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Pama-Nyungan

Martuthunira

Autonym candidate: Jawunmala unverified — from alt-names· 30 name candidates recorded

Comprehensiveextinct· AES 6LocatedIn the dated tree

Classification

Glottolog family tree

Country & location

Glottolog point

-20.9294, 116.6070

Provenance: glottolog

A point locates a language for reference; it never represents the full extent of a people’s Country.

Grammar profile

368 coded · 11 unknown

184 Grambank + 136 WALS 379 coded features in total across 195 Grambank, 136 WALS, 48 AUS extension.

Grambank’s 195 variables are a cross-linguistic baseline— a fixed questionnaire asked of every language — not “the grammar” of Martuthunira. Read each cell as an answer to a standard typological question. Compare languages in the grammar lens →

Showing 379 of 379 coded features.

Grambank

195 features
Clause and Syntax23
  • Order of numeral and noun in the noun phrase: 1=Numeral-Noun, 2=Noun-Numeral, 3=both orders occur.

    Grambank GB024

    Num-N
  • Unmarked order of S and V in intransitive clauses: 1=SV, 2=VS, 3=both.

    Grambank GB130

    SV
  • Whether constituent order is the same in main and subordinate clauses.

    Grambank GB134

    unknown
  • Whether the language has clause chaining (long strings of dependent clauses + one final finite verb).

    Grambank GB150

    absent
  • Whether there is a morphological simultaneous-vs-sequential clause distinction.

    Grambank GB152

    present
  • Whether collective 'all' and distributive 'every' quantifiers differ in form or position.

    Grambank GB204

    unknown
  • Whether yes/no questions can be marked by intonation alone.

    Grambank GB257

    absent
  • Whether yes/no questions can be marked by a special word order.

    Grambank GB260

    present
  • Whether the comparative uses a form that elsewhere means 'surpass/exceed'.

    Grambank GB265

    unknown
  • Whether the comparative marks the standard with a form that elsewhere is locational ('from/at').

    Grambank GB266

    unknown
  • Whether comparatives can be expressed by two conjoined clauses ('X is big, Y is small').

    Grambank GB270

    unknown
  • Whether the comparative standard marker has neither a locational nor a 'surpass' source.

    Grambank GB273

    unknown
  • Whether there is a bound comparative degree marker on the property word.

    Grambank GB275

    unknown
  • Whether there is a free comparative degree marker (like 'more') modifying the property word.

    Grambank GB276

    unknown
  • Whether yes/no questions can be marked by tone.

    Grambank GB291

    present
  • Whether yes/no questions can be marked by a V-not-V construction.

    Grambank GB297

    absent
  • Whether interrogative quantifiers show a count/mass distinction ('how many' vs 'how much').

    Grambank GB325

    unknown
  • Whether content interrogatives normally stay in situ (not fronted).

    Grambank GB326

    absent
  • Whether a relative clause can follow its head noun.

    Grambank GB327

    present
  • Whether a relative clause can precede its head noun.

    Grambank GB328

    absent
  • Whether there are internally-headed relative clauses.

    Grambank GB329

    absent
  • Whether there are correlative relative clauses.

    Grambank GB330

    absent
  • Whether there are non-adjacent (extraposed) relative clauses.

    Grambank GB331

    present
Demonstrative3
  • Whether demonstratives make three or more distance contrasts (e.g. near/mid/far).

    Grambank GB035

    absent
  • Whether demonstratives encode an elevation distinction (up-here vs down-there).

    Grambank GB036

    absent
  • Whether demonstratives encode a visible-vs-nonvisible distinction.

    Grambank GB037

    absent
Nominal68
  • Whether the language has a definite or specific article (a grammatical word like English 'the').

    Grambank GB020

    present
  • Whether indefinite nominals commonly take an indefinite article (like English 'a/an').

    Grambank GB021

    absent
  • Whether an article, if present, comes before the noun (prenominal).

    Grambank GB022

    absent
  • Whether an article, if present, comes after the noun (postnominal).

    Grambank GB023

    absent
  • Order of an adnominal demonstrative ('this/that') and noun: 1=Dem-Noun, 2=Noun-Dem, 3=both.

    Grambank GB025

    Dem-N
  • Whether adjective-like property words can be separated from their noun (occur discontinuously).

    Grambank GB026

    present
  • Whether independent 3rd-person pronouns mark a gender distinction (he vs she).

    Grambank GB030

    absent
  • Whether every person category has a dual (or unit-augmented) form in addition to plural.

    Grambank GB031

    present
  • Whether the language has demonstrative classifiers.

    Grambank GB038

    absent
  • Whether there is productive morphological dual marking on nouns.

    Grambank GB043

    present
  • Whether there is productive morphological plural marking on nouns.

    Grambank GB044

    present
  • Whether there is an associative plural marker ('X and those associated with X').

    Grambank GB046

    present
  • Whether an action/state noun can be productively derived from a verb (e.g. 'run' -> 'running').

