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A Grammar of Yeb

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Yeb language (the 966th one produced by the Language Creator), outlining its sound system, word formation and syntactic structure, with the aim of presenting a coherent account of the language as an integrated whole. Attention has been paid to both regular patterns and minor irregularities, as these together define the internal balance of the language.

The grammar is accompanied by a bilingual dictionary and a collection of illustrative texts, offering material for further study and comparison. The examples have been selected to demonstrate typical constructions and to give a sense of the language in extended use. The description is intended as a reference work for linguists and language enthusiasts alike, and as a foundation for any future research, teaching or creative adaptation of Yeb.

Typological Profile

It has ergative case marking, i.e., the object of a transitive verb is marked the same as the subject of an intransitive one,.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Yeb has 22 consonant phonemes, a size that falls within a broadly average range.

It has a notable dental–alveolar contrast across several manners, a strongly reduced sibilant system, a notably rich liquid inventory, a complete absence of laryngeal consonants and a broad and varied fricative inventory.

The table below presents the full inventory of consonant phonemes in Yeb. The chart lists all places and manners of articulation attested in the language.

labialdentalalveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalvelar
stopp b d t k ɡ
nasalm n ɲ ŋ
trill/tap/flapɾ
fricativef θ s x
approximantw l j
affricatet͡ʃ t͡ɕ

Vowels

Yeb has 5 vowel qualities. This places it within the broadly common range of mid-sized vowel inventories. The vowel chart shows the full set of contrasts employed in the language’s phonology.

It has a full range of vowel qualities even in reduced syllables.

The table below presents the full inventory of vowel phonemes in Yeb. The system comprises the distinct vowel qualities listed in the chart.

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Yeb has neither phonemic stress nor lexical tone. Prosodic prominence and pitch variation are determined by pragmatic and discourse factors rather than by lexical contrasts.

Phonological Processes

Vowel Harmony

Vowel harmony does not exist in this language.

Writing System

Introduction

Yeb is normally written using the Latin alphabet, whose familiarity makes it straightforward for most readers. For clarity and precision, phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) are also provided throughout this grammar.

Orthography

Here are the various components of the orthography:

Simple letters

a /a/b /b/d /d/e /e/
f /f/g /ɡ/i /i/j /j/
k /k/l /l/m /m/n /n/
o /o/p /p/r /ɾ/s /s/
t /t/u /u/w /w/ñ /ɲ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ch /t͡ʃ/kh /x/ng /ŋ/
rr /r/th /θ/ty /t͡ɕ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Yeb does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Yeb has the following genders:

Gender masc – for instance: buk ‘book’, chejuw ‘hunter’, chikob ‘seed’, dagak ‘binoculars’, feboj ‘umbrella’, jathet ‘wild boar’, jokhon ‘neighbour’, khaj ‘friend’, lumath ‘rope’, luw ‘human being’, mañarr ‘flower’, naked ‘mortar’, paspirr ‘lamb’, pesekh ‘mountain’, pithuty ‘lake’, rrakh ‘ear’, rrukop ‘cloud’, seskum ‘grass’, tomich ‘knee’, tyachask ‘worm’.

Gender fem – for instance: baboñ ‘dust’, chiwaty ‘restaurant’, dam ‘fight’, dichel ‘teacher’, dorrow ‘medicine’, fagol ‘stick’, fiw ‘land’, geb ‘name’, khukhus ‘louse’, makit ‘market’, nguthat ‘tail’, nuty ‘heart’, pisk ‘back’, piñep ‘neck’, rub ‘south’, tatan ‘wing’, tethag ‘cheese’, tying ‘wife’, wang ‘people’, wej ‘water’.

The Nominal Phrase

Nominal phrases in Yeb can be exemplified by the following example:

Nik sithirr dodikh nis kusup noner kong nas chos tibirrup tarr.

