A Grammar of Nyal

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Nyal language (the 1639th 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 Nyal.

Typological Profile

It has has no interesting typological features.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Nyal has a large consonant inventory, comprising 44 phonemes.

It has a notable dental–alveolar contrast across several manners, a substantial inventory of palatal or palatalised consonants, a notably rich set of sibilant contrasts, a broad set of voiced–voiceless oppositions and a notably rich liquid inventory.

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

labialdentalalveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalretroflexvelaruvularglottal
stopp b d t c ɟ ɖ ʈ k ɡ ʔ
nasalm n ɲ ɳ ŋ
trill/tap/flapɾ ɽ
fricativef v ð θ s z ʃ ʒ ɮ ʂ ʐ x ɣ ʁ h
approximantw ɹ l j
affricated͡z t͡s d͡ʒ t͡ʃ t͡ɕ

Vowels

Nyal 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 partially contrastive system of vowel length and a moderately reduced system of unstressed vowels.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Nyal 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

Nyal 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/b /b/d /d/e /e/
f /f/g /ɡ/h /h/i /i/
j /d͡ʒ/k /k/l /l/m /m/
n /n/o /o/p /p/q /ʔ/
r /ɾ/s /s/t /t/u /u/
v /v/w /w/y /j/z /z/
ð /ð/ñ /ɲ/ğ /ɣ/ŕ /r/
ɮ /ɮ/ɹ /ɹ/ʁ /ʁ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

aa /aː/ai /ai/au /au/
ch /t͡ʃ/dy /ɟ/dz /d͡z/
ee /eː/ii /iː/kh /x/
ng /ŋ/oo /oː/rd /ɖ/
rn /ɳ/rr /ɽ/rs /ʂ/
rt /ʈ/rz /ʐ/sh /ʃ/
th /θ/tj /c/ty /t͡ɕ/
tz /t͡s/uu /uː/zh /ʒ/
ɔi /ɔi/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Nyal does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Nyal has the following genders:

Gender masc – for instance: dirdɔird ‘breath’, dit ‘cat’, fathidy ‘student’, fiw ‘leg’, hazeb ‘fat’, hɔizhb ‘father’, jastirt ‘bank’, juɹaurzg ‘lamb’, langerst ‘plain’, libeeŕ ‘book’, meers ‘surface’, niğeshk ‘mammal’, rdanuw ‘worm’, rzikhaim ‘God’, sizh ‘bed’, tjulaaq ‘school’, yutyoɮ ‘louse’, zhdeedz ‘husband’, zhgastj ‘road’, ðaz ‘dog’.

Gender fem – for instance: chen ‘people’, giteeŕ ‘teacher’, haŕart ‘belly’, katuus ‘market’, mashozhd ‘lake’, muğ ‘eye’, pikuun ‘money’, qaus ‘nose’, rdajaiq ‘flower’, rrazh ‘hair’, taam ‘daughter’, tjaŕauzh ‘forest’, yɔith ‘stone’, zhas ‘year’, zhguurs ‘tree’, ðashk ‘face’, ğityird ‘penis’, ŕaushq ‘time’, ʁauch ‘bone’, ʁirzgiv ‘farmer’.

Gender neut – for instance: bashooch ‘umbrella’, buyuʁ ‘stick’, fukh ‘sky’, gaazh ‘rain’, khurtik ‘liver’, liv ‘water’, lurstuuth ‘cloud’, nooj ‘skin’, rdağerzd ‘dialect’, rruvaʁ ‘wing’, rsidz ‘language’, rzguw ‘tongue’, rzirst ‘sun’, zhberd ‘city’, zhookh ‘knife’, ðifit ‘seed’, ðuɹak ‘river’, ñasqaap ‘tail’, ɹatjaad ‘fog’, ɹizaj ‘mountain’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Wiiyukh ɹalir rdaqak wiiŕið zhookhiy rsrtakh ðiŕ puunah wɔirz rdauğ tiɮiðuw.

