A Grammar of Naf

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Naf language (the 1053rd 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 Naf.

Typological Profile

It has not just singular and plural, but also dual, as well as the typologically rare OSV basic word order, four genders and a small but genuine set of click consonants.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Naf has a large consonant inventory, comprising 48 phonemes.

It has a notably rich set of sibilant contrasts, a broad set of voiced–voiceless oppositions, a modest (but clearly contrastive) set of labialised consonants, a noticeable presence of pharyngealised phonemes and a small but genuine set of click consonants.

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

labialdentalphar. dentalalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velarglottal
stopp b d t dˤ tˤ c ɟ ɖ ʈ k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ
ejective stopkʷʼ
nasalm n ɲ ɳ ŋ ŋʷ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef s z sˤ zˤ ʃ ʒ ʂ ʐ h
approximantw ɾ j
affricatet͡s t͡sˤ d͡ʒ t͡ʃ t͡ɕ
implosiveɓ
clickᵏǀ ᵏǀˤ
click, nasalᵑǀ ᵑǀˤ

Vowels

Naf has 10 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 modest but genuine inventory of nasal vowels, occasional ghost vowels that surface only weakly, front rounded vowels (these are cross-linguistically relatively uncommon, but occur in a number of well-known languages, including French, German, Turkish and Mandarin) and a moderately reduced system of unstressed vowels.

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

front unroundedfront roundedcentralback
closei y u
mide ø ə̃ o
opena

Stress and Tones

Naf has phonemic stress but no lexical tone. Stress consistently falls on the first vowel of the root, and no contrastive tonal distinctions are made.

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

Naf 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 /d͡ʒ/
k /k/m /m/n /n/ṇ /nˤ/
o /o/p /p/r /ɾ/s /s/
ṣ /sˤ/t /t/ṭ /tˤ/u /u/
w /w/y /j/z /z/ẓ /zˤ/
ñ /ɲ/ö /ø/ü /y/ẽ /ə̃/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ai /ai/au /au/bb /ɓ/
ch /t͡ʃ/dy /ɟ/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/
rz /ʐ/sh /ʃ/tj /c/
ty /t͡ɕ/tz /t͡s/tẓ /t͡sˤ/
zh /ʒ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Naf distinguishes singular, dual and plural.

Gender

Naf has the following genders:

Gender cl.1 – for instance: cüṭ ‘bird’, deṇ ‘large’, ḍaḍaurs ‘library’, ḍody ‘star’, fay ‘mother’, hairt ‘daughter’, huy ‘far’, jugwerd ‘tower’, mas ‘egg’, murit ‘brick’, ngaḍ ‘good’, püng ‘sound’, rrañ ‘round’, rsaroṣ ‘box’, rtubb ‘girl’, rzöng ‘white’, sisörr ‘religion’, tjaty ‘woman’, tjih ‘long’, ñarz ‘road’.

Gender cl.2 – for instance: cañöḍ ‘forest’, ḍardach ‘God’, gigqu ‘earth’, gir ‘stone’, gwöbb ‘son’, jagquaṭ ‘root’, jek ‘all’, kahörz ‘mammal’, motẓ ‘black’, pish ‘leaf’, pord ‘dirty’, quör ‘wind’, rsüy ‘land’, rzey ‘boy’, rütz ‘chair’, ṣebb ‘table’, ṣipaij ‘dust’, tyug ‘whole’, tyuw ‘city’, zuzus ‘urine’.

Gender cl.3 – for instance: cit ‘inside’, duẓ ‘south’, fardutẓ ‘stick’, gaif ‘single’, giz ‘few’, gquatön ‘net’, hudy ‘north’, jangwingw ‘umbrella’, migk ‘knife’, ṇarzam ‘colourless’, ṇizish ‘school’, queṣ ‘new’, rushogqu ‘river’, rzord ‘blind’, rzöw ‘right’, ṣagöṣ ‘snake’, tjatjaṇ ‘ash’, tjaz ‘yellow’, wady ‘fire’, wich ‘west’.

