A Grammar of Nagin

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Nagin language (the 984th 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 Nagin.

Typological Profile

It has four genders.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Nagin has a moderately large consonant inventory, with 30 phonemes.

It has a notable dental–alveolar contrast across several manners, a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts and a broad and varied fricative inventory.

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

labialdentalalveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalretroflexvelarglottal
stopp b d t ɖ ʈ k ɡ ʔ
ejective stop
nasalm n ɲ ɳ ŋ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef θ s ʃ ʂ x h
approximantʋ ɾ j
affricatet͡s t͡ʃ t͡ɕ

Vowels

Nagin has 9 vowel qualities, forming a relatively large inventory. The system distinguishes several vowel categories, as indicated in the chart, offering a wide range of vocalic contrasts.

It has occasional ghost vowels that surface only weakly and front rounded vowels (these are cross-linguistically relatively uncommon, but occur in a number of well-known languages, including French, German, Turkish and Mandarin).

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

front unroundedfront roundedcentralback
closei y u
mide ø o
opena

Stress and Tones

Nagin 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

The language employs vowel harmony. To be specific, the following vowels change to match the first vowel of the root: /u/ becomes /y/, /o/ becomes /ø/.

Writing System

Introduction

Nagin is normally written using the Devanagari abugida, the script employed for Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi and several other Indo-Aryan languages. This grammar also makes systematic use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to present an exact account of pronunciation.

Devanagari’s syllabic structure differs markedly from the IPA’s segmental approach, so the two notations complement one another: the script shows the organisation of syllables, while the IPA supplies detail on individual sounds.

Orthography

Here are the various components of the orthography:

Simple letters

अ /a/आ /aː/इ /i/ई /iː/
उ /u/ऊ /uː/ए /e/ऐ /ai, eː/
ओ /o/औ /au, oː/क् /k/ग् /ɡ/
ङ् /ŋ/च् /t͡ɕ/ञ् /ɲ/ट् /ʈ/
ड् /ɖ/ण् /ɳ/त् /t/थ् /θ/
द् /d/न् /n/प् /p/ब् /b/
म् /m/य् /j/र् /ɾ/ऱ् /ɽ/
व् /ʋ/श् /ʃ/ष् /ʂ/स् /s/
ह् /h/ऽ /ʔ/क़ /kʼ/फ़् /f/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

च्ष् /t͡ʃ/त्स् /t͡s/य्उ /y/
य्ऊ /yː/य्ओ /ø/य्औ /øː/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Nagin does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Nagin has the following genders:

Gender cl.1 – for instance: अपिण् ‘urine’, ञोङ् ‘knife’, डोर्युव् ‘snake’, णङिक् ‘dust’, त्सिऽऐन् ‘money’, थिप्युर् ‘salt’, थैब् ‘rain’, थोत्सोन् ‘jaguar’, दिऽयुन् ‘box’, नस् ‘hair’, पिचुच् ‘smoke’, पोच् ‘child’, बङ् ‘north’, युञ्योफ़् ‘fog’, य्यौण् ‘wife’, रुमङ् ‘ash’, वर् ‘girl’, वेङ् ‘woman’, षैफ़् ‘daughter’, क़एङैट् ‘slime’.

Gender cl.2 – for instance: अअश् ‘medicine’, उऊद् ‘school’, डफ़् ‘east’, णेपच्ष् ‘God’, तुतौञ् ‘flower’, दश् ‘man’, दैर् ‘city’, नोर्यूफ़् ‘root’, प्युफ़् ‘inside’, बिञ् ‘father’, बून् ‘sky’, माक़ ‘star’, मफ़् ‘moon’, योष् ‘fruit’, रैप् ‘tree’, वुस्युप् ‘grass’, षिडाङ् ‘market’, हैम् ‘son’, क़एप् ‘surface’, फ़ुप् ‘sun’.

Gender cl.3 – for instance: टषुस् ‘neighbour’, डिडेच् ‘mammal’, तव् ‘tongue’, तिण्युत् ‘mouse’, तोपच् ‘louse’, त्साष् ‘hand’, त्स्योक् ‘nose’, दुशिऽ ‘cheese’, पौड् ‘bone’, मनु ‘penis’, वु ‘blood’, वैक़ ‘top’, षक् ‘chair’, षिऽऔऽ ‘book’, हुफ़् ‘leg’, ह्युग् ‘friend’, ऽअवाण् ‘fingernail’, क़इबोच्ष् ‘neck’, क़ईफ़् ‘skin’, फ़ोङन् ‘bosom’.

