A Grammar of Him

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Him language (the 41st 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 Him.

Typological Profile

It has not just singular and plural, but also dual, as well as ergative case marking, i.e., the object of a transitive verb is marked the same as the subject of an intransitive one, and postpositions.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

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

It has a modest (but clearly contrastive) set of labialised consonants, a modest set of implosive stops and a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts.

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

labialalveolarpostalveolarlateralpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velarglottal
stopp b d t ɖ ʈ k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ
nasalm n ɲ ɳ ŋ ŋʷ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef s ʃ ʂ h
approximantw l j
affricatet͡ʃ
implosiveɓ ɗ

Vowels

Him 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 occasional ghost vowels that surface only weakly and a fully three-way front–central–back distinction.

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

frontcentralback
closei ɨ u
mide o
openæ ɑ

Stress and Tones

Him has neither phonemic stress nor lexical tone. Prosodic prominence and pitch variation are determined by pragmatic and discourse factors rather than by lexical contrasts.

Phonological Processes

Vowel Harmony

Vowel harmony does not exist in this language.

Writing System

Introduction

Him 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/б̱ /ɓ/в /w/
г /h/д /d/д̇ /ɖ/д̱ /ɗ/
е /e/и /i/к /k/л /l/
м /m/н /n/н̇ /ɳ/о /o/
п /p/р̇ /ɽ/с /s/с̇ /ʂ/
т /t/т̇ /ʈ/у /u/ф /f/
ч /t͡ʃ/ш /ʃ/ы /ɨ/ј /j/
њ /ɲ/ґ /ɡ/ӈ /ŋ/ә /æ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ай /ai/аў /au/кв /kʷ/
ґв /ɡʷ/ӈв /ŋʷ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Him distinguishes singular, dual and plural.

Gender

Him has the following genders:

Gender fem – for instance: бив ‘brick’, воґ ‘snake’, гиф ‘net’, д̇еґв ‘wife’, лон̇ ‘embrace’, нан ‘wing’, с̇аўб̱ ‘north’, с̇аўкв ‘colour’, т̇ос̇ ‘louse’, тукв ‘worm’, фип ‘heart’, фәч ‘dog’, чыд ‘teacher’, шат̇ ‘tower’, шоп ‘daughter’, њәґв ‘neighbour’, ґайл ‘tooth’, ґваўњ ‘inside’, ґвәв ‘penis’, ґвәг ‘flower’.

Gender masc – for instance: вайм ‘large’, гев ‘jaguar’, гид̇ ‘all’, гыв ‘warm’, гәп ‘rain’, диб̱ ‘east’, дуф ‘surface’, квәд̇ ‘narrow’, кир̇ ‘short’, кәб ‘fog’, лом ‘bad’, р̇уп ‘stick’, т̇уч ‘wheat’, тәӈв ‘cheese’, чаўн ‘friend’, шиш ‘day’, ґвыґ ‘smooth’, ґуј ‘ice’, ӈвиӈ ‘sand’, ӈвоґ ‘son’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Шиґоб̱ә чин̇еква Таў б̱әб̱ыјы д̇иӈиґвичы ти ну н̇а фино ка.

[ʃiɡoɓæ t͡ʃiɳekʷɑ tau ɓæɓɨjɨ ɖiŋiɡʷit͡ʃɨ ti nu ɳɑ fino kɑ]

ʃiɡ
woman
-oɓæ
ERG
t͡ʃiɳ
knife
-ekʷɑ
LOC
tau
COMIT
ɓæɓ
blind
-ɨjɨ
GEN
ɖiŋ
mouse
-iɡʷi
ABS
-t͡ʃɨ
plur
ti
three
nu
yon
ɳɑ
indicative
f-
3.sing.fem.SUBJ
ino
catch

3.sing.fem.OBJ

“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 Him consists of first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -иґви /-iɡʷi/ ‘ABS’, -об̱ә /-oɓæ/ ‘ERG’, -ыјы /-ɨjɨ/ ‘GEN’, -ыго /-ɨho/ ‘DAT’, -амо /-ɑmo/ ‘INS’, -емы /-emɨ/ ‘VOC’, -иму /-imu/ ‘ALL’, -еква /-ekʷɑ/ ‘LOC’, -ыке /-ɨke/ ‘ABL’ and -әды /-ædɨ/ ‘PART’; and finally, third, an optional suffix expressing number, comprising -лә /-læ/ ‘dual’ and -чы /-t͡ʃɨ/ ‘plur’.

