Das grammatische Raritätenkabinett
A catalogue of rare and unusual grammatical phenomena documented across the world’s languages. 147 published entries.
38 entries
| # | Phenomenon | Found in | Domain | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | a sizable inventory of basic smell terms, i.e., one with more than two or three items |
Des(s)ana (Tucanoan, Andean-Equatorial); Totonaca (Totonacan, Penutian); Wanzi, Nzebi, Sangu, Tsogo, Fang (all North Western area, Bantu Proper, Niger-Congo); Ser(r)er Ndut (West Atlantic, Niger-Congo); Kapsiki (aka Higi; Biu-Mandara, Chadic, Afroasiatic) | lexicon / basic terms | smell terms |
| 6 | labial flap /vb/ (See Image) |
over 60 languages in Africa (Afroasiatic: Chadic; Niger-Congo: esp. Adamawa-Ubangi, also Benue-Congo; Nilo-Saharan: Central Sudanic) and at least one in Asia (Austronesian: Sika, spoken on the island of Flores, Indonesia) | phonology / phoneme inventory | labial flap |
| 7 | bilabial trill /è/, (i) prenasalized bilabial stop with trilled release, or (ii) trilled fricated vowel as syllabic variant of labial fricative |
(i) Nias (Sundic, Western Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian), Kele, Titan, and perhaps other members of the Admiralty subgroup (Oceanic, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian);<br> (ii) Luquan Yi (Tibeto-Burman, Sino-Tibetan) | phonology / phoneme inventory | bilabial, trill |
| 14 | lack of bilabial nasal and possibly bilabial stops | Iroquois; Tlingit (Na-Dene) | phonology / phoneme inventory | bilabial, nasal, stops |
| 17 | Resolved Moraic Trochee as foot type | (esp. older) Germanic (IE); Cayuvava (Andean-Equatorial) (?) | phonology / foot structure | moraic trochee, resolved |
| 21 | word-stress on postinitial syllable (or mora) | less than 3% of languages, including Araucanian and a few Uto-Aztecan languages (though reconstructed for Proto-Uto-Aztecan!) | phonology / word-stress | postinitial syllable |
| 23 | word-stress (in non-focussed or naturally focussed phrases) phonetically implemented by low rather than high pitch | Saipan and Guam dialects of Chamorro (Austronesian; the Rota dialect has high-pitch stress); Diegueño (Yuman; as a less common alternant to high-pitch stress) | phonology / word-stress | low pitch |
| 26 | 'four' as a regular base for a numeral system | Nyali (aka Huku, Bantu, Niger-Congo), Afudu (affiliation?, Africa); Hawaiian (originally; Polynesian, Austronesian); Welsh (Celtic, IE) (?) | morphology: word formation / numeral systems: bases | |
| 29 | use of metathesis (CV ~ VC) for grammatical purposes, viz. to express distinctions of aspect and/or definiteness, or of word-class (noun-verb) |
Rotuman (Oceanic, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian); Clallam and other Straits lgs of Coast Salish; Sierra Miwok lgs and Costanoan lgs (Penutian) | phonology, morphology / types of exponents and their uses | metathesis, aspect, definiteness, word class |
| 30 | case distinction exclusively by tone | Eastern (or Para-)Nilotic (Nilo-Saharan); (some) Cushitic, (some) Omotic (?) (Afroasiatic); (some) Bantu, Bantoid, Kwa (Niger-Congo); Burmese (Tibeto-Burman, Sino-Tibetan) (?) | phonology, morphology / types of exponents and their uses | case, tone |
| 33 | negation expressed negatively, by omission of material present in affirmative clause (marked realis vs. unmarked irrealis mood inflection) | Tamil, Kannada, Toda, and elsewhere in South Dravidian; Malakmalak (Pama-Nyungan, Australian) (?); Achumawi (Hokan) (?) | morphology: inflection / zero | negation |
| 39 | nominative (marking intransitive and transitive subject) as the morphologically marked case vis-à-vis (zero-marked) accusative (marking direct object), for all nouns or for some noun classes | some older Germanic lgs (IE); Old French (Italic, IE); Oromo, Dasenech, Kambata, and perhaps a few further Cushitic lgs (Afroasiatic); Zayse and perhaps a few further Omotic lgs (Afroasiatic); some Berber lgs (Afroasiatic); Old Egyptian (pronouns) (Afroasiatic); Proto-Afroasiatic (!);Eastern Nilotic lgs with tonal case (Nilo-Saharan); some Surmic lgs (Nilo-Saharan); Mojave and most other Yuman lgs (Hokan); varieties of Maidu (Penutian); Wappo (Yukian); Shokleng (Jê, Tupi, Andean-Equatorial); Malakmalak (nonPN, Australian); Houailou (Oceanic, Austronesian) | morphology: inflection / markedness: case | nominative, accusative |
