The Language Creator
– from linguistic questionnaire to grammar, lexicon and texts.

A Grammar of Aya

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Aya language (the 1000th 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 Aya.

Typological Profile

It has a small but genuine set of click consonants.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Aya has a large consonant inventory, comprising 38 phonemes.

It has a modest (but clearly contrastive) set of labialised consonants, a noticeable presence of pharyngealised phonemes, a small but genuine set of click consonants, a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts and an unusually restricted set of labial consonants.

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

labialdentalphar. dentalalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velarglottal
stopb d t dˤ tˤ ɖ ʈ k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ
ejective stopkʼ kʷʼ
nasalm n nˤ ɲ ɳ ŋ ŋʷ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef s sˤ ʃ ʂ h
approximantw l j
affricatet͡ʃ t͡ɕ
implosiveɓ
clickᵏǀ ᵏǀˤ
click, nasalᵑǀ ᵑǀˤ

Vowels

Aya 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 a full range of vowel qualities even in reduced syllables, 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 Aya. The system comprises the distinct vowel qualities listed in the chart.

front unroundedfront roundedcentralback
closei y u
mide ø o
opena

Stress and Tones

Aya 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

Aya 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/c /ᵏǀ/c̣ /ᵏǀˤ/
d /d/ḍ /dˤ/e /e/f /f/
g /ɡ/h /h/i /i/j /j/
k /k/l /l/m /m/n /n/
ṇ /nˤ/o /o/s /s/ṣ /sˤ/
t /t/ṭ /tˤ/u /u/w /w/
y /y/ñ /ɲ/ö /ø/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ai /ai/au /au/bb /ɓ/
ch /t͡ʃ/gk /kʼ/gqu /kʼʷ/
gw /ɡʷ/nc /ᵑǀ/nc̣ /ᵑǀˤ/
ng /ŋ/ngw /ŋʷ/qu /kʷ/
rd /ɖ/rn /ɳ/rr /ɽ/
rs /ʂ/rt /ʈ/sh /ʃ/
ty /t͡ɕ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Aya does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Aya does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Miḍoḍ hyrders meñoḍuj rdibb neḍ shew rsörd jylöhiḍ ho.

[midˤodˤ hyɖeʂ meɲodˤuj ɖiɓ nedˤ ʃew ʂøɖ jyløhidˤ ho]

m-
sing idˤo
woman -dˤ
def hyɖeʂ
COMIT m-
sing eɲo
knife -dˤ
def -uj
LOC ɖiɓ
catch nedˤ
PAST ʃew
yon ʂøɖ
blind j-
plur yløhi
mouse -dˤ
def ho
three

“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 are no clitics in the nominal phrase.

The Noun

The noun in Aya consists of first, an obligatory prefix expressing number, comprising m- /m-/ ‘sing’ and j- /j-/ ‘plur’; second, the root; third, an obligatory suffix expressing def, comprising -l /-l/ ‘not.def’ and -ḍ /-dˤ/ ‘def’; and finally, fourth, an optional suffix expressing case, comprising -oqu /-okʷ/ ‘DAT’, -yk /-yk/ ‘INS’, -ogqu /-okʼʷ/ ‘VOC’, -obb /-oɓ/ ‘ALL’, -uj /-uj/ ‘LOC’, -eg /-eɡ/ ‘ABL’ and -öd /-ød/ ‘PART’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -rny /-ɳy/ ‘little’ and -qua /-kʷa/ ‘big’

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

The determiner in Aya stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

Pronouns

The pronoun in Aya has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -m /-m/ ‘sing’ and -ngw /-ŋʷ/ ‘plur’.

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

Ḍorn num.

[dˤoɳ num]

dˤoɳ
love nu
3.sing -m
sing

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

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

Num ḍorn num.

[num dˤoɳ num]

nu
3.sing -m
sing dˤoɳ
love nu
3.sing -m
sing

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

MAuḍyniḍ nguwiṇ mÖrdygyḍ.

[maudˤynidˤ ŋuwinˤ møɖyɡydˤ]

m-
sing audˤyni
Audooni -dˤ
def ŋuwinˤ
hate m-
sing øɖyɡy
Oedoogoo -dˤ
def

“Audooni hates Oedoogoo.”

 (4)

Possession

mögkeḍ mequychyḍ

[møkʼedˤ mekʷyt͡ʃydˤ]

m-
sing økʼe
boy -dˤ
def m-
sing ekʷyt͡ʃy
apple -dˤ
def

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
num mequychyḍ

[num mekʷyt͡ʃydˤ]

nu
3.sing -m
sing m-
sing ekʷyt͡ʃy
apple -dˤ
def

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
chem mequychyḍ

[t͡ʃem mekʷyt͡ʃydˤ]

t͡ʃe
1excl.sing -m
sing m-
sing ekʷyt͡ʃy
apple -dˤ
def

“my apple”

 (7)
Maikeshöḍ mogqueḍ laḍigw neḍ taim mirdagiḍ mugquyḍ.

