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A Grammar of Bazh

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Bazh language (the 1061st 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 Bazh.

Typological Profile

It has has no interesting typological features.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Bazh has a large consonant inventory, comprising 35 phonemes.

It has a broad set of voiced–voiceless oppositions and a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts.

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

labialdentalalveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalretroflexvelarglottal
stopp b d t ɖ ʈ k ɡ
nasalm n ɲ ɳ ŋ
trill/tap/flapr ɽ
fricativef θ s z ʃ ʒ ʂ ʐ x ɣ h
approximantw ɹ l j
affricatet͡s d͡ʒ t͡ʃ t͡ɕ

Vowels

Bazh has 7 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 moderately reduced system of unstressed vowels.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Bazh 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

Vowel harmony does not exist in this language.

Writing System

Introduction

Bazh 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/h /h/i /i/
j /d͡ʒ/k /k/l /l/m /m/
n /n/o /o/p /p/r /r/
s /s/t /t/u /u/w /w/
y /j/z /z/ñ /ɲ/ğ /ɣ/
ɹ /ɹ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

aa /aː/ai /ai/au /au/
ch /t͡ʃ/ee /eː/ii /iː/
kh /x/ng /ŋ/oo /oː/
rd /ɖ/rn /ɳ/rr /ɽ/
rs /ʂ/rt /ʈ/rz /ʐ/
sh /ʃ/th /θ/ty /t͡ɕ/
tz /t͡s/uu /uː/zh /ʒ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Bazh does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Bazh does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Waaɹ huutz tzursizh waaɹ rraish paad fik sab rniyid thadaalim.

[ˈwaːɹ ˈhuːt͡s t͡suˈʂiʒ ˈwaːɹ ˈɽaiʃ ˈpaːd ˈfik ˈsab ˈɳijid θaˈdaːlim]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ˈhuːt͡s
woman t͡suˈʂiʒ
COMIT w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ˈɽaiʃ
knife ˈpaː
catch -d
PAST f-
plur ˈi
yon -k
ACC ˈsab
three ˈɳij
blind -id
ACC θaˈdaːl
mouse -im
plur

“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 Bazh consists of the root followed by an optional suffix expressing number, comprising -im /-im/ ‘plur’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -rta /-ʈa/ ‘little’ and -spi /-spi/ ‘big’

The Adjective

In Bazh, the adjective has the following structure: the root followed by an optional suffix expressing case, comprising -id /-id/ ‘ACC’, -af /-af/ ‘GEN’, -ag /-aɡ/ ‘DAT’, -ug /-uɡ/ ‘INS’, -un /-un/ ‘VOC’, -ich /-it͡ʃ/ ‘ALL’, -uch /-ut͡ʃ/ ‘LOC’, -uy /-uj/ ‘ABL’ and -uw /-uw/ ‘PART’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Bazh, the determiner has the following structure: first, an obligatory prefix expressing number, comprising w- /w-/ ‘sing’ and f- /f-/ ‘plur’; second, the root; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -ɹ /-ɹ/ ‘NOM’, -k /-k/ ‘ACC’, -ty /-t͡ɕ/ ‘GEN’, -ñ /-ɲ/ ‘DAT’, -y /-j/ ‘INS’, -h /-h/ ‘VOC’, -l /-l/ ‘ALL’, -ng /-ŋ/ ‘LOC’, -ch /-t͡ʃ/ ‘ABL’ and -n /-n/ ‘PART’.

Pronouns

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

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

Rriij ruf.

[ˈɽiːd͡ʒ ˈruf]

ˈɽiː
love -d͡ʒ
PRES ˈruf
3.sing

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

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

Ruf rriij ruf.

[ˈruf ˈɽiːd͡ʒ ˈruf]

ˈruf
3.sing ˈɽiː
love -d͡ʒ
PRES ˈruf
3.sing

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

Waaɹ Tutyun rsuñuj waak Thuwarz.

[ˈwaːɹ tuˈt͡ɕun ʂuˈɲud͡ʒ ˈwaːk θuˈwaʐ]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM tuˈt͡ɕun
Tuchun ʂuˈɲu
hate -d͡ʒ
PRES w-
sing ˈaː
the -k
ACC θuˈwaʐ
Thuwazh

“Tuchun hates Thuwazh.”

 (4)

Possession

waaɹ chuchim waaty taig

[ˈwaːɹ t͡ʃuˈt͡ʃim ˈwaːt͡ɕ ˈtaiɡ]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM t͡ʃuˈt͡ʃim
apple w-
sing ˈaː
the -t͡ɕ
GEN ˈtaiɡ
boy

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
waaɹ chuchim ruf

[ˈwaːɹ t͡ʃuˈt͡ʃim ˈruf]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM t͡ʃuˈt͡ʃim
apple ˈruf
3.sing

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
waaɹ chuchim shen

[ˈwaːɹ t͡ʃuˈt͡ʃim ˈʃen]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM t͡ʃuˈt͡ʃim
apple ˈʃen
1excl.sing

“my apple”

 (7)
Waaɹ paup waaty purzam hachaad waak biy waaty wabich rsush.

