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A Grammar of Ichakacha

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Ichakacha language (the 277th 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 Ichakacha.

Typological Profile

It has has no interesting typological features.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Ichakacha has a moderately small consonant inventory, comprising 15 phonemes.

It has a complete absence of palatal consonants, something which is a rare occurrence indeed, as well as a strongly reduced sibilant system and a complete absence of laryngeal consonants.

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

labialalveolarpostalveolarlateralvelar
stopp b d t k ɡ
nasalm n
trill/tap/flapr
fricativef s
approximantʋ l
affricatet͡ʃ

Vowels

Ichakacha has 6 vowel qualities. This places it within the broadly common range of mid-sized vowel inventories. The vowel chart shows the full set of contrasts employed in the language’s phonology.

It has a strongly reduced vowel system in unstressed syllables.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
mide ə o
opena

Stress and Tones

Ichakacha 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

Ichakacha 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/в /ʋ/г /ɡ/
д /d/е /e/и /i/к /k/
л /l/м /m/н /n/о /o/
п /p/р /r/с /s/т /t/
у /u/ф /f/ч /t͡ʃ/ӟ /ə/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Ichakacha does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Ichakacha does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Лорӟ монӟлӟ тӟдичӟ лорӟ лувӟрӟфӟ тӟ пумӟпӟ монӟ си лурӟтӟрӟвӟ, ма садӟпӟ.

[lorə monələ tədit͡ʃə lorə luʋərəfə tə puməpə monə si lurətərəʋə, ma sadəpə]

lo
the -rə
sing m-
ACT onələ
woman tədit͡ʃə
COMIT lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA uʋərəfə
knife tə
PAST pum
catch -əpə
active mo
yon -nə
plur si
three l-
STA urətərəʋə,
mouse ma
RELPRON sad
blind -əpə
active

“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 Ichakacha consists of an obligatory prefix expressing case, comprising л- /l-/ ‘STA’, м- /m-/ ‘ACT’, с- /s-/ ‘DAT’, б- /b-/ ‘INS’, п- /p-/ ‘VOC’, ч- /t͡ʃ-/ ‘ALL’, т- /t-/ ‘LOC’, д- /d-/ ‘ABL’ and г- /ɡ-/ ‘PART’ followed by the root.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -ӟмӟрӟ /-əmərə/ ‘little’ and -ӟтӟлӟ /-ətələ/ ‘big’

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Ichakacha, the determiner has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -рӟ /-rə/ ‘sing’ and -нӟ /-nə/ ‘plur’.

Pronouns

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

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

Пинӟпӟ ду.

[pinəpə du]

pin
love -əpə
active du
3.sing

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

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

Ду пинӟпӟ ду.

[du pinəpə du]

du
3.sing pin
love -əpə
active du
3.sing

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

Лорӟ мУлӟтӟчӟсӟ бӟфавӟпӟ лорӟ лАрӟмӟгӟсӟ.

[lorə mulətət͡ʃəsə bəfaʋəpə lorə larəməɡəsə]

lo
the -rə
sing m-
ACT ulətət͡ʃəsə
Ulatachasa bəfaʋ
hate -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA arəməɡəsə
Aramagasa

“Ulatachasa hates Aramagasa.”

 (4)

Possession

лорӟ лидӟсӟ лорӟ личӟсӟлӟчӟ

[lorə lidəsə lorə lit͡ʃəsələt͡ʃə]

lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA idəsə
boy lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA it͡ʃəsələt͡ʃə
apple

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
ду лорӟ личӟсӟлӟчӟ

[du lorə lit͡ʃəsələt͡ʃə]

du
3.sing lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA it͡ʃəsələt͡ʃə
apple

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
ме лорӟ личӟсӟлӟчӟ

[me lorə lit͡ʃəsələt͡ʃə]

me
1excl.sing lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA it͡ʃəsələt͡ʃə
apple

“my apple”

 (7)
Лорӟ ликӟгӟвӟвӟ лорӟ манӟлӟ тӟ мӟлулӟпӟ фо лорӟ лисӟлӟвӟрӟ лорӟ лучӟдӟ.

