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A Grammar of Chun

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Chun language (the 250th 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 Chun.

Typological Profile

It has the highly uncommon basic word order OVS, four genders, a small but genuine set of click consonants, ergative case marking, i.e., the object of a transitive verb is marked the same as the subject of an intransitive one, and postpositions.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Chun has a large consonant inventory, comprising 40 phonemes.

It has a strikingly small set of lateral and rhotic consonants, a modest (but clearly contrastive) set of labialised consonants, a noticeable presence of pharyngealised phonemes, a small but genuine set of click consonants and a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts.

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

labialdentalphar. dentalalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatalpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velarglottal
stopb d t dˤ tˤ c ɟ ɖ ʈ k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ ʔ
ejective stopkʼ kʷʼ
nasalm n nˤ ɲ ɳ ŋ ŋʷ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef s sˤ ʃ ʂ h
approximantw j
affricatet͡ʃ t͡ɕ
implosiveɓ
clickᵏǀ ᵏǀˤ
click, nasalᵑǀ ᵑǀˤ

Vowels

Chun has 8 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 strikingly compressed height system with only two vowel heights, a modest but genuine inventory of nasal vowels, a triangular vowel system with few low vowels, a full range of vowel qualities even in reduced syllables and occasional ghost vowels that surface only weakly.

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

front unroundedfront roundedcentralback
closei y u
opena

Stress and Tones

Chun 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: /u/ becomes /y/.

Writing System

Introduction

Chun 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/क् /k/ग् /ɡ/ङ् /ŋ/
च् /t͡ɕ/ज् /ɟ/ञ् /ɲ/ट् /ʈ/
ड् /ɖ/ण् /ɳ/त् /t/त़् /tˤ/
द् /d/द़् /dˤ/ध् /c/न् /n/
ऩ् /nˤ/ब् /b/भ् /ɓ/म् /m/
य् /j/ऱ् /ɽ/व् /w/श् /ʃ/
ष् /ʂ/स् /s/स़् /sˤ/ह् /h/
ऽ /ʔ/क़ /kʼ/फ़् /f/ॾ् /kʼʷ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

क्त् /ᵏǀ/क्त़् /ᵏǀˤ/क्व् /kʷ/
ग्व् /ɡʷ/ङ्त् /ᵑǀ/ङ्त़् /ᵑǀˤ/
ङ्व् /ŋʷ/च्ष् /t͡ʃ/य्उ /y/
य्उः /y̰/य्ऊ /yː/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Chun does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Chun has the following genders:

Gender cl.1 – for instance: ङ्त़्यूभ् ‘house’, ङ्विद़िग्व् ‘bottle’, जश् ‘wife’, जिङ्युःङ् ‘grass’, ज्युऩ् ‘woman’, ञऩ् ‘speech’, टाज् ‘chair’, तजीच्ष् ‘bark’, तड् ‘mother’, तुडञ् ‘mammal’, दिचिव् ‘box’, धिऱ् ‘fruit’, ऩुऩ्युःक्व् ‘knee’, ऩ्युद् ‘book’, बजष् ‘neighbour’, भिःॾ् ‘bed’, भिऽ ‘city’, भुयुज् ‘lamb’, मुग् ‘road’, ऱग् ‘hair’.

Gender cl.2 – for instance: क्त़िदाङ्व् ‘worm’, ग्वस़् ‘father’, ग्व्युःय् ‘son’, ङिस़िण् ‘tail’, ङ्तम्युक्व् ‘umbrella’, ङ्वक् ‘husband’, च्षिडूभ् ‘tiger’, जुव् ‘heart’, ञुस़ुद् ‘machine’, टभ् ‘knife’, डःस़ःत़् ‘lion’, ड्यूब् ‘surface’, तिड्युःह् ‘belly’, धिक्युॾ् ‘guts’, निण् ‘west’, भास़् ‘south’, भिःण्युट् ‘rope’, षॾिःक्व् ‘feather’, ऽऊद् ‘inside’, फ़ःस़िक़ ‘binoculars’.

