A Grammar of Tsash

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Tsash language (the 1223rd 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 Tsash.

Typological Profile

It has not just singular and plural, but also dual, as well as the typologically rare OSV basic word order and a rich system of noun classes.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Tsash has 20 consonant phonemes, a size that falls within a broadly average range.

It has a notable dental–alveolar contrast across several manners.

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

labialalveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalvelarglottal
stopb d t k ɡ
nasalm n ɲ ŋ
fricativef s ʃ h
approximantʋ l j
affricatet͡s t͡ʃ t͡ɕ

Vowels

Tsash has 9 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 phonologically distinctive back unrounded vowels.

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

frontcentralback unroundedback rounded
closei ɯ u
mide ɤ o
opena

Stress and Tones

Tsash 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 /ɯ/, /e/ becomes /ɤ/.

Writing System

Introduction

Tsash 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/s /s/t /t/
u /u/w /ʋ/ñ /ɲ/ơ /ɤ/
ư /ɯ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ai /ai/au /au/ch /t͡ʃ/
ng /ŋ/sh /ʃ/ty /t͡ɕ/
tz /t͡s/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Tsash distinguishes singular, dual and plural.

Gender

Tsash has the following noun classes:

Class cl.1 – for instance: chashaf ‘fog’, choshus ‘binoculars’, chưh ‘rain’, chưty ‘inside’, dichauk ‘medicine’, dolah ‘school’, gotyơt ‘worm’, jachơm ‘mouse’, jasuch ‘bank’, katus ‘market’, lineb ‘student’, lơn ‘bed’, metas ‘cheese’, suwod ‘restaurant’, tugatz ‘snow’, tyas ‘table’, tzaib ‘sound’, tưw ‘wind’, wakon ‘seed’, ñaf ‘meat’.

Class cl.2 – for instance: dơty ‘fire’, ful ‘house’, gekưj ‘God’, kichaiñ ‘neighbour’, lif ‘husband’, lơs ‘idea’, nashon ‘box’, shat ‘friend’, shityauñ ‘net’, sưtz ‘sun’, tok ‘name’, tzash ‘Tsash’, tzemaul ‘ash’, wautz ‘city’, wid ‘wife’, ñoshưñ ‘smoke’.

Class cl.3 – for instance: bekun ‘money’, chul ‘knife’, daush ‘bone’, faweg ‘plain’, fưg ‘land’, gewaiñ ‘dust’, hung ‘chair’, hunơch ‘slime’, manik ‘fat’, meshetz ‘rope’, nagưty ‘lake’, namaim ‘breath’, shifaj ‘salt’, shub ‘earth’, tyaif ‘time’, tzegis ‘dialect’, tzơb ‘tooth’, wenog ‘horn’, wơt ‘road’, ñigon ‘mountain’.

Class cl.4 – for instance: bigan ‘anus’, bog ‘child’, chej ‘son’, dibis ‘mortar’, faf ‘human being’, fitzaing ‘faeces’, gauñ ‘father’, lajoch ‘urine’, ngatơm ‘jaguar’, ngech ‘man’, ngesơg ‘umbrella’, sowib ‘tiger’, sưw ‘night’, tafad ‘mammal’, tyemach ‘embrace’, tzedưk ‘farmer’, ñagauty ‘feather’, ñautz ‘boy’, ñofưs ‘lamb’, ñog ‘woman’.

Class cl.5 – for instance: betzưtz ‘machine’, chalaus ‘sand’, chom ‘star’, hil ‘ear’, jaif ‘tongue’, jưñ ‘eye’, kechơb ‘root’, kưch ‘sea’, loty ‘east’, mesh ‘sky’, mogis ‘river’, nagosh ‘ice’, ngib ‘south’, sitz ‘water’, sơn ‘nose’, taj ‘moon’, tyaung ‘north’, tzehan ‘stick’, tzitz ‘day’, tzơt ‘west’.

