A Grammar of Shi

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Shi language (the 103rd 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 Shi.

Typological Profile

It has a highly marked collection of glottal, uvular, pharyngeal or epiglottal contrasts, a full set of ejective articulations, a richly elaborated system of click consonants, proper polysynthesis and a maximally developed dental–alveolar opposition.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Shi has an astonishing 319 consonant phonemes, exceeding any consonant system known to the author. The inventory is remarkably extensive.

It has a maximally developed dental–alveolar opposition, a richly developed retroflex subsystem, an extensive and fully contrastive palatal series, a highly marked collection of glottal, uvular, pharyngeal or epiglottal contrasts and an exceptionally large and contrastive set of fricatives.

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

vel. labialpal. labialphar. labialvel. dentalpal. dentallab. dentalphar. dentalvel. alveolarpal. alveolarlab. alveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolarvel. postalveolarpal. postalveolarvel. lateralpal. lateralpalatalvel. retroflexpal. retroflexvel. velarpal. velarlab. velarphar. velarvel. uvularpal. uvularlab. uvularphar. uvularvel. pharyngealpal. pharyngealvel. epiglottalpal. epiglottalglottal
stoppˠ bˠ pʲ bʲ pˤ bˤ dˠ tˠ dʲ tʲ dʷ tʷ dˤ tˤ ɖˠ ʈˠ ɖʲ ʈʲ kˠ ɡˠ kʲ ɡʲ kʷ ɡʷ kˤ ɡˤ qˠ ɢˠ qʲ ɢʲ qʷ ɢʷ qˤ ɢˤ ʡˠ ʡʲ ʔ
aspirated stoppʰˠ pʰʲ pʰˤ tʰˠ tʰʲ tʰʷ tʰˤ ʈʰˠ ʈʰʲ kʰˠ kʰʲ kʰʷ kʰˤ
preaspirated stophpˠ hpʲ hpˤ htˠ htʲ htʷ htˤ hʈˠ hʈʲ hkˠ hkʲ hkʷ hkˤ
breathy stopbʱˠ bʱʲ bʱˤ dʱˠ dʱʲ dʱʷ dʱˤ ɖʱˠ ɖʱʲ gʱˠ gʱʲ gʱʷ gʱˤ
ejective stoppˠʼ pʲʼ pˤʼ tˠʼ tʲʼ tʷʼ tˤʼ ʈˠʼ ʈʲʼ kˠʼ kʲʼ kʷʼ kˤʼ qˠʼ qʲʼ qʷʼ qˤʼ
nasalmˠ m̥ˠ mʲ m̥ʲ mˤ m̥ˤ nˠ n̥ˠ nʲ n̥ʲ nʷ n̥ʷ nˤ n̥ˤ ɳˠ ɳ̥ˠ ɳʲ ɳ̥ʲ ŋˠ ŋ̥ˠ ŋʲ ŋ̥ʲ ŋʷ ŋ̥ʷ ŋˤ ŋ̥ˤ ɴˠ ɴʲ ɴʷ ɴˤ
trill/tap/flapr̥ˠ ɾˠ r̥ʲ ɾʲ r̥ʷ ɾʷ r̥ˤ ɾˤ ɺˠ ɺʲ ɽˠ ɽʲ ʜˠ ʜʲ
fricativeɸˠ βˠ ɸʲ βʲ ɸˤ βˤ ðˠ θˠ ðʲ θʲ ðʷ θʷ ðˤ θˤ sˠ zˠ sʲ zʲ sʷ zʷ sˤ zˤ ʃˠ ʒˠ ʃʲ ʒʲ ɬˠ ɮˠ ɬʲ ɮʲ ʂˠ ʐˠ ʂʲ ʐʲ xˠ ɣˠ xʲ ɣʲ xʷ ɣʷ xˤ ɣˤ ʁˠ χˠ ʁʲ χʲ ʁʷ χʷ ʁˤ χˤ ħˠ ʕˠ ħʲ ʕʲ h ɦ
approximantʋˠ ʋʲ ʋˤ ɹˠ ɹʲ ɹʷ ɹˤ ɭˠ ɭʲ j ɻˠ ɻʲ ɰˠ ɰʲ ɰʷ ɰˤ
affricatep͡fˠ p͡fʲ p͡fˤ d͡zˠ t͡sˠ d͡zʲ t͡sʲ d͡zʷ t͡sʷ d͡zˤ t͡sˤ d͡ʒ t͡ʃ tɬˠ tɬʲ d͡ʐˠ t͡ʂˠ d͡ʐʲ t͡ʂʲ k͡xˠ k͡xʲ k͡xʷ k͡xˤ q͡χˠ q͡χʲ q͡χʷ q͡χˤ
implosiveɓˠ ɓʲ ɓˤ ɗˠ ɗʲ ɗʷ ɗˤ ʄˠ ʄʲ ɠˠ ɠʲ ɠʷ ɠˤ ʛˠ ʛʲ ʛʷ ʛˤ
clickᵏǀˠ ᵏǀʰˠ ᵏǀʲ ᵏǀʰʲ ᵏǀʷ ᵏǀʰʷ ᵏǀˤ ᵏǀʰˤ ᵏǃˠ ᵏǃʰˠ ᵏǃʲ ᵏǃʰʲ ᵏǃʷ ᵏǃʰʷ ᵏǃˤ ᵏǃʰˤ ᵏǁˠ ᵏǁʰˠ ᵏǁʲ ᵏǁʰʲ
ejective clickᵏǀˠʼ ᵏǀʲʼ ᵏǀʷʼ ᵏǀˤʼ ᵏǃˠʼ ᵏǃʲʼ ᵏǃʷʼ ᵏǃˤʼ ᵏǁˠʼ ᵏǁʲʼ
click, nasalᵑǀˠ ᵑǀʲ ᵑǀʷ ᵑǀˤ ᵑǃˠ ᵑǃʲ ᵑǃʷ ᵑǃˤ ᵑǁˠ ᵑǁʲ
ejective click, nasalᵑǀˠʼ ᵑǀʲʼ ᵑǀʷʼ ᵑǀˤʼ ᵑǃˠʼ ᵑǃʲʼ ᵑǃʷʼ ᵑǃˤʼ ᵑǁˠʼ ᵑǁʲʼ

Vowels

Shi has more than 14 vowel qualities. This constitutes an exceptionally rich vowel inventory, with numerous distinct categories represented in the chart.

It has a fully developed system of nasal vowels matching the oral height distinctions, a fully contrastive long–short vowel distinction across the system, a highly marked system where syllables may lack audible vowels entirely, a maximally “square” vowel system balancing heights across backness and a full range of vowel qualities even in reduced syllables.

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

frontcentralback
closei i# ɨ ɨ# u u#
close-mide e# ɘ ɘ# o o#
open-midɛ ɛ# ɜ ɜ# ɔ ɔ#
opena a#

Stress and Tones

Shi has phonemic stress and 6 lexical tones. Each lexical item carries a tonal specification associated with the first vowel of the root, which determines the overall tonal contour of the word.

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 /i#/, /u/ becomes /u#/, /ɨ/ becomes /ɨ#/, /e/ becomes /e#/, /o/ becomes /o#/, /ɘ/ becomes /ɘ#/, /ɛ/ becomes /ɛ#/, /ɔ/ becomes /ɔ#/, /ɜ/ becomes /ɜ#/, /a/ becomes /a#/.