The Adjective

In Him, the adjective has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising /-u/ ‘masc’ and /-ɑ/ ‘fem’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

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

Pronouns

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

Д̱аўсиґви ґәмо су ку н̇а тид̱о ґвис̇иґви.

[ɗausiɡʷi ɡæmo su ku ɳɑ tiɗo ɡʷiʂiɡʷi]

ɗaus
tiger
-iɡʷi
ABS
ɡ-
1excl.plur.SUBJ
æmo
kill
su
3.sing.masc.OBJ
ku
because
ɳɑ
indicative
t-
1incl.plur.SUBJ
iɗo
be
ɡʷiʂ
happy
-iɡʷi
ABS

“Because the two of us [not including the listener] killed the tiger, we [including the listener] are all now happy.”

(2)

Here is an example where neither of the pronouns are stressed:

Гаў н̇а микво ка.

[hau ɳɑ mikʷo kɑ]

hau
3.sing.fem
ɳɑ
indicative
m-
3.sing.masc.SUBJ
ikʷo
love

3.sing.fem.OBJ

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(3)

But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:

Р̇у гаў н̇а микво ка.

[ɽu hau ɳɑ mikʷo kɑ]

ɽu
3.sing.masc
hau
3.sing.fem
ɳɑ
indicative
m-
3.sing.masc.SUBJ
ikʷo
love

3.sing.fem.OBJ

He loves her.”

(4)

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

Гаў н̇а микво ка.

[hau ɳɑ mikʷo kɑ]

hau
3.sing.fem
ɳɑ
indicative
m-
3.sing.masc.SUBJ
ikʷo
love

3.sing.fem.OBJ

“He loves her.”

(5)

Proper Nouns

Ӈвытоб̱ә Д̱ејиґви н̇а маб̱и ка.

[ŋʷɨtoɓæ ɗejiɡʷi ɳɑ mɑɓi kɑ]

ŋʷɨt
Nagit
-oɓæ
ERG
ɗej
Dey
-iɡʷi
ABS
ɳɑ
indicative
m-
3.sing.masc.SUBJ
ɑɓi
hate

3.sing.fem.OBJ

“Nagit hates Dey.”

(6)

Possession

р̇айбыјы с̇ур̇иґви

[ɽaibɨjɨ ʂuɽiɡʷi]

ɽaib
boy
-ɨjɨ
GEN
ʂuɽ
apple
-iɡʷi
ABS

“the boy’s apple”

(7)
р̇у с̇ур̇иґви

[ɽu ʂuɽiɡʷi]

ɽu
3.sing.masc
ʂuɽ
apple
-iɡʷi
ABS

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(8)
б̱у с̇ур̇иґви

[ɓu ʂuɽiɡʷi]

ɓu
1excl.sing
ʂuɽ
apple
-iɡʷi
ABS

“my apple”

(9)
Сайњыјы шопоб̱ә чай њәґвыјы ӈвоґиґви н̇а фыґви ка.

[saiɲɨjɨ ʃopoɓæ t͡ʃai ɲæɡʷɨjɨ ŋʷoɡiɡʷi ɳɑ fɨɡʷi kɑ]

saiɲ
hunter
-ɨjɨ
GEN
ʃop
daughter
-oɓæ
ERG
t͡ʃai
2.sing
ɲæɡʷ
neighbour
-ɨjɨ
GEN
ŋʷoɡ
son
-iɡʷi
ABS
ɳɑ
indicative
f-
3.sing.fem.SUBJ
ɨɡʷi
kiss

3.sing.fem.OBJ

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

(10)

Derivation

Him has no derivational processes.

мәфиґви р̇у

[mæfiɡʷi ɽu]

mæf
lamb
-iɡʷi
ABS
ɽu
a

“a lamb”

(11)

Note how none show up here:

Чуґвыјы мәфиґви р̇у н̇а мәкво ка н̇а фаја ка.

