A Grammar of Tot

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Tot language (the 135th 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 Tot.

Typological Profile

It has not just singular and plural, but also dual, as well as a rich system of noun classes and a complete lack of sibilant consonants.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Tot has a moderately large consonant inventory, with 30 phonemes.

It has a complete lack of sibilant consonants, a noticeable presence of pharyngealised phonemes, a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts and a broad and varied fricative inventory.

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

labialalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolarlateralpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velarglottal
stopp b d t dˤ tˤ ɖ ʈ k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ
nasalm n ɲ ɳ ŋ ŋʷ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef x h
approximantw ɾ j
affricatet͡ʃ
implosiveɓ

Vowels

Tot 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 a modest but genuine inventory of nasal vowels, a triangular vowel system with few low vowels and a fully three-way front–central–back distinction.

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

frontcentralback
closei ɨ u
mide ə# o
opena

Stress and Tones

Tot 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

Tot is normally written using the Devanagari abugida, the script employed for Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi and several other Indo-Aryan languages. This grammar also makes systematic use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to present an exact account of pronunciation.

Devanagari’s syllabic structure differs markedly from the IPA’s segmental approach, so the two notations complement one another: the script shows the organisation of syllables, while the IPA supplies detail on individual sounds.

Orthography

Here are the various components of the orthography:

Simple letters

ə# /ə#/अ /a/इ /i/उ /u/
ए /e/ऐ /ai/ओ /o/औ /au/
क् /k/ग् /ɡ/ङ् /ŋ/च् /t͡ʃ/
ञ् /ɲ/ट् /ʈ/ड् /ɖ/ण् /ɳ/
त् /t/त़् /tˤ/द् /d/द़् /dˤ/
न् /n/ऩ् /nˤ/प् /p/ब् /b/
भ् /ɓ/म् /m/य् /j/र् /ɾ/
ऱ् /ɽ/व् /w/ह् /h/फ़् /f/
ॶ /ɨ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

क्व् /kʷ/ख्व् /xʷ/ग्व् /ɡʷ/
ङ्व् /ŋʷ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Tot distinguishes singular, dual and plural.

Gender

Tot has the following noun classes:

Class cl.1 – for instance: क्वैङ्व् ‘snake’, क्वॖम् ‘knife’, गैग्व् ‘umbrella’, ग्वेट् ‘bottle’, ग्वोव् ‘animal’, ङिच् ‘lion’, ङ्व्ə#य् ‘dog’, ञुद् ‘mortar’, त़ॖण् ‘tiger’, द़िब् ‘lamb’, दिख्व् ‘machine’, दफ़् ‘flower’, पिब् ‘jaguar’, पेच् ‘wild boar’, भेऩ् ‘net’, मैङ्व् ‘fish’, रोञ् ‘mammal’, ऱौक् ‘rope’, वैङ् ‘bird’, हॖम् ‘name’.

Class cl.2 – for instance: ख्वप् ‘earth’, ग्वोक्व् ‘idea’, ञन् ‘west’, ञिङ्व् ‘land’, ञेर् ‘grass’, टिण् ‘friend’, टिम् ‘apple’, टिय् ‘neighbour’, णॖ ‘fruit’, त़प् ‘breath’, द़त़् ‘meat’, दौद् ‘wheat’, दॖञ् ‘mountain’, ‘stick’, मैट् ‘plain’, यैञ् ‘south’, यो ‘cheese’, ऱिप् ‘forest’, वॖङ् ‘sea’, हित् ‘egg’.

Class cl.3 – for instance: औक्व् ‘sand’, क्वैर् ‘blood’, गङ् ‘slime’, ग्वेड् ‘chair’, ङुऱ् ‘tower’, चिग्व् ‘brick’, ञेब् ‘book’, टुग्व् ‘house’, टॖख्व् ‘leaf’, त़ोञ् ‘road’, तिख्व् ‘salt’, पुभ् ‘feather’, बौव् ‘ash’, भञ् ‘faeces’, मिऩ् ‘embrace’, रोद़् ‘smoke’, ऱोग्व् ‘ice’, विच् ‘woman’, वैख्व् ‘fat’, हङ् ‘money’.

