A Grammar of Sahqosahq

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Sahqosahq language (the 1601st 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 Sahqosahq.

Typological Profile

It has a maximally developed dental–alveolar opposition, ergative case marking, i.e., the object of a transitive verb is marked the same as the subject of an intransitive one, as well as a complete absence of fricative consonants, the VSO basic order, common globally but unusual in many families and postpositions.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Sahqosahq has a moderately large consonant inventory, with 30 phonemes.

It has a maximally developed dental–alveolar opposition, a complete absence of fricative consonants, an exceptionally dense sibilant inventory, a complete absence of affricates and a substantial inventory of palatal or palatalised consonants.

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

labialalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatalpalatalretroflexvelaruvularglottal
stopp t c ɟ ʈ k q ʔ
ejective stoptˤʼ ʈʼ
nasalm n ɲ ɳ ŋ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricatives ʃ ɕ ʑ ʂ h

Vowels

Sahqosahq has 9 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 partially contrastive system of vowel length, a triangular vowel system with few low vowels, occasional ghost vowels that surface only weakly and a fully three-way front–central–back distinction.

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

frontcentralback
closei ɨ u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Sahqosahq 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: /i/ becomes /ɨ/, /æ/ becomes /a/.

Writing System

Introduction

Sahqosahq is normally written using the Latin alphabet, whose familiarity makes it straightforward for most readers. For clarity and precision, phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) are also provided throughout this grammar.

Orthography

Here are the various components of the orthography:

Simple letters

a /a/e /e/h /h/i /i/
k /k/m /m/n /n/ṇ /nˤ/
o /o/p /p/q /q/s /s/
ṣ /sˤ/t /t/ṭ /tˤ/u /u/
y /ɨ/ñ /ɲ/ɕ /ɕ/ʑ /ʑ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

aa /aː/ai /ai/au /au/
cʼ /cʼ/dt /tʼ/dṭ /tʼˤ/
dy /ɟ/ee /eː/gk /kʼ/
gq /qʼ/ii /iː/ng /ŋ/
oo /oː/rn /ɳ/rr /ɽ/
rs /ʂ/rt /ʈ/sh /ʃ/
ty /c/uu /uː/yy /ɨː/
ɔi /ɔi/ʈʼ /ʈʼ/’ /ʔ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Sahqosahq does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Sahqosahq does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Ʈʼecʼ rreedṭ rtong ṣoʈʼ ṣdṭyy’ rson ɕeecʼigq rson shrtatyygq ṣysh’aṇ shyyrr ɕeh.

[ʈʼecʼ ˈɽeːtʼˤ ʈoŋ sˤoʈʼ ˈsˤtʼˤɨːʔ ˈʂon ˈɕeːcʼiqʼ ˈʂon ˈʃʈacɨqʼ sˤɨˈʃʔanˤ ˈʃɨːɽ ˈɕeh]

ʈʼecʼ
3.plur.SUBJ
ˈɽeːtʼˤ
blind
ʈoŋ
PAST
sˤoʈʼ
3.plur.OBJ
ˈsˤtʼˤɨːʔ
catch
ˈʂon
the
ˈɕeːcʼ
woman
-iqʼ
sing
ˈʂon
the
ˈʃʈac
knife
-iqʼ
sing
sˤiˈʃʔanˤ
COMIT
ˈʃɨːɽ
3.plur
ˈɕeh
then

“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 a proclitic (placed initially), expressing possessor. a clitic expressing possessor, comprising ʑeṇ /ʑenˤ/ ‘1incl.sing’, ṭers /tˤeʂ/ ‘1excl.sing’, ṣkik /sˤkik/ ‘2.sing’, ɕtun /ɕtun/ ‘3.sing’, nos /nos/ ‘1incl.plur’, rspe’ /ʂpeʔ/ ‘1excl.plur’, ngut /ŋut/ ‘2.plur’ and purs /puʂ/ ‘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 Sahqosahq.