Class cl.6 – for instance: gib ‘fruit’, jetyưs ‘vagina’, jưsh ‘foot’, madon ‘liver’, ming ‘leg’, mơw ‘colour’, nadich ‘wing’, nanaiñ ‘flower’, nasag ‘grass’, nauj ‘mouth’, ngaub ‘leaf’, sañ ‘speech’, shan ‘head’, shif ‘blood’, shobus ‘bosom’, shod ‘tree’, tasod ‘neck’, tzabety ‘apple’, tzưs ‘surface’, wañach ‘tower’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Shaj jachơmơt ñaityif tyaish jautz ñoge guchitz jautz chule tash ngos gich ñal.

[ˈʃaj jaˈt͡ʃɤmɤt ˈɲait͡ɕif ˈt͡ɕaiʃ ˈjaut͡s ˈɲoɡe ɡuˈt͡ʃit͡s ˈjaut͡s ˈt͡ʃule taʃ ŋos ˈɡit͡ʃ ɲal]

ˈʃaj
yon
jaˈt͡ʃɤm
mouse
-et
plur
ˈɲait͡ɕ
blind
-if
cl.1
ˈt͡ɕaiʃ
three
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈɲoɡ
woman
-e
sing
ɡuˈt͡ʃit͡s
COMIT
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈt͡ʃul
knife
-e
sing
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
ˈɡit͡ʃ
catch
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.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 case. a clitic expressing case, comprising tash /taʃ/ ‘ACT’, tyuñ /t͡ɕuɲ/ ‘GEN’, ku /ku/ ‘DAT’, wotz /ʋot͡s/ ‘INS’, mesh /meʃ/ ‘VOC’, nity /nit͡ɕ/ ‘ALL’, nañ /naɲ/ ‘LOC’, shud /ʃud/ ‘ABL’ and ging /ɡiŋ/ ‘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 Tsash.

The Noun

The noun in Tsash consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -e /-e/ ‘sing’, -es /-es/ ‘dual’ and -et /-et/ ‘plur’.

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

The Adjective

In Tsash, the adjective has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -if /-if/ ‘cl.1’, -un /-un/ ‘cl.2’, -iñ /-iɲ/ ‘cl.3’, -eng /-eŋ/ ‘cl.4’, -om /-om/ ‘cl.5’ and -uch /-ut͡ʃ/ ‘cl.6’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

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

Pronouns

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

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

Baty din ñal.

[ˈbat͡ɕ ˈdin ɲal]

ˈbat͡ɕ
3.sing.cl.4
ˈdin
love
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(2)

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

Baty baty tash din ñal.

[ˈbat͡ɕ ˈbat͡ɕ taʃ ˈdin ɲal]

ˈbat͡ɕ
3.sing.cl.4
ˈbat͡ɕ
3.sing.cl.4
taʃ
ACT
ˈdin
love
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ

He loves her.”

(3)

Proper Nouns

Jautz Tyasahe jautz Metode tash jotush wid.

[ˈjaut͡s t͡ɕaˈsahe ˈjaut͡s meˈtode taʃ joˈtuʃ ʋid]

ˈjaut͡s
the
t͡ɕaˈsah
Chasah
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
meˈtod
Metod
-e
sing
taʃ
ACT
joˈtuʃ
hate
ʋid
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ

“Metod hates Chasah.”

(4)

Possession

jautz ñautze jautz tzabetye

[ˈjaut͡s ˈɲaut͡se ˈjaut͡s t͡saˈbet͡ɕe]

ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈɲaut͡s
boy
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
t͡saˈbet͡ɕ
apple
-e
sing

“the boy’s apple”

(5)
baty jautz tzabetye

[ˈbat͡ɕ ˈjaut͡s t͡saˈbet͡ɕe]

ˈbat͡ɕ
3.sing.cl.4
ˈjaut͡s
the
t͡saˈbet͡ɕ
apple
-e
sing

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(6)
bib jautz tzabetye

[ˈbib ˈjaut͡s t͡saˈbet͡ɕe]

ˈbib
1excl.sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
t͡saˈbet͡ɕ
apple
-e
sing

“my apple”

(7)
Kail jautz kichaiñe jautz cheje jautz chiñaile jautz joche tash ngos fifety ñal.