Gender cl.4 – for instance: कर् ‘year’, कुथीऱ् ‘horn’, गिऱ्युङ् ‘library’, ङस् ‘sea’, चौथ् ‘people’, ञड् ‘speech’, ञेत्योस् ‘plain’, डौस् ‘road’, तुत् ‘sound’, दिरोर् ‘dialect’, पराऱ् ‘lake’, पिफ़्योफ़् ‘tower’, बौङ् ‘colour’, मड् ‘name’, माह् ‘animal’, षएन् ‘breath’, षोषौप् ‘lamb’, ऽअञाट् ‘ice’, ऽउप् ‘human being’, ऽएत्सिफ़् ‘wild boar’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

डौफ़् वेङ् शेत्युङ् डौफ़् ञोङ् हौन् फ़ुशष् तिण्युत् चेर् ऱ्यूद् डत्।

[ɖoːf ʋeŋ ʃetyŋ ɖoːf ɲoŋ hoːn fuʃaʂ tiɳyt t͡ɕeɾ ɽyːd ɖat]

ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
ʋeŋ
woman
ʃetyŋ
COMIT
ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
ɲoŋ
knife
hoː
yon
-n
cl.3
f-
NOM
uʃaʂ
blind
tiɳyt
mouse
t͡ɕeɾ
three
ɽyːd
catch
ɖat
PAST

“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 णेन् /ɳen/ ‘1incl’, शिर् /ʃiɾ/ ‘1excl’, पिच्ष् /pit͡ʃ/ ‘2’, ञर् /ɲaɾ/ ‘3.cl.1’, क़ओक् /kʼok/ ‘3.cl.2’, गब् /ɡab/ ‘3.cl.3’ and तुफ़् /tuf/ ‘3.cl.4’.

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 Nagin.

The Noun

The noun in Nagin stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -स /-sa/ ‘little’ and -क़ए /-kʼe/ ‘big’

The Adjective

In Nagin, the adjective has the following structure: an obligatory prefix expressing case, comprising फ़्- /f-/ ‘NOM’, च्ष्- /t͡ʃ-/ ‘DAT’, स्- /s-/ ‘INS’, ब्- /b-/ ‘VOC’, प्- /p-/ ‘ALL’, ड्- /ɖ-/ ‘LOC’, क्- /k-/ ‘ABL’ and द्- /d-/ ‘PART’ followed by the root.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Nagin, the determiner has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -फ़् /-f/ ‘cl.1’, -ष् /-ʂ/ ‘cl.2’, -न् /-n/ ‘cl.3’ and -र् /-ɾ/ ‘cl.4’.

Pronouns

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

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

विग् मोऽ ऽओत्स्।

[ʋiɡ moʔ ʔot͡s]

ʋiɡ
3.cl.1
moʔ
love
ʔot͡s
3.cl.2.SUBJ

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(2)

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

वूष् विग् मोऽ ऽओत्स्।

[ʋuːʂ ʋiɡ moʔ ʔot͡s]

ʋuːʂ
3.cl.2
ʋiɡ
3.cl.1
moʔ
love
ʔot͡s
3.cl.2.SUBJ

He loves her.”

(3)

Proper Nouns

डौष् त्योक़यूर् डौफ़् ग्युक्युञ् मफ़िथ् ऽओत्स्।

[ɖoːʂ tøkʼyːɾ ɖoːf ɡykyɲ mafiθ ʔot͡s]

ɖoː
the

cl.2
tokʼyːɾ
Tokoor
ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
ɡukyɲ
Gukoony
mafiθ
hate
ʔot͡s
3.cl.2.SUBJ

“Tokoor hates Gukoony.”