Gender cl.4 – for instance: bbard ‘night’, dyugk ‘little’, ḍẽbb ‘time’, gkatẓöṇ ‘restaurant’, gquirors ‘teacher’, ncey ‘nose’, nuzaj ‘fingernail’, pöṭ ‘sea’, rdaböp ‘penis’, rdiṭögk ‘smooth’, rrutaigw ‘belly’, rrör ‘foot’, rzaiñ ‘hand’, shutzir ‘farmer’, sib ‘skin’, tachairz ‘student’, työm ‘heart’, tẓirz ‘full’, ṭajörz ‘thick’, zhawof ‘lion’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Ṭi rzordaṭ gküw sangoḍim rse ñich ṭi tjatyaṭ yufongw ṭiw migkaṭ tjauṇ haẓ.

[ˈtˤi ˈʐoɖatˤ ˈkʼyw saˈŋodˤim ˈʂe ɲit͡ʃ ˈtˤi ˈcat͡ɕatˤ juˈfoŋʷ ˈtˤiw ˈmikʼatˤ ˈcaunˤ hazˤ]

ˈtˤi
the
ˈʐoɖ
blind
-atˤ
NOM
ˈkʼy
yon
-w
cl.3
saˈŋodˤ
mouse
-im
ACC
ˈʂe
three
ɲit͡ʃ
plur
ˈtˤi
the
ˈcat͡ɕ
woman
-atˤ
NOM
juˈfoŋʷ
COMIT
ˈtˤi
the
-w
cl.3
ˈmikʼ
knife
-atˤ
NOM
ˈcau
catch
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
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 number. a clitic expressing number, comprising ṣurs /sˤuʂ/ ‘dual’ and ñich /ɲit͡ʃ/ ‘plur’.

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 Naf.

The Noun

The noun in Naf consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -aṭ /-atˤ/ ‘NOM’, -im /-im/ ‘ACC’, -aḍ /-adˤ/ ‘DAT’, -utz /-ut͡s/ ‘INS’, -iḍ /-idˤ/ ‘VOC’, -urn /-uɳ/ ‘ALL’, -uf /-uf/ ‘LOC’, -ugqu /-ukʼʷ/ ‘ABL’ and -urr /-uɽ/ ‘PART’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -ik /-ik/ ‘little’ and -ing /-iŋ/ ‘big’

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Naf, the determiner has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -r /-ɾ/ ‘cl.2’, -w /-w/ ‘cl.3’ and -ṇ /-nˤ/ ‘cl.4’.

Pronouns

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

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

Maiḍ rdaṇ ngwa.

[ˈmaidˤ ˈɖanˤ ŋʷa]

ˈmaidˤ
3.sing.cl.1
ˈɖa
love
-nˤ
active
ŋʷa
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(2)

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

Maiḍ ṣich rdaṇ ngwa.

[ˈmaidˤ ˈsˤit͡ʃ ˈɖanˤ ŋʷa]

ˈmaidˤ
3.sing.cl.1
ˈsˤit͡ʃ
3.sing.cl.2
ˈɖa
love
-nˤ
active
ŋʷa
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ

He loves her.”

(3)

Proper Nouns

Ṭi Dyuṣẽshim ṭir Ṣanainaṭ nciṣiṇ ngwa.

[ˈtˤi ɟuˈsˤə̃ʃim ˈtˤiɾ sˤaˈnainatˤ ᵑǀiˈsˤinˤ ŋʷa]

ˈtˤi
the
ɟuˈsˤə̃ʃ
Jusash
-im
ACC
ˈtˤi
the

cl.2
sˤaˈnain
Sanain
-atˤ
NOM
ᵑǀiˈsˤi
hate
-nˤ
active
ŋʷa
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ

“Sanain hates Jusash.”

