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I know many highly analytic languages (Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai) are tonal languages. Are there similarly analytic or isolating languages that don't use tone the way those languages do? The closest I can find is Indonesian, but its verbs seem more synthetic than English, at least according to WALS.

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The best example is probably Khmer. The difficulty is finding an isolating language at all, i.e. a language with absolutely no word-formation processes (where everything is syntax). In many linguistic theories, this is a spurious distinction (affixation is always syntactic). Today's no-affixing language was probably yesterday's lightly-affixing language, so in Khmer there are some sets of words of similar form and meaning that look like they have prefixes such as [ɗaəm] 'origin', [pʰɗaəm] 'to originate (trans.)', but these are not productive processes. There are compounds, but compounds are often treated as two words (not affixation) in typological theories that admit of a concept of "isolating". What is clear is that Khmer does not have tone. Another candidate is Kéo, said to be highly isolating, and not reported to have tone.

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    I can confirm (having the grammar to hand) that Kéo is indeed highly isolating, having a single clitic, some reduplication (borrowed from Indonesian/Malay) and some compounding. And no tone.
    – Gaston Ümlaut
    Commented Mar 16, 2022 at 10:39
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Central flores langauges of indonesia It might have been more inflectional but due to the fact the speakers spoke another language and switched to the languages of central flores they dropped any kind of derivational morphology or inflection, due to this i have arrived at this answer being not only completely toneless but also having a uniquelly polysyllabic structure for such a isolating language

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    As noted, Kéo is one of those languages.
    – user6726
    Commented Dec 28, 2023 at 19:04
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Yes, there are. You already mentioned WALS but you aren't aware of how to make use of it to answer the question: On the maps view you can combine the maps of different features. Here's a combined view of 26A "Prefixing vs. Suffixing in Inflectional Morphology" and 13A "Tone". The WALS sample contains 28 languages in the category "No tones / litte affixation":

Atayal
Chamorro
Canela
Drehu
Fijian
Hawaiian
Huastec
Iaai
Iban
Koyra Chiini
Khmer
Kharia
Khasi
Makah
Malagasy
Maori
Maranungku
Rapanui
Sedang
Sanuma
Taba
Tagalog
Tigak
Tetun
Ungarinjin
Wari'
Wolof
Yapese

Of course, this sample needs to be reevaluated, but it is a good starter.

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    Why is Malagasy on the list? On its verbs, Malagasy marks tense with prefixes, mood with shifting the stress and with suffixes. Also, Tagalog has developed verbal morphology. If Malagasy and Tagalog are on the list, why aren't there Malay at least in its Betawi a.k.a. Jakartan Malay variety?
    – Yellow Sky
    Commented Mar 15, 2022 at 11:22
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    @YellowSky: This I mean with of course, this sample needs to be reevaluated. For being not at the list: WALS just has a sample of languages, it does not pool all available language data. And judgements may differ.
    – Sir Cornflakes
    Commented Mar 15, 2022 at 12:08
  • I was surprised to see Makah on the list; it's Wakashan and part of the NW Coast Sprachbund, which means it's polysynthetic. Not isolating at all. No tones, though. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makah_language#Morphology
    – jlawler
    Commented Mar 15, 2022 at 19:42

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