(4)

Possession

डौन् ऱिशी क़ओक् डौष् क़योव्

[ɖoːn ɽiʃiːx kʼok ɖoːʂ kʼøʋ]

ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
ɽiʃiːx
apple
kʼok
3.cl.2.POSS
ɖoː
the

cl.2
kʼøʋ
boy

“the boy’s apple”

(5)
डौन् ऱिशी क़ओक् वूष्

[ɖoːn ɽiʃiːx kʼok ʋuːʂ]

ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
ɽiʃiːx
apple
kʼok
3.cl.2.POSS
ʋuːʂ
3.cl.2

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(6)
डौन् ऱिशी शिर्

[ɖoːn ɽiʃiːx ʃiɾ]

ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
ɽiʃiːx
apple
ʃiɾ
1excl.POSS

“my apple”

(7)
डौफ़् षैफ़् क़ओक् डौष् ऱिसेङ् डौष् हैम् गब् डौन् टषुस् पिच्ष् तोऱै डत्।

[ɖoːf ʂaif kʼok ɖoːʂ ɽiseŋ ɖoːʂ heːm ɡab ɖoːn ʈaʂus pit͡ʃ toɽeː ɖat]

ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
ʂaif
daughter
kʼok
3.cl.2.POSS
ɖoː
the

cl.2
ɽiseŋ
hunter
ɖoː
the

cl.2
heːm
son
ɡab
3.cl.3.POSS
ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
ʈaʂus
neighbour
pit͡ʃ
2.POSS
toɽeː
kiss
ɖat
PAST

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

(8)

Derivation

Nagin has a few derivational processes. To illustrate this, let us start with a simple noun phrase:

क़और् षोषौप्

[kʼauɾ ʂoʂaup]

kʼau
a

cl.4
ʂoʂaup
lamb

“a lamb”

(9)

In the following, the word for little becomes an affix attached to lamb:

क़और् षोषौप्स

[kʼauɾ ʂoʂaupsa]

kʼau
a

cl.4
ʂoʂaup
lamb
-sa
little

“a little lamb”

(10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Nagin fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing negation, comprising हय् /haj/ ‘NEG’; second, a clitic expressing ta, comprising डत् /ɖat/ ‘PAST’; third, a clitic expressing mode, comprising टुत् /ʈut/ ‘imperative’, गक् /ɡak/ ‘conditional’ and मोक़ /mokʼ/ ‘optative’; fourth, a clitic expressing voice, comprising त्सिन् /t͡sin/ ‘passive’; fifth, a clitic expressing subj, comprising ऱण् /ɽaɳ/ ‘1incl’, ऱेब् /ɽeb/ ‘1excl’, त्सिष् /t͡siʂ/ ‘2’, ऽओत्स् /ʔot͡s/ ‘3.cl.2’, टिद् /ʈid/ ‘3.cl.3’ and गिष् /ɡiʂ/ ‘3.cl.4’; sixth, a clitic expressing question, comprising डेऱ् /ɖeɽ/ ‘Q’; and finally, seventh, a clitic expressing comp, comprising वोर् /ʋoɾ/ ‘COMP’.

The verb itself does not have any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -शे /-ʃe/ ‘begin’ and -मे /-me/ ‘stop’

मिक़ मोऽ ऱेब्।

[mikʼ moʔ ɽeb]

mikʼ
2
moʔ
love
ɽeb
1excl.SUBJ

“I love you.”

(11)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

बिह् क़एप् डौन् बित्स्

[bih kʼep ɖoːn bit͡s]

bih
in
kʼep
surface
ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
bit͡s
table

“on the table”

(12)
ग्यूऱ् प्युफ़् डौफ़् दिऽयुन्

[ɡyːɽ pyf ɖoːf diʔyn]

ɡyːɽ
to
pyf
inside
ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
diʔyn
box

“into the box”

(13)
शेत्युङ् गौम्

[ʃetyŋ ɡoːm]

ʃetyŋ
COMIT
ɡoːm
1excl

“with me”

(14)

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.

Nagin has basic Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) word order. The subject precedes the object, and the verb appears at the end of the clause. This is one of the most frequent patterns cross-linguistically.

