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A Grammar of Gul

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Gul language (the 1139th 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 Gul.

Typological Profile

It has has no interesting typological features.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Gul has 22 consonant phonemes, a size that falls within a broadly average range.

It has a broad set of voiced–voiceless oppositions.

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

labialalveolarpostalveolarlateralpalatalvelarglottal
stopp b d t k ɡ
nasalm n ɲ ŋ
trill/tap/flapr
fricativef s z ʃ ʒ h
approximantʋ l j
affricatet͡ʃ

Vowels

Gul 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 Gul. The system comprises the distinct vowel qualities listed in the chart.

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Gul 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: /i/ becomes /u/, /e/ becomes /o/.

Writing System

Introduction

Gul 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 /j/k /k/l /l/m /m/
n /n/o /o/p /p/r /r/
s /s/t /t/u /u/w /ʋ/
z /z/ñ /ɲ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ai /ai/au /au/ch /t͡ʃ/
ng /ŋ/sh /ʃ/zh /ʒ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Gul does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Gul does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

De maingi gale de zari ra ngi ka fa kichi figila ma.

[ˈde ˈmaiŋi ɡaˈle ˈde ˈzari ra ŋi ˈka ˈfa ˈkit͡ʃi fiˈɡila ma]

ˈde
the ˈmaiŋ
woman -i
sing ɡaˈle
COMIT ˈde
the ˈzar
knife -i
sing ra
catch ŋi
PAST ˈka
yon ˈfa
three ˈkit͡ʃi
blind fiˈɡil
mouse -a
plur ma
ACC

“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 case. a clitic expressing case, comprising ma /ma/ ‘ACC’, sa /sa/ ‘GEN’, pi /pi/ ‘DAT’, ñi /ɲi/ ‘INS’, pa /pa/ ‘VOC’, ri /ri/ ‘ALL’, zi /zi/ ‘LOC’, hi /hi/ ‘ABL’ and ki /ki/ ‘PART’.

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 Gul.

The Noun

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

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -anah /-anah/ ‘little’ and -ifik /-ifik/ ‘big’

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

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

Pronouns

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

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

Bi ngu ma.

[bi ˈŋu ma]

bi
love ˈŋu
3.sing ma
ACC

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

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

Ngu bi ngu ma.

[ˈŋu bi ˈŋu ma]

ˈŋu
3.sing bi
love ˈŋu
3.sing ma
ACC

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

De Lagoshu hishana de Samani ma.

[ˈde laˈɡoʃu hiˈʃana ˈde saˈmani ma]

ˈde
the laˈɡoʃ
Lagosh -i
sing hiˈʃana
hate ˈde
the saˈman
Saman -i
sing ma
ACC

“Lagosh hates Saman.”

 (4)

Possession

de lulu de girizi

[ˈde ˈlulu ˈde ɡiˈrizi]

ˈde
the ˈlul
boy -i
sing ˈde
the ɡiˈriz
apple -i
sing

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
ngu de girizi

[ˈŋu ˈde ɡiˈrizi]

ˈŋu
3.sing ˈde
the ɡiˈriz
apple -i
sing

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
pa de girizi

[ˈpa ˈde ɡiˈrizi]

ˈpa
1excl.sing ˈde
the ɡiˈriz
apple -i
sing

“my apple”

 (7)
De bañisi de gachi diraima ngi fi de chahaishi de dasi ma.

[ˈde baˈɲisi ˈde ˈɡat͡ʃi diˈraima ŋi ˈfi ˈde t͡ʃaˈhaiʃi ˈde ˈdasi ma]

ˈde
the baˈɲis
hunter -i
sing ˈde
the ˈɡat͡ʃ
daughter -i
sing diˈraima
kiss ŋi
PAST ˈfi
2.sing ˈde
the t͡ʃaˈhaiʃ
neighbour -i
sing ˈde
the ˈdas
son -i
sing ma
ACC

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

 (8)

Derivation

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

hasauñu

[haˈsauɲu]

haˈsauɲ
lamb -i
sing

“a lamb”

 (9)

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

hasauñanahi

[haˈsauɲanahi]

haˈsauɲ
lamb -anah
little -i
sing

“a little lamb”

 (10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Gul are enclitics (placed finally), and there are four types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising ngi /ŋi/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising ka /ka/ ‘imperative’, li /li/ ‘conditional’ and shi /ʃi/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising kafa /kafa/ ‘passive’; and finally, fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising wagi /ʋaɡi/ ‘NEG’.

The verb itself does not have any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -migi /-miɡi/ ‘begin’ and -kiwa /-kiʋa/ ‘stop’

Bi fi ma.

[bi ˈfi ma]

bi
love ˈfi
2.sing ma
ACC

“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.

ja de zefi

[ˈja ˈde ˈzefi]

ˈja
in_surface ˈde
the ˈzef
table -i
sing

“on the table”

 (12)
hi de biñani

[ˈhi ˈde biˈɲani]

ˈhi
to_inside ˈde
the biˈɲan
box -i
sing

“into the box”

 (13)
gale pa

[ɡaˈle ˈpa]

ɡaˈle
COMIT ˈpa
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.

Gul 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 Gul.

De pufauchu bai ngi de bañisi ma.

[ˈde puˈfaut͡ʃu bai ŋi ˈde baˈɲisi ma]

ˈde
the piˈfaut͡ʃ
jaguar -i
sing bai
kill ŋi
PAST ˈde
the baˈɲis
hunter -i
sing ma
ACC

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (15)
De nizhazi ha ngi de bañisi de gachi de zhuzhu ma.

