A Grammar of Saht

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Saht language (the 1022nd 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 Saht.

Typological Profile

It has a full set of ejective articulations, proper polysynthesis, not just singular and plural, but also dual, as well as the highly uncommon basic word order OVS and a rich system of noun classes.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Saht has an astonishing 136 consonant phonemes, exceeding any consonant system known to the author. The inventory is remarkably extensive.

It has an exceptionally large and contrastive set of fricatives, an exceptionally dense sibilant inventory, a maximally contrastive voicing system, a highly developed aspirated consonant series and an exceptionally dense set of affricate contrasts.

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

labialphar. labialdentalphar. dentalalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velarphar. velaruvularlab. uvularphar. uvularpharyngealglottal
stopp b pˤ bˤ d t dˤ tˤ c ɟ ɖ ʈ k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ kˤ ɡˤ q ɢ qʷ ɢʷ qˤ ɢˤ ʔ
aspirated stoppʰˤ tʰˤ ʈʰ kʰʷ kʰˤ
breathy stopbʱˤ dʱˤ ɖʱ ɡʱ ɡʱʷ ɡʱˤ
ejective stoptˤʼ ʈʼ kʷʼ kˤʼ qʷʼ qˤʼ
nasalm n n̥ nˤ n̥ˤ ɲ ɲ̥ ɳ ɳ̥ ŋ ŋ̥ ŋʷ ŋ̥ʷ ŋˤ ŋ̥ˤ ɴ ɴʷ ɴˤ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef ð θ ðˤ θˤ s z sˤ zˤ ʃ ʒ ɕ ʑ ʂ ʐ x ɣ xʷ ɣʷ xˤ ɣˤ ʁ χ ʁʷ χʷ ʁˤ χˤ ħ ʕ h ɦ
approximantw l j
affricated͡z t͡s d͡zˤ t͡sˤ d͡ʒ t͡ʃ d͡ʑ t͡ɕ d͡ʐ t͡ʂ k͡x k͡xʷ k͡xˤ q͡χ q͡χʷ q͡χˤ
implosiveɓ ɓˤ
clickᵏǀ ᵏǀʰ ᵏǀˤ ᵏǀʰˤ
ejective clickᵏǀʼ ᵏǀˤʼ
click, nasalᵑǀ ᵑǀˤ
ejective click, nasalᵑǀʼ ᵑǀˤʼ

Vowels

Saht has more than 14 vowel qualities. This constitutes an exceptionally rich vowel inventory, with numerous distinct categories represented in the chart.

It has a fully developed system of nasal vowels matching the oral height distinctions, a fully contrastive long–short vowel distinction across the system, a strongly reduced vowel system in unstressed syllables, a regular pattern of underlying ghost nuclei that often delete and a maximally “square” vowel system balancing heights across backness.

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

front unroundedfront roundedcentralback
closei ĩ y ỹ ʉ ʉ̃ u ũ
close-mide ẽ ø ø̃ ɵ ɵ̃ o õ
midə
open-midɛ ɛ̃ œ œ̃ ɞ ɞ̃ ɔ ɔ̃
openɶ ɶ̃ a ã

Stress and Tones

Saht has phonemic stress and 6 lexical tones. Each lexical item carries a tonal specification associated with the first vowel of the root, which determines the overall tonal contour of the word.

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/, /ɔ/ becomes /œ/, /ɑ/ becomes /ɶ/.

Writing System

Introduction

Saht is an unwritten language. For that reason, all examples in this grammar are given exclusively in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which offers a precise and widely recognised means of recording its sounds.

Orthography

Sahtis an unwritten language, so it does not make any sense to discuss its orthography.

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Saht distinguishes singular, dual and plural.

Gender

Saht has the following noun classes:

Class cl.1 – for instance: k͡xi꜒ ‘sky’, pʰᵊɣʷa#̰꜖ ‘snake’, ɕtʰˤɔ꜖꜒ ‘eye’, ɲ̥əkʼʷiː̰꜖ ‘stick’, ɳ̥əxɶ̰꜒ ‘river’, ɴɶ꜒ ‘ear’, ʒɛ̰꜖ ‘tongue’, ᵑǀʼɶ#ː̰꜒ ‘nose’, ᵑǀʼˤəʂcʼoː꜖ ‘rope’.

Class cl.2 – for instance: pᵊt͡sʉː꜖꜒ ‘lion’, sʔəxʷɶ꜒꜖ ‘lamb’, tʰˤəːχʉ̰꜒ ‘worm’, t͡ʃəsˤtʼˤɛ̰꜖ ‘jaguar’, zḛ꜖ ‘bird’, ɕpʰᵊʑɶ̰꜒ ‘tiger’, ɢø꜒ ‘dog’, ɢʷəfˤa꜒ ‘mammal’, ʂkʷɔi꜒꜖ ‘fish’, ʃqœ̰꜒ ‘cat’, ʑʈᵊqʼɔi꜒꜖ ‘mouse’, ʒɡᵊʑø꜒ ‘louse’, ʔᵊʐoː̰꜒ ‘wild boar’, ᵑǀɔ̰꜖ ‘animal’, ᵑǀˤəʂʔuː꜖꜒ ‘root’.

Class cl.3 – for instance: dˤø꜖ ‘house’, d͡zˤeː̰꜒ ‘chair’, d͡ʑe꜒ ‘earth’, q͡χʷa#꜖ ‘land’, skʰᵊbɶ꜖꜒ ‘brick’, t͡ɕᵊʃpˤɵ̰꜒ ‘tower’, zkaṵ꜖ ‘table’, ʈʼəʐɟʉː꜒꜖ ‘mountain’, ʐəʐbḛ꜖ ‘flower’, ʐʈø#ː̰꜒ ‘moon’, ʑɡɞ꜒ ‘bed’, ᵏǀʰˤəspʰai꜖꜒ ‘forest’.

Class cl.4 – for instance: bʱˤəɴʷo꜒ ‘machine’, kˤᵊʕɶː̰꜖ ‘student’, k͡xʷʉ#꜒ ‘knife’, mᵊfy꜒ ‘restaurant’, spʰˤe#̰꜒ ‘surface’, sˤʈʰɞː꜖ ‘inside’, ŋ̥ˤəʐdˤau꜒ ‘net’, ɓˤəʂkʰe꜖꜒ ‘binoculars’, ɡʷᵊðɛ꜒ ‘box’, ɲ̥o̰꜖ ‘sun’, ʂqʷᵊbˤøː꜖ ‘umbrella’, ʃkʰˤɵː꜒ ‘top’, ʐɢˤɔː꜖ ‘book’, ʑɡəq͡χˤɞ꜒꜖ ‘bottle’, ʑɢəːkʼʷai꜖꜒ ‘mortar’, ʒkʷᵊztø#ː꜒ ‘wheat’, ʒɶ꜒꜖ ‘road’.