Gender cl.3 – for instance: ङिऱब् ‘school’, ङ्त़िषीक्व् ‘court’, चःजिःद़् ‘fingernail’, च्ष्युब् ‘hand’, जिचुब् ‘brick’, ञीत़् ‘face’, ञूत् ‘bone’, डब्युज् ‘jaguar’, डित़स़् ‘farmer’, तःद़ूॾ् ‘religion’, द़ऽ ‘year’, धःक़अक् ‘bank’, निध्युक् ‘faeces’, भःच्युस़् ‘medicine’, भ्युत् ‘money’, भ्युह् ‘tooth’, वःक्व्यूग्व् ‘student’, श्युःड् ‘fish’, स़ुशीत् ‘salt’, फ़स्युच्ष् ‘smoke’.

Gender cl.4 – for instance: क्त़च् ‘night’, क्तूष् ‘star’, क्त्युग्व् ‘sun’, क्विःङःश् ‘breath’, ग्वःङ्युफ़् ‘mouse’, ङ्तॾ् ‘earth’, चिऩ्युस् ‘snow’, जत़् ‘wind’, टफ़िच् ‘ice’, डिट् ‘leg’, तङ् ‘rain’, द्यूङ् ‘fire’, बिङज् ‘embrace’, बिभिध् ‘forest’, भङ्व् ‘sound’, य्यूङ्व् ‘land’, ऱध् ‘back’, स़िकीक्व् ‘cloud’, क़अग्व् ‘moon’, क़उदाश् ‘mountain’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

फ़स़ि ग्वःङ्युफ़दिबि षि च्षुधु तिस़ि मिः ज्युऩ्युःॾुकिः तिःदिः टभिक़उकिः तिःद जिच्युः।

[fasˤi ɡʷa̰ŋyfadibi ʂi t͡ʃucu tisˤi mḭ ɟynˤy̰kʼʷukḭ tḭdḭ ʈaɓikʼukḭ tḭda ɟit͡ɕy̰]

fa
blind -sˤi
active ɡʷa̰ŋyf
mouse -ad
ABS -ibi
3.cl.3.POSS ʂi
three t͡ʃu
yon -cu
cl.4 ti
catch -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST ɟynˤ
woman -y̰kʼʷ
ERG -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 ʈaɓ
knife -ikʼ
LOC -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2 ɟit͡ɕy̰
COMIT

“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 Chun consists of first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -अद् /-ad/ ‘ABS’, -उःॾ् /-ṵkʼʷ/ ‘ERG’, -अःत् /-a̰t/ ‘DAT’, -इःन् /-ḭn/ ‘INS’, -इःङ्व् /-ḭŋʷ/ ‘VOC’, -अःग्व् /-a̰ɡʷ/ ‘ALL’, -इक़ /-ikʼ/ ‘LOC’, -इःड् /-ḭɖ/ ‘ABL’ and -इःग्व् /-ḭɡʷ/ ‘PART’; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing possessor, comprising -इम /-ima/ ‘1incl’, -इडि /-iɖi/ ‘1excl’, -उग्वि /-uɡʷi/ ‘2’, -अःफ़ि /-a̰fi/ ‘3.cl.1’, -इड /-iɖa/ ‘3.cl.2’, -इबि /-ibi/ ‘3.cl.3’, -अटि /-aʈi/ ‘3.cl.4’ and -उकिः /-ukḭ/ ‘no.owner’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: 11 suffixes, namely -अफ़् /-af/ ‘little’, -उच् /-ut͡ɕ/ ‘big’, -अग्व् /-aɡʷ/ ‘old’, -इध् /-ic/ ‘new’, -अच् /-at͡ɕ/ ‘good’, -इज् /-iɟ/ ‘bad’, -उबि /-ubi/ ‘have’, -उफ़ /-ufa/ ‘use’, -अःक्वु /-a̰kʷu/ ‘see’, -अऩि /-anˤi/ ‘make’ and -अऱिः /-aɽḭ/ ‘break’

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Chun, the determiner has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -दिः /-dḭ/ ‘cl.1’, -द /-da/ ‘cl.2’, -कि /-ki/ ‘cl.3’ and -धु /-cu/ ‘cl.4’.

