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A Grammar of Yu

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Yu language (the 143rd 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 Yu.

Typological Profile

It has a disproportionately large set of glottal and uvular consonants, the VSO basic order, common globally but unusual in many families and postpositions.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Yu has an extremely large consonant inventory, totalling 78 phonemes. Such a system is exceptional in scale.

It has a highly developed aspirated consonant series, an extensive set of dental articulations, a disproportionately large set of glottal and uvular consonants, a wide range of approximant contrasts and a modest set of implosive stops.

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

labialdentalalveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velaruvularlab. uvularpharyngealglottal
stopp b d t c ɟ ɖ ʈ k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ q ɢ qʷ ɢʷ ʔ
aspirated stoppʰ tʰ ʈʰ kʰ kʰʷ
preaspirated stophp ht hʈ hk hkʷ
breathy stopbʱ dʱ ɖʱ gʱ gʱʷ
nasalm n n̥ ɲ ɲ̥ ɳ ɳ̥ ŋ ŋ̥ ŋʷ ŋ̥ʷ ɴ ɴʷ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef v ð θ s z ʃ ʒ ʂ x ɣ xʷ ɣʷ ʕ h
approximantw ʎ j ɻ
affricatet͡s t͡ʃ t͡ɕ
implosiveɓ ɗ
clickᵏǀ ᵏǀʰ ᵏǃ ᵏǃʰ
click, nasalᵑǀ ᵑǃ

Vowels

Yu 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, phonologically distinctive back unrounded vowels, a strikingly compressed height system with only two vowel heights, a partially contrastive system of vowel length and a fully three-way front–central–back distinction.

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

frontcentralback unroundedback rounded
closei i# ɨ ɨ# ɯ ɯ# u u#
openæ æ# ɑ ɑ# ɒ ɒ#

Stress and Tones

Yu 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

The language employs vowel harmony. To be specific, the following vowels change to match the first vowel of the root: /i/ becomes /ɯ/, /æ/ becomes /ɑ/.

Writing System

Introduction

Yu is normally written using the Arabic alphabet, a consonant-centred script whose forms vary according to position in the word. In this grammar, phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) are also provided to make the pronunciation fully explicit.

Orthography

Here are the various components of the orthography:

Simple letters

c /c/i# /i#/n̥ /n̥/u# /u#/
æ /æ/æ# /æ#/ð /ð/ŋ̥ /ŋ̥/
ɑ /ɑ/ɑ# /ɑ#/ɒ /ɒ/ɒ# /ɒ#/
ɟ /ɟ/ɣ /ɣ/ɨ# /ɨ#/ɯ# /ɯ#/
ɲ̥ /ɲ̥/ɳ̥ /ɳ̥/ɴ /ɴ/ɻ /ɻ/
ʎ /ʎ/ا /ɨː, ʔ/ب /b/ت /t/
تۡ /ᵏǃ/ث /θ/ح /h/خ /x/
د /d/ر /ɾ/ز /z/س /s/
ش /ʃ/ف /f/ق /q/قۡ /ᵏǀ/
ك /k/م /m/ن /n/و /au, uː, w, ɯː/
ي /ai, iː, j/ٹ /ʈ/ٽ /tʰ/پ /p/
ڃ /ɲ/څ /t͡s/چ /t͡ʃ/ڇ /t͡ɕ/
ڈ /ɖ/ڏ /ɗ/ړ /ɽ/ژ /ʒ/
ښ /ʂ/ڤ /v/ڦ‎ /pʰ/ڭ /ŋ/
ڮ /kʰ/گ /ɡ/ڲ /ɢ/ڳ /gʱ/
ڹ /ɳ/ݐ /ɓ/ݝ /ʕ/ࣂ /kʷ/
ࣃ /ɣʷ/ࣄ /qʷ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