Class cl.5 – for instance: ɕkᵊsˤø꜒꜖ ‘teacher’, ɕtˤəna꜒꜖ ‘hunter’, ɲ̥ᵊɡʷɔ#ː꜖ ‘farmer’, ʔᵊd͡ʒy#ː̰꜒ ‘God’.

Class cl.6 – for instance: dˤᵊʃqˤḭ꜖ ‘library’, fˤᵊmˤe꜒ ‘feather’, q͡χˤœ#ː꜖ ‘man’, q͡χˤɵ#꜖꜒ ‘human being’, zgʱˤy꜒꜖ ‘child’, zkʼʷœ#꜖ ‘people’, ʂkʷo#ː꜒ ‘son’, ʂtʼᵊqʼʷe#̰꜒ ‘seed’, ʃqʼɞ꜖꜒ ‘sea’, ʐdʱˤe#꜒ ‘boy’, ʐdᵊkʰˤi#꜒ ‘lake’, ʒɡœ꜖꜒ ‘father’, ᵏǀʼɵ꜒ ‘star’.

Class cl.7 – for instance: n̥əɴˤa꜒꜖ ‘embrace’, qḭ꜒ ‘language’, qʼʷɔ#̰꜖ ‘city’, sˤtʼœ꜖꜒ ‘fight’, tʰaː꜒꜖ ‘fruit’, t͡ʂᵊθˤo꜒ ‘breath’, zcʼeː꜒꜖ ‘colour’, zɢʷiː̰꜒ ‘idea’, zˤdˤu꜒ ‘manner’, ɲ̥əspʰuː̰꜖ ‘dialect’, ʂtʰɛ#ː꜒꜖ ‘speech’, ʃtʰˤɵ꜖ ‘Saht’, ʐɟɵ꜖ ‘sound’, ʕɔ̰꜖ ‘name’.

Class cl.8 – for instance: d͡ʐək͡xʷɛ꜒ ‘fat’, gʱˤᵊʃce#ː꜖꜒ ‘ice’, həɕkʰʷo꜖ ‘faeces’, skʼʷɶ̰꜖ ‘money’, sˤʔənˤe꜖꜒ ‘salt’, ħətˤɛ#̰꜖ ‘ash’, ɖʱᵊʒø#ː꜒꜖ ‘dust’, ɟəzɢʷʉ꜒꜖ ‘slime’, ɡˤəzˤcʼɵ꜖ ‘sand’, ʒɡʷᵊʑbˤœ꜒ ‘court’, ᵏǀḭ꜖ ‘blood’, ᵏǀəɢʷʉ꜒ ‘smoke’, ᵑǀʼᵊkʷɔ꜖꜒ ‘medicine’.

Class cl.9 – for instance: bᵊq͡χˤɵ#꜖꜒ ‘bark’, dˤa#ː꜒ ‘friend’, stᵊʐʈi꜒꜖ ‘plain’, sˤkʼʷɶ̰꜖ ‘meat’, tʼy#̰꜒ ‘husband’, zˤɔ꜖ ‘egg’, ɡˤətoː̰꜖ ‘neighbour’, ʂkʼɔ#̰꜒ ‘wife’, ʂqʷa꜖ ‘leaf’, ʐpʰˤəʃte#̰꜒ ‘grass’, ʒqʼʷᵊʃʈʰɶ꜖꜒ ‘cheese’, ᵏǀʰˤəskʰʷa꜒ ‘religion’.

Class cl.10 – for instance: cᵊʑɟɔ꜒ ‘cloud’, d͡zᵊðɔ#꜖꜒ ‘urine’, d͡ʒəʑqˤaː꜒ ‘fog’, stʼe#ː̰꜖ ‘hair’, sˤkʰˤəzˤkʷo̰꜒ ‘snow’, zˤa#꜒꜖ ‘rain’, ɢˤi#ː̰꜖ ‘fire’, ʑɡø̰꜒ ‘water’, ᵏǀʰʉ#ː꜒꜖ ‘wind’.

Class cl.11 – for instance: d͡ʑɵ꜒ ‘tree’, d͡ʒɞ꜖꜒ ‘bone’, gʱɔ꜖꜒ ‘north’, n̥ˤɛ̰꜖ ‘stone’, sˤpᵊqʼɛː꜖ ‘wing’, tʼʉ̰꜒ ‘heart’, t͡ʃu꜖ ‘hand’, wˤɞː꜒ ‘foot’, xḭ꜖ ‘west’, zbˤoː꜒꜖ ‘east’, zˤdəŋˤo꜒꜖ ‘bosom’, ɕkœ̰꜒ ‘mouth’, ɦɞ#ː꜖ ‘tooth’, ʂʈʼɔi꜖꜒ ‘leg’, ʃqʼʷəʃi#꜖꜒ ‘penis’, ʃʈʰɔ#̰꜒ ‘south’, ʑɡəzˤdʱɔ#꜖꜒ ‘school’, ʒkʰəːɕkʰe꜖ ‘breast’, ᵏǀa꜖꜒ ‘head’, ᵏǀᵊθʉ#ː꜖ ‘anus’.

