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A Grammar of Liz

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Liz language (the 1084th 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 Liz.

Typological Profile

It has a rich system of noun classes, a disproportionately large set of glottal and uvular consonants and a small but genuine set of click consonants.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Liz has a large consonant inventory, comprising 42 phonemes.

It has a maximally contrastive voicing system, a disproportionately large set of glottal and uvular consonants, a strongly reduced sibilant system, 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 Liz. The chart lists all places and manners of articulation attested in the language.

labialdentalphar. dentalalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolarlateralpalatalretroflexvelaruvularpharyngealglottal
stopp b d t dˤ tˤ ɖ ʈ k ɡ q ɢ ʔ
ejective stopkʼ qʼ
nasalm n nˤ ɲ
trill/tap/flapr rˤ ɽ
fricativef s z sˤ zˤ ʕ h
approximantw ɹ ɹˤ l j
affricatet͡s t͡sˤ d͡ʒ t͡ʃ
implosiveɓ
clickᵏǀ ᵏǀˤ

Vowels

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

It has a modest but genuine inventory of nasal vowels, 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 Liz. 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

Liz 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

Liz 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/a’ /a̰/b /b/c /ᵏǀ/
c̣ /ᵏǀˤ/d /d/ḍ /dˤ/e /e/
e’ /ḛ/f /f/g /ɡ/h /h/
i /i/i’ /ḭ/j /d͡ʒ/k /k/
l /l/m /m/n /n/ṇ /nˤ/
o /o/o’ /o̰/p /p/q /q/
r /r/ṛ /rˤ/s /s/ṣ /sˤ/
t /t/ṭ /tˤ/u /u/u’ /ṵ/
w /w/y /j/z /z/ẓ /zˤ/
ñ /ɲ/ø /ø/ø’ /ø̰/ü /y/
ü’ /y̰/ɹ /ɹ/ɹ̣ /ɹˤ/ẽ /ə̃/
ẽ’ /ə̰̃/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ai /ai/au /au/bb /ɓ/
ch /t͡ʃ/gk /kʼ/gq /qʼ/
għ /ʕ/rd /ɖ/rr /ɽ/
rt /ʈ/tz /t͡s/tẓ /t͡sˤ/
ħg /ɢ/’ /ʔ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Liz does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Liz has the following noun classes:

Class cl.1 – for instance: ci’tẓü’gq ‘bank’, dasagq ‘library’, ḍafe’tz ‘medicine’, ḍa’ħge’ ‘religion’, għugħuḍ ‘school’, għuṭiẓ ‘restaurant’, għøy ‘wife’, maṣuɹ ‘neighbour’, nü’z ‘husband’, ṇaum ‘manner’, wa’fuq ‘court’, zagẽq ‘student’, zep ‘friend’, zirdañ ‘market’, ħgiṇ ‘house’, ɹ̣iḍird ‘tower’.

Class cl.2 – for instance: bbabb ‘wind’, cegk ‘rain’, ciḍaiṣ ‘snow’, c̣iɹuṭ ‘cloud’, kugħa’ṛ ‘brick’, na’mabb ‘horn’, ṇas ‘bone’, saṛutẓ ‘fog’, tzigħ ‘tooth’, ya’maṇ ‘fingernail’.

Class cl.3 – for instance: bbaḍigq ‘sand’, bbe’r ‘fire’, chiwo’ħg ‘stick’, durdab ‘lake’, ḍaugq ‘earth’, geḍ ‘moon’, gqagq ‘sun’, hiṇaim ‘mountain’, kiwaṛ ‘ice’, køj ‘sea’, qitz ‘star’, saurt ‘sky’, ṣigkaig ‘embrace’, yabẽṭ ‘plain’, yauɹ̣ ‘stone’, yuħgird ‘river’, züb ‘water’, ẓu’ ‘land’, ’a’ɹ̣as ‘forest’.