    Grambank GB047

    absent
  • Whether an agent noun can be productively derived from a verb (e.g. 'teach' -> 'teacher').

    Grambank GB048

    absent
  • Whether an object/result noun can be productively derived from a verb.

    Grambank GB049

    absent
  • Whether the gender/noun-class system uses biological sex as a class-assignment factor.

    Grambank GB051

    absent
  • Whether the gender/noun-class system uses shape as a class-assignment factor.

    Grambank GB052

    absent
  • Whether the gender/noun-class system uses animacy as a class-assignment factor.

    Grambank GB053

    absent
  • Whether the gender/noun-class system uses plant status as a class-assignment factor.

    Grambank GB054

    absent
  • Whether the language has numeral classifiers (a sortal element required when counting).

    Grambank GB057

    absent
  • Whether the language has possessive classifiers.

    Grambank GB058

    absent
  • Whether the possessive construction differs for alienable vs inalienable nouns (e.g. 'my dog' vs 'my hand').

    Grambank GB059

    present
  • Unmarked order of possessor noun and possessed noun: 1=Possessor-Possessed, 2=Possessed-Possessor, 3=both.

    Grambank GB065

    Possessed-Possessor
  • Whether verbs undergo reduplication.

    Grambank GB158

    absent
  • Whether nouns undergo reduplication.

    Grambank GB159

    absent
  • Whether words other than verbs or nouns undergo reduplication.

    Grambank GB160

    absent
  • Whether there is productive morphological trial marking on nouns.

    Grambank GB165

    absent
  • Whether there is productive morphological paucal marking on nouns ('a few').

    Grambank GB166

    absent
  • Whether an adjective-like property word can agree with its noun in gender/noun class.

    Grambank GB170

    absent
  • Whether an adnominal demonstrative can agree with its noun in gender/noun class.

    Grambank GB171

    absent
  • Whether an article can agree with its noun in gender/noun class.

    Grambank GB172

    absent
  • Whether the verb marks the animacy of an argument (independent of NP-level gender/class).

    Grambank GB177

    absent
  • Whether an adjective-like property word can agree with its noun in number.

    Grambank GB184

    present
  • Whether an adnominal demonstrative can agree with its noun in number.

    Grambank GB185

    present
  • Whether an article can agree with its noun in number.

    Grambank GB186

    absent
  • Whether there is productive diminutive marking on the noun (excluding pure noun-class shift).

    Grambank GB187

    absent
  • Whether there is productive augmentative marking on the noun (excluding pure noun-class shift).

    Grambank GB188

    absent
  • Whether a noun's phonological shape is a factor in gender/class assignment.

    Grambank GB192

    absent
  • Order of adjective-like property word and noun: 0=not used attributively, 1=Adj-N, 2=N-Adj, 3=both.

    Grambank GB193

    they cannot be used attributively
  • Whether an adnominal numeral can agree with its noun in gender/noun class.

    Grambank GB198

    absent
  • Order of the collective 'all' quantifier and noun: 0=no such quantifier, 1=Q-N, 2=N-Q, 3=both.

    Grambank GB203

    unknown
  • Whether predicative possession can use a transitive 'have' (habeo) verb.

    Grambank GB250

    absent
  • Whether predicative possession can use a locative-coded possessor ('at me is a dog').

    Grambank GB252

    absent
  • Whether predicative possession can use a dative-coded possessor ('to me is a dog').

    Grambank GB253

    absent
  • Whether predicative possession can use a possessor coded like an adnominal possessor.

    Grambank GB254

    present
  • Whether predicative possession can use a comitative-coded possessum ('I am with a dog').

    Grambank GB256

    absent
  • Whether there is a clause-initial yes/no question particle.

    Grambank GB262

    absent
  • Whether there is a clause-final yes/no question particle.

    Grambank GB263

    absent
  • Whether there is a yes/no question particle sitting neither clause-initially nor clause-finally.

    Grambank GB264

    absent
  • Whether yes/no questions can be marked by a question particle plus verbal morphology.

    Grambank GB285

    absent
  • Whether standard negation can be marked by a non-inflecting negative particle.

    Grambank GB299

    present
  • Whether there is a free (particle/auxiliary) passive marker.

    Grambank GB302

    absent
  • Whether there is a free (particle/auxiliary) antipassive marker.

    Grambank GB303

    absent
  • Whether there are special adnominal possessive pronouns not formed by a regular process.

    Grambank GB313

    absent
  • Whether augmentative meaning can be expressed by shifting gender/noun class.

    Grambank GB314

    absent
  • Whether diminutive meaning can be expressed by shifting gender/noun class.

    Grambank GB315

    absent
  • Whether dual number is marked in the NP by a dedicated free (unbound) element.

    Grambank GB317

    absent
  • Whether plural number is marked in the NP by a dedicated free (unbound) element.

    Grambank GB318

    absent
  • Whether trial number is marked in the NP by a dedicated free (unbound) element.

    Grambank GB319

    absent
  • Whether paucal number is marked in the NP by a dedicated free (unbound) element.

