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A Grammar of Gan

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Gan language (the 203rd 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 Gan.

Typological Profile

It has not just singular and plural, but also dual, as well as a rich system of noun classes, a small but genuine set of click consonants and a relatively uncommon VOS word order.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Gan has 23 consonant phonemes, a size that falls within a broadly average range.

It has a complete absence of affricates, a complete absence of palatal consonants, something which is a rare occurrence indeed, as well as a modest (but clearly contrastive) set of labialised consonants and a small but genuine set of click consonants.

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

labialdentalalveolarpostalveolarlateralvelarlab. velarglottal
stopp b d t k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ
ejective stopkʼ kʷʼ
nasalm n ŋ ŋʷ
fricativef s ʃ h
approximantw ɾ
clickᵏǀ
click, nasalᵑǀ

Vowels

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

It has phonologically distinctive back unrounded vowels.

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

frontcentralback unroundedback rounded
closei ɯ u
mide ɤ o
opena

Stress and Tones

Gan 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

Gan 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

अ /a/अः /a̰/आ /aː/इ /i/
इः /ḭ/ई /iː/उ /u/उः /ṵ/
ऊ /uː/ए /e/एः /ḛ/ऐ /eː/
ओ /o/ओः /o̰/औ /oː/क् /k/
ग् /ɡ/ङ् /ŋ/च् /au/त् /t/
द् /d/न् /n/प् /p/फ् /kʼʷ/
ब् /b/म् /m/र् /ɾ/व् /w/
ष् /ʃ/स् /s/ह् /h/ऽ /ai/
क़ /kʼ/फ़् /f/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

क्त् /ᵏǀ/क्व् /kʷ/ग्व् /ɡʷ/
ङ्त् /ᵑǀ/ङ्व् /ŋʷ/व्इ /ɯ/
व्इः /ɯ̰/व्ई /ɯː/व्ए /ɤ/
व्एः /ɤ̰/व्ऐ /ɤː/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Gan distinguishes singular, dual and plural.

Gender

Gan has the following noun classes:

Class cl.1 – for instance: कक्वःफ् ‘brick’, क्तेब्वेन् ‘faeces’, क्वेफ् ‘wind’, क्वैप् ‘animal’, गन् ‘Gan’, गुप्विङ् ‘embrace’, ङ्तिद् ‘star’, तद् ‘sun’, तेरुङ् ‘snow’, दूस् ‘sky’, द्ऽम् ‘ear’, नःफ़् ‘sound’, नेङ् ‘speech’, पङङ्व् ‘urine’, प्वेक़ ‘nose’, म्विःष् ‘eye’, रिद्वैप् ‘cheese’, वःङ्व्वेर् ‘cloud’, हाफ् ‘tongue’, क़इक् ‘cat’.

Class cl.2 – for instance: कोव् ‘girl’, क्वोस् ‘name’, गफद् ‘farmer’, ङोर् ‘little’, ङ्तिःव् ‘city’, ङ्तोःङ् ‘friend’, तषोङ्व् ‘wild boar’, द्ऽफ़् ‘woman’, नःत् ‘daughter’, नग्विःर् ‘rope’, पदोग् ‘binoculars’, पैम् ‘chair’, पोक़ ‘fight’, मितेप् ‘river’, मोःङुग् ‘neighbour’, वोष् ‘bed’, व्च्ङ्व् ‘mother’, सोःब्वेर् ‘breath’, हिष् ‘wife’, क़इक़च्त् ‘stick’.

Class cl.3 – for instance: कोःष्च्ग् ‘ice’, क्तःव् ‘head’, क्तार् ‘blood’, क्तौग्व् ‘road’, ङ्तोद् ‘hair’, तिःसाब् ‘fat’, दैत् ‘surface’, नोकिद् ‘breast’, पेःम्वेव् ‘neck’, पैग्व् ‘tooth’, फब् ‘leg’, फिफ़् ‘hand’, फेबिन् ‘tail’, बीस् ‘bone’, ब्वेक़इक्व् ‘machine’, बक़विम् ‘fingernail’, मेफ़ुस् ‘louse’, ह्विग्व् ‘skin’, ह्विङ् ‘face’, क़एफ्विफ़् ‘penis’.