(4)

Possession

ṭir rzeyaṭ ṭi gwaẓengwaṭ

[ˈtˤiɾ ˈʐejatˤ ˈtˤi ɡʷaˈzˤeŋʷatˤ]

ˈtˤi
the

cl.2
ˈʐej
boy
-atˤ
NOM
ˈtˤi
the
ɡʷaˈzˤeŋʷ
apple
-atˤ
NOM

“the boy’s apple”

(5)
ṣich ṭi gwaẓengwaṭ

[ˈsˤit͡ʃ ˈtˤi ɡʷaˈzˤeŋʷatˤ]

ˈsˤit͡ʃ
3.sing.cl.2
ˈtˤi
the
ɡʷaˈzˤeŋʷ
apple
-atˤ
NOM

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(6)
tyüp ṭi gwaẓengwaṭ

[ˈt͡ɕyp ˈtˤi ɡʷaˈzˤeŋʷatˤ]

ˈt͡ɕyp
1excl.sing
ˈtˤi
the
ɡʷaˈzˤeŋʷ
apple
-atˤ
NOM

“my apple”

(7)
Tyup ṭiṇ rnangwaṇaṭ ṭir gwöbbim ṭir fitaurzaṭ ṭi hairtaṭ shiraṇ haẓ.

[ˈt͡ɕup ˈtˤinˤ ɳaˈŋʷanˤatˤ ˈtˤiɾ ˈɡʷøɓim ˈtˤiɾ fiˈtauʐatˤ ˈtˤi ˈhaiʈatˤ ʃiˈɾanˤ hazˤ]

ˈt͡ɕup
2.sing
ˈtˤi
the
-nˤ
cl.4
ɳaˈŋʷanˤ
neighbour
-atˤ
NOM
ˈtˤi
the

cl.2
ˈɡʷøɓ
son
-im
ACC
ˈtˤi
the

cl.2
fiˈtauʐ
hunter
-atˤ
NOM
ˈtˤi
the
ˈhaiʈ
daughter
-atˤ
NOM
ʃiˈɾa
kiss
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST

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

(8)

Derivation

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

tẓi tẓusharaṭ

[ˈt͡sˤi t͡sˤuˈʃaɾatˤ]

ˈt͡sˤi
a
t͡sˤuˈʃaɾ
lamb
-atˤ
NOM

“a lamb”

(9)

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

tẓi tẓusharikaṭ

[ˈt͡sˤi t͡sˤuˈʃaɾikatˤ]

ˈt͡sˤi
a
t͡sˤuˈʃaɾ
lamb
-ik
little
-atˤ
NOM

“a little lamb”

(10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Naf are enclitics (placed finally), and there are five types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising haẓ /hazˤ/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising zhan /ʒan/ ‘imperative’, ru /ɾu/ ‘conditional’ and gitz /ɡit͡s/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing negation, comprising nciz /ᵑǀiz/ ‘NEG’; fourth, a clitic expressing subj, comprising ṣuch /sˤut͡ʃ/ ‘1incl.sing’, ngibb /ŋiɓ/ ‘1excl.sing’, quak /kʷak/ ‘2.sing’, ngwa /ŋʷa/ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, ngwidy /ŋʷiɟ/ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, tatj /tac/ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, ṭabb /tˤaɓ/ ‘1incl.dual’, ṭing /tˤiŋ/ ‘1excl.dual’, rdi /ɖi/ ‘2.dual’, dyugw /ɟuɡʷ/ ‘3.dual.cl.1’, chin /t͡ʃin/ ‘3.dual.cl.2’, tyang /t͡ɕaŋ/ ‘3.dual.cl.3’, huṇ /hunˤ/ ‘3.dual.cl.4’, gwabb /ɡʷaɓ/ ‘1incl.plur’, sir /siɾ/ ‘1excl.plur’, tyar /t͡ɕaɾ/ ‘2.plur’, ṣaqu /sˤakʷ/ ‘3.plur.cl.1’, c̣udy /ᵏǀˤuɟ/ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, gatz /ɡat͡s/ ‘3.plur.cl.3’ and dady /daɟ/ ‘3.plur.cl.4’; and finally, fifth, a clitic expressing question, comprising rsuty /ʂut͡ɕ/ ‘Q’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing voice, comprising -ṇ /-nˤ/ ‘active’ and -qu /-kʷ/ ‘passive’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -bbi /-ɓi/ ‘begin’ and -sa /-sa/ ‘stop’

Tyup rdaṇ ngibb.