[maikeʃødˤ mokʼʷedˤ ladˤiɡʷ nedˤ taim miɖaɡidˤ mukʼʷydˤ]

m-
sing aikeʃø
hunter -dˤ
def m-
sing okʼʷe
daughter -dˤ
def ladˤiɡʷ
kiss nedˤ
PAST tai
2.sing -m
sing m-
sing iɖaɡi
neighbour -dˤ
def m-
sing ukʼʷy
son -dˤ
def

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

 (8)

Derivation

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

ṇard mybiṭol

[nˤaɖ mybitˤol]

nˤaɖ
a m-
sing ybitˤo
lamb -l
not.def

“a lamb”

 (9)

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

ṇard mybiṭornyl

[nˤaɖ mybitˤoɳyl]

nˤaɖ
a m-
sing ybitˤo
lamb -ɳy
little -l
not.def

“a little lamb”

 (10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Aya are enclitics (placed finally), and there are five types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising neḍ /nedˤ/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising jaj /jaj/ ‘imperative’, rdert /ɖeʈ/ ‘conditional’ and nc̣ysh /ᵑǀˤyʃ/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising ṣym /sˤym/ ‘passive’; fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising chil /t͡ʃil/ ‘NEG’; and finally, fifth, a clitic expressing comp, comprising ḍyrr /dˤyɽ/ ‘COMP’.

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

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -rna /-ɳa/ ‘begin’ and -ṭy /-tˤy/ ‘stop’

Ḍorn taim.

[dˤoɳ taim]

dˤoɳ
love tai
2.sing -m
sing

“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.

ngwaurt mailöḍuj

[ŋʷauʈ mailødˤuj]

ŋʷauʈ
in_surface m-
sing ailø
table -dˤ
def -uj
LOC

“on the table”

 (12)
giqu mynirtöḍuj

[ɡikʷ myniʈødˤuj]

ɡikʷ
to_inside m-
sing yniʈø
box -dˤ
def -uj
LOC

“into the box”

 (13)
hyrders chem

[hyɖeʂ t͡ʃem]

hyɖeʂ
COMIT t͡ʃe
1excl.sing -m
sing

“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.

Aya 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 Aya.

Mölötyyḍ rnöṭ neḍ maikeshöḍ.

[møløt͡ɕydˤ ɳøtˤ nedˤ maikeʃødˤ]

m-
sing øløt͡ɕy
jaguar -dˤ
def ɳøtˤ
kill nedˤ
PAST m-
sing aikeʃø
hunter -dˤ
def

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (15)
Mabbirnaḍ rtoḍ neḍ maikeshöḍ mogqueḍ miḍ.

[maɓiɳadˤ ʈodˤ nedˤ maikeʃødˤ mokʼʷedˤ midˤ]

m-
sing aɓiɳa
lion -dˤ
def ʈodˤ
eat nedˤ
PAST m-
sing aikeʃø
hunter -dˤ
def m-
sing okʼʷe
daughter -dˤ
def m-
sing i
dog -dˤ
def

“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 Aya 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-final: the possessor precedes the possessed noun. For example, Aya expresses “the child’s toy” with the equivalent of “child toy”. This ordering is found in many SOV and postpositional languages and aligns with a broader tendency towards modifier-first structures.

taim mugquyḍ marruḍ mebukeḍ

[taim mukʼʷydˤ maɽudˤ mebukedˤ]

tai
2.sing -m
sing m-
sing ukʼʷy
son -dˤ
def m-
sing aɽu
friend -dˤ
def m-
sing ebuke
book -dˤ
def

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (17)

Case Marking

Aya 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.

Moḍ tyigw.

[modˤ t͡ɕiɡʷ]

m-
sing o
cat -dˤ
def t͡ɕiɡʷ
sleep

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (18)
Moḍ fus.

[modˤ fus]

m-
sing o
cat -dˤ
def fus
run

“The cat is running.”

 (19)
Moḍ quyrdef mylöhiḍ.

[modˤ kʷyɖef myløhidˤ]

m-
sing o
cat -dˤ
def kʷyɖef
chase m-
sing yløhi
mouse -dˤ
def

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (20)
Moḍ rdibb neḍ mylöhiḍ.

[modˤ ɖiɓ nedˤ myløhidˤ]

m-
sing o
cat -dˤ
def ɖiɓ
catch nedˤ
PAST m-
sing yløhi
mouse -dˤ
def

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Maikeshöḍ rnöṭ neḍ jölötyyḍ rdif jeṇusiḍ rdif jabbirnaḍ.