bʱ /bʱ/dʱ /dʱ/gʱʷ /gʱʷ/
hk /hk/hkʷ /hkʷ/hp /hp/
ht /ht/hʈ /hʈ/i#ː /i#ː/
kʰʷ /kʰʷ/u#ː /u#ː/xʷ /xʷ/
æ#ː /æ#ː/æː /æː/ŋʷ /ŋʷ/
ŋ̥ʷ /ŋ̥ʷ/ɑ#ː /ɑ#ː/ɑː /ɑː/
ɒ#ː /ɒ#ː/ɒː /ɒː/ɖʱ /ɖʱ/
ɡʷ /ɡʷ/ɢʷ /ɢʷ/ɨ#ː /ɨ#ː/
ɯ#ː /ɯ#ː/ɴʷ /ɴʷ/تۡح /ᵏǃʰ/
قۡح /ᵏǀʰ/نتۡ /ᵑǃ/نقۡ /ᵑǀ/
ٹح /ʈʰ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Yu does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Yu does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

ثوڅɒ# ٽ مæ څu#bʱɒ bʱɯ#bʱɒ ڇا cɨ#bʱɒ دو ŋʷɒ#رæ# ðu#ː۔

[θuːt͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ t͡sũbʱɒ bʱɯ̃bʱɒ t͡ɕɨː cɨ̃bʱɒ dɯː ŋʷɒ̃ɾæ̃ ðũː]

θuː
catch -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative t͡sũ
woman -bʱɒ
def bʱɯ̃
knife -bʱɒ
def t͡ɕɨː
COMIT cɨ̃
mouse -bʱɒ
def dɯː
blind ŋʷɒ̃
three -ɾæ̃
ACC ðũː
yon

“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 Yu consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing def, comprising ـࣂɨ# /-kʷɨ#/ ‘not.def’ and ـbʱة /-bʱɒ/ ‘def’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: 11 suffixes, namely ـخɨ# /-xɨ#/ ‘little’, ـŋʷɨ# /-ŋʷɨ#/ ‘big’, ـɡʷة /-ɡʷɒ/ ‘old’, ـŋ̥ʷ /-ŋ̥ʷu/ ‘new’, ـڦ‎ɒ# /-pʰɒ#/ ‘good’, ـࣂ /-kʷu/ ‘bad’, ـhtɨ# /-htɨ#/ ‘have’, ـn̥u# /-n̥u#/ ‘use’, ـڲة /-ɢɒ/ ‘see’, ـɴæ# /-ɴæ#/ ‘make’ and ـŋ̥ʷة /-ŋ̥ʷɨ/ ‘break’

The Adjective

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

Numerals

The morphology of the numerals is as follows: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising ـچة /-t͡ʃæ/ ‘NOM’, ـرæ# /-ɾæ#/ ‘ACC’, ـڹة /-ɳæ/ ‘GEN’, ـdʱɒ# /-dʱɒ#/ ‘DAT’, ـچ /-t͡ʃu/ ‘INS’, ـŋ̥ɒ# /-ŋ̥ɒ#/ ‘VOC’, ـɻ /-ɻi/ ‘ALL’, ـɟæ# /-ɟæ#/ ‘LOC’, ـگɨ# /-ɡɨ#/ ‘ABL’ and ـڈة /-ɖɒ/ ‘PART’.

Determiners

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

Pronouns

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

مɨ#څɒ# ٽ مæ ɻɒ# ŋ̥ʷɑ#ːbʱɒ پو hkʷɒڅɒ# ݐɨ#ː مæ ڤة۔

[mɨ̃t͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ ɻɒ̃ ŋ̥ʷɑ̃ːbʱɒ puː hkʷɒt͡sɒ̃ ɓɨ̃ː mæ vɨ]

mɨ̃
kill -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative ɻɒ̃
1excl.SUBJ ŋ̥ʷɑ̃ː
tiger -bʱɒ
def puː
because hkʷɒ
be -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q ɓɨ̃ː
happy mæ
indicative vɨ
1incl.SUBJ

