A Grammar of Kat

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Kat language (the 311th 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 Kat.

Typological Profile

It has a small but genuine set of click consonants and the VSO basic order, common globally but unusual in many families.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Kat has a moderately large consonant inventory, with 28 phonemes.

It has a small but genuine set of click consonants.

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

labialdentalalveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalvelarglottal
stopp b d t c ɟ k ɡ
ejective stop
nasalm n ɲ ŋ
fricativef s ʃ x h
approximantw l j ɰ
affricatet͡ʃ t͡ɕ
implosiveɓ
clickᵏǀ
click, nasalᵑǀ

Vowels

Kat 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 vertical vowel system in which backness distinctions are largely absent, phonologically distinctive back unrounded vowels, a partially contrastive system of vowel length and a maximally “square” vowel system balancing heights across backness.

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

central
closeɨ
midə
opena

Stress and Tones

Kat 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

Kat 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/ई /c/
ए /ə/एः /ə̰/ऐ /əː/औ /au/
क् /k/ग् /ɡ/ङ् /ŋ/च् /t͡ɕ/
ज् /ɟ/ञ् /ɲ/ड् /ɰ/त् /t/
थ् /ai/द् /d/न् /n/प् /p/
ब् /b/भ् /ɓ/म् /m/य् /j/
ल् /l/व् /w/ष् /ʃ/स् /s/
ह् /h/क़ /kʼ/फ़् /f/ॶ /ɨ/
ॶः /ɨ̰/ॷ /ɨː/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

क्त् /ᵏǀ/ङ्त् /ᵑǀ/च्ष् /t͡ʃ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Kat does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Kat does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

डः गौ क्तै स्थ्जद क्तषा क्तै गवॖःदॖ फ़्थ् चा ङ्तॖच्षईॶःदॖ क्तै बौगॖःदॖ।

[ɰa̰ ɡau ˈᵏǀəː ˈsaiɟada ᵏǀaˈʃaː ˈᵏǀəː ˈɡawɨ̰dɨ ˈfai ˈt͡ɕaː ᵑǀɨˈt͡ʃacɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ˈbauɡɨ̰dɨ]

ɰa̰
PAST
ɡau
catch
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈsaiɟ
woman
-ada
ERG
ᵏǀaˈʃaː
COMIT
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈɡaw
knife
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈfai
yon
t͡ɕ-
NOM
ˈaː
three
ᵑǀɨˈt͡ʃac
mouse
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈbauɡ
blind
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“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 Kat consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -ॶःदॖ /-ɨ̰dɨ/ ‘NOM’, -अद /-ada/ ‘ERG’, -अईअः /-aca̰/ ‘ACC’, -अःङॖः /-a̰ŋɨ̰/ ‘DAT’, -अःकॖ /-a̰kɨ/ ‘INS’, -ॶःवॖ /-ɨ̰wɨ/ ‘VOC’, -ॶःव /-ɨ̰wa/ ‘ALL’, -ॶःस /-ɨ̰sa/ ‘LOC’, -अह /-aha/ ‘ABL’ and -अफ़ॖ /-afɨ/ ‘PART’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: 11 suffixes, namely -ॶत् /-ɨt/ ‘little’, -ॶष् /-ɨʃ/ ‘big’, -अब् /-ab/ ‘old’, -अत् /-at/ ‘new’, -अज् /-aɟ/ ‘good’, -अप् /-ap/ ‘bad’, -ॶमॖ /-ɨmɨ/ ‘have’, -अफ़ /-afa/ ‘use’, -अचॖ /-at͡ɕɨ/ ‘see’, -ॶज /-ɨɟa/ ‘make’ and -ॶनॖ /-ɨnɨ/ ‘break’

The Adjective

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

Numerals

The morphology of the numerals is as follows: an obligatory prefix expressing case, comprising च्- /t͡ɕ-/ ‘NOM’, य्- /j-/ ‘ERG’, व्- /w-/ ‘ACC’, म्- /m-/ ‘DAT’, फ़्- /f-/ ‘INS’, प्- /p-/ ‘VOC’, क़- /kʼ-/ ‘ALL’, ङ्- /ŋ-/ ‘LOC’, - /x-/ ‘ABL’ and भ्- /ɓ-/ ‘PART’ followed by the root.

Determiners

The determiner in Kat stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

Pronouns

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

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

गॖ दै।

[ɡɨ ˈdəː]

ɡɨ
love
ˈdəː
3

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(2)

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

गॖ दै दै।

[ɡɨ ˈdəː ˈdəː]

ɡɨ
love
ˈdəː
3
ˈdəː
3

He loves her.”

