The Language Creator
– from linguistic questionnaire to grammar, lexicon and texts.

A Grammar of Hed

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Hed language (the 239th 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 Hed.

Typological Profile

It has not just singular and plural, but also dual, as well as a rich system of noun classes, a complete absence of fricative consonants, the VSO basic order, common globally but unusual in many families and postpositions.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Hed has a moderately large consonant inventory, with 32 phonemes.

It has a complete absence of fricative consonants, a modest (but clearly contrastive) set of labialised consonants, a noticeable presence of pharyngealised phonemes and a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts.

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

labialalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velarglottal
stopp b d t dˤ tˤ ɖ ʈ k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ
nasalm n nˤ ɲ ɳ ŋ ŋʷ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricatives sˤ ʃ ʂ h
approximantw l j
affricatet͡ʃ t͡ɕ
implosiveɓ

Vowels

Hed has 10 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 partially contrastive system of vowel length and front rounded vowels (these are cross-linguistically relatively uncommon, but occur in a number of well-known languages, including French, German, Turkish and Mandarin).

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

front unroundedfront roundedcentralback
closei y u
mide ø ə# o
opena

Stress and Tones

Hed 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

Hed 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 /a/б /b/б̱ /ɓ/в /w/
г /h/д /d/д̇ /ɖ/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/ч /t͡ʃ/ш /ʃ/
ј /j/њ /ɲ/ћ /t͡ɕ/ѳ /ə#/
ґ /ɡ/ң /ə#ː/ү /y/ӈ /ŋ/
ө /ø/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

аа /aː/ай /ai/аў /au/
дъ /dˤ/ее /eː/ии /iː/
кв /kʷ/нъ /nˤ/оо /oː/
съ /sˤ/тъ /tˤ/уу /uː/
ґв /ɡʷ/үү /yː/ӈв /ŋʷ/
өө /øː/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Hed distinguishes singular, dual and plural.

Gender

Hed has the following noun classes:

Class cl.1 – for instance: бодъ ‘wind’, бңк ‘sea’, веег ‘moon’, гед ‘Hed’, дъөтиид̇ ‘stick’, кесъ ‘sky’, лаґв ‘stone’, мас̇еег ‘market’, саґан̇ ‘plain’, съөөӈ ‘star’, т̇уквөш ‘lake’, таўб̱ ‘earth’, төр̇оој ‘cloud’, ћосъаўӈ ‘mountain’, ґаґвеӈв ‘river’, ґвүүд ‘land’.

Class cl.2 – for instance: вотъ ‘night’, гибесъ ‘breast’, д̇иј ‘back’, д̇уґ ‘sun’, дъур̇ ‘time’, көшөр̇ ‘apple’, мөдиис̇ ‘wheat’, паш ‘year’, с̇өөдъ ‘day’, саўш ‘leg’, съабиив ‘knee’, ґваґвөл ‘cheese’.

Class cl.3 – for instance: байб̱ ‘son’, ваб ‘mother’, гекоол ‘school’, д̇ус̇ ‘boy’, лед ‘wife’, р̇ин ‘husband’, съңњ ‘girl’, т̇еесъ ‘child’, шөд ‘father’, јаўт ‘skin’, ћаан̇ ‘mouth’, ћңсъ ‘daughter’.

Class cl.4 – for instance: гаґайр̇ ‘wing’, дъүч ‘heart’, киб̱ ‘tooth’, липиј ‘library’, н̇ачаб ‘liver’, н̇уб̱аўнъ ‘fingernail’, т̇ус̇иш ‘belly’, т̇үдъайн ‘horn’, төдууд̇ ‘root’, ћңч ‘bone’, ћөс̇еб ‘guts’.

Class cl.5 – for instance: гас̇ааг ‘money’, гөчөӈ ‘smoke’, дъуґвек ‘student’, квиґваш ‘slime’, р̇итъиӈ ‘salt’, р̇өн̇аўнъ ‘ash’, съаўњ ‘ear’, сөтъөөс ‘sand’, т̇ид̇ос̇ ‘ice’, чењ ‘blood’, чилатъ ‘dust’, њус̇инъ ‘fat’, ћас ‘tongue’, ґөґаўтъ ‘feather’, ӈвүјуут ‘faeces’.