[nik siθir dodix nis kusup noneɾ koŋ nas t͡ʃos tibirup tar]

ni
the -k
fem siθ
woman -ir
ERG dodix
COMIT ni
the -s
masc kus
knife -up
ABS non
catch -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST na
yon -s
masc t͡ʃos
three tibir
mouse -up
ABS tar
blind

“The woman with the knife caught those three blind mice.”

 (1)

In the following, we shall look at the various components in more details.

There is one type of clitic in the nominal phrase, namely an enclitic (placed finally), expressing possessor. a clitic expressing possessor, comprising bity /bit͡ɕ/ ‘1incl’, kirr /kir/ ‘1excl’, fis /fis/ ‘2’, meng /meŋ/ ‘3.masc’ and ngip /ŋip/ ‘3.fem’.

The morphology of the elements of the nominal phrase, i.e., nouns, adjectives, numerals and pronouns, is described below, as is the way that possession is expressed in Yeb.

The Noun

The noun in Yeb consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -up /-up/ ‘ABS’, -irr /-ir/ ‘ERG’, -en /-en/ ‘DAT’, -ot /-ot/ ‘INS’, -od /-od/ ‘VOC’, -eg /-eɡ/ ‘ALL’, -ek /-ek/ ‘LOC’, -ik /-ik/ ‘ABL’ and -ol /-ol/ ‘PART’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: 11 suffixes, namely -os /-os/ ‘little’, -iw /-iw/ ‘big’, -in /-in/ ‘old’, -ej /-ej/ ‘new’, -ed /-ed/ ‘good’, -ekh /-ex/ ‘bad’, -eg /-eɡ/ ‘have’, -um /-um/ ‘use’, -ag /-aɡ/ ‘see’, -isp /-isp/ ‘make’ and -is /-is/ ‘break’

The Adjective

The adjective in Yeb stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

Numerals

The numeral in Yeb stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

Determiners

In Yeb, the determiner has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -s /-s/ ‘masc’ and -k /-k/ ‘fem’.

Pronouns

The pronoun in Yeb stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

In Yeb, subject pronouns (but not object pronouns ones) are dropped unless they are stressed. Here is an example where neither of the pronouns are stressed:

Buser jas.

[buseɾ jas]

bus
love -eɾ
POS jas
3.fem

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

But here, the word corresponding to he (i.e., the subject) is stressed:

Wed buser jas.

[wed buseɾ jas]

wed
3.masc bus
love -eɾ
POS jas
3.fem

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

Nis Liñalirr ngimirrer nik Ferangup.

[nis liɲalir ŋimireɾ nik feɾaŋup]

ni
the -s
masc liɲal
Linyal -ir
ERG ŋimir
hate -eɾ
POS ni
the -k
fem feɾaŋ
Ferang -up
ABS

“Linyal hates Ferang.”

 (4)

Possession

nik jadiñup meng nis kithup

[nik jadiɲup meŋ nis kiθup]

ni
the -k
fem jadiɲ
apple -up
ABS meŋ
3.masc.POSS ni
the -s
masc kiθ
boy -up
ABS

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
nik jadiñup meng wed

[nik jadiɲup meŋ wed]

ni
the -k
fem jadiɲ
apple -up
ABS meŋ
3.masc.POSS wed
3.masc

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
nik jadiñup kirr

[nik jadiɲup kir]

ni
the -k
fem jadiɲ
apple -up
ABS kir
1excl.POSS

“my apple”

 (7)
Nik khowirr meng nis chejuwup chapaner kong nis mothup meng nis jokhonup fis.

[nik xowir meŋ nis t͡ʃejuwup t͡ʃapaneɾ koŋ nis moθup meŋ nis joxonup fis]

ni
the -k
fem xow
daughter -ir
ERG meŋ
3.masc.POSS ni
the -s
masc t͡ʃejuw
hunter -up
ABS t͡ʃapan
kiss -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST ni
the -s
masc moθ
son -up
ABS meŋ
3.masc.POSS ni
the -s
masc joxon
neighbour -up
ABS fis
2.POSS

“The hunter’s daughter kissed your neighbour’s son.”

