A Grammar of Gaud

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Gaud language (the 295th 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 Gaud.

Typological Profile

It has not just singular and plural, but also dual, as well as the VSO basic order, common globally but unusual in many families and postpositions.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Gaud has a large consonant inventory, comprising 36 phonemes.

It has a richly developed set of pharyngealised consonants, a conspicuous absence of approximants, a broad set of voiced–voiceless oppositions and a markedly rich set of labial consonants.

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

labialphar. labialdentalphar. dentalalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolarpalatalvelarphar. velarglottal
stopp b pˤ bˤ d t dˤ tˤ k ɡ kˤ ɡˤ
ejective stoptˤʼ kˤʼ
nasalm n ɲ
fricativef s z sˤ zˤ ʃ ʒ h
affricatet͡ʃ
clickᵏǀ ᵏǀˤ
ejective clickᵏǀʼ ᵏǀˤʼ

Vowels

Gaud 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 a triangular vowel system with few low vowels, front rounded vowels (these are cross-linguistically relatively uncommon, but occur in a number of well-known languages, including French, German, Turkish and Mandarin) and a moderately reduced system of unstressed vowels.

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

front unroundedfront roundedcentralback
closei y u
midə
opena

Stress and Tones

Gaud 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

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

Gaud 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

ə /ə/ə̰ /ə̰/а /a/а’ /a̰/
б /b/г /h/д /d/ж /ʒ/
з /z/и /i/и’ /ḭ/к /k/
м /m/н /n/п /p/с /s/
т /t/у /u/у’ /ṵ/ф /f/
ч /t͡ʃ/ш /ʃ/њ /ɲ/ґ /ɡ/
ү /y/ү’ /y̰/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

əː /əː/аа /aː/ай /ai/
аў /au/бъ /bˤ/дъ /dˤ/
зъ /zˤ/ии /iː/къ /kʼ, kˤ/
къъ /kʼˤ/мъ /mˤ/нъ /nˤ/
пъ /pˤ/съ /sˤ/тъ /tʼ, tˤ/
тъъ /tʼˤ/уу /uː/фъ /fˤ/
ҁт /ᵏǀ/ҁтъ /ᵏǀʼ, ᵏǀˤ/ҁтъъ /ᵏǀʼˤ/
ґъ /ɡˤ/үү /yː/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Gaud distinguishes singular, dual and plural.

Gender

Gaud does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Нъа къүү зу’ нъүү дə̰диси’ нъүү тифъиси’ дъəː ҁтъъə ча му’ бъазъису фъуу.

[nˤa ˈkʼyː zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈdə̰disḭ ˈnˤyː ˈtifˤisḭ ˈdˤəː ˈᵏǀʼˤə ˈt͡ʃa ˈmṵ ˈbˤazˤisu ˈfˤuː]

nˤa
PAST
ˈkʼyː
catch
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈdə̰d
woman
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈtifˤ
knife
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
ˈdˤəː
COMIT
ˈᵏǀʼˤə
blind
t͡ʃ-
plur
ˈa
yon
ˈmṵ
three
ˈbˤazˤ
mouse
-is
NOM
-u
plur
ˈfˤuː
COMP

“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 чии /t͡ʃiː/ ‘1incl.sing’, съаа /sˤaː/ ‘1excl.sing’, ҁтъуу /ᵏǀʼuː/ ‘2.sing’, фъу’ /fˤṵ/ ‘3.sing’, дъу’ /dˤṵ/ ‘1incl.dual’, на’ /na̰/ ‘1excl.dual’, къи /kʼi/ ‘2.dual’, су /su/ ‘3.dual’, ка /ka/ ‘1incl.plur’, ки /ki/ ‘1excl.plur’, фу /fu/ ‘2.plur’ and къуу /kʼuː/ ‘3.plur’.

The morphology of the elements of the nominal phrase, i.e., nouns, numerals and pronouns, is described below, as is the way that possession is expressed in Gaud.