Class cl.12 – for instance: fa#꜖꜒ ‘mother’, sqʼˤəɦɶː̰꜖ ‘horn’, stau꜖ ‘year’, sˤo#ː꜖ ‘day’, tʼˤa꜒꜖ ‘daughter’, ɡʷi#꜒ ‘night’, ɴʷœ꜖ ‘girl’, ʒø̰꜖ ‘time’, ᵑǀʼˤaː꜒꜖ ‘woman’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

[ʑʈᵊqʼɔi꜒cʼ põ꜒wˤ ʈœ̃ː꜖w ʑqʼˤʉ꜒d͡ʒ xʷᵊŋ zqʼˤᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱø̰̃꜒t͡sˤ ᵑǀʼˤaː̰꜖nˤ ɕqʷa̰꜖ʁʷ k͡xʷʉ̰̃꜖ɓˤ ɕqʷa̰꜖ʁˤ ʐtᵊzbʱɔ̃ː꜒꜖ħ]

ʑʈᵊqʼɔi꜒꜖
mouse
-꜒cʼ
NOM
põ꜒wˤ
blind
ʈœ̃ː꜖w
three
ʑqʼˤʉ꜒
yon
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
xʷᵊŋ
3.plur.cl.2.OBJ
zqʼˤ-
3.sing.cl.12.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ŋʷø̰̃꜒
catch
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ᵑǀʼˤaː꜒꜖
woman
-̰꜖nˤ
ERG
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜒꜖ʁʷ
cl.12
k͡xʷʉ̃꜒
knife
-̰꜖ɓˤ
LOC
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜒꜖ʁˤ
cl.4
ʐtᵊzbʱɔ̃ː꜒꜖ħ
COMIT

“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 a proclitic (placed initially), expressing possessor. a clitic expressing possessor, comprising ʑᵊz ‘1incl.sing’, zpəɴˤ ‘1excl.sing’, ʃəχˤ ‘2.sing’, ᵑǀəːkʷ ‘3.sing.cl.1’, kʰˤəbʱ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, ðəŋˤ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, ɲ̥ək͡xʷ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, pˤᵊʈ ‘3.sing.cl.5’, stʰəːɢ ‘3.sing.cl.6’, ʑgʱʷᵊʒ ‘3.sing.cl.7’, ʐtʰˤət͡s ‘3.sing.cl.8’, ɖʱəgʱʷ ‘3.sing.cl.9’, n̥ˤᵊkʷ ‘3.sing.cl.10’, ɢəɖ ‘3.sing.cl.11’, qʷᵊʈʼ ‘3.sing.cl.12’, ɢʷəːɢˤ ‘1incl.dual’, ʒkᵊd ‘1excl.dual’, ᵏǀᵊnˤ ‘2.dual’, zkˤəðˤ ‘3.dual.cl.1’, gʱəɖ ‘3.dual.cl.2’, ʑkˤᵊʈʼ ‘3.dual.cl.3’, ɴᵊbˤ ‘3.dual.cl.4’, t͡ɕəkʼˤ ‘3.dual.cl.5’, ɢʷəkʼʷ ‘3.dual.cl.6’, ʕᵊn ‘3.dual.cl.7’, ŋ̥ʷədʱˤ ‘3.dual.cl.8’, ɴˤᵊχ ‘3.dual.cl.9’, kʰʷᵊɡˤ ‘3.dual.cl.10’, qˤᵊðˤ ‘3.dual.cl.11’, ɕᵊŋ ‘3.dual.cl.12’, ʔᵊd͡ʑ ‘1incl.plur’, sʈəɳ ‘1excl.plur’, wˤəːbˤ ‘2.plur’, cəq ‘3.plur.cl.1’, θˤᵊŋˤ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, ʂᵊt͡ɕ ‘3.plur.cl.3’, ɡʷət͡ʂ ‘3.plur.cl.4’, fˤᵊɡʷ ‘3.plur.cl.5’, χʷəd͡ʒ ‘3.plur.cl.6’, ɲəd͡zˤ ‘3.plur.cl.7’, ɖəd ‘3.plur.cl.8’, ʒpʰˤᵊf ‘3.plur.cl.9’, ɕᵊkʷ ‘3.plur.cl.10’, ħᵊŋ ‘3.plur.cl.11’ and ɴᵊɴˤ ‘3.plur.cl.12’.

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 Saht.

The Noun

The noun in Saht consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -꜒cʼ ‘NOM’, -̰꜖nˤ ‘ERG’, -̰꜖dʱ ‘ACC’, -꜖꜒ʔ ‘GEN’, -꜖꜒ɡʷ ‘DAT’, -꜒nˤ ‘INS’, -꜒ɣˤ ‘VOC’, -꜖꜒qʼʷ ‘ALL’, -̰꜖ɓˤ ‘LOC’, -꜒꜖ʃ ‘ABL’ and -꜖꜒k͡xˤ ‘PART’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: 39 prefixes, namely t͡ʂᵊgʱ- ‘little’, mᵊʂqʷ- ‘big’, ɕəʑgʱ- ‘old’, dʱəɴ- ‘new’, qəgʱ- ‘good’, ʑkʰᵊzkʼˤ- ‘bad’, t͡sˤəːxʷ- ‘make’, sˤqʼʷəzcʼ- ‘help’, məᵑǀˤ- ‘have’, ʒʈʼᵊʃqʼ- ‘use’, zˤɡˤək͡xʷ- ‘see’, fˤəʈʰ- ‘break’, ʒɖʱəːŋ̥- ‘eat’, ᵏǀʼətʼ- ‘drink’, ħəw- ‘wear’, sˤᵊmˤ- ‘own’, ħᵊzpˤ- ‘contain’, zdˤəːkʼˤ- ‘hold’, ʃtʰəᵏǀʰ- ‘lack’, wəqʼˤ- ‘touch’, t͡sˤəːʂpˤ- ‘carry’, ɴˤəɣʷ- ‘find’, sˤqˤəzˤd- ‘hunt’, q͡χˤəqʼʷ- ‘guard’, χᵊʒbˤ- ‘search’, cᵊʂʔ- ‘learn’, sqˤᵊq͡χˤ- ‘teach’, ɕkʰəʒk- ‘follow’, ŋəɢʷ- ‘chase’, nˤᵊtʰˤ- ‘build’, ɢʷəːt͡ʃ- ‘burn’, dˤᵊskʼˤ- ‘hit’, skˤəʒɢʷ- ‘take’, məːʒp- ‘cut’, skʰˤᵊᵏǀʼˤ- ‘hear’, d͡ʒəːʃʔ- ‘know’, ʂʈʰəʑgʱ- ‘love’, ʃqʼˤᵊʂ- ‘protect’ and n̥ᵊsqʼ- ‘possess’

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Saht, the determiner has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -̰꜖ɴʷ ‘cl.1’, -꜖d͡ʒ ‘cl.2’, -꜒tʼ ‘cl.3’, -꜒꜖ʁˤ ‘cl.4’, -̰꜒xʷ ‘cl.5’, -꜖꜒kʼʷ ‘cl.6’, -̰꜖ʒ ‘cl.7’, -̰꜖t͡ɕ ‘cl.8’, -꜖kʷ ‘cl.9’, -꜒ɡ ‘cl.10’, -꜒xʷ ‘cl.11’ and -꜒꜖ʁʷ ‘cl.12’.

