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A Grammar of Ghoy

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Ghoy language (the 1513th 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 Ghoy.

Typological Profile

It has has no interesting typological features.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

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

It has a notably rich set of sibilant contrasts, a broad set of voiced–voiceless oppositions and a broad and varied fricative inventory.

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

labialdentalalveolarpostalveolarlateralpalatalvelaruvularglottal
stopp b d t k ɡ ʔ
nasalm n ɲ ŋ
trill/tap/flapr
fricativef θ s z ʃ ʒ x ɣ ʁ h
approximantw l j
affricatet͡s d͡ʒ t͡ʃ

Vowels

Ghoy has 7 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 moderately reduced system of unstressed vowels.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Ghoy has phonemic stress but no lexical tone. Stress consistently falls on the first vowel of the root, and no contrastive tonal distinctions are made.

Phonological Processes

Vowel Harmony

Vowel harmony does not exist in this language.

Writing System

Introduction

Ghoy 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

ا /aː, ʔ/ب /b/ت /t/ث /θ/
ج /d͡ʒ/ح /h/خ /x/د /d/
ر /r/ز /z/س /s/ش /ʃ/
غ /ɣ/ف /f/ك /k/ل /l/
م /m/ن /n/و /au, oː, uː, w/ي /ai, eː, iː, j/
پ /p/ڃ /ɲ/څ /t͡s/چ /t͡ʃ/
ژ /ʒ/ڭ /ŋ/گ /ɡ/ݯ /ʁ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Ghoy does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Ghoy does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

سكيد غياڭ ژويد جف ݯژ كا مب ژج شڃخخد۔

[ˈskijid ɣiˈjaːŋ ˈʒaujid ˈd͡ʒef ʁuʒ ˈkeʔ ˈmib ˈʒad͡ʒ ʃuˈɲixaxid]

ˈskij
woman -id
def ɣiˈjaːŋ
COMIT ˈʒauj
knife -id
def ˈd͡ʒef
catch ʁuʒ
PAST ˈkeʔ
yon ˈmib
three ˈʒad͡ʒ
blind ʃuˈɲix
mouse -ax
plur -id
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 سپز /spuz/ ‘1incl.sing’, چت /t͡ʃit/ ‘1excl.sing’, سپن /spun/ ‘2.sing’, فن /fan/ ‘3.sing’, حݯ /hiʁ/ ‘1incl.plur’, شك /ʃik/ ‘1excl.plur’, يد /jad/ ‘2.plur’ and ڃو /ɲaw/ ‘3.plur’.

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 Ghoy.

The Noun

The noun in Ghoy consists of first, the root; second, an optional suffix expressing number, comprising ـخ /-ax/ ‘plur’; and finally, third, an optional suffix expressing def, comprising ـد /-id/ ‘def’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: 11 suffixes, namely ـج /-d͡ʒi/ ‘little’, ـژ /-ʒi/ ‘big’, ـڃة /-ɲa/ ‘old’, ـل /-li/ ‘new’, ـزب /-zbi/ ‘good’, ـزگ /-zɡi/ ‘bad’, ـݯة /-ʁa/ ‘have’, ـچ /-t͡ʃi/ ‘use’, ـژة /-ʒa/ ‘see’, ـپ /-pi/ ‘make’ and ـاة /-ʔa/ ‘break’

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Ghoy, the determiner has the following structure: an optional prefix expressing case, comprising رـ /ra-/ ‘ERG’, غـ /ɣi-/ ‘ACC’, پـ /pu-/ ‘GEN’, زـ /zi-/ ‘DAT’, كـ /ka-/ ‘INS’, ڭـ /ŋu-/ ‘VOC’, جـ /d͡ʒi-/ ‘ALL’, كـ /ku-/ ‘LOC’, فـ /fa-/ ‘ABL’ and يـ /ju-/ ‘PART’ followed by the root.

Pronouns

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

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

حو حو۔

[ˈhew ˈhiw]

ˈhew
love ˈhiw
3.sing

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

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

حو حو حو۔

[ˈhiw ˈhew ˈhiw]

ˈhiw
3.sing ˈhew
love ˈhiw
3.sing

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

جغڭد تغاد زبتكد۔

[d͡ʒiˈɣeŋid tiˈɣaːd zbaˈtakid]

d͡ʒiˈɣeŋ
Jigheng -id
def tiˈɣaːd
hate zbaˈtak
Zbatak -id
def

“Jigheng hates Zbatak.”