Class cl.4 – for instance: कुभ् ‘back’, ख्वच् ‘heart’, गॖम् ‘head’, चर् ‘fingernail’, च्ə#र् ‘penis’, ञिब् ‘top’, टिफ़् ‘leg’, तिद़् ‘skin’, तुट् ‘fire’, तेद़् ‘guts’, द्ə#त़् ‘eye’, ‘neck’, बोण् ‘vagina’, भॖ ‘surface’, मेद् ‘foot’, ऱौव् ‘belly’, हक् ‘hand’, फ़ित़् ‘mouth’, फ़ॖख्व् ‘bone’, फ़ॖऱ् ‘ear’.

Class cl.5 – for instance: क्वह् ‘wind’, कॖञ् ‘rain’, ख्वड् ‘manner’, डैब् ‘wife’, त़िय् ‘boy’, दैफ़् ‘son’, दॖप् ‘cloud’, ऩ्ə#ऱ् ‘root’, ऩॖय् ‘man’, नेर् ‘fog’, पिर् ‘child’, पुक्व् ‘husband’, पैद् ‘human being’, बौच् ‘snow’, मोङ्व् ‘water’, रय् ‘horn’, रॖद़् ‘father’, ऱुप् ‘urine’, ऱुर् ‘God’, हौङ् ‘mother’.

Class cl.6 – for instance: किङ्व् ‘sun’, ख्वभ् ‘year’, ख्वोर् ‘sound’, गक्व् ‘inside’, ग्वम् ‘star’, ग्वि ‘time’, ङ्वॖग्व् ‘louse’, चट् ‘night’, चिप् ‘dialect’, ञौङ् ‘seed’, तोत़् ‘Tot’, तोद़् ‘worm’, द़ऩ् ‘language’, नेच् ‘tree’, पब् ‘colour’, पुञ् ‘day’, भॖभ् ‘sky’, मॖञ् ‘hunter’, यॖड् ‘farmer’, होय् ‘teacher’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

विचक ख्वि त़ु क्वॖमॖमु नि य्ə#द़े ञ्ə#डवि क्वे म अ भैकु ऩ।

[wit͡ʃaka xʷi tˤu kʷɨmɨmu ni jə̃dˤe ɲə̃ɖawi kʷe ma xa ɓaiku nˤa]

wit͡ʃ
woman
-aka
NOM
xʷ-
cl.3
i
the
tˤu
COMIT
kʷɨm
knife
-ɨmu
LOC
n-
cl.1
i
the
j-
plur
ə̃dˤe
blind
ɲə̃ɖ
mouse
-awi
ACC
kʷe
three
m-
cl.6
a
yon
xa
indicative
ɓaik
catch
-u
active
nˤa
PAST

“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 possessor. a clitic expressing possessor, comprising त़ /tˤa/ ‘1incl.sing’, वॖ /wɨ/ ‘1excl.sing’, हॖ /hɨ/ ‘2.sing’, त़ॖ /tˤɨ/ ‘3.sing.cl.1’, मो /mo/ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, /xɨ/ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, वो /wo/ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, दि /di/ ‘3.sing.cl.5’, /wa/ ‘3.sing.cl.6’, न्ə# /nə#/ ‘1incl.dual’, ङ्वे /ŋʷe/ ‘1excl.dual’, पु /pu/ ‘2.dual’, त़ि /tˤi/ ‘3.dual.cl.1’, क्वॖ /kʷɨ/ ‘3.dual.cl.2’, कॖ /kɨ/ ‘3.dual.cl.3’, ख्वो /xʷo/ ‘3.dual.cl.4’, ति /ti/ ‘3.dual.cl.5’, ने /ne/ ‘3.dual.cl.6’, टु /ʈu/ ‘1incl.plur’, ख्वि /xʷi/ ‘1excl.plur’, पे /pe/ ‘2.plur’, फ़ु /fu/ ‘3.plur.cl.1’, /xo/ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, हि /hi/ ‘3.plur.cl.3’, /ɾa/ ‘3.plur.cl.4’, क्वो /kʷo/ ‘3.plur.cl.5’ and /pa/ ‘3.plur.cl.6’.

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 Tot.

