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A Grammar of Yosh

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Yosh language (the 1510th 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 Yosh.

Typological Profile

It has a rich system of noun classes.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Yosh has a moderately large consonant inventory, with 29 phonemes.

It has a noticeable presence of pharyngealised phonemes, a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts and a markedly rich set of labial consonants.

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

labialalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalretroflexvelarglottal
stopp b d t dˤ tˤ ɖ ʈ k ɡ
nasalm n nˤ ɲ ɳ ŋ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef s sˤ ʃ ʂ h
approximantw ɾ j
affricatet͡ʃ t͡ɕ

Vowels

Yosh has 12 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 has a completely boring and uninteresting vowel system.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Yosh 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 /u/, /e/ becomes /o/.

Writing System

Introduction

Yosh 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/a’ /a̰/b /b/d /d/
ḍ /dˤ/e /e/e’ /ḛ/f /f/
g /ɡ/h /h/i /i/i’ /ḭ/
j /j/k /k/m /m/n /n/
ṇ /nˤ/o /o/o’ /o̰/p /p/
r /ɾ/s /s/ṣ /sˤ/t /t/
ṭ /tˤ/u /u/u’ /ṵ/w /w/
ñ /ɲ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ai /ai/au /au/ch /t͡ʃ/
ng /ŋ/rd /ɖ/rn /ɳ/
rr /ɽ/rs /ʂ/rt /ʈ/
sh /ʃ/ty /t͡ɕ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Yosh does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Yosh has the following noun classes:

Class cl.1 – for instance: ḍiṣab ‘dialect’, fuṣ ‘sound’, kop ‘name’, miṣ ‘language’, parseṇ ‘embrace’, peh ‘idea’, rdigij ‘breath’, rsaṇ ‘fight’, rsis ‘speech’, rso’r ‘colour’, ñauñ ‘manner’.

Class cl.2 – for instance: daḍan ‘mouse’, ḍaub ‘bird’, go’ṭ ‘cat’, hawef ‘wild boar’, hew ‘animal’, rdiḍars ‘jaguar’, reṭ ‘fish’, rtaka’j ‘tiger’, saṭart ‘mammal’, saum ‘dog’, ṣahuṇ ‘lion’, ṣiwaus ‘louse’, tiñaity ‘snake’, tyakak ‘worm’, wi’juj ‘lamb’.

Class cl.3 – for instance: diforr ‘hunter’, gaung ‘tree’, gidosh ‘lake’, jo’sh ‘Yosh’, kim ‘sea’, makity ‘stick’, memañ ‘river’, naiñ ‘fire’, ṇim ‘wind’, rashih ‘farmer’, rsiḍiḍ ‘teacher’, rtikars ‘snow’, se’m ‘rain’, ṣerirr ‘faeces’, tasting ‘plain’, ṭers ‘earth’, ṭi’ṣ ‘land’, wag ‘stone’, watyus ‘forest’, ñeñuñ ‘fog’.

Class cl.4 – for instance: bun ‘night’, chaṣ ‘sun’, cha’worr ‘wheat’, fasan ‘apple’, geṣ ‘time’, ṇird ‘year’, tyaty ‘day’, tyi’raiṣ ‘breast’, wirsom ‘cheese’.

Class cl.5 – for instance: chaweṇ ‘religion’, ḍeṣ ‘fruit’, harnaiṭ ‘medicine’, keḍeh ‘school’, rawiṣ ‘court’, rinek ‘market’, rsijosh ‘student’, samin ‘library’, ṣik ‘meat’, tiṣeb ‘bank’, ṭawoṇ ‘restaurant’, ṭirr ‘egg’, ṭirrech ‘grass’.

Class cl.6 – for instance: fub ‘sky’, har ‘heart’, jado’f ‘guts’, kanug ‘liver’, kaun ‘star’, raḍuk ‘cloud’, ṣaṇag ‘root’, ṣi’chirs ‘belly’, ṭety ‘moon’.

Class cl.7 – for instance: bauw ‘son’, chety ‘daughter’, daiw ‘woman’, ḍin ‘boy’, haut ‘husband’, ha’ḍeg ‘neighbour’, hop ‘mother’, mis ‘people’, nirdop ‘God’, paik ‘father’, paṇ ‘girl’, rtauṇ ‘human being’, sheh ‘child’, tuch ‘friend’, ṭib ‘man’, ñus ‘wife’.