The Noun

The noun in Sahqosahq consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -igq /-iqʼ/ ‘sing’ and -udt /-utʼ/ ‘plur’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: six prefixes, namely ṣqe- /sˤqe-/ ‘little’, ho- /ho-/ ‘big’, dṭi- /tʼˤi-/ ‘old’, tyi- /ci-/ ‘new’, scʼi- /scʼi-/ ‘good’ and ʈʼo- /ʈʼo-/ ‘bad’, and 14 circumfixes, namely mi-o /mi-o/ ‘have’, shrti-o /ʃʈi-o/ ‘use’, scʼu-u /scʼu-u/ ‘see’, rtu-e /ʈu-e/ ‘make’, ’u-o /ʔu-o/ ‘break’, dti-u /tʼi-u/ ‘eat’, rti-u /ʈi-u/ ‘drink’, ’o-o /ʔo-o/ ‘wear’, ke-u /ke-u/ ‘own’, ʈʼu-i /ʈʼu-i/ ‘contain’, rni-i /ɳi-i/ ‘hold’, ’e-e /ʔe-e/ ‘lack’, sṭi-e /stˤi-e/ ‘touch’ and ɕṭi-i /ɕtˤi-i/ ‘carry’

The Adjective

In Sahqosahq, the adjective has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -gk /-kʼ/ ‘ABS’, -s /-s/ ‘ERG’, -ty /-c/ ‘GEN’, -ṣ /-sˤ/ ‘DAT’, -ng /-ŋ/ ‘INS’, -gq /-qʼ/ ‘VOC’, -m /-m/ ‘ALL’, -h /-h/ ‘LOC’, -ṇ /-nˤ/ ‘ABL’ and -t /-t/ ‘PART’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

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

Pronouns

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

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

Shing srtiṣ.

[ʃiŋ ˈsʈisˤ]

ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈsʈisˤ
love

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(2)

But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:

Shing srtiṣ ɕ’yys.

[ʃiŋ ˈsʈisˤ ˈɕʔɨːs]

ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈsʈisˤ
love
ˈɕʔɨːs
3.sing

He loves her.”

(3)

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

Shing srtiṣ ɕ’yys.

[ʃiŋ ˈsʈisˤ ˈɕʔɨːs]

ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈsʈisˤ
love
ˈɕʔɨːs
3.sing

“He loves her.”

(4)

Proper Nouns

Shing ṣṭusrtiidt rson Dṭongisigq rson ɕkuɕrtuungigq.

[ʃiŋ sˤtˤuˈsʈiːtʼ ˈʂon tʼˤoˈŋisiqʼ ˈʂon ɕkuˈɕʈuːŋiqʼ]

ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
sˤtˤuˈsʈiːtʼ
hate
ˈʂon
the
tʼˤoˈŋis
Tongis
-iqʼ
sing
ˈʂon
the
ɕkuˈɕʈuːŋ
Sahkusahtung
-iqʼ
sing

“Tongis hates Sahkusahtung.”

(5)

Possession

ɕtun rson ɕkerraɕdtygq rson skiñigq

[ɕtun ˈʂon ɕkeˈɽaɕtʼɨqʼ ˈʂon ˈskiɲiqʼ]

ɕtun
3.sing.POSS
ˈʂon
the
ɕkeˈɽaɕtʼ
apple
-iqʼ
sing
ˈʂon
the
ˈskiɲ
boy
-iqʼ
sing

“the boy’s apple”

(6)
ɕtun rson ɕkerraɕdtygq ɕ’yys

[ɕtun ˈʂon ɕkeˈɽaɕtʼɨqʼ ˈɕʔɨːs]

ɕtun
3.sing.POSS
ˈʂon
the
ɕkeˈɽaɕtʼ
apple
-iqʼ
sing
ˈɕʔɨːs
3.sing

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(7)
ṭers rson ɕkerraɕdtygq

[tˤeʂ ˈʂon ɕkeˈɽaɕtʼɨqʼ]

tˤeʂ
1excl.sing.POSS
ˈʂon
the
ɕkeˈɽaɕtʼ
apple
-iqʼ
sing

“my apple”

(8)
Rtong shing pehu’ ɕtun rson sʈʼyrsgqygq rson dtugqigkigq ɕtun rson rriidtigq ṣkik rson rsrtudyorstyigq.

