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A Grammar of Chach

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Chach language (the 1096th 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 Chach.

Typological Profile

It has a maximally developed dental–alveolar opposition.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Chach has a moderately large consonant inventory, with 29 phonemes.

It has a maximally developed dental–alveolar opposition and a broad set of voiced–voiceless oppositions.

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

labialdentalalveolarpostalveolarlateralpalatalvelarglottal
stopp b d t k ɡ
nasalm n ɲ ŋ
trill/tap/flapr
fricativef v ð θ s z ʃ ʒ x ɣ h
approximantw l j
affricatet͡s d͡ʒ t͡ʃ

Vowels

Chach has 11 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 maximally “square” vowel system balancing heights across backness, an unusually fine-grained height system distinguishing four levels and a moderately reduced system of unstressed vowels.

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

frontback
closei u
close-mide o
open-midɛ ɔ
openæ ɑ

Stress and Tones

Chach 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

Chach is normally written using the Cyrillic alphabet, a script with a long and varied history across Eastern Europe and northern Asia. In this grammar, phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) are also used to give an unambiguous representation of sound.

The conventions adopted here follow standard Cyrillic practice for the language where that exists; where they do not, the IPA transcription should be taken as authoritative.

Orthography

Here are the various components of the orthography:

Simple letters

а /ɑ/б /b/в /v/г /h/
д /d/е /e/ж /ʒ/з /z/
и /i/к /k/л /l/м /m/
н /n/о /o/п /p/р /r/
с /s/т /t/у /u/ф /f/
х /x/ц /t͡s/ч /t͡ʃ/ш /ʃ/
э /ɛ/ј /j/њ /ɲ/ў /w/
џ /d͡ʒ/ѳ /θ/ґ /ɡ/ғ /ɣ/
ҙ /ð/ӈ /ŋ/ә /æ/ө /ɔ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ай /ai/аў /au/ой /ɔi/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Chach does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Chach does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Маѳәл буфөх јаўмәл файк ѳайф фин циӈ ләшәфисәл фих.

[ˈmɑθæl buˈfɔx ˈjaumæl ˈfaik ˈθaif ˈfin ˈt͡siŋ læʃæˈfisæl fix]

ˈmɑθ
woman -æl
def buˈfɔx
COMIT ˈjaum
knife -æl
def ˈfai
catch -k
PAST ˈθaif
yon ˈfin
three ˈt͡siŋ
blind læ-
ACC ʃæˈfis
mouse -æl
def fix
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 is one type of clitic in the nominal phrase, namely an enclitic (placed finally), expressing number. a clitic expressing number, comprising фих /fix/ ‘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 Chach.

The Noun

The noun in Chach consists of first, an optional prefix expressing case, comprising лә- /læ-/ ‘ACC’, цу- /t͡su-/ ‘GEN’, ўи- /wi-/ ‘DAT’, ҙә- /ðæ-/ ‘INS’, за- /zɑ-/ ‘VOC’, да- /dɑ-/ ‘ALL’, пи- /pi-/ ‘LOC’, ха- /xɑ-/ ‘ABL’ and цә- /t͡sæ-/ ‘PART’; second, the root; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing def, comprising -ун /-un/ ‘not.def’ and -әл /-æl/ ‘def’.

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

The determiner in Chach stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

Pronouns

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

Chach always includes the personal pronouns, even if they are not stressed. This is similar to English, where the only way to distinguish "he loves her" from "he loves her" and "he loves her" is the stress. So the following corresponds exactly to English in this regard:

Јәб збәл јәб.

[ˈjæb ˈzbæl ˈjæb]

ˈjæb
3.sing ˈzbæ
love -l
PRES ˈjæb
3.sing

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

Proper Nouns

Гишайцәл видил ләВивөјәл.

[hiˈʃait͡sæl viˈdil læviˈvɔjæl]

hiˈʃait͡s
Hishaits -æl
def viˈdi
hate -l
PRES læ-
ACC viˈvɔj
Vivoy -æl
def

“Hishaits hates Vivoy.”

 (3)

Possession

цумушпәл бунорәл

[t͡suˈmuʃpæl buˈnoræl]

t͡su-
GEN ˈmuʃp
boy -æl
def buˈnor
apple -æl
def

“the boy’s apple”

 (4)
јәб бунорәл

[ˈjæb buˈnoræl]

ˈjæb
3.sing buˈnor
apple -æl
def

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (5)
ғойн бунорәл

[ˈɣɔin buˈnoræl]

ˈɣɔin
1excl.sing buˈnor
apple -æl
def

“my apple”

 (6)
Цубәѳеғәл ґимәл џитойк лаўж цукуӈујәл ләґэзәл.