(3)

Proper Nouns

ङ्तयॖलः क्तै वःषईॶःदॖ क्तै पच्थ्कईअः।

[ᵑǀaˈjɨla̰ ˈᵏǀəː wa̰ˈʃacɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː paˈt͡ɕaikaca̰]

ᵑǀaˈjɨla̰
hate
ˈᵏǀəː
the
wa̰ˈʃac
Washach
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
paˈt͡ɕaik
Pachaik
-aca̰
ACC

“Washach hates Pachaik.”

(4)

Possession

क्तै क्तबाचॖःदॖ क्तै ङ्तहॖःदॖ

[ˈᵏǀəː ᵏǀaˈbaːt͡ɕɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ˈᵑǀahɨ̰dɨ]

ˈᵏǀəː
the
ᵏǀaˈbaːt͡ɕ
apple
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈᵑǀah
boy
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“the boy’s apple”

(5)
क्तै क्तबाचॖःदॖ दै

[ˈᵏǀəː ᵏǀaˈbaːt͡ɕɨ̰dɨ ˈdəː]

ˈᵏǀəː
the
ᵏǀaˈbaːt͡ɕ
apple
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈdəː
3

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(6)
क्तै क्तबाचॖःदॖ लः

[ˈᵏǀəː ᵏǀaˈbaːt͡ɕɨ̰dɨ ˈla̰]

ˈᵏǀəː
the
ᵏǀaˈbaːt͡ɕ
apple
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈla̰
1excl

“my apple”

(7)
डः हसॖज क्तै कञद क्तै क़ॶन्थ्दॖःदॖ क्तै चॖचॖःदॖ क्तै ङ्तल्थ्दॖःदॖ डॖः।

[ɰa̰ haˈsɨɟa ˈᵏǀəː ˈkaɲada ˈᵏǀəː kʼɨˈnaidɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ˈt͡ɕɨt͡ɕɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ᵑǀaˈlaidɨ̰dɨ ˈɰɨ̰]

ɰa̰
PAST
haˈsɨɟa
kiss
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈkaɲ
daughter
-ada
ERG
ˈᵏǀəː
the
kʼɨˈnaid
hunter
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈt͡ɕɨt͡ɕ
son
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ᵑǀaˈlaid
neighbour
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈɰɨ̰
2

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

(8)

Derivation

चेः हलेःतॖःदॖ

[ˈt͡ɕə̰ haˈlə̰tɨ̰dɨ]

ˈt͡ɕə̰
a
haˈlə̰t
lamb
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“a lamb”

(9)
चेः हलेःतॖतॖःदॖ

[ˈt͡ɕə̰ haˈlə̰tɨtɨ̰dɨ]

ˈt͡ɕə̰
a
haˈlə̰t
lamb
-ɨt
little
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“a little lamb”

(10)
डः ऐ चेः हलेःतॖतॖःदॖ।

[ɰa̰ xəː ˈt͡ɕə̰ haˈlə̰tɨtɨ̰dɨ]

ɰa̰
PAST
xəː
have
ˈt͡ɕə̰
a
haˈlə̰t
lamb
-ɨt
little
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“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:

डः गॖ चेः हलेःतॖःदॖ क्तै ङ्तौलॖःदॖ।

[ɰa̰ ɡɨ ˈt͡ɕə̰ haˈlə̰tɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ˈᵑǀaulɨ̰dɨ]

ɰa̰
PAST
ɡɨ
love
ˈt͡ɕə̰
a
haˈlə̰t
lamb
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈᵑǀaul
black
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“She loved a black lamb.”

(12)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Kat fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing question, comprising /xa/ ‘Q’; second, a clitic expressing ta, comprising डः /ɰa̰/ ‘PAST’; third, a clitic expressing mode, comprising /sa/ ‘imperative’, डः /ɰa̰/ ‘conditional’ and तः /ta̰/ ‘optative’; fourth, a clitic expressing voice, comprising ईअ /ca/ ‘passive’; and finally, fifth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising मॖ /mɨ/ ‘NEG’.

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

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: five suffixes, namely -स /-sa/ ‘begin’, -कॖ /-kɨ/ ‘stop’, -नॖ /-nɨ/ ‘continue’, -द /-da/ ‘try’ and -न /-na/ ‘start’

गॖ डॖः।

[ɡɨ ˈɰɨ̰]

ɡɨ
love
ˈɰɨ̰
2

“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.