[ˈwiːjux ˈɹaliɾ ɖaˈʔak ˈwiːrið ˈʒoːxij ˈʂʈax ðir ˈpuːnah ˈwɔiʐ ˈɖauɣ tiˈɮiðuw]

ˈwiː
the
-j
fem
-ux
NOM
ˈɹal
woman
-i
sing

NOM
ɖaˈʔak
COMIT
ˈwiː
the
-r
neut
-ið
LOC
ˈʒoːx
knife
-i
sing
-j
LOC
ˈʂʈa
catch
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈpuː
yon
-n
masc
-ah
ACC
ˈwɔiʐ
three
ˈɖau
blind

masc
tiˈɮið
mouse
-u
plur
-w
ACC

“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 Nyal consists of first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -i /-i/ ‘sing’ and -u /-u/ ‘plur’; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -r /-ɾ/ ‘NOM’, -w /-w/ ‘ACC’, -k /-k/ ‘GEN’, -dz /-d͡z/ ‘DAT’, -h /-h/ ‘INS’, -g /-ɡ/ ‘VOC’, -t /-t/ ‘ALL’, -y /-j/ ‘LOC’, -dy /-ɟ/ ‘ABL’ and -rd /-ɖ/ ‘PART’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: 20 suffixes, namely -uty /-ut͡ɕ/ ‘little’, -av /-av/ ‘big’, -al /-al/ ‘old’, -at /-at/ ‘new’, -ad /-ad/ ‘good’, -uf /-uf/ ‘bad’, -azi /-azi/ ‘have’, -aña /-aɲa/ ‘use’, -arsu /-aʂu/ ‘see’, -uspu /-uspu/ ‘make’, -ifa /-ifa/ ‘break’, -itja /-ica/ ‘eat’, -arti /-aʈi/ ‘drink’, -avi /-avi/ ‘wear’, -iwa /-iwa/ ‘own’, -uñi /-uɲi/ ‘contain’, -uʁi /-uʁi/ ‘hold’, -izhga /-iʒɡa/ ‘lack’, -arru /-aɽu/ ‘touch’ and -itju /-icu/ ‘carry’

The Adjective

In Nyal, the adjective has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising /-ɣ/ ‘masc’, -rd /-ɖ/ ‘fem’ and -dy /-ɟ/ ‘neut’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Nyal, the determiner has the following structure: first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -n /-n/ ‘masc’, -y /-j/ ‘fem’ and /-r/ ‘neut’; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -ukh /-ux/ ‘NOM’, -ah /-ah/ ‘ACC’, -ag /-aɡ/ ‘GEN’, -in /-in/ ‘DAT’, -uf /-uf/ ‘INS’, -iñ /-iɲ/ ‘VOC’, -aŕ /-ar/ ‘ALL’, -ið /-ið/ ‘LOC’, -ih /-ih/ ‘ABL’ and -iŕ /-ir/ ‘PART’.

Pronouns

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

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

Vaikh huud.

[ˈvaix ˈhuːd]

ˈvai
love
-x
POS
ˈhuːd
3.sing.fem

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(2)

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

Rduurn vaikh huud.

[ˈɖuːɳ ˈvaix ˈhuːd]

ˈɖuːɳ
3.sing.masc
ˈvai
love
-x
POS
ˈhuːd
3.sing.fem

He loves her.”

(3)

Proper Nouns

Wiinukh Tizhrdiidir shpadyaukh wiiyah Zhidaaliw.

[ˈwiːnux tiˈʒɖiːdiɾ ʃpaˈɟaux ˈwiːjah ʒiˈdaːliw]

ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
tiˈʒɖiːd
Tizahdid
-i
sing

NOM
ʃpaˈɟau
hate
-x
POS
ˈwiː
the
-j
fem
-ah
ACC
ʒiˈdaːl
Zhidal
-i
sing
-w
ACC

“Tizahdid hates Zhidal.”

(4)

Possession

wiinag ñɔigik wiiyukh dzugeekhir

[ˈwiːnaɡ ˈɲɔiɡik ˈwiːjux d͡zuˈɡeːxiɾ]

ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-aɡ
GEN
ˈɲɔiɡ
boy
-i
sing
-k
GEN
ˈwiː
the
-j
fem
-ux
NOM
d͡zuˈɡeːx
apple
-i
sing

NOM

“the boy’s apple”

(5)
rduurn wiiyukh dzugeekhir

[ˈɖuːɳ ˈwiːjux d͡zuˈɡeːxiɾ]

ˈɖuːɳ
3.sing.masc
ˈwiː
the
-j
fem
-ux
NOM
d͡zuˈɡeːx
apple
-i
sing

NOM

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(6)
zaip wiiyukh dzugeekhir

[ˈzaip ˈwiːjux d͡zuˈɡeːxiɾ]

ˈzaip
1excl.sing
ˈwiː
the
-j
fem
-ux
NOM
d͡zuˈɡeːx
apple
-i
sing

NOM

“my apple”

(7)
Wiinag thumerzdik wiiyukh taamir ʁarrikh ðiŕ ngity wiiyag squzhrdofik wiinah rzatziw.