Pronouns

The pronoun in Saht has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -꜒꜖q͡χʷ ‘sing’, -꜒꜖k ‘dual’ and -̰꜖qʼˤ ‘plur’.

In Saht, both subject and object pronouns are dropped unless they are stressed. Here is an example where neither of the pronouns are stressed:

[zɟᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱəɴʷœ꜖b]

zɟ-
3.sing.cl.6.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ʂʈʰəʑgʱ-
love
ɴʷœ꜖
girl
-꜖꜒b
PRES

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(2)

But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:

[zɟᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱəɴʷœ꜖b ʃtˤœ̰꜒q͡χʷ]

zɟ-
3.sing.cl.6.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ʂʈʰəʑgʱ-
love
ɴʷœ꜖
girl
-꜖꜒b
PRES
ʃtˤœ̰꜒
3.sing.cl.6
-꜒꜖q͡χʷ
sing

He loves her.”

(3)

And here, it is the one translated as her that is stressed:

[zɟᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱəɴʷœ꜖b]

zɟ-
3.sing.cl.6.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ʂʈʰəʑgʱ-
love
ɴʷœ꜖
girl
-꜖꜒b
PRES

“He loves her.”

(4)

Proper Nouns

[ɟᵊʑbˤɛ̰꜖dʱ ɕqʷa̰꜒xʷ bəɓˤ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤsᵊdʱˤø̰꜖b sˤcʼəːʐɡʷʉ̃ː̰꜖cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜒xʷ]

ɟᵊʑbˤɛ̰꜖
Jazhbe
-̰꜖dʱ
ACC
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-̰꜒xʷ
cl.5
bəɓˤ
3.sing.cl.5.OBJ
ɕqʼ-
3.sing.cl.5.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
sᵊdʱˤø̰꜖
hate
-꜖꜒b
PRES
sˤcʼəːʐɡʷʉ̃ː̰꜖
Sachazahgu
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-̰꜒xʷ
cl.5

“Sachazahgu hates Jazhbe.”

(5)

Possession

[stʰəːɢ zˤəzˤkõː꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖xʷ ʐdʱˤẽ꜒ʔ ɕqʷa̰꜖kʼʷ]

stʰəːɢ
3.sing.cl.6.POSS
zˤəzˤkõː꜒꜖
apple
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜒xʷ
cl.11
ʐdʱˤẽ꜒
boy
-꜖꜒ʔ
GEN
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖꜒kʼʷ
cl.6

“the boy’s apple”

(6)

[stʰəːɢ zˤəzˤkõː꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖xʷ ʃtˤœ̰꜒q͡χʷ]

stʰəːɢ
3.sing.cl.6.POSS
zˤəzˤkõː꜒꜖
apple
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜒xʷ
cl.11
ʃtˤœ̰꜒
3.sing.cl.6
-꜒꜖q͡χʷ
sing

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(7)

[zpəɴˤ zˤəzˤkõː꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖xʷ]

zpəɴˤ
1excl.sing.POSS
zˤəzˤkõː꜒꜖
apple
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜒xʷ
cl.11

“my apple”

(8)

[ɖʱəgʱʷ ʂkʷõː꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖kʼʷ ʃəχˤ ɡˤətoː̰꜖ʔ ɕqʷa̰꜖kʷ dᵊɣ zqʼˤᵊtʼˤdˤᵊʁˤœ꜒꜖t͡sˤ pˤᵊʈ tʼˤa̰꜖nˤ ɕqʷa̰꜖ʁʷ ɕtˤəna꜒꜖ʔ ɕqʷa̰꜒xʷ]

ɖʱəgʱʷ
3.sing.cl.9.POSS
ʂkʷõː꜒
son
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖꜒kʼʷ
cl.6
ʃəχˤ
2.sing.POSS
ɡˤətoː̰꜖
neighbour
-꜖꜒ʔ
GEN
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖kʷ
cl.9
dᵊɣ
3.sing.cl.6.OBJ
zqʼˤ-
3.sing.cl.12.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
dˤᵊʁˤœ꜒꜖
kiss
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
pˤᵊʈ
3.sing.cl.5.POSS
tʼˤa꜒꜖
daughter
-̰꜖nˤ
ERG
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜒꜖ʁʷ
cl.12
ɕtˤəna꜒꜖
hunter
-꜖꜒ʔ
GEN
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-̰꜒xʷ
cl.5

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

(9)

Derivation

[sʔəxʷɶ꜒cʼ sˤœ꜒d͡ʒ]

sʔəxʷɶ꜒꜖
lamb
-꜒cʼ
NOM
sˤœ꜒
a
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2

“a lamb”

(10)

[t͡ʂᵊgʱəxʷɶ꜒cʼ sˤœ꜒d͡ʒ]

t͡ʂᵊgʱ-
little
sʔəxʷɶ꜒꜖
lamb
-꜒cʼ
NOM
sˤœ꜒
a
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2

“a little lamb”

(11)

[t͡ʂᵊgʱəxʷɶ꜒cʼ sˤœ꜒d͡ʒ ɖʱəc zqʼˤᵊtʼˤtʼy꜖t͡sˤ]

t͡ʂᵊgʱ-
little
sʔəxʷɶ꜒꜖
lamb
-꜒cʼ
NOM
sˤœ꜒
a
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
ɖʱəc
3.sing.cl.2.OBJ
zqʼˤ-
3.sing.cl.12.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
tʼy꜖
have
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST

“She had a little lamb.”

(12)

[zqʼˤᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱᵊtʼy꜖t͡sˤ]

zqʼˤ-
3.sing.cl.12.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ɖʱᵊð-
want
tʼy꜖
have
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

(13)

[zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤtʼy꜖t͡sˤ ʑgʱʷᵊʒ t͡ʂᵊgʱəxʷɶ꜒cʼ sˤœ꜒d͡ʒ ɢᵊŋʷ zqʼˤᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱqʼʷa̰꜖t͡sˤ zbʱœ̃꜒꜖ŋʷ]

ɕkˤ-
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
tʼy꜖
have
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ʑgʱʷᵊʒ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS
t͡ʂᵊgʱ-
little
sʔəxʷɶ꜒꜖
lamb
-꜒cʼ
NOM
sˤœ꜒
a
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
ɢᵊŋʷ
3.sing.cl.7.OBJ
zqʼˤ-
3.sing.cl.12.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
qʼʷa̰꜖
want
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
zbʱœ̃꜒꜖ŋʷ
often

“She often wanted to have a little lamb.”