Writing System

Introduction

Shi 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/e /ɛ/h /h/i /i/
j /d͡ʒ/o /ɔ/q /ʔ/u /u/
y /j/è /ɜ/é /e/ë /ɘ/
ï /ɨ/ó /o/ɦ /ɦ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

aa /aː/ai /ai/an /a#/
anan /a#ː/au /au/bʱʲ /bʱʲ/
bʱˠ /bʱˠ/bʱˤ /bʱˤ/bʲ /bʲ/
bˠ /bˠ/bˤ /bˤ/dj /t͡ʃ/
dʱʲ /dʱʲ/dʱʷ /dʱʷ/dʱˠ /dʱˠ/
dʱˤ /dʱˤ/dʲ /dʲ/dʷ /dʷ/
dˠ /dˠ/dˤ /dˤ/d͡zʲ /d͡zʲ/
d͡zʷ /d͡zʷ/d͡zˠ /d͡zˠ/d͡zˤ /d͡zˤ/
d͡ʐʲ /d͡ʐʲ/d͡ʐˠ /d͡ʐˠ/ee /ɛː/
en /ɛ#/enen /ɛ#ː/fʲ /fʲ/
fˠ /fˠ/fˤ /fˤ/gʱʲ /gʱʲ/
gʱʷ /gʱʷ/gʱˠ /gʱˠ/gʱˤ /gʱˤ/
hkʲ /hkʲ/hkʷ /hkʷ/hkˠ /hkˠ/
hkˤ /hkˤ/hpʲ /hpʲ/hpˠ /hpˠ/
hpˤ /hpˤ/htʲ /htʲ/htʷ /htʷ/
htˠ /htˠ/htˤ /htˤ/hʈʲ /hʈʲ/
hʈˠ /hʈˠ/ii /iː/in /i#/
inin /i#ː/kʰʲ /kʰʲ/kʰˠ /kʰˠ/
kʰˤ /kʰˤ/kʲ /kʲ/kʼʲ /kʼʲ/
kʼʷ /kʼʷ/kʼˠ /kʼˠ/kʼˤ /kʼˤ/
kˠ /kˠ/kˤ /kˤ/k͡xʲ /k͡xʲ/
k͡xʷ /k͡xʷ/k͡xˠ /k͡xˠ/k͡xˤ /k͡xˤ/
lʲ /lʲ/lˠ /lˠ/mʲ /mʲ/
mˠ /mˠ/mˤ /mˤ/m̥ʲ /m̥ʲ/
m̥ˠ /m̥ˠ/m̥ˤ /m̥ˤ/nʲ /nʲ/
nʷ /nʷ/nˠ /nˠ/nˤ /nˤ/
n̥ʲ /n̥ʲ/n̥ʷ /n̥ʷ/n̥ˠ /n̥ˠ/
n̥ˤ /n̥ˤ/on /ɔ#/onon /ɔ#ː/
oo /ɔː/pʰʲ /pʰʲ/pʰˠ /pʰˠ/
pʰˤ /pʰˤ/pʲ /pʲ/pʼʲ /pʼʲ/
pʼˠ /pʼˠ/pʼˤ /pʼˤ/pˠ /pˠ/
pˤ /pˤ/p͡fʲ /p͡fʲ/p͡fˠ /p͡fˠ/
p͡fˤ /p͡fˤ/qu /kʷ/quh /kʰʷ/
qʲ /qʲ/qʷ /qʷ/qʼʲ /qʼʲ/
qʼʷ /qʼʷ/qʼˠ /qʼˠ/qʼˤ /qʼˤ/
qˠ /qˠ/qˤ /qˤ/q͡χʲ /q͡χʲ/
q͡χʷ /q͡χʷ/q͡χˠ /q͡χˠ/q͡χˤ /q͡χˤ/
rʲ /rʲ/rʷ /rʷ/rˠ /rˠ/
rˤ /rˤ/r̥ʲ /r̥ʲ/r̥ʷ /r̥ʷ/
r̥ˠ /r̥ˠ/r̥ˤ /r̥ˤ/sʲ /sʲ/
sʷ /sʷ/sˠ /sˠ/sˤ /sˤ/
tɬʲ /tɬʲ/tɬˠ /tɬˠ/tʰʲ /tʰʲ/
tʰʷ /tʰʷ/tʰˠ /tʰˠ/tʰˤ /tʰˤ/
tʲ /tʲ/tʷ /tʷ/tʼʲ /tʼʲ/
tʼʷ /tʼʷ/tʼˠ /tʼˠ/tʼˤ /tʼˤ/
tˠ /tˠ/tˤ /tˤ/t͡sʲ /t͡sʲ/
t͡sʷ /t͡sʷ/t͡sˠ /t͡sˠ/t͡sˤ /t͡sˤ/
t͡ʂʲ /t͡ʂʲ/t͡ʂˠ /t͡ʂˠ/un /u#/
unun /u#ː/uu /uː/vʲ /vʲ/
vˠ /vˠ/vˤ /vˤ/xʲ /xʲ/
xʷ /xʷ/xˠ /xˠ/xˤ /xˤ/
zʲ /zʲ/zʷ /zʷ/zˠ /zˠ/
zˤ /zˤ/èn /ɜ#/ènèn /ɜ#ː/
èè /ɜː/én /e#/énén /e#ː/
éé /eː/ën /ɘ#/ënën /ɘ#ː/
ëë /ɘː/ïn /ɨ#/ïnïn /ɨ#ː/
ïï /ɨː/ðʲ /ðʲ/ðʷ /ðʷ/
ðˠ /ðˠ/ðˤ /ðˤ/ón /o#/
ónón /o#ː/óó /oː/ħʲ /ħʲ/
ħˠ /ħˠ/ŋʲ /ŋʲ/ŋʷ /ŋʷ/
ŋˠ /ŋˠ/ŋˤ /ŋˤ/ŋ̥ʲ /ŋ̥ʲ/
ŋ̥ʷ /ŋ̥ʷ/ŋ̥ˠ /ŋ̥ˠ/ŋ̥ˤ /ŋ̥ˤ/
ɓʲ /ɓʲ/ɓˠ /ɓˠ/ɓˤ /ɓˤ/
ɔi /ɔi/ɖʱʲ /ɖʱʲ/ɖʱˠ /ɖʱˠ/
ɖʲ /ɖʲ/ɖˠ /ɖˠ/ɗʲ /ɗʲ/
ɗʷ /ɗʷ/ɗˠ /ɗˠ/ɗˤ /ɗˤ/
ɠʲ /ɠʲ/ɠʷ /ɠʷ/ɠˠ /ɠˠ/
ɠˤ /ɠˤ/ɡʲ /ɡʲ/ɡʷ /ɡʷ/
ɡˠ /ɡˠ/ɡˤ /ɡˤ/ɢʲ /ɢʲ/
ɢʷ /ɢʷ/ɢˠ /ɢˠ/ɢˤ /ɢˤ/
ɣʲ /ɣʲ/ɣʷ /ɣʷ/ɣˠ /ɣˠ/
ɣˤ /ɣˤ/ɥʲ /ɥʲ/ɥˠ /ɥˠ/
ɥˤ /ɥˤ/ɬʲ /ɬʲ/ɬˠ /ɬˠ/
ɭʲ /ɭʲ/ɭˠ /ɭˠ/ɮʲ /ɮʲ/
ɮˠ /ɮˠ/ɰʲ /ɰʲ/ɰʷ /ɰʷ/
ɰˠ /ɰˠ/ɰˤ /ɰˤ/ɳʲ /ɳʲ/
ɳˠ /ɳˠ/ɳ̥ʲ /ɳ̥ʲ/ɳ̥ˠ /ɳ̥ˠ/
ɴʲ /ɴʲ/ɴʷ /ɴʷ/ɴˠ /ɴˠ/
ɴˤ /ɴˤ/ɸʲ /ɸʲ/ɸˠ /ɸˠ/
ɸˤ /ɸˤ/ɹʲ /ɹʲ/ɹʷ /ɹʷ/
ɹˠ /ɹˠ/ɹˤ /ɹˤ/ɺʲ /ɺʲ/
ɺˠ /ɺˠ/ɻʲ /ɻʲ/ɻˠ /ɻˠ/
ɽʲ /ɽʲ/ɽˠ /ɽˠ/ɾʲ /ɾʲ/
ɾʷ /ɾʷ/ɾˠ /ɾˠ/ɾˤ /ɾˤ/
ʁʲ /ʁʲ/ʁʷ /ʁʷ/ʁˠ /ʁˠ/
ʁˤ /ʁˤ/ʂʲ /ʂʲ/ʂˠ /ʂˠ/
ʃʲ /ʃʲ/ʃˠ /ʃˠ/ʄʲ /ʄʲ/
ʄˠ /ʄˠ/ʈʰʲ /ʈʰʲ/ʈʰˠ /ʈʰˠ/
ʈʲ /ʈʲ/ʈʼʲ /ʈʼʲ/ʈʼˠ /ʈʼˠ/
ʈˠ /ʈˠ/ʋʲ /ʋʲ/ʋˠ /ʋˠ/
ʋˤ /ʋˤ/ʐʲ /ʐʲ/ʐˠ /ʐˠ/
ʒʲ /ʒʲ/ʒˠ /ʒˠ/ʕʲ /ʕʲ/
ʕˠ /ʕˠ/ʛʲ /ʛʲ/ʛʷ /ʛʷ/
ʛˠ /ʛˠ/ʛˤ /ʛˤ/ʜʲ /ʜʲ/
ʜˠ /ʜˠ/ʡʲ /ʡʲ/ʡˠ /ʡˠ/
βʲ /βʲ/βˠ /βˠ/βˤ /βˤ/
θʲ /θʲ/θʷ /θʷ/θˠ /θˠ/
θˤ /θˤ/χʲ /χʲ/χʷ /χʷ/
χˠ /χˠ/χˤ /χˤ/ᵏǀʰʲ /ᵏǀʰʲ/
ᵏǀʰʷ /ᵏǀʰʷ/ᵏǀʰˠ /ᵏǀʰˠ/ᵏǀʰˤ /ᵏǀʰˤ/
ᵏǀʲ /ᵏǀʲ/ᵏǀʷ /ᵏǀʷ/ᵏǀʼʲ /ᵏǀʼʲ/
ᵏǀʼʷ /ᵏǀʼʷ/ᵏǀʼˠ /ᵏǀʼˠ/ᵏǀʼˤ /ᵏǀʼˤ/
ᵏǀˠ /ᵏǀˠ/ᵏǀˤ /ᵏǀˤ/ᵏǁʰʲ /ᵏǁʰʲ/
ᵏǁʰˠ /ᵏǁʰˠ/ᵏǁʲ /ᵏǁʲ/ᵏǁʼʲ /ᵏǁʼʲ/
ᵏǁʼˠ /ᵏǁʼˠ/ᵏǁˠ /ᵏǁˠ/ᵏǃʰʲ /ᵏǃʰʲ/
ᵏǃʰʷ /ᵏǃʰʷ/ᵏǃʰˠ /ᵏǃʰˠ/ᵏǃʰˤ /ᵏǃʰˤ/
ᵏǃʲ /ᵏǃʲ/ᵏǃʷ /ᵏǃʷ/ᵏǃʼʲ /ᵏǃʼʲ/
ᵏǃʼʷ /ᵏǃʼʷ/ᵏǃʼˠ /ᵏǃʼˠ/ᵏǃʼˤ /ᵏǃʼˤ/
ᵏǃˠ /ᵏǃˠ/ᵏǃˤ /ᵏǃˤ/ᵑǀʲ /ᵑǀʲ/
ᵑǀʷ /ᵑǀʷ/ᵑǀʼʲ /ᵑǀʼʲ/ᵑǀʼʷ /ᵑǀʼʷ/
ᵑǀʼˠ /ᵑǀʼˠ/ᵑǀʼˤ /ᵑǀʼˤ/ᵑǀˠ /ᵑǀˠ/
ᵑǀˤ /ᵑǀˤ/ᵑǁʲ /ᵑǁʲ/ᵑǁʼʲ /ᵑǁʼʲ/
ᵑǁʼˠ /ᵑǁʼˠ/ᵑǁˠ /ᵑǁˠ/ᵑǃʲ /ᵑǃʲ/
ᵑǃʷ /ᵑǃʷ/ᵑǃʼʲ /ᵑǃʼʲ/ᵑǃʼʷ /ᵑǃʼʷ/
ᵑǃʼˠ /ᵑǃʼˠ/ᵑǃʼˤ /ᵑǃʼˤ/ᵑǃˠ /ᵑǃˠ/
ᵑǃˤ /ᵑǃˤ/