[ʈoŋ ʃiŋ peˈhuʔ ɕtun ˈʂon ˈsʈʼɨʂqʼɨqʼ ˈʂon tʼuˈqʼikʼiqʼ ɕtun ˈʂon ˈɽiːtʼiqʼ sˤkik ˈʂon ʂʈuˈɟoʂciqʼ]

ʈoŋ
PAST
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
peˈhuʔ
kiss
ɕtun
3.sing.POSS
ˈʂon
the
ˈsʈʼɨʂqʼ
daughter
-iqʼ
sing
ˈʂon
the
tʼuˈqʼikʼ
hunter
-iqʼ
sing
ɕtun
3.sing.POSS
ˈʂon
the
ˈɽiːtʼ
son
-iqʼ
sing
sˤkik
2.sing.POSS
ˈʂon
the
ʂʈuˈɟoʂc
neighbour
-iqʼ
sing

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

(9)

Derivation

ṭoɕteeṇigq

[tˤoˈɕteːnˤiqʼ]

tˤoˈɕteːnˤ
lamb
-iqʼ
sing

“a lamb”

(10)
ṣqeṭoɕteeṇigq

[sˤqetˤoˈɕteːnˤiqʼ]

sˤqe-
little
tˤoˈɕteːnˤ
lamb
-iqʼ
sing

“a little lamb”

(11)
Rtong miṣqeṭoɕteeṇo.

[ʈoŋ misˤqetˤoˈɕteːnˤo]

ʈoŋ
PAST
mi-
have₁
sˤqe-
little
tˤoˈɕteːnˤ
lamb
-o
have₂

“She had a little lamb.”

(12)
Rtong rstimiṣqeṭoɕteeṇo.

[ʈoŋ ʂtimisˤqetˤoˈɕteːnˤo]

ʈoŋ
PAST
ʂti-
want
mi-
have₁
sˤqe-
little
tˤoˈɕteːnˤ
lamb
-o
have₂

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

(13)
Rtong shing ʈʼɔi gqan rtong ʑuun ṣqeṭoɕteeṇigq rsqiṣdṭuṇ.

[ʈoŋ ʃiŋ ˈʈʼɔi ˈqʼan ʈoŋ ˈʑuːn sˤqetˤoˈɕteːnˤiqʼ ʂqiˈsˤtʼˤunˤ]

ʈoŋ
PAST
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈʈʼɔi
want
ˈqʼan
often
ʈoŋ
PAST
ˈʑuːn
have
sˤqe-
little
tˤoˈɕteːnˤ
lamb
-iqʼ
sing
ʂqiˈsˤtʼˤunˤ
COMP

“She often wanted to have a little lamb.”

(14)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Sahqosahq are proclitics (placed initially, and there are seven types: first, a clitic expressing question, comprising rroh /ɽoh/ ‘Q’; second, a clitic expressing obj, comprising qiq /qiq/ ‘1incl.sing’, ṭiñ /tˤiɲ/ ‘1excl.sing’, shtirt /ʃtiʈ/ ‘2.sing’, shing /ʃiŋ/ ‘3.sing’, rtes /ʈes/ ‘1incl.plur’, qo’ /qoʔ/ ‘1excl.plur’, ɕgkom /ɕkʼom/ ‘2.plur’ and ṣoʈʼ /sˤoʈʼ/ ‘3.plur’; third, a clitic expressing subj, comprising kirt /kiʈ/ ‘1incl.sing’, rsgko’ /ʂkʼoʔ/ ‘1excl.sing’, ɕgking /ɕkʼiŋ/ ‘2.sing’, sṭegk /stˤekʼ/ ‘1incl.plur’, ṣ’eʈʼ /sˤʔeʈʼ/ ‘1excl.plur’, gqo’ /qʼoʔ/ ‘2.plur’ and ʈʼecʼ /ʈʼecʼ/ ‘3.plur’; fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising ṭuq /tˤuq/ ‘NEG’; fifth, a clitic expressing voice, comprising sgkicʼ /skʼicʼ/ ‘passive’; sixth, a clitic expressing mode, comprising srtoʈʼ /sʈoʈʼ/ ‘imperative’, gkirs /kʼiʂ/ ‘conditional’ and dṭo /tʼˤo/ ‘optative’; and finally, seventh, a clitic expressing ta, comprising rtong /ʈoŋ/ ‘PAST’.

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

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: 12 prefixes, namely mi- /mi-/ ‘begin’, ɕi- /ɕi-/ ‘stop’, ’i- /ʔi-/ ‘continue’, shti- /ʃti-/ ‘try’, ṣpi- /sˤpi-/ ‘start’, rsti- /ʂti-/ ‘want’, sdṭu- /stʼˤu-/ ‘can’, rro- /ɽo-/ ‘finish’, shtyo- /ʃco-/ ‘need’, ṣdte- /sˤtʼe-/ ‘decide’, rre- /ɽe-/ ‘fail’ and me- /me-/ ‘hope’

Rsgko’ shtirt srtiṣ.