[ˈwiːnaɡ θuˈmeʐdik ˈwiːjux ˈtaːmiɾ ʁaˈɽix ðir ˈŋit͡ɕ ˈwiːjaɡ sʔuˈʒɖofik ˈwiːnah ˈʐat͡siw]

ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-aɡ
GEN
θuˈmeʐd
hunter
-i
sing
-k
GEN
ˈwiː
the
-j
fem
-ux
NOM
ˈtaːm
daughter
-i
sing

NOM
ʁaˈɽi
kiss
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈŋit͡ɕ
2.sing
ˈwiː
the
-j
fem
-aɡ
GEN
sʔuˈʒɖof
neighbour
-i
sing
-k
GEN
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ah
ACC
ˈʐat͡s
son
-i
sing
-w
ACC

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

(8)

Derivation

rsrtɔinukh juɹaurzgir

[ˈʂʈɔinux d͡ʒuˈɹauʐɡiɾ]

ˈʂʈɔi
a
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
d͡ʒuˈɹauʐɡ
lamb
-i
sing

NOM

“a lamb”

(9)
rsrtɔinukh juɹaurzgutyir

[ˈʂʈɔinux d͡ʒuˈɹauʐɡut͡ɕiɾ]

ˈʂʈɔi
a
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
d͡ʒuˈɹauʐɡ
lamb
-ut͡ɕ
little
-i
sing

NOM

“a little lamb”

(10)
Rsikh ðiŕ rsrtɔinah juɹaurzgutyiw.

[ˈʂix ðir ˈʂʈɔinah d͡ʒuˈɹauʐɡut͡ɕiw]

ˈʂi
have
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈʂʈɔi
a
-n
masc
-ah
ACC
d͡ʒuˈɹauʐɡ
lamb
-ut͡ɕ
little
-i
sing
-w
ACC

“She had a little lamb.”

(11)
Rsizhikh ðiŕ.

[ˈʂiʒix ðir]

ˈʂi
have
-ʒi
want
-x
POS
ðir
PAST

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

(12)
Shpakh tyon ðiŕ rsrtɔinukh juɹaurzgutyir rsikh ðiŕ gaqaizh.

[ˈʃpax ˈt͡ɕon ðir ˈʂʈɔinux d͡ʒuˈɹauʐɡut͡ɕiɾ ˈʂix ðir ɡaˈʔaiʒ]

ˈʃpa
want
-x
POS
ˈt͡ɕon
often
ðir
PAST
ˈʂʈɔi
a
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
d͡ʒuˈɹauʐɡ
lamb
-ut͡ɕ
little
-i
sing

NOM
ˈʂi
have
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ɡaˈʔaiʒ
COMP

“She often wanted to have a little lamb.”

(13)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Nyal are enclitics (placed finally), and there are three types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising ðiŕ /ðir/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing voice, comprising skak /skak/ ‘passive’; and finally, third, a clitic expressing question, comprising hup /hup/ ‘Q’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, the root; second, an optional suffix expressing mode, comprising -pa /-pa/ ‘imperative’, -dyu /-ɟu/ ‘conditional’ and -ma /-ma/ ‘optative’; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing negation, comprising -y /-j/ ‘NEG’ and -kh /-x/ ‘POS’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: 12 suffixes, namely -na /-na/ ‘begin’, -rsqu /-ʂʔu/ ‘stop’, -su /-su/ ‘continue’, -rstja /-ʂca/ ‘try’, -shka /-ʃka/ ‘start’, -zhi /-ʒi/ ‘want’, -tya /-t͡ɕa/ ‘can’, -zrdi /-zɖi/ ‘finish’, -ku /-ku/ ‘need’, -zrda /-zɖa/ ‘decide’, -rra /-ɽa/ ‘fail’ and -za /-za/ ‘hope’

Vaikh ngity.

[ˈvaix ˈŋit͡ɕ]

ˈvai
love
-x
POS
ˈŋit͡ɕ
2.sing

“I love you.”

(14)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

ʁich wiinið ğordiy

[ˈʁit͡ʃ ˈwiːnið ˈɣoɖij]

ˈʁit͡ʃ
in_surface
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ið
LOC
ˈɣoɖ
table
-i
sing
-j
LOC

“on the table”

(15)
don wiiyið ðijidyiy

[ˈdon ˈwiːjið ðiˈd͡ʒiɟij]

ˈdon
to_inside
ˈwiː
the
-j
fem
-ið
LOC
ðiˈd͡ʒiɟ
box
-i
sing
-j
LOC

“into the box”

(16)
rdaqak zaip

[ɖaˈʔak ˈzaip]

ɖaˈʔak
COMIT
ˈzaip
1excl.sing

“with me”

(17)

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.