 (4)

Possession

سڭاݯد فن خسد

[suˈŋaːʁid fan ˈxisid]

suˈŋaːʁ
apple -id
def fan
3.sing.POSS ˈxis
boy -id
def

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
سڭاݯد فن حو

[suˈŋaːʁid fan ˈhiw]

suˈŋaːʁ
apple -id
def fan
3.sing.POSS ˈhiw
3.sing

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
سڭاݯد چت

[suˈŋaːʁid t͡ʃit]

suˈŋaːʁ
apple -id
def t͡ʃit
1excl.sing.POSS

“my apple”

 (7)
فيخد فن كوتد څويپ ݯژ خيدد فن گبژد سپن۔

[ˈfaixid fan kuˈwitid t͡saˈwiːp ʁuʒ ˈxiːdid fan ɡaˈbeʒid spun]

ˈfaix
daughter -id
def fan
3.sing.POSS kuˈwit
hunter -id
def t͡saˈwiːp
kiss ʁuʒ
PAST ˈxiːd
son -id
def fan
3.sing.POSS ɡaˈbeʒ
neighbour -id
def spun
2.sing.POSS

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

 (8)

Derivation

غل غمݯ

[ˈɣal ɣuˈmeʁ]

ˈɣal
a ɣuˈmeʁ
lamb

“a lamb”

 (9)
غل غمݯج

[ˈɣal ɣuˈmeʁd͡ʒi]

ˈɣal
a ɣuˈmeʁ
lamb -d͡ʒi
little

“a little lamb”

 (10)
څيك ݯژ غل غمݯج۔

[ˈt͡seːk ʁuʒ ˈɣal ɣuˈmeʁd͡ʒi]

ˈt͡seːk
have ʁuʒ
PAST ˈɣal
a ɣuˈmeʁ
lamb -d͡ʒi
little

“She had a little lamb.”

 (11)

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:

حو ݯژ غل پي غمݯ۔

[ˈhew ʁuʒ ˈɣal ˈpaj ɣuˈmeʁ]

ˈhew
love ʁuʒ
PAST ˈɣal
a ˈpaj
black ɣuˈmeʁ
lamb

“She loved a black lamb.”

 (12)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Ghoy fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing voice, comprising څݯ /t͡saʁ/ ‘passive’; second, a clitic expressing ta, comprising ݯژ /ʁuʒ/ ‘PAST’; third, a clitic expressing mode, comprising ار /ʔar/ ‘imperative’, تن /tin/ ‘conditional’ and شان /ʃʔin/ ‘optative’; and finally, fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising اد /ʔud/ ‘NEG’.

The verb itself does not have any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: five suffixes, namely ـت /-ti/ ‘begin’, ـژ /-ʒu/ ‘stop’, ـجة /-d͡ʒa/ ‘continue’, ـژد /-ʒdi/ ‘try’ and ـسپ /-spi/ ‘start’

حو غز۔

[ˈhew ˈɣoz]

ˈhew
love ˈɣoz
2.sing

“I love you.”

 (13)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

زبور چوپد

[ˈzbuːr ˈt͡ʃoːpid]

ˈzbuːr
in_surface ˈt͡ʃoːp
table -id
def

“on the table”

 (14)
جغ للجد

[ˈd͡ʒaɣ laˈlid͡ʒid]

ˈd͡ʒaɣ
to_inside laˈlid͡ʒ
box -id
def

“into the box”

 (15)
غياڭ فݯ

[ɣiˈjaːŋ ˈfiʁ]

ɣiˈjaːŋ
COMIT ˈfiʁ
1excl.sing

“with me”

 (16)

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.

Ghoy 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 Ghoy.

نايرد سب ݯژ كوتد۔

[naˈʔiːrid ˈsab ʁuʒ kuˈwitid]

naˈʔiːr
jaguar -id
def ˈsab
kill ʁuʒ
PAST kuˈwit
hunter -id
def

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (17)
غزاغد شژ ݯژ چمد فن فيخد فن كوتد۔

[ɣaˈzaːɣid ˈʃiʒ ʁuʒ ˈt͡ʃomid fan ˈfaixid fan kuˈwitid]

ɣaˈzaːɣ
lion -id
def ˈʃiʒ
eat ʁuʒ
PAST ˈt͡ʃom
dog -id
def fan
3.sing.POSS ˈfaix
daughter -id
def fan
3.sing.POSS kuˈwit
hunter -id
def

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

 (18)

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 Ghoy 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, Ghoy 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.

كتابد فن غغد فن خيدد سپن

[kitaːbid fan ˈɣiɣid fan ˈxiːdid spun]

kitaːb
book -id
def fan
3.sing.POSS ˈɣiɣ
friend -id
def fan
3.sing.POSS ˈxiːd
son -id
def spun
2.sing.POSS

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (19)

Case Marking

Ghoy 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.

شتاثد څڭ۔

[ˈʃtaːθid ˈt͡soŋ]

ˈʃtaːθ
cat -id
def ˈt͡soŋ
sleep

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (20)
شتاثد شڭ۔

[ˈʃtaːθid ˈʃuŋ]

ˈʃtaːθ
cat -id
def ˈʃuŋ
run

“The cat is running.”