The Noun

The noun in Tot consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -अक /-aka/ ‘NOM’, -ओम्ə# /-omə#/ ‘ERG’, -अवि /-awi/ ‘ACC’, -इदॖ /-idɨ/ ‘DAT’, -अय /-aja/ ‘INS’, -अपे /-ape/ ‘VOC’, -इऩो /-inˤo/ ‘ALL’, -ॶमु /-ɨmu/ ‘LOC’, -एदु /-edu/ ‘ABL’ and -उकु /-uku/ ‘PART’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: 11 suffixes, namely -अङ् /-aŋ/ ‘little’, -ए /-ex/ ‘big’, -ओत् /-ot/ ‘old’, -अद़् /-adˤ/ ‘new’, -उम् /-um/ ‘good’, -इत् /-it/ ‘bad’, -इच् /-it͡ʃ/ ‘have’, -उख्व् /-uxʷ/ ‘use’, -इ /-ix/ ‘see’, -एग् /-eɡ/ ‘make’ and -अभ् /-aɓ/ ‘break’

The Adjective

In Tot, the adjective has the following structure: an obligatory prefix expressing number, comprising फ़्- /f-/ ‘sing’, ख्व्- /xʷ-/ ‘dual’ and य्- /j-/ ‘plur’ followed by the root.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Tot, the determiner has the following structure: an obligatory prefix expressing gender, comprising न्- /n-/ ‘cl.1’, फ़्- /f-/ ‘cl.2’, ख्व्- /xʷ-/ ‘cl.3’, र्- /ɾ-/ ‘cl.4’, य्- /j-/ ‘cl.5’ and म्- /m-/ ‘cl.6’ followed by the root.

Pronouns

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

त़ॖणवि नि अ त़ेणु ऩ न्ə# अ णौचु फ़्ə#त्ə#।

[tˤɨɳawi ni xa tˤeɳu nˤa nə̃ xa ɳaut͡ʃu fə̃tə̃]

tˤɨɳ
tiger
-awi
ACC
n-
cl.1
i
the
xa
indicative
tˤeɳ
kill
-u
active
nˤa
PAST
nə̃
because
xa
indicative
ɳaut͡ʃ
be
-u
active
f-
sing
ə̃tə̃
happy

“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:

ग्वै अ तवु।

[ɡʷai xa tawu]

ɡʷai
3.sing.cl.5
xa
indicative
taw
love
-u
active

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(3)

But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:

ग्वै ग्वै अ तवु।

[ɡʷai ɡʷai xa tawu]

ɡʷai
3.sing.cl.5
ɡʷai
3.sing.cl.5
xa
indicative
taw
love
-u
active

He loves her.”

(4)

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

ग्वै अ तवु।

[ɡʷai xa tawu]

ɡʷai
3.sing.cl.5
xa
indicative
taw
love
-u
active

“He loves her.”

(5)

Proper Nouns

तिनक यि किगवि ख्वि अ ऱेङ्वु।

[tinaka ji kiɡawi xʷi xa ɽeŋʷu]

tin
Tin
-aka
NOM
j-
cl.5
i
the
kiɡ
Kig
-awi
ACC
xʷ-
cl.3
i
the
xa
indicative
ɽeŋʷ
hate
-u
active

“Tin hates Kig.”

(6)

Possession

त़ियक यि टिमक फ़ि दि

[tˤijaka ji ʈimaka fi di]

tˤij
boy
-aka
NOM
j-
cl.5
i
the
ʈim
apple
-aka
NOM
f-
cl.2
i
the
di
3.sing.cl.5.POSS

“the boy’s apple”

(7)
ग्वै टिमक फ़ि दि

[ɡʷai ʈimaka fi di]

ɡʷai
3.sing.cl.5
ʈim
apple
-aka
NOM
f-
cl.2
i
the
di
3.sing.cl.5.POSS

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(8)
टिमक फ़ि वॖ

[ʈimaka fi wɨ]

ʈim
apple
-aka
NOM
f-
cl.2
i
the

1excl.sing.POSS

“my apple”

(9)
मॖञक मि नडक यि व टियक फ़ि हॖ दैफ़वि यि मो अ भौचु ऩ।

[mɨɲaka mi naɖaka ji wa ʈijaka fi hɨ daifawi ji mo xa ɓaut͡ʃu nˤa]

mɨɲ
hunter
-aka
NOM
m-
cl.6
i
the
naɖ
daughter
-aka
NOM
j-
cl.5
i
the
wa
3.sing.cl.6.POSS
ʈij
neighbour
-aka
NOM
f-
cl.2
i
the

2.sing.POSS
daif
son
-awi
ACC
j-
cl.5
i
the
mo
3.sing.cl.2.POSS
xa
indicative
ɓaut͡ʃ
kiss
-u
active
nˤa
PAST