[t͡subæˈθeɣæl ˈɡimæl d͡ʒiˈtɔik ˈlauʒ t͡sukuˈŋujæl læˈɡɛzæl]

t͡su-
GEN bæˈθeɣ
hunter -æl
def ˈɡim
daughter -æl
def d͡ʒiˈtɔi
kiss -k
PAST ˈlauʒ
2.sing t͡su-
GEN kuˈŋuj
neighbour -æl
def læ-
ACC ˈɡɛz
son -æl
def

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

 (7)

Derivation

Chach has no derivational processes.

скаўп цижэҙун

[ˈskaup t͡siˈʒɛðun]

ˈskaup
a t͡siˈʒɛð
lamb -un
not.def

“a lamb”

 (8)

Note how none show up here:

Јәб ғик скок скаўп тайҙ ләцижэҙун тухиз.

[ˈjæb ˈɣik ˈskok ˈskaup ˈtaið læt͡siˈʒɛðun tuˈxiz]

ˈjæb
3.sing ˈɣi
want -k
PAST ˈsko
have -k
PAST ˈskaup
a ˈtaið
little læ-
ACC t͡siˈʒɛð
lamb -un
not.def tuˈxiz
COMP

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

 (9)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Chach are enclitics (placed finally), and there are four types: first, a clitic expressing mode, comprising штут /ʃtut/ ‘imperative’, ѳаҙ /θɑð/ ‘conditional’ and шәс /ʃæs/ ‘optative’; second, a clitic expressing voice, comprising цәў /t͡sæw/ ‘passive’; third, a clitic expressing negation, comprising туб /tub/ ‘NEG’; and finally, fourth, a clitic expressing question, comprising нәз /næz/ ‘Q’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing ta, comprising -л /-l/ ‘PRES’ and -к /-k/ ‘PAST’.

Ғойн збәл лаўж.

[ˈɣɔin ˈzbæl ˈlauʒ]

ˈɣɔin
1excl.sing ˈzbæ
love -l
PRES ˈlauʒ
2.sing

“I love you.”

 (10)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

цэў сицәл

[ˈt͡sɛw ˈsit͡sæl]

ˈt͡sɛw
in_surface ˈsit͡s
table -æl
def

“on the table”

 (11)
џән запайпәл

[ˈd͡ʒæn zɑˈpaipæl]

ˈd͡ʒæn
to_inside zɑˈpaip
box -æl
def

“into the box”

 (12)
буфөх ғойн

[buˈfɔx ˈɣɔin]

buˈfɔx
COMIT ˈɣɔin
1excl.sing

“with me”

 (13)

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.

Chach 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 Chach.

Хәџуждәл ўик ләбәѳеғәл.

[xæˈd͡ʒuʒdæl ˈwik læbæˈθeɣæl]

xæˈd͡ʒuʒd
jaguar -æl
def ˈwi
kill -k
PAST læ-
ACC bæˈθeɣ
hunter -æl
def

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (14)
Ҙижињәл јойк цубәѳеғәл цуґимәл ләжанәл.

[ðiˈʒiɲæl ˈjɔik t͡subæˈθeɣæl t͡suˈɡimæl læˈʒɑnæl]

ðiˈʒiɲ
lion -æl
def ˈjɔi
eat -k
PAST t͡su-
GEN bæˈθeɣ
hunter -æl
def t͡su-
GEN ˈɡim
daughter -æl
def læ-
ACC ˈʒɑn
dog -æl
def

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

 (15)

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 Chach 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, Chach 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.

лаўж цуґэзәл цумәґәл либэрәл

[ˈlauʒ t͡suˈɡɛzæl t͡suˈmæɡæl libɛræl]

ˈlauʒ
2.sing t͡su-
GEN ˈɡɛz
son -æl
def t͡su-
GEN ˈmæɡ
friend -æl
def libɛr
book -æl
def

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (16)

Case Marking

Chach 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.

Чемәл ғойл.

[ˈt͡ʃemæl ˈɣɔil]

ˈt͡ʃem
cat -æl
def ˈɣɔi
sleep -l
PRES

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (17)
Чемәл шпөл.

[ˈt͡ʃemæl ˈʃpɔl]

ˈt͡ʃem
cat -æl
def ˈʃpɔ
run -l
PRES

“The cat is running.”

 (18)
Чемәл латайл ләшәфисәл.

[ˈt͡ʃemæl lɑˈtail læʃæˈfisæl]

ˈt͡ʃem
cat -æl
def lɑˈtai
chase -l
PRES læ-
ACC ʃæˈfis
mouse -æl
def

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (19)
Чемәл файк ләшәфисәл.