    Grambank GB320

    absent
  • Whether there is a large class of nouns whose gender/class is not phonologically or semantically predictable.

    Grambank GB321

    absent
  • Whether adnominal possession can be marked by a prefix on the possessor.

    Grambank GB430

    absent
  • Whether adnominal possession can be marked by a prefix on the possessed noun.

    Grambank GB431

    absent
  • Whether adnominal possession can be marked by a suffix on the possessor.

    Grambank GB432

    present
  • Whether adnominal possession can be marked by a suffix on the possessed noun.

    Grambank GB433

    present
  • Whether mood can be marked by a non-inflecting particle.

    Grambank GB519

    absent
  • Whether aspect can be marked by a non-inflecting particle.

    Grambank GB520

    absent
  • Whether tense can be marked by a non-inflecting particle.

    Grambank GB521

    absent
Numerals4
  • Whether the numeral system is decimal (base 10).

    Grambank GB333

    absent
  • Whether there is any synchronic evidence of a quinary (base 5) element.

    Grambank GB334

    absent
  • Whether there is any synchronic evidence of a vigesimal (base 20) element.

    Grambank GB335

    absent
  • Whether there is a body-part tallying counting system.

    Grambank GB336

    absent
Other21
  • Whether noun-conjoining ('X and Y') and comitative ('X with Y') use different markers.

    Grambank GB027

    present
  • Whether noun number markers show nonphonological (lexically/grammatically conditioned) allomorphy.

    Grambank GB039

    absent
  • Whether more than three nouns are suppletive for number (a different root for singular vs plural).

    Grambank GB041

    absent
  • Whether there is productive overt singular marking on nouns.

    Grambank GB042

    absent
  • Whether oblique (non-core) non-pronominal NPs carry morphological case.

    Grambank GB072

    present
  • Whether the language has prepositions.

    Grambank GB074

    absent
  • Whether the language has postpositions.

    Grambank GB075

    absent
  • Whether core-argument marking varies by TAM (tense/aspect/mood) — e.g. split by tense.

    Grambank GB095

    absent
  • Whether core-argument marking varies by person (e.g. a person-based split in ergativity).

    Grambank GB098

    absent
  • Whether the recipient of a ditransitive ('give') can be marked like a monotransitive object.

    Grambank GB105

    present
  • Whether clausal objects sit in the same position as nominal objects.

    Grambank GB135

    present
  • Whether there is a morphosyntactic distinction between controlled and uncontrolled events/states.

    Grambank GB146

    absent
  • Whether there is a definable class of ideophones depicting imagery beyond sound.

    Grambank GB296

    absent
  • Whether the language has an inclusory construction ('we with John' = 'John and I').

    Grambank GB301

    unknown
  • Whether singular number is marked in the NP by a dedicated free (unbound) element.

    Grambank GB316

    absent
  • Whether there is grammatical marking of direct (sensory) evidence.

    Grambank GB322

    absent
  • Whether there is grammatical marking of indirect evidence (hearsay, inference).

    Grambank GB323

    present
  • Whether any part of the case/adposition (flagging) system shows accusative alignment.

    Grambank GB408

    absent
  • Whether any part of the case/adposition (flagging) system shows ergative alignment.

    Grambank GB409

    absent
  • Whether any part of the case/adposition (flagging) system shows neutral alignment (S=A=P unmarked).

    Grambank GB410

    absent
  • Whether there is a politeness (T/V) distinction in 2nd-person forms.

    Grambank GB415

    absent
Pronoun6
  • Whether the pronoun system distinguishes inclusive ('we incl. you') from exclusive ('we excl. you').

    Grambank GB028

    present
  • Whether the language has a logophoric pronoun.

    Grambank GB167

    absent
  • Whether 2nd-person independent pronouns mark a male/female distinction.

    Grambank GB196

    absent
  • Whether 1st-person independent pronouns mark a male/female distinction.

    Grambank GB197

    absent
  • Whether there is a phonologically independent reflexive pronoun.

    Grambank GB305

    absent
  • Whether there is a phonologically independent (non-bipartite) reciprocal pronoun.

    Grambank GB306

    absent
Verb and Valency70
  • Whether core adjectives behave like verbs when used as a predicate ('the dog is big' patterns like 'the dog runs').

    Grambank GB068

    absent
  • Whether attributive adjectives require the same morphology as verbs.

    Grambank GB069

    absent
  • Whether non-pronominal core arguments (S/A/P) carry morphological case.

    Grambank GB070

    present
  • Whether pronominal core arguments (S/A/P) carry morphological case.

    Grambank GB071

    present
  • Whether independent oblique personal pronouns carry morphological case.

    Grambank GB073

    present
  • Whether verbs take prefixes/proclitics beyond pure S/A/P agreement (incl. portmanteau agreement+TAM).

    Grambank GB079

    absent
  • Whether verbs take suffixes/enclitics beyond pure S/A/P agreement (incl. portmanteau agreement+TAM).

    Grambank GB080

    present
  • Whether verbs show productive infixation (a morpheme inserted inside the root).

