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A Grammar of Idad

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Idad language (the 1221st 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 Idad.

Typological Profile

It has the typologically rare OSV basic word order, a rich system of noun classes, a complete lack of sibilant consonants, a small but genuine set of click consonants and ergative case marking, i.e., the object of a transitive verb is marked the same as the subject of an intransitive one,.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Idad has a moderately large consonant inventory, with 28 phonemes.

It has a complete lack of sibilant consonants, a noticeable presence of pharyngealised phonemes, a modest set of implosive stops and a small but genuine set of click consonants.

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

labialdentalphar. dentalalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolarlateralpalatalvelarglottal
stopp b d t dˤ tˤ k ɡ
ejective stopkʼ
nasalm n nˤ ɲ ŋ
fricativef h
approximantʋ ɾ j
affricatet͡ʃ
implosiveɓ ɗ ɗˤ
clickᵏǀ ᵏǀˤ
click, nasalᵑǀ ᵑǀˤ

Vowels

Idad has 6 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 partially contrastive system of vowel length, a triangular vowel system with few low vowels and occasional ghost vowels that surface only weakly.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
midə
opena

Stress and Tones

Idad 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

Idad 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 /a/б /b/б̱ /ɓ/в /ʋ/
г /h/д /d/д̱ /ɗ/и /i/
к /k, kʼ/м /m/н /n/п /p/
р /ɾ/т /t/у /u/ф /f/
ч /t͡ʃ/ј /j/њ /ɲ/ґ /ɡ/
ӈ /ŋ/ә /ə/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

аа /aː/ай /ai/аў /au/
д̱ъ /ɗˤ/дъ /dˤ/ии /iː/
нъ /nˤ/тъ /tˤ/уу /uː/
ҁн /ᵑǀ/ҁнъ /ᵑǀˤ/ҁт /ᵏǀ/
ҁтъ /ᵏǀˤ/әә /əː/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Idad does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Idad has the following noun classes:

Class cl.1 – for instance: аад ‘bed’, аамињ ‘egg’, ааниб̱ањ ‘rope’, аатъ ‘meat’, апафа ‘stick’, иґ ‘skin’, иӈикуњ ‘cheese’, унъ ‘chair’, уфатъ ‘table’.

Class cl.2 – for instance: аад̱ањуб̱ ‘apple’, айдъуб̱иб̱ ‘vagina’, айч ‘star’, апанъид̱ъ ‘mountain’, ар ‘hand’, аранудъ ‘penis’, афинъут ‘breast’, аўч ‘sky’, аўњ ‘moon’, аґ ‘land’, ибивад̱ъ ‘wheat’, ид̱ъ ‘wind’, иир ‘mouth’, ууд̱ъид̱и ‘cloud’, әп ‘sun’, әәӈ ‘earth’.

Class cl.3 – for instance: аад̱упип ‘lamb’, аад̱ъ ‘dog’, аанаӈик ‘worm’, аарукај ‘mouse’, ад̱иґиб ‘God’, адъ ‘boy’, айб̱ ‘human being’, айдукуб ‘farmer’, ак ‘man’, ањ ‘people’, аўп ‘woman’, ив ‘bird’, ид̱ ‘animal’, иид̱ ‘mother’, ииґаниґ ‘neighbour’, инъ ‘cat’, ич ‘eye’, әм ‘father’, әәдъичај ‘teacher’, әәкудъир ‘snake’.

Class cl.4 – for instance: айњибудъ ‘brick’, ам ‘tooth’, аруб̱ик ‘wing’, атъ ‘back’, ањитутъ ‘fingernail’, иикинип ‘feather’, ииӈ ‘stone’, ињ ‘bone’, әвагадъ ‘horn’, әнъ ‘face’.

Class cl.5 – for instance: аак ‘language’, аамун ‘idea’, ад ‘name’, айм ‘fight’, аўӈубат ‘embrace’, им ‘colour’, инан ‘manner’, инъиб̱ун ‘dialect’, ињуд̱ум ‘breath’, уувумат ‘tail’, әәбук ‘book’.

Class cl.6 – for instance: айґуґи ‘tower’, аф ‘day’, ииб̱ ‘year’, иид̱иб̱ ‘knife’, иик ‘house’, ииј ‘time’, итидъар ‘anus’, уґ ‘night’, әдъ ‘city’.