[ˈde niˈʒazi ha ŋi ˈde baˈɲisi ˈde ˈɡat͡ʃi ˈde ˈʒuʒu ma]

ˈde
the niˈʒaz
lion -i
sing ha
eat ŋi
PAST ˈde
the baˈɲis
hunter -i
sing ˈde
the ˈɡat͡ʃ
daughter -i
sing ˈde
the ˈʒuʒ
dog -i
sing ma
ACC

“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 Gul 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, Gul 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.

fi de dasi de zheki de buku

[ˈfi ˈde ˈdasi ˈde ˈʒeki ˈde buku]

ˈfi
2.sing ˈde
the ˈdas
son -i
sing ˈde
the ˈʒek
friend -i
sing ˈde
the buk
book -i
sing

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (17)

Case Marking

Gul 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.

De jali be.

[ˈde ˈjali be]

ˈde
the ˈjal
cat -i
sing be
sleep

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (18)
De jali gai.

[ˈde ˈjali ɡai]

ˈde
the ˈjal
cat -i
sing ɡai
run

“The cat is running.”

 (19)
De jali zhidashi de figili ma.

[ˈde ˈjali ʒiˈdaʃi ˈde fiˈɡili ma]

ˈde
the ˈjal
cat -i
sing ʒiˈdaʃi
chase ˈde
the fiˈɡil
mouse -i
sing ma
ACC

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (20)
De jali ra ngi de figili ma.

[ˈde ˈjali ra ŋi ˈde fiˈɡili ma]

ˈde
the ˈjal
cat -i
sing ra
catch ŋi
PAST ˈde
the fiˈɡil
mouse -i
sing ma
ACC

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

De bañisi bai ngi de pufaucha no de chudaufa no de nizhaza ma.

[ˈde baˈɲisi bai ŋi ˈde puˈfaut͡ʃa ˈno ˈde t͡ʃuˈdaufa ˈno ˈde niˈʒaza ma]

ˈde
the baˈɲis
hunter -i
sing bai
kill ŋi
PAST ˈde
the piˈfaut͡ʃ
jaguar -a
plur ˈno
and ˈde
the t͡ʃiˈdauf
tiger -a
plur ˈno
and ˈde
the niˈʒaz
lion -a
plur ma
ACC

“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 Gul 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

Gul 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:

Lamulu ngi de jali ma.

[laˈmulu ŋi ˈde ˈjali ma]

laˈmuli
pat ŋi
PAST ˈde
the ˈjal
cat -i
sing ma
ACC

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Lamulu ngi de jali, ho ra ngi de figili ma.

[laˈmulu ŋi ˈde ˈjali, ˈho ra ŋi ˈde fiˈɡili ma]

laˈmuli
pat ŋi
PAST ˈde
the ˈjal
cat -i
sing ˈho
RELPRON ra
catch ŋi
PAST ˈde
the fiˈɡil
mouse -i
sing ma
ACC

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Lamulu ngi de jali, ho ra ngi de figili, ho ha ngi de bañaupu ma.

[laˈmulu ŋi ˈde ˈjali, ˈho ra ŋi ˈde fiˈɡili, ˈho ha ŋi ˈde baˈɲaupu ma]

laˈmuli
pat ŋi
PAST ˈde
the ˈjal
cat -i
sing ˈho
RELPRON ra
catch ŋi
PAST ˈde
the fiˈɡil
mouse -i
sing ˈho
RELPRON ha
eat ŋi
PAST ˈde
the baˈɲaup
cheese -i
sing ma
ACC

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

 (25)

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

Lamulu ngi de jali, ho ra ngi de figili, ho ha ngi de bañaupu, ho ma hu ngi pa.

[laˈmulu ŋi ˈde ˈjali, ˈho ra ŋi ˈde fiˈɡili, ˈho ha ŋi ˈde baˈɲaupu, ˈho ma hu ŋi ˈpa]

laˈmuli
pat ŋi
PAST ˈde
the ˈjal
cat -i
sing ˈho
RELPRON ra
catch ŋi
PAST ˈde
the fiˈɡil
mouse -i
sing ˈho
RELPRON ha
eat ŋi
PAST ˈde
the baˈɲaup
cheese -i
sing ˈho
RELPRON ma
ACC hu
buy ŋi
PAST ˈpa
1excl.sing

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Gul 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:

De lulu nau ngi de ñezhi pi girizi ma mashi zagimi ngi de dicheli pi.

[ˈde ˈlulu nau ŋi ˈde ˈɲeʒi pi ɡiˈrizi ma maˈʃi zaˈɡimi ŋi ˈde dit͡ʃeli pi]

ˈde
the ˈlul
boy -i
sing nau
give ŋi
PAST ˈde
the ˈɲeʒ
girl -i
sing pi
DAT ɡiˈriz
apple -i
sing ma
ACC maˈʃi
COMP zaˈɡimi
surprise ŋi
PAST ˈde
the dit͡ʃel
teacher -i
sing pi
DAT

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

 (27)

Quotes

Gul 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:

De lulu pai ngi de ñezhi pi pa bi fi ma mashi ma.

[ˈde ˈlulu pai ŋi ˈde ˈɲeʒi pi ˈpa bi ˈfi ma maˈʃi ma]

ˈde
the ˈlul
boy -i
sing pai
tell ŋi
PAST ˈde
the ˈɲeʒ
girl -i
sing pi
DAT ˈpa
1excl.sing bi
love ˈfi
2.sing ma
ACC maˈʃi
COMP ma
ACC

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

 (28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Gul. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 15 August 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/1R3Y1

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-1R3Y1,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Gul}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/1R3Y1}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 15 August 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Gul / Gul–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/1R3Y1

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