Class cl.4 – for instance: ग्विब्विक्व् ‘apple’, ङ्त्विद् ‘knife’, ङ्त्विव् ‘south’, ङ्वःरिष् ‘ash’, त्विगेम् ‘root’, द्विःक्वःस् ‘wheat’, द्ऽद् ‘east’, न्च्फ् ‘tree’, न्वीव् ‘fruit’, प्च्क् ‘north’, बोनूद् ‘seed’, रोष् ‘leaf’, वोङोःस् ‘tiger’, षुद् ‘money’, ष्विःरष् ‘smoke’, सविफ् ‘jaguar’, होन् ‘bird’, ह्विब् ‘fish’, क़अप्वेष् ‘mortar’, फ़्च्क्व् ‘fire’.

Class cl.5 – for instance: कोफ़् ‘boy’, क्तम् ‘sea’, क्वेम् ‘earth’, गीग्व् ‘husband’, ग्वबाग्व् ‘mouse’, ग्वेग् ‘people’, ग्वेष् ‘child’, ङ्तङग् ‘lion’, ङ्तोङ्व्वेब् ‘dust’, पेःपोब् ‘lake’, बेग्व् ‘son’, मिषुफ़् ‘umbrella’, रफ् ‘land’, रिदोःद् ‘mammal’, विक्वोफ् ‘sand’, षग् ‘human being’, ह्विवेक़ ‘slime’, ह्वेष् ‘egg’, क़ऽक़ ‘man’, फ़्च्क़ ‘manner’.

Class cl.6 – for instance: क्त्विःङ्व्वीग् ‘school’, गुग्व् ‘good’, गुम् ‘old’, ग्व्च्ब् ‘short’, ङ्तेर् ‘few’, ङ्विद्वीम् ‘furious’, दुङ्व् ‘some’, द्वैर् ‘language’, नीन् ‘heavy’, पिक़ ‘happy’, फमःक्व् ‘thick’, बेम् ‘idea’, मत् ‘long’, र्वेद् ‘right’, वेस् ‘year’, वैक् ‘book’, षुफ् ‘many’, स्वेफ़म् ‘religion’, हेव् ‘yellow’, क़ऊफ् ‘round’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

म्विक्वक्व्विः फ़्वीङ्वोःपुः नि फ़ोःग्वबाग्विःपुः फोः क़विः द्ऽफ़ोःपुः सफे ङ्त्विदःपुः।

[mɯkʷakʷɯ̰ fɯːŋʷo̰pṵ ni fo̰ɡʷabaːɡʷḭpṵ kʼʷo̰ kʼɯ̰ daifo̰pṵ sakʼʷe ᵑǀɯda̰pṵ]

mɯ
catch -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active fɯːŋʷ
blind -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def ni
three fo̰-
plur ɡʷabaːɡʷ
mouse -ḭ
ACC -pṵ
def kʼʷo̰
yon kʼɯ̰
3.sing.cl.6.POSS daif
woman -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def sakʼʷe
COMIT ᵑǀɯd
knife -a̰
LOC -pṵ
def

“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 क़उः /kʼṵ/ ‘1incl.sing’, ब्वि /bɯ/ ‘1excl.sing’, ब /ba/ ‘2.sing’, केः /kḛ/ ‘3.sing.cl.1’, रु /ɾu/ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, फ़्वेः /fɤ̰/ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, सु /su/ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, फ़ोः /fo̰/ ‘3.sing.cl.5’, क़विः /kʼɯ̰/ ‘3.sing.cl.6’, ह्वे /hɤ/ ‘1incl.dual’, क /ka/ ‘1excl.dual’, क़वेः /kʼɤ̰/ ‘2.dual’, रे /ɾe/ ‘3.dual.cl.1’, फः /kʼʷa̰/ ‘3.dual.cl.2’, र्वि /ɾɯ/ ‘3.dual.cl.3’, सो /so/ ‘3.dual.cl.4’, फ़ेः /fḛ/ ‘3.dual.cl.5’, स /sa/ ‘3.dual.cl.6’, गोः /ɡo̰/ ‘1incl.plur’, बेः /bḛ/ ‘1excl.plur’, ह /ha/ ‘2.plur’, बोः /bo̰/ ‘3.plur.cl.1’, हो /ho/ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, फ्वि /kʼʷɯ/ ‘3.plur.cl.3’, क्वि /kʷi/ ‘3.plur.cl.4’, वेः /wḛ/ ‘3.plur.cl.5’ and फ़ः /fa̰/ ‘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 Gan.