Class cl.7 – for instance: айк ‘foot’, ај ‘inside’, аўӈ ‘blood’, аґиким ‘ice’, иининук ‘belly’, уб ‘top’, уд̱ъ ‘heart’, уунъаганъ ‘root’, уњичиб ‘liver’, әкапар ‘guts’.

Class cl.8 – for instance: ааб̱ ‘east’, аанъупад ‘mortar’, айкукуф ‘box’, атакатъ ‘river’, аўпињан ‘bottle’, ииб ‘south’, иип ‘west’, ииӈакак ‘lake’, ин ‘north’, унак ‘sea’, уун ‘head’, әд̱ъид̱ъув ‘bosom’.

Class cl.9 – for instance: аан ‘leaf’, аатъитъуд̱ ‘forest’, аај ‘leg’, авирир ‘grass’, ачадан ‘seed’, аўмунъиф ‘flower’, аґитъаф ‘neck’, идъичај ‘bark’, иид̱ад ‘Idad’, уӈ ‘fruit’, әб̱ ‘tree’.

Class cl.10 – for instance: аабид̱ъап ‘slime’, аатумаґ ‘snow’, айбипиӈ ‘sand’, айн ‘water’, айј ‘rain’, атъануӈ ‘ash’, ачуд̱ъак ‘salt’, аўкуват ‘fog’, иб̱ ‘hair’, иибаґанъ ‘smoke’, иигикуп ‘faeces’, иитъамиб ‘knee’, уд̱ъад̱ук ‘fat’, ук ‘fire’, әкинъув ‘dust’, әјуд̱ук ‘urine’, әәманич ‘money’.

Class cl.11 – for instance: аак ‘tongue’, аајакит ‘market’, ааґариб ‘plain’, ав ‘surface’, айкафунъ ‘religion’, айтијап ‘student’, аўвинид̱ъ ‘medicine’, аўкињат ‘library’, ид̱утъ ‘speech’, идъавитъ ‘restaurant’, иитијуњ ‘court’, итифат ‘bank’, ә ‘sound’, әәчакудъ ‘school’.

Class cl.12 – for instance: аб̱ ‘road’, ад̱ ‘nose’, айд̱ъипан ‘binoculars’, ат ‘ear’, ачиб̱ад ‘net’, әдидъип ‘umbrella’, әәкунуч ‘machine’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Кәәб̱ д̱ај каарукај кич фаўп фәәч киид̱иб̱ фәәк ҁтъафи фад̱ъиб̱угуд.

[ˈkəːɓ ˈɗaj ˈkʼaːɾukʼaj ˈkʼit͡ʃ ˈfaup ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈkʼiːɗiɓ ˈfəːkʼ ᵏǀˤaˈfi faɗˤiɓuhud]

ˈkəːɓ
three ˈɗaj
blind kʼ-
ABS ˈaːɾukʼaj
mouse ˈkʼi
yon -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
ERG ˈaup
woman ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 kʼ-
ABS ˈiːɗiɓ
knife ˈfəː
the -kʼ
cl.6 ᵏǀˤaˈfi
COMIT f-
not.Q aɗˤi
catch -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“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 Idad consists of an obligatory prefix expressing case, comprising к- /kʼ-/ ‘ABS’, ф- /f-/ ‘ERG’, тъ- /tˤ-/ ‘DAT’, р- /ɾ-/ ‘INS’, њ- /ɲ-/ ‘VOC’, б- /b-/ ‘ALL’, м- /m-/ ‘LOC’, н- /n-/ ‘ABL’ and д̱- /ɗ-/ ‘PART’ followed by the root.

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Idad, the determiner has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -н /-n/ ‘cl.1’, -ф /-f/ ‘cl.2’, -ч /-t͡ʃ/ ‘cl.3’, -к /-k/ ‘cl.4’, -в /-ʋ/ ‘cl.5’, -к /-kʼ/ ‘cl.6’, -р /-ɾ/ ‘cl.7’, -п /-p/ ‘cl.8’, -м /-m/ ‘cl.9’, -нъ /-nˤ/ ‘cl.10’, -дъ /-dˤ/ ‘cl.11’ and -тъ /-tˤ/ ‘cl.12’.

Pronouns

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

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

Бууњ фәәмадъугуд.

[ˈbuːɲ fəːmadˤuhud]

ˈbuːɲ
3.cl.3 f-
not.Q əːma
love -dˤ
PRES -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

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

Бууњ бууњ фәәмадъугуд.