[lorə likəɡəʋəʋə lorə manələ tə məluləpə fo lorə lisələʋərə lorə lut͡ʃədə]

lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA ikəɡəʋəʋə
hunter lo
the -rə
sing m-
ACT anələ
daughter tə
PAST məlul
kiss -əpə
active fo
2.sing lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA isələʋərə
neighbour lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA ut͡ʃədə
son

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

 (8)

Derivation

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

лосӟчӟкӟпӟ

[losət͡ʃəkəpə]

l-
STA osət͡ʃəkəpə
lamb

“a lamb”

 (9)

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

лосӟчӟкӟпӟӟмӟрӟ

[losət͡ʃəkəpəəmərə]

l-
STA osət͡ʃəkəpə
lamb -əmərə
little

“a little lamb”

 (10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Ichakacha fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising тӟ /tə/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising вӟ /ʋə/ ‘imperative’, фӟ /fə/ ‘conditional’ and лӟ /lə/ ‘optative’; and finally, third, a clitic expressing negation, comprising кӟ /kə/ ‘NEG’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, an optional prefix expressing question, comprising кӟ- /kə-/ ‘Q’; second, the root; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing voice, comprising -ӟпӟ /-əpə/ ‘active’ and -ӟкӟ /-əkə/ ‘passive’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -ӟмӟд /-əməd/ ‘begin’ and -ӟвӟп /-əʋəp/ ‘stop’

Пинӟпӟ фо.

[pinəpə fo]

pin
love -əpə
active fo
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.

кимӟ лорӟ ланӟгӟбӟ

[kimə lorə lanəɡəbə]

kimə
in_surface lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA anəɡəbə
table

“on the table”

 (12)
лапӟ лорӟ лидӟнӟфӟбӟ

[lapə lorə lidənəfəbə]

lapə
to_inside lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA idənəfəbə
box

“into the box”

 (13)
тӟдичӟ ме

[tədit͡ʃə me]

tədit͡ʃə
COMIT me
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.

Ichakacha 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 Ichakacha.

Лорӟ мифӟнӟбӟгӟ тӟ манӟпӟ лорӟ ликӟгӟвӟвӟ.

[lorə mifənəbəɡə tə manəpə lorə likəɡəʋəʋə]

lo
the -rə
sing m-
ACT ifənəbəɡə
jaguar tə
PAST man
kill -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA ikəɡəʋəʋə
hunter

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (15)
Лорӟ мачӟфӟлӟбӟ тӟ рифӟпӟ лорӟ ликӟгӟвӟвӟ лорӟ ланӟлӟ лорӟ ленӟгӟ.

[lorə mat͡ʃəfələbə tə rifəpə lorə likəɡəʋəʋə lorə lanələ lorə lenəɡə]

lo
the -rə
sing m-
ACT at͡ʃəfələbə
lion tə
PAST rif
eat -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA ikəɡəʋəʋə
hunter lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA anələ
daughter lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA enəɡə
dog

“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 Ichakacha 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, Ichakacha 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.

фо лорӟ лучӟдӟ лорӟ лебӟчӟ лорӟ лавӟгӟ

[fo lorə lut͡ʃədə lorə lebət͡ʃə lorə laʋəɡə]

fo
2.sing lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA ut͡ʃədə
son lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA ebət͡ʃə
friend lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA aʋəɡə
book

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (17)

Case Marking

Ichakacha uses active case marking. Intransitive subjects are divided according to how they participate in the event. More agent-like subjects, such as the subject of ‘run’ or ‘shout’, pattern with transitive subjects and take the active or agentive case. Less agent-like subjects, such as the subject of ‘sleep’ or ‘be ill’, pattern with transitive objects and take the patientive or absolutive case. This system makes sense where the grammar treats control, volition or affectedness as more important than the simple distinction between subject and object.

Лорӟ ловӟлӟ ривӟпӟ.

[lorə loʋələ riʋəpə]

lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA oʋələ
cat riʋ
sleep -əpə
active

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (18)
Лорӟ мовӟлӟ чатӟпӟ.

[lorə moʋələ t͡ʃatəpə]

lo
the -rə
sing m-
ACT oʋələ
cat t͡ʃat
run -əpə
active

“The cat is running.”

 (19)
Лорӟ мовӟлӟ нӟкафӟпӟ лорӟ лурӟтӟрӟвӟ.

[lorə moʋələ nəkafəpə lorə lurətərəʋə]

lo
the -rə
sing m-
ACT oʋələ
cat nəkaf
chase -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA urətərəʋə
mouse

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (20)
Лорӟ мовӟлӟ тӟ пумӟпӟ лорӟ лурӟтӟрӟвӟ.