    Grambank GB081

    absent
  • Whether present tense is overtly marked on the verb.

    Grambank GB082

    present
  • Whether there is a dedicated overt past-tense marker on the verb.

    Grambank GB083

    present
  • Whether there is a dedicated overt future-tense marker on the verb.

    Grambank GB084

    present
  • Whether verbs make a perfective-vs-imperfective aspect distinction morphologically.

    Grambank GB086

    present
  • Whether the S (intransitive subject) can be indexed by a suffix/enclitic on the verb.

    Grambank GB089

    absent
  • Whether the S (intransitive subject) can be indexed by a prefix/proclitic on the verb.

    Grambank GB090

    absent
  • Whether the A (transitive subject) can be indexed by a suffix/enclitic on the verb.

    Grambank GB091

    absent
  • Whether the A (transitive subject) can be indexed by a prefix/proclitic on the verb.

    Grambank GB092

    absent
  • Whether the P (transitive object) can be indexed by a suffix/enclitic on the verb.

    Grambank GB093

    absent
  • Whether the P (transitive object) can be indexed by a prefix/proclitic on the verb.

    Grambank GB094

    absent
  • Whether core-argument marking varies by verb class.

    Grambank GB096

    absent
  • Whether verb stems change according to the person of a core participant.

    Grambank GB099

    absent
  • Whether there is a benefactive applicative marker on the verb ('do X for someone').

    Grambank GB103

    absent
  • Whether there is an instrumental applicative marker on the verb ('do X with an instrument').

    Grambank GB104

    absent
  • Whether standard negation can be marked by an affix, clitic, or verb modification.

    Grambank GB107

    absent
  • Whether verbs carry directional or locative morphology (associated-motion-type marking).

    Grambank GB108

    absent
  • Whether verbs are suppletive for participant number (different root for singular vs plural participant).

    Grambank GB109

    absent
  • Whether verbs are suppletive for tense or aspect.

    Grambank GB110

    absent
  • Whether verbs fall into conjugation classes.

    Grambank GB111

    present
  • Whether there are verbal affixes/clitics that transitivize intransitive verbs (causative-like).

    Grambank GB113

    present
  • Whether there is a bound (affixal) reflexive marker on the verb.

    Grambank GB114

    absent
  • Whether there is a bound (affixal) reciprocal marker on the verb.

    Grambank GB115

    absent
  • Whether verbs classify the shape/size/consistency of absolutive arguments (e.g. via incorporated nouns or suppletion).

    Grambank GB116

    absent
  • Whether there is a copula for predicate nominals ('X is a Y').

    Grambank GB117

    present
  • Whether there are serial verb constructions (two+ verbs in one clause without a linker).

    Grambank GB118

    present
  • Whether mood can be marked by an inflecting auxiliary verb.

    Grambank GB119

    absent
  • Whether aspect can be marked by an inflecting auxiliary verb.

    Grambank GB120

    absent
  • Whether tense can be marked by an inflecting auxiliary verb.

    Grambank GB121

    absent
  • Whether verb compounding is a regular process.

    Grambank GB122

    absent
  • Whether there are verb-adjunct (light-verb / coverb) constructions.

    Grambank GB123

    absent
  • Whether noun incorporation into the verb is a productive intransitivizing process.

    Grambank GB124

    absent
  • Whether the language has a dedicated existential verb ('there is').

    Grambank GB126

    absent
  • Whether posture verbs ('lie' vs 'stand' vs 'sit') are obligatorily chosen by an inanimate's shape/position.

    Grambank GB127

    absent
  • Whether the language has a small closed set of verb roots (about 100 or fewer).

    Grambank GB129

    absent
  • Whether the unmarked transitive constituent order is verb-initial.

    Grambank GB131

    absent
  • Whether the unmarked transitive constituent order is verb-medial.

    Grambank GB132

    present
  • Whether the unmarked transitive constituent order is verb-final.

    Grambank GB133

    absent
  • Whether the order of core (S/A/P) constituents is fixed.

    Grambank GB136

    present
  • Whether standard negation can be marked clause-finally.

    Grambank GB137

    absent
  • Whether standard negation can be marked clause-initially.

    Grambank GB138

    present
  • Whether prohibitive (negative imperative) negation differs from declarative negation.

    Grambank GB139

    absent
  • Whether one negator covers verbal, locational, existential and nominal predication alike.

    Grambank GB140

    present
  • Whether there is a morphological passive marked on the lexical verb.

    Grambank GB147

    present
  • Whether there is a morphological antipassive marked on the lexical verb.

    Grambank GB148

    absent
  • Whether there is a morphological inverse marker on the verb.

    Grambank GB149

    absent
  • Whether there is a switch-reference marker (signals same/different subject across clauses).

    Grambank GB151

    present
  • Whether causatives are formed by affixes/clitics on the verb.

    Grambank GB155

    present
  • Whether there is a causative built from a grammaticalized verb 'to say'.

    Grambank GB156

    absent
  • Whether yes/no questions can be marked by verbal morphology alone.