[ˈbuːɲ ˈbuːɲ fəːmadˤuhud]

ˈbuːɲ
3.cl.3 ˈbuːɲ
3.cl.3 f-
not.Q əːma
love -dˤ
PRES -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

КУчуд̱ъиј фәәч фАўнутъид фәәч фиимињудъугуд.

[ˈkʼut͡ʃuɗˤij ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈfaunutˤid ˈfəːt͡ʃ fiːˈmiɲudˤuhud]

kʼ-
ABS ˈut͡ʃuɗˤij
Uchudiy ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
ERG ˈaunutˤid
Aunutid ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q ˈiːmiɲu
hate -dˤ
PRES -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“Aunutid hates Uchudiy.”

 (4)

Possession

кадъ фәәч каад̱ањуб̱ фәәф

[ˈkʼadˤ ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈkʼaːɗaɲuɓ ˈfəːf]

kʼ-
ABS ˈadˤ
boy ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 kʼ-
ABS ˈaːɗaɲuɓ
apple ˈfəː
the -f
cl.2

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
бууњ каад̱ањуб̱ фәәф

[ˈbuːɲ ˈkʼaːɗaɲuɓ ˈfəːf]

ˈbuːɲ
3.cl.3 kʼ-
ABS ˈaːɗaɲuɓ
apple ˈfəː
the -f
cl.2

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
вә каад̱ањуб̱ фәәф

[ˈʋə ˈkʼaːɗaɲuɓ ˈfəːf]

ˈʋə
1excl kʼ-
ABS ˈaːɗaɲuɓ
apple ˈfəː
the -f
cl.2

“my apple”

 (7)
Тач кииґаниґ фәәч кән фәәч кикичач фәәч фун фәәч фудаґаб̱угуд.

[ˈtat͡ʃ ˈkʼiːɡaniɡ ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈkʼən ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈkʼikit͡ʃat͡ʃ ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈfun ˈfəːt͡ʃ fuˈdaɡaɓuhud]

ˈtat͡ʃ
2 kʼ-
ABS ˈiːɡaniɡ
neighbour ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 kʼ-
ABS ˈən
son ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 kʼ-
ABS ˈikit͡ʃat͡ʃ
hunter ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
ERG ˈun
daughter ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q ˈudaɡa
kiss -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

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

 (8)

Derivation

Idad has no derivational processes.

каад̱упип д̱ъич

[ˈkʼaːɗupip ˈɗˤit͡ʃ]

kʼ-
ABS ˈaːɗupip
lamb ˈɗˤi
a -t͡ʃ
cl.3

“a lamb”

 (9)

Note how none show up here:

Јањ каад̱упип д̱ъич фуудъиб̱угуд файб̱угуд.

[ˈjaɲ ˈkʼaːɗupip ˈɗˤit͡ʃ fuːdˤiɓuhud faiɓuhud]

ˈjaɲ
little kʼ-
ABS ˈaːɗupip
lamb ˈɗˤi
a -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q uːdˤi
have -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS f-
not.Q ai
want -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

 (10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

There are no clitics in the verbal phrase.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, an obligatory prefix expressing question, comprising ј- /j-/ ‘Q’ and ф- /f-/ ‘not.Q’; second, the root; third, an obligatory suffix expressing ta, comprising -дъ /-dˤ/ ‘PRES’ and -б̱ /-ɓ/ ‘PAST’; fourth, an obligatory suffix expressing mode, comprising -уг /-uh/ ‘indicative’, -ак /-ak/ ‘imperative’, -атъ /-atˤ/ ‘conditional’ and -ич /-it͡ʃ/ ‘optative’; fifth, an obligatory suffix expressing voice, comprising -у /-u/ ‘active’ and -а /-a/ ‘passive’; and finally, sixth, an obligatory suffix expressing negation, comprising -к /-k/ ‘NEG’ and -д /-d/ ‘POS’.

Тач фәәмадъугуд.

[ˈtat͡ʃ fəːmadˤuhud]

ˈtat͡ʃ
2 f-
not.Q əːma
love -dˤ
PRES -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“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.

куфатъ фәән кав бунъ

[ˈkʼufatˤ ˈfəːn ˈkʼaʋ ˈbunˤ]

kʼ-
ABS ˈufatˤ
table ˈfəː
the -n
cl.1 kʼ-
ABS ˈaʋ
surface ˈbunˤ
in

“on the table”

 (12)
кайкукуф фәәп кај ҁтиб

[ˈkʼaikʼukʼuf ˈfəːp ˈkʼaj ˈᵏǀib]

kʼ-
ABS ˈaikʼukʼuf
box ˈfəː
the -p
cl.8 kʼ-
ABS ˈaj
inside ˈᵏǀib
to

“into the box”

 (13)
вә ҁтъафи

[ˈʋə ᵏǀˤaˈfi]

ˈʋə
1excl ᵏǀˤaˈfi
COMIT

“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.

