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A Grammar of Nuch

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Nuch language (the 1075th 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 Nuch.

Typological Profile

It has has no interesting typological features.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Nuch has a moderately large consonant inventory, with 26 phonemes.

It has an exceptionally dense sibilant inventory, a notable dental–alveolar contrast across several manners, a notably rich liquid inventory, a complete absence of laryngeal consonants and a broad and varied fricative inventory.

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

labialdentalalveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalvelar
stopp b d t k ɡ
nasalm n ɲ ŋ
trill/tap/flapɾ
fricativef θ s ʃ ɕ ʑ x
approximantʋ l j
affricatet͡s t͡ʃ t͡ɕ

Vowels

Nuch has 5 vowel qualities. This places it within the broadly common range of mid-sized vowel inventories. The vowel chart shows the full set of contrasts employed in the language’s phonology.

It has a full range of vowel qualities even in reduced syllables.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Nuch 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

Nuch 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/i /i/j /j/
k /k/l /l/m /m/n /n/
o /o/p /p/r /ɾ/s /s/
t /t/u /u/w /ʋ/ñ /ɲ/
ɕ /ɕ/ʑ /ʑ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ch /t͡ʃ/kh /x/ng /ŋ/
rr /r/sh /ʃ/th /θ/
ty /t͡ɕ/tz /t͡s/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Nuch does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Nuch has the following genders:

Gender masc – for instance: bistaty ‘stick’, cherr ‘husband’, cheɕof ‘knee’, dask ‘wind’, jaf ‘heart’, khoraw ‘neighbour’, makit ‘market’, pirikh ‘bottle’, shaɕog ‘umbrella’, tafun ‘wing’, tid ‘inside’, tzat ‘speech’, tzew ‘tongue’, waɕ ‘east’, wiw ‘west’, wum ‘boy’, ñuspith ‘tower’, ɕif ‘idea’, ʑoj ‘face’, ʑotzoɕ ‘machine’.

Gender fem – for instance: biʑiʑ ‘jaguar’, buk ‘book’, dichel ‘teacher’, jutyib ‘sand’, khusuth ‘guts’, mab ‘time’, nuɕ ‘knife’, par ‘child’, peʑ ‘table’, purr ‘mother’, samañ ‘tiger’, soj ‘night’, tispat ‘breast’, totyikh ‘mammal’, tuf ‘bird’, ñatzak ‘bosom’, ñiñ ‘fish’, ɕan ‘sea’, ɕenash ‘binoculars’, ʑusekh ‘fog’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Thashelep tzisung nuɕelep lejukh fiñichuwep sech sefid fub dech.

[θaʃelep t͡sisuŋ nuɕelep lejux fiɲit͡ʃuʋep set͡ʃ sefid fub det͡ʃ]

θaʃ
woman -el
sing -ep
def t͡sisuŋ
COMIT nuɕ
knife -el
sing -ep
def l-
ACC ejux
blind fiɲit͡ʃ
mouse -uʋ
plur -ep
def set͡ʃ
three se
yon -f
fem -id
plur f-
active ub
catch det͡ʃ
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 are no clitics in the nominal phrase.

The Noun

The noun in Nuch consists of first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -el /-el/ ‘sing’ and -uw /-uʋ/ ‘plur’; and finally, third, an optional suffix expressing def, comprising -ep /-ep/ ‘def’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -om /-om/ ‘little’ and -etz /-et͡s/ ‘big’

The Adjective

In Nuch, the adjective has the following structure: an obligatory prefix expressing case, comprising sh- /ʃ-/ ‘NOM’, l- /l-/ ‘ACC’, kh- /x-/ ‘GEN’, tz- /t͡s-/ ‘DAT’, rr- /r-/ ‘INS’, w- /ʋ-/ ‘VOC’, n- /n-/ ‘ALL’, p- /p-/ ‘LOC’, t- /t-/ ‘ABL’ and ñ- /ɲ-/ ‘PART’ followed by the root.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Nuch, the determiner has the following structure: first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -ch /-t͡ʃ/ ‘masc’ and -f /-f/ ‘fem’; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -iʑ /-iʑ/ ‘sing’ and -id /-id/ ‘plur’.

Pronouns

The pronoun in Nuch has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -f /-f/ ‘sing’ and -l /-l/ ‘plur’.

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

Jef fuñ.

[jef fuɲ]

je
3.sing.fem -f
sing f-
active uɲ
love

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

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

Wuf jef fuñ.

[ʋuf jef fuɲ]

ʋu
3.sing.masc -f
sing je
3.sing.fem -f
sing f-
active uɲ
love

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

Tzemilelep ɕelaspelep ferrityil.