[maikeʃødˤ ɳøtˤ nedˤ jøløt͡ɕydˤ ɖif jenˤusidˤ ɖif jaɓiɳadˤ]

m-
sing aikeʃø
hunter -dˤ
def ɳøtˤ
kill nedˤ
PAST j-
plur øløt͡ɕy
jaguar -dˤ
def ɖif
and j-
plur enˤusi
tiger -dˤ
def ɖif
and j-
plur aɓiɳa
lion -dˤ
def

“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 Aya 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

Aya 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:

Dugkush neḍ moḍ.

[dukʼuʃ nedˤ modˤ]

dukʼuʃ
pat nedˤ
PAST m-
sing o
cat -dˤ
def

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Dugkush neḍ rdibb neḍ ḍyrr mylöhiḍ moḍ.

[dukʼuʃ nedˤ ɖiɓ nedˤ dˤyɽ myløhidˤ modˤ]

dukʼuʃ
pat nedˤ
PAST ɖiɓ
catch nedˤ
PAST dˤyɽ
COMP m-
sing yløhi
mouse -dˤ
def m-
sing o
cat -dˤ
def

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Dugkush neḍ rdibb neḍ ḍyrr rtoḍ neḍ ḍyrr mewalyḍ mylöhiḍ moḍ.

[dukʼuʃ nedˤ ɖiɓ nedˤ dˤyɽ ʈodˤ nedˤ dˤyɽ mewalydˤ myløhidˤ modˤ]

dukʼuʃ
pat nedˤ
PAST ɖiɓ
catch nedˤ
PAST dˤyɽ
COMP ʈodˤ
eat nedˤ
PAST dˤyɽ
COMP m-
sing ewaly
cheese -dˤ
def m-
sing yløhi
mouse -dˤ
def m-
sing o
cat -dˤ
def

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

 (25)

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

Dugkush neḍ rdibb neḍ ḍyrr rtoḍ neḍ ḍyrr chem wow neḍ ḍyrr mewalyḍ mylöhiḍ moḍ.

[dukʼuʃ nedˤ ɖiɓ nedˤ dˤyɽ ʈodˤ nedˤ dˤyɽ t͡ʃem wow nedˤ dˤyɽ mewalydˤ myløhidˤ modˤ]

dukʼuʃ
pat nedˤ
PAST ɖiɓ
catch nedˤ
PAST dˤyɽ
COMP ʈodˤ
eat nedˤ
PAST dˤyɽ
COMP t͡ʃe
1excl.sing -m
sing wow
buy nedˤ
PAST dˤyɽ
COMP m-
sing ewaly
cheese -dˤ
def m-
sing yløhi
mouse -dˤ
def m-
sing o
cat -dˤ
def

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Aya 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:

Mögkeḍ nc̣ogw neḍ ḍyrr migköḍ ṇard mequychyl jydyn neḍ micheleḍ.

[møkʼedˤ ᵑǀˤoɡʷ nedˤ dˤyɽ mikʼødˤ nˤaɖ mekʷyt͡ʃyl jydyn nedˤ mit͡ʃeledˤ]

m-
sing økʼe
boy -dˤ
def ᵑǀˤoɡʷ
give nedˤ
PAST dˤyɽ
COMP m-
sing ikʼø
girl -dˤ
def nˤaɖ
a m-
sing ekʷyt͡ʃy
apple -l
not.def jydyn
surprise nedˤ
PAST m-
sing it͡ʃele
teacher -dˤ
def

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

 (27)

Quotes

Aya employs a quotative particle to mark direct and indirect speech. The quotative follows the reported phrase and identifies the preceding expression as quoted or reported. The same construction is also used to express reported thoughts.

Here is an example of how quotations are expressed:

Mögkeḍ ḍauqu neḍ migköḍ chem ḍorn ḍyrr taim.

[møkʼedˤ dˤaukʷ nedˤ mikʼødˤ t͡ʃem dˤoɳ dˤyɽ taim]

m-
sing økʼe
boy -dˤ
def dˤaukʷ
tell nedˤ
PAST m-
sing ikʼø
girl -dˤ
def t͡ʃe
1excl.sing -m
sing dˤoɳ
love dˤyɽ
COMP tai
2.sing -m
sing

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

 (28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Aya. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 21 July 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/0X3RA

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-0X3RA,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Aya}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/0X3RA}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 21 July 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Aya / Aya–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/0X3RA

Behind the scenes, the Language Creator stores the generated language in a JSON-based format known as ELD. The corresponding ELD file may be downloaded, edited as required, and reuploaded in order to regenerate the grammar, dictionary and texts.

To revisit the questionnaire settings used to generate this language, .

Language creation took 0.05 seconds; writing the grammar 0.05 seconds.