    Grambank GB286

    absent
  • Whether standard negation can be marked by an inflecting negative auxiliary verb.

    Grambank GB298

    absent
  • Whether the verb for 'give' has suppletive forms.

    Grambank GB300

    absent
  • Whether the agent can be expressed overtly in a passive clause ('by ...').

    Grambank GB304

    present
  • Whether there are multiple past or future tenses distinguishing distance in time (e.g. recent vs remote past).

    Grambank GB309

    absent
  • Whether there is dedicated overt mood marking on the verb.

    Grambank GB312

    present
  • Whether there is a dedicated interrogative verb for content questions ('do-what?').

    Grambank GB324

    absent
  • Whether all person categories are neutralized in some voice/TAM/negation context.

    Grambank GB400

    absent
  • Whether there is a class of patient-labile verbs (same verb form used transitively and intransitively with the patient as subject).

    Grambank GB401

    absent
  • Whether the verb for 'see' has suppletive forms.

    Grambank GB402

    absent
  • Whether the verb for 'come' has suppletive forms.

    Grambank GB403

    absent
  • Whether there is a preposed complementizer for complements of 'think/know' verbs.

    Grambank GB421

    present
  • Whether there is a postposed complementizer for complements of 'think/know' verbs.

    Grambank GB422

    absent
  • Whether the S or A argument can be dropped when inferrable from context (pro-drop / null anaphora).

    Grambank GB522

    present

WALS

136 features
Complex Sentences7
  • Relativization on Subjects

    WALS 122A

    Gap
  • Relativization on Obliques

    WALS 123A

    Not possible
  • 'Want' Complement Subjects

    WALS 124A

    Subject is left implicit
  • Purpose Clauses

    WALS 125A

    Deranked
  • 'When' Clauses

    WALS 126A

    Deranked
  • Reason Clauses

    WALS 127A

    Deranked
  • Utterance Complement Clauses

    WALS 128A

    Deranked
Lexicon7
  • Hand and Arm

    WALS 129A

    Different
  • Finger and Hand

    WALS 130A

    Different
  • Numeral Bases

    WALS 131A

    Restricted
  • M-T Pronouns

    WALS 136A

    No M-T pronouns
  • M in First Person Singular

    WALS 136B

    No m in first person singular
  • N-M Pronouns

    WALS 137A

    No N-M pronouns
  • M in Second Person Singular

    WALS 137B

    No m in second person singular
Morphology12
  • Fusion of Selected Inflectional Formatives

    WALS 20A

    Exclusively concatenative
  • Exponence of Selected Inflectional Formatives

    WALS 21A

    Monoexponential case
  • Exponence of Tense-Aspect-Mood Inflection

    WALS 21B

    monoexponential TAM
  • Inflectional Synthesis of the Verb

    WALS 22A

    2-3 categories per word
  • Locus of Marking in the Clause

    WALS 23A

    Dependent marking
  • Locus of Marking in Possessive Noun Phrases

    WALS 24A

    Dependent marking
  • Locus of Marking: Whole-language Typology

    WALS 25A

    Dependent-marking
  • Zero Marking of A and P Arguments

    WALS 25B

    Non-zero marking
  • Prefixing vs. Suffixing in Inflectional Morphology

    WALS 26A

    Strongly suffixing
  • Reduplication

    WALS 27A

    Full reduplication only
  • Case Syncretism

    WALS 28A

    Core and non-core
  • Syncretism in Verbal Person/Number Marking

    WALS 29A

    No subject person/number marking
Nominal Categories24
  • Number of Genders

    WALS 30A

    None
  • Sex-based and Non-sex-based Gender Systems

    WALS 31A

    No gender
  • Systems of Gender Assignment

    WALS 32A

    No gender
  • Coding of Nominal Plurality

    WALS 33A

    Plural suffix
  • Plurality in Independent Personal Pronouns

    WALS 35A

    Person-number stem + pronominal plural affix
  • The Associative Plural

    WALS 36A

    No associative plural
  • Inclusive/Exclusive Distinction in Independent Pronouns

    WALS 39A

    Inclusive/exclusive
  • Inclusive/Exclusive Forms in Pama-Nyungan

    WALS 39B

    Inclusive and exclusive differentiated
  • Inclusive/Exclusive Distinction in Verbal Inflection