The Noun

The noun in Gan consists of first, an optional prefix expressing number, comprising प्विः- /pɯ̰-/ ‘dual’ and फ़ोः- /fo̰-/ ‘plur’; second, the root; third, an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -ओः /-o̰/ ‘NOM’, -इः /-ḭ/ ‘ACC’, -उः /-ṵ/ ‘DAT’, -वेः /-ɤ̰/ ‘INS’, -विः /-ɯ̰/ ‘VOC’, -एः /-ḛ/ ‘ALL’, -अः /-a̰/ ‘LOC’, -उ /-u/ ‘ABL’ and -वि /-ɯ/ ‘PART’; and finally, fourth, an optional suffix expressing def, comprising -पुः /-pṵ/ ‘def’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -अन् /-an/ ‘little’ and -विर् /-ɯɾ/ ‘big’

The Adjective

In Gan, the adjective has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -विः /-ɯ̰/ ‘cl.1’, -उ /-u/ ‘cl.2’, -वे /-ɤ/ ‘cl.3’, -ए /-e/ ‘cl.4’, -ओ /-o/ ‘cl.5’ and -अ /-a/ ‘cl.6’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

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

Pronouns

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

In Gan, both subject and object pronouns are dropped unless they are stressed. Here is an example where neither of the pronouns are stressed:

द्वेक्व्विः।

[dɤkʷɯ̰]

dɤ
love -kʷɯ̰
active

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:

द्वेक्व्विः र्विः।

[dɤkʷɯ̰ ɾɯ̰]

dɤ
love -kʷɯ̰
active ɾɯ̰
3.sing.cl.5

“He loves her.”

 (3)

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

द्वेक्व्विः रि।

[dɤkʷɯ̰ ɾi]

dɤ
love -kʷɯ̰
active ɾi
3.sing.cl.2

“He loves her.”

 (4)

Proper Nouns

प्वेहक्व्विः तेक्विविःपुः निद्ऽनोःपुः।

[pɤhakʷɯ̰ tekʷiwḭpṵ nidaino̰pṵ]

pɤha
hate -kʷɯ̰
active tekʷiw
Tekiw -ḭ
ACC -pṵ
def nidain
Nidain -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def

“Nidain hates Tekiw.”

 (5)

Possession

कोफ़ोःपुः ग्विब्विक्वोःपुः फ़ोः

[kofo̰pṵ ɡʷibɯkʷo̰pṵ fo̰]

kof
boy -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def ɡʷibɯkʷ
apple -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def fo̰
3.sing.cl.5.POSS

“the boy’s apple”

 (6)
र्विः ग्विब्विक्वोःपुः फ़ोः

[ɾɯ̰ ɡʷibɯkʷo̰pṵ fo̰]

ɾɯ̰
3.sing.cl.5 ɡʷibɯkʷ
apple -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def fo̰
3.sing.cl.5.POSS

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (7)
ग्विब्विक्वोःपुः ब्वि

[ɡʷibɯkʷo̰pṵ bɯ]

ɡʷibɯkʷ
apple -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def bɯ
1excl.sing.POSS

“my apple”

 (8)
म्वेङ्विक्वक्व्विः मोःङुगोःपुः ब बेग्विःपुः रु षफिग्वोःपुः नःतोःपुः फ़ोः।

[mɤŋʷikʷakʷɯ̰ mo̰ŋuɡo̰pṵ ba beɡʷḭpṵ ɾu ʃakʼʷiɡʷo̰pṵ na̰to̰pṵ fo̰]

mɤŋʷi
kiss -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active mo̰ŋuɡ
neighbour -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def ba
2.sing.POSS beɡʷ
son -ḭ
ACC -pṵ
def ɾu
3.sing.cl.2.POSS ʃakʼʷiɡʷ
hunter -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def na̰t
daughter -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def fo̰
3.sing.cl.5.POSS

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

 (9)

Derivation

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

द्वेकिङोः

[dɤkiŋo̰]

dɤkiŋ
lamb -o̰
NOM

“a lamb”

 (10)

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

द्वेकिङनोः

[dɤkiŋano̰]

dɤkiŋ
lamb -an
little -o̰
NOM

“a little lamb”

 (11)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Gan fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: a clitic expressing negation, comprising क /ka/ ‘NEG’ followed by a clitic expressing mode, comprising रु /ɾu/ ‘imperative’, मुः /mṵ/ ‘conditional’ and ङुः /ŋṵ/ ‘optative’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, the root; second, an optional suffix expressing ta, comprising -क्व /-kʷa/ ‘PAST’; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing voice, comprising -क्व्विः /-kʷɯ̰/ ‘active’ and -वोः /-wo̰/ ‘passive’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -क़ओ /-kʼo/ ‘begin’ and -नः /-na̰/ ‘stop’

द्वेक्व्विः।

[dɤkʷɯ̰]

dɤ
love -kʷɯ̰
active

“I love you.”