[t͡semilelep ɕelaspelep ferit͡ɕil]

t͡semil
Tsemil -el
sing -ep
def ɕelasp
Shelasp -el
sing -ep
def f-
active erit͡ɕil
hate

“Tsemil hates Shelasp.”

 (4)

Possession

wumelep ñotutyelep

[ʋumelep ɲotut͡ɕelep]

ʋum
boy -el
sing -ep
def ɲotut͡ɕ
apple -el
sing -ep
def

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
wuf ñotutyelep

[ʋuf ɲotut͡ɕelep]

ʋu
3.sing.masc -f
sing ɲotut͡ɕ
apple -el
sing -ep
def

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
gaf ñotutyelep

[ɡaf ɲotut͡ɕelep]

ɡa
1excl.sing -f
sing ɲotut͡ɕ
apple -el
sing -ep
def

“my apple”

 (7)
Khafostelep fitelep rraf khorawelep parrelep fakhutyekh dech.

[xafostelep fitelep raf xoɾaʋelep parelep faxut͡ɕex det͡ʃ]

xafost
hunter -el
sing -ep
def fit
daughter -el
sing -ep
def ra
2.sing -f
sing xoɾaʋ
neighbour -el
sing -ep
def par
son -el
sing -ep
def f-
active axut͡ɕex
kiss det͡ʃ
PAST

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

 (8)

Derivation

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

ɕowenel chofiʑ

[ɕoʋenel t͡ʃofiʑ]

ɕoʋen
lamb -el
sing t͡ʃo
a -f
fem -iʑ
sing

“a lamb”

 (9)

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

ɕowenomel chofiʑ

[ɕoʋenomel t͡ʃofiʑ]

ɕoʋen
lamb -om
little -el
sing t͡ʃo
a -f
fem -iʑ
sing

“a little lamb”

 (10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Nuch are enclitics (placed finally), and there are five types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising dech /det͡ʃ/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising gen /ɡen/ ‘imperative’, wab /ʋab/ ‘conditional’ and sas /sas/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing negation, comprising khokh /xox/ ‘NEG’; fourth, a clitic expressing question, comprising tzoñ /t͡soɲ/ ‘Q’; and finally, fifth, a clitic expressing comp, comprising bañ /baɲ/ ‘COMP’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: an obligatory prefix expressing voice, comprising f- /f-/ ‘active’ and j- /j-/ ‘passive’ followed by the root.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -che /-t͡ʃe/ ‘begin’ and -rra /-ra/ ‘stop’

Rraf fuñ.

[raf fuɲ]

ra
2.sing -f
sing f-
active uɲ
love

“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.

ñas peʑelep tapelep

[ɲas peʑelep tapelep]

ɲas
in peʑ
table -el
sing -ep
def tap
surface -el
sing -ep
def

“on the table”

 (12)
mid shakhoʑelep tidelep

[mid ʃaxoʑelep tidelep]

mid
to ʃaxoʑ
box -el
sing -ep
def tid
inside -el
sing -ep
def

“into the box”

 (13)
tzisung gaf

[t͡sisuŋ ɡaf]

t͡sisuŋ
COMIT ɡa
1excl.sing -f
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.

Nuch 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 Nuch.

Biʑiʑelep khafostelep fiɕ dech.

[biʑiʑelep xafostelep fiɕ det͡ʃ]

biʑiʑ
jaguar -el
sing -ep
def xafost
hunter -el
sing -ep
def f-
active iɕ
kill det͡ʃ
PAST

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (15)
Dañatzelep khafostelep fitelep ʑaɕelep fig dech.

[daɲat͡selep xafostelep fitelep ʑaɕelep fiɡ det͡ʃ]

daɲat͡s
lion -el
sing -ep
def xafost
hunter -el
sing -ep
def fit
daughter -el
sing -ep
def ʑaɕ
dog -el
sing -ep
def f-
active iɡ
eat det͡ʃ
PAST

“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 Nuch 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, Nuch 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.

rraf parrelep shaspelep bukelep

[raf parelep ʃaspelep bukelep]

ra
2.sing -f
sing par
son -el
sing -ep
def ʃasp
friend -el
sing -ep
def buk
book -el
sing -ep
def

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (17)

Case Marking

Nuch 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.

Shijelep fid.

[ʃijelep fid]

ʃij
cat -el
sing -ep
def f-
active id
sleep

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (18)
Shijelep fij.

[ʃijelep fij]

ʃij
cat -el
sing -ep
def f-
active ij
run

“The cat is running.”

 (19)
Shijelep fiñichelep fakhimo.