Diacritics

◌̀ /꜒꜖/◌́ /꜖꜒/◌̃ /̰꜒/◌̄ /꜒/
◌̉ /̰꜖/◌̠ /꜖/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Shi does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Shi has the following genders:

Gender fem – for instance: dʱʷë̃ ‘tail’, dʲ́ ‘hair’, hkʷé̃ ‘dialect’, htʲónón̠ ‘back’, kʼʲɔí ‘language’, nʷïï̉ ‘moon’, n̥ˠènèn̠ ‘stick’, tʰˠè̠ ‘city’, tʷiñ ‘head’, tʼˤũ ‘cloud’, zˤĩ ‘bosom’, ŋ̥ʲanan̠ ‘tooth’, ŋ̥ʲi̠ ‘star’, ɭˠaả ‘wife’, ɰˠïï̉ ‘sand’, ɳˠiì ‘fat’, ɻˠù ‘binoculars’, ʐʲa̠ ‘wind’, ᵑǃʼʲënën̄ ‘eye’, ᵑǃˠả ‘slime’.

Gender masc – for instance: bˠón̉ ‘dog’, dˤiñ ‘bird’, hpˤò ‘brick’, htʷénéń ‘knife’, pˠà ‘cheese’, qʲaũ ‘umbrella’, tˤó́ ‘blood’, ɡˤenen̉ ‘sea’, ɸˠèǹ ‘grass’, ɾʷen̄ ‘bottle’, ɾˠuủ ‘bark’, ʁʲan̄ ‘hunter’, ʁˠénéñ ‘boy’, ʜˠa̠ ‘stone’, βˤaǹ ‘fish’, ᵏǀʷ̃ ‘tower’, ᵏǀʼʷènèn̄ ‘son’, ᵏǃʰʷaỉ ‘egg’, ᵑǀʼˤónóǹ ‘river’, ᵑǃˤiì ‘wing’.

Gender neut – for instance: dʱˤin̄ ‘book’, dʲinin̉ ‘seed’, mˠoò ‘earth’, nʷo̠ ‘name’, pʰʲĩ ‘surface’, tʲënën̄ ‘snake’, t͡ʂʲỉ ‘north’, ðʲà ‘west’, ɓʲun̉ ‘child’, ɸˠó́ ‘night’, ɹˤèn̄ ‘box’, ɻʲïn̉ ‘colour’, ʂʲiỉ ‘Shi’, ʃʲ̃ ‘tiger’, ʄˠón̠ ‘top’, ʈʲï̉ ‘rope’, ʐˠẻ ‘ash’, ʕˠunuǹ ‘faeces’, ᵏǀˤ́ ‘human being’, ᵏǃʼˠenen̠ ‘dust’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Tʼˠunβʲun#ː̀ Xʲɔi̠ tʼˠunhtʷén#ː́ bʲonon hën#̃ kʰˠënën hpˤin d͡zʲó pʰʲun#̃ ʡʲë́ ɭˠón#ː̉ tʼˠuɬʲà ᵏǃˤ.

[tʼˠũβʲũ̃ː꜒꜖ xʲɔi꜖ tʼˠũhtʷẽ̃ː꜖꜒ bʲɔ̃ː hɘ̰̃̃꜒ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ d͡zʲo pʰʲṵ̃̃꜒ ʡʲɘ꜖꜒ ɭˠõ̃ː̰꜖ tʼˠuɬʲa꜒꜖ ᵏǃˤᵊ]

tʼˠũ-
def
βʲũ̃ː꜒꜖
woman
xʲɔi꜖
COMIT
tʼˠũ-
def
htʷẽ̃ː꜖꜒
knife
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
hɘ̰̃̃꜒
catch
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
d͡zʲo
3.sing.fem.3.plur.neut
pʰʲṵ̃̃꜒
yon
ʡʲɘ꜖꜒
three
ɭˠõ̃ː̰꜖
blind
tʼˠu-
def
ɬʲa꜒꜖
mouse
ᵏǃˤᵊ
ACC.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 case.number. a clitic expressing case.number, comprising bʲonon /bʲɔ#ː/ ‘NOM.sing’, htˤo /htˤɔ/ ‘NOM.plur’, ʜˠa /ʜˠa/ ‘ACC.sing’, ᵏǃˤ /ᵏǃˤᵊ/ ‘ACC.plur’, ʁˤ /ʁˤᵊ/ ‘GEN.sing’, ʄˠè /ʄˠɜ/ ‘GEN.plur’, ɽˠanan /ɽˠa#ː/ ‘DAT.sing’, ᵑǀˤo /ᵑǀˤɔ/ ‘DAT.plur’, ᵏǃʲi /ᵏǃʲi/ ‘INS.sing’, ᵏǀʼʲónón /ᵏǀʼʲo#ː/ ‘INS.plur’, ɢˤé /ɢˤe/ ‘VOC.sing’, ᵑǃˠe /ᵑǃˠɛ/ ‘VOC.plur’, ɦ /ɦᵊ/ ‘ALL.sing’, ɾˤi /ɾˤi/ ‘ALL.plur’, ʛˤii /ʛˤiː/ ‘LOC.sing’, t͡ʂˠenen /t͡ʂˠɛ#ː/ ‘LOC.plur’, sʲo /sʲɔ/ ‘ABL.sing’, pˠo /pˠɔ/ ‘ABL.plur’, quhén /kʰʷe#/ ‘PART.sing’ and ᵑǃʼʲonon /ᵑǃʼʲɔ#ː/ ‘PART.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 Shi.