[ʂkʼoʔ ʃtiʈ ˈsʈisˤ]

ʂkʼoʔ
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ʃtiʈ
2.sing.OBJ
ˈsʈisˤ
love

“I love you.”

(15)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

rsashygq rson ṣʈʼaanygq tys

[ˈʂaʃɨqʼ ˈʂon ˈsˤʈʼaːnɨqʼ ˈtɨs]

ˈʂaʃ
surface
-iqʼ
sing
ˈʂon
the
ˈsˤʈʼaːn
table
-iqʼ
sing
ˈtɨs
in

“on the table”

(16)
rreɕkigq rson sheɕcʼuuʑigq rskudy

[ˈɽeɕkiqʼ ˈʂon ʃeˈɕcʼuːʑiqʼ ˈʂkuɟ]

ˈɽeɕk
inside
-iqʼ
sing
ˈʂon
the
ʃeˈɕcʼuːʑ
box
-iqʼ
sing
ˈʂkuɟ
to

“into the box”

(17)
ʈʼung ṣysh’aṇ

[ˈʈʼuŋ sˤɨˈʃʔanˤ]

ˈʈʼuŋ
1excl.sing
sˤiˈʃʔanˤ
COMIT

“with me”

(18)

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 Sahqosahq 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 Sahqosahq.

Rtong shing ṣṭes rson tegqeṣigq rson dtugqigkigq.

[ʈoŋ ʃiŋ ˈsˤtˤes ˈʂon teˈqʼesˤiqʼ ˈʂon tʼuˈqʼikʼiqʼ]

ʈoŋ
PAST
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈsˤtˤes
kill
ˈʂon
the
teˈqʼesˤ
jaguar
-iqʼ
sing
ˈʂon
the
tʼuˈqʼikʼ
hunter
-iqʼ
sing

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(19)
Rtong shing ʑdyuum rson gquqytyygq ɕtun rson piiʑigq ɕtun rson sʈʼyrsgqygq rson dtugqigkigq.

[ʈoŋ ʃiŋ ˈʑɟuːm ˈʂon qʼuˈqɨcɨqʼ ɕtun ˈʂon ˈpiːʑiqʼ ɕtun ˈʂon ˈsʈʼɨʂqʼɨqʼ ˈʂon tʼuˈqʼikʼiqʼ]

ʈoŋ
PAST
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈʑɟuːm
eat
ˈʂon
the
qʼuˈqɨc
lion
-iqʼ
sing
ɕtun
3.sing.POSS
ˈʂon
the
ˈpiːʑ
dog
-iqʼ
sing
ɕtun
3.sing.POSS
ˈʂon
the
ˈsʈʼɨʂqʼ
daughter
-iqʼ
sing
ˈʂon
the
tʼuˈqʼikʼ
hunter
-iqʼ
sing

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

(20)

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 Sahqosahq 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, Sahqosahq 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.

ɕtun rson puukigq ɕtun rson rsiirsdtigq ṣkik rson rriidtigq

[ɕtun ˈʂon puːkiqʼ ɕtun ˈʂon ˈʂiːʂtʼiqʼ sˤkik ˈʂon ˈɽiːtʼiqʼ]

ɕtun
3.sing.POSS
ˈʂon
the
puːk
book
-iqʼ
sing
ɕtun
3.sing.POSS
ˈʂon
the
ˈʂiːʂtʼ
friend
-iqʼ
sing
sˤkik
2.sing.POSS
ˈʂon
the
ˈɽiːtʼ
son
-iqʼ
sing

“your son’s friend’s book”

(21)

Case Marking

Sahqosahq 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.

ɕeṇ rson ṣeshdṭigq.

[ˈɕenˤ ˈʂon ˈsˤeʃtʼˤiqʼ]

ˈɕenˤ
sleep
ˈʂon
the
ˈsˤeʃtʼˤ
cat
-iqʼ
sing

“The cat is sleeping.”

(22)
Rsqauñ rson ṣeshdṭigq.

[ˈʂqauɲ ˈʂon ˈsˤeʃtʼˤiqʼ]

ˈʂqauɲ
run
ˈʂon
the
ˈsˤeʃtʼˤ
cat
-iqʼ
sing

“The cat is running.”