The Noun

The noun in Gaud consists of first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -ис /-is/ ‘NOM’, -уфъ /-ufˤ/ ‘ACC’, -иисъ /-iːsˤ/ ‘GEN’, -итъ /-itˤ/ ‘DAT’, -иж /-iʒ/ ‘INS’, -уукъъ /-uːkʼˤ/ ‘VOC’, -уг /-uh/ ‘ALL’, -и’нъ /-ḭnˤ/ ‘LOC’, -атъъ /-atʼˤ/ ‘ABL’ and -аатъъ /-aːtʼˤ/ ‘PART’; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -и’ /-ḭ/ ‘sing’, /-a/ ‘dual’ and /-u/ ‘plur’.

The Adjective

In Gaud, the adjective has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising /-u/ ‘sing’, /-i/ ‘dual’ and -у’ /-ṵ/ ‘plur’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Gaud, the determiner has the following structure: an obligatory prefix expressing number, comprising нъ- /nˤ-/ ‘sing’, пъ- /pˤ-/ ‘dual’ and ч- /t͡ʃ-/ ‘plur’ followed by the root.

Pronouns

The pronoun in Gaud has the following structure: an obligatory prefix expressing number, comprising зъ- /zˤ-/ ‘sing’, з- /z-/ ‘dual’ and пъ- /pˤ-/ ‘plur’ followed by the root.

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

Нə̰ зу’ зъүмъүү.

[ˈnə̰ zṵ ˈzˤymˤyː]

ˈnə̰
love
zṵ
indicative
zˤ-
sing
ˈymˤyː
3.sing

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(2)

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

Нə̰ зу’ зъүмъүү зъүмъүү.

[ˈnə̰ zṵ ˈzˤymˤyː ˈzˤymˤyː]

ˈnə̰
love
zṵ
indicative
zˤ-
sing
ˈymˤyː
3.sing
zˤ-
sing
ˈymˤyː
3.sing

He loves her.”

(3)

Proper Nouns

Тъъа зу’ нъүү Нъайбъиси’ нъүү Тъууґъуфъи’.

[ˈtʼˤa zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈnˤaibˤisḭ ˈnˤyː ˈtˤuːɡˤufˤḭ]

ˈtʼˤa
hate
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈnˤaibˤ
Naib
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈtˤuːɡˤ
Tug
-ufˤ
ACC
-ḭ
sing

“Naib hates Tug.”

(4)

Possession

нъүү ҁтъъиниисъи’ нъүү съəсиси’ фъу’

[ˈnˤyː ˈᵏǀʼˤiniːsˤḭ ˈnˤyː ˈsˤəsisḭ fˤṵ]

nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈᵏǀʼˤin
boy
-iːsˤ
GEN
-ḭ
sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈsˤəs
apple
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
fˤṵ
3.sing.POSS

“the boy’s apple”

(5)
зъүмъүү нъүү съəсиси’ фъу’

[ˈzˤymˤyː ˈnˤyː ˈsˤəsisḭ fˤṵ]

zˤ-
sing
ˈymˤyː
3.sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈsˤəs
apple
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
fˤṵ
3.sing.POSS

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(6)
нъүү съəсиси’ съаа

[ˈnˤyː ˈsˤəsisḭ sˤaː]

nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈsˤəs
apple
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
sˤaː
1excl.sing.POSS

“my apple”

(7)
Нъа мə зу’ нъүү дакъиисъи’ нъүү матъиси’ фъу’ нъүү къитъиисъи’ ҁтъуу нъүү дитуфъи’ фъу’.

[nˤa ˈmə zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈdakˤiːsˤḭ ˈnˤyː ˈmatʼisḭ fˤṵ ˈnˤyː ˈkʼitˤiːsˤḭ ᵏǀʼuː ˈnˤyː ˈditufˤḭ fˤṵ]

nˤa
PAST
ˈmə
kiss
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈdakˤ
hunter
-iːsˤ
GEN
-ḭ
sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈmatʼ
daughter
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
fˤṵ
3.sing.POSS
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈkʼitˤ
neighbour
-iːsˤ
GEN
-ḭ
sing
ᵏǀʼuː
2.sing.POSS
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈdit
son
-ufˤ
ACC
-ḭ
sing
fˤṵ
3.sing.POSS

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

(8)

Derivation

Gaud has no derivational processes.