The Noun

The noun in Shi consists of an optional prefix expressing def, comprising tʼˠu- /tʼˠu-/ ‘def’ followed by the root.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: 39 suffixes, namely -dʱˠi /-dʱˠi/ ‘little’, -ɾˤëë /-ɾˤɘː/ ‘big’, -quhin /-kʰʷi#/ ‘old’, -ɴˠe /-ɴˠɛ/ ‘new’, -pʰˤin /-pʰˤi#/ ‘good’, -ɖˠe /-ɖˠɛ/ ‘bad’, -nʷonon /-nʷɔ#ː/ ‘make’, -ʡʲon /-ʡʲɔ#/ ‘help’, -r̥ˤin /-r̥ˤi#/ ‘have’, -χʲun /-χʲu#/ ‘use’, -ɠʲoo /-ɠʲɔː/ ‘see’, -tʼʲunun /-tʼʲu#ː/ ‘break’, -ʁʷën /-ʁʷɘ#/ ‘eat’, -tˤonon /-tˤɔ#ː/ ‘drink’, -ðˤëë /-ðˤɘː/ ‘wear’, -tʼˠi /-tʼˠi/ ‘own’, -ʕˠee /-ʕˠɛː/ ‘contain’, -r̥ˤó /-r̥ˤo/ ‘hold’, -t͡ʂˠë /-t͡ʂˠɘ/ ‘lack’, -sʷa /-sʷa/ ‘touch’, -ʄʲï /-ʄʲɨ/ ‘carry’, -χˤu /-χˤu/ ‘find’, -n̥ʲënën /-n̥ʲɘ#ː/ ‘hunt’, -k͡xʲan /-k͡xʲa#/ ‘guard’, -lʲënën /-lʲɘ#ː/ ‘search’, -ɻˠa /-ɻˠa/ ‘learn’, -ʈʰˠéé /-ʈʰˠeː/ ‘teach’, -d͡zˠï /-d͡zˠɨ/ ‘follow’, -ɮʲinin /-ɮʲi#ː/ ‘chase’, -hkʷii /-hkʷiː/ ‘build’, -lʲ /-lʲᵊ/ ‘burn’, -βʲonon /-βʲɔ#ː/ ‘hit’, -ɮˠe /-ɮˠɛ/ ‘take’, -ʋˤo /-ʋˤɔ/ ‘cut’, -gʱʷa /-gʱʷa/ ‘hear’, -ðˤ /-ðˤᵊ/ ‘know’, -ħʲó /-ħʲo/ ‘love’, -χʲéé /-χʲeː/ ‘protect’ and -χʲe /-χʲɛ/ ‘possess’

The Adjective

In Shi, the adjective has the following structure: the root followed by an optional suffix expressing gender, comprising -dʱˠi /-dʱˠi/ ‘masc’ and -ħʲé /-ħʲe/ ‘fem’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

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

Pronouns

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

Ʈʲa̠ htˤo k͡xˤè̉ kʰˠënën hpˤin ɓʲ tʼˠuʃʲ̃ ʜˠa ɹʷó̃ ᵏǁʼʲë̃ ħʲï̉ ᵑǁʼˠaĩ hpˤin.

[ʈʲa꜖ htˤɔ k͡xˤɜ̰꜖ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ ɓʲᵊ tʼˠuʃʲᵊ̰꜒ ʜˠa ɹʷo̰꜒ ᵏǁʼʲɘ̰꜒ ħʲɨ̰꜖ ᵑǁʼˠaḭ꜒ hpˤĩ]

ʈʲa꜖
1excl.plur
htˤɔ
NOM.plur
k͡xˤɜ̰꜖
kill
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
ɓʲᵊ
1excl.plur.3.sing.neut
tʼˠu-
def
ʃʲᵊ̰꜒
tiger
ʜˠa
ACC.sing
ɹʷo̰꜒
because
ᵏǁʼʲɘ̰꜒
1incl.plur
ħʲɨ̰꜖
be
ᵑǁʼˠaḭ꜒
happy
hpˤĩ
indicative

“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:

ɹˠun#ː̀ bʲonon ɮˠén#̄ħʲón hpˤin.

[ɹˠũ̃ː꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː ɮˠẽ̃꜒ħʲõ hpˤĩ]

ɹˠũ̃ː꜒꜖
3.sing.masc
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
ɮˠẽ̃꜒
girl
-ħʲõ
love
hpˤĩ
indicative

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(3)

But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:

ɹˠun#ː̀ bʲonon ɮˠén#̄ħʲón hpˤin.

[ɹˠũ̃ː꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː ɮˠẽ̃꜒ħʲõ hpˤĩ]

ɹˠũ̃ː꜒꜖
3.sing.masc
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
ɮˠẽ̃꜒
girl
-ħʲõ
love
hpˤĩ
indicative

He loves her.”

(4)

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

ɹˠun#ː̀ bʲonon ɮˠén#̄ħʲón hpˤin.

[ɹˠũ̃ː꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː ɮˠẽ̃꜒ħʲõ hpˤĩ]

ɹˠũ̃ː꜒꜖
3.sing.masc
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
ɮˠẽ̃꜒
girl
-ħʲõ
love
hpˤĩ
indicative

“He loves her.”

(5)

Proper Nouns

Tʼˠuʜʲī bʲonon ᵏǃʼʲón#̃ hpˤin βˤënën tʼˠuᵑǃʼʷë́ ʜˠa.

[tʼˠuʜʲi꜒ bʲɔ̃ː ᵏǃʼʲõ̰̃꜒ hpˤĩ βˤɘ̃ː tʼˠuᵑǃʼʷɘ꜖꜒ ʜˠa]

tʼˠu-
def
ʜʲi꜒
Hi
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
ᵏǃʼʲõ̰̃꜒
hate
hpˤĩ
indicative
βˤɘ̃ː
3.sing.masc.3.sing.fem
tʼˠu-
def
ᵑǃʼʷɘ꜖꜒
K
ʜˠa
ACC.sing

“Hi hates K.”

(6)

Possession

tʼˠunʁˠén#ː̃ tʼˠuyoò bʲonon

[tʼˠũʁˠẽ̃ː̰꜒ tʼˠujɔː꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː]

tʼˠũ-
def
ʁˠẽ̃ː̰꜒
boy
tʼˠu-
def
jɔː꜒꜖
apple
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing

“the boy’s apple”

(7)
ɹˠun#ː̀ tʼˠuyoò bʲonon

[ɹˠũ̃ː꜒꜖ tʼˠujɔː꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː]

ɹˠũ̃ː꜒꜖
3.sing.masc
tʼˠu-
def
jɔː꜒꜖
apple
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(8)
ᵏǀʰʲen#ː̄ tʼˠuyoò bʲonon

[ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒ tʼˠujɔː꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː]

ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒
1excl.sing
tʼˠu-
def
jɔː꜒꜖
apple
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing

“my apple”

(9)
Tʼˠunʁʲan#̄ tʼˠuʁˤẻ bʲonon k͡xˠã kʰˠënën hpˤin pʰˤënën k͡xʲũ tʼˠuqʲë̉ tʼˠunᵏǀʼʷèn#ː̄ ʜˠa.