[ˈt͡ɕup ˈɖanˤ ŋiɓ]

ˈt͡ɕup
2.sing
ˈɖa
love
-nˤ
active
ŋiɓ
1excl.sing.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.

debb ṭir ṣebbaṭ

[ˈdeɓ ˈtˤiɾ ˈsˤeɓatˤ]

ˈdeɓ
in_surface
ˈtˤi
the

cl.2
ˈsˤeɓ
table
-atˤ
NOM

“on the table”

(12)
kẽgw ṭi rsaroṣaṭ

[ˈkə̃ɡʷ ˈtˤi ʂaˈɾosˤatˤ]

ˈkə̃ɡʷ
to_inside
ˈtˤi
the
ʂaˈɾosˤ
box
-atˤ
NOM

“into the box”

(13)
yufongw tyüp

[juˈfoŋʷ ˈt͡ɕyp]

juˈfoŋʷ
COMIT
ˈt͡ɕyp
1excl.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.

Naf adopts Object–Subject–Verb (OSV) as its unmarked word order. The object precedes the subject, and the verb appears clause-finally. OSV is a rare ordering pattern but is attested in a small number of languages.

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

Ṭir fitaurzim ṭiṇ hitabbaṭ ncaṇ haẓ tatj.

[ˈtˤiɾ fiˈtauʐim ˈtˤinˤ hiˈtaɓatˤ ˈᵑǀanˤ hazˤ tac]

ˈtˤi
the

cl.2
fiˈtauʐ
hunter
-im
ACC
ˈtˤi
the
-nˤ
cl.4
hiˈtaɓ
jaguar
-atˤ
NOM
ˈᵑǀa
kill
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
tac
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(15)
Ṭir fitaurzaṭ ṭi hairtaṭ ṭi tjauzim ṭiṇ zhawofaṭ duṇ haẓ tatj.

[ˈtˤiɾ fiˈtauʐatˤ ˈtˤi ˈhaiʈatˤ ˈtˤi ˈcauzim ˈtˤinˤ ʒaˈwofatˤ ˈdunˤ hazˤ tac]

ˈtˤi
the

cl.2
fiˈtauʐ
hunter
-atˤ
NOM
ˈtˤi
the
ˈhaiʈ
daughter
-atˤ
NOM
ˈtˤi
the
ˈcauz
dog
-im
ACC
ˈtˤi
the
-nˤ
cl.4
ʒaˈwof
lion
-atˤ
NOM
ˈdu
eat
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
tac
3.sing.cl.4.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 Naf 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, Naf 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.

tyup ṭir gwöbbaṭ ṭiṇ fiquaṭ ṭi tjügwaṭ

[ˈt͡ɕup ˈtˤiɾ ˈɡʷøɓatˤ ˈtˤinˤ ˈfikʷatˤ ˈtˤi ˈcyɡʷatˤ]

ˈt͡ɕup
2.sing
ˈtˤi
the

cl.2
ˈɡʷøɓ
son
-atˤ
NOM
ˈtˤi
the
-nˤ
cl.4
ˈfikʷ
friend
-atˤ
NOM
ˈtˤi
the
ˈcyɡʷ
book
-atˤ
NOM

“your son’s friend’s book”

(17)

Case Marking

Naf uses nominative–accusative case marking. The subject of an intransitive verb and the subject of a transitive verb are treated alike and take the nominative case, while the object of a transitive verb is marked with the accusative case. This is the familiar pattern from many European languages: the grammar groups together the participants that function as subjects and marks the participant affected by a transitive action separately.