нъу’ каатъиси’

[ˈnˤṵ ˈkaːtˤisḭ]

nˤ-
sing
ˈṵ
a
ˈkaːtˤ
lamb
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing

“a lamb”

(9)

Note how none show up here:

Нъа фа зу’ нъа ту’ зу’ нъу’ фъи каатъиси’ фъуу фъуу.

[nˤa ˈfa zṵ nˤa ˈtṵ zṵ ˈnˤṵ ˈfˤi ˈkaːtˤisḭ ˈfˤuː ˈfˤuː]

nˤa
PAST
ˈfa
want
zṵ
indicative
nˤa
PAST
ˈtṵ
have
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈṵ
a
ˈfˤi
little
ˈkaːtˤ
lamb
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
ˈfˤuː
COMP
ˈfˤuː
COMP

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

(10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Gaud fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing question, comprising па’ /pa̰/ ‘Q’; second, a clitic expressing voice, comprising ња /ɲa/ ‘passive’; third, a clitic expressing ta, comprising нъа /nˤa/ ‘PAST’; fourth, a clitic expressing mode, comprising зу’ /zṵ/ ‘indicative’, шу /ʃu/ ‘conditional’ and ма’ /ma̰/ ‘optative’; and finally, fifth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising гуу /huː/ ‘NEG’.

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

Нə̰ зу’ зъа’ки.

[ˈnə̰ zṵ ˈzˤa̰ki]

ˈnə̰
love
zṵ
indicative
zˤ-
sing
ˈa̰ki
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.

нъүү чатъиси’ ґъүү

[ˈnˤyː ˈt͡ʃatʼisḭ ˈɡˤyː]

nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈt͡ʃatʼ
table
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
ˈɡˤyː
in_surface

“on the table”

(12)
нъүү чаўфиси’ пи

[ˈnˤyː ˈt͡ʃaufisḭ ˈpi]

nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈt͡ʃauf
box
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
ˈpi
to_inside

“into the box”

(13)
зъидъи’ дъəː

[ˈzˤidˤḭ ˈdˤəː]

zˤ-
sing
ˈidˤḭ
1excl.sing
ˈdˤəː
COMIT

“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.

The basic constituent order of Gaud 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 Gaud.

Нъа шүү зу’ нъүү нъукъиси’ нъүү дакъуфъи’.

[nˤa ˈʃyː zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈnˤukʼisḭ ˈnˤyː ˈdakˤufˤḭ]

nˤa
PAST
ˈʃyː
kill
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈnˤukʼ
jaguar
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈdakˤ
hunter
-ufˤ
ACC
-ḭ
sing

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(15)
Нъа ка’ зу’ нъүү дъайнъиси’ нъүү дакъиисъи’ нъүү матъиисъи’ фъу’ нъүү жиичуфъи’ фъу’.

[nˤa ˈka̰ zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈdˤainˤisḭ ˈnˤyː ˈdakˤiːsˤḭ ˈnˤyː ˈmatʼiːsˤḭ fˤṵ ˈnˤyː ˈʒiːt͡ʃufˤḭ fˤṵ]

nˤa
PAST
ˈka̰
eat
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈdˤainˤ
lion
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈdakˤ
hunter
-iːsˤ
GEN
-ḭ
sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈmatʼ
daughter
-iːsˤ
GEN
-ḭ
sing
fˤṵ
3.sing.POSS
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈʒiːt͡ʃ
dog
-ufˤ
ACC
-ḭ
sing
fˤṵ
3.sing.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 Gaud 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, Gaud 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.