[tʼˠũʁʲã̃꜒ tʼˠuʁˤɛ̰꜖ bʲɔ̃ː k͡xˠa̰꜒ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ pʰˤɘ̃ː k͡xʲṵ꜒ tʼˠuqʲɘ̰꜖ tʼˠũᵏǀʼʷɜ̃̃ː꜒ ʜˠa]

tʼˠũ-
def
ʁʲã̃꜒
hunter
tʼˠu-
def
ʁˤɛ̰꜖
daughter
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
k͡xˠa̰꜒
kiss
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
pʰˤɘ̃ː
3.sing.fem.3.sing.neut
k͡xʲṵ꜒
2.sing
tʼˠu-
def
qʲɘ̰꜖
neighbour
tʼˠũ-
def
ᵏǀʼʷɜ̃̃ː꜒
son
ʜˠa
ACC.sing

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

(10)

Derivation

dʱˤuũ ᵏǃʷón#̄ bʲonon

[dʱˤuː̰꜒ ᵏǃʷõ̃꜒ bʲɔ̃ː]

dʱˤuː̰꜒
a
ᵏǃʷõ̃꜒
lamb
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing

“a lamb”

(11)
dʱˤuũ ᵏǃʷón#̄dʱˠin bʲonon

[dʱˤuː̰꜒ ᵏǃʷõ̃꜒dʱˠĩ bʲɔ̃ː]

dʱˤuː̰꜒
a
ᵏǃʷõ̃꜒
lamb
-dʱˠĩ
little
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing

“a little lamb”

(12)
ᵑǀˤó̀ bʲonon ɹˠó̉ kʰˠënën hpˤin ħʲoo dʱˤuũ ᵏǃʷón#̄dʱˠin ʜˠa.

[ᵑǀˤo꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː ɹˠo̰꜖ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ ħʲɔː dʱˤuː̰꜒ ᵏǃʷõ̃꜒dʱˠĩ ʜˠa]

ᵑǀˤo꜒꜖
3.sing.fem
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
ɹˠo̰꜖
have
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
ħʲɔː
3.sing.fem.3.sing.masc
dʱˤuː̰꜒
a
ᵏǃʷõ̃꜒
lamb
-dʱˠĩ
little
ʜˠa
ACC.sing

“She had a little lamb.”

(13)
ᵑǀˤó̀ bʲonon ɹˠó̉tʼˤii kʰˠënën hpˤin.

[ᵑǀˤo꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː ɹˠo̰꜖tʼˤiː kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ]

ᵑǀˤo꜒꜖
3.sing.fem
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
ɹˠo̰꜖
have
-tʼˤiː
want
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

(14)
ᵑǀˤó̀ ʈˠan#̃ r̥ˤá kʰˠënën hpˤin pʰˤënën dʱˤuũ ᵏǃʷón#̄dʱˠin bʲonon ɹˠó̉ kʰˠënën hpˤin ᵏǁʰʲïï̠.

[ᵑǀˤo꜒꜖ ʈˠã̰̃꜒ r̥ˤa꜖꜒ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ pʰˤɘ̃ː dʱˤuː̰꜒ ᵏǃʷõ̃꜒dʱˠĩ bʲɔ̃ː ɹˠo̰꜖ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ ᵏǁʰʲɨː꜖]

ᵑǀˤo꜒꜖
3.sing.fem
ʈˠã̰̃꜒
want
r̥ˤa꜖꜒
often
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
pʰˤɘ̃ː
3.sing.fem.3.sing.neut
dʱˤuː̰꜒
a
ᵏǃʷõ̃꜒
lamb
-dʱˠĩ
little
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
ɹˠo̰꜖
have
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
ᵏǁʰʲɨː꜖
COMP

“She often wanted to have a little lamb.”

(15)
K͡xʲũ bʲonon ʜʲ ħʲï̉ hpˤin vʲónón ᵏǀˤii xʲɔĩ kʰˠënën hpˤin ᵑǀˤó̀ ʈˠan#̃ r̥ˤá kʰˠënën hpˤin pʰˤënën dʱˤuũ ᵏǃʷón#̄dʱˠin bʲonon ɹˠó̉ kʰˠënën hpˤin ᵏǁʰʲïï̠ ᵏǁʰʲïï̠ ʜˠa ᵏǁʰʲïï̠ ʜˠa?

[k͡xʲṵ꜒ bʲɔ̃ː ʜʲᵊ ħʲɨ̰꜖ hpˤĩ vʲõː ᵏǀˤiː xʲɔḭ꜒ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ ᵑǀˤo꜒꜖ ʈˠã̰̃꜒ r̥ˤa꜖꜒ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ pʰˤɘ̃ː dʱˤuː̰꜒ ᵏǃʷõ̃꜒dʱˠĩ bʲɔ̃ː ɹˠo̰꜖ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ ᵏǁʰʲɨː꜖ ᵏǁʰʲɨː꜖ ʜˠa ᵏǁʰʲɨː꜖ ʜˠa]

k͡xʲṵ꜒
2.sing
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
ʜʲᵊ
Q
ħʲɨ̰꜖
be
hpˤĩ
indicative
vʲõː
NEG
ᵏǀˤiː
2.sing.3.sing.neut
xʲɔḭ꜒
think
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
ᵑǀˤo꜒꜖
3.sing.fem
ʈˠã̰̃꜒
want
r̥ˤa꜖꜒
often
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
pʰˤɘ̃ː
3.sing.fem.3.sing.neut
dʱˤuː̰꜒
a
ᵏǃʷõ̃꜒
lamb
-dʱˠĩ
little
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
ɹˠo̰꜖
have
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
ᵏǁʰʲɨː꜖
COMP
ᵏǁʰʲɨː꜖
COMP
ʜˠa
ACC.sing
ᵏǁʰʲɨː꜖
COMP
ʜˠa
ACC.sing

“Are you not one of those who thought that she often wanted to have a little lamb?”