[ˈkail ˈjaut͡s kiˈt͡ʃaiɲe ˈjaut͡s ˈt͡ʃeje ˈjaut͡s t͡ʃiˈɲaile ˈjaut͡s ˈjot͡ʃe taʃ ŋos fiˈfet͡ɕ ɲal]

ˈkail
2.sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
kiˈt͡ʃaiɲ
neighbour
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈt͡ʃej
son
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
t͡ʃiˈɲail
hunter
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈjot͡ʃ
daughter
-e
sing
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
fiˈfet͡ɕ
kiss
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ

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

(8)

Derivation

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

kiñ ñofưsơ

[ˈkiɲ ɲoˈfɯsɤ]

ˈkiɲ
a
ɲoˈfɯs
lamb
-e
sing

“a lamb”

(9)

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

kiñ ñofưsưke

[ˈkiɲ ɲoˈfɯsɯke]

ˈkiɲ
a
ɲoˈfɯs
lamb
-ik
little
-e
sing

“a little lamb”

(10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Tsash fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising ngos /ŋos/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising kes /kes/ ‘imperative’, fag /faɡ/ ‘conditional’ and fety /fet͡ɕ/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising sul /sul/ ‘passive’; fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising tyeng /t͡ɕeŋ/ ‘NEG’; fifth, a clitic expressing subj, comprising jaty /jat͡ɕ/ ‘1incl.sing’, ngej /ŋej/ ‘1excl.sing’, haw /haʋ/ ‘2.sing’, wid /ʋid/ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, tyuf /t͡ɕuf/ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, ñal /ɲal/ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, faty /fat͡ɕ/ ‘3.sing.cl.5’, tzi /t͡si/ ‘3.sing.cl.6’, shin /ʃin/ ‘1incl.dual’, big /biɡ/ ‘1excl.dual’, kuw /kuʋ/ ‘2.dual’, kig /kiɡ/ ‘3.dual.cl.1’, ñen /ɲen/ ‘3.dual.cl.2’, mij /mij/ ‘3.dual.cl.3’, tyas /t͡ɕas/ ‘3.dual.cl.4’, ges /ɡes/ ‘3.dual.cl.5’, hush /huʃ/ ‘3.dual.cl.6’, chal /t͡ʃal/ ‘1incl.plur’, bim /bim/ ‘1excl.plur’, net /net/ ‘2.plur’, dab /dab/ ‘3.plur.cl.1’, ñity /ɲit͡ɕ/ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, si /si/ ‘3.plur.cl.3’, hon /hon/ ‘3.plur.cl.4’, tyitz /t͡ɕit͡s/ ‘3.plur.cl.5’ and tzoñ /t͡soɲ/ ‘3.plur.cl.6’; sixth, a clitic expressing question, comprising gis /ɡis/ ‘Q’; and finally, seventh, a clitic expressing comp, comprising shun /ʃun/ ‘COMP’.

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

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -da /-da/ ‘begin’ and -no /-no/ ‘stop’

Kail din ngej.

[ˈkail ˈdin ŋej]

ˈkail
2.sing
ˈdin
love
ŋej
1excl.sing.SUBJ

“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.

tañ jautz tyase

[ˈtaɲ ˈjaut͡s ˈt͡ɕase]

ˈtaɲ
in_surface
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈt͡ɕas
table
-e
sing

“on the table”

(12)
meñ jautz nashone

[ˈmeɲ ˈjaut͡s naˈʃone]

ˈmeɲ
to_inside
ˈjaut͡s
the
naˈʃon
box
-e
sing

“into the box”

(13)
guchitz bib

[ɡuˈt͡ʃit͡s ˈbib]

ɡuˈt͡ʃit͡s
COMIT
ˈbib
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.

Tsash 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 Tsash.

Jautz chiñaile jautz ngatơmơ tash ngos lib ñal.

[ˈjaut͡s t͡ʃiˈɲaile ˈjaut͡s ŋaˈtɤmɤ taʃ ŋos ˈlib ɲal]

ˈjaut͡s
the
t͡ʃiˈɲail
hunter
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
ŋaˈtɤm
jaguar
-e
sing
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
ˈlib
kill
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(15)
Jautz chiñaile jautz joche jautz jowe jautz giduge tash ngos tyưs ñal.