нъүү дитиисъи’ ҁтъуу нъүү мъанъиисъи’ фъу’ нъүү паакиси’ фъу’

[ˈnˤyː ˈditiːsˤḭ ᵏǀʼuː ˈnˤyː ˈmˤanˤiːsˤḭ fˤṵ ˈnˤyː ˈpaːkisḭ fˤṵ]

nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈdit
son
-iːsˤ
GEN
-ḭ
sing
ᵏǀʼuː
2.sing.POSS
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈmˤanˤ
friend
-iːsˤ
GEN
-ḭ
sing
fˤṵ
3.sing.POSS
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈpaːk
book
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
fˤṵ
3.sing.POSS

“your son’s friend’s book”

(17)

Case Marking

Gaud uses nominative–accusative case marking. The subject of an intransitive verb and the subject of a transitive verb are treated alike and take the nominative case, while the object of a transitive verb is marked with the accusative case. This is the familiar pattern from many European languages: the grammar groups together the participants that function as subjects and marks the participant affected by a transitive action separately.

Пъə зу’ нъүү мъүүкъиси’.

[ˈpˤə zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈmˤyːkˤisḭ]

ˈpˤə
sleep
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈmˤyːkˤ
cat
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing

“The cat is sleeping.”

(18)
[??2: rун_verб] нъүү мъүүкъиси’.

[[??2: run_verb] ˈnˤyː ˈmˤyːkˤisḭ]

[??2: run_verb]
run
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈmˤyːkˤ
cat
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing

“The cat is running.”

(19)
[??2: cгасe_verб] нъүү мъүүкъиси’ нъүү бъазъуфъи’.

[[??2: chase_verb] ˈnˤyː ˈmˤyːkˤisḭ ˈnˤyː ˈbˤazˤufˤḭ]

[??2: chase_verb]
chase
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈmˤyːkˤ
cat
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈbˤazˤ
mouse
-ufˤ
ACC
-ḭ
sing

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

(20)
Нъа къүү зу’ нъүү мъүүкъиси’ нъүү бъазъуфъи’.

[nˤa ˈkʼyː zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈmˤyːkˤisḭ ˈnˤyː ˈbˤazˤufˤḭ]

nˤa
PAST
ˈkʼyː
catch
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈmˤyːkˤ
cat
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈbˤazˤ
mouse
-ufˤ
ACC
-ḭ
sing

“The cat caught the mouse.”

(21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Нъа шүү зу’ нъүү дакъиси’ чүү нъукъуфъу къаў чүү ҁтъүґүфъу къаў чүү дъайнъуфъу.

[nˤa ˈʃyː zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈdakˤisḭ ˈt͡ʃyː ˈnˤukʼufˤu ˈkʼau ˈt͡ʃyː ˈᵏǀʼyɡyfˤu ˈkʼau ˈt͡ʃyː ˈdˤainˤufˤu]

nˤa
PAST
ˈʃyː
kill
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈdakˤ
hunter
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
t͡ʃ-
plur
ˈyː
the
ˈnˤukʼ
jaguar
-ufˤ
ACC
-u
plur
ˈkʼau
and
t͡ʃ-
plur
ˈyː
the
ˈᵏǀʼyɡ
tiger
-yfˤ
ACC
-u
plur
ˈkʼau
and
t͡ʃ-
plur
ˈyː
the
ˈdˤainˤ
lion
-ufˤ
ACC
-u
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 Gaud 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

Gaud 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:

Нъа фуу зу’ нъүү мъүүкъүфъи’.

[nˤa ˈfuː zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈmˤyːkˤyfˤḭ]

nˤa
PAST
ˈfuː
pat
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈmˤyːkˤ
cat
-yfˤ
ACC
-ḭ
sing

“I patted the cat.”

(23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Нъа фуу зу’ нъа къүү зу’ нъүү мъүүкъиси’ нъүү бъазъуфъи’ фъуу.

[nˤa ˈfuː zṵ nˤa ˈkʼyː zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈmˤyːkˤisḭ ˈnˤyː ˈbˤazˤufˤḭ ˈfˤuː]

nˤa
PAST
ˈfuː
pat
zṵ
indicative
nˤa
PAST
ˈkʼyː
catch
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈmˤyːkˤ
cat
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈbˤazˤ
mouse
-ufˤ
ACC
-ḭ
sing
ˈfˤuː
COMP

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Нъа фуу зу’ нъа къүү зу’ нъүү мъүүкъиси’ нъа ка’ зу’ нъүү бъазъиси’ нъүү зъү’нүфъи’ фъуу фъуу.