Class cl.4 – for instance: chabbiṇ ‘umbrella’, c̣up ‘road’, hi’paɹ̣ ‘rope’, ṇiṇü’d ‘grass’, rdabich ‘machine’, sañas ‘binoculars’, sig ‘bed’, si’tẓogq ‘net’, tẓabb ‘table’, yuħg ‘chair’, ñiħg ‘leaf’, ɹoñ ‘knife’.

Class cl.5 – for instance: bbogq ‘year’, fikaṇ ‘cheese’, jurdaf ‘breast’, mi’r ‘egg’, paigq ‘meat’, rdujoy ‘wheat’, rrirrøtz ‘salt’, ɹarrü’ṇ ‘apple’.

Class cl.6 – for instance: faiɹ ‘inside’, għir ‘speech’, għøtẓ ‘top’, he’d ‘surface’, ṇe’ħg ‘sound’, paim ‘east’, rti’ ‘west’, sa’gq ‘north’, ẓoq ‘tongue’, ’itẓ ‘south’.

Class cl.7 – for instance: chil ‘nose’, c̣aṣ ‘foot’, ḍa’għ ‘face’, ḍa’taigq ‘neck’, ḍerr ‘back’, fuf ‘leg’, fu’ ‘colour’, gqaɹ̣es ‘root’, mij ‘skin’, pob ‘night’, rrug ‘heart’, rtadob ‘knee’, rtem ‘hand’, ṣøgq ‘head’, ṭiẓigħ ‘bosom’, ñi’nøw ‘belly’, ɹigkoɹ̣ ‘liver’, ɹ̣idür ‘guts’, ɹ̣i’jaiw ‘tail’, ’aird ‘mouth’.

Class cl.8 – for instance: biṣü’f ‘breath’, maɹ̣eṇ ‘penis’, qardo’bb ‘bark’, rdardøṭ ‘vagina’, tẓartü’b ‘seed’, tẓaubb ‘fruit’, ṭuɹibb ‘flower’, wiẓi’ṇ ‘ash’, ñurd ‘day’, ɹag ‘tree’, ɹaret ‘smoke’.

Class cl.9 – for instance: baid ‘blood’, c̣uḍu’ ‘urine’, ḍigħam ‘dust’, gkijaur ‘mortar’, ki’wü’r ‘fat’, liz ‘Liz’, ṇa’tẓuñ ‘bottle’, ṇutẓøɹ̣ ‘box’, pe’gq ‘hair’, rdizøṇ ‘slime’, tzi’ə̃n ‘money’, ṭebb ‘idea’.

Class cl.10 – for instance: bbech ‘daughter’, büħg ‘cat’, ḍagqig ‘louse’, gketẓ ‘father’, jeq ‘child’, ṇurri’y ‘mouse’, ri’ḍort ‘tiger’, rtotz ‘dog’, ṛukarr ‘God’, sisañ ‘teacher’, tauj ‘boy’, titza’p ‘lamb’, tẓaugq ‘son’, ṭupih ‘farmer’, waw ‘mother’, yaħga’b ‘lion’, ħgayüw ‘worm’, ħgiq ‘woman’, ħgul ‘human being’, ɹ̣i’rd ‘girl’.

Class cl.11 – for instance: fiṭab ‘dialect’, gke’ħg ‘fight’, go’tẓ ‘city’, linin ‘feather’, nar ‘language’, pa’’aṛ ‘anus’, si’o’ ‘book’, ṣurtitẓ ‘wing’, yeṭ ‘name’, ħgu’iq ‘faeces’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Ħgiqut jayotz ɹoñut zif c̣ages yo’q ṇurri’yis ṭin zøtz ward ṣi’ṣ.