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

(10)

Derivation

द़िबक नै

[dˤibaka nai]

dˤib
lamb
-aka
NOM
n-
cl.1
ai
a

“a lamb”

(11)
द़िबङक नै

[dˤibaŋaka nai]

dˤib
lamb
-aŋ
little
-aka
NOM
n-
cl.1
ai
a

“a little lamb”

(12)
द़िबङवि नै अ चॖमु ऩ।

[dˤibaŋawi nai xa t͡ʃɨmu nˤa]

dˤib
lamb
-aŋ
little
-awi
ACC
n-
cl.1
ai
a
xa
indicative
t͡ʃɨm
have
-u
active
nˤa
PAST

“She had a little lamb.”

(13)

This doesn’t affect all adjectives and verbs. Compare, for instance the previous example with this one, where black and love do not undergo affixation:

फ़ेञे द़िबवि नै अ तवु ऩ।

[feɲe dˤibawi nai xa tawu nˤa]

f-
sing
eɲe
black
dˤib
lamb
-awi
ACC
n-
cl.1
ai
a
xa
indicative
taw
love
-u
active
nˤa
PAST

“She loved a black lamb.”

(14)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Tot fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing mode, comprising /xa/ ‘indicative’, ट्ə# /ʈə#/ ‘conditional’ and मे /me/ ‘optative’; second, a clitic expressing ta, comprising /nˤa/ ‘PAST’; and finally, third, a clitic expressing negation, comprising ह्ə# /hə#/ ‘NEG’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing voice, comprising -उ /-u/ ‘active’ and -ए /-e/ ‘passive’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: five suffixes, namely -अच् /-at͡ʃ/ ‘begin’, -ओङ् /-oŋ/ ‘stop’, -इख्व् /-ixʷ/ ‘continue’, -इम् /-im/ ‘try’ and -ॶप् /-ɨp/ ‘start’

द़्ə# अ तवु।

[dˤə̃ xa tawu]

dˤə̃
2.sing
xa
indicative
taw
love
-u
active

“I love you.”

(15)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

ने क्विफ़ॖमु ख्वि

[ne kʷifɨmu xʷi]

ne
in_surface
kʷif
table
-ɨmu
LOC
xʷ-
cl.3
i
the

“on the table”

(16)
व्ə# यौऩॖमु नि

[wə̃ jaunˤɨmu ni]

wə̃
to_inside
jaunˤ
box
-ɨmu
LOC
n-
cl.1
i
the

“into the box”

(17)
त़ु मु

[tˤu mu]

tˤu
COMIT
mu
1excl.sing

“with me”

(18)

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.

Tot 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 Tot.

पिबक नि मॖञवि मि अ त़ेणु ऩ।

[pibaka ni mɨɲawi mi xa tˤeɳu nˤa]

pib
jaguar
-aka
NOM
n-
cl.1
i
the
mɨɲ
hunter
-awi
ACC
m-
cl.6
i
the
xa
indicative
tˤeɳ
kill
-u
active
nˤa
PAST

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(19)
ङिचक नि मॖञक मि नडक यि व ङ्व्ə#यवि नि दि अ दिक्वु ऩ।

[ŋit͡ʃaka ni mɨɲaka mi naɖaka ji wa ŋʷə̃jawi ni di xa dikʷu nˤa]

ŋit͡ʃ
lion
-aka
NOM
n-
cl.1
i
the
mɨɲ
hunter
-aka
NOM
m-
cl.6
i
the
naɖ
daughter
-aka
NOM
j-
cl.5
i
the
wa
3.sing.cl.6.POSS
ŋʷə̃j
dog
-awi
ACC
n-
cl.1
i
the
di
3.sing.cl.5.POSS
xa
indicative
dikʷ
eat
-u
active
nˤa
PAST

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

(20)

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 Tot 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, Tot 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.