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

डौफ़् थोत्सोन् डौष् ऱिसेङ् पिश् डत्।

[ɖoːf θot͡son ɖoːʂ ɽiseŋ piʃ ɖat]

ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
θot͡son
jaguar
ɖoː
the

cl.2
ɽiseŋ
hunter
piʃ
kill
ɖat
PAST

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(15)
डौन् त्सिऱ्योत् डौष् फ़्युफ़् ञर् डौफ़् षैफ़् क़ओक् डौष् ऱिसेङ् गाङ् डत् टिद्।

[ɖoːn t͡siɽøt ɖoːʂ fyf ɲaɾ ɖoːf ʂaif kʼok ɖoːʂ ɽiseŋ ɡaːŋ ɖat ʈid]

ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
t͡siɽøt
lion
ɖoː
the

cl.2
fyf
dog
ɲaɾ
3.cl.1.POSS
ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
ʂaif
daughter
kʼok
3.cl.2.POSS
ɖoː
the

cl.2
ɽiseŋ
hunter
ɡaːŋ
eat
ɖat
PAST
ʈid
3.cl.3.SUBJ

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

(16)

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 Nagin 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, Nagin 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.

डौन् षिऽऔऽ गब् डौन् ह्युग् क़ओक् डौष् हैम् पिच्ष्

[ɖoːn ʂiʔoːʔ ɡab ɖoːn hyɡ kʼok ɖoːʂ heːm pit͡ʃ]

ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
ʂiʔoːʔ
book
ɡab
3.cl.3.POSS
ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
hyɡ
friend
kʼok
3.cl.2.POSS
ɖoː
the

cl.2
heːm
son
pit͡ʃ
2.POSS

“your son’s friend’s book”

(17)

Case Marking

Nagin does not use case marking to distinguish the core participants of the clause. There is therefore no regular nominative, accusative, ergative, active or stative marking on subjects and objects. Instead, the roles of the participants are identified by other means, cf. the examples below.

डौफ़् गन् दैष्।

[ɖoːf ɡan deːʂ]

ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
ɡan
cat
deːʂ
sleep

“The cat is sleeping.”

(18)
डौफ़् गन् फ़्यु।

[ɖoːf ɡan fy]

ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
ɡan
cat
fy
run

“The cat is running.”

(19)
डौफ़् गन् डौन् तिण्युत् ङर्योऽ।

[ɖoːf ɡan ɖoːn tiɳyt ŋaɾøʔ]

ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
ɡan
cat
ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
tiɳyt
mouse
ŋaɾøʔ
chase

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

(20)
डौफ़् गन् डौन् तिण्युत् ऱ्यूद् डत्।

[ɖoːf ɡan ɖoːn tiɳyt ɽyːd ɖat]

ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
ɡan
cat
ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
tiɳyt
mouse
ɽyːd
catch
ɖat
PAST

“The cat caught the mouse.”

(21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

डौष् ऱिसेङ् डौफ़् थोत्सोन् फ़िद् डौन् च्षोऱिप् फ़िद् डौन् त्सिऱ्योत् पिश् डत् ऽओत्स्।

[ɖoːʂ ɽiseŋ ɖoːf θot͡son fid ɖoːn t͡ʃoɽip fid ɖoːn t͡siɽøt piʃ ɖat ʔot͡s]

ɖoː
the

cl.2
ɽiseŋ
hunter
ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
θot͡son
jaguar
fid
and
ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
t͡ʃoɽip
tiger
fid
and
ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
t͡siɽøt
lion
piʃ
kill
ɖat
PAST
ʔot͡s
3.cl.2.SUBJ

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

(22)

Modifiers and Determiners

The ordering of demonstratives, articles (if present), and other modifiers in Nagin 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

Nagin uses the correlative strategy to form relative clauses. The relative clause is introduced by a dedicated relativiser and appears as an independent clause. The main clause contains a demonstrative that corresponds to the relativiser and identifies the element being modified. The relative clause precedes the main clause when used on its own, and follows the head noun when it functions as a modifier. The internal structure of both clauses is fully finite.

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

डौफ़् गन् टचौष् डत् ऱेब्।

[ɖoːf ɡan ʈat͡ɕoːʂ ɖat ɽeb]

ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
ɡan
cat
ʈat͡ɕoːʂ
pat
ɖat
PAST
ɽeb
1excl.SUBJ

“I patted the cat.”