Class cl.6 – for instance: водъаат̇ ‘flower’, гојүт̇ ‘forest’, луґ ‘leaf’, мич ‘tree’, с̇ин̇өј ‘religion’, сабөл ‘bark’, часъүтъ ‘seed’, шенъѳк ‘grass’, шун̇үүт̇ ‘bank’, ӈвис ‘fruit’.

Class cl.7 – for instance: баб ‘speech’, д̇өћ ‘face’, дъој ‘friend’, кайћ ‘idea’, н̇ић ‘west’, нъүн̇ин̇ ‘embrace’, съикооб̱ ‘neck’, т̇ув ‘manner’, чайв ‘north’, шаан ‘sound’, јакөн̇ ‘neighbour’, ћилаатъ ‘breath’, ћоњ ‘language’, ґуд̇ ‘fight’, ӈед̇ ‘colour’, ӈитииј ‘dialect’.

Class cl.8 – for instance: б̱айсъ ‘human being’, гуд̇аб ‘tail’, квап ‘water’, квед ‘woman’, муут̇ ‘hair’, н̇отъөөч ‘fog’, ноп ‘fire’, сасъиисъ ‘urine’, сесөөг ‘teacher’, шисод ‘vagina’, шуӈвоот̇ ‘medicine’, ћавоон ‘snow’, ћөј ‘people’, ґвеб̱ ‘rain’.

Class cl.9 – for instance: б̱уґиит ‘tower’, д̇об̱ ‘chair’, д̇уув ‘knife’, дъањииб ‘machine’, дъөквов ‘rope’, квайб̱ ‘eye’, ливə̃ːг ‘book’, лудъатъ ‘box’, миквѳн ‘umbrella’, нај ‘head’, нъиґвѳсъ ‘bottle’, нъүћ ‘bed’, нъөсъ ‘table’, р̇ар̇өр̇ ‘net’, р̇енеесъ ‘mortar’, с̇атоов ‘binoculars’, тъаўш ‘south’, тъѳк ‘hand’, ћииш ‘nose’, ӈвинъ ‘house’.

Class cl.10 – for instance: д̇аўј ‘egg’, д̇игуп ‘lion’, дон ‘meat’, дүн̇ ‘bird’, ливеек ‘wild boar’, маўв ‘dog’, нъидич ‘jaguar’, пивөкв ‘anus’, пидъај ‘lamb’, пучаўн ‘tiger’, с̇ићөсъ ‘bosom’, сун̇иик ‘snake’, съѳњ ‘fish’, төґаач ‘restaurant’, чашөөв ‘mammal’, шам ‘animal’, шоб̱ид̇ ‘penis’, њаг ‘cat’.

Class cl.11 – for instance: баћеб ‘farmer’, д̇үүт ‘name’, квайґ ‘city’, мүб ‘surface’, с̇иир̇ ‘east’, т̇айд̇ ‘inside’, јоонъ ‘top’, ћисис̇ ‘court’.

Class cl.12 – for instance: бикис̇ ‘louse’, д̇ибуч ‘hunter’, мечаал ‘God’, с̇аӈвић ‘mouse’, съиив ‘foot’, шиб̱иит̇ ‘worm’, ћѳк ‘man’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Н̇оо ју кведевинъө д̇уувулинъө квир̇аў шииба с̇аӈвићулөкинъө ла, бее ґоо.