[ˈɢiqut d͡ʒaˈjot͡s ˈɹoɲut ˈzif ᵏǀˤaˈɡes ˈjo̰q nˤuˈɽḭjis ˈtˤin ˈzøt͡s waɖ sˤḭsˤ]

ˈɢiq
woman -ut
sing d͡ʒaˈjot͡s
COMIT ˈɹoɲ
knife -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈif
blind ᵏǀˤaˈɡes
COMP ˈjo̰q
yon nˤuˈɽḭj
mouse -is
plur ˈtˤin
three z-
not.Q ˈøt͡s
catch waɖ
PAST sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

“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 possessor. a clitic expressing possessor, comprising ħgiz /ɢiz/ ‘1incl.sing’, tzaɹ /t͡saɹ/ ‘1excl.sing’, ’uch /ʔut͡ʃ/ ‘2.sing’, miy /mij/ ‘3.sing.cl.1’, ɹif /ɹif/ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, ẓitz /zˤit͡s/ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, gal /ɡal/ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, gqagk /qʼakʼ/ ‘3.sing.cl.5’, burr /buɽ/ ‘3.sing.cl.6’, mu’ /muʔ/ ‘3.sing.cl.7’, ’ut /ʔut/ ‘3.sing.cl.8’, ñip /ɲip/ ‘3.sing.cl.9’, ɹitẓ /ɹit͡sˤ/ ‘3.sing.cl.10’, ṇi’d /nˤḭd/ ‘3.sing.cl.11’, yart /jaʈ/ ‘1incl.plur’, tzaṣ /t͡sasˤ/ ‘1excl.plur’, ñaɹ̣ /ɲaɹˤ/ ‘2.plur’, għa’m /ʕa̰m/ ‘3.plur.cl.1’, fa’ṣ /fa̰sˤ/ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, ṇigħ /nˤiʕ/ ‘3.plur.cl.3’, c̣agk /ᵏǀˤakʼ/ ‘3.plur.cl.4’, gaɹ /ɡaɹ/ ‘3.plur.cl.5’, gqih /qʼih/ ‘3.plur.cl.6’, ṭas /tˤas/ ‘3.plur.cl.7’, rdam /ɖam/ ‘3.plur.cl.8’, ɹab /ɹab/ ‘3.plur.cl.9’, ḍuṇ /dˤunˤ/ ‘3.plur.cl.10’ and nal /nal/ ‘3.plur.cl.11’.

The morphology of the elements of the nominal phrase, i.e., nouns, numerals and pronouns, is described below, as is the way that possession is expressed in Liz.

The Noun

The noun in Liz consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -ut /-ut/ ‘sing’ and -is /-is/ ‘plur’.

The Adjective

In Liz, the adjective has the following structure: first, an obligatory prefix expressing case, comprising ṛ- /rˤ-/ ‘STA’, ḍ- /dˤ-/ ‘ACT’, p- /p-/ ‘GEN’, f- /f-/ ‘DAT’, ɹ̣- /ɹˤ-/ ‘INS’, n- /n-/ ‘VOC’, k- /k-/ ‘ALL’, m- /m-/ ‘LOC’, gq- /qʼ-/ ‘ABL’ and ṣ- /sˤ-/ ‘PART’; second, the root; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -d /-d/ ‘cl.1’, -n /-n/ ‘cl.2’, -k /-k/ ‘cl.3’, -għ /-ʕ/ ‘cl.4’, -t /-t/ ‘cl.5’, -ṣ /-sˤ/ ‘cl.6’, -gk /-kʼ/ ‘cl.7’, -f /-f/ ‘cl.8’, -y /-j/ ‘cl.9’, -l /-l/ ‘cl.10’ and -h /-h/ ‘cl.11’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Liz, the determiner has the following structure: the root followed by an optional suffix expressing case, comprising -ap /-ap/ ‘ACT’, -iw /-iw/ ‘GEN’, -u’tẓ /-ṵt͡sˤ/ ‘DAT’, -uṣ /-usˤ/ ‘INS’, -ih /-ih/ ‘VOC’, -ugq /-uqʼ/ ‘ALL’, -irt /-iʈ/ ‘LOC’, -i’t /-ḭt/ ‘ABL’ and -u’ṭ /-ṵtˤ/ ‘PART’.

