of 1,518
Order of Numeral and NounNumeral follows noun (NNum)608 of 1,154
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 10

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Negative MorphemesDouble negation119 of 1,157
Predicative PossessionConjunctional Possessive59 of 240
Order of Person Markers on the VerbA precedes P96 of 379
Predicative AdjectivesPredicative adjectives have mixed encoding103 of 386
Passive ConstructionsThere is a passive construction162 of 373
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
Zero Copula for Predicate NominalsZero copula is impossible211 of 386
Alignment of Verbal Person MarkingAccusative alignment212 of 380
Nominal and Locational PredicationDifferent269 of 386