(23)
Shing tursit rson ṣeshdṭigq rson ɕdṭuʑooqigq.

[ʃiŋ tuˈʂit ˈʂon ˈsˤeʃtʼˤiqʼ ˈʂon ɕtʼˤuˈʑoːqiqʼ]

ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
tuˈʂit
chase
ˈʂon
the
ˈsˤeʃtʼˤ
cat
-iqʼ
sing
ˈʂon
the
ɕtʼˤuˈʑoːq
mouse
-iqʼ
sing

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

(24)
Rtong shing ṣdṭyy’ rson ṣeshdṭigq rson ɕdṭuʑooqigq.

[ʈoŋ ʃiŋ ˈsˤtʼˤɨːʔ ˈʂon ˈsˤeʃtʼˤiqʼ ˈʂon ɕtʼˤuˈʑoːqiqʼ]

ʈoŋ
PAST
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈsˤtʼˤɨːʔ
catch
ˈʂon
the
ˈsˤeʃtʼˤ
cat
-iqʼ
sing
ˈʂon
the
ɕtʼˤuˈʑoːq
mouse
-iqʼ
sing

“The cat caught the mouse.”

(25)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Rtong ṣoʈʼ ṣṭes rson dtugqigkigq rson tegqeṣudt siṇ rson ṣqyrraycʼudt siṇ rson gquqytyudt.

[ʈoŋ sˤoʈʼ ˈsˤtˤes ˈʂon tʼuˈqʼikʼiqʼ ˈʂon teˈqʼesˤutʼ ˈsinˤ ˈʂon sˤqɨˈɽaɨcʼutʼ ˈsinˤ ˈʂon qʼuˈqɨcutʼ]

ʈoŋ
PAST
sˤoʈʼ
3.plur.OBJ
ˈsˤtˤes
kill
ˈʂon
the
tʼuˈqʼikʼ
hunter
-iqʼ
sing
ˈʂon
the
teˈqʼesˤ
jaguar
-utʼ
plur
ˈsinˤ
and
ˈʂon
the
sˤqiˈɽaicʼ
tiger
-utʼ
plur
ˈsinˤ
and
ˈʂon
the
qʼuˈqɨc
lion
-utʼ
plur

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

(26)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Sahqosahq uses the correlative strategy to form relative clauses. The relative clause is introduced by a dedicated relativiser and appears as an independent clause. The main clause contains a demonstrative that corresponds to the relativiser and identifies the element being modified. The relative clause precedes the main clause when used on its own, and follows the head noun when it functions as a modifier. The internal structure of both clauses is fully finite.

To illustrate how relative clauses work, let us begin with a simple sentence:

Rtong rsgko’ shing hurtaurs rson ṣeshdṭigq.

[ʈoŋ ʂkʼoʔ ʃiŋ huˈʈauʂ ˈʂon ˈsˤeʃtʼˤiqʼ]

ʈoŋ
PAST
ʂkʼoʔ
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
huˈʈauʂ
pat
ˈʂon
the
ˈsˤeʃtʼˤ
cat
-iqʼ
sing

“I patted the cat.”

(27)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Rtong shing ṣdṭyy’ rson ɕdṭuʑooqigq rtong rsgko’ shing hurtaurs ɕ’yys ɕeh.

[ʈoŋ ʃiŋ ˈsˤtʼˤɨːʔ ˈʂon ɕtʼˤuˈʑoːqiqʼ ʈoŋ ʂkʼoʔ ʃiŋ huˈʈauʂ ˈɕʔɨːs ˈɕeh]

ʈoŋ
PAST
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈsˤtʼˤɨːʔ
catch
ˈʂon
the
ɕtʼˤuˈʑoːq
mouse
-iqʼ
sing
ʈoŋ
PAST
ʂkʼoʔ
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
huˈʈauʂ
pat
ˈɕʔɨːs
3.sing
ˈɕeh
then

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(28)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Rtong shing ʑdyuum rson styopaɕʈʼygq rtong shing ṣdṭyy’ ɕ’yys ɕeh rtong rsgko’ shing hurtaurs ɕ’yys ɕeh.