Class cl.8 – for instance: ḍeḍih ‘money’, gango’rn ‘bottle’, jañug ‘mortar’, na’kaij ‘salt’, ngañaty ‘sand’, ṇenoh ‘smoke’, rakir ‘box’, rsirtirr ‘dust’, ṣernoty ‘slime’, tishuty ‘ash’, ṭanash ‘ice’.

Class cl.9 – for instance: bashart ‘wing’, gartap ‘horn’, rrersairs ‘bark’, rsapaṭ ‘feather’, tug ‘water’, tyigarn ‘urine’, ñij ‘tongue’.

Class cl.10 – for instance: baing ‘back’, fapaim ‘anus’, gist ‘skin’, harsim ‘machine’, kisurn ‘vagina’, kord ‘head’, kors ‘leg’, miw ‘eye’, mi’sh ‘foot’, naḍod ‘penis’, rdinam ‘bosom’, rreṣaiṇ ‘binoculars’, rsi’fip ‘tail’, rtib ‘tooth’, rtum ‘blood’, shoḍ ‘nose’, ṣib ‘mouth’, ṣin ‘knife’, tadip ‘flower’, wo’n ‘face’.

Class cl.11 – for instance: baṭash ‘brick’, ḍigeh ‘book’, koh ‘road’, rsa’r ‘bed’, rtars ‘table’, si’tyuk ‘tower’, ṭid ‘chair’, ñaj ‘house’.

Class cl.12 – for instance: geḍ ‘top’, jeṣiñ ‘seed’, na’h ‘south’, ngaj ‘north’, rsuṇ ‘city’, rto’rt ‘west’, rurd ‘inside’, sich ‘east’, ṣi’rd ‘surface’, ñad ‘leaf’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Chiṇ daiwi’j rraṣum chig ṣini’j ren rtaj ṣatyas daḍanim pod.

[t͡ʃinˤ daiwḭj ɽasˤum t͡ʃiɡ sˤinḭj ɾen ʈaj sˤat͡ɕas dadˤanim pod]

t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 daiw
woman -ḭj
sing ɽasˤum
COMIT t͡ʃi
the -ɡ
cl.10 sˤin
knife -ḭj
sing ɾe
catch -n
PAST ʈa
yon -j
cl.2 sˤat͡ɕ
blind -as
NOM dadˤan
mouse -im
plur pod
three

“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 nej /nej/ ‘1incl.sing’, ṭash /tˤaʃ/ ‘1excl.sing’, ṭaḍ /tˤadˤ/ ‘2.sing’, ḍiw /dˤiw/ ‘3.sing.cl.1’, shib /ʃib/ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, ṣarr /sˤaɽ/ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, baṣ /basˤ/ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, maṇ /manˤ/ ‘3.sing.cl.5’, mirt /miʈ/ ‘3.sing.cl.6’, jach /jat͡ʃ/ ‘3.sing.cl.7’, rnirr /ɳiɽ/ ‘3.sing.cl.8’, ṇa’d /nˤa̰d/ ‘3.sing.cl.9’, gars /ɡaʂ/ ‘3.sing.cl.10’, riñ /ɾiɲ/ ‘3.sing.cl.11’, mim /mim/ ‘3.sing.cl.12’, hang /haŋ/ ‘1incl.plur’, ngers /ŋeʂ/ ‘1excl.plur’, mi /mi/ ‘2.plur’, ṣi’sh /sˤḭʃ/ ‘3.plur.cl.1’, ḍash /dˤaʃ/ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, fa’k /fa̰k/ ‘3.plur.cl.3’, ngar /ŋaɾ/ ‘3.plur.cl.4’, di’rn /dḭɳ/ ‘3.plur.cl.5’, si /si/ ‘3.plur.cl.6’, heñ /heɲ/ ‘3.plur.cl.7’, siñ /siɲ/ ‘3.plur.cl.8’, fing /fiŋ/ ‘3.plur.cl.9’, tiṣ /tisˤ/ ‘3.plur.cl.10’, rdit /ɖit/ ‘3.plur.cl.11’ and ṭin /tˤin/ ‘3.plur.cl.12’.

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 Yosh.