[t͡ʃuɡʷɨjɨ mæfiɡʷi ɽu ɳɑ mækʷo kɑ ɳɑ fɑjɑ kɑ]

t͡ʃuɡʷ
little
-ɨjɨ
GEN
mæf
lamb
-iɡʷi
ABS
ɽu
a
ɳɑ
indicative
m-
3.sing.masc.SUBJ
ækʷo
have

3.sing.fem.OBJ
ɳɑ
indicative
f-
3.sing.fem.SUBJ
ɑjɑ
want

3.sing.fem.OBJ

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

(12)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Him fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing question, comprising ни /ni/ ‘Q’; second, a clitic expressing negation, comprising ну /nu/ ‘NEG’; third, a clitic expressing mode, comprising н̇а /ɳɑ/ ‘indicative’, фе /fe/ ‘conditional’ and ӈә /ŋæ/ ‘optative’; fourth, a clitic expressing ta, comprising мә /mæ/ ‘PAST’; fifth, a clitic expressing voice, comprising фа /fɑ/ ‘passive’; and finally, sixth, a clitic expressing obj, comprising ку /ku/ ‘1incl.sing’, ја /jɑ/ ‘1excl.sing’, ги /hi/ ‘2.sing’, су /su/ ‘3.sing.masc’, ка /kɑ/ ‘3.sing.fem’, го /ho/ ‘1incl.dual’, да /dɑ/ ‘1excl.dual’, ду /du/ ‘2.dual’, де /de/ ‘3.dual.masc’, чи /t͡ʃi/ ‘3.dual.fem’, јы /jɨ/ ‘1incl.plur’, д̱и /ɗi/ ‘1excl.plur’, фы /fɨ/ ‘2.plur’, га /hɑ/ ‘3.plur.masc’ and фи /fi/ ‘3.plur.fem’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: an obligatory prefix expressing subj, comprising ј- /j-/ ‘1incl.sing’, т̇- /ʈ-/ ‘1excl.sing’, ӈ- /ŋ-/ ‘2.sing’, м- /m-/ ‘3.sing.masc’, ф- /f-/ ‘3.sing.fem’, в- /w-/ ‘1incl.dual’, д̇- /ɖ-/ ‘1excl.dual’, ґв- /ɡʷ-/ ‘2.dual’, к- /k-/ ‘3.dual.masc’, п- /p-/ ‘3.dual.fem’, т- /t-/ ‘1incl.plur’, ґ- /ɡ-/ ‘1excl.plur’, н̇- /ɳ-/ ‘2.plur’, с̇- /ʂ-/ ‘3.plur.masc’ and б- /b-/ ‘3.plur.fem’ followed by the root.

Чай н̇а т̇икво ги.

[t͡ʃai ɳɑ ʈikʷo hi]

t͡ʃai
2.sing
ɳɑ
indicative
ʈ-
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ikʷo
love
hi
2.sing.OBJ

“I love you.”

(13)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

шәґиґви дуфиґви ва

[ʃæɡiɡʷi dufiɡʷi wɑ]

ʃæɡ
table
-iɡʷi
ABS
duf
surface
-iɡʷi
ABS

in

“on the table”

(14)
б̱ин̇иґви ґваўњиґви ква

[ɓiɳiɡʷi ɡʷauɲiɡʷi kʷɑ]

ɓiɳ
box
-iɡʷi
ABS
ɡʷauɲ
inside
-iɡʷi
ABS
kʷɑ
to

“into the box”

(15)
б̱у Таў

[ɓu tau]

ɓu
1excl.sing
tau
COMIT

“with me”

(16)

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.

Him 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 Him.

Гевоб̱ә сайњиґви н̇а мәмо су.

[hewoɓæ saiɲiɡʷi ɳɑ mæmo su]

hew
jaguar
-oɓæ
ERG
saiɲ
hunter
-iɡʷi
ABS
ɳɑ
indicative
m-
3.sing.masc.SUBJ
æmo
kill
su
3.sing.masc.OBJ

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(17)
Литоб̱ә сайњыјы шопыјы фәчиґви н̇а фаўве ка.

[litoɓæ saiɲɨjɨ ʃopɨjɨ fæt͡ʃiɡʷi ɳɑ fauwe kɑ]

lit
lion
-oɓæ
ERG
saiɲ
hunter
-ɨjɨ
GEN
ʃop
daughter
-ɨjɨ
GEN
fæt͡ʃ
dog
-iɡʷi
ABS
ɳɑ
indicative
f-
3.sing.fem.SUBJ
auwe
eat

3.sing.fem.OBJ

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

(18)

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 Him 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, Him 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.

чай ӈвоґыјы чаўныјы ґвакиґви

[t͡ʃai ŋʷoɡɨjɨ t͡ʃaunɨjɨ ɡʷɑkiɡʷi]

t͡ʃai
2.sing
ŋʷoɡ
son
-ɨjɨ
GEN
t͡ʃaun
friend
-ɨjɨ
GEN
ɡʷɑk
book
-iɡʷi
ABS

“your son’s friend’s book”

(19)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Сайњоб̱ә гевиґвичы ны д̱аўсиґвичы ны литиґвичы н̇а мәмо фи.