| 45 | tense not only marked on verbs, but simultaneously on other words too, including nouns (tense agreement?) | Kayardild, Lardil, Baagandji, Pitta-Pitta (Australian); Titan and perhaps other members of the Admiralty subgroup (Oceanic, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian) Malagasy (West Indonesian, Austronesian) | morphology: inflection / locus | tense, agreement |
| 47 | use of an oblique case on a non-finite verb form to express evidentiality (hearsay, inferential) | Estonian and South Estonian dialects (Uralic); Latvian (Baltic, IE); Kayardild ((non?)PN, Australian) | morphology: inflection / locus | evidentiality, case, verb, non-finite |
| 57 | a mixed (aka "common", "resolution", "indefinite") gender in 3rd person (probably also 2nd and 1st person) non-singular pronouns for reference to mixed sets of antecedents, which naturally is without a singular counterpart | all Central Khoisan lgs, and widespread also elsewhere in Khoisan; Vanimo (Sko, "Papuan"); Bukiyip (Torricelli, "Papuan"); probably also elsewhere in "Papuan"; probably Khasi (Mon-Khmer); probably Turkana (Nilo-Saharan); probably Chinook (Chinookan) | morphology: inflection / categories and their domains: gender, respect | mixed gender, number |
| 60 | contrast in personal pronouns for moyety, kin class, and generation level membership | Adnyamadhanha and other Australian lgs | morphology: inflection / categories and their domains: gender, respect | personal pronoun, moyety, kinship |
| 65 | inclusive/exclusive contrast for 2nd person ('you several, non-SAPs included/excluded') | SE Ambrym (Austronesian), Port Sandwich (Austronesian) (?); Yokuts (Yokutsan); Ojibwe, Cree, Fox, Potawatomi, Naskapi (Algonquian) (?); Otomi (Otomanguean); Abkhaz (East Caucasian) (?); Ghomala? (Grassfield Bantu); Nama (Khoisan); Ordoss (Eastern Mongolian, Altaic); Bavarian (IE) (?) | morphology: inflection / categories and their domains: person, number | inclusive, exclusive, 2nd person |
| 66 | dual with 1st person exclusive but not with 1st person inclusive | Yagua (Ge-Pano-Carib); Tübatulabal (Uto-Aztecan) (?); Savosavo (East Papuan) (?); Ngankikurrungkurr (nonPN, Australian) (?) | morphology: inflection / categories and their domains: person, number | inclusive, exclusive, dual |
| 71 | no number inflection at all on any personal pronouns | Mura Pirahã (isolate, Macro-Chibchan); Kawi (Old Javanese, Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian) | morphology: inflection / categories and their domains: person, number | personal pronoun |
| 73 | duals up and down the referential hierarchy (ignoring INCL/EXCL) PRONOUNS NOUNS 1ST 2ND 3RD (a) +DU----------------> in abundance +DU-----------> –DU 65+ languages +DU------> –DU------> 3+ languages +DU –DU-----------> 9+ languages +DU----------------> over half of all (existing) lgs (b) –DU +DU-----------> Cl. Arabic (Semitic, Afroasiatic) + –DU------> +DU------> Ugaritic (Semitic, Afroasiatic) + –DU-----------> +DU 10+ languages +DU------> –DU +DU Kewa ("Papuan") (?) +DU –DU +DU------> northern dialects of Ostyak (Uralic) –DU------> +DU –DU 4+ languages –DU +DU –DU------> in no (attested) language (?) +DU –DU------> +DU in no (attested) language (?) –DU +DU------> –DU Rawa (Trans-NG, "Papuan") (?) +DU –DU +DU –DU Sedang (Austroasiatic) –DU +DU –DU +DU in no (attested) language (?) |
see above, or see Image - if you can | morphology: inflection / categories and their domains: person, number | dual, personal pronouns |
| 75 | kinship verbs, i.e., pure kinship relations normally expressed by canonical transitive verbs rather than by nouns (which may also exist, though used primarily for purposes of address) | Iwaidjian lgs (Australian); Central Guerrero Nahuatl (Aztec, Uto-Aztecan); Yuman lgs (mostlly); (some lgs of) some further North American Indian families [possibly an infrequentale] | syntax / word classes | verb, kinship |