Pronouns

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

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

षस़ि फ़ुः।

[ʂasˤi fṵ]

ʂa
love -sˤi
active fṵ
3.cl.2.SUBJ

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:

षस़ि फ़ुः च्षु।

[ʂasˤi fṵ t͡ʃu]

ʂa
love -sˤi
active fṵ
3.cl.2.SUBJ t͡ʃu
3.cl.2

“He loves her.”

 (3)

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

ॾः षस़ि फ़ुः।

[kʼʷa̰ ʂasˤi fṵ]

kʼʷa̰
3.cl.1 ʂa
love -sˤi
active fṵ
3.cl.2.SUBJ

“He loves her.”

 (4)

Proper Nouns

जिदिवदुकिः तिःदिः दिबुस़ि फ़ुः ङ्तःफ़ाग्वुःॾुकिः तिःद।

[ɟidiwadukḭ tḭdḭ dibusˤi fṵ ᵑǀa̰faːɡʷṵkʼʷukḭ tḭda]

ɟidiw
Jidiw -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 dibu
hate -sˤi
active fṵ
3.cl.2.SUBJ ᵑǀa̰faːɡʷ
Kafag -ṵkʼʷ
ERG -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2

“Kafag hates Jidiw.”

 (5)

Possession

वमिऱदिड तिःदिः ङशदुकिः तिःद

[wamiɽadiɖa tḭdḭ ŋaʃadukḭ tḭda]

wamiɽ
apple -ad
ABS -iɖa
3.cl.2.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 ŋaʃ
boy -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2

“the boy’s apple”

 (6)
वमिऱदिड तिःदिः च्षु

[wamiɽadiɖa tḭdḭ t͡ʃu]

wamiɽ
apple -ad
ABS -iɖa
3.cl.2.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 t͡ʃu
3.cl.2

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (7)
वमिऱदिडि तिःदिः

[wamiɽadiɖi tḭdḭ]

wamiɽ
apple -ad
ABS -iɖi
1excl.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1

“my apple”

 (8)
ग्व्युःयदःफ़ि तिःद बजषदुग्वि तिःदिः षुतस़ि मिः दिःहुःॾिड तिःदिः किङ्व्युसदुकिः तिःद।

[ɡʷy̰jada̰fi tḭda baɟaʂaduɡʷi tḭdḭ ʂutasˤi mḭ dḭhṵkʼʷiɖa tḭdḭ kiŋʷysadukḭ tḭda]

ɡʷy̰j
son -ad
ABS -a̰fi
3.cl.1.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2 baɟaʂ
neighbour -ad
ABS -uɡʷi
2.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 ʂuta
kiss -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST dḭh
daughter -ṵkʼʷ
ERG -iɖa
3.cl.2.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 kiŋʷys
hunter -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2

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

 (9)

Derivation

भुयुजदुकिः

[ɓujuɟadukḭ]

ɓujuɟ
lamb -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS

“a lamb”

 (10)
भुयुजफ़दुकिः

[ɓujuɟafadukḭ]

ɓujuɟ
lamb -af
little -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS

“a little lamb”

 (11)
भुयुजफ़ुबिस़ि मिः।

[ɓujuɟafubisˤi mḭ]

ɓujuɟ
lamb -af
little -ubi
have -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST

“She had a little lamb.”

 (12)

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:

द़स़ि भुयुजदिबि षस़ि मिः।

[dˤasˤi ɓujuɟadibi ʂasˤi mḭ]

dˤa
black -sˤi
active ɓujuɟ
lamb -ad
ABS -ibi
3.cl.3.POSS ʂa
love -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST

“She loved a black lamb.”