Pronouns

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

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

Zib ṣi’ṣ.

[ˈzib sˤḭsˤ]

z-
not.Q ˈib
love sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:

Ħgi’r zib ṣi’ṣ.

[ˈɢḭr ˈzib sˤḭsˤ]

ˈɢḭr
3.sing.cl.10 z-
not.Q ˈib
love sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

“He loves her.”

 (3)

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

Ħgi’r zib ṣi’ṣ.

[ˈɢḭr ˈzib sˤḭsˤ]

ˈɢḭr
3.sing.cl.10 z-
not.Q ˈib
love sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

“He loves her.”

 (4)

Proper Nouns

’itziṛut Da’ro’nut zi’tẓaṣ ṣi’ṣ.

[ʔiˈt͡sirˤut da̰ˈro̰nut ˈzḭt͡sˤasˤ sˤḭsˤ]

ʔiˈt͡sirˤ
Itsir -ut
sing da̰ˈro̰n
Daron -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈḭt͡sˤasˤ
hate sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

“Itsir hates Daron.”

 (5)

Possession

taujut ɹarrü’ṇüt ɹitẓ

[ˈtaud͡ʒut ɹaˈɽy̰nˤyt ɹit͡sˤ]

ˈtaud͡ʒ
boy -ut
sing ɹaˈɽy̰nˤ
apple -ut
sing ɹit͡sˤ
3.sing.cl.10.POSS

“the boy’s apple”

 (6)
ħgi’r ɹarrü’ṇüt ɹitẓ

[ˈɢḭr ɹaˈɽy̰nˤyt ɹit͡sˤ]

ˈɢḭr
3.sing.cl.10 ɹaˈɽy̰nˤ
apple -ut
sing ɹit͡sˤ
3.sing.cl.10.POSS

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (7)
ɹarrü’ṇüt tzaɹ

[ɹaˈɽy̰nˤyt t͡saɹ]

ɹaˈɽy̰nˤ
apple -ut
sing t͡saɹ
1excl.sing.POSS

“my apple”

 (8)
Tizejut bbechut ɹitẓ maṣuɹut ’uch tẓaugqut miy züṭig ward ṣi’ṣ.

[tiˈzed͡ʒut ˈɓet͡ʃut ɹit͡sˤ maˈsˤuɹut ʔut͡ʃ ˈt͡sˤauqʼut mij ˈzytˤiɡ waɖ sˤḭsˤ]

tiˈzed͡ʒ
hunter -ut
sing ˈɓet͡ʃ
daughter -ut
sing ɹit͡sˤ
3.sing.cl.10.POSS maˈsˤuɹ
neighbour -ut
sing ʔut͡ʃ
2.sing.POSS ˈt͡sˤauqʼ
son -ut
sing mij
3.sing.cl.1.POSS z-
not.Q ˈytˤiɡ
kiss waɖ
PAST sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

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

 (9)

Derivation

Liz has no derivational processes.

titza’put

[tiˈt͡sa̰put]

tiˈt͡sa̰p
lamb -ut
sing

“a lamb”

 (10)

Note how none show up here:

Zir c̣ages titza’put zurd ward c̣ages zan ward ṣi’ṣ.