 (8)

Derivation

nos paspirrup

[nos paspirup]

no
a -s
masc paspir
lamb -up
ABS

“a lamb”

 (9)
nos paspirrosup

[nos paspirosup]

no
a -s
masc paspir
lamb -os
little -up
ABS

“a little lamb”

 (10)
Teler kong nos paspirrosup.

[teleɾ koŋ nos paspirosup]

tel
have -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST no
a -s
masc paspir
lamb -os
little -up
ABS

“She had a little lamb.”

 (11)

This doesn’t affect all adjectives and verbs. Compare, for instance the previous example with this one, where black and love do not undergo affixation:

Buser kong nos paspirrup ñem.

[buseɾ koŋ nos paspirup ɲem]

bus
love -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST no
a -s
masc paspir
lamb -up
ABS ɲem
black

“She loved a black lamb.”

 (12)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Yeb are enclitics (placed finally), and there are three types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising kong /koŋ/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising ngoñ /ŋoɲ/ ‘imperative’, kikh /kix/ ‘conditional’ and king /kiŋ/ ‘optative’; and finally, third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising tyig /t͡ɕiɡ/ ‘passive’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing negation, comprising -ud /-ud/ ‘NEG’ and -er /-eɾ/ ‘POS’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: five suffixes, namely -ir /-iɾ/ ‘begin’, -ek /-ek/ ‘stop’, -il /-il/ ‘continue’, -arr /-ar/ ‘try’ and -aj /-aj/ ‘start’

Buser ñij.

[buseɾ ɲij]

bus
love -eɾ
POS ɲij
2

“I love you.”

 (13)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

There is one type of clitic in the adpositional phrase, namely an enclitic (placed finally), expressing root.

cham nis dajup

[t͡ʃam nis dajup]

t͡ʃam
in_surface ni
the -s
masc daj
table -up
ABS

“on the table”

 (14)
fij nis migastup

[fij nis miɡastup]

fij
to_inside ni
the -s
masc miɡast
box -up
ABS

“into the box”

 (15)
dodikh ñid

[dodix ɲid]

dodix
COMIT ɲid
1excl

“with me”

 (16)

Syntax

Basic Clause Structure

Constituent Order

Constituent order describes the typical arrangement of the subject (S), verb (V) and object (O) in simple declarative clauses. It is a fundamental parameter in grammatical description and forms one of the clearest ways of characterising the overall structure of a language’s clause system.

Yeb employs Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) as its basic word order. The subject is followed by the verb, with the object occurring in post-verbal position. This ordering is widely attested across the world’s languages.

The following examples illustrate the basic, unmarked, constituent order in Yeb.

Nis wañatyirr kether kong nis chejuwup.

[nis waɲat͡ɕir keθeɾ koŋ nis t͡ʃejuwup]

ni
the -s
masc waɲat͡ɕ
jaguar -ir
ERG keθ
kill -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST ni
the -s
masc t͡ʃejuw
hunter -up
ABS

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (17)
Nis tyafakhirr maser kong nis chiwup ngip nik khowup meng nis chejuwup.

[nis t͡ɕafaxir maseɾ koŋ nis t͡ʃiwup ŋip nik xowup meŋ nis t͡ʃejuwup]

ni
the -s
masc t͡ɕafax
lion -ir
ERG mas
eat -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST ni
the -s
masc t͡ʃiw
dog -up
ABS ŋip
3.fem.POSS ni
the -k
fem xow
daughter -up
ABS meŋ
3.masc.POSS ni
the -s
masc t͡ʃejuw
hunter -up
ABS

“The lion ate the hunter’s daughter’s dog.”