Ṭi mitẓaṭ työṇ.

[ˈtˤi ˈmit͡sˤatˤ ˈt͡ɕønˤ]

ˈtˤi
the
ˈmit͡sˤ
cat
-atˤ
NOM
ˈt͡ɕø
sleep
-nˤ
active

“The cat is sleeping.”

(18)
Ṭi mitẓaṭ dyiṇ.

[ˈtˤi ˈmit͡sˤatˤ ˈɟinˤ]

ˈtˤi
the
ˈmit͡sˤ
cat
-atˤ
NOM
ˈɟi
run
-nˤ
active

“The cat is running.”

(19)
Ṭiw sangoḍim ṭi mitẓaṭ tzataṇ.

[ˈtˤiw saˈŋodˤim ˈtˤi ˈmit͡sˤatˤ t͡saˈtanˤ]

ˈtˤi
the
-w
cl.3
saˈŋodˤ
mouse
-im
ACC
ˈtˤi
the
ˈmit͡sˤ
cat
-atˤ
NOM
t͡saˈta
chase
-nˤ
active

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

(20)
Ṭiw sangoḍim ṭi mitẓaṭ tjauṇ haẓ.

[ˈtˤiw saˈŋodˤim ˈtˤi ˈmit͡sˤatˤ ˈcaunˤ hazˤ]

ˈtˤi
the
-w
cl.3
saˈŋodˤ
mouse
-im
ACC
ˈtˤi
the
ˈmit͡sˤ
cat
-atˤ
NOM
ˈcau
catch
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST

“The cat caught the mouse.”

(21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Ṭiṇ hitabbim ñich zhiṣ ṭir kuboḍim ñich zhiṣ ṭiṇ zhawofim ñich ṭir fitaurzaṭ ncaṇ haẓ ngwa.

[ˈtˤinˤ hiˈtaɓim ɲit͡ʃ ˈʒisˤ ˈtˤiɾ kuˈbodˤim ɲit͡ʃ ˈʒisˤ ˈtˤinˤ ʒaˈwofim ɲit͡ʃ ˈtˤiɾ fiˈtauʐatˤ ˈᵑǀanˤ hazˤ ŋʷa]

ˈtˤi
the
-nˤ
cl.4
hiˈtaɓ
jaguar
-im
ACC
ɲit͡ʃ
plur
ˈʒisˤ
and
ˈtˤi
the

cl.2
kuˈbodˤ
tiger
-im
ACC
ɲit͡ʃ
plur
ˈʒisˤ
and
ˈtˤi
the
-nˤ
cl.4
ʒaˈwof
lion
-im
ACC
ɲit͡ʃ
plur
ˈtˤi
the

cl.2
fiˈtauʐ
hunter
-atˤ
NOM
ˈᵑǀa
kill
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
ŋʷa
3.sing.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 Naf 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

Naf 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:

Ṭi mitẓim hatzuṇ haẓ ngibb.

[ˈtˤi ˈmit͡sˤim haˈt͡sunˤ hazˤ ŋiɓ]

ˈtˤi
the
ˈmit͡sˤ
cat
-im
ACC
haˈt͡su
pat
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
ŋiɓ
1excl.sing.SUBJ

“I patted the cat.”

(23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Ṭiw sangoḍim tjauṇ haẓ ṭi mitẓim hatzuṇ haẓ ngibb.

[ˈtˤiw saˈŋodˤim ˈcaunˤ hazˤ ˈtˤi ˈmit͡sˤim haˈt͡sunˤ hazˤ ŋiɓ]

ˈtˤi
the
-w
cl.3
saˈŋodˤ
mouse
-im
ACC
ˈcau
catch
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
ˈtˤi
the
ˈmit͡sˤ
cat
-im
ACC
haˈt͡su
pat
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
ŋiɓ
1excl.sing.SUBJ

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Ṭi tẓitjagkim duṇ haẓ ṭiw sangoḍim tjauṇ haẓ ṭi mitẓim hatzuṇ haẓ ngibb.