[ɳoː ju kʷedewinˤø ɖuːwulinˤø kʷiɽau ʃiːba ʂaŋʷit͡ɕuløkinˤø la, beː ɡoː]

ɳoː
catch ju
PAST kʷed
woman -ew
ERG -inˤø
no.owner.POSS ɖuːw
knife -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS kʷiɽau
COMIT ʃiː
yon -ba
cl.12 ʂaŋʷit͡ɕ
mouse -ul
NOM -øk
plur -inˤø
no.owner.POSS la,
three beː
RELPRON ɡoː
blind

“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 Hed consists of first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -ул /-ul/ ‘NOM’, -ев /-ew/ ‘ERG’, -унъ /-unˤ/ ‘ACC’, -уп /-up/ ‘DAT’, -ес /-es/ ‘INS’, -үб /-yb/ ‘VOC’, -ус /-us/ ‘ALL’, -үд /-yd/ ‘LOC’, -ед̇ /-eɖ/ ‘ABL’ and -атъ /-atˤ/ ‘PART’; third, an optional suffix expressing number, comprising -уд /-ud/ ‘dual’ and -өк /-øk/ ‘plur’; and finally, fourth, an obligatory suffix expressing possessor, comprising -олү /-oly/ ‘1incl.sing’, -ир̇а /-iɽa/ ‘1excl.sing’, -етө /-etø/ ‘2.sing’, -атү /-aty/ ‘3.sing.cl.1’, -упе /-upe/ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, -өдү /-ødy/ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, -ита /-ita/ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, -оњи /-oɲi/ ‘3.sing.cl.5’, -отъе /-otˤe/ ‘3.sing.cl.6’, -өша /-øʃa/ ‘3.sing.cl.7’, -аґва /-aɡʷa/ ‘3.sing.cl.8’, -иґво /-iɡʷo/ ‘3.sing.cl.9’, -ад̇ө /-aɖø/ ‘3.sing.cl.10’, -үґва /-yɡʷa/ ‘3.sing.cl.11’, -ес̇ө /-eʂø/ ‘3.sing.cl.12’, -үсе /-yse/ ‘1incl.dual’, -од̇и /-oɖi/ ‘1excl.dual’, -ињу /-iɲu/ ‘2.dual’, -өни /-øni/ ‘3.dual.cl.1’, -ичо /-it͡ʃo/ ‘3.dual.cl.2’, -иґе /-iɡe/ ‘3.dual.cl.3’, -иґа /-iɡa/ ‘3.dual.cl.4’, -үн̇ө /-yɳø/ ‘3.dual.cl.5’, -аћа /-at͡ɕa/ ‘3.dual.cl.6’, -ешу /-eʃu/ ‘3.dual.cl.7’, -оду /-odu/ ‘3.dual.cl.8’, -өћу /-øt͡ɕu/ ‘3.dual.cl.9’, -адъе /-adˤe/ ‘3.dual.cl.10’, -емо /-emo/ ‘3.dual.cl.11’, -үни /-yni/ ‘3.dual.cl.12’, -енъү /-enˤy/ ‘1incl.plur’, -адү /-ady/ ‘1excl.plur’, -өбу /-øbu/ ‘2.plur’, -үтъо /-ytˤo/ ‘3.plur.cl.1’, -абу /-abu/ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, -ир̇и /-iɽi/ ‘3.plur.cl.3’, -аґи /-aɡi/ ‘3.plur.cl.4’, -ат̇ү /-aʈy/ ‘3.plur.cl.5’, -ики /-iki/ ‘3.plur.cl.6’, -еб̱а /-eɓa/ ‘3.plur.cl.7’, -усү /-usy/ ‘3.plur.cl.8’, -ишо /-iʃo/ ‘3.plur.cl.9’, -аги /-ahi/ ‘3.plur.cl.10’, -она /-ona/ ‘3.plur.cl.11’, -усъа /-usˤa/ ‘3.plur.cl.12’ and -инъө /-inˤø/ ‘no.owner’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -ум /-um/ ‘little’ and -иґ /-iɡ/ ‘big’

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Hed, the determiner has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -б̱ү /-ɓy/ ‘cl.1’, -ћо /-t͡ɕo/ ‘cl.2’, -ја /-ja/ ‘cl.3’, -нъө /-nˤø/ ‘cl.4’, -си /-si/ ‘cl.5’, -ке /-ke/ ‘cl.6’, -сө /-sø/ ‘cl.7’, -тъү /-tˤy/ ‘cl.8’, -по /-po/ ‘cl.9’, -шү /-ʃy/ ‘cl.10’, -р̇е /-ɽe/ ‘cl.11’ and -ба /-ba/ ‘cl.12’.