[lorə moʋələ tə puməpə lorə lurətərəʋə]

lo
the -rə
sing m-
ACT oʋələ
cat tə
PAST pum
catch -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA urətərəʋə
mouse

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Лорӟ микӟгӟвӟвӟ тӟ манӟпӟ лонӟ лифӟнӟбӟгӟ со лонӟ ланӟпӟсӟкӟ со лонӟ лачӟфӟлӟбӟ.

[lorə mikəɡəʋəʋə tə manəpə lonə lifənəbəɡə so lonə lanəpəsəkə so lonə lat͡ʃəfələbə]

lo
the -rə
sing m-
ACT ikəɡəʋəʋə
hunter tə
PAST man
kill -əpə
active lo
the -nə
plur l-
STA ifənəbəɡə
jaguar so
and lo
the -nə
plur l-
STA anəpəsəkə
tiger so
and lo
the -nə
plur l-
STA at͡ʃəfələbə
lion

“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 Ichakacha 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

Ichakacha 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:

Тӟ нӟсулӟпӟ лорӟ ловӟлӟ.

[tə nəsuləpə lorə loʋələ]

tə
PAST nəsul
pat -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA oʋələ
cat

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Тӟ нӟсулӟпӟ лорӟ ловӟлӟ, ма тӟ пумӟпӟ лорӟ лурӟтӟрӟвӟ.

[tə nəsuləpə lorə loʋələ, ma tə puməpə lorə lurətərəʋə]

tə
PAST nəsul
pat -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA oʋələ,
cat ma
RELPRON tə
PAST pum
catch -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA urətərəʋə
mouse

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Тӟ нӟсулӟпӟ лорӟ ловӟлӟ, ма тӟ пумӟпӟ лорӟ лурӟтӟрӟвӟ, ма тӟ рифӟпӟ лорӟ лофӟчӟсӟчӟ.

[tə nəsuləpə lorə loʋələ, ma tə puməpə lorə lurətərəʋə, ma tə rifəpə lorə lofət͡ʃəsət͡ʃə]

tə
PAST nəsul
pat -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA oʋələ,
cat ma
RELPRON tə
PAST pum
catch -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA urətərəʋə,
mouse ma
RELPRON tə
PAST rif
eat -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA ofət͡ʃəsət͡ʃə
cheese

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

 (25)

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

Тӟ нӟсулӟпӟ лорӟ ловӟлӟ, ма тӟ пумӟпӟ лорӟ лурӟтӟрӟвӟ, ма тӟ рифӟпӟ лорӟ лофӟчӟсӟчӟ, ма тӟ нумӟпӟ ме.

[tə nəsuləpə lorə loʋələ, ma tə puməpə lorə lurətərəʋə, ma tə rifəpə lorə lofət͡ʃəsət͡ʃə, ma tə numəpə me]

tə
PAST nəsul
pat -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA oʋələ,
cat ma
RELPRON tə
PAST pum
catch -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA urətərəʋə,
mouse ma
RELPRON tə
PAST rif
eat -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing l-
STA ofət͡ʃəsət͡ʃə,
cheese ma
RELPRON tə
PAST num
buy -əpə
active me
1excl.sing

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Ichakacha 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:

Лорӟ мидӟсӟ тӟ сусӟпӟ лорӟ симӟрӟ личӟсӟлӟчӟ вӟвудӟ тӟ вӟсетӟпӟ лорӟ салӟмӟмӟдӟ.

[lorə midəsə tə susəpə lorə simərə lit͡ʃəsələt͡ʃə ʋəʋudə tə ʋəsetəpə lorə saləməmədə]

lo
the -rə
sing m-
ACT idəsə
boy tə
PAST sus
give -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing s-
DAT imərə
girl l-
STA it͡ʃəsələt͡ʃə
apple ʋəʋudə
COMP tə
PAST ʋəset
surprise -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing s-
DAT aləməmədə
teacher

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

 (27)

Quotes

Ichakacha 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:

Лорӟ мидӟсӟ тӟ бигӟпӟ лорӟ симӟрӟ ме пинӟпӟ фо вӟвудӟ.

[lorə midəsə tə biɡəpə lorə simərə me pinəpə fo ʋəʋudə]

lo
the -rə
sing m-
ACT idəsə
boy tə
PAST biɡ
tell -əpə
active lo
the -rə
sing s-
DAT imərə
girl me
1excl.sing pin
love -əpə
active fo
2.sing ʋəʋudə
COMP

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

 (28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Ichakacha. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 12 June 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/43VGA

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-43VGA,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Ichakacha}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/43VGA}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 12 June 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Ichakacha / Ichakacha–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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