 (18)

The language has a fixed constituent order, and major phrases normally appear in a predictable position in the clause. Movement for discourse reasons is highly restricted: topics and foci are expressed not by rearranging elements, but through dedicated constructions such as clefts, focus clauses or topic–comment frames. Constituents remain continuous, and both the relative order of phrases and the internal structure of each phrase are stable. As a result, significant deviations from the basic word order are ungrammatical, and discourse structure is managed through these specialised constructions rather than through word-order variation.

Noun Phrases

Structure and Order

The internal structure of noun phrases in Yeb reveals typologically significant preferences in the ordering of nominal constituents. This includes the position of adjectives, numerals, and possessors relative to the noun, each of which can offer clues to the overall headedness of the language.

Possessive constructions are head-initial: the possessed noun precedes the possessor. For instance, Yeb expresses “the child’s toy” with the equivalent of “toy child”. This structure is typologically rarer and often co-occurs with verb-initial syntax or with grammatical marking on the noun.

nis bukup meng nis khajup meng nis mothup fis

[nis bukup meŋ nis xajup meŋ nis moθup fis]

ni
the -s
masc buk
book -up
ABS meŋ
3.masc.POSS ni
the -s
masc xaj
friend -up
ABS meŋ
3.masc.POSS ni
the -s
masc moθ
son -up
ABS fis
2.POSS

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (19)

Case Marking

Yeb uses ergative–absolutive case marking. The subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb are treated alike and take the absolutive case, while the subject of a transitive verb is marked with the ergative case. From the point of view of such a system, this is a perfectly natural way to organise the clause: the absolutive marks the participant most directly involved in the event or state, while the ergative marks the additional participant that causes or controls a transitive event.

Nis tyinup becher.

[nis t͡ɕinup bet͡ʃeɾ]

ni
the -s
masc t͡ɕin
cat -up
ABS bet͡ʃ
sleep -eɾ
POS

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (20)
Nis tyinup mesker.

[nis t͡ɕinup meskeɾ]

ni
the -s
masc t͡ɕin
cat -up
ABS mesk
run -eɾ
POS

“The cat is running.”

 (21)
Nis tyinirr pakhukher nis tibirrup.

[nis t͡ɕinir paxuxeɾ nis tibirup]

ni
the -s
masc t͡ɕin
cat -ir
ERG paxux
chase -eɾ
POS ni
the -s
masc tibir
mouse -up
ABS

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (22)
Nis tyinirr noner kong nis tibirrup.

[nis t͡ɕinir noneɾ koŋ nis tibirup]

ni
the -s
masc t͡ɕin
cat -ir
ERG non
catch -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST ni
the -s
masc tibir
mouse -up
ABS

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (23)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Nis chejuwirr kether kong nis wañatyup khan nik gaspanup khan nis tyafakhup.

[nis t͡ʃejuwir keθeɾ koŋ nis waɲat͡ɕup xan nik ɡaspanup xan nis t͡ɕafaxup]

ni
the -s
masc t͡ʃejuw
hunter -ir
ERG keθ
kill -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST ni
the -s
masc waɲat͡ɕ
jaguar -up
ABS xan
and ni
the -k
fem ɡaspan
tiger -up
ABS xan
and ni
the -s
masc t͡ɕafax
lion -up
ABS

“The hunter killed the jaguars, the tigers and the lions.”

 (24)

Modifiers and Determiners

The ordering of demonstratives, articles (if present), and other modifiers in Yeb provides further insight into the structure of the noun phrase. These elements frequently exhibit fixed positions and may reveal whether the language favours head-initial or head-final patterns.

Complex Sentences

Relative Clauses

Yeb forms relative clauses by placing them before the noun they modify. The modifier takes the form of a finite clause that precedes the head noun without any relative pronoun. The clause shows ordinary clausal structure, with the role of the head noun recoverable from the syntactic position inside the clause.

To illustrate how relative clauses work, let us begin with a simple sentence:

Khokirer kong nis tyinup.

[xokiɾeɾ koŋ nis t͡ɕinup]

xokiɾ
pat -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST ni
the -s
masc t͡ɕin
cat -up
ABS

“I patted the cat.”