 (12)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

न्वि क्व्विङ्वोःपुः दैतोःपुः

[nɯ kʷɯŋʷo̰pṵ deːto̰pṵ]

nɯ
in kʷɯŋʷ
table -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def deːt
surface -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def

“on the table”

 (13)
ङ्वी ङिमवोःपुः पैगोःपुः

[ŋʷiː ŋimawo̰pṵ peːɡo̰pṵ]

ŋʷiː
to ŋimaw
box -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def peːɡ
inside -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def

“into the box”

 (14)
सफे ष्विः

[sakʼʷe ʃɯ̰]

sakʼʷe
COMIT ʃɯ̰
1excl.sing

“with me”

 (15)

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.

Gan displays Verb–Object–Subject (VOS) as its primary word order. The verb is followed by the object, with the subject appearing clause-finally. Although relatively uncommon, VOS is well documented cross-linguistically.

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

विक्वक्व्विः षफिग्विःपुः सविफोःपुः।

[wikʷakʷɯ̰ ʃakʼʷiɡʷḭpṵ sawikʼʷo̰pṵ]

wi
kill -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active ʃakʼʷiɡʷ
hunter -ḭ
ACC -pṵ
def sawikʼʷ
jaguar -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (16)
गिक्वक्व्विः षफिग्वोःपुः नःतोःपुः फ़ोः ङोनिःपुः रु ङ्तङगोःपुः।

[ɡikʷakʷɯ̰ ʃakʼʷiɡʷo̰pṵ na̰to̰pṵ fo̰ ŋonḭpṵ ɾu ᵑǀaŋaɡo̰pṵ]

ɡi
eat -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active ʃakʼʷiɡʷ
hunter -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def na̰t
daughter -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def fo̰
3.sing.cl.5.POSS ŋon
dog -ḭ
ACC -pṵ
def ɾu
3.sing.cl.2.POSS ᵑǀaŋaɡ
lion -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def

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

 (17)

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 Gan 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, Gan 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.

बेग्वोःपुः ब ङ्तोःङोःपुः फ़ोः वैकोःपुः रु

[beɡʷo̰pṵ ba ᵑǀo̰ŋo̰pṵ fo̰ weːko̰pṵ ɾu]

beɡʷ
son -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def ba
2.sing.POSS ᵑǀo̰ŋ
friend -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def fo̰
3.sing.cl.5.POSS weːk
book -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def ɾu
3.sing.cl.2.POSS

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (18)

Case Marking

Gan uses nominative–accusative case marking. The subject of an intransitive verb and the subject of a transitive verb are treated alike and take the nominative case, while the object of a transitive verb is marked with the accusative case. This is the familiar pattern from many European languages: the grammar groups together the participants that function as subjects and marks the participant affected by a transitive action separately.

क़अःक्व्विः क़इकोःपुः।

[kʼa̰kʷɯ̰ kʼiko̰pṵ]

kʼa̰
sleep -kʷɯ̰
active kʼik
cat -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (19)
ह्ऽक्व्विः क़इकोःपुः।

[haikʷɯ̰ kʼiko̰pṵ]

hai
run -kʷɯ̰
active kʼik
cat -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def

“The cat is running.”

 (20)
रेरेक्व्विः ग्वबाग्विःपुः क़इकोःपुः।

[ɾeɾekʷɯ̰ ɡʷabaːɡʷḭpṵ kʼiko̰pṵ]

ɾeɾe
chase -kʷɯ̰
active ɡʷabaːɡʷ
mouse -ḭ
ACC -pṵ
def kʼik
cat -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (21)
म्विक्वक्व्विः ग्वबाग्विःपुः क़इकोःपुः।

[mɯkʷakʷɯ̰ ɡʷabaːɡʷḭpṵ kʼiko̰pṵ]

mɯ
catch -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active ɡʷabaːɡʷ
mouse -ḭ
ACC -pṵ
def kʼik
cat -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (22)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

विक्वक्व्विः फ़ोःसविफिःपुः स फ़ोःवोङोःसिःपुः स फ़ोःङ्तङगिःपुः षफिग्वोःपुः।

[wikʷakʷɯ̰ fo̰sawikʼʷḭpṵ sa fo̰woŋo̰sḭpṵ sa fo̰ᵑǀaŋaɡḭpṵ ʃakʼʷiɡʷo̰pṵ]

wi
kill -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active fo̰-
plur sawikʼʷ
jaguar -ḭ
ACC -pṵ
def sa
and fo̰-
plur woŋo̰s
tiger -ḭ
ACC -pṵ
def sa
and fo̰-
plur ᵑǀaŋaɡ
lion -ḭ
ACC -pṵ
def ʃakʼʷiɡʷ
hunter -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def

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

 (23)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Gan 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:

सेक़उक्वक्व्विः क़इकिःपुः।

[sekʼukʷakʷɯ̰ kʼikḭpṵ]

sekʼu
pat -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active kʼik
cat -ḭ
ACC -pṵ
def

“I patted the cat.”