(14)

[zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤtʼy꜖t͡sˤ ʑgʱʷᵊʒ t͡ʂᵊgʱəxʷɶ꜒cʼ sˤœ꜒d͡ʒ ɢᵊŋʷ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱqʼʷa̰꜖t͡sˤ zbʱœ̃꜒꜖ŋʷ ʑgʱʷᵊʒ ʃqʷau꜒꜖q͡χʷ ɢᵊŋʷ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱy꜒꜖t͡sˤ ɢᵊŋʷ ŋᵊstʼˤa̰꜖b]

ɕkˤ-
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
tʼy꜖
have
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ʑgʱʷᵊʒ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS
t͡ʂᵊgʱ-
little
sʔəxʷɶ꜒꜖
lamb
-꜒cʼ
NOM
sˤœ꜒
a
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
ɢᵊŋʷ
3.sing.cl.7.OBJ
ɕkˤ-
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
qʼʷa̰꜖
want
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
zbʱœ̃꜒꜖ŋʷ
often
ʑgʱʷᵊʒ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS
ʃqʷau꜖
3.sing.cl.12
-꜒꜖q͡χʷ
sing
ɢᵊŋʷ
3.sing.cl.7.OBJ
ɕkˤ-
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ɢʷy꜒꜖
think
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ɢᵊŋʷ
3.sing.cl.7.OBJ
ʁ-
2.sing.SUBJ
ŋᵊzˤc-
NEG
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
stʼˤa̰꜖
be
-꜖꜒b
PRES

“Are you not one of those who thought that she often wanted to have a little lamb?”

(15)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Saht fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing indobj, comprising qʷᵊs ‘1incl.sing’, skʼᵊcʼ ‘1excl.sing’, fᵊɢʷ ‘2.sing’, sˤkəʐ ‘3.sing.cl.1’, ᵑǀᵊɲ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, ʃʈʼəʐ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, ðˤəmˤ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, ŋ̥əɟ ‘3.sing.cl.5’, q͡χəʔ ‘3.sing.cl.6’, ɡˤᵊχʷ ‘3.sing.cl.7’, ʒqʷᵊθˤ ‘3.sing.cl.8’, ᵑǀᵊʐ ‘3.sing.cl.9’, kʰˤᵊʒ ‘3.sing.cl.10’, ʃpʰˤᵊqˤ ‘3.sing.cl.11’, sˤtəkʼ ‘3.sing.cl.12’, t͡sˤək ‘1incl.dual’, ɽəmˤ ‘1excl.dual’, ɢˤəɡʷ ‘2.dual’, stʼəqʼʷ ‘3.dual.cl.1’, ᵏǀʼˤəːɴˤ ‘3.dual.cl.2’, sˤkʼᵊfˤ ‘3.dual.cl.3’, q͡χʷəχˤ ‘3.dual.cl.4’, ʐtʼᵊʈ ‘3.dual.cl.5’, xʷəːŋ ‘3.dual.cl.6’, qʼʷəːdˤ ‘3.dual.cl.7’, k͡xˤᵊʁʷ ‘3.dual.cl.8’, wˤəːʈʼ ‘3.dual.cl.9’, skˤᵊt͡ʂ ‘3.dual.cl.10’, sqədˤ ‘3.dual.cl.11’, xˤəθ ‘3.dual.cl.12’, ʂtˤᵊʈ ‘1incl.plur’, kʼᵊχˤ ‘1excl.plur’, t͡ʃəːɟ ‘2.plur’, fˤᵊt͡s ‘3.plur.cl.1’, ɣʷᵊfˤ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, cᵊd͡ʒ ‘3.plur.cl.3’, sˤʈənˤ ‘3.plur.cl.4’, ᵏǀʰəːc ‘3.plur.cl.5’, zˤkˤəɓˤ ‘3.plur.cl.6’, bᵊθ ‘3.plur.cl.7’, q͡χˤəːɳ ‘3.plur.cl.8’, ɢəf ‘3.plur.cl.9’, ʃpˤᵊt͡ʃ ‘3.plur.cl.10’, ʐkʰˤəb ‘3.plur.cl.11’ and q͡χᵊʒ ‘3.plur.cl.12’; second, a clitic expressing obj, comprising zˤgʱᵊkˤ ‘1incl.sing’, dʱᵊɢˤ ‘1excl.sing’, ðˤᵊpˤ ‘2.sing’, ðˤəf ‘3.sing.cl.1’, ɖʱəc ‘3.sing.cl.2’, qʼˤəːʐ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, ʒcʼᵊɟ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, bəɓˤ ‘3.sing.cl.5’, dᵊɣ ‘3.sing.cl.6’, ɢᵊŋʷ ‘3.sing.cl.7’, ʃtək ‘3.sing.cl.8’, χˤəɽ ‘3.sing.cl.9’, tʰᵊd͡zˤ ‘3.sing.cl.10’, ɦᵊpˤ ‘3.sing.cl.11’, nˤək͡x ‘3.sing.cl.12’, ɳ̥ᵊmˤ ‘1incl.dual’, skʷək͡xʷ ‘1excl.dual’, xək͡xʷ ‘2.dual’, ʑcʼᵊbˤ ‘3.dual.cl.1’, θᵊt ‘3.dual.cl.2’, bʱᵊzˤ ‘3.dual.cl.3’, t͡ʂəɢ ‘3.dual.cl.4’, mˤəqʼ ‘3.dual.cl.5’, tʼᵊɢˤ ‘3.dual.cl.6’, ztʼəʂ ‘3.dual.cl.7’, xʷəx ‘3.dual.cl.8’, skʰᵊcʼ ‘3.dual.cl.9’, ðˤᵊb ‘3.dual.cl.10’, ʃqˤᵊqʼ ‘3.dual.cl.11’, lət ‘3.dual.cl.12’, ʈəθˤ ‘1incl.plur’, kᵊk͡xʷ ‘1excl.plur’, ʑʈʼᵊðˤ ‘2.plur’, sˤqˤᵊɴʷ ‘3.plur.cl.1’, xʷᵊŋ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, ðᵊs ‘3.plur.cl.3’, cʼᵊxˤ ‘3.plur.cl.4’, ʃkʼˤəːɴˤ ‘3.plur.cl.5’, zpʰˤəʔ ‘3.plur.cl.6’, ɟəɢ ‘3.plur.cl.7’, wəːn ‘3.plur.cl.8’, ʃkˤətʼˤ ‘3.plur.cl.9’, ʂcʼəŋ ‘3.plur.cl.10’, ðəːq͡χˤ ‘3.plur.cl.11’ and nˤəːtʼˤ ‘3.plur.cl.12’; and finally, third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising ʂᵊp ‘passive’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, an obligatory prefix expressing subj, comprising ɳ̥- ‘1incl.sing’, ʈ- ‘1excl.sing’, ʁ- ‘2.sing’, ɕkˤ- ‘3.sing.cl.1’, t͡sˤ- ‘3.sing.cl.2’, zˤ- ‘3.sing.cl.3’, skʼ- ‘3.sing.cl.4’, ɕqʼ- ‘3.sing.cl.5’, zɟ- ‘3.sing.cl.6’, sˤkʰʷ- ‘3.sing.cl.7’, sˤtʰ- ‘3.sing.cl.8’, ᵏǀʼ- ‘3.sing.cl.9’, ʃkʰʷ- ‘3.sing.cl.10’, pʰ- ‘3.sing.cl.11’, zqʼˤ- ‘3.sing.cl.12’, kʼ- ‘1incl.dual’, k- ‘1excl.dual’, spʰ- ‘2.dual’, n̥ˤ- ‘3.dual.cl.1’, j- ‘3.dual.cl.2’, ɡ- ‘3.dual.cl.3’, zɖʱ- ‘3.dual.cl.4’, ᵑǀˤ- ‘3.dual.cl.5’, ð- ‘3.dual.cl.6’, zˤd- ‘3.dual.cl.7’, ɣʷ- ‘3.dual.cl.8’, ᵏǀʼˤ- ‘3.dual.cl.9’, ɕkʼ- ‘3.dual.cl.10’, ɕʈʰ- ‘3.dual.cl.11’, ʑʔ- ‘3.dual.cl.12’, ʑqʼʷ- ‘1incl.plur’, sˤqˤ- ‘1excl.plur’, sˤ- ‘2.plur’, ɓˤ- ‘3.plur.cl.1’, χʷ- ‘3.plur.cl.2’, ɲ̥- ‘3.plur.cl.3’, qˤ- ‘3.plur.cl.4’, skʼˤ- ‘3.plur.cl.5’, ʐq- ‘3.plur.cl.6’, ɢ- ‘3.plur.cl.7’, sʈʼ- ‘3.plur.cl.8’, xʷ- ‘3.plur.cl.9’, θ- ‘3.plur.cl.10’, ɣˤ- ‘3.plur.cl.11’ and ʒdʱˤ- ‘3.plur.cl.12’; second, an obligatory prefix expressing negation, comprising ŋᵊzˤc- ‘NEG’ and zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ- ‘POS’; third, an obligatory prefix expressing mode, comprising zˤɖʱ- ‘indicative’, ɴˤ- ‘imperative’, t͡ʃ- ‘conditional’ and ʐtˤ- ‘optative’; fourth, the root; and finally, fifth, an obligatory suffix expressing ta, comprising -꜖꜒b ‘PRES’ and -꜖꜒t͡sˤ ‘PAST’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: 19 prefixes, namely ɕʈʼᵊkʼʷ- ‘begin’, ɴʷəsˤkʼʷ- ‘stop’, ðˤᵊʃpʰ- ‘continue’, ɦəʃkˤ- ‘try’, ʑəʒgʱˤ- ‘start’, ɖʱᵊð- ‘want’, χʷəzɢˤ- ‘can’, ɡəːʒb- ‘finish’, zˤkəzbʱˤ- ‘need’, sˤtʰˤəːɢ- ‘decide’, ʃtʼˤəʐdʱ- ‘fail’, gʱᵊsˤk- ‘hope’, sqəzɢʷ- ‘must’, qˤəɕkˤ- ‘pretend’, ʐkʼʷᵊɕtʰˤ- ‘let’, ŋ̥ᵊᵏǀʼ- ‘force’, ʐᵊħ- ‘keep’, ɣʷətʼˤ- ‘cause’ and ᵑǀˤᵊʕ- ‘allow’