[ˈzir ᵏǀˤaˈɡes tiˈt͡sa̰put ˈzuɖ waɖ ᵏǀˤaˈɡes ˈzan waɖ sˤḭsˤ]

z-
not.Q ˈir
little ᵏǀˤaˈɡes
COMP tiˈt͡sa̰p
lamb -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈuɖ
have waɖ
PAST ᵏǀˤaˈɡes
COMP z-
not.Q ˈan
want waɖ
PAST sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

 (11)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Liz fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing voice, comprising yaḍ /jadˤ/ ‘passive’; second, a clitic expressing ta, comprising ward /waɖ/ ‘PAST’; third, a clitic expressing mode, comprising ñabb /ɲaɓ/ ‘imperative’, lin /lin/ ‘conditional’ and għak /ʕak/ ‘optative’; fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising kar /kar/ ‘NEG’; and finally, fifth, a clitic expressing subj, comprising guṛ /ɡurˤ/ ‘1incl.sing’, c̣ij /ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ/ ‘1excl.sing’, rdiṛ /ɖirˤ/ ‘2.sing’, ’ach /ʔat͡ʃ/ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, rrif /ɽif/ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, habb /haɓ/ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, ’a’f /ʔa̰f/ ‘3.sing.cl.5’, zuf /zuf/ ‘3.sing.cl.6’, yaɹ /jaɹ/ ‘3.sing.cl.7’, ḍif /dˤif/ ‘3.sing.cl.8’, c̣agħ /ᵏǀˤaʕ/ ‘3.sing.cl.9’, ṣi’ṣ /sˤḭsˤ/ ‘3.sing.cl.10’, faṭ /fatˤ/ ‘3.sing.cl.11’, bubb /buɓ/ ‘1incl.plur’, rrabb /ɽaɓ/ ‘1excl.plur’, bbugħ /ɓuʕ/ ‘2.plur’, rday /ɖaj/ ‘3.plur.cl.1’, fiy /fij/ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, għub /ʕub/ ‘3.plur.cl.3’, ’uṛ /ʔurˤ/ ‘3.plur.cl.4’, lal /lal/ ‘3.plur.cl.5’, ti’ɹ /tḭɹ/ ‘3.plur.cl.6’, c̣aṣ /ᵏǀˤasˤ/ ‘3.plur.cl.7’, naṇ /nanˤ/ ‘3.plur.cl.8’, ni’w /nḭw/ ‘3.plur.cl.9’, għiṇ /ʕinˤ/ ‘3.plur.cl.10’ and ta’rr /ta̰ɽ/ ‘3.plur.cl.11’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: an obligatory prefix expressing question, comprising q- /q-/ ‘Q’ and z- /z-/ ‘not.Q’ followed by the root.

Zib c̣ij.

[ˈzib ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ]

z-
not.Q ˈib
love ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ
1excl.sing.SUBJ

“I love you.”

 (12)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

nos tẓabbut

[ˈnos ˈt͡sˤaɓut]

ˈnos
in_surface ˈt͡sˤaɓ
table -ut
sing

“on the table”

 (13)
lütẓ ṇütẓøɹ̣üt

[ˈlyt͡sˤ nˤyˈt͡sˤøɹˤyt]

ˈlyt͡sˤ
to_inside nˤuˈt͡sˤøɹˤ
box -ut
sing

“into the box”

 (14)
jayotz yert

[d͡ʒaˈjot͡s ˈjeʈ]

d͡ʒaˈjot͡s
COMIT ˈjeʈ
1excl.sing

“with me”

 (15)

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.

Liz 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 Liz.

Ci’øtzüt tizejut zaugħ ward ṣi’ṣ.

[ᵏǀiˈʔøt͡syt tiˈzed͡ʒut ˈzauʕ waɖ sˤḭsˤ]

ᵏǀiˈʔøt͡s
jaguar -ut
sing tiˈzed͡ʒ
hunter -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈauʕ
kill waɖ
PAST sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (16)
Yaħga’but tizejut bbechut ɹitẓ rtotzut ɹitẓ zaɹ ward ṣi’ṣ.