Idad adopts Object–Subject–Verb (OSV) as its unmarked word order. The object precedes the subject, and the verb appears clause-finally. OSV is a rare ordering pattern but is attested in a small number of languages.

The following examples illustrate the basic, unmarked, constituent order in Idad.

Кикичач фәәч фид̱ад̱ъањ фәәч фуњиб̱угуд.

[ˈkʼikit͡ʃat͡ʃ ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈfiɗaɗˤaɲ ˈfəːt͡ʃ fuɲiɓuhud]

kʼ-
ABS ˈikit͡ʃat͡ʃ
hunter ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
ERG ˈiɗaɗˤaɲ
jaguar ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q uɲi
kill -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (15)
Кикичач фәәч кун фәәч каад̱ъ фәәч фәнутъуб фәәч фәкаб̱угуд.

[ˈkʼikit͡ʃat͡ʃ ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈkʼun ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈkʼaːɗˤ ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈfənutˤub ˈfəːt͡ʃ fəkʼaɓuhud]

kʼ-
ABS ˈikit͡ʃat͡ʃ
hunter ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 kʼ-
ABS ˈun
daughter ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 kʼ-
ABS ˈaːɗˤ
dog ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
ERG ˈənutˤub
lion ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q əkʼa
eat -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“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 Idad 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, Idad 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.

тач кән фәәч каб фәәч кәәбук фәәв

[ˈtat͡ʃ ˈkʼən ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈkʼab ˈfəːt͡ʃ kʼəːbuk ˈfəːʋ]

ˈtat͡ʃ
2 kʼ-
ABS ˈən
son ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 kʼ-
ABS ˈab
friend ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 kʼ-
ABS əːbuk
book ˈfəː
the -ʋ
cl.5

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (17)

Case Marking

Idad uses ergative–absolutive case marking. The subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb are treated alike and take the absolutive case, while the subject of a transitive verb is marked with the ergative case. From the point of view of such a system, this is a perfectly natural way to organise the clause: the absolutive marks the participant most directly involved in the event or state, while the ergative marks the additional participant that causes or controls a transitive event.

Кинъ фәәч фиӈидъугуд.

[ˈkʼinˤ ˈfəːt͡ʃ fiŋidˤuhud]

kʼ-
ABS ˈinˤ
cat ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q iŋi
sleep -dˤ
PRES -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (18)
Кинъ фәәч фаўдъугуд.

[ˈkʼinˤ ˈfəːt͡ʃ faudˤuhud]

kʼ-
ABS ˈinˤ
cat ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q au
run -dˤ
PRES -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“The cat is running.”

 (19)
Каарукај фәәч финъ фәәч фииканъадъугуд.

[ˈkʼaːɾukʼaj ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈfinˤ ˈfəːt͡ʃ fiːˈkʼanˤadˤuhud]

kʼ-
ABS ˈaːɾukʼaj
mouse ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
ERG ˈinˤ
cat ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q ˈiːkʼanˤa
chase -dˤ
PRES -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (20)
Каарукај фәәч финъ фәәч фад̱ъиб̱угуд.

[ˈkʼaːɾukʼaj ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈfinˤ ˈfəːt͡ʃ faɗˤiɓuhud]

kʼ-
ABS ˈaːɾukʼaj
mouse ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
ERG ˈinˤ
cat ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q aɗˤi
catch -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Кид̱ад̱ъањ фәәч куј кададъук фәәч куј кәнутъуб фәәч фикичач фәәч фуњиб̱угуд.

[ˈkʼiɗaɗˤaɲ ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈkʼuj ˈkʼadadˤukʼ ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈkʼuj ˈkʼənutˤub ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈfikit͡ʃat͡ʃ ˈfəːt͡ʃ fuɲiɓuhud]

kʼ-
ABS ˈiɗaɗˤaɲ
jaguar ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 ˈkʼuj
and kʼ-
ABS ˈadadˤukʼ
tiger ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 ˈkʼuj
and kʼ-
ABS ˈənutˤub
lion ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
ERG ˈikit͡ʃat͡ʃ
hunter ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q uɲi
kill -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“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 Idad 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

Idad 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:

Кинъ фәәч фааниӈиб̱угуд.