[ðˤᵊpˤ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤn̥ˤœ̰꜖b]

ðˤᵊpˤ
2.sing.OBJ
ʈ-
1excl.sing.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
n̥ˤœ̰꜖
love
-꜖꜒b
PRES

“I love you.”

(16)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

[spʰˤḛ̃꜒cʼ zkaṵ꜖cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖tʼ zˤtø꜒꜖ɡ]

spʰˤḛ̃꜒
surface
-꜒cʼ
NOM
zkaṵ꜖
table
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜒tʼ
cl.3
zˤtø꜒꜖ɡ
in

“on the table”

(17)

[sˤʈʰɞː꜒cʼ ɡʷᵊðɛ꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖ʁˤ tʰˤɞ̃꜒꜖ʁˤ]

sˤʈʰɞː꜖
inside
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɡʷᵊðɛ꜒
box
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜒꜖ʁˤ
cl.4
tʰˤɞ̃꜒꜖ʁˤ
to

“into the box”

(18)

[tˤɶ̰꜒q͡χʷ ʐtᵊzbʱɔ̃ː꜒꜖ħ]

tˤɶ̰꜒
1excl.sing
-꜒꜖q͡χʷ
sing
ʐtᵊzbʱɔ̃ː꜒꜖ħ
COMIT

“with me”

(19)

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.

Saht has Object–Verb–Subject (OVS) as its basic constituent order. Clauses begin with the object, followed by the verb, with the subject in final position. This is a rare but attested configuration in the world’s languages.