[saiɲoɓæ hewiɡʷit͡ʃɨ nɨ ɗausiɡʷit͡ʃɨ nɨ litiɡʷit͡ʃɨ ɳɑ mæmo fi]

saiɲ
hunter
-oɓæ
ERG
hew
jaguar
-iɡʷi
ABS
-t͡ʃɨ
plur

and
ɗaus
tiger
-iɡʷi
ABS
-t͡ʃɨ
plur

and
lit
lion
-iɡʷi
ABS
-t͡ʃɨ
plur
ɳɑ
indicative
m-
3.sing.masc.SUBJ
æmo
kill
fi
3.plur.fem.OBJ

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

(20)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Him 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:

Ковиґви т̇әны ка.

[kowiɡʷi ʈænɨ kɑ]

kow
cat
-iɡʷi
ABS
ʈ-
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ænɨ
pat

3.sing.fem.OBJ

“I patted the cat.”

(21)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Д̇иӈиґви мино ка ковиґви т̇әны ка.

[ɖiŋiɡʷi mino kɑ kowiɡʷi ʈænɨ kɑ]

ɖiŋ
mouse
-iɡʷi
ABS
m-
3.sing.masc.SUBJ
ino
catch

3.sing.fem.OBJ
kow
cat
-iɡʷi
ABS
ʈ-
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ænɨ
pat

3.sing.fem.OBJ

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(22)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Тәӈвиґви маўве су д̇иӈиґви мино ка ковиґви т̇әны ка.

[tæŋʷiɡʷi mauwe su ɖiŋiɡʷi mino kɑ kowiɡʷi ʈænɨ kɑ]

tæŋʷ
cheese
-iɡʷi
ABS
m-
3.sing.masc.SUBJ
auwe
eat
su
3.sing.masc.OBJ
ɖiŋ
mouse
-iɡʷi
ABS
m-
3.sing.masc.SUBJ
ino
catch

3.sing.fem.OBJ
kow
cat
-iɡʷi
ABS
ʈ-
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ænɨ
pat

3.sing.fem.OBJ

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

(23)

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

Б̱у т̇еке тәӈвиґви маўве ја д̇иӈиґви мино ка ковиґви т̇әны ка.

[ɓu ʈeke tæŋʷiɡʷi mauwe jɑ ɖiŋiɡʷi mino kɑ kowiɡʷi ʈænɨ kɑ]

ɓu
1excl.sing
ʈ-
1excl.sing.SUBJ
eke
buy
tæŋʷ
cheese
-iɡʷi
ABS
m-
3.sing.masc.SUBJ
auwe
eat

1excl.sing.OBJ
ɖiŋ
mouse
-iɡʷi
ABS
m-
3.sing.masc.SUBJ
ino
catch

3.sing.fem.OBJ
kow
cat
-iɡʷi
ABS
ʈ-
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ænɨ
pat

3.sing.fem.OBJ

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

(24)

Complementation Strategies

Him 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:

Р̇айбоб̱ә ґвимыго с̇ур̇иґви р̇у н̇а маўме су чыдыго фор̇ә.

[ɽaiboɓæ ɡʷimɨho ʂuɽiɡʷi ɽu ɳɑ maume su t͡ʃɨdɨho foɽæ]

ɽaib
boy
-oɓæ
ERG
ɡʷim
girl
-ɨho
DAT
ʂuɽ
apple
-iɡʷi
ABS
ɽu
a
ɳɑ
indicative
m-
3.sing.masc.SUBJ
aume
give
su
3.sing.masc.OBJ
t͡ʃɨd
teacher
-ɨho
DAT
f-
3.sing.fem.SUBJ
oɽæ
surprise

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

(25)

Quotes

Here is an example of how quotations are expressed:

Miscellaneous

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Him / Him–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/2QAT4

Behind the scenes, the Language Creator stores the generated language in a JSON-based format known as ELD. The corresponding ELD file may be downloaded, edited as required, and reuploaded in order to regenerate the grammar, dictionary and texts.

How to cite this grammar:

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Him. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.90, on 19 April 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/2QAT4

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-2QAT4,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Him}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/2QAT4}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.90, on 19 April 2026}
}

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