[ˈtˤi t͡sˤiˈcakʼim ˈdunˤ hazˤ ˈtˤiw saˈŋodˤim ˈcaunˤ hazˤ ˈtˤi ˈmit͡sˤim haˈt͡sunˤ hazˤ ŋiɓ]

ˈtˤi
the
t͡sˤiˈcakʼ
cheese
-im
ACC
ˈdu
eat
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
ˈtˤi
the
-w
cl.3
saˈŋodˤ
mouse
-im
ACC
ˈcau
catch
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
ˈtˤi
the
ˈmit͡sˤ
cat
-im
ACC
haˈt͡su
pat
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
ŋiɓ
1excl.sing.SUBJ

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

(25)

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

Tyüp küṇ haẓ ṭi tẓitjagkim duṇ haẓ ṭiw sangoḍim tjauṇ haẓ ṭi mitẓim hatzuṇ haẓ ngibb.

[ˈt͡ɕyp ˈkynˤ hazˤ ˈtˤi t͡sˤiˈcakʼim ˈdunˤ hazˤ ˈtˤiw saˈŋodˤim ˈcaunˤ hazˤ ˈtˤi ˈmit͡sˤim haˈt͡sunˤ hazˤ ŋiɓ]

ˈt͡ɕyp
1excl.sing
ˈky
buy
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
ˈtˤi
the
t͡sˤiˈcakʼ
cheese
-im
ACC
ˈdu
eat
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
ˈtˤi
the
-w
cl.3
saˈŋodˤ
mouse
-im
ACC
ˈcau
catch
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
ˈtˤi
the
ˈmit͡sˤ
cat
-im
ACC
haˈt͡su
pat
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
ŋiɓ
1excl.sing.SUBJ

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

(26)

Complementation Strategies

Naf 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:

Ṭiṇ gquirorsaḍ ṭir rzeyaṭ tẓi gwaẓengwim ṭi rtubbaḍ ñoṇ haẓ gkigẽṇ haẓ ngwidy.

[ˈtˤinˤ kʼʷiˈɾoʂadˤ ˈtˤiɾ ˈʐejatˤ ˈt͡sˤi ɡʷaˈzˤeŋʷim ˈtˤi ˈʈuɓadˤ ˈɲonˤ hazˤ kʼiˈɡə̃nˤ hazˤ ŋʷiɟ]

ˈtˤi
the
-nˤ
cl.4
kʼʷiˈɾoʂ
teacher
-adˤ
DAT
ˈtˤi
the

cl.2
ˈʐej
boy
-atˤ
NOM
ˈt͡sˤi
a
ɡʷaˈzˤeŋʷ
apple
-im
ACC
ˈtˤi
the
ˈʈuɓ
girl
-adˤ
DAT
ˈɲo
give
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
kʼiˈɡə̃
surprise
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
ŋʷiɟ
3.sing.cl.3.SUBJ

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

(27)

Quotes

Naf 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:

Tyüp tyup rdaṇ ṭi rtubbaḍ ṭir rzeyaṭ yaṇ haẓ ngwa.

[ˈt͡ɕyp ˈt͡ɕup ˈɖanˤ ˈtˤi ˈʈuɓadˤ ˈtˤiɾ ˈʐejatˤ ˈjanˤ hazˤ ŋʷa]

ˈt͡ɕyp
1excl.sing
ˈt͡ɕup
2.sing
ˈɖa
love
-nˤ
active
ˈtˤi
the
ˈʈuɓ
girl
-adˤ
DAT
ˈtˤi
the

cl.2
ˈʐej
boy
-atˤ
NOM
ˈja
tell
-nˤ
active
hazˤ
PAST
ŋʷa
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ

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

(28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Naf. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 30 July 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/17STM

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-17STM,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Naf}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/17STM}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 30 July 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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