(16)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Shi fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing question, comprising ʜʲ /ʜʲᵊ/ ‘Q’; second, a clitic expressing ta, comprising kʰˠënën /kʰˠɘ#ː/ ‘PAST’; third, a clitic expressing mode, comprising hpˤin /hpˤi#/ ‘indicative’, ᵏǃʰʷe /ᵏǃʰʷɛ/ ‘conditional’ and ʒˠó /ʒˠo/ ‘optative’; fourth, a clitic expressing voice, comprising yèè /jɜː/ ‘passive’; fifth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising vʲónón /vʲo#ː/ ‘NEG’; sixth, a clitic expressing subj.obj, comprising qʲó /qʲo/ ‘1incl.sing.none’, zʲu /zʲu/ ‘1incl.sing.1incl.sing’, mˤón /mˤo#/ ‘1incl.sing.1excl.sing’, ʁˤi /ʁˤi/ ‘1incl.sing.2.sing’, kʰˤén /kʰˤe#/ ‘1incl.sing.3.sing.masc’, ɺˠïï /ɺˠɨː/ ‘1incl.sing.3.sing.fem’, hkʲ /hkʲᵊ/ ‘1incl.sing.3.sing.neut’, hkʷonon /hkʷɔ#ː/ ‘1incl.sing.1incl.plur’, θˠón /θˠo#/ ‘1incl.sing.1excl.plur’, ɴʲï /ɴʲɨ/ ‘1incl.sing.2.plur’, ɹʷé /ɹʷe/ ‘1incl.sing.3.plur.masc’, ŋˠï /ŋˠɨ/ ‘1incl.sing.3.plur.fem’, nʲë /nʲɘ/ ‘1incl.sing.3.plur.neut’, ɴʷ /ɴʷᵊ/ ‘1excl.sing.none’, q͡χˤuu /q͡χˤuː/ ‘1excl.sing.1incl.sing’, θˠë /θˠɘ/ ‘1excl.sing.1excl.sing’, ᵑǀʷon /ᵑǀʷɔ#/ ‘1excl.sing.2.sing’, ɺʲa /ɺʲa/ ‘1excl.sing.3.sing.masc’, ɮˠ /ɮˠᵊ/ ‘1excl.sing.3.sing.fem’, /nˤᵊ/ ‘1excl.sing.3.sing.neut’, ɴʷó /ɴʷo/ ‘1excl.sing.1incl.plur’, ɡʷó /ɡʷo/ ‘1excl.sing.1excl.plur’, pʼˠé /pʼˠe/ ‘1excl.sing.2.plur’, ɹʲè /ɹʲɜ/ ‘1excl.sing.3.plur.masc’, ŋ̥ˠaa /ŋ̥ˠaː/ ‘1excl.sing.3.plur.fem’, p͡fʲë /p͡fʲɘ/ ‘1excl.sing.3.plur.neut’, ᵑǁˠ /ᵑǁˠᵊ/ ‘2.sing.none’, tʼˠu /tʼˠu/ ‘2.sing.1incl.sing’, ᵏǃˠo /ᵏǃˠɔ/ ‘2.sing.1excl.sing’, rˤee /rˤɛː/ ‘2.sing.2.sing’, quhïnïn /kʰʷɨ#ː/ ‘2.sing.3.sing.masc’, ᵏǃʲën /ᵏǃʲɘ#/ ‘2.sing.3.sing.fem’, ᵏǀˤii /ᵏǀˤiː/ ‘2.sing.3.sing.neut’, θʲi /θʲi/ ‘2.sing.1incl.plur’, ðˤë /ðˤɘ/ ‘2.sing.1excl.plur’, /pʲᵊ/ ‘2.sing.2.plur’, ðˠ /ðˠᵊ/ ‘2.sing.3.plur.masc’, ʄʲu /ʄʲu/ ‘2.sing.3.plur.fem’, ŋʲi /ŋʲi/ ‘2.sing.3.plur.neut’, qˠa /qˠa/ ‘3.sing.masc.none’, θʲaa /θʲaː/ ‘3.sing.masc.1incl.sing’, ɓˤóó /ɓˤoː/ ‘3.sing.masc.1excl.sing’, ɡʷa /ɡʷa/ ‘3.sing.masc.2.sing’, ᵑǃˤ /ᵑǃˤᵊ/ ‘3.sing.masc.3.sing.masc’, βˤënën /βˤɘ#ː/ ‘3.sing.masc.3.sing.fem’, ᵏǃʰʷénén /ᵏǃʰʷe#ː/ ‘3.sing.masc.3.sing.neut’, ᵏǃʰʲan /ᵏǃʰʲa#/ ‘3.sing.masc.1incl.plur’, ʁˠa /ʁˠa/ ‘3.sing.masc.1excl.plur’, ʋˠenen /ʋˠɛ#ː/ ‘3.sing.masc.2.plur’, ᵑǀʲii /ᵑǀʲiː/ ‘3.sing.masc.3.plur.masc’, ɬʲi /ɬʲi/ ‘3.sing.masc.3.plur.fem’, ʛʷonon /ʛʷɔ#ː/ ‘3.sing.masc.3.plur.neut’, ɓˠï /ɓˠɨ/ ‘3.sing.fem.none’, θʷo /θʷɔ/ ‘3.sing.fem.1incl.sing’, tʰʲanan /tʰʲa#ː/ ‘3.sing.fem.1excl.sing’, ʕˠe /ʕˠɛ/ ‘3.sing.fem.2.sing’, ħʲoo /ħʲɔː/ ‘3.sing.fem.3.sing.masc’, ᵏǀʰʲó /ᵏǀʰʲo/ ‘3.sing.fem.3.sing.fem’, pʰˤënën /pʰˤɘ#ː/ ‘3.sing.fem.3.sing.neut’, tʰʲè /tʰʲɜ/ ‘3.sing.fem.1incl.plur’, ɢˠee /ɢˠɛː/ ‘3.sing.fem.1excl.plur’, ᵏǀˠi /ᵏǀˠi/ ‘3.sing.fem.2.plur’, ᵏǀʰˤi /ᵏǀʰˤi/ ‘3.sing.fem.3.plur.masc’, ᵑǀʼʲaa /ᵑǀʼʲaː/ ‘3.sing.fem.3.plur.fem’, d͡zʲó /d͡zʲo/ ‘3.sing.fem.3.plur.neut’, ɴʲén /ɴʲe#/ ‘3.sing.neut.none’, ɣʲa /ɣʲa/ ‘3.sing.neut.1incl.sing’, ɠˠïï /ɠˠɨː/ ‘3.sing.neut.1excl.sing’, rˠi /rˠi/ ‘3.sing.neut.2.sing’, dʷe /dʷɛ/ ‘3.sing.neut.3.sing.masc’, ʕˠé /ʕˠe/ ‘3.sing.neut.3.sing.fem’, ɓˤ /ɓˤᵊ/ ‘3.sing.neut.3.sing.neut’, ᵏǀʼʲi /ᵏǀʼʲi/ ‘3.sing.neut.1incl.plur’, hpˠë /hpˠɘ/ ‘3.sing.neut.1excl.plur’, rʷi /rʷi/ ‘3.sing.neut.2.plur’, hkˤë /hkˤɘ/ ‘3.sing.neut.3.plur.masc’, ɣʷa /ɣʷa/ ‘3.sing.neut.3.plur.fem’, vˤënën /vˤɘ#ː/ ‘3.sing.neut.3.plur.neut’, ɸʲan /ɸʲa#/ ‘1incl.plur.none’, tˠaa /tˠaː/ ‘1incl.plur.1incl.sing’, tʷa /tʷa/ ‘1incl.plur.1excl.sing’, bʲe /bʲɛ/ ‘1incl.plur.2.sing’, ɽˠën /ɽˠɘ#/ ‘1incl.plur.3.sing.masc’, qʼʷó /qʼʷo/ ‘1incl.plur.3.sing.fem’, xˤé /xˤe/ ‘1incl.plur.3.sing.neut’, ᵑǀʼʲe /ᵑǀʼʲɛ/ ‘1incl.plur.1incl.plur’, ᵑǁʼʲóó /ᵑǁʼʲoː/ ‘1incl.plur.1excl.plur’, kʼˤé /kʼˤe/ ‘1incl.plur.2.plur’, ðˤó /ðˤo/ ‘1incl.plur.3.plur.masc’, hʈʲen /hʈʲɛ#/ ‘1incl.plur.3.plur.fem’, tʰˠuu /tʰˠuː/ ‘1incl.plur.3.plur.neut’, ʈˠun /ʈˠu#/ ‘1excl.plur.none’, ᵏǃʰʷee /ᵏǃʰʷɛː/ ‘1excl.plur.1incl.sing’, htʷënën /htʷɘ#ː/ ‘1excl.plur.1excl.sing’, kʲè /kʲɜ/ ‘1excl.plur.2.sing’, βˤa /βˤa/ ‘1excl.plur.3.sing.masc’, n̥ˠe /n̥ˠɛ/ ‘1excl.plur.3.sing.fem’, ɓʲ /ɓʲᵊ/ ‘1excl.plur.3.sing.neut’, ᵑǁʼʲaa /ᵑǁʼʲaː/ ‘1excl.plur.1incl.plur’, gʱʷèè /gʱʷɜː/ ‘1excl.plur.1excl.plur’, fʲunun /fʲu#ː/ ‘1excl.plur.2.plur’, kˤi /kˤi/ ‘1excl.plur.3.plur.masc’, r̥ˤé /r̥ˤe/ ‘1excl.plur.3.plur.fem’, ŋ̥ˠan /ŋ̥ˠa#/ ‘1excl.plur.3.plur.neut’, ᵏǃˤunun /ᵏǃˤu#ː/ ‘2.plur.none’, r̥ʷee /r̥ʷɛː/ ‘2.plur.1incl.sing’, ɺˠa /ɺˠa/ ‘2.plur.1excl.sing’, ɗʷe /ɗʷɛ/ ‘2.plur.2.sing’, p͡fʲ /p͡fʲᵊ/ ‘2.plur.3.sing.masc’, qʷe /qʷɛ/ ‘2.plur.3.sing.fem’, nˤëë /nˤɘː/ ‘2.plur.3.sing.neut’, ʐʲè /ʐʲɜ/ ‘2.plur.1incl.plur’, ɣʷ /ɣʷᵊ/ ‘2.plur.1excl.plur’, ɳ̥ʲo /ɳ̥ʲɔ/ ‘2.plur.2.plur’, ɴʲi /ɴʲi/ ‘2.plur.3.plur.masc’, ᵑǀʼˤanan /ᵑǀʼˤa#ː/ ‘2.plur.3.plur.fem’, pʰˠé /pʰˠe/ ‘2.plur.3.plur.neut’, ᵏǃˤèè /ᵏǃˤɜː/ ‘3.plur.masc.none’, ʈʰʲëë /ʈʰʲɘː/ ‘3.plur.masc.1incl.sing’, ðˤaa /ðˤaː/ ‘3.plur.masc.1excl.sing’, t͡ʂˠin /t͡ʂˠi#/ ‘3.plur.masc.2.sing’, nʲi /nʲi/ ‘3.plur.masc.3.sing.masc’, ʁʲë /ʁʲɘ/ ‘3.plur.masc.3.sing.fem’, k͡xˤóó /k͡xˤoː/ ‘3.plur.masc.3.sing.neut’, q͡χˠë /q͡χˠɘ/ ‘3.plur.masc.1incl.plur’, tʼʷa /tʼʷa/ ‘3.plur.masc.1excl.plur’, tɬʲ /tɬʲᵊ/ ‘3.plur.masc.2.plur’, ɥˠaa /ɥˠaː/ ‘3.plur.masc.3.plur.masc’, ᵏǀʼʲènèn /ᵏǀʼʲɜ#ː/ ‘3.plur.masc.3.plur.fem’, ɹˠi /ɹˠi/ ‘3.plur.masc.3.plur.neut’, ŋ̥ʲo /ŋ̥ʲɔ/ ‘3.plur.fem.none’, dʱʲen /dʱʲɛ#/ ‘3.plur.fem.1incl.sing’, ɸˤó /ɸˤo/ ‘3.plur.fem.1excl.sing’, ɓʲu /ɓʲu/ ‘3.plur.fem.2.sing’, ᵑǁʼˠëë /ᵑǁʼˠɘː/ ‘3.plur.fem.3.sing.masc’, r̥ʲó /r̥ʲo/ ‘3.plur.fem.3.sing.fem’, ʋˤii /ʋˤiː/ ‘3.plur.fem.3.sing.neut’, djïï /t͡ʃɨː/ ‘3.plur.fem.1incl.plur’, ᵏǃʲa /ᵏǃʲa/ ‘3.plur.fem.1excl.plur’, ɹˠee /ɹˠɛː/ ‘3.plur.fem.2.plur’, ᵏǀˤu /ᵏǀˤu/ ‘3.plur.fem.3.plur.masc’, ᵏǀˠ /ᵏǀˠᵊ/ ‘3.plur.fem.3.plur.fem’, pʰʲé /pʰʲe/ ‘3.plur.fem.3.plur.neut’, ᵏǃʰʲé /ᵏǃʰʲe/ ‘3.plur.neut.none’, t͡sˠón /t͡sˠo#/ ‘3.plur.neut.1incl.sing’, nˤen /nˤɛ#/ ‘3.plur.neut.1excl.sing’, ᵏǀʼˠi /ᵏǀʼˠi/ ‘3.plur.neut.2.sing’, k͡xˤa /k͡xˤa/ ‘3.plur.neut.3.sing.masc’, ŋ̥ˠe /ŋ̥ˠɛ/ ‘3.plur.neut.3.sing.fem’, dˤóó /dˤoː/ ‘3.plur.neut.3.sing.neut’, fʲee /fʲɛː/ ‘3.plur.neut.1incl.plur’, ᵑǃʼˤi /ᵑǃʼˤi/ ‘3.plur.neut.1excl.plur’, dʱˠënën /dʱˠɘ#ː/ ‘3.plur.neut.2.plur’, ᵏǀʲe /ᵏǀʲɛ/ ‘3.plur.neut.3.plur.masc’, ɸˠënën /ɸˠɘ#ː/ ‘3.plur.neut.3.plur.fem’ and ɺˠónón /ɺˠo#ː/ ‘3.plur.neut.3.plur.neut’; and finally, seventh, a clitic expressing indobj, comprising bʱʲènèn /bʱʲɜ#ː/ ‘1incl.sing’, pʲu /pʲu/ ‘1excl.sing’, k͡xˤi /k͡xˤi/ ‘2.sing’, lʲèn /lʲɜ#/ ‘3.sing.masc’, d͡zˠón /d͡zˠo#/ ‘3.sing.fem’, ɓʲonon /ɓʲɔ#ː/ ‘3.sing.neut’, pʰˤi /pʰˤi/ ‘1incl.plur’, ɳ̥ˠèè /ɳ̥ˠɜː/ ‘1excl.plur’, ðʷon /ðʷɔ#/ ‘2.plur’, ɽʲanan /ɽʲa#ː/ ‘3.plur.masc’, dʱˤunun /dʱˤu#ː/ ‘3.plur.fem’ and ʄˠónón /ʄˠo#ː/ ‘3.plur.neut’.