Pronouns

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

Hed always includes the personal pronouns, even if they are not stressed. This is similar to English, where the only way to distinguish "he loves her" from "he loves her" and "he loves her" is the stress. So the following corresponds exactly to English in this regard:

Саа ло ло.

[saː lo lo]

saː
love lo
3.sing.cl.3 lo
3.sing.cl.3

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

Proper Nouns

Чуквү Р̇еловулинъө Ћињеґвунъинъө.

[t͡ʃukʷy ɽelowulinˤø t͡ɕiɲeɡʷunˤinˤø]

t͡ʃukʷy
hate ɽelow
Relow -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS t͡ɕiɲeɡʷ
Chinyeg -unˤ
ACC -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

“Relow hates Chinyeg.”

 (3)

Possession

көшөр̇улөдү д̇ус̇улинъө

[køʃøɽulødy ɖuʂulinˤø]

køʃøɽ
apple -ul
NOM -ødy
3.sing.cl.3.POSS ɖuʂ
boy -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

“the boy’s apple”

 (4)
көшөр̇улөдү ло

[køʃøɽulødy lo]

køʃøɽ
apple -ul
NOM -ødy
3.sing.cl.3.POSS lo
3.sing.cl.3

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (5)
көшөр̇улир̇а

[køʃøɽuliɽa]

køʃøɽ
apple -ul
NOM -iɽa
1excl.sing.POSS

“my apple”

 (6)
Б̱есу ју ћңсъевес̇ө д̇ибучулинъө байб̱улөша јакөн̇улетө.

[ɓesu ju t͡ɕə̃ːsˤeweʂø ɖibut͡ʃulinˤø baiɓuløʃa jakøɳuletø]

ɓesu
kiss ju
PAST t͡ɕə̃ːsˤ
daughter -ew
ERG -eʂø
3.sing.cl.12.POSS ɖibut͡ʃ
hunter -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS baiɓ
son -ul
NOM -øʃa
3.sing.cl.7.POSS jakøɳ
neighbour -ul
NOM -etø
2.sing.POSS

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

 (7)

Derivation

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

пидъајулинъө

[pidˤajulinˤø]

pidˤaj
lamb -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

“a lamb”

 (8)

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

пидъајумулинъө

[pidˤajumulinˤø]

pidˤaj
lamb -um
little -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

“a little lamb”

 (9)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Hed fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing comp, comprising кво /kʷo/ ‘COMP’; second, a clitic expressing question, comprising дъү /dˤy/ ‘Q’; third, a clitic expressing ta, comprising ју /ju/ ‘PAST’; fourth, a clitic expressing mode, comprising пи /pi/ ‘imperative’, пү /py/ ‘conditional’ and мо /mo/ ‘optative’; and finally, fifth, a clitic expressing voice, comprising че /t͡ʃe/ ‘passive’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an optional suffix expressing negation, comprising -јү /-jy/ ‘NEG’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -с̇и /-ʂi/ ‘begin’ and -ґвө /-ɡʷø/ ‘stop’

Саа ґее нъө.

[saː ɡeː nˤø]

saː
love ɡeː
1excl.sing nˤø
2.sing

“I love you.”

 (10)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

нъөсъулинъө тъе

[nˤøsˤulinˤø tˤe]

nˤøsˤ
table -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS tˤe
in_surface

“on the table”

 (11)
лудъатъулинъө т̇ү

[ludˤatˤulinˤø ʈy]

ludˤatˤ
box -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS ʈy
to_inside

“into the box”

 (12)
ґее квир̇аў

[ɡeː kʷiɽau]

ɡeː
1excl.sing kʷiɽau
COMIT

“with me”

 (13)

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 Hed 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 Hed.

Тъии ју нъидичевинъө д̇ибучулинъө.