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

[ɕtˤəna꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜒xʷ bəɓˤ t͡sˤᵊtʼˤztˤœ꜒t͡sˤ t͡ʃəsˤtʼˤɛ̰꜖nˤ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ]

ɕtˤəna꜒꜖
hunter
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-̰꜒xʷ
cl.5
bəɓˤ
3.sing.cl.5.OBJ
t͡sˤ-
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ztˤœ꜒
kill
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
t͡ʃəsˤtʼˤɛ̰꜖
jaguar
-̰꜖nˤ
ERG
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(20)

[qʷᵊʈʼ ɢø꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ pˤᵊʈ tʼˤa꜒꜖ʔ ɕqʷa̰꜖ʁʷ ɕtˤəna꜒꜖ʔ ɕqʷa̰꜒xʷ ɖʱəc t͡sˤᵊtʼˤgʱɞ̃ː꜖꜒t͡sˤ pᵊt͡sʉː̰꜖nˤ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ]

qʷᵊʈʼ
3.sing.cl.12.POSS
ɢø꜒
dog
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
pˤᵊʈ
3.sing.cl.5.POSS
tʼˤa꜒꜖
daughter
-꜖꜒ʔ
GEN
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜒꜖ʁʷ
cl.12
ɕtˤəna꜒꜖
hunter
-꜖꜒ʔ
GEN
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-̰꜒xʷ
cl.5
ɖʱəc
3.sing.cl.2.OBJ
t͡sˤ-
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
gʱɞ̃ː꜖꜒
eat
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
pᵊt͡sʉː꜖꜒
lion
-̰꜖nˤ
ERG
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2

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

(21)

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 Saht 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, Saht 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.

[ɖʱəgʱʷ ʐɢˤɔː꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖ʁˤ stʰəːɢ dˤãː꜒ʔ ɕqʷa̰꜖kʷ ʃəχˤ ʂkʷõː꜒ʔ ɕqʷa̰꜖kʼʷ]

ɖʱəgʱʷ
3.sing.cl.9.POSS
ʐɢˤɔː꜖
book
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜒꜖ʁˤ
cl.4
stʰəːɢ
3.sing.cl.6.POSS
dˤãː꜒
friend
-꜖꜒ʔ
GEN
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖kʷ
cl.9
ʃəχˤ
2.sing.POSS
ʂkʷõː꜒
son
-꜖꜒ʔ
GEN
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖꜒kʼʷ
cl.6

“your son’s friend’s book”

(22)

Case Marking

Saht uses split case marking. In the present tense, the grammar follows a nominative–accusative pattern, where intransitive and transitive subjects are treated alike and objects are marked with the accusative. In the past tense, however, it follows an ergative–absolutive pattern, here called ergative–nominative, where intransitive subjects and transitive objects are treated alike and transitive subjects are marked with the ergative. This makes sense because present-tense clauses often describe events as ongoing, habitual or controlled by an active participant, so the grammar treats the subject as the central argument. Past-tense clauses, by contrast, often present an event as completed, making the affected participant especially salient. The ergative marking then singles out the transitive agent as the additional participant responsible for bringing about that result.

[t͡sˤᵊtʼˤk͡xʷœ꜒b ʃqœ̰꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ]

t͡sˤ-
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
k͡xʷœ꜒
sleep
-꜖꜒b
PRES
ʃqœ̰꜒
cat
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2

“The cat is sleeping.”

(23)

[t͡sˤᵊtʼˤzkʼˤa꜖꜒b ʃqœ̰꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ]

t͡sˤ-
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
zkʼˤa꜖꜒
run
-꜖꜒b
PRES
ʃqœ̰꜒
cat
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2

“The cat is running.”

(24)

[ʑʈᵊqʼɔḭ꜖dʱ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ ɖʱəc t͡sˤᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱəːd͡ʒa̰꜒b ʃqœ̰꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ]

ʑʈᵊqʼɔi꜒꜖
mouse
-̰꜖dʱ
ACC
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
ɖʱəc
3.sing.cl.2.OBJ
t͡sˤ-
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ʐʔəːd͡ʒa̰꜒
chase
-꜖꜒b
PRES
ʃqœ̰꜒
cat
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

(25)

[ʑʈᵊqʼɔi꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ ɖʱəc t͡sˤᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱø̰̃꜒t͡sˤ ʃqœ̰꜒nˤ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ]

ʑʈᵊqʼɔi꜒꜖
mouse
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
ɖʱəc
3.sing.cl.2.OBJ
t͡sˤ-
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ŋʷø̰̃꜒
catch
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ʃqœ̰꜒
cat
-̰꜖nˤ
ERG
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2

“The cat caught the mouse.”

(26)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

[t͡ʃəsˤtʼˤɛ̰꜖cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ ʒɡœ̃꜖꜒ħ ɕpʰᵊʑɶ̰꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ ʒɡœ̃꜖꜒ħ pᵊt͡sʉː꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ xʷᵊŋ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤztˤœ꜒t͡sˤ ɕtˤəna̰꜖nˤ ɕqʷa̰꜒xʷ]

t͡ʃəsˤtʼˤɛ̰꜖
jaguar
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
ʒɡœ̃꜖꜒ħ
and
ɕpʰᵊʑɶ̰꜒
tiger
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
ʒɡœ̃꜖꜒ħ
and
pᵊt͡sʉː꜖꜒
lion
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
xʷᵊŋ
3.plur.cl.2.OBJ
ɕqʼ-
3.sing.cl.5.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ztˤœ꜒
kill
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ɕtˤəna꜒꜖
hunter
-̰꜖nˤ
ERG
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-̰꜒xʷ
cl.5

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

(27)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Saht forms relative clauses by using a head-internal strategy. The head noun appears inside the clause itself, occupying its regular syntactic position. The entire clause functions as a modifier, and its external syntactic behaviour is identical to that of a noun-modifying phrase.

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

[ʃqœ̰꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ ɖʱəc zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤkʼəbʱˤo꜖꜒t͡sˤ]

ʃqœ̰꜒
cat
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
ɖʱəc
3.sing.cl.2.OBJ
ʈ-
1excl.sing.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
kʼəbʱˤo꜖꜒
pat
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST

“I patted the cat.”