 (25)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Khokirer kong noner kong nis tibirrup wathakh nis tyinup.

[xokiɾeɾ koŋ noneɾ koŋ nis tibirup waθax nis t͡ɕinup]

xokiɾ
pat -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST non
catch -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST ni
the -s
masc tibir
mouse -up
ABS waθax
COMP ni
the -s
masc t͡ɕin
cat -up
ABS

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (26)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Khokirer kong noner kong maser kong nik tethagup wathakh nis tibirrup wathakh nis tyinup.

[xokiɾeɾ koŋ noneɾ koŋ maseɾ koŋ nik teθaɡup waθax nis tibirup waθax nis t͡ɕinup]

xokiɾ
pat -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST non
catch -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST mas
eat -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST ni
the -k
fem teθaɡ
cheese -up
ABS waθax
COMP ni
the -s
masc tibir
mouse -up
ABS waθax
COMP ni
the -s
masc t͡ɕin
cat -up
ABS

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse that ate the cheese.”

 (27)

Finally, here is an example containing several layers of embedding:

Khokirer kong noner kong maser kong ñid teper kong wathakh nik tethagup wathakh nis tibirrup wathakh nis tyinup.

[xokiɾeɾ koŋ noneɾ koŋ maseɾ koŋ ɲid tepeɾ koŋ waθax nik teθaɡup waθax nis tibirup waθax nis t͡ɕinup]

xokiɾ
pat -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST non
catch -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST mas
eat -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST ɲid
1excl tep
buy -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST waθax
COMP ni
the -k
fem teθaɡ
cheese -up
ABS waθax
COMP ni
the -s
masc tibir
mouse -up
ABS waθax
COMP ni
the -s
masc t͡ɕin
cat -up
ABS

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse that ate the cheese that I bought.”

 (28)

Complementation Strategies

Yeb introduces complement clauses with a dedicated complementiser, similar to English that. The complementiser appears at the beginning of the embedded clause and signals that the clause functions as a syntactic argument. The embedded clause is fully finite and displays the same tense, aspect and agreement patterns as independent clauses.

The following example illustrate how complement clauses function:

Nis kithirr loler kong nik wakhen nok jadiñup wathakh khongaler kong nik dichelen.

[nis kiθir loleɾ koŋ nik waxen nok jadiɲup waθax xoŋaleɾ koŋ nik dit͡ʃelen]

ni
the -s
masc kiθ
boy -ir
ERG lol
give -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST ni
the -k
fem wax
girl -en
DAT no
a -k
fem jadiɲ
apple -up
ABS waθax
COMP xoŋal
surprise -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST ni
the -k
fem dit͡ʃel
teacher -en
DAT

“It surprised the teacher that the boy had given the girl an apple.”

 (29)

Quotes

Yeb expresses quoted or reported speech without a dedicated quotative particle. Quotations appear as ordinary clauses, distinguished only by the surrounding syntactic context or by the use of verbs of speaking.

Here is an example of how quotations are expressed:

Nis kithirr ñiber kong nik wakhen ñid buser ñij wathakh.

[nis kiθir ɲibeɾ koŋ nik waxen ɲid buseɾ ɲij waθax]

ni
the -s
masc kiθ
boy -ir
ERG ɲib
tell -eɾ
POS koŋ
PAST ni
the -k
fem wax
girl -en
DAT ɲid
1excl bus
love -eɾ
POS ɲij
2 waθax
COMP

“The boy told the girl that he loved her.”

 (30)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Yeb. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 18 July 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/0Q8UA

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-0Q8UA,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Yeb}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/0Q8UA}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 18 July 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Yeb / Yeb–English) accompany this grammar. The complete work – comprising the grammar, dictionary and texts – may also be downloaded in ODT or DOCX format.

Readers are encouraged to share observations or corrections via the feedback form. The present page may be accessed directly at:

https://languagecreator.org/grammar/0Q8UA

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