[tˤiː ju nˤidit͡ʃewinˤø ɖibut͡ʃulinˤø]

tˤiː
kill ju
PAST nˤidit͡ʃ
jaguar -ew
ERG -inˤø
no.owner.POSS ɖibut͡ʃ
hunter -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (14)
Дъү ју д̇игупевинъө маўвулөдү ћңсъулес̇ө д̇ибучулинъө.

[dˤy ju ɖihupewinˤø mauwulødy t͡ɕə̃ːsˤuleʂø ɖibut͡ʃulinˤø]

dˤy
eat ju
PAST ɖihup
lion -ew
ERG -inˤø
no.owner.POSS mauw
dog -ul
NOM -ødy
3.sing.cl.3.POSS t͡ɕə̃ːsˤ
daughter -ul
NOM -eʂø
3.sing.cl.12.POSS ɖibut͡ʃ
hunter -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

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

 (15)

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 Hed 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, Hed 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.

ливə̃ːгулөша дъојулөдү байб̱улетө

[liwə̃ːhuløʃa dˤojulødy baiɓuletø]

liwə̃ːh
book -ul
NOM -øʃa
3.sing.cl.7.POSS dˤoj
friend -ul
NOM -ødy
3.sing.cl.3.POSS baiɓ
son -ul
NOM -etø
2.sing.POSS

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (16)

Case Marking

Hed uses split case marking. In the present tense, the grammar follows a nominative–accusative pattern, where intransitive and transitive subjects are treated alike and objects are marked with the accusative. In the past tense, however, it follows an ergative–absolutive pattern, here called ergative–nominative, where intransitive subjects and transitive objects are treated alike and transitive subjects are marked with the ergative. This makes sense because present-tense clauses often describe events as ongoing, habitual or controlled by an active participant, so the grammar treats the subject as the central argument. Past-tense clauses, by contrast, often present an event as completed, making the affected participant especially salient. The ergative marking then singles out the transitive agent as the additional participant responsible for bringing about that result.

Нъа њагулинъө.

[nˤa ɲahulinˤø]

nˤa
sleep ɲah
cat -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (17)
Тъөө њагулинъө.

[tˤøː ɲahulinˤø]

tˤøː
run ɲah
cat -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

“The cat is running.”

 (18)
Танъе њагулинъө с̇аӈвићунъинъө.

[tanˤe ɲahulinˤø ʂaŋʷit͡ɕunˤinˤø]

tanˤe
chase ɲah
cat -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS ʂaŋʷit͡ɕ
mouse -unˤ
ACC -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (19)
Н̇оо ју њагевинъө с̇аӈвићулинъө.

[ɳoː ju ɲahewinˤø ʂaŋʷit͡ɕulinˤø]

ɳoː
catch ju
PAST ɲah
cat -ew
ERG -inˤø
no.owner.POSS ʂaŋʷit͡ɕ
mouse -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (20)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Тъии ју д̇ибучевинъө нъидичулөкинъө си пучаўнулөкинъө си д̇игупулөкинъө.

[tˤiː ju ɖibut͡ʃewinˤø nˤidit͡ʃuløkinˤø si put͡ʃaunuløkinˤø si ɖihupuløkinˤø]

tˤiː
kill ju
PAST ɖibut͡ʃ
hunter -ew
ERG -inˤø
no.owner.POSS nˤidit͡ʃ
jaguar -ul
NOM -øk
plur -inˤø
no.owner.POSS si
and put͡ʃaun
tiger -ul
NOM -øk
plur -inˤø
no.owner.POSS si
and ɖihup
lion -ul
NOM -øk
plur -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

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

 (21)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Hed 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:

Ґваћѳ ју ґее њагулинъө.

[ɡʷat͡ɕə̃ ju ɡeː ɲahulinˤø]

ɡʷat͡ɕə̃
pat ju
PAST ɡeː
1excl.sing ɲah
cat -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

“I patted the cat.”

 (22)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Ґваћѳ ју ґее њагулинъө, бее н̇оо ју с̇аӈвићулинъө.