Nyal 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 Nyal.

Wiinukh hivetir jikh ðiŕ wiinah thumerzdiw.

[ˈwiːnux hiˈvetiɾ ˈd͡ʒix ðir ˈwiːnah θuˈmeʐdiw]

ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
hiˈvet
jaguar
-i
sing

NOM
ˈd͡ʒi
kill
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ah
ACC
θuˈmeʐd
hunter
-i
sing
-w
ACC

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(18)
Wiinukh rtañoorzir vikh ðiŕ wiinag thumerzdik wiiyag taamik wiinah ðaziw.

[ˈwiːnux ʈaˈɲoːʐiɾ ˈvix ðir ˈwiːnaɡ θuˈmeʐdik ˈwiːjaɡ ˈtaːmik ˈwiːnah ˈðaziw]

ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
ʈaˈɲoːʐ
lion
-i
sing

NOM
ˈvi
eat
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-aɡ
GEN
θuˈmeʐd
hunter
-i
sing
-k
GEN
ˈwiː
the
-j
fem
-aɡ
GEN
ˈtaːm
daughter
-i
sing
-k
GEN
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ah
ACC
ˈðaz
dog
-i
sing
-w
ACC

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

(19)

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 Nyal 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, Nyal 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.

ngity wiinag rzatzik wiiyag ruchik wiinukh libeeŕir

[ˈŋit͡ɕ ˈwiːnaɡ ˈʐat͡sik ˈwiːjaɡ ˈɾut͡ʃik ˈwiːnux libeːriɾ]

ˈŋit͡ɕ
2.sing
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-aɡ
GEN
ˈʐat͡s
son
-i
sing
-k
GEN
ˈwiː
the
-j
fem
-aɡ
GEN
ˈɾut͡ʃ
friend
-i
sing
-k
GEN
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
libeːr
book
-i
sing

NOM

“your son’s friend’s book”

(20)

Case Marking

Nyal 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.

Wiinukh ditir tyikh.

[ˈwiːnux ˈditiɾ ˈt͡ɕix]

ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
ˈdit
cat
-i
sing

NOM
ˈt͡ɕi
sleep
-x
POS

“The cat is sleeping.”

(21)
Wiinukh ditir nikh.

[ˈwiːnux ˈditiɾ ˈnix]

ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
ˈdit
cat
-i
sing

NOM
ˈni
run
-x
POS

“The cat is running.”

(22)
Wiinukh ditir simekh wiinah tiɮiðiw.

[ˈwiːnux ˈditiɾ siˈmex ˈwiːnah tiˈɮiðiw]

ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
ˈdit
cat
-i
sing

NOM
siˈme
chase
-x
POS
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ah
ACC
tiˈɮið
mouse
-i
sing
-w
ACC

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

(23)
Wiinukh ditir rsrtakh ðiŕ wiinah tiɮiðiw.

[ˈwiːnux ˈditiɾ ˈʂʈax ðir ˈwiːnah tiˈɮiðiw]

ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
ˈdit
cat
-i
sing

NOM
ˈʂʈa
catch
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ah
ACC
tiˈɮið
mouse
-i
sing
-w
ACC

“The cat caught the mouse.”

(24)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Wiinukh thumerzdir jikh ðiŕ wiinah hivetuw nin wiinah darremuw nin wiinah rtañoorzuw.

[ˈwiːnux θuˈmeʐdiɾ ˈd͡ʒix ðir ˈwiːnah hiˈvetuw ˈnin ˈwiːnah daˈɽemuw ˈnin ˈwiːnah ʈaˈɲoːʐuw]

ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
θuˈmeʐd
hunter
-i
sing

NOM
ˈd͡ʒi
kill
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ah
ACC
hiˈvet
jaguar
-u
plur
-w
ACC
ˈnin
and
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ah
ACC
daˈɽem
tiger
-u
plur
-w
ACC
ˈnin
and
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ah
ACC
ʈaˈɲoːʐ
lion
-u
plur
-w
ACC

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

(25)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Nyal 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:

ɮistakh ðiŕ wiinah ditiw.

[ɮiˈstax ðir ˈwiːnah ˈditiw]

ɮiˈsta
pat
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ah
ACC
ˈdit
cat
-i
sing
-w
ACC

“I patted the cat.”

(26)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

ɮistakh ðiŕ wiinukh ditir, zrdaq rsrtakh ðiŕ wiinah tiɮiðiw.