    WALS 40A

    No person marking
  • Distance Contrasts in Demonstratives

    WALS 41A

    Two-way contrast
  • Pronominal and Adnominal Demonstratives

    WALS 42A

    Identical
  • Third Person Pronouns and Demonstratives

    WALS 43A

    Unrelated
  • Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal Pronouns

    WALS 44A

    No gender distinctions
  • Politeness Distinctions in Pronouns

    WALS 45A

    No politeness distinction
  • Indefinite Pronouns

    WALS 46A

    Interrogative-based
  • Person Marking on Adpositions

    WALS 48A

    No adpositions
  • Number of Cases

    WALS 49A

    10 or more cases
  • Asymmetrical Case-Marking

    WALS 50A

    Syncretism in relevant NP-types
  • Position of Case Affixes

    WALS 51A

    Case suffixes
  • Comitatives and Instrumentals

    WALS 52A

    Differentiation
  • Ordinal Numerals

    WALS 53A

    None
  • Distributive Numerals

    WALS 54A

    No distributive numerals
  • Numeral Classifiers

    WALS 55A

    Absent
  • Position of Pronominal Possessive Affixes

    WALS 57A

    Possessive suffixes
Nominal Syntax6
  • Obligatory Possessive Inflection

    WALS 58A

    Absent
  • Number of Possessive Nouns

    WALS 58B

    None reported
  • Possessive Classification

    WALS 59A

    Two classes
  • Genitives, Adjectives and Relative Clauses

    WALS 60A

    Adjectives and relative clauses collapsed
  • Adjectives without Nouns

    WALS 61A

    Without marking
  • Action Nominal Constructions

    WALS 62A

    No action nominals
Phonology19
  • Vowel Nasalization

    WALS 10A

    Contrast absent
  • Front Rounded Vowels

    WALS 11A

    None
  • Syllable Structure

    WALS 12A

    Moderately complex
  • Tone

    WALS 13A

    No tones
  • Fixed Stress Locations

    WALS 14A

    Initial
  • Weight-Sensitive Stress

    WALS 15A

    Fixed stress (no weight-sensitivity)
  • Weight Factors in Weight-Sensitive Stress Systems

    WALS 16A

    Long vowel
  • Rhythm Types

    WALS 17A

    Trochaic
  • Absence of Common Consonants

    WALS 18A

    No fricatives
  • Presence of Uncommon Consonants

    WALS 19A

    None
  • Consonant Inventories

    WALS 1A

    Average
  • Vowel Quality Inventories

    WALS 2A

    Small (2-4)
  • Consonant-Vowel Ratio

    WALS 3A

    High
  • Voicing in Plosives and Fricatives

    WALS 4A

    No voicing contrast
  • Voicing and Gaps in Plosive Systems

    WALS 5A

    Other
  • Uvular Consonants

    WALS 6A

    None
  • Glottalized Consonants

    WALS 7A

    No glottalized consonants
  • Lateral Consonants

    WALS 8A

    /l/, no obstruent laterals
  • The Velar Nasal

    WALS 9A

    Initial velar nasal
Simple Clauses20
  • Alignment of Verbal Person Marking

    WALS 100A

    Neutral
  • Expression of Pronominal Subjects

    WALS 101A

    Optional pronouns in subject position
  • Verbal Person Marking

    WALS 102A

    No person marking
  • Third Person Zero of Verbal Person Marking

    WALS 103A

    No person marking
  • Order of Person Markers on the Verb

    WALS 104A

    A and P do not or do not both occur on the verb
  • Ditransitive Constructions: The Verb 'Give'

    WALS 105A

    Secondary-object construction
  • Reciprocal Constructions

    WALS 106A

    Distinct from reflexive
  • Passive Constructions

    WALS 107A

    Present
  • Antipassive Constructions

    WALS 108A

    No antipassive
  • Productivity of the Antipassive Construction

    WALS 108B

    no antipassive
  • Applicative Constructions

    WALS 109A

    No applicative construction
  • Other Roles of Applied Objects

    WALS 109B

    No applicative construction
  • Periphrastic Causative Constructions

    WALS 110A

    Purposive but no sequential
  • Nonperiphrastic Causative Constructions

    WALS 111A

    Morphological but no compound
  • Negative Morphemes

    WALS 112A

    Negative particle
  • Symmetric and Asymmetric Standard Negation

    WALS 113A

    Symmetric
  • Subtypes of Asymmetric Standard Negation

    WALS 114A

    Non-assignable
  • Polar Questions

    WALS 116A

    Interrogative intonation only
  • Alignment of Case Marking of Full Noun Phrases

    WALS 98A

    Nominative - accusative (standard)
  • Alignment of Case Marking of Pronouns

    WALS 99A

    Nominative - accusative (standard)
Verbal Categories15
  • Perfective/Imperfective Aspect

    WALS 65A

    No grammatical marking
  • The Past Tense

    WALS 66A

    Present, no remoteness distinctions
  • The Future Tense

    WALS 67A

    Inflectional future exists
  • The Perfect

    WALS 68A

    No perfect
  • Position of Tense-Aspect Affixes

    WALS 69A

    Tense-aspect suffixes
  • The Morphological Imperative

    WALS 70A

    Second person number-neutral
  • The Prohibitive

    WALS 71A

    Special imperative + normal negative
  • Imperative-Hortative Systems

    WALS 72A

    Neither type of system
  • The Optative

    WALS 73A

    Inflectional optative absent
  • Epistemic Possibility

    WALS 75A

    Other
  • Semantic Distinctions of Evidentiality

    WALS 77A

    Indirect only
  • Coding of Evidentiality

    WALS 78A

    Verbal affix or clitic
  • Suppletion According to Tense and Aspect

    WALS 79A

    None
  • Suppletion in Imperatives and Hortatives

    WALS 79B

    None (= no suppletive imperatives reported in the reference material)
  • Verbal Number and Suppletion