[ˈjaut͡s t͡ʃiˈɲaile ˈjaut͡s ˈjot͡ʃe ˈjaut͡s ˈjoʋe ˈjaut͡s ɡiˈduɡe taʃ ŋos ˈt͡ɕɯs ɲal]

ˈjaut͡s
the
t͡ʃiˈɲail
hunter
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈjot͡ʃ
daughter
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈjoʋ
dog
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
ɡiˈduɡ
lion
-e
sing
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
ˈt͡ɕɯs
eat
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ

“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 Tsash 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, Tsash 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.

kail jautz cheje jautz shate jautz libene

[ˈkail ˈjaut͡s ˈt͡ʃeje ˈjaut͡s ˈʃate ˈjaut͡s libene]

ˈkail
2.sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈt͡ʃej
son
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈʃat
friend
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
liben
book
-e
sing

“your son’s friend’s book”

(17)

Case Marking

Tsash 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.

Jautz bebe tyag ñal.

[ˈjaut͡s ˈbebe ˈt͡ɕaɡ ɲal]

ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈbeb
cat
-e
sing
ˈt͡ɕaɡ
sleep
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ

“The cat is sleeping.”

(18)
Jautz bebe tash tzut ñal.

[ˈjaut͡s ˈbebe taʃ ˈt͡sut ɲal]

ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈbeb
cat
-e
sing
taʃ
ACT
ˈt͡sut
run
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ

“The cat is running.”

(19)
Jautz jachơmơ jautz bebe tash shestew ñal.

[ˈjaut͡s jaˈt͡ʃɤmɤ ˈjaut͡s ˈbebe taʃ ʃeˈsteʋ ɲal]

ˈjaut͡s
the
jaˈt͡ʃɤm
mouse
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈbeb
cat
-e
sing
taʃ
ACT
ʃeˈsteʋ
chase
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

(20)
Jautz jachơmơ jautz bebe tash ngos gich ñal.

[ˈjaut͡s jaˈt͡ʃɤmɤ ˈjaut͡s ˈbebe taʃ ŋos ˈɡit͡ʃ ɲal]

ˈjaut͡s
the
jaˈt͡ʃɤm
mouse
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈbeb
cat
-e
sing
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
ˈɡit͡ʃ
catch
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ

“The cat caught the mouse.”

(21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Jautz ngatơmơt wos jautz sowibet wos jautz giduget jautz chiñaile tash ngos lib ñal.

[ˈjaut͡s ŋaˈtɤmɤt ˈʋos ˈjaut͡s soˈʋibet ˈʋos ˈjaut͡s ɡiˈduɡet ˈjaut͡s t͡ʃiˈɲaile taʃ ŋos ˈlib ɲal]

ˈjaut͡s
the
ŋaˈtɤm
jaguar
-et
plur
ˈʋos
and
ˈjaut͡s
the
soˈʋib
tiger
-et
plur
ˈʋos
and
ˈjaut͡s
the
ɡiˈduɡ
lion
-et
plur
ˈjaut͡s
the
t͡ʃiˈɲail
hunter
-e
sing
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
ˈlib
kill
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ

“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 Tsash 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

Tsash 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:

Jautz bebe ngos dafaik ngej.

[ˈjaut͡s ˈbebe ŋos daˈfaik ŋej]

ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈbeb
cat
-e
sing
ŋos
PAST
daˈfaik
pat
ŋej
1excl.sing.SUBJ

“I patted the cat.”

(23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Ngos dafaik ngej jautz bebe, tzen tash ngos gich ñal jautz jachơmơ.

[ŋos daˈfaik ŋej ˈjaut͡s ˈbebe, ˈt͡sen taʃ ŋos ˈɡit͡ʃ ɲal ˈjaut͡s jaˈt͡ʃɤmɤ]

ŋos
PAST
daˈfaik
pat
ŋej
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈbeb
cat
-e
sing
ˈt͡sen
RELPRON
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
ˈɡit͡ʃ
catch
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ
ˈjaut͡s
the
jaˈt͡ʃɤm
mouse
-e
sing

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Ngos dafaik ngej jautz bebe, tzen tash ngos gich ñal jautz jachơmơ, tzen tash ngos tyưs jautz metase.