[ɮiˈstax ðir ˈwiːnux ˈditiɾ, ˈzɖaʔ ˈʂʈax ðir ˈwiːnah tiˈɮiðiw]

ɮiˈsta
pat
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
ˈdit
cat
-i
sing

NOM
ˈzɖaʔ
RELPRON
ˈʂʈa
catch
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ah
ACC
tiˈɮið
mouse
-i
sing
-w
ACC

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(27)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

ɮistakh ðiŕ wiinukh ditir, zrdaq rsrtakh ðiŕ wiinukh tiɮiðir, zrdaq vikh ðiŕ wiinah rzuvaitziw.

[ɮiˈstax ðir ˈwiːnux ˈditiɾ, ˈzɖaʔ ˈʂʈax ðir ˈwiːnux tiˈɮiðiɾ, ˈzɖaʔ ˈvix ðir ˈwiːnah ʐuˈvait͡siw]

ɮiˈsta
pat
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
ˈdit
cat
-i
sing

NOM
ˈzɖaʔ
RELPRON
ˈʂʈa
catch
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
tiˈɮið
mouse
-i
sing

NOM
ˈzɖaʔ
RELPRON
ˈvi
eat
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ah
ACC
ʐuˈvait͡s
cheese
-i
sing
-w
ACC

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

(28)

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

ɮistakh ðiŕ wiinukh ditir, zrdaq rsrtakh ðiŕ wiinukh tiɮiðir, zrdaq vikh ðiŕ wiinukh rzuvaitzir, zrdaq ʁaakh ðiŕ zaip.

[ɮiˈstax ðir ˈwiːnux ˈditiɾ, ˈzɖaʔ ˈʂʈax ðir ˈwiːnux tiˈɮiðiɾ, ˈzɖaʔ ˈvix ðir ˈwiːnux ʐuˈvait͡siɾ, ˈzɖaʔ ˈʁaːx ðir ˈzaip]

ɮiˈsta
pat
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
ˈdit
cat
-i
sing

NOM
ˈzɖaʔ
RELPRON
ˈʂʈa
catch
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
tiˈɮið
mouse
-i
sing

NOM
ˈzɖaʔ
RELPRON
ˈvi
eat
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
ʐuˈvait͡s
cheese
-i
sing

NOM
ˈzɖaʔ
RELPRON
ˈʁaː
buy
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈzaip
1excl.sing

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

(29)

Complementation Strategies

Nyal 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:

Wiinukh ñɔigir tjakh ðiŕ wiiyin pastidz rsrtɔiyah dzugeekhiw gaqaizh ʁizhrdokh ðiŕ wiiyin giteeŕidz.

[ˈwiːnux ˈɲɔiɡiɾ ˈcax ðir ˈwiːjin ˈpastid͡z ˈʂʈɔijah d͡zuˈɡeːxiw ɡaˈʔaiʒ ʁiˈʒɖox ðir ˈwiːjin ɡiteːrid͡z]

ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
ˈɲɔiɡ
boy
-i
sing

NOM
ˈca
give
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-j
fem
-in
DAT
ˈpast
girl
-i
sing
-d͡z
DAT
ˈʂʈɔi
a
-j
fem
-ah
ACC
d͡zuˈɡeːx
apple
-i
sing
-w
ACC
ɡaˈʔaiʒ
COMP
ʁiˈʒɖo
surprise
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-j
fem
-in
DAT
ɡiteːr
teacher
-i
sing
-d͡z
DAT

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

(30)

Quotes

Nyal 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:

Wiinukh ñɔigir fukh ðiŕ wiiyin pastidz zaip vaikh ngity gaqaizh.

[ˈwiːnux ˈɲɔiɡiɾ ˈfux ðir ˈwiːjin ˈpastid͡z ˈzaip ˈvaix ˈŋit͡ɕ ɡaˈʔaiʒ]

ˈwiː
the
-n
masc
-ux
NOM
ˈɲɔiɡ
boy
-i
sing

NOM
ˈfu
tell
-x
POS
ðir
PAST
ˈwiː
the
-j
fem
-in
DAT
ˈpast
girl
-i
sing
-d͡z
DAT
ˈzaip
1excl.sing
ˈvai
love
-x
POS
ˈŋit͡ɕ
2.sing
ɡaˈʔaiʒ
COMP

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

(31)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Nyal. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 14 September 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/4PV3X

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-4PV3X,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Nyal}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/4PV3X}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 14 September 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Nyal / Nyal–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/4PV3X

Behind the scenes, the Language Creator stores the generated language in a JSON-based format known as ELD. The corresponding ELD file may be downloaded, edited as required, and reuploaded in order to regenerate the grammar, dictionary and texts.

To revisit the questionnaire settings used to generate this language, .

Language creation took 0.05 seconds; writing the grammar 0.07 seconds.