 (13)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Chun fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing question, comprising वः /wa̰/ ‘Q’; second, a clitic expressing ta, comprising मिः /mḭ/ ‘PAST’; third, a clitic expressing mode, comprising कः /ka̰/ ‘imperative’, यः /ja̰/ ‘conditional’ and ऩुः /nˤṵ/ ‘optative’; fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising ञः /ɲa̰/ ‘NEG’; and finally, fifth, a clitic expressing subj, comprising नि /ni/ ‘1incl’, च्षु /t͡ʃu/ ‘1excl’, हिः /hḭ/ ‘2’, फ़ुः /fṵ/ ‘3.cl.2’, भ /ɓa/ ‘3.cl.3’ and चिः /t͡ɕḭ/ ‘3.cl.4’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing voice, comprising -स़ि /-sˤi/ ‘active’ and -स़ु /-sˤu/ ‘passive’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: five suffixes, namely -स /-sa/ ‘begin’, -ऩ /-nˤa/ ‘stop’, -निः /-nḭ/ ‘continue’, -गि /-ɡi/ ‘try’ and -भ /-ɓa/ ‘start’

षस़ि च्षु।

[ʂasˤi t͡ʃu]

ʂa
love -sˤi
active t͡ʃu
1excl.SUBJ

“I love you.”

 (14)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

ड्यूबदुकिः फ़्युमदुकिः तिःदिः च्यु

[ɖyːbadukḭ fymadukḭ tḭdḭ t͡ɕy]

ɖyːb
surface -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS fym
table -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 t͡ɕy
in

“on the table”

 (15)
ऽऊददुकिः दिचिवदुकिः तिःदिः द

[ʔuːdadukḭ dit͡ɕiwadukḭ tḭdḭ da]

ʔuːd
inside -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS dit͡ɕiw
box -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 da
to

“into the box”

 (16)
फ़िः जिच्युः

[fḭ ɟit͡ɕy̰]

fḭ
1excl ɟit͡ɕy̰
COMIT

“with me”

 (17)

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.

Chun has Object–Verb–Subject (OVS) as its basic constituent order. Clauses begin with the object, followed by the verb, with the subject in final position. This is a rare but attested configuration in the world’s languages.

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

किङ्व्युसदुकिः तिःद मिस़ि मिः भ डब्युज्युःॾुकिः तिःकि।

[kiŋʷysadukḭ tḭda misˤi mḭ ɓa ɖabyɟy̰kʼʷukḭ tḭki]

kiŋʷys
hunter -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2 mi
kill -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST ɓa
3.cl.3.SUBJ ɖabyɟ
jaguar -y̰kʼʷ
ERG -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -ki
cl.3

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (18)
तिःभदःफ़ि तिःधु दिःहदिड तिःदिः किङ्व्युसदुकिः तिःद शस़ि मिः फ़ुः डःस़ःत़ुःॾुकिः तिःद।

[tḭɓada̰fi tḭcu dḭhadiɖa tḭdḭ kiŋʷysadukḭ tḭda ʃasˤi mḭ fṵ ɖa̰sˤa̰tˤṵkʼʷukḭ tḭda]

tḭɓ
dog -ad
ABS -a̰fi
3.cl.1.POSS tḭ
the -cu
cl.4 dḭh
daughter -ad
ABS -iɖa
3.cl.2.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 kiŋʷys
hunter -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2 ʃa
eat -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST fṵ
3.cl.2.SUBJ ɖa̰sˤa̰tˤ
lion -ṵkʼʷ
ERG -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2

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

 (19)

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 Chun 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, Chun 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.