| 77 | object before subject in basic word order | OVS: Coos (Coosan);Apalaí, Arekuna-Taupilang, Bacairí, Hianacoto-Umaua, Hixkaryana, Makushi, Panare (all Carib ), Asuriní (Tupi) (Derbyshire 1977, Derbyshire & Pullum 1981); Wajana (Carib) (Howell 1982); Barasano (Tucanoan) (Pullum 1981).<br> VOS: Siuslaw (isolate), Coeur d'Alene (Salish) (mentioned by Greenberg himself, 1963: 110); Malagasy, Batak [Toba dialect], Fijian, Gilbertese (all Malayo-Polynesian); Tzeltal (Mayan), Otomi (Oto-Manguean), Ineseño Chumash (Hokan), Baure (Arawakan), Tzotzil, Kekchi (both Mayan), Tsou (Formosan, Austronesian) (Keenan 1978); Huave (isolate) (Pickett 1983: 536); Cakchicel, Chol, Huastec, Mopan, Pocoman, Pocomchi, Quiche, Tojolabal (all Mayan), Ojibwa (Algonquian) (Pullum 1981).<br> OSV: Apurinã (Arawakan), Nadëb (Makú), Urubú (Tupi), Xavante (Gê) (Derbyshire 1977, Derbyshire & Pullum 1981); Kabardian (North Caucasian), Hurrian (isolate) (Polinskaja 1987: 89, 1989). | syntax / word order | subject object |
| 79 | (finite) verb-second word order in main declarative clauses (i.e., specifically VERB-second rather than more generally clitic-second or X-second) |
many Germanic languages (IE), excluding English (ignoring a few marginal traces of V2); Sorbian (Slavonic, IE, influenced by German); Old French and some other early Romance lgs (IE) (???), Rhaeto-Romance (Romance, IE); Breton, Middle Welsh (Celtic, IE); Kashmiri (Dardic, Indic or Iranian, IE) | syntax / word order | V2 |
| 82 | parasitic gaps (rather than an overt resumptive pronouns), licensed in main clauses if and only if a coreferential NP in a topicalized, fronted subordinate clause has been moved ahead of the clause-initial complementizer | Bavarian, West Flemish (Germanic, IE), Polish (Slavonic, IE) (?), Latin (Italic, IE) (?) | syntax / pronominalization, zero | parasitic gap |
| 83 | some noun-phrase internal agreement but no agreement at clause level | (some) Pama-Nyungan (Australian); modern Continental Scandinavian Germanic (IE) | syntax / agreement: controllers, targets, categories, domains, conditions | NP, clause |
| 87 | Suffixaufnahme in more or less prototypical form, i.e., with a noun in an attributive case (genitive and/or other) agreeing in case (and perhaps further inflectional categories) with its head noun | some Australian lgs (indeed about half of them); Awngi (Central Cushitic), Burji, Darasa (Highland East Cushitic) (Cushitic, Afroasiatic); Maasai (and perhaps other Paranilotic lgs, Nilo-Saharan or Afroasiatic); Kikongo group (Bantu, Niger-Congo); many or indeed most modern Indo-Aryan lgs (except all of Magadhan and Singhalese-Maldivian)(IE); Malto (alone in Dravidian); Old Georgian and perhaps further old Kartvelian lgs; Tsezic group (NE Caucasian); Chukchi and perhaps other Chukchi-Kamchatkan lgs; Evenki, Even (Tungus, Altaic); Hurrian and Urartean [i.e., all of the long extinct Hurro-Urartean family, hence an infrequentale?] | syntax / agreement: controllers, targets, categories, domains, conditions | case, genitive, Suffixaufnahme |
| 93 | two object arguments in one construction showing the same syntactic and morphological behaviour as the single object of a primary transitive verb (lgs known as "symmetrical" or "true double accusative") | (not all) Bantu lgs (Niger-Congo); Yagua (isolate, Peru); Martuthunira (Pama-Nyungan, Australian) | syntax / grammatical relations: objects | direct object |
| 95 | passive constructions, with subject demoted, corresponding to active ones containing a reflexive pronoun (or reflexive marker) as a direct or indirect object, with the reflexive thus not controlled by a subject in the passive | German (Germanic, IE), Lithuanian (Balto-Slavic, IE), Latin (Italic, IE); Turkish (Turkic, Altaic) | syntax / grammatical relations: voice | passive, reflexive, control |
| 96 | grammaticalization of these verbs, denoting activities with subjects in an agentive role, as auxiliaries of passives where non-agents are promoted to subject: <table class = 'textTable'> <tr> <td>(i)</td> <td> 'give'</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td>(should actually be more common since 'give' is common as an existential verb and existential verbs are common as passive auxiliaries);</td> </tr> <tr> <td>(ii)</td> <td>'eat'</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td> (but then, the agentive subject of 'eat' is also a receiving one, cf. 'to take in' or 'to stomach').</td> </tr> </table> |