    WALS 80A

    None
Word order26
  • Order of Negative Morpheme and Verb

    WALS 143A

    NegV
  • Preverbal Negative Morphemes

    WALS 143E

    NegV
  • Postverbal Negative Morphemes

    WALS 143F

    None
  • Minor morphological means of signaling negation

    WALS 143G

    None
  • Position of Negative Word With Respect to Subject, Object, and Verb

    WALS 144A

    SNegVO
  • Position of negative words relative to beginning and end of clause and with respect to adjacency to verb

    WALS 144B

    Immed preverbal
  • The Position of Negative Morphemes in SVO Languages

    WALS 144D

    SNegVO
  • NegSVO Order

    WALS 144H

    No NegSVO
  • SNegVO Order

    WALS 144I

    Word&NoDoubleNeg
  • SVNegO Order

    WALS 144J

    No SVNegO
  • SVONeg Order

    WALS 144K

    No SVONeg
  • Order of Subject, Object and Verb

    WALS 81A

    SVO
  • Order of Subject and Verb

    WALS 82A

    SV
  • Order of Object and Verb

    WALS 83A

    VO
  • Order of Object, Oblique, and Verb

    WALS 84A

    VOX
  • Order of Adposition and Noun Phrase

    WALS 85A

    No adpositions
  • Order of Genitive and Noun

    WALS 86A

    No dominant order
  • Order of Adjective and Noun

    WALS 87A

    Noun-Adjective
  • Order of Demonstrative and Noun

    WALS 88A

    Demonstrative-Noun
  • Order of Numeral and Noun

    WALS 89A

    Numeral-Noun
  • Order of Relative Clause and Noun

    WALS 90A

    Adjoined
  • Adjoined relative clauses

    WALS 90F

    Adjoined relative clause dominant
  • Position of Polar Question Particles

    WALS 92A

    No question particle
  • Position of Interrogative Phrases in Content Questions

    WALS 93A

    Initial interrogative phrase
  • Relationship between the Order of Object and Verb and the Order of Relative Clause and Noun

    WALS 96A

    Other
  • Relationship between the Order of Object and Verb and the Order of Adjective and Noun

    WALS 97A

    VO and NAdj

AUS extension

48 features
Alignment5
  • Case-marking alignment of full (non-pronominal) noun phrases.

    AUS extension AUX001

    accusative
  • Case-marking alignment of independent personal pronouns.

    AUS extension AUX002

    accusative
  • Alignment of person marking (agreement/bound pronouns) on the verb.

    AUS extension AUX003

    neutral
  • Whether full nouns and pronouns use DIFFERENT case alignments (e.g. nouns ergative but pronouns nominative-accusative) — the classic Australian split.

    AUS extension AUX004

    no
  • Whether ergativity is conditioned by the person/NP-type hierarchy (ergative on nouns/3rd, accusative on speech-act pronouns) — a hierarchy-based split.

    AUS extension AUX005

    no
Case4
  • Size of the morphological case inventory on nouns.

    AUS extension AUX006

    10+
  • Where case marking sits: suffix, prefix, clitic, tone, stem change.

    AUS extension AUX007

    suffix
  • Whether both non-pronominal core arguments and pronominal core arguments carry case (so case can differ by word class).

    AUS extension AUX008

    both
  • Whether 'with (accompaniment)' and 'with (instrument)' use the same or different marking — a much-discussed Australianist parameter.

    AUS extension AUX009

    differentiated
Demonstrative1
  • Number of distance contrasts (2, 3+ deictic terms).

    AUS extension AUX023

    two
Gender2
  • Count of gender / noun-class categories.

    AUS extension AUX021

    none
  • Whether the gender system is sex-based or non-sex-based (or absent).

    AUS extension AUX022

    none
Negation2
  • How declarative clauses are negated: affix, particle, negative auxiliary, etc.

    AUS extension AUX036

    particle
  • Whether the prohibitive (negative imperative) uses a different construction from declarative negation.

    AUS extension AUX037

    no
Number5
  • Productive morphological dual on nouns.

    AUS extension AUX014

    yes
  • Productive morphological paucal ('a few') on nouns.

    AUS extension AUX015

    no
  • Productive morphological trial (exactly three) on nouns.

    AUS extension AUX016

    no
  • How nominal plural is coded: suffix, prefix, reduplication, plural word, clitic, none.

    AUS extension AUX017

    suffix
  • How number is built into independent personal pronouns.

    AUS extension AUX018

    person-number-stem+pron-plural
Numerals2
  • Base of the numeral system: decimal, quinary, vigesimal, body-part tally, or restricted (many Australian languages have very small numeral systems).

    AUS extension AUX043

    restricted/none
  • Whether counting requires a sortal numeral classifier.

    AUS extension AUX044

    absent
Pronoun4
  • Whether 1st-person non-singular distinguishes inclusive ('we incl. you') from exclusive.