ऩ्युददिड तिःदिः किग्वदिड तिःद ग्व्युःयदुग्वि तिःद

[nˤydadiɖa tḭdḭ kiɡʷadiɖa tḭda ɡʷy̰jaduɡʷi tḭda]

nˤyd
book -ad
ABS -iɖa
3.cl.2.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 kiɡʷ
friend -ad
ABS -iɖa
3.cl.2.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2 ɡʷy̰j
son -ad
ABS -uɡʷi
2.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (20)

Case Marking

Chun uses ergative–absolutive case marking. The subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb are treated alike and take the absolutive case, while the subject of a transitive verb is marked with the ergative case. From the point of view of such a system, this is a perfectly natural way to organise the clause: the absolutive marks the participant most directly involved in the event or state, while the ergative marks the additional participant that causes or controls a transitive event.

ङ्त़्युस़ि फ़ुः च्षावदुकिः तिःद।

[ᵑǀˤysˤi fṵ t͡ʃaːwadukḭ tḭda]

ᵑǀˤy
sleep -sˤi
active fṵ
3.cl.2.SUBJ t͡ʃaːw
cat -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (21)
स्युस़ि फ़ुः च्षावदुकिः तिःद।

[sysˤi fṵ t͡ʃaːwadukḭ tḭda]

sy
run -sˤi
active fṵ
3.cl.2.SUBJ t͡ʃaːw
cat -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2

“The cat is running.”

 (22)
ग्वःङ्युफ़दुकिः तिःधु यःष्युःस़ि फ़ुः च्षावुःॾुकिः तिःद।

[ɡʷa̰ŋyfadukḭ tḭcu ja̰ʂy̰sˤi fṵ t͡ʃaːwṵkʼʷukḭ tḭda]

ɡʷa̰ŋyf
mouse -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -cu
cl.4 ja̰ʂy̰
chase -sˤi
active fṵ
3.cl.2.SUBJ t͡ʃaːw
cat -ṵkʼʷ
ERG -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (23)
ग्वःङ्युफ़दुकिः तिःधु तिस़ि मिः फ़ुः च्षावुःॾुकिः तिःद।

[ɡʷa̰ŋyfadukḭ tḭcu tisˤi mḭ fṵ t͡ʃaːwṵkʼʷukḭ tḭda]

ɡʷa̰ŋyf
mouse -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -cu
cl.4 ti
catch -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST fṵ
3.cl.2.SUBJ t͡ʃaːw
cat -ṵkʼʷ
ERG -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

डब्युजदुकिः तिःकि क च्षिडूभदुकिः तिःद क डःस़ःत़दुकिः तिःद मिस़ि मिः फ़ुः किङ्व्युस्युःॾुकिः तिःद।

[ɖabyɟadukḭ tḭki ka t͡ʃiɖuːɓadukḭ tḭda ka ɖa̰sˤa̰tˤadukḭ tḭda misˤi mḭ fṵ kiŋʷysy̰kʼʷukḭ tḭda]

ɖabyɟ
jaguar -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -ki
cl.3 ka
and t͡ʃiɖuːɓ
tiger -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2 ka
and ɖa̰sˤa̰tˤ
lion -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2 mi
kill -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST fṵ
3.cl.2.SUBJ kiŋʷys
hunter -y̰kʼʷ
ERG -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2

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

 (25)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Chun 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:

च्षावदुकिः तिःद क़इक्यूस़ि मिः च्षु।

[t͡ʃaːwadukḭ tḭda kʼikyːsˤi mḭ t͡ʃu]

t͡ʃaːw
cat -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2 kʼikyː
pat -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST t͡ʃu
1excl.SUBJ

“I patted the cat.”