दॖ वौङॖःदॖ क्तै फ़बॖःदॖ

[ˈdɨ ˈwauŋɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ˈfabɨ̰dɨ]

ˈdɨ
in
ˈwauŋ
surface
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈfab
table
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“on the table”

(14)
तॖ ङ्त्थ्गॖःदॖ क्तै क्तःसबॖःदॖ

[ˈtɨ ˈᵑǀaiɡɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ᵏǀa̰ˈsabɨ̰dɨ]

ˈtɨ
to
ˈᵑǀaiɡ
inside
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ᵏǀa̰ˈsab
box
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“into the box”

(15)
क्तषा लः

[ᵏǀaˈʃaː ˈla̰]

ᵏǀaˈʃaː
COMIT
ˈla̰
1excl

“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.

The basic constituent order of Kat 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 Kat.

डः सॗ क्तै क़अकफ़द क्तै क़ॶन्थ्दॖःदॖ।

[ɰa̰ sɨː ˈᵏǀəː kʼaˈkafada ˈᵏǀəː kʼɨˈnaidɨ̰dɨ]

ɰa̰
PAST
sɨː
kill
ˈᵏǀəː
the
kʼaˈkaf
jaguar
-ada
ERG
ˈᵏǀəː
the
kʼɨˈnaid
hunter
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(17)
डः ईॶ क्तै मञेक़अद क्तै अङॖःदॖ क्तै कञॖःदॖ क्तै क़ॶन्थ्दॖःदॖ।

[ɰa̰ cɨ ˈᵏǀəː maˈɲəkʼada ˈᵏǀəː ˈxaŋɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ˈkaɲɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː kʼɨˈnaidɨ̰dɨ]

ɰa̰
PAST

eat
ˈᵏǀəː
the
maˈɲəkʼ
lion
-ada
ERG
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈxaŋ
dog
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈkaɲ
daughter
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
kʼɨˈnaid
hunter
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“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 Kat 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, Kat 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.

क्तै डॖगैहॖःदॖ क्तै क्तच्षॖःदॖ क्तै चॖचॖःदॖ डॖः

[ˈᵏǀəː ɰɨɡəːhɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ˈᵏǀat͡ʃɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ˈt͡ɕɨt͡ɕɨ̰dɨ ˈɰɨ̰]

ˈᵏǀəː
the
ɰɨɡəːh
book
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈᵏǀat͡ʃ
friend
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈt͡ɕɨt͡ɕ
son
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈɰɨ̰
2

“your son’s friend’s book”

(19)

Case Marking

Kat 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.

च्षॗ क्तै ङ्तःबॖःदॖ।

[t͡ʃɨː ˈᵏǀəː ˈᵑǀa̰bɨ̰dɨ]

t͡ʃɨː
sleep
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈᵑǀa̰b
cat
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“The cat is sleeping.”

(20)
व क्तै ङ्तःबॖःदॖ।

[wa ˈᵏǀəː ˈᵑǀa̰bɨ̰dɨ]

wa
run
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈᵑǀa̰b
cat
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“The cat is running.”

(21)
ईअःदेन क्तै ङ्तःबॖःदॖ क्तै ङ्तॖच्षईअईअः।

[ca̰ˈdəna ˈᵏǀəː ˈᵑǀa̰bɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ᵑǀɨˈt͡ʃacaca̰]

ca̰ˈdəna
chase
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈᵑǀa̰b
cat
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ᵑǀɨˈt͡ʃac
mouse
-aca̰
ACC

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

(22)
डः गौ क्तै ङ्तःबद क्तै ङ्तॖच्षईॶःदॖ।

[ɰa̰ ɡau ˈᵏǀəː ˈᵑǀa̰bada ˈᵏǀəː ᵑǀɨˈt͡ʃacɨ̰dɨ]

ɰa̰
PAST
ɡau
catch
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈᵑǀa̰b
cat
-ada
ERG
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ᵑǀɨˈt͡ʃac
mouse
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“The cat caught the mouse.”

(23)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

डः सॗ क्तै क़ॶन्थ्दद क्तै क़अकफ़ॖःदॖ फ़ क्तै डवेलॖःदॖ फ़ क्तै मञेक़ॶःदॖ।

[ɰa̰ sɨː ˈᵏǀəː kʼɨˈnaidada ˈᵏǀəː kʼaˈkafɨ̰dɨ ˈfa ˈᵏǀəː ɰaˈwəlɨ̰dɨ ˈfa ˈᵏǀəː maˈɲəkʼɨ̰dɨ]

ɰa̰
PAST
sɨː
kill
ˈᵏǀəː
the
kʼɨˈnaid
hunter
-ada
ERG
ˈᵏǀəː
the
kʼaˈkaf
jaguar
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈfa
and
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ɰaˈwəl
tiger
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈfa
and
ˈᵏǀəː
the
maˈɲəkʼ
lion
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“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 Kat 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

Kat 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:

डः यहःक़अ क्तै ङ्तःबॖःदॖ।

[ɰa̰ jaˈha̰kʼa ˈᵏǀəː ˈᵑǀa̰bɨ̰dɨ]

ɰa̰
PAST
jaˈha̰kʼa
pat
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈᵑǀa̰b
cat
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“I patted the cat.”