(28)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

[ʑʈᵊqʼɔi꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ ɖʱəc zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱø̰̃꜒t͡sˤ ʑgʱʷᵊʒ ʃqœ̰꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ ɢᵊŋʷ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤkʼəbʱˤo꜖꜒t͡sˤ]

ʑʈᵊqʼɔi꜒꜖
mouse
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
ɖʱəc
3.sing.cl.2.OBJ
ɕkˤ-
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ŋʷø̰̃꜒
catch
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ʑgʱʷᵊʒ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS
ʃqœ̰꜒
cat
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
ɢᵊŋʷ
3.sing.cl.7.OBJ
ʈ-
1excl.sing.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
kʼəbʱˤo꜖꜒
pat
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(29)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

[ʒqʼʷᵊʃʈʰɶ꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖kʷ χˤəɽ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤgʱɞ̃ː꜖꜒t͡sˤ ʑgʱʷᵊʒ ʑʈᵊqʼɔi꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ ɢᵊŋʷ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱø̰̃꜒t͡sˤ ʑgʱʷᵊʒ ʃqœ̰꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ ɢᵊŋʷ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤkʼəbʱˤo꜖꜒t͡sˤ]

ʒqʼʷᵊʃʈʰɶ꜖꜒
cheese
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖kʷ
cl.9
χˤəɽ
3.sing.cl.9.OBJ
ɕkˤ-
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
gʱɞ̃ː꜖꜒
eat
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ʑgʱʷᵊʒ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS
ʑʈᵊqʼɔi꜒꜖
mouse
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
ɢᵊŋʷ
3.sing.cl.7.OBJ
ɕkˤ-
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ŋʷø̰̃꜒
catch
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ʑgʱʷᵊʒ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS
ʃqœ̰꜒
cat
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
ɢᵊŋʷ
3.sing.cl.7.OBJ
ʈ-
1excl.sing.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
kʼəbʱˤo꜖꜒
pat
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST

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

(30)

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

[ʒqʼʷᵊʃʈʰɶ꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖kʷ χˤəɽ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱɛ̃꜒꜖t͡sˤ ʑgʱʷᵊʒ tˤɶ̰꜒q͡χʷ dʱᵊɢˤ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤgʱɞ̃ː꜖꜒t͡sˤ ʑgʱʷᵊʒ ʑʈᵊqʼɔi꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ dʱᵊɢˤ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱø̰̃꜒t͡sˤ ʑgʱʷᵊʒ ʃqœ̰꜒cʼ ɕqʷa̰꜖d͡ʒ dʱᵊɢˤ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤkʼəbʱˤo꜖꜒t͡sˤ]

ʒqʼʷᵊʃʈʰɶ꜖꜒
cheese
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖kʷ
cl.9
χˤəɽ
3.sing.cl.9.OBJ
ɕkˤ-
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ɓɛ̃꜒꜖
buy
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ʑgʱʷᵊʒ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS
tˤɶ̰꜒
1excl.sing
-꜒꜖q͡χʷ
sing
dʱᵊɢˤ
1excl.sing.OBJ
ɕkˤ-
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
gʱɞ̃ː꜖꜒
eat
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ʑgʱʷᵊʒ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS
ʑʈᵊqʼɔi꜒꜖
mouse
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
dʱᵊɢˤ
1excl.sing.OBJ
ɕkˤ-
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ŋʷø̰̃꜒
catch
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ʑgʱʷᵊʒ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS
ʃqœ̰꜒
cat
-꜒cʼ
NOM
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖d͡ʒ
cl.2
dʱᵊɢˤ
1excl.sing.OBJ
ʈ-
1excl.sing.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
kʼəbʱˤo꜖꜒
pat
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST

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

(31)

Complementation Strategies

Saht forms complement clauses by nominalising the embedded verb. The nominalised form lacks finite verbal categories and behaves as a noun phrase. Subjects of nominalised clauses occur in the genitive case, and the nominalised verb establishes the semantic content of the complement.

The following example illustrate how complement clauses function:

[ɕkᵊsˤø꜒꜖ɡʷ ɕqʷa̰꜒xʷ ŋ̥əɟ sˤkʰʷᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱᵊsˤtʼˤa̰꜒t͡sˤ zˤəzˤkõː꜒cʼ sˤœ꜒xʷ ɴʷœ꜖ɡʷ ɕqʷa̰꜖ʁʷ ɦᵊpˤ sˤtəkʼ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱœ̃꜖꜒t͡sˤ ʑgʱʷᵊʒ ʐdʱˤḛ̃꜖nˤ ɕqʷa̰꜖kʼʷ]

ɕkᵊsˤø꜒꜖
teacher
-꜖꜒ɡʷ
DAT
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-̰꜒xʷ
cl.5
ŋ̥əɟ
3.sing.cl.5.INDOBJ
sˤkʰʷ-
3.sing.cl.7.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ʑᵊsˤtʼˤa̰꜒
surprise
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
zˤəzˤkõː꜒꜖
apple
-꜒cʼ
NOM
sˤœ꜒
a
-꜒xʷ
cl.11
ɴʷœ꜖
girl
-꜖꜒ɡʷ
DAT
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜒꜖ʁʷ
cl.12
ɦᵊpˤ
3.sing.cl.11.OBJ
sˤtəkʼ
3.sing.cl.12.INDOBJ
ɕkˤ-
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ŋ̥œ̃꜖꜒
give
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ʑgʱʷᵊʒ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS
ʐdʱˤẽ꜒
boy
-̰꜖nˤ
ERG
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖꜒kʼʷ
cl.6

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

(32)

Quotes

Saht 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:

[ɕqʼˤɵ̰꜒q͡χʷ ðˤᵊpˤ zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤn̥ˤœ̰꜖b ʑgʱʷᵊʒ tˤɶ̰꜒q͡χʷ ɴʷœ꜖ɡʷ ɕqʷa̰꜖ʁʷ dʱᵊɢˤ sˤtəkʼ zɟᵊtʼˤzˤɖʱɶ̰꜖t͡sˤ ʐdʱˤḛ̃꜖nˤ ɕqʷa̰꜖kʼʷ]

ɕqʼˤɵ̰꜒
2.sing
-꜒꜖q͡χʷ
sing
ðˤᵊpˤ
2.sing.OBJ
ɕkˤ-
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
n̥ˤœ̰꜖
love
-꜖꜒b
PRES
ʑgʱʷᵊʒ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS
tˤɶ̰꜒
1excl.sing
-꜒꜖q͡χʷ
sing
ɴʷœ꜖
girl
-꜖꜒ɡʷ
DAT
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜒꜖ʁʷ
cl.12
dʱᵊɢˤ
1excl.sing.OBJ
sˤtəkʼ
3.sing.cl.12.INDOBJ
zɟ-
3.sing.cl.6.SUBJ
zˤɡˤᵊtʼˤ-
POS
zˤɖʱ-
indicative
ŋʷɶ̰꜖
tell
-꜖꜒t͡sˤ
PAST
ʐdʱˤẽ꜒
boy
-̰꜖nˤ
ERG
ɕqʷa̰꜖
the
-꜖꜒kʼʷ
cl.6

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

(33)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Saht. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 23 July 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/11JFC

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-11JFC,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Saht}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/11JFC}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 23 July 2026}
}

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