[ʃijelep fiɲit͡ʃelep faximo]

ʃij
cat -el
sing -ep
def fiɲit͡ʃ
mouse -el
sing -ep
def f-
active aximo
chase

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (20)
Shijelep fiñichelep fub dech.

[ʃijelep fiɲit͡ʃelep fub det͡ʃ]

ʃij
cat -el
sing -ep
def fiɲit͡ʃ
mouse -el
sing -ep
def f-
active ub
catch det͡ʃ
PAST

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Khafostelep biʑiʑuwep ʑab samañuwep ʑab dañatzuwep fiɕ dech.

[xafostelep biʑiʑuʋep ʑab samaɲuʋep ʑab daɲat͡suʋep fiɕ det͡ʃ]

xafost
hunter -el
sing -ep
def biʑiʑ
jaguar -uʋ
plur -ep
def ʑab
and samaɲ
tiger -uʋ
plur -ep
def ʑab
and daɲat͡s
lion -uʋ
plur -ep
def f-
active iɕ
kill det͡ʃ
PAST

“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 Nuch 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

Nuch 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:

Shijelep fifigog dech.

[ʃijelep fifiɡoɡ det͡ʃ]

ʃij
cat -el
sing -ep
def f-
active ifiɡoɡ
pat det͡ʃ
PAST

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Fiñichelep fub dech bañ shijelep fifigog dech.

[fiɲit͡ʃelep fub det͡ʃ baɲ ʃijelep fifiɡoɡ det͡ʃ]

fiɲit͡ʃ
mouse -el
sing -ep
def f-
active ub
catch det͡ʃ
PAST baɲ
COMP ʃij
cat -el
sing -ep
def f-
active ifiɡoɡ
pat det͡ʃ
PAST

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Tzamolelep fig dech bañ fiñichelep fub dech bañ shijelep fifigog dech.

[t͡samolelep fiɡ det͡ʃ baɲ fiɲit͡ʃelep fub det͡ʃ baɲ ʃijelep fifiɡoɡ det͡ʃ]

t͡samol
cheese -el
sing -ep
def f-
active iɡ
eat det͡ʃ
PAST baɲ
COMP fiɲit͡ʃ
mouse -el
sing -ep
def f-
active ub
catch det͡ʃ
PAST baɲ
COMP ʃij
cat -el
sing -ep
def f-
active ifiɡoɡ
pat det͡ʃ
PAST

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

 (25)

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

Gaf fop dech bañ tzamolelep fig dech bañ fiñichelep fub dech bañ shijelep fifigog dech.

[ɡaf fop det͡ʃ baɲ t͡samolelep fiɡ det͡ʃ baɲ fiɲit͡ʃelep fub det͡ʃ baɲ ʃijelep fifiɡoɡ det͡ʃ]

ɡa
1excl.sing -f
sing f-
active op
buy det͡ʃ
PAST baɲ
COMP t͡samol
cheese -el
sing -ep
def f-
active iɡ
eat det͡ʃ
PAST baɲ
COMP fiɲit͡ʃ
mouse -el
sing -ep
def f-
active ub
catch det͡ʃ
PAST baɲ
COMP ʃij
cat -el
sing -ep
def f-
active ifiɡoɡ
pat det͡ʃ
PAST

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Nuch 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:

Wumelep kinelep ñotutyel chochiʑ fos dech bañ dichelelep fuliburr dech.

[ʋumelep kinelep ɲotut͡ɕel t͡ʃot͡ʃiʑ fos det͡ʃ baɲ dit͡ʃelelep fulibur det͡ʃ]

ʋum
boy -el
sing -ep
def kin
girl -el
sing -ep
def ɲotut͡ɕ
apple -el
sing t͡ʃo
a -t͡ʃ
masc -iʑ
sing f-
active os
give det͡ʃ
PAST baɲ
COMP dit͡ʃel
teacher -el
sing -ep
def f-
active ulibur
surprise det͡ʃ
PAST

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

 (27)

Quotes

Nuch 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:

Wumelep kinelep gaf rraf fuñ bañ fef dech.

[ʋumelep kinelep ɡaf raf fuɲ baɲ fef det͡ʃ]

ʋum
boy -el
sing -ep
def kin
girl -el
sing -ep
def ɡa
1excl.sing -f
sing ra
2.sing -f
sing f-
active uɲ
love baɲ
COMP f-
active ef
tell det͡ʃ
PAST

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

 (28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Nuch. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 6 August 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/1C7HP

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-1C7HP,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Nuch}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/1C7HP}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 6 August 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Nuch / Nuch–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/1C7HP

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