“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:

Ŋ̥ʷæ#څɒ# مæ ɻة۔

[ŋ̥ʷæ̃t͡sɒ̃ mæ ɻɒ]

ŋ̥ʷæ̃
love -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q mæ
indicative ɻɒ
3

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (3)

But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:

Ŋ̥ʷæ#څɒ# مæ ɻɒ ɻة۔

[ŋ̥ʷæ̃t͡sɒ̃ mæ ɻɒ ɻɒ]

ŋ̥ʷæ̃
love -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q mæ
indicative ɻɒ
3 ɻɒ
3

“He loves her.”

 (4)

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

Ŋ̥ʷæ#څɒ# مæ ɻة۔

[ŋ̥ʷæ̃t͡sɒ̃ mæ ɻɒ]

ŋ̥ʷæ̃
love -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q mæ
indicative ɻɒ
3

“He loves her.”

 (5)

Proper Nouns

مɑڅɒ# مæ Ɡʷɒːbʱɒ Ŋ̥ɒ#bʱة۔

[mɑt͡sɒ̃ mæ ɡʷɒːbʱɒ ŋ̥ɒ̃bʱɒ]

mɑ
hate -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q mæ
indicative ɡʷɒː
Go -bʱɒ
def ŋ̥ɒ̃
Nago -bʱɒ
def

“Go hates Nago.”

 (6)

Possession

دæ#ːbʱɒ گيbʱة

[dæ̃ːbʱɒ ɡaibʱɒ]

dæ̃ː
apple -bʱɒ
def ɡai
boy -bʱɒ
def

“the boy’s apple”

 (7)
دæ#ːbʱɒ ɻة

[dæ̃ːbʱɒ ɻɒ]

dæ̃ː
apple -bʱɒ
def ɻɒ
3

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (8)
دæ#ːbʱɒ hkɑ#

[dæ̃ːbʱɒ hkɑ̃]

dæ̃ː
apple -bʱɒ
def hkɑ̃
1excl

“my apple”

 (9)
Bʱɑڅɒ# ٽ مæ ࣄæbʱɒ ڃɨ#ːbʱɒ يæ#bʱɒ hpɨ#bʱɒ سو۔

[bʱɑt͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ qʷæbʱɒ ɲɨ̃ːbʱɒ jæ̃bʱɒ hpɨ̃bʱɒ sɯː]

bʱɑ
kiss -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative qʷæ
daughter -bʱɒ
def ɲɨ̃ː
hunter -bʱɒ
def jæ̃
son -bʱɒ
def hpɨ̃
neighbour -bʱɒ
def sɯː
2

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

 (10)

Derivation

تi#ːࣂɨ# دة

[tĩːkʷɨ̃ dɒ]

tĩː
lamb -kʷɨ̃
not.def dɒ
a

“a lamb”

 (11)
تi#ːخɨ#ࣂɨ# دة

[tĩːxɨ̃kʷɨ̃ dɒ]

tĩː
lamb -xɨ̃
little -kʷɨ̃
not.def dɒ
a

“a little lamb”

 (12)
نقۡi#څɒ# ٽ مæ تi#ːخɨ#ࣂɨ# دة۔

[ᵑǀĩt͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ tĩːxɨ̃kʷɨ̃ dɒ]

ᵑǀĩ
have -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative tĩː
lamb -xɨ̃
little -kʷɨ̃
not.def dɒ
a

“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:

Ŋ̥ʷæ#څɒ# ٽ مæ تi#ːࣂɨ# د دة۔

[ŋ̥ʷæ̃t͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ tĩːkʷɨ̃ di dɒ]

ŋ̥ʷæ̃
love -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative tĩː
lamb -kʷɨ̃
not.def di
black dɒ
a

“She loved a black lamb.”

