Languages of Papunesia
Macro-area, as the atlas divides the world
WALS places 560 languages in Papunesia, from 59 families. The largest are Austronesian (311), Trans-New Guinea (98) and Sepik (16).
Its most distinctive trait relative to the rest of the atlas: Distributive Numerals = marked by prefix, held by 20 of 59 languages coded here (34%) against 9% worldwide.
For basic word order, SOV leads with 145 of the 318 languages coded, ahead of SVO (115).
Word order against the world
Languages of Papunesia with at least 30 coded features, compared with every language coded for each pairing.
dependent before the headboth or otherafter the head
- Subject and verbPapunesia70% · 25% of 102All WALS80% · 13% of 1,496
- Object and verbPapunesia40% · 59% of 102All WALS47% · 46% of 1,518
- Noun phrase and adpositionPapunesia36% · 61% of 99All WALS49% · 43% of 1,184
- Genitive and nounPapunesia50% · 42% of 98All WALS55% · 37% of 1,249
- Adjective and nounPapunesia13% · 81% of 99All WALS27% · 64% of 1,367
- Demonstrative and nounPapunesia25% · 71% of 93All WALS45% · 48% of 1,225
- Numeral and nounPapunesia34% · 58% of 98All WALS42% · 53% of 1,154
- Relative clause and nounPapunesia11% · 77% of 82All WALS17% · 70% of 824
- Degree word and adjectivePapunesia20% · 63% of 65All WALS47% · 40% of 481
Traits far more frequent here
| Feature | Value | Here | All WALS |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Associative Plural | Special non-bound associative plural marker | 67% (20 of 30) | 20% |
| Indefinite Pronouns | Generic-noun-based indefinites | 76% (26 of 34) | 26% |
| Consonant Inventories | Small | 46% (43 of 93) | 16% |
| Predicative Possession | Topic Possessive | 53% (18 of 34) | 20% |
| Coding of Nominal Plurality | Plural word | 38% (79 of 206) | 16% |
| Consonant-Vowel Ratio | Low | 24% (22 of 93) | 10% |
| Occurrence of Nominal Plurality | No nominal plural | 21% (11 of 52) | 10% |
| The Morphological Imperative | No second-person imperatives | 47% (38 of 81) | 22% |
| Hand and Arm | Identity: a single word denotes both 'hand' and 'arm' | 76% (50 of 66) | 37% |
Families and languages
- Austronesian 311 languages: Batak (Karo), Batak (Toba), Chamorro, Drehu, Fijian, Hawaiian, Indonesian, Kilivila, Kiribati, Lusi, Maori, Mokilese, Muna, Paamese, Paiwan, Palauan, Pohnpeian, Rapanui, Rukai (Tanan), Samoan, Sundanese, Taba, Tagalog, Tahitian, Tetun, Tigak, Tolai, Tukang Besi, Tuvaluan, Yapese
- Trans-New Guinea 98 languages: Amele, Daga, Dani (Lower Grand Valley), Ekari, Hamtai, Hua, Kewa, Kobon, Marind, Suena, Una, Usan, Waskia, Yagaria
- Sepik 16 languages: Alamblak
- Torricelli 13 languages: Arapesh (Mountain)
- Ramu-Lower Sepik 8 languages: Yimas
- North Halmaheran 8 languages: Sahu, Tidore, West Makian
- Skou 6 languages: Dumo
- Border 5 languages: Imonda
- Solomons East Papuan 3 languages: Lavukaleve
- South Bougainville 3 languages: Nasioi
- Asmat-Kamrau Bay 2 languages: Asmat
- Sentanic 2 languages: Sentani
- Abun 1 language: Abun
- Hatim-Mansim 1 language: Hatam
- Maybrat 1 language: Maybrat
- Yele 1 language: Yelî Dnye