[ŋos daˈfaik ŋej ˈjaut͡s ˈbebe, ˈt͡sen taʃ ŋos ˈɡit͡ʃ ɲal ˈjaut͡s jaˈt͡ʃɤmɤ, ˈt͡sen taʃ ŋos ˈt͡ɕɯs ˈjaut͡s meˈtase]

ŋos
PAST
daˈfaik
pat
ŋej
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈbeb
cat
-e
sing
ˈt͡sen
RELPRON
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
ˈɡit͡ʃ
catch
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ
ˈjaut͡s
the
jaˈt͡ʃɤm
mouse
-e
sing
ˈt͡sen
RELPRON
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
ˈt͡ɕɯs
eat
ˈjaut͡s
the
meˈtas
cheese
-e
sing

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

(25)

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

Ngos dafaik ngej jautz bebe, tzen tash ngos gich ñal jautz jachơmơ, tzen tash ngos tyưs jautz metase, tzen ngos des ngej bib tash.

[ŋos daˈfaik ŋej ˈjaut͡s ˈbebe, ˈt͡sen taʃ ŋos ˈɡit͡ʃ ɲal ˈjaut͡s jaˈt͡ʃɤmɤ, ˈt͡sen taʃ ŋos ˈt͡ɕɯs ˈjaut͡s meˈtase, ˈt͡sen ŋos ˈdes ŋej ˈbib taʃ]

ŋos
PAST
daˈfaik
pat
ŋej
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈbeb
cat
-e
sing
ˈt͡sen
RELPRON
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
ˈɡit͡ʃ
catch
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ
ˈjaut͡s
the
jaˈt͡ʃɤm
mouse
-e
sing
ˈt͡sen
RELPRON
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
ˈt͡ɕɯs
eat
ˈjaut͡s
the
meˈtas
cheese
-e
sing
ˈt͡sen
RELPRON
ŋos
PAST
ˈdes
buy
ŋej
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ˈbib
1excl.sing
taʃ
ACT

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

(26)

Complementation Strategies

Tsash 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:

Jautz gitene ku kiñ tzabetye jautz shase ku jautz ñautze tash ngos tzu ñal shun tash ngos chanich wid.

[ˈjaut͡s ɡitene ku ˈkiɲ t͡saˈbet͡ɕe ˈjaut͡s ˈʃase ku ˈjaut͡s ˈɲaut͡se taʃ ŋos ˈt͡su ɲal ʃun taʃ ŋos t͡ʃaˈnit͡ʃ ʋid]

ˈjaut͡s
the
ɡiten
teacher
-e
sing
ku
DAT
ˈkiɲ
a
t͡saˈbet͡ɕ
apple
-e
sing
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈʃas
girl
-e
sing
ku
DAT
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈɲaut͡s
boy
-e
sing
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
ˈt͡su
give
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ
ʃun
COMP
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
t͡ʃaˈnit͡ʃ
surprise
ʋid
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ

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

(27)

Quotes

Tsash 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:

Kail bib tash din ngej shun jautz shase ku jautz ñautze tash ngos ngash ñal.

[ˈkail ˈbib taʃ ˈdin ŋej ʃun ˈjaut͡s ˈʃase ku ˈjaut͡s ˈɲaut͡se taʃ ŋos ˈŋaʃ ɲal]

ˈkail
2.sing
ˈbib
1excl.sing
taʃ
ACT
ˈdin
love
ŋej
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ʃun
COMP
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈʃas
girl
-e
sing
ku
DAT
ˈjaut͡s
the
ˈɲaut͡s
boy
-e
sing
taʃ
ACT
ŋos
PAST
ˈŋaʃ
tell
ɲal
3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ

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

(28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Tsash. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 17 August 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/281CM

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-281CM,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Tsash}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/281CM}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 17 August 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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