 (21)
شتاثد سرو شڃخد۔

[ˈʃtaːθid saˈraw ʃuˈɲixid]

ˈʃtaːθ
cat -id
def saˈraw
chase ʃuˈɲix
mouse -id
def

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (22)
شتاثد جف ݯژ شڃخد۔

[ˈʃtaːθid ˈd͡ʒef ʁuʒ ʃuˈɲixid]

ˈʃtaːθ
cat -id
def ˈd͡ʒef
catch ʁuʒ
PAST ʃuˈɲix
mouse -id
def

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (23)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

كوتد سب ݯژ نايرخد حوف لثژخد حوف غزاغخد۔

[kuˈwitid ˈsab ʁuʒ naˈʔiːraxid ˈhauf laˈθiʒaxid ˈhauf ɣaˈzaːɣaxid]

kuˈwit
hunter -id
def ˈsab
kill ʁuʒ
PAST naˈʔiːr
jaguar -ax
plur -id
def ˈhauf
and laˈθiʒ
tiger -ax
plur -id
def ˈhauf
and ɣaˈzaːɣ
lion -ax
plur -id
def

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

 (24)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Ghoy 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:

پزبيگ ݯژ شتاثد۔

[piˈzbeːɡ ʁuʒ ˈʃtaːθid]

piˈzbeːɡ
pat ʁuʒ
PAST ˈʃtaːθ
cat -id
def

“I patted the cat.”

 (25)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

پزبيگ ݯژ شتاثد، بڭ جف ݯژ شڃخد۔

[piˈzbeːɡ ʁuʒ ˈʃtaːθid, ˈbiŋ ˈd͡ʒef ʁuʒ ʃuˈɲixid]

piˈzbeːɡ
pat ʁuʒ
PAST ˈʃtaːθ
cat -id
def ˈbiŋ
RELPRON ˈd͡ʒef
catch ʁuʒ
PAST ʃuˈɲix
mouse -id
def

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (26)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

پزبيگ ݯژ شتاثد، بڭ جف ݯژ شڃخد، بڭ شژ ݯژ نچݯد۔

[piˈzbeːɡ ʁuʒ ˈʃtaːθid, ˈbiŋ ˈd͡ʒef ʁuʒ ʃuˈɲixid, ˈbiŋ ˈʃiʒ ʁuʒ niˈt͡ʃiʁid]

piˈzbeːɡ
pat ʁuʒ
PAST ˈʃtaːθ
cat -id
def ˈbiŋ
RELPRON ˈd͡ʒef
catch ʁuʒ
PAST ʃuˈɲix
mouse -id
def ˈbiŋ
RELPRON ˈʃiʒ
eat ʁuʒ
PAST niˈt͡ʃiʁ
cheese -id
def

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

 (27)

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

پزبيگ ݯژ شتاثد، بڭ جف ݯژ شڃخد، بڭ شژ ݯژ نچݯد، بڭ دس ݯژ فݯ۔

[piˈzbeːɡ ʁuʒ ˈʃtaːθid, ˈbiŋ ˈd͡ʒef ʁuʒ ʃuˈɲixid, ˈbiŋ ˈʃiʒ ʁuʒ niˈt͡ʃiʁid, ˈbiŋ ˈdas ʁuʒ ˈfiʁ]

piˈzbeːɡ
pat ʁuʒ
PAST ˈʃtaːθ
cat -id
def ˈbiŋ
RELPRON ˈd͡ʒef
catch ʁuʒ
PAST ʃuˈɲix
mouse -id
def ˈbiŋ
RELPRON ˈʃiʒ
eat ʁuʒ
PAST niˈt͡ʃiʁ
cheese -id
def ˈbiŋ
RELPRON ˈdas
buy ʁuʒ
PAST ˈfiʁ
1excl.sing

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

 (28)

Complementation Strategies

Ghoy 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:

خسد پگ ݯژ چيزد غل سڭاݯ سكگس تگژ ݯژ اليمد۔

[ˈxisid ˈpoɡ ʁuʒ ˈt͡ʃaizid ˈɣal suˈŋaːʁ skiˈɡus tiˈɡeʒ ʁuʒ ʔaliːmid]

ˈxis
boy -id
def ˈpoɡ
give ʁuʒ
PAST ˈt͡ʃaiz
girl -id
def ˈɣal
a suˈŋaːʁ
apple skiˈɡus
COMP tiˈɡeʒ
surprise ʁuʒ
PAST ʔaliːm
teacher -id
def

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

 (29)

Quotes

Ghoy 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:

خسد خير ݯژ چيزد فݯ حو غز سكگس۔

[ˈxisid ˈxiːr ʁuʒ ˈt͡ʃaizid ˈfiʁ ˈhew ˈɣoz skiˈɡus]

ˈxis
boy -id
def ˈxiːr
tell ʁuʒ
PAST ˈt͡ʃaiz
girl -id
def ˈfiʁ
1excl.sing ˈhew
love ˈɣoz
2.sing skiˈɡus
COMP

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

 (30)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Ghoy. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 11 September 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3YFZ1

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-3YFZ1,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Ghoy}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3YFZ1}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 11 September 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Ghoy / Ghoy–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/3YFZ1

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