The Noun

The noun in Yosh consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -i’j /-ḭj/ ‘sing’ and -im /-im/ ‘plur’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -aty /-at͡ɕ/ ‘little’ and -añ /-aɲ/ ‘big’

The Adjective

In Yosh, the adjective has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -as /-as/ ‘NOM’, -e’ty /-ḛt͡ɕ/ ‘GEN’, -iw /-iw/ ‘DAT’, -i’ḍ /-ḭdˤ/ ‘INS’, -e’rr /-ḛɽ/ ‘VOC’, -iḍ /-idˤ/ ‘ALL’, -a’ṣ /-a̰sˤ/ ‘LOC’, -en /-en/ ‘ABL’ and -iṣ /-isˤ/ ‘PART’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Yosh, the determiner has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -f /-f/ ‘cl.1’, -j /-j/ ‘cl.2’, -m /-m/ ‘cl.3’, -w /-w/ ‘cl.4’, -r /-ɾ/ ‘cl.5’, -rt /-ʈ/ ‘cl.6’, -ṇ /-nˤ/ ‘cl.7’, -b /-b/ ‘cl.8’, -k /-k/ ‘cl.9’, -g /-ɡ/ ‘cl.10’, -p /-p/ ‘cl.11’ and -d /-d/ ‘cl.12’.

Pronouns

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

In Yosh, subject pronouns (but not object pronouns ones) are dropped unless they are stressed. Here is an example where neither of the pronouns are stressed:

Ḍir ṇoṇ.

[dˤiɾ nˤonˤ]

dˤi
love -ɾ
PRES nˤonˤ
3.sing.cl.7

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

But here, the word corresponding to he (i.e., the subject) is stressed:

Ṇoṇ ḍir ṇoṇ.

[nˤonˤ dˤiɾ nˤonˤ]

nˤonˤ
3.sing.cl.7 dˤi
love -ɾ
PRES nˤonˤ
3.sing.cl.7

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

Chiṇ Gechangi’j darnar chiṇ Rneñapi’j.

[t͡ʃinˤ ɡet͡ʃaŋḭj daɳaɾ t͡ʃinˤ ɳeɲapḭj]

t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 ɡet͡ʃaŋ
Gechang -ḭj
sing daɳa
hate -ɾ
PRES t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 ɳeɲap
Nenyap -ḭj
sing

“Gechang hates Nenyap.”

 (4)

Possession

chiṇ ḍini’j chiw fasani’j jach

[t͡ʃinˤ dˤinḭj t͡ʃiw fasanḭj jat͡ʃ]

t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 dˤin
boy -ḭj
sing t͡ʃi
the -w
cl.4 fasan
apple -ḭj
sing jat͡ʃ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
ṇoṇ chiw fasani’j jach

[nˤonˤ t͡ʃiw fasanḭj jat͡ʃ]

nˤonˤ
3.sing.cl.7 t͡ʃi
the -w
cl.4 fasan
apple -ḭj
sing jat͡ʃ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
chiw fasani’j ṭash

[t͡ʃiw fasanḭj tˤaʃ]

t͡ʃi
the -w
cl.4 fasan
apple -ḭj
sing tˤaʃ
1excl.sing.POSS

“my apple”

 (7)
Chim duforru’j chiṇ chetyi’j ṣarr ḍa’fa’n chiṇ ha’ḍegi’j ṭaḍ chiṇ bauwu’j jach.

[t͡ʃim dufoɽṵj t͡ʃinˤ t͡ʃet͡ɕḭj sˤaɽ dˤa̰fa̰n t͡ʃinˤ ha̰dˤeɡḭj tˤadˤ t͡ʃinˤ bauwṵj jat͡ʃ]

t͡ʃi
the -m
cl.3 difoɽ
hunter -ḭj
sing t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 t͡ʃet͡ɕ
daughter -ḭj
sing sˤaɽ
3.sing.cl.3.POSS dˤa̰fa̰
kiss -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 ha̰dˤeɡ
neighbour -ḭj
sing tˤadˤ
2.sing.POSS t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 bauw
son -ḭj
sing jat͡ʃ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS

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

 (8)

Derivation

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

wu’juju’j

[wṵjujṵj]

wḭjuj
lamb -ḭj
sing

“a lamb”

 (9)

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

wu’jujatyi’j

[wṵjujat͡ɕḭj]

wḭjuj
lamb -at͡ɕ
little -ḭj
sing

“a little lamb”

 (10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Yosh are enclitics (placed finally), and there are three types: first, a clitic expressing mode, comprising rsij /ʂij/ ‘imperative’, werd /weɖ/ ‘conditional’ and chañ /t͡ʃaɲ/ ‘optative’; second, a clitic expressing voice, comprising kerr /keɽ/ ‘passive’; and finally, third, a clitic expressing negation, comprising rra’p /ɽa̰p/ ‘NEG’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing ta, comprising -r /-ɾ/ ‘PRES’ and -n /-n/ ‘PAST’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -ṭi /-tˤi/ ‘begin’ and -rna /-ɳa/ ‘stop’

Ḍir garr.