[ɡʷat͡ɕə̃ ju ɡeː ɲahulinˤø, beː ɳoː ju ʂaŋʷit͡ɕulinˤø]

ɡʷat͡ɕə̃
pat ju
PAST ɡeː
1excl.sing ɲah
cat -ul
NOM -inˤø,
no.owner.POSS beː
RELPRON ɳoː
catch ju
PAST ʂaŋʷit͡ɕ
mouse -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (23)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Ґваћѳ ју ґее њагулинъө, бее н̇оо ју с̇аӈвићулинъө, бее дъү ју ґваґвөлулинъө.

[ɡʷat͡ɕə̃ ju ɡeː ɲahulinˤø, beː ɳoː ju ʂaŋʷit͡ɕulinˤø, beː dˤy ju ɡʷaɡʷølulinˤø]

ɡʷat͡ɕə̃
pat ju
PAST ɡeː
1excl.sing ɲah
cat -ul
NOM -inˤø,
no.owner.POSS beː
RELPRON ɳoː
catch ju
PAST ʂaŋʷit͡ɕ
mouse -ul
NOM -inˤø,
no.owner.POSS beː
RELPRON dˤy
eat ju
PAST ɡʷaɡʷøl
cheese -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

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

 (24)

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

Ґваћѳ ју ґее њагулинъө, бее н̇оо ју с̇аӈвићулинъө, бее дъү ју ґваґвөлулинъө, бее р̇оо ју ґее.

[ɡʷat͡ɕə̃ ju ɡeː ɲahulinˤø, beː ɳoː ju ʂaŋʷit͡ɕulinˤø, beː dˤy ju ɡʷaɡʷølulinˤø, beː ɽoː ju ɡeː]

ɡʷat͡ɕə̃
pat ju
PAST ɡeː
1excl.sing ɲah
cat -ul
NOM -inˤø,
no.owner.POSS beː
RELPRON ɳoː
catch ju
PAST ʂaŋʷit͡ɕ
mouse -ul
NOM -inˤø,
no.owner.POSS beː
RELPRON dˤy
eat ju
PAST ɡʷaɡʷøl
cheese -ul
NOM -inˤø,
no.owner.POSS beː
RELPRON ɽoː
buy ju
PAST ɡeː
1excl.sing

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

 (25)

Complementation Strategies

Hed 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:

Дон̇о ју кво ва ју д̇ус̇евинъө көшөр̇улинъө съңњупинъө сесөөгупинъө.

[doɳo ju kʷo wa ju ɖuʂewinˤø køʃøɽulinˤø sˤə̃ːɲupinˤø sesøːhupinˤø]

doɳo
surprise ju
PAST kʷo
COMP wa
give ju
PAST ɖuʂ
boy -ew
ERG -inˤø
no.owner.POSS køʃøɽ
apple -ul
NOM -inˤø
no.owner.POSS sˤə̃ːɲ
girl -up
DAT -inˤø
no.owner.POSS sesøːh
teacher -up
DAT -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

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

 (26)

Quotes

Hed employs a quotative particle to mark direct and indirect speech. The quotative follows the reported phrase and identifies the preceding expression as quoted or reported. The same construction is also used to express reported thoughts.

Here is an example of how quotations are expressed:

Ваў ју д̇ус̇евинъө кво саа ґее нъө съңњупинъө.

[wau ju ɖuʂewinˤø kʷo saː ɡeː nˤø sˤə̃ːɲupinˤø]

wau
tell ju
PAST ɖuʂ
boy -ew
ERG -inˤø
no.owner.POSS kʷo
COMP saː
love ɡeː
1excl.sing nˤø
2.sing sˤə̃ːɲ
girl -up
DAT -inˤø
no.owner.POSS

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

 (27)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Hed. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 6 June 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3W75N

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-3W75N,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Hed}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3W75N}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 6 June 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Hed / Hed–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/3W75N

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.

To revisit the questionnaire settings used to generate this language, .

Language creation took 0.02 seconds; writing the grammar 0.05 seconds.