[ˈwaːɹ ˈpaup ˈwaːt͡ɕ puˈʐam haˈt͡ʃaːd ˈwaːk ˈbij ˈwaːt͡ɕ waˈbit͡ʃ ˈʂuʃ]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ˈpaup
daughter w-
sing ˈaː
the -t͡ɕ
GEN puˈʐam
hunter haˈt͡ʃaː
kiss -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -k
ACC ˈbij
son w-
sing ˈaː
the -t͡ɕ
GEN waˈbit͡ʃ
neighbour ˈʂuʃ
2.sing

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

 (8)

Derivation

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

woɹ rdaluty

[ˈwoɹ ɖaˈlut͡ɕ]

w-
sing ˈo
a -ɹ
NOM ɖaˈlut͡ɕ
lamb

“a lamb”

 (9)

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

woɹ rdalutyrta

[ˈwoɹ ɖaˈlut͡ɕʈa]

w-
sing ˈo
a -ɹ
NOM ɖaˈlut͡ɕ
lamb -ʈa
little

“a little lamb”

 (10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Bazh are enclitics (placed finally), and there are three types: first, a clitic expressing voice, comprising tzif /t͡sif/ ‘passive’; second, a clitic expressing negation, comprising khirz /xiʐ/ ‘NEG’; and finally, third, a clitic expressing question, comprising shit /ʃit/ ‘Q’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, an optional prefix expressing mode, comprising bi- /bi-/ ‘imperative’, di- /di-/ ‘conditional’ and ri- /ri-/ ‘optative’; second, the root; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing ta, comprising -j /-d͡ʒ/ ‘PRES’ and -d /-d/ ‘PAST’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -zhu /-ʒu/ ‘begin’ and -sha /-ʃa/ ‘stop’

Rriij rsush.

[ˈɽiːd͡ʒ ˈʂuʃ]

ˈɽiː
love -d͡ʒ
PRES ˈʂuʃ
2.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.

chee waaɹ yaat

[ˈt͡ʃeː ˈwaːɹ ˈjaːt]

ˈt͡ʃeː
in_surface w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ˈjaːt
table

“on the table”

 (12)
gaiz waaɹ kubum

[ˈɡaiz ˈwaːɹ kuˈbum]

ˈɡaiz
to_inside w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM kuˈbum
box

“into the box”

 (13)
tzursizh shen

[t͡suˈʂiʒ ˈʃen]

t͡suˈʂiʒ
COMIT ˈʃen
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.

Bazh 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 Bazh.

Waaɹ rdarsutz shed waak purzam.

[ˈwaːɹ ɖaˈʂut͡s ˈʃed ˈwaːk puˈʐam]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ɖaˈʂut͡s
jaguar ˈʃe
kill -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -k
ACC puˈʐam
hunter

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (15)
Waaɹ shuğip rred waak bai waaty paup waaty purzam.

[ˈwaːɹ ʃuˈɣip ˈɽed ˈwaːk ˈbai ˈwaːt͡ɕ ˈpaup ˈwaːt͡ɕ puˈʐam]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ʃuˈɣip
lion ˈɽe
eat -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -k
ACC ˈbai
dog w-
sing ˈaː
the -t͡ɕ
GEN ˈpaup
daughter w-
sing ˈaː
the -t͡ɕ
GEN puˈʐam
hunter

“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 Bazh 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, Bazh 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.

waaɹ buuk waaty karz waaty biy rsush

[ˈwaːɹ buːk ˈwaːt͡ɕ ˈkaʐ ˈwaːt͡ɕ ˈbij ˈʂuʃ]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM buːk
book w-
sing ˈaː
the -t͡ɕ
GEN ˈkaʐ
friend w-
sing ˈaː
the -t͡ɕ
GEN ˈbij
son ˈʂuʃ
2.sing

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (17)

Case Marking

Bazh 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.

Waaɹ jaang tzaj.

[ˈwaːɹ ˈd͡ʒaːŋ ˈt͡sad͡ʒ]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ˈd͡ʒaːŋ
cat ˈt͡sa
sleep -d͡ʒ
PRES

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (18)
Waaɹ jaang luj.

[ˈwaːɹ ˈd͡ʒaːŋ ˈlud͡ʒ]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ˈd͡ʒaːŋ
cat ˈlu
run -d͡ʒ
PRES

“The cat is running.”

 (19)
Waaɹ jaang biweej waak thadaal.

[ˈwaːɹ ˈd͡ʒaːŋ biˈweːd͡ʒ ˈwaːk θaˈdaːl]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ˈd͡ʒaːŋ
cat biˈweː
chase -d͡ʒ
PRES w-
sing ˈaː
the -k
ACC θaˈdaːl
mouse

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (20)
Waaɹ jaang paad waak thadaal.