[dˤiɾ ɡaɽ]

dˤi
love -ɾ
PRES ɡaɽ
2.sing

“I love you.”

 (11)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

rdat chip rtarsi’j

[ɖat t͡ʃip ʈaʂḭj]

ɖat
in_surface t͡ʃi
the -p
cl.11 ʈaʂ
table -ḭj
sing

“on the table”

 (12)
rtiñ chib rakiri’j

[ʈiɲ t͡ʃib ɾakiɾḭj]

ʈiɲ
to_inside t͡ʃi
the -b
cl.8 ɾakiɾ
box -ḭj
sing

“into the box”

 (13)
rraṣum fa’rn

[ɽasˤum fa̰ɳ]

ɽasˤum
COMIT fa̰ɳ
1excl.sing

“with me”

 (14)

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.

Yosh 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 Yosh.

Chij rdiḍarsi’j kon chim duforru’j.

[t͡ʃij ɖidˤaʂḭj kon t͡ʃim dufoɽṵj]

t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 ɖidˤaʂ
jaguar -ḭj
sing ko
kill -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -m
cl.3 difoɽ
hunter -ḭj
sing

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (15)
Chij ṣahuṇu’j rton chim duforru’j chiṇ chetyi’j ṣarr chij saumu’j jach.

[t͡ʃij sˤahunˤṵj ʈon t͡ʃim dufoɽṵj t͡ʃinˤ t͡ʃet͡ɕḭj sˤaɽ t͡ʃij saumṵj jat͡ʃ]

t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 sˤahunˤ
lion -ḭj
sing ʈo
eat -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -m
cl.3 difoɽ
hunter -ḭj
sing t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 t͡ʃet͡ɕ
daughter -ḭj
sing sˤaɽ
3.sing.cl.3.POSS t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 saum
dog -ḭj
sing jat͡ʃ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS

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

 (16)

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 Yosh 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, Yosh 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.

chiṇ bauwu’j ṭaḍ chiṇ tuchu’j jach chip ḍigehi’j jach

[t͡ʃinˤ bauwṵj tˤadˤ t͡ʃinˤ tut͡ʃṵj jat͡ʃ t͡ʃip dˤiɡehḭj jat͡ʃ]

t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 bauw
son -ḭj
sing tˤadˤ
2.sing.POSS t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 tut͡ʃ
friend -ḭj
sing jat͡ʃ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS t͡ʃi
the -p
cl.11 dˤiɡeh
book -ḭj
sing jat͡ʃ
3.sing.cl.7.POSS

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (17)

Case Marking

Yosh does not use case marking to distinguish the core participants of the clause. There is therefore no regular nominative, accusative, ergative, active or stative marking on subjects and objects. Instead, the roles of the participants are identified by other means, cf. the examples below.

Chij go’ṭu’j kar.

[t͡ʃij ɡo̰tˤṵj kaɾ]

t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 ɡo̰tˤ
cat -ḭj
sing ka
sleep -ɾ
PRES

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (18)
Chij go’ṭu’j shir.

[t͡ʃij ɡo̰tˤṵj ʃiɾ]

t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 ɡo̰tˤ
cat -ḭj
sing ʃi
run -ɾ
PRES

“The cat is running.”

 (19)
Chij go’ṭu’j faṭaur chij daḍani’j.

[t͡ʃij ɡo̰tˤṵj fatˤauɾ t͡ʃij dadˤanḭj]

t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 ɡo̰tˤ
cat -ḭj
sing fatˤau
chase -ɾ
PRES t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 dadˤan
mouse -ḭj
sing

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (20)
Chij go’ṭu’j ren chij daḍani’j.