 (14)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Yu are enclitics (placed finally), and there are five types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising ٽ /tʰi/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising مة /mæ/ ‘indicative’, ɲ̥i# /ɲ̥i#/ ‘conditional’ and سة /sɨ/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising n̥æ# /n̥æ#/ ‘passive’; fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising ŋ̥ /ŋ̥i/ ‘NEG’; and finally, fifth, a clitic expressing subj, comprising ڤة /vɨ/ ‘1incl’, ɻɒ# /ɻɒ#/ ‘1excl’ and bʱة /bʱɨ/ ‘2’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing question, comprising ـɲ̥ɨ# /-ɲ̥ɨ#/ ‘Q’ and ـڅɒ# /-t͡sɒ#/ ‘not.Q’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: five suffixes, namely ـشu# /-ʃu#/ ‘begin’, ـحة /-hɒ/ ‘stop’, ـڲة /-ɢæ/ ‘continue’, ـgʱʷة /-gʱʷæ/ ‘try’ and ـڅة /-t͡sɨ/ ‘start’

Ŋ̥ʷæ#څɒ# مæ ɻɒ# سو۔

[ŋ̥ʷæ̃t͡sɒ̃ mæ ɻɒ̃ sɯː]

ŋ̥ʷæ̃
love -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q mæ
indicative ɻɒ̃
1excl.SUBJ sɯː
2

“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.

ديbʱɒ ݝ

[diːbʱɒ ʕu]

diː
table -bʱɒ
def ʕu
in_surface

“on the table”

 (16)
شɑːbʱɒ ژو

[ʃɑːbʱɒ ʒuː]

ʃɑː
box -bʱɒ
def ʒuː
to_inside

“into the box”

 (17)
hkɑ# ڇا

[hkɑ̃ t͡ɕɨː]

hkɑ̃
1excl t͡ɕɨː
COMIT

“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.

The basic constituent order of Yu is Verb–Subject–Object (VSO). Clauses begin with the verb, followed by the subject, with the object in final position. This pattern is attested among various verb-initial languages.

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

مɨ#څɒ# ٽ مæ ݐɑbʱɒ ڃɨ#ːbʱة۔

[mɨ̃t͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ ɓɑbʱɒ ɲɨ̃ːbʱɒ]

mɨ̃
kill -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative ɓɑ
jaguar -bʱɒ
def ɲɨ̃ː
hunter -bʱɒ
def

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (19)
ɟاڅɒ# ٽ مæ ࣂيbʱɒ حوbʱɒ ࣄæbʱɒ ڃɨ#ːbʱة۔

[ɟɨːt͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ kʷiːbʱɒ haubʱɒ qʷæbʱɒ ɲɨ̃ːbʱɒ]

ɟɨː
eat -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative kʷiː
lion -bʱɒ
def hau
dog -bʱɒ
def qʷæ
daughter -bʱɒ
def ɲɨ̃ː
hunter -bʱɒ
def

“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 Yu 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-initial: the possessed noun precedes the possessor. For instance, Yu expresses “the child’s toy” with the equivalent of “toy child”. This structure is typologically rarer and often co-occurs with verb-initial syntax or with grammatical marking on the noun.

ŋ̥ɨ#bʱɒ ړوbʱɒ يæ#bʱɒ سو

[ŋ̥ɨ̃bʱɒ ɽɯːbʱɒ jæ̃bʱɒ sɯː]

ŋ̥ɨ̃
book -bʱɒ
def ɽɯː
friend -bʱɒ
def jæ̃
son -bʱɒ
def sɯː
2

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

مɨ#څɒ# ٽ مæ ڃɨ#ːbʱɒ ݐɑbʱɒ ڦ‎ا ŋ̥ʷɑ#ːbʱɒ ڦ‎ا ࣂيbʱة۔

[mɨ̃t͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ ɲɨ̃ːbʱɒ ɓɑbʱɒ pʰɨː ŋ̥ʷɑ̃ːbʱɒ pʰɨː kʷiːbʱɒ]

mɨ̃
kill -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative ɲɨ̃ː
hunter -bʱɒ
def ɓɑ
jaguar -bʱɒ
def pʰɨː
and ŋ̥ʷɑ̃ː
tiger -bʱɒ
def pʰɨː
and kʷiː
lion -bʱɒ
def

“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 Yu 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

Yu forms relative clauses by using a head-internal strategy. The head noun appears inside the clause itself, occupying its regular syntactic position. The entire clause functions as a modifier, and its external syntactic behaviour is identical to that of a noun-modifying phrase.