(25)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

डः यहःक़अ डः गौ क्तै ङ्तॖच्षईॶःदॖ क्तै ङ्तःबॖःदॖ।

[ɰa̰ jaˈha̰kʼa ɰa̰ ɡau ˈᵏǀəː ᵑǀɨˈt͡ʃacɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ˈᵑǀa̰bɨ̰dɨ]

ɰa̰
PAST
jaˈha̰kʼa
pat
ɰa̰
PAST
ɡau
catch
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ᵑǀɨˈt͡ʃac
mouse
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈᵑǀa̰b
cat
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(26)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

डः यहःक़अ डः गौ डः ईॶ क्तै सजौलॖःदॖ क्तै ङ्तॖच्षईॶःदॖ क्तै ङ्तःबॖःदॖ।

[ɰa̰ jaˈha̰kʼa ɰa̰ ɡau ɰa̰ cɨ ˈᵏǀəː saˈɟaulɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ᵑǀɨˈt͡ʃacɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ˈᵑǀa̰bɨ̰dɨ]

ɰa̰
PAST
jaˈha̰kʼa
pat
ɰa̰
PAST
ɡau
catch
ɰa̰
PAST

eat
ˈᵏǀəː
the
saˈɟaul
cheese
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ᵑǀɨˈt͡ʃac
mouse
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈᵑǀa̰b
cat
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

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

(27)

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

डः यहःक़अ डः गौ डः ईॶ डः डः क्तै सजौलॖःदॖ लः क्तै ङ्तॖच्षईॶःदॖ क्तै ङ्तःबॖःदॖ।

[ɰa̰ jaˈha̰kʼa ɰa̰ ɡau ɰa̰ cɨ ɰa̰ ɰa̰ ˈᵏǀəː saˈɟaulɨ̰dɨ ˈla̰ ˈᵏǀəː ᵑǀɨˈt͡ʃacɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ˈᵑǀa̰bɨ̰dɨ]

ɰa̰
PAST
jaˈha̰kʼa
pat
ɰa̰
PAST
ɡau
catch
ɰa̰
PAST

eat
ɰa̰
PAST
ɰa̰
buy
ˈᵏǀəː
the
saˈɟaul
cheese
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈla̰
1excl
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ᵑǀɨˈt͡ʃac
mouse
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈᵑǀa̰b
cat
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM

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

(28)

Complementation Strategies

Kat 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:

डः वभॖच डः ल चेः क्तबाचॖःदॖ क्तै नेःईअःङॖः क्तै ङ्तहद क्तै षॖईॷईअःङॖः।

[ɰa̰ waˈɓɨt͡ɕa ɰa̰ la ˈt͡ɕə̰ ᵏǀaˈbaːt͡ɕɨ̰dɨ ˈᵏǀəː ˈnə̰ca̰ŋɨ̰ ˈᵏǀəː ˈᵑǀahada ˈᵏǀəː ʃɨcɨːca̰ŋɨ̰]

ɰa̰
PAST
waˈɓɨt͡ɕa
surprise
ɰa̰
PAST
la
give
ˈt͡ɕə̰
a
ᵏǀaˈbaːt͡ɕ
apple
-ɨ̰dɨ
NOM
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈnə̰c
girl
-a̰ŋɨ̰
DAT
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈᵑǀah
boy
-ada
ERG
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ʃɨcɨːc
teacher
-a̰ŋɨ̰
DAT

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

(29)

Quotes

Kat 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:

डः व्थ् क्तै ङ्तहद गॖ डॖः लः क्तै नेःईअःङॖः।

[ɰa̰ wai ˈᵏǀəː ˈᵑǀahada ɡɨ ˈɰɨ̰ ˈla̰ ˈᵏǀəː ˈnə̰ca̰ŋɨ̰]

ɰa̰
PAST
wai
tell
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈᵑǀah
boy
-ada
ERG
ɡɨ
love
ˈɰɨ̰
2
ˈla̰
1excl
ˈᵏǀəː
the
ˈnə̰c
girl
-a̰ŋɨ̰
DAT

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

(30)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Kat. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 13 June 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/4AQDA

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-4AQDA,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Kat}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/4AQDA}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 13 June 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Kat / Kat–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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https://languagecreator.org/grammar/4AQDA

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