[jaˈɢa̰but tiˈzed͡ʒut ˈɓet͡ʃut ɹit͡sˤ ˈʈot͡sut ɹit͡sˤ ˈzaɹ waɖ sˤḭsˤ]

jaˈɢa̰b
lion -ut
sing tiˈzed͡ʒ
hunter -ut
sing ˈɓet͡ʃ
daughter -ut
sing ɹit͡sˤ
3.sing.cl.10.POSS ˈʈot͡s
dog -ut
sing ɹit͡sˤ
3.sing.cl.10.POSS z-
not.Q ˈaɹ
eat waɖ
PAST sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

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

 (17)

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 Liz 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, Liz 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.

tẓaugqut ’uch zeput ɹitẓ si’o’ut miy

[ˈt͡sˤauqʼut ʔut͡ʃ ˈzeput ɹit͡sˤ siʔoʔut mij]

ˈt͡sˤauqʼ
son -ut
sing ʔut͡ʃ
2.sing.POSS ˈzep
friend -ut
sing ɹit͡sˤ
3.sing.cl.10.POSS siʔoʔ
book -ut
sing mij
3.sing.cl.1.POSS

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (18)

Case Marking

Liz uses active case marking. Intransitive subjects are divided according to how they participate in the event. More agent-like subjects, such as the subject of ‘run’ or ‘shout’, pattern with transitive subjects and take the active or agentive case. Less agent-like subjects, such as the subject of ‘sleep’ or ‘be ill’, pattern with transitive objects and take the patientive or absolutive case. This system makes sense where the grammar treats control, volition or affectedness as more important than the simple distinction between subject and object.

Büħgüt zaiṇ ṣi’ṣ.

[ˈbyɢyt ˈzainˤ sˤḭsˤ]

ˈbyɢ
cat -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈainˤ
sleep sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (19)
Büħgüt zo’ ṣi’ṣ.

[ˈbyɢyt ˈzoʔ sˤḭsˤ]

ˈbyɢ
cat -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈoʔ
run sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

“The cat is running.”

 (20)
Büħgüt ṇurri’yut zetẓis ṣi’ṣ.

[ˈbyɢyt nˤuˈɽḭjut ˈzet͡sˤis sˤḭsˤ]

ˈbyɢ
cat -ut
sing nˤuˈɽḭj
mouse -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈet͡sˤis
chase sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (21)
Büħgüt ṇurri’yut zøtz ward ṣi’ṣ.

[ˈbyɢyt nˤuˈɽḭjut ˈzøt͡s waɖ sˤḭsˤ]

ˈbyɢ
cat -ut
sing nˤuˈɽḭj
mouse -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈøt͡s
catch waɖ
PAST sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (22)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Tizejut ci’øtzis ni’l ri’ḍortis ni’l yaħga’bis zaugħ ward ṣi’ṣ.

[tiˈzed͡ʒut ᵏǀiˈʔøt͡sis ˈnḭl rḭˈdˤoʈis ˈnḭl jaˈɢa̰bis ˈzauʕ waɖ sˤḭsˤ]

tiˈzed͡ʒ
hunter -ut
sing ᵏǀiˈʔøt͡s
jaguar -is
plur ˈnḭl
and rḭˈdˤoʈ
tiger -is
plur ˈnḭl
and jaˈɢa̰b
lion -is
plur z-
not.Q ˈauʕ
kill waɖ
PAST sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

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

 (23)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Liz 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:

Büħgüt ziṣa’’ ward c̣ij.

[ˈbyɢyt ˈzisˤa̰ʔ waɖ ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ]

ˈbyɢ
cat -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈisˤa̰ʔ
pat waɖ
PAST ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ
1excl.sing.SUBJ

“I patted the cat.”

 (24)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Ṇurri’yut zøtz ward c̣ages büħgüt ziṣa’’ ward c̣ij.

[nˤuˈɽḭjut ˈzøt͡s waɖ ᵏǀˤaˈɡes ˈbyɢyt ˈzisˤa̰ʔ waɖ ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ]

nˤuˈɽḭj
mouse -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈøt͡s
catch waɖ
PAST ᵏǀˤaˈɡes
COMP ˈbyɢ
cat -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈisˤa̰ʔ
pat waɖ
PAST ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ
1excl.sing.SUBJ

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (25)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Fikaṇut zaɹ ward c̣ages ṇurri’yut zøtz ward c̣ages büħgüt ziṣa’’ ward c̣ij.