दैफ़क यि हॖ टिणक फ़ि दि ञेबक ख्वि मो

[daifaka ji hɨ ʈiɳaka fi di ɲebaka xʷi mo]

daif
son
-aka
NOM
j-
cl.5
i
the

2.sing.POSS
ʈiɳ
friend
-aka
NOM
f-
cl.2
i
the
di
3.sing.cl.5.POSS
ɲeb
book
-aka
NOM
xʷ-
cl.3
i
the
mo
3.sing.cl.2.POSS

“your son’s friend’s book”

(21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

मॖञक मि पिबवि नि फ़े त़ॖणवि नि फ़े ङिचवि नि अ त़ेणु ऩ।

[mɨɲaka mi pibawi ni fe tˤɨɳawi ni fe ŋit͡ʃawi ni xa tˤeɳu nˤa]

mɨɲ
hunter
-aka
NOM
m-
cl.6
i
the
pib
jaguar
-awi
ACC
n-
cl.1
i
the
fe
and
tˤɨɳ
tiger
-awi
ACC
n-
cl.1
i
the
fe
and
ŋit͡ʃ
lion
-awi
ACC
n-
cl.1
i
the
xa
indicative
tˤeɳ
kill
-u
active
nˤa
PAST

“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 Tot 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

Tot 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:

वौनवि नि अ विऱु ऩ।

[waunawi ni xa wiɽu nˤa]

waun
cat
-awi
ACC
n-
cl.1
i
the
xa
indicative
wiɽ
pat
-u
active
nˤa
PAST

“I patted the cat.”

(23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

ञ्ə#डवि मि अ भैकु ऩ वौनवि नि अ विऱु ऩ।

[ɲə̃ɖawi mi xa ɓaiku nˤa waunawi ni xa wiɽu nˤa]

ɲə̃ɖ
mouse
-awi
ACC
m-
cl.6
i
the
xa
indicative
ɓaik
catch
-u
active
nˤa
PAST
waun
cat
-awi
ACC
n-
cl.1
i
the
xa
indicative
wiɽ
pat
-u
active
nˤa
PAST

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

योअवि फ़ि अ दिक्वु ऩ ञ्ə#डवि मि अ भैकु ऩ वौनवि नि अ विऱु ऩ।

[joxawi fi xa dikʷu nˤa ɲə̃ɖawi mi xa ɓaiku nˤa waunawi ni xa wiɽu nˤa]

jox
cheese
-awi
ACC
f-
cl.2
i
the
xa
indicative
dikʷ
eat
-u
active
nˤa
PAST
ɲə̃ɖ
mouse
-awi
ACC
m-
cl.6
i
the
xa
indicative
ɓaik
catch
-u
active
nˤa
PAST
waun
cat
-awi
ACC
n-
cl.1
i
the
xa
indicative
wiɽ
pat
-u
active
nˤa
PAST

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

(25)

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

मु अ ग्वरु ऩ योअवि फ़ि अ दिक्वु ऩ ञ्ə#डवि मि अ भैकु ऩ वौनवि नि अ विऱु ऩ।

[mu xa ɡʷaɾu nˤa joxawi fi xa dikʷu nˤa ɲə̃ɖawi mi xa ɓaiku nˤa waunawi ni xa wiɽu nˤa]

mu
1excl.sing
xa
indicative
ɡʷaɾ
buy
-u
active
nˤa
PAST
jox
cheese
-awi
ACC
f-
cl.2
i
the
xa
indicative
dikʷ
eat
-u
active
nˤa
PAST
ɲə̃ɖ
mouse
-awi
ACC
m-
cl.6
i
the
xa
indicative
ɓaik
catch
-u
active
nˤa
PAST
waun
cat
-awi
ACC
n-
cl.1
i
the
xa
indicative
wiɽ
pat
-u
active
nˤa
PAST

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

(26)

Complementation Strategies

Tot 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:

त़ियक यि त़्ə#फ़िदॖ यि टिमवि फ़ै अ भैख्वु ऩ होयिदॖ मि अ हऱु ऩ।

[tˤijaka ji tˤə̃fidɨ ji ʈimawi fai xa ɓaixʷu nˤa hojidɨ mi xa haɽu nˤa]

tˤij
boy
-aka
NOM
j-
cl.5
i
the
tˤə̃f
girl
-idɨ
DAT
j-
cl.5
i
the
ʈim
apple
-awi
ACC
f-
cl.2
ai
a
xa
indicative
ɓaixʷ
give
-u
active
nˤa
PAST
hoj
teacher
-idɨ
DAT
m-
cl.6
i
the
xa
indicative
haɽ
surprise
-u
active
nˤa
PAST

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

(27)

Quotes

Here is an example of how quotations are expressed:

Miscellaneous

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Tot / Tot–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/398QU

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 Tot. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.90, on 14 May 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/398QU

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-398QU,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Tot}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/398QU}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.90, on 14 May 2026}
}

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