(23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

डौन् तिण्युत् ऱ्यूद् डत् विग् टचौष् डत् ऱेब् निच्।

[ɖoːn tiɳyt ɽyːd ɖat ʋiɡ ʈat͡ɕoːʂ ɖat ɽeb nit͡ɕ]

ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
tiɳyt
mouse
ɽyːd
catch
ɖat
PAST
ʋiɡ
3.cl.1
ʈat͡ɕoːʂ
pat
ɖat
PAST
ɽeb
1excl.SUBJ
nit͡ɕ
then

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

डौन् दुशिऽ गाङ् डत् टिद् औऽ ऱ्यूद् डत् निच् विग् टचौष् डत् ऱेब् निच्।

[ɖoːn duʃiʔ ɡaːŋ ɖat ʈid xoːʔ ɽyːd ɖat nit͡ɕ ʋiɡ ʈat͡ɕoːʂ ɖat ɽeb nit͡ɕ]

ɖoː
the
-n
cl.3
duʃiʔ
cheese
ɡaːŋ
eat
ɖat
PAST
ʈid
3.cl.3.SUBJ
xoːʔ
3.cl.3
ɽyːd
catch
ɖat
PAST
nit͡ɕ
then
ʋiɡ
3.cl.1
ʈat͡ɕoːʂ
pat
ɖat
PAST
ɽeb
1excl.SUBJ
nit͡ɕ
then

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

(25)

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

औऽ ड्यौम् डत् ऱेब् औऽ गाङ् डत् टिद् निच् औऽ ऱ्यूद् डत् निच् विग् टचौष् डत् ऱेब् निच्।

[xoːʔ ɖøːm ɖat ɽeb xoːʔ ɡaːŋ ɖat ʈid nit͡ɕ xoːʔ ɽyːd ɖat nit͡ɕ ʋiɡ ʈat͡ɕoːʂ ɖat ɽeb nit͡ɕ]

xoːʔ
3.cl.3
ɖøːm
buy
ɖat
PAST
ɽeb
1excl.SUBJ
xoːʔ
3.cl.3
ɡaːŋ
eat
ɖat
PAST
ʈid
3.cl.3.SUBJ
nit͡ɕ
then
xoːʔ
3.cl.3
ɽyːd
catch
ɖat
PAST
nit͡ɕ
then
ʋiɡ
3.cl.1
ʈat͡ɕoːʂ
pat
ɖat
PAST
ɽeb
1excl.SUBJ
nit͡ɕ
then

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

(26)

Complementation Strategies

Nagin marks complement clauses with subordinating verbal morphology. The embedded verb is fully finite and carries a subordinating suffix that identifies the clause as a complement. No structural changes occur within the clause apart from this verbal marking.

The following example illustrate how complement clauses function:

डौष् क़योव् डौफ़् वर् क़औन् ऱिशी ङेम् डत् ऽओत्स् वोर् डौर् सेषाङ् वोथिष् डत् गिष्।

[ɖoːʂ kʼøʋ ɖoːf ʋaɾ kʼaun ɽiʃiːx ŋem ɖat ʔot͡s ʋoɾ ɖoːɾ seʂaːŋ ʋoθiʂ ɖat ɡiʂ]

ɖoː
the

cl.2
kʼøʋ
boy
ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
ʋaɾ
girl
kʼau
a
-n
cl.3
ɽiʃiːx
apple
ŋem
give
ɖat
PAST
ʔot͡s
3.cl.2.SUBJ
ʋoɾ
COMP
ɖoː
the

cl.4
seʂaːŋ
teacher
ʋoθiʂ
surprise
ɖat
PAST
ɡiʂ
3.cl.4.SUBJ

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

(27)

Quotes

Nagin 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:

डौष् क़योव् डौफ़् वर् गौम् मिक़ मोऽ ऱेब् वोर् गुऱ् डत् ऽओत्स्।

[ɖoːʂ kʼøʋ ɖoːf ʋaɾ ɡoːm mikʼ moʔ ɽeb ʋoɾ ɡuɽ ɖat ʔot͡s]

ɖoː
the

cl.2
kʼøʋ
boy
ɖoː
the
-f
cl.1
ʋaɾ
girl
ɡoːm
1excl
mikʼ
2
moʔ
love
ɽeb
1excl.SUBJ
ʋoɾ
COMP
ɡuɽ
tell
ɖat
PAST
ʔot͡s
3.cl.2.SUBJ

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

(28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Nagin. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 20 July 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/0TW4Q

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-0TW4Q,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Nagin}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/0TW4Q}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 20 July 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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