[t͡ʃij ɡo̰tˤṵj ɾen t͡ʃij dadˤanḭj]

t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 ɡo̰tˤ
cat -ḭj
sing ɾe
catch -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 dadˤan
mouse -ḭj
sing

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Chim duforru’j kon chij rdiḍarsim faṇ chij rtaka’jim faṇ chij ṣahuṇum.

[t͡ʃim dufoɽṵj kon t͡ʃij ɖidˤaʂim fanˤ t͡ʃij ʈaka̰jim fanˤ t͡ʃij sˤahunˤum]

t͡ʃi
the -m
cl.3 difoɽ
hunter -ḭj
sing ko
kill -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 ɖidˤaʂ
jaguar -im
plur fanˤ
and t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 ʈaka̰j
tiger -im
plur fanˤ
and t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 sˤahunˤ
lion -im
plur

“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 Yosh 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

Yosh 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:

Soṇon chij go’ṭu’j.

[sonˤon t͡ʃij ɡo̰tˤṵj]

senˤo
pat -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 ɡo̰tˤ
cat -ḭj
sing

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Soṇon chij go’ṭu’j ḍiw ren chij daḍani’j.

[sonˤon t͡ʃij ɡo̰tˤṵj dˤiw ɾen t͡ʃij dadˤanḭj]

senˤo
pat -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 ɡo̰tˤ
cat -ḭj
sing dˤiw
3.sing.cl.1.POSS ɾe
catch -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 dadˤan
mouse -ḭj
sing

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Soṇon chij go’ṭu’j ḍiw ren chij daḍani’j ḍiw rton chiw wursomu’j.

[sonˤon t͡ʃij ɡo̰tˤṵj dˤiw ɾen t͡ʃij dadˤanḭj dˤiw ʈon t͡ʃiw wuʂomṵj]

senˤo
pat -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 ɡo̰tˤ
cat -ḭj
sing dˤiw
3.sing.cl.1.POSS ɾe
catch -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 dadˤan
mouse -ḭj
sing dˤiw
3.sing.cl.1.POSS ʈo
eat -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -w
cl.4 wiʂom
cheese -ḭj
sing

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

 (25)

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

Soṇon chij go’ṭu’j ḍiw ren chij daḍani’j ḍiw rton fa’rn ḍiw hain chiw wursomu’j.

[sonˤon t͡ʃij ɡo̰tˤṵj dˤiw ɾen t͡ʃij dadˤanḭj dˤiw ʈon fa̰ɳ dˤiw hain t͡ʃiw wuʂomṵj]

senˤo
pat -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 ɡo̰tˤ
cat -ḭj
sing dˤiw
3.sing.cl.1.POSS ɾe
catch -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -j
cl.2 dadˤan
mouse -ḭj
sing dˤiw
3.sing.cl.1.POSS ʈo
eat -n
PAST fa̰ɳ
1excl.sing dˤiw
3.sing.cl.1.POSS hai
buy -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -w
cl.4 wiʂom
cheese -ḭj
sing

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Yosh 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:

Chiṇ ḍini’j ḍiw te’n chiṇ paṇi’j fasani’j rra’mun chim rsiḍiḍi’j.

[t͡ʃinˤ dˤinḭj dˤiw tḛn t͡ʃinˤ panˤḭj fasanḭj ɽa̰mun t͡ʃim ʂidˤidˤḭj]

t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 dˤin
boy -ḭj
sing dˤiw
3.sing.cl.1.POSS tḛ
give -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 panˤ
girl -ḭj
sing fasan
apple -ḭj
sing ɽa̰mu
surprise -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -m
cl.3 ʂidˤidˤ
teacher -ḭj
sing

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

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Quotes

Yosh 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:

Chiṇ ḍini’j den chiṇ paṇi’j fa’rn ḍiw ḍir garr.

[t͡ʃinˤ dˤinḭj den t͡ʃinˤ panˤḭj fa̰ɳ dˤiw dˤiɾ ɡaɽ]

t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 dˤin
boy -ḭj
sing de
tell -n
PAST t͡ʃi
the -nˤ
cl.7 panˤ
girl -ḭj
sing fa̰ɳ
1excl.sing dˤiw
3.sing.cl.1.POSS dˤi
love -ɾ
PRES ɡaɽ
2.sing

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

 (28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Yosh. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 10 September 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3XVEA

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-3XVEA,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Yosh}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3XVEA}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 10 September 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Yosh / Yosh–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/3XVEA

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