(i) Luxemburgian German (Germanic, IE);<br> (ii) (some) Munda (Austroasiatic); Sinhala, Bengali (?) (Indo-Aryan, IE) | syntax / grammatical relations: voice | grammaticalization, auxiliary |
| 97 | verbs of cognition (especially 'to think, know, remember' – more precisely, non-communicative cognition, as opposed to cognition based on communication, such as 'to understand') polysemous or heterosemous with, and historically deriving from, verbs of hearing rather than of seeing | widespread among Australian lgs [an infrequentale? – No: Kaurna and Arrernte have 'see' > 'know, think']; Hausa (Chadic, Afroasiatic) (?); Ommura ("Papuan") (?); Suya (Ge, Ge-Pano-Carib) (?) | semantics / polysemy | verbs of cognition and perception |
| 111 | infix positioned after the last consonant of the onset of the stem, i.e., after the first consonant if there is only one or after a consonant cluster if there are more |
Tagalog (Philippine Austronesian), Atayal (Formosan Austronesian) | phonology, morphology / types of exponents and their uses | infix |
| 119 | "conjunct vs. disjunct" system of (bound) person marking, with the conjunct form referring to the speaker in statements and the addressee in questions, and the disjunct form referring to everything else (addressee in statements, speaker in questions (where this makes sense), non-SAP in statements and questions) | Awa Pit, Tsafiki (Barbacoan); Newar, Lhasa-Tibetan, Lhomi (Tibeto-Burman) | morphology: inflection / categories and their domains: person, number | personal pronouns, person |
| 120 | interrogative pro verbs | Southern Paiute (Uto-Aztecan); Chukchi (Chukchi-Kamchatkan); Mandarin (Chinese, Sino-Tibetan); Yankunytjatjara (aka Western Desert (PN), Kayardild ((non?) PN), and many other Australian lgs; Hua ("Papuan"); Tagalog (Philippine), colloquial varieties of Malay/Indonesian, Tahitian (Polynesian), probably widespread throughout Austronesian; Kinyarwanda (Bantu, Niger-Congo) | syntax / word classes | verb, interrogative |
| 123 | the verb 'to eat' grammaticalized as middle or auto-benefactive marker ('to do something for oneself, on one's own'), possibly via a meaning 'to enjoy' | Athpare, Bantawa, Belhare, Lahu (Tibeto-Burman); Ho (Munda, Austro-Asiatic) | semantics / polysemy | grammaticalization, benefactive |
| 125 | when tone is privative, low tone as marked (hence phonologically active) relative to (phonologically inactive) high tone, rather than the other way round | a small group of Bantu lgs, including Ruwund, Luba, Tembo, Tonga (?) (Niger-Congo); Engenni (Edo, Kwa, Niger-Congo); Tsuut'ina (aka Sarcee, originally Northern Athabaskan, but long isolated) and (formerly) all Southern (aka Apachean) Athabaskan lgs; Tlingit (Sanya-Henya dialect) (Na-Dene); Dubea, Yabem (Oceanic, Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian) | phonology / tone | high/low, markedness |
| 130 | a basic colour term for undifferentiated YELLOW-GREEN-BLUE, as a "catch-everything-else" category in addition to BLACK, WHITE, and RED |
Arrernte (PN, Australian); Karajá (Macro-Ge); Lele (Chadic, Afroasiatic); Dazaga (Nilo-Saharan) (?); Chico (Maidu, Penutian) (?); Chinese (Sinitic) (?); Japanese (?) | lexicon / basic terms | colour |
| 131 | a phoneme inventory with more vowels than consonants (10 : 8) | Hawaiian, and probably other Polynesian lgs (Austronesian) | phonology / phoneme inventory | vowel, consonant |
| 147 | an imperative of distant future, as opposed to an imperative of near future; formed from near-future imperative verb forms plus the ablative singular of the pronoun *to-, -to:d 'from there, afterwards' illustration: tu epistulam hanc a me accipe atque illi dato: (Plautus, Pseudolus) 'take you this letter from me [now] and give it to him [later]!' |
Old Indian (Sanskrit), Ancient Greek, and Latin (a family possession, i.e., jointly innovated in (a subset of) Indo-European, and lost in other members of the family?) | morphology: inflection / mood, tense | imperative, future |