[nˤa ˈfuː zṵ nˤa ˈkʼyː zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈmˤyːkˤisḭ nˤa ˈka̰ zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈbˤazˤisḭ ˈnˤyː ˈzˤy̰nyfˤḭ ˈfˤuː ˈfˤuː]

nˤa
PAST
ˈfuː
pat
zṵ
indicative
nˤa
PAST
ˈkʼyː
catch
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈmˤyːkˤ
cat
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
nˤa
PAST
ˈka̰
eat
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈbˤazˤ
mouse
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈzˤy̰n
cheese
-yfˤ
ACC
-ḭ
sing
ˈfˤuː
COMP
ˈfˤuː
COMP

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

(25)

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

Нъа фуу зу’ нъа къүү зу’ нъүү мъүүкъиси’ нъа ка’ зу’ нъүү бъазъиси’ нъа къуу зу’ зъидъи’ нъүү зъү’нүфъи’ фъуу фъуу фъуу.

[nˤa ˈfuː zṵ nˤa ˈkʼyː zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈmˤyːkˤisḭ nˤa ˈka̰ zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈbˤazˤisḭ nˤa ˈkˤuː zṵ ˈzˤidˤḭ ˈnˤyː ˈzˤy̰nyfˤḭ ˈfˤuː ˈfˤuː ˈfˤuː]

nˤa
PAST
ˈfuː
pat
zṵ
indicative
nˤa
PAST
ˈkʼyː
catch
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈmˤyːkˤ
cat
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
nˤa
PAST
ˈka̰
eat
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈbˤazˤ
mouse
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
nˤa
PAST
ˈkˤuː
buy
zṵ
indicative
zˤ-
sing
ˈidˤḭ
1excl.sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈzˤy̰n
cheese
-yfˤ
ACC
-ḭ
sing
ˈfˤuː
COMP
ˈfˤuː
COMP
ˈfˤuː
COMP

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

(26)

Complementation Strategies

Gaud 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:

Нъа къъаа зу’ нъа ча зу’ нъүү ҁтъъиниси’ нъу’ съəсуфъи’ нъүү ґəњитъи’ фъуу нъүү бичитъи’.

[nˤa ˈkʼˤaː zṵ nˤa ˈt͡ʃa zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈᵏǀʼˤinisḭ ˈnˤṵ ˈsˤəsufˤḭ ˈnˤyː ˈɡəɲitˤḭ ˈfˤuː ˈnˤyː ˈbit͡ʃitˤḭ]

nˤa
PAST
ˈkʼˤaː
surprise
zṵ
indicative
nˤa
PAST
ˈt͡ʃa
give
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈᵏǀʼˤin
boy
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈṵ
a
ˈsˤəs
apple
-ufˤ
ACC
-ḭ
sing
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈɡəɲ
girl
-itˤ
DAT
-ḭ
sing
ˈfˤuː
COMP
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈbit͡ʃ
teacher
-itˤ
DAT
-ḭ
sing

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

(27)

Quotes

Here is an example of how quotations are expressed:

Нъа [??2: тell_verб] зу’ нъүү ҁтъъиниси’ нə̰ зу’ зъидъи’ зъа’ки фъуу нъүү ґəњитъи’.

[nˤa [??2: tell_verb] zṵ ˈnˤyː ˈᵏǀʼˤinisḭ ˈnə̰ zṵ ˈzˤidˤḭ ˈzˤa̰ki ˈfˤuː ˈnˤyː ˈɡəɲitˤḭ]

nˤa
PAST
[??2: tell_verb]
tell
zṵ
indicative
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈᵏǀʼˤin
boy
-is
NOM
-ḭ
sing
ˈnə̰
love
zṵ
indicative
zˤ-
sing
ˈidˤḭ
1excl.sing
zˤ-
sing
ˈa̰ki
2.sing
ˈfˤuː
COMP
nˤ-
sing
ˈyː
the
ˈɡəɲ
girl
-itˤ
DAT
-ḭ
sing

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

(28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Gaud. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 13 June 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/47GSQ

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-47GSQ,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Gaud}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/47GSQ}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 13 June 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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