[fiˈkanˤut ˈzaɹ waɖ ᵏǀˤaˈɡes nˤuˈɽḭjut ˈzøt͡s waɖ ᵏǀˤaˈɡes ˈbyɢyt ˈzisˤa̰ʔ waɖ ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ]

fiˈkanˤ
cheese -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈaɹ
eat waɖ
PAST ᵏǀˤaˈɡes
COMP nˤuˈɽḭj
mouse -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈøt͡s
catch waɖ
PAST ᵏǀˤaˈɡes
COMP ˈbyɢ
cat -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈisˤa̰ʔ
pat waɖ
PAST ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ
1excl.sing.SUBJ

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

 (26)

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

Yert zøṛ ward c̣ij c̣ages fikaṇut zaɹ ward c̣ages ṇurri’yut zøtz ward c̣ages büħgüt ziṣa’’ ward c̣ij.

[ˈjeʈ ˈzørˤ waɖ ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ ᵏǀˤaˈɡes fiˈkanˤut ˈzaɹ waɖ ᵏǀˤaˈɡes nˤuˈɽḭjut ˈzøt͡s waɖ ᵏǀˤaˈɡes ˈbyɢyt ˈzisˤa̰ʔ waɖ ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ]

ˈjeʈ
1excl.sing z-
not.Q ˈørˤ
buy waɖ
PAST ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ
1excl.sing.SUBJ ᵏǀˤaˈɡes
COMP fiˈkanˤ
cheese -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈaɹ
eat waɖ
PAST ᵏǀˤaˈɡes
COMP nˤuˈɽḭj
mouse -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈøt͡s
catch waɖ
PAST ᵏǀˤaˈɡes
COMP ˈbyɢ
cat -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈisˤa̰ʔ
pat waɖ
PAST ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ
1excl.sing.SUBJ

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

 (27)

Complementation Strategies

Liz 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:

Taujut ɹ̣i’rdut ɹarrü’ṇüt zi’s ward ṣi’ṣ c̣ages sisañut züɹar ward c̣agħ.

[ˈtaud͡ʒut ˈɹˤḭɖut ɹaˈɽy̰nˤyt ˈzḭs waɖ sˤḭsˤ ᵏǀˤaˈɡes sisaɲut ˈzyɹar waɖ ᵏǀˤaʕ]

ˈtaud͡ʒ
boy -ut
sing ˈɹˤḭɖ
girl -ut
sing ɹaˈɽy̰nˤ
apple -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈḭs
give waɖ
PAST sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ ᵏǀˤaˈɡes
COMP sisaɲ
teacher -ut
sing z-
not.Q ˈyɹar
surprise waɖ
PAST ᵏǀˤaʕ
3.sing.cl.9.SUBJ

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

 (28)

Quotes

Liz 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:

Taujut ɹ̣i’rdut yert ḍaip zib c̣ij c̣ages zøf ward ṣi’ṣ.

[ˈtaud͡ʒut ˈɹˤḭɖut ˈjeʈ ˈdˤaip ˈzib ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ ᵏǀˤaˈɡes ˈzøf waɖ sˤḭsˤ]

ˈtaud͡ʒ
boy -ut
sing ˈɹˤḭɖ
girl -ut
sing ˈjeʈ
1excl.sing ˈdˤaip
2.sing z-
not.Q ˈib
love ᵏǀˤid͡ʒ
1excl.sing.SUBJ ᵏǀˤaˈɡes
COMP z-
not.Q ˈøf
tell waɖ
PAST sˤḭsˤ
3.sing.cl.10.SUBJ

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

 (29)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Liz. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 10 August 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/1E15W

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-1E15W,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Liz}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/1E15W}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 10 August 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Liz / Liz–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/1E15W

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