[ˈt͡ʃemæl ˈfaik læʃæˈfisæl]

ˈt͡ʃem
cat -æl
def ˈfai
catch -k
PAST læ-
ACC ʃæˈfis
mouse -æl
def

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (20)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Бәѳеғәл ўик ләхәџуждәл фих жбэс ләспунекәл фих жбэс ләҙижињәл фих.

[bæˈθeɣæl ˈwik læxæˈd͡ʒuʒdæl fix ˈʒbɛs læspuˈnekæl fix ˈʒbɛs læðiˈʒiɲæl fix]

bæˈθeɣ
hunter -æl
def ˈwi
kill -k
PAST læ-
ACC xæˈd͡ʒuʒd
jaguar -æl
def fix
plur ˈʒbɛs
and læ-
ACC spuˈnek
tiger -æl
def fix
plur ˈʒbɛs
and læ-
ACC ðiˈʒiɲ
lion -æl
def fix
plur

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

 (21)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Chach 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:

Ғойн пуџәк ләчемәл.

[ˈɣɔin puˈd͡ʒæk læˈt͡ʃemæl]

ˈɣɔin
1excl.sing puˈd͡ʒæ
pat -k
PAST læ-
ACC ˈt͡ʃem
cat -æl
def

“I patted the cat.”

 (22)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Ғойн пуџәк чемәл, јеҙ файк ләшәфисәл.

[ˈɣɔin puˈd͡ʒæk ˈt͡ʃemæl, ˈjeð ˈfaik læʃæˈfisæl]

ˈɣɔin
1excl.sing puˈd͡ʒæ
pat -k
PAST ˈt͡ʃem
cat -æl
def ˈjeð
RELPRON ˈfai
catch -k
PAST læ-
ACC ʃæˈfis
mouse -æl
def

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (23)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Ғойн пуџәк чемәл, јеҙ файк шәфисәл, јеҙ јойк ләшифайџәл.

[ˈɣɔin puˈd͡ʒæk ˈt͡ʃemæl, ˈjeð ˈfaik ʃæˈfisæl, ˈjeð ˈjɔik læʃiˈfaid͡ʒæl]

ˈɣɔin
1excl.sing puˈd͡ʒæ
pat -k
PAST ˈt͡ʃem
cat -æl
def ˈjeð
RELPRON ˈfai
catch -k
PAST ʃæˈfis
mouse -æl
def ˈjeð
RELPRON ˈjɔi
eat -k
PAST læ-
ACC ʃiˈfaid͡ʒ
cheese -æl
def

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

 (24)

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

Ғойн пуџәк чемәл, јеҙ файк шәфисәл, јеҙ јойк шифайџәл, јеҙ јок ғойн.

[ˈɣɔin puˈd͡ʒæk ˈt͡ʃemæl, ˈjeð ˈfaik ʃæˈfisæl, ˈjeð ˈjɔik ʃiˈfaid͡ʒæl, ˈjeð ˈjok ˈɣɔin]

ˈɣɔin
1excl.sing puˈd͡ʒæ
pat -k
PAST ˈt͡ʃem
cat -æl
def ˈjeð
RELPRON ˈfai
catch -k
PAST ʃæˈfis
mouse -æl
def ˈjeð
RELPRON ˈjɔi
eat -k
PAST ʃiˈfaid͡ʒ
cheese -æl
def ˈjeð
RELPRON ˈjo
buy -k
PAST ˈɣɔin
1excl.sing

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

 (25)

Complementation Strategies

Chach 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:

Мушпәл скук ўигэгәл скаўп ләбунорун тухиз ҙижәк ўиґитэрәл.

[ˈmuʃpæl ˈskuk wiˈhɛhæl ˈskaup læbuˈnorun tuˈxiz ðiˈʒæk wiɡitɛræl]

ˈmuʃp
boy -æl
def ˈsku
give -k
PAST wi-
DAT ˈhɛh
girl -æl
def ˈskaup
a læ-
ACC buˈnor
apple -un
not.def tuˈxiz
COMP ðiˈʒæ
surprise -k
PAST wi-
DAT ɡitɛr
teacher -æl
def

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

 (26)

Quotes

Chach 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:

Мушпәл жбок ўигэгәл ғойн збәл лаўж тухиз.

[ˈmuʃpæl ˈʒbok wiˈhɛhæl ˈɣɔin ˈzbæl ˈlauʒ tuˈxiz]

ˈmuʃp
boy -æl
def ˈʒbo
tell -k
PAST wi-
DAT ˈhɛh
girl -æl
def ˈɣɔin
1excl.sing ˈzbæ
love -l
PRES ˈlauʒ
2.sing tuˈxiz
COMP

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

 (27)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Chach. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 12 August 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/1GFCU

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-1GFCU,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Chach}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/1GFCU}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 12 August 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Chach / Chach–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/1GFCU

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