[ˈkʼinˤ ˈfəːt͡ʃ faːˈniŋiɓuhud]

kʼ-
ABS ˈinˤ
cat ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q ˈaːniŋi
pat -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Каарукај фәәч фад̱ъиб̱угуд кинъ фәәч фааниӈиб̱угуд.

[ˈkʼaːɾukʼaj ˈfəːt͡ʃ faɗˤiɓuhud ˈkʼinˤ ˈfəːt͡ʃ faːˈniŋiɓuhud]

kʼ-
ABS ˈaːɾukʼaj
mouse ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q aɗˤi
catch -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS kʼ-
ABS ˈinˤ
cat ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q ˈaːniŋi
pat -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Киӈикуњ фәән фәкаб̱угуд каарукај фәәч фад̱ъиб̱угуд кинъ фәәч фааниӈиб̱угуд.

[ˈkʼiŋikʼuɲ ˈfəːn fəkʼaɓuhud ˈkʼaːɾukʼaj ˈfəːt͡ʃ faɗˤiɓuhud ˈkʼinˤ ˈfəːt͡ʃ faːˈniŋiɓuhud]

kʼ-
ABS ˈiŋikʼuɲ
cheese ˈfəː
the -n
cl.1 f-
not.Q əkʼa
eat -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS kʼ-
ABS ˈaːɾukʼaj
mouse ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q aɗˤi
catch -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS kʼ-
ABS ˈinˤ
cat ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q ˈaːniŋi
pat -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

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

 (25)

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

Вә фууфуб̱угуд киӈикуњ фәән фәкаб̱угуд каарукај фәәч фад̱ъиб̱угуд кинъ фәәч фааниӈиб̱угуд.

[ˈʋə fuːfuɓuhud ˈkʼiŋikʼuɲ ˈfəːn fəkʼaɓuhud ˈkʼaːɾukʼaj ˈfəːt͡ʃ faɗˤiɓuhud ˈkʼinˤ ˈfəːt͡ʃ faːˈniŋiɓuhud]

ˈʋə
1excl f-
not.Q uːfu
buy -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS kʼ-
ABS ˈiŋikʼuɲ
cheese ˈfəː
the -n
cl.1 f-
not.Q əkʼa
eat -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS kʼ-
ABS ˈaːɾukʼaj
mouse ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q aɗˤi
catch -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS kʼ-
ABS ˈinˤ
cat ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q ˈaːniŋi
pat -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Idad forms complement clauses by nominalising the embedded verb. The nominalised form lacks finite verbal categories and behaves as a noun phrase. Subjects of nominalised clauses occur in the genitive case, and the nominalised verb establishes the semantic content of the complement.

The following example illustrate how complement clauses function:

Тъәәдъичај фәәч фадъ фәәч каад̱ањуб̱ д̱ъиф тъа фәәч фаад̱ъиб̱угуд факаґуб̱угуд.

[tˤəːdˤit͡ʃaj ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈfadˤ ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈkʼaːɗaɲuɓ ˈɗˤif ˈtˤa ˈfəːt͡ʃ faːɗˤiɓuhud faˈkaɡuɓuhud]

tˤ-
DAT əːdˤit͡ʃaj
teacher ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
ERG ˈadˤ
boy ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 kʼ-
ABS ˈaːɗaɲuɓ
apple ˈɗˤi
a -f
cl.2 tˤ-
DAT ˈa
girl ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q aːɗˤi
give -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS f-
not.Q ˈakaɡu
surprise -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

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

 (27)

Quotes

Idad 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:

Вә тач фәәмадъугуд тъа фәәч фадъ фәәч фиӈуб̱угуд.

[ˈʋə ˈtat͡ʃ fəːmadˤuhud ˈtˤa ˈfəːt͡ʃ ˈfadˤ ˈfəːt͡ʃ fiŋuɓuhud]

ˈʋə
1excl ˈtat͡ʃ
2 f-
not.Q əːma
love -dˤ
PRES -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS tˤ-
DAT ˈa
girl ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
ERG ˈadˤ
boy ˈfəː
the -t͡ʃ
cl.3 f-
not.Q iŋu
tell -ɓ
PAST -uh
indicative -u
active -d
POS

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

 (28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Idad. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 16 August 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/27MNT

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-27MNT,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Idad}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/27MNT}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 16 August 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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