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229 LANGUAGE FILE
Language name Ainu �ainu�
Language name Afrikaans �fri�kɑ�ns
Autonym (if known and different) (the name derives from the word [�ajnu] meaning ‘person’)
Autonym (if known and different)
Language family Isolate
Language family Indo-European Germanic
Spoken in Hokkaido Island (Japan)
Spoken in South Africa
Approximate number of speakers 10
Approximate number of speakers 6m
Writing system Roman, Japanese kana
Writing system Roman
Phonetics/phonology
Phonetics/phonology
Stress
Stress root-initial
Contains following rare
consonant (types)
Said to have how many vowels? 5
Contains following rare
consonant (types)
Said to have how many vowels? 8�length; 6 diphthongs
Marked vowel types
Marked vowel types front rounded
Tone tonal accent
Tone none
Rhythm no information
Rhythm no information
Vowel harmony traces of front–back harmony
Vowel harmony none
Morphology polysynthetic
in process of
moving to
isolating
Morphology agglutinative word-based
Particular formation types prefix; suffix; apophony
Particular formation types prefix; full reduplication; suffix
Syntax
Word order SVO, SOV in AN prepositions
subordinate PossN
clauses
Syntax
Word order SOV AN postpositions
PossN
Particular syntactic phenomena inclusive/exclusive 1st plural; morphological aspect;
evidentials
Particular syntactic phenomena
Points of interest
Sources Campbell (1991), Donaldson (1993), Gordon (2002),
Lyovin (1997), Ruhlen (1976)
Points of interest
Sources Campbell (1991), Haspelmath et al. (2005), Katzner (1977),
Maddieson (1984), Ruhlen (1976), Shibatani (1990)