    AUS extension AUX019

    yes
  • Whether the inclusive/exclusive distinction also appears in verbal person marking.

    AUS extension AUX020

    no-marking
  • Whether independent 3rd-person pronouns mark gender (he/she).

    AUS extension AUX024

    no
  • Whether interrogatives ('who/what') double as indefinites ('someone/something') — an 'ignorative' series. Partially derivable from WALS Indefinite Pronouns (interrogative-based).

    AUS extension AUX051

    yes
Pronoun-Marking4
  • How pronominal subjects are expressed: obligatory free pronoun, subject affix on the verb, clitic on a variable host (e.g. second position / auxiliary), etc.

    AUS extension AUX010

    optional-free
  • Whether bound pronouns form a clitic cluster on a variable (typically second-position/auxiliary) host rather than being fixed to the verb.

    AUS extension AUX011

    no
  • Whether the transitive subject (A) is cross-referenced by a bound marker on the verb.

    AUS extension AUX012

    no
  • Whether the transitive object (P) is cross-referenced by a bound marker on the verb.

    AUS extension AUX013

    no
Syntax5
  • Dominant order of subject, object and verb (often 'no dominant order' in free-word-order Australian languages).

    AUS extension AUX038

    SVO
  • Prepositions vs postpositions vs no dominant adpositions.

    AUS extension AUX039

    no-adpositions
  • A verb marker signalling same/different subject across clauses.

    AUS extension AUX040

    yes
  • Chains of dependent (medial) clauses closed by one finite verb.

    AUS extension AUX041

    no
  • Whether S/A can be omitted when inferrable — pervasive in bound-pronoun Australian languages.

    AUS extension AUX042

    yes
Valency5
  • A phonologically bound reflexive marker on the verb (e.g. Kuku Yalanji -ji-).

    AUS extension AUX031

    no
  • A phonologically bound reciprocal marker on the verb (e.g. Kuku Yalanji -wa-).

    AUS extension AUX032

    no
  • Whether reciprocal marking is identical to, or distinct from, reflexive marking.

    AUS extension AUX033

    distinct
  • A morphological antipassive on the lexical verb (demotes P; salient in ergative languages).

    AUS extension AUX034

    no
  • Whether causatives are formed by an affix/clitic on the verb.

    AUS extension AUX035

    yes
Verb9
  • Whether verbs fall into conjugation classes (as in most Pama-Nyungan languages).

    AUS extension AUX025

    yes
  • Where TAM inflection sits on the verb: prefix, suffix, tone, mixed, none.

    AUS extension AUX026

    suffix
  • Whether there are multiple past or future tenses distinguishing temporal distance (e.g. recent vs remote past) — common in Australian languages.

    AUS extension AUX027

    no
  • Directional or locative morphology on the verb. NOTE: true associated-motion systems (coming/going while V-ing) are a fine Australianist category that open datasets do not isolate; this uses Grambank's broader directional/locative-on-verb feature as a proxy.

    AUS extension AUX028

    no
  • Whether a verb uses a different root for singular vs plural participant (e.g. 'go.sg' vs 'go.pl').

    AUS extension AUX029

    no
  • Whether reduplication is productive and of what kind (full/partial).

    AUS extension AUX030

    full-only
  • Whether grammatical evidentiality is marked, and its scope (direct/indirect).

    AUS extension AUX047

    indirect-only
  • Whether predicates are built from an uninflecting coverb + a small closed class of inflecting light verbs (widespread in non-Pama-Nyungan Australia).

    AUS extension AUX052

    no
  • Whether noun incorporation into the verb is a productive intransitivizing process.

    AUS extension AUX053

    no

Dictionary & lexicon

Live dictionary. 110 entries are browsable now.

Browse the dictionary

Deep-time position

Bouckaert 2018 tree
Divergence from nearest relative
~1,618 yr BP

Dates the LANGUAGE lineage (Bouckaert 2018 BEAST tree), NOT a population arrival.

Trace this lineage in the deep-time spread

Codes & sources

Identifiers

Per-facet provenance

Classification
Glottolog 5.3 CLDF (CC-BY-4.0)
Coordinates
Glottolog 5.3 (CC-BY-4.0)
Endangerment
Glottolog AES (CC-BY-4.0)
Grammar
Grambank v1.0.3 / WALS 2020.4 (CC-BY-4.0)
Lexicon
mobtranslate-pg live dictionary
Deep-time
Bouckaert, Bowern & Atkinson 2018 (Phlorest CLDF, CC-BY-4.0)
Identifiers
Glottolog 5.3 + AIATSIS AUSTLANG

Data-completeness for this profile: name, any id, glottocode, iso639 3, austlang, classification chain, coordinates real, coordinates any, endangerment, grammar profile, lexicon data, deep time dated, autonym candidate. Autonyms are unverified candidates drawn from alt-name lists; coordinates carry a provenance flag; a spreading language lineage is not a moving population. Coverage tier: Comprehensive.