To illustrate how relative clauses work, let us begin with a simple sentence:

ووڅɒ# ٽ مæ ɻɒ# ڤæ#bʱة۔

[waut͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ ɻɒ̃ væ̃bʱɒ]

wau
pat -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative ɻɒ̃
1excl.SUBJ væ̃
cat -bʱɒ
def

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

ووڅɒ# ٽ مæ ɻɒ# ثوڅɒ# ٽ مæ cɨ#bʱɒ ڤæ#bʱة۔

[waut͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ ɻɒ̃ θuːt͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ cɨ̃bʱɒ væ̃bʱɒ]

wau
pat -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative ɻɒ̃
1excl.SUBJ θuː
catch -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative cɨ̃
mouse -bʱɒ
def væ̃
cat -bʱɒ
def

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

ووڅɒ# ٽ مæ ɻɒ# ثوڅɒ# ٽ مæ ɟاڅɒ# ٽ مæ cɨ#bʱɒ بɑbʱɒ ڤæ#bʱة۔

[waut͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ ɻɒ̃ θuːt͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ ɟɨːt͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ cɨ̃bʱɒ bɑbʱɒ væ̃bʱɒ]

wau
pat -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative ɻɒ̃
1excl.SUBJ θuː
catch -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative ɟɨː
eat -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative cɨ̃
mouse -bʱɒ
def bɑ
cheese -bʱɒ
def væ̃
cat -bʱɒ
def

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

 (25)

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

ووڅɒ# ٽ مæ ɻɒ# ثوڅɒ# ٽ مæ ɟاڅɒ# ٽ مæ cɨ#bʱɒ ڹi#ːڅɒ# ٽ مæ ɻɒ# hkɑ# بɑbʱɒ ڤæ#bʱة۔

[waut͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ ɻɒ̃ θuːt͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ ɟɨːt͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ cɨ̃bʱɒ ɳĩːt͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ ɻɒ̃ hkɑ̃ bɑbʱɒ væ̃bʱɒ]

wau
pat -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative ɻɒ̃
1excl.SUBJ θuː
catch -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative ɟɨː
eat -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative cɨ̃
mouse -bʱɒ
def ɳĩː
buy -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative ɻɒ̃
1excl.SUBJ hkɑ̃
1excl bɑ
cheese -bʱɒ
def væ̃
cat -bʱɒ
def

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Yu 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:

ࣄڅɒ# ٽ مæ خوڅɒ# ٽ مæ دæ#ːࣂɨ# دɒ بæbʱɒ گيbʱɒ cɑ#ːbʱة۔

[qʷɯt͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ xɯːt͡sɒ̃ tʰi mæ dæ̃ːkʷɨ̃ dɒ bæbʱɒ ɡaibʱɒ cɑ̃ːbʱɒ]

qʷɯ
surprise -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative xɯː
give -t͡sɒ̃
not.Q tʰi
PAST mæ
indicative dæ̃ː
apple -kʷɨ̃
not.def dɒ
a bæ
girl -bʱɒ
def ɡai
boy -bʱɒ
def cɑ̃ː
teacher -bʱɒ
def

“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–Yu / Yu–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/3AVJ4

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 Yu. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.90, on 17 May 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3AVJ4

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-3AVJ4,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Yu}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3AVJ4}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.90, on 17 May 2026}
}

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