[ˈwaːɹ ˈd͡ʒaːŋ ˈpaːd ˈwaːk θaˈdaːl]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ˈd͡ʒaːŋ
cat ˈpaː
catch -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -k
ACC θaˈdaːl
mouse

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Waaɹ purzam shed faak rdarsutzim tyirs faak sudiibim tyirs faak shuğipim.

[ˈwaːɹ puˈʐam ˈʃed ˈfaːk ɖaˈʂut͡sim ˈt͡ɕiʂ ˈfaːk suˈdiːbim ˈt͡ɕiʂ ˈfaːk ʃuˈɣipim]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM puˈʐam
hunter ˈʃe
kill -d
PAST f-
plur ˈaː
the -k
ACC ɖaˈʂut͡s
jaguar -im
plur ˈt͡ɕiʂ
and f-
plur ˈaː
the -k
ACC suˈdiːb
tiger -im
plur ˈt͡ɕiʂ
and f-
plur ˈaː
the -k
ACC ʃuˈɣip
lion -im
plur

“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 Bazh 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

Bazh forms relative clauses by placing the relative clause after the noun it modifies. The clause follows the internal word order of ordinary finite clauses. A dedicated relativising marker introduces the clause and identifies the relationship between the head noun and its role inside the relative clause.

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

Biwid waak jaang.

[biˈwid ˈwaːk ˈd͡ʒaːŋ]

biˈwi
pat -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -k
ACC ˈd͡ʒaːŋ
cat

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Biwid waaɹ jaang, keert paad waak thadaal.

[biˈwid ˈwaːɹ ˈd͡ʒaːŋ, ˈkeːʈ ˈpaːd ˈwaːk θaˈdaːl]

biˈwi
pat -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ˈd͡ʒaːŋ
cat ˈkeːʈ
RELPRON ˈpaː
catch -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -k
ACC θaˈdaːl
mouse

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Biwid waaɹ jaang, keert paad waaɹ thadaal, keert rred waak rsakars.

[biˈwid ˈwaːɹ ˈd͡ʒaːŋ, ˈkeːʈ ˈpaːd ˈwaːɹ θaˈdaːl, ˈkeːʈ ˈɽed ˈwaːk ʂaˈkaʂ]

biˈwi
pat -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ˈd͡ʒaːŋ
cat ˈkeːʈ
RELPRON ˈpaː
catch -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM θaˈdaːl
mouse ˈkeːʈ
RELPRON ˈɽe
eat -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -k
ACC ʂaˈkaʂ
cheese

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

 (25)

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

Biwid waaɹ jaang, keert paad waaɹ thadaal, keert rred waaɹ rsakars, keert baad shen.

[biˈwid ˈwaːɹ ˈd͡ʒaːŋ, ˈkeːʈ ˈpaːd ˈwaːɹ θaˈdaːl, ˈkeːʈ ˈɽed ˈwaːɹ ʂaˈkaʂ, ˈkeːʈ ˈbaːd ˈʃen]

biˈwi
pat -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ˈd͡ʒaːŋ
cat ˈkeːʈ
RELPRON ˈpaː
catch -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM θaˈdaːl
mouse ˈkeːʈ
RELPRON ˈɽe
eat -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ʂaˈkaʂ
cheese ˈkeːʈ
RELPRON ˈbaː
buy -d
PAST ˈʃen
1excl.sing

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Bazh 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:

Waaɹ taig tzid waañ khiis wok chuchim rzizis ğarnid waañ dicheel.

[ˈwaːɹ ˈtaiɡ ˈt͡sid ˈwaːɲ ˈxiːs ˈwok t͡ʃuˈt͡ʃim ʐiˈzis ɣaˈɳid ˈwaːɲ dit͡ʃeːl]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ˈtaiɡ
boy ˈt͡si
give -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɲ
DAT ˈxiːs
girl w-
sing ˈo
a -k
ACC t͡ʃuˈt͡ʃim
apple ʐiˈzis
COMP ɣaˈɳi
surprise -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɲ
DAT dit͡ʃeːl
teacher

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

 (27)

Quotes

Bazh 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:

Waaɹ taig tyaid waañ khiis shen rriij rsush rzizis.

[ˈwaːɹ ˈtaiɡ ˈt͡ɕaid ˈwaːɲ ˈxiːs ˈʃen ˈɽiːd͡ʒ ˈʂuʃ ʐiˈzis]

w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɹ
NOM ˈtaiɡ
boy ˈt͡ɕai
tell -d
PAST w-
sing ˈaː
the -ɲ
DAT ˈxiːs
girl ˈʃen
1excl.sing ˈɽiː
love -d͡ʒ
PRES ˈʂuʃ
2.sing ʐiˈzis
COMP

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

 (28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Bazh. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 2 August 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/19DLX

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-19DLX,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Bazh}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/19DLX}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 2 August 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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

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https://languagecreator.org/grammar/19DLX

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