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

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: 19 suffixes, namely -rʷe /-rʷɛ/ ‘begin’, -ɡˤonon /-ɡˤɔ#ː/ ‘stop’, -ɳ̥ʲa /-ɳ̥ʲa/ ‘continue’, -ɺʲii /-ɺʲiː/ ‘try’, -dʱˤen /-dʱˤɛ#/ ‘start’, -tʼˤii /-tʼˤiː/ ‘want’, -qʼʲi /-qʼʲi/ ‘can’, -nˠi /-nˠi/ ‘finish’, -htˠëë /-htˠɘː/ ‘need’, -hkˠii /-hkˠiː/ ‘decide’, -lʲïn /-lʲɨ#/ ‘fail’, -ʋʲó /-ʋʲo/ ‘hope’, -rʲè /-rʲɜ/ ‘must’, -ʒʲë /-ʒʲɘ/ ‘pretend’, -rʲï /-rʲɨ/ ‘let’, -xʲo /-xʲɔ/ ‘force’, -ɴˤé /-ɴˤe/ ‘keep’, -tʼʲu /-tʼʲu/ ‘cause’ and -ɰˠe /-ɰˠɛ/ ‘allow’

ᵏǀʰʲen#ː̄ bʲonon mˤií hpˤin ᵑǀʷon k͡xʲũ ʜˠa.

[ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒ bʲɔ̃ː mˤiː꜖꜒ hpˤĩ ᵑǀʷɔ̃ k͡xʲṵ꜒ ʜˠa]

ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒
1excl.sing
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
mˤiː꜖꜒
love
hpˤĩ
indicative
ᵑǀʷɔ̃
1excl.sing.2.sing
k͡xʲṵ꜒
2.sing
ʜˠa
ACC.sing

“I love you.”

(17)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

d͡ʐˠaú tʼˠunᵑǁʼˠin#ː̃

[d͡ʐˠau꜖꜒ tʼˠũᵑǁʼˠĩ̃ː̰꜒]

d͡ʐˠau꜖꜒
in_surface
tʼˠũ-
def
ᵑǁʼˠĩ̃ː̰꜒
table

“on the table”

(18)
kʼʷoō tʼˠunɹˤèn#̄

[kʼʷɔː꜒ tʼˠũɹˤɜ̃̃꜒]

kʼʷɔː꜒
to_inside
tʼˠũ-
def
ɹˤɜ̃̃꜒
box

“into the box”

(19)
Xʲɔi̠ ᵏǀʰʲen#ː̄

[xʲɔi꜖ ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒]

xʲɔi꜖
COMIT
ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒
1excl.sing

“with me”

(20)

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.

Shi 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 Shi.

Tʼˠuɰʲè̉ bʲonon k͡xˤè̉ kʰˠënën hpˤin ħʲoo tʼˠunʁʲan#̄ ʜˠa.

[tʼˠuɰʲɜ̰꜖ bʲɔ̃ː k͡xˤɜ̰꜖ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ ħʲɔː tʼˠũʁʲã̃꜒ ʜˠa]

tʼˠu-
def
ɰʲɜ̰꜖
jaguar
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
k͡xˤɜ̰꜖
kill
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
ħʲɔː
3.sing.fem.3.sing.masc
tʼˠũ-
def
ʁʲã̃꜒
hunter
ʜˠa
ACC.sing

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(21)
Tʼˠuɰʷè bʲonon ᵏǀʲen#́ kʰˠënën hpˤin ᵏǀʰʲó tʼˠunʁʲan#̄ tʼˠuʁˤẻ tʼˠunbˠón#̉ ʜˠa.

[tʼˠuɰʷɛ꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː ᵏǀʲɛ̃̃꜖꜒ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ ᵏǀʰʲo tʼˠũʁʲã̃꜒ tʼˠuʁˤɛ̰꜖ tʼˠũbˠõ̰̃꜖ ʜˠa]

tʼˠu-
def
ɰʷɛ꜒꜖
lion
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
ᵏǀʲɛ̃̃꜖꜒
eat
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
ᵏǀʰʲo
3.sing.fem.3.sing.fem
tʼˠũ-
def
ʁʲã̃꜒
hunter
tʼˠu-
def
ʁˤɛ̰꜖
daughter
tʼˠũ-
def
bˠõ̰̃꜖
dog
ʜˠa
ACC.sing

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

(22)

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 Shi 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, Shi 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.

k͡xʲũ tʼˠunᵏǀʼʷèn#ː̄ tʼˠunn̥ʷon#ː̃ tʼˠundʱˤin#̄ bʲonon

[k͡xʲṵ꜒ tʼˠũᵏǀʼʷɜ̃̃ː꜒ tʼˠũn̥ʷɔ̃̃ː̰꜒ tʼˠũdʱˤĩ̃꜒ bʲɔ̃ː]

k͡xʲṵ꜒
2.sing
tʼˠũ-
def
ᵏǀʼʷɜ̃̃ː꜒
son
tʼˠũ-
def
n̥ʷɔ̃̃ː̰꜒
friend
tʼˠũ-
def
dʱˤĩ̃꜒
book
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing

“your son’s friend’s book”

(23)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Tʼˠunʁʲan#̄ bʲonon k͡xˤè̉ kʰˠënën hpˤin ɬʲi tʼˠuɰʲè̉ pʼˤoó tʼˠuʃʲ̃ pʼˤoó tʼˠuɰʷè ᵏǃˤ.