 (26)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

ग्वःङ्युफ़दुकिः तिःधु तिस़ि मिः च्षावदिबि तिःद क़इक्यूस़ि मिः च्षु।

[ɡʷa̰ŋyfadukḭ tḭcu tisˤi mḭ t͡ʃaːwadibi tḭda kʼikyːsˤi mḭ t͡ʃu]

ɡʷa̰ŋyf
mouse -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -cu
cl.4 ti
catch -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST t͡ʃaːw
cat -ad
ABS -ibi
3.cl.3.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2 kʼikyː
pat -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST t͡ʃu
1excl.SUBJ

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (27)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

त़िऽअऩदुकिः तिःदिः शस़ि मिः ग्वःङ्युफ़दिबि तिःधु तिस़ि मिः च्षावदिबि तिःद क़इक्यूस़ि मिः च्षु।

[tˤiʔanˤadukḭ tḭdḭ ʃasˤi mḭ ɡʷa̰ŋyfadibi tḭcu tisˤi mḭ t͡ʃaːwadibi tḭda kʼikyːsˤi mḭ t͡ʃu]

tˤiʔanˤ
cheese -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 ʃa
eat -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST ɡʷa̰ŋyf
mouse -ad
ABS -ibi
3.cl.3.POSS tḭ
the -cu
cl.4 ti
catch -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST t͡ʃaːw
cat -ad
ABS -ibi
3.cl.3.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2 kʼikyː
pat -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST t͡ʃu
1excl.SUBJ

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

 (28)

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

त़िऽअऩदुकिः तिःदिः सस़ि मिः फ़िः शस़ि मिः ग्वःङ्युफ़दिबि तिःधु तिस़ि मिः च्षावदिबि तिःद क़इक्यूस़ि मिः च्षु।

[tˤiʔanˤadukḭ tḭdḭ sasˤi mḭ fḭ ʃasˤi mḭ ɡʷa̰ŋyfadibi tḭcu tisˤi mḭ t͡ʃaːwadibi tḭda kʼikyːsˤi mḭ t͡ʃu]

tˤiʔanˤ
cheese -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 sa
buy -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST fḭ
1excl ʃa
eat -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST ɡʷa̰ŋyf
mouse -ad
ABS -ibi
3.cl.3.POSS tḭ
the -cu
cl.4 ti
catch -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST t͡ʃaːw
cat -ad
ABS -ibi
3.cl.3.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2 kʼikyː
pat -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST t͡ʃu
1excl.SUBJ

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

 (29)

Complementation Strategies

Chun 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:

धिभिच्षःतुकिः तिःद शिव्युस़ि मिः भ वमिऱदुकिः स़ःमःतुकिः तिःदिः धिस़ि मिः ङशुःॾिबि तिःद।

[ciɓit͡ʃa̰tukḭ tḭda ʃiwysˤi mḭ ɓa wamiɽadukḭ sˤa̰ma̰tukḭ tḭdḭ cisˤi mḭ ŋaʃṵkʼʷibi tḭda]

ciɓit͡ʃ
teacher -a̰t
DAT -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2 ʃiwy
surprise -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST ɓa
3.cl.3.SUBJ wamiɽ
apple -ad
ABS -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS sˤa̰m
girl -a̰t
DAT -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 ci
give -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST ŋaʃ
boy -ṵkʼʷ
ERG -ibi
3.cl.3.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2

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

 (30)

Quotes

Chun 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:

निः षस़ि फ़िः स़ःमःतुकिः तिःदिः हस़ि मिः फ़ुः ङशुःॾुकिः तिःद।

[nḭ ʂasˤi fḭ sˤa̰ma̰tukḭ tḭdḭ hasˤi mḭ fṵ ŋaʃṵkʼʷukḭ tḭda]

nḭ
2 ʂa
love -sˤi
active fḭ
1excl sˤa̰m
girl -a̰t
DAT -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -dḭ
cl.1 ha
tell -sˤi
active mḭ
PAST fṵ
3.cl.2.SUBJ ŋaʃ
boy -ṵkʼʷ
ERG -ukḭ
no.owner.POSS tḭ
the -da
cl.2

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

 (31)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Chun. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 9 June 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3YEHP

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-3YEHP,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Chun}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3YEHP}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 9 June 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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