 (24)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

सेक़उक्वक्व्विः क़इकोःपुः, म्च् म्विक्वक्व्विः ग्वबाग्विःपुः।

[sekʼukʷakʷɯ̰ kʼiko̰pṵ, mau mɯkʷakʷɯ̰ ɡʷabaːɡʷḭpṵ]

sekʼu
pat -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active kʼik
cat -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def mau
RELPRON mɯ
catch -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active ɡʷabaːɡʷ
mouse -ḭ
ACC -pṵ
def

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (25)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

सेक़उक्वक्व्विः क़इकोःपुः, म्च् म्विक्वक्व्विः ग्वबाग्वोःपुः, म्च् गिक्वक्व्विः रिद्वैपिःपुः।

[sekʼukʷakʷɯ̰ kʼiko̰pṵ, mau mɯkʷakʷɯ̰ ɡʷabaːɡʷo̰pṵ, mau ɡikʷakʷɯ̰ ɾidɤːpḭpṵ]

sekʼu
pat -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active kʼik
cat -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def mau
RELPRON mɯ
catch -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active ɡʷabaːɡʷ
mouse -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def mau
RELPRON ɡi
eat -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active ɾidɤːp
cheese -ḭ
ACC -pṵ
def

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

 (26)

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

सेक़उक्वक्व्विः क़इकोःपुः, म्च् म्विक्वक्व्विः ग्वबाग्वोःपुः, म्च् गिक्वक्व्विः रिद्वैपोःपुः, म्च् कक्वक्व्विः ष्विः।

[sekʼukʷakʷɯ̰ kʼiko̰pṵ, mau mɯkʷakʷɯ̰ ɡʷabaːɡʷo̰pṵ, mau ɡikʷakʷɯ̰ ɾidɤːpo̰pṵ, mau kakʷakʷɯ̰ ʃɯ̰]

sekʼu
pat -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active kʼik
cat -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def mau
RELPRON mɯ
catch -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active ɡʷabaːɡʷ
mouse -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def mau
RELPRON ɡi
eat -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active ɾidɤːp
cheese -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def mau
RELPRON ka
buy -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active ʃɯ̰
1excl.sing

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

 (27)

Complementation Strategies

Gan 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:

षोरक्वक्व्विः वोबेक़उःपुः ङ्तिक्वक्व्विः ग्विब्विक्विः कोवुःपुः कोफ़ोःपुः रुफ़।

[ʃoɾakʷakʷɯ̰ wobekʼṵpṵ ᵑǀikʷakʷɯ̰ ɡʷibɯkʷḭ kowṵpṵ kofo̰pṵ ɾufa]

ʃoɾa
surprise -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active wobekʼ
teacher -ṵ
DAT -pṵ
def ᵑǀi
give -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active ɡʷibɯkʷ
apple -ḭ
ACC kow
girl -ṵ
DAT -pṵ
def kof
boy -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def ɾufa
COMP

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

 (28)

Quotes

Gan 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:

त्च्क्वक्व्विः द्वेक्व्विः फो ष्विः रुफ़ कोवुःपुः कोफ़ोःपुः।

[taukʷakʷɯ̰ dɤkʷɯ̰ kʼʷo ʃɯ̰ ɾufa kowṵpṵ kofo̰pṵ]

tau
tell -kʷa
PAST -kʷɯ̰
active dɤ
love -kʷɯ̰
active kʼʷo
2.sing ʃɯ̰
1excl.sing ɾufa
COMP kow
girl -ṵ
DAT -pṵ
def kof
boy -o̰
NOM -pṵ
def

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

 (29)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Gan. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 28 May 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3NYJU

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-3NYJU,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Gan}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3NYJU}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 28 May 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Gan / Gan–English) accompany this grammar. The complete work – comprising the grammar, dictionary and texts – may also be downloaded in ODT or DOCX format.

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https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3NYJU

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