[tʼˠũʁʲã̃꜒ bʲɔ̃ː k͡xˤɜ̰꜖ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ ɬʲi tʼˠuɰʲɜ̰꜖ pʼˤɔː꜖꜒ tʼˠuʃʲᵊ̰꜒ pʼˤɔː꜖꜒ tʼˠuɰʷɛ꜒꜖ ᵏǃˤᵊ]

tʼˠũ-
def
ʁʲã̃꜒
hunter
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
k͡xˤɜ̰꜖
kill
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
ɬʲi
3.sing.masc.3.plur.fem
tʼˠu-
def
ɰʲɜ̰꜖
jaguar
pʼˤɔː꜖꜒
and
tʼˠu-
def
ʃʲᵊ̰꜒
tiger
pʼˤɔː꜖꜒
and
tʼˠu-
def
ɰʷɛ꜒꜖
lion
ᵏǃˤᵊ
ACC.plur

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

(24)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Shi 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:

ᵏǀʰʲen#ː̄ bʲonon tˠỏ kʰˠënën hpˤin nˤ tʼˠuɴˤẻ ʜˠa.

[ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒ bʲɔ̃ː tˠɔ̰꜖ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ nˤᵊ tʼˠuɴˤɛ̰꜖ ʜˠa]

ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒
1excl.sing
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
tˠɔ̰꜖
pat
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
nˤᵊ
1excl.sing.3.sing.neut
tʼˠu-
def
ɴˤɛ̰꜖
cat
ʜˠa
ACC.sing

“I patted the cat.”

(25)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

ᵏǀʰʲen#ː̄ bʲonon tˠỏ kʰˠënën hpˤin tʼˠuɴˤẻ, mʲïn#̀ bʲonon hën#̃ kʰˠënën hpˤin ɓˤ tʼˠuɬʲà ʜˠa.

[ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒ bʲɔ̃ː tˠɔ̰꜖ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ tʼˠuɴˤɛ̰꜖, mʲɨ̃̃꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː hɘ̰̃̃꜒ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ ɓˤᵊ tʼˠuɬʲa꜒꜖ ʜˠa]

ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒
1excl.sing
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
tˠɔ̰꜖
pat
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
tʼˠu-
def
ɴˤɛ̰꜖,
cat
mʲɨ̃̃꜒꜖
RELPRON
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
hɘ̰̃̃꜒
catch
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
ɓˤᵊ
3.sing.neut.3.sing.neut
tʼˠu-
def
ɬʲa꜒꜖
mouse
ʜˠa
ACC.sing

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(26)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

ᵏǀʰʲen#ː̄ bʲonon tˠỏ kʰˠënën hpˤin tʼˠuɴˤẻ, mʲïn#̀ bʲonon hën#̃ kʰˠënën hpˤin tʼˠuɬʲà, mʲïn#̀ bʲonon pˠà,ʁʷën kʰˠënën hpˤin.

[ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒ bʲɔ̃ː tˠɔ̰꜖ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ tʼˠuɴˤɛ̰꜖, mʲɨ̃̃꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː hɘ̰̃̃꜒ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ tʼˠuɬʲa꜒꜖, mʲɨ̃̃꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː pˠa꜒꜖,ʁʷɘ̃ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ]

ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒
1excl.sing
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
tˠɔ̰꜖
pat
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
tʼˠu-
def
ɴˤɛ̰꜖,
cat
mʲɨ̃̃꜒꜖
RELPRON
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
hɘ̰̃̃꜒
catch
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
tʼˠu-
def
ɬʲa꜒꜖,
mouse
mʲɨ̃̃꜒꜖
RELPRON
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
pˠa꜒꜖,
cheese
-ʁʷɘ̃
eat
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative

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

(27)

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

ᵏǀʰʲen#ː̄ bʲonon tˠỏ kʰˠënën hpˤin tʼˠuɴˤẻ, mʲïn#̀ bʲonon hën#̃ kʰˠënën hpˤin tʼˠuɬʲà, mʲïn#̀ bʲonon ᵏǀʲen#́ kʰˠënën hpˤin tʼˠupˠà, mʲïn#̀ ʜˠa ʐʲëë̉ kʰˠënën hpˤin ɺʲa ᵏǀʰʲen#ː̄ bʲonon.

[ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒ bʲɔ̃ː tˠɔ̰꜖ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ tʼˠuɴˤɛ̰꜖, mʲɨ̃̃꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː hɘ̰̃̃꜒ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ tʼˠuɬʲa꜒꜖, mʲɨ̃̃꜒꜖ bʲɔ̃ː ᵏǀʲɛ̃̃꜖꜒ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ tʼˠupˠa꜒꜖, mʲɨ̃̃꜒꜖ ʜˠa ʐʲɘː̰꜖ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ ɺʲa ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒ bʲɔ̃ː]

ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒
1excl.sing
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
tˠɔ̰꜖
pat
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
tʼˠu-
def
ɴˤɛ̰꜖,
cat
mʲɨ̃̃꜒꜖
RELPRON
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
hɘ̰̃̃꜒
catch
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
tʼˠu-
def
ɬʲa꜒꜖,
mouse
mʲɨ̃̃꜒꜖
RELPRON
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
ᵏǀʲɛ̃̃꜖꜒
eat
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
tʼˠu-
def
pˠa꜒꜖,
cheese
mʲɨ̃̃꜒꜖
RELPRON
ʜˠa
ACC.sing
ʐʲɘː̰꜖
buy
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
ɺʲa
1excl.sing.3.sing.masc
ᵏǀʰʲɛ̃̃ː꜒
1excl.sing
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing

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

(28)

Complementation Strategies

Shi 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:

Tʼˠunʁˠén#ː̃ bʲonon ɢʲën#ː́ kʰˠënën hpˤin ᵑǃˤ d͡zˠón tʼˠunɮˠén#̄ ɽˠanan dʱˤuũ yoò ʜˠa ᵏǁʰʲïï̠ bʲonon kʰʲén#̃ kʰˠënën hpˤin ɓʲonon tʼˠut͡sˤɔī ɽˠanan.

[tʼˠũʁˠẽ̃ː̰꜒ bʲɔ̃ː ɢʲɘ̃̃ː꜖꜒ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ ᵑǃˤᵊ d͡zˠõ tʼˠũɮˠẽ̃꜒ ɽˠãː dʱˤuː̰꜒ jɔː꜒꜖ ʜˠa ᵏǁʰʲɨː꜖ bʲɔ̃ː kʰʲḛ̃̃꜒ kʰˠɘ̃ː hpˤĩ ɓʲɔ̃ː tʼˠut͡sˤɔi꜒ ɽˠãː]

tʼˠũ-
def
ʁˠẽ̃ː̰꜒
boy
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
ɢʲɘ̃̃ː꜖꜒
give
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
ᵑǃˤᵊ
3.sing.masc.3.sing.masc
d͡zˠõ
3.sing.fem.INDOBJ
tʼˠũ-
def
ɮˠẽ̃꜒
girl
ɽˠãː
DAT.sing
dʱˤuː̰꜒
a
jɔː꜒꜖
apple
ʜˠa
ACC.sing
ᵏǁʰʲɨː꜖
COMP
bʲɔ̃ː
NOM.sing
kʰʲḛ̃̃꜒
surprise
kʰˠɘ̃ː
PAST
hpˤĩ
indicative
ɓʲɔ̃ː
3.sing.neut.INDOBJ
tʼˠu-
def
t͡sˤɔi꜒
teacher
ɽˠãː
DAT.sing

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

(29)

Quotes

Here is an example of how quotations are expressed:

Miscellaneous

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Shi / Shi–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/32THN

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 Shi. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.90, on 3 May 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/32THN

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-32THN,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Shi}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/32THN}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.90, on 3 May 2026}
}

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