[ʈoŋ ʃiŋ ˈʑɟuːm ˈʂon scoˈpaɕʈʼɨqʼ ʈoŋ ʃiŋ ˈsˤtʼˤɨːʔ ˈɕʔɨːs ˈɕeh ʈoŋ ʂkʼoʔ ʃiŋ huˈʈauʂ ˈɕʔɨːs ˈɕeh]

ʈoŋ
PAST
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈʑɟuːm
eat
ˈʂon
the
scoˈpaɕʈʼ
cheese
-iqʼ
sing
ʈoŋ
PAST
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈsˤtʼˤɨːʔ
catch
ˈɕʔɨːs
3.sing
ˈɕeh
then
ʈoŋ
PAST
ʂkʼoʔ
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
huˈʈauʂ
pat
ˈɕʔɨːs
3.sing
ˈɕeh
then

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

(29)

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

Rtong rsgko’ shing ɕtah rtong shing ʑdyuum ɕ’yys ɕeh rtong shing ṣdṭyy’ ɕ’yys ɕeh rtong rsgko’ shing hurtaurs ɕ’yys ɕeh.

[ʈoŋ ʂkʼoʔ ʃiŋ ˈɕtah ʈoŋ ʃiŋ ˈʑɟuːm ˈɕʔɨːs ˈɕeh ʈoŋ ʃiŋ ˈsˤtʼˤɨːʔ ˈɕʔɨːs ˈɕeh ʈoŋ ʂkʼoʔ ʃiŋ huˈʈauʂ ˈɕʔɨːs ˈɕeh]

ʈoŋ
PAST
ʂkʼoʔ
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈɕtah
buy
ʈoŋ
PAST
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈʑɟuːm
eat
ˈɕʔɨːs
3.sing
ˈɕeh
then
ʈoŋ
PAST
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈsˤtʼˤɨːʔ
catch
ˈɕʔɨːs
3.sing
ˈɕeh
then
ʈoŋ
PAST
ʂkʼoʔ
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
huˈʈauʂ
pat
ˈɕʔɨːs
3.sing
ˈɕeh
then

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

(30)

Complementation Strategies

Sahqosahq 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:

Rtong ɕdtemaṇ rtong shing dyirs rson skiñigq ɕkerraɕdtygq rson cʼatyygq rsqiṣdṭuṇ rson tyirseesigq.

[ʈoŋ ɕtʼeˈmanˤ ʈoŋ ʃiŋ ˈɟiʂ ˈʂon ˈskiɲiqʼ ɕkeˈɽaɕtʼɨqʼ ˈʂon ˈcʼacɨqʼ ʂqiˈsˤtʼˤunˤ ˈʂon ciʂeːsiqʼ]

ʈoŋ
PAST
ɕtʼeˈmanˤ
surprise
ʈoŋ
PAST
ʃiŋ
3.sing.OBJ
ˈɟiʂ
give
ˈʂon
the
ˈskiɲ
boy
-iqʼ
sing
ɕkeˈɽaɕtʼ
apple
-iqʼ
sing
ˈʂon
the
ˈcʼac
girl
-iqʼ
sing
ʂqiˈsˤtʼˤunˤ
COMP
ˈʂon
the
ciʂeːs
teacher
-iqʼ
sing

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

(31)

Quotes

Sahqosahq 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:

Rtong ṭiñ kuh rson skiñigq rsgko’ shtirt srtiṣ ʈʼung mon rsqiṣdṭuṇ rson cʼatyygq.

[ʈoŋ tˤiɲ ˈkuh ˈʂon ˈskiɲiqʼ ʂkʼoʔ ʃtiʈ ˈsʈisˤ ˈʈʼuŋ ˈmon ʂqiˈsˤtʼˤunˤ ˈʂon ˈcʼacɨqʼ]

ʈoŋ
PAST
tˤiɲ
1excl.sing.OBJ
ˈkuh
tell
ˈʂon
the
ˈskiɲ
boy
-iqʼ
sing
ʂkʼoʔ
1excl.sing.SUBJ
ʃtiʈ
2.sing.OBJ
ˈsʈisˤ
love
ˈʈʼuŋ
1excl.sing
ˈmon
2.sing
ʂqiˈsˤtʼˤunˤ
COMP
ˈʂon
the
ˈcʼac
girl
-iqʼ
sing

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

(32)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Sahqosahq. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 13 September 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/4G6T9

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-4G6T9,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Sahqosahq}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/4G6T9}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 13 September 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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