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A Grammar of Chash

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Chash language (the 1692nd 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 Chash.

Typological Profile

It has has no interesting typological features.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

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

It has a modest (but clearly contrastive) set of labialised consonants, a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts and a markedly rich set of labial consonants.

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

labialalveolarpostalveolarlateralpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velarglottal
stopp b d t ɖ ʈ k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ
ejective stopkʼ kʷʼ
nasalm n ɲ ɳ ŋ ŋʷ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef s ʃ ʂ h
approximantʋ l j
affricatet͡ʃ
implosiveɓ

Vowels

Chash has 7 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 occasional ghost vowels that surface only weakly.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Chash 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

Chash 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 /j/k /k/l /l/m /m/
n /n/o /o/p /p/s /s/
t /t/u /u/w /ʋ/ñ /ɲ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

aa /aː/ai /ai/au /au/
bb /ɓ/ch /t͡ʃ/ee /eː/
gk /kʼ/gqu /kʼʷ/gw /ɡʷ/
ii /iː/ng /ŋ/ngw /ŋʷ/
oo /oː/qu /kʷ/rd /ɖ/
rn /ɳ/rr /ɽ/rs /ʂ/
rt /ʈ/sh /ʃ/uu /uː/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Chash does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Chash has the following genders:

Gender masc – for instance: baigqu ‘surface’, bbobb ‘leaf’, boqu ‘colour’, gkañ ‘husband’, gquawigk ‘belly’, gquihugw ‘brick’, gwomern ‘horn’, nalaach ‘binoculars’, pebb ‘man’, quirnigw ‘anus’, rdam ‘money’, rnirr ‘ear’, rrokong ‘cheese’, rronush ‘apple’, rsangw ‘meat’, rtadaj ‘wheat’, segkid ‘salt’, shagk ‘son’, taqu ‘inside’, wagk ‘year’.

Gender fem – for instance: gkingw ‘sky’, gquabbiw ‘library’, gwef ‘cat’, hohaab ‘ice’, kamit ‘mountain’, kard ‘friend’, maigw ‘wife’, nash ‘language’, ngwigk ‘idea’, nuum ‘star’, rduniibb ‘lion’, rnel ‘stone’, rnuf ‘animal’, rraf ‘bird’, rsird ‘speech’, rtars ‘child’, shop ‘people’, sotart ‘seed’, tedoqu ‘breath’, ñegup ‘court’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Rnabberd rrigquañ quirrerd rtii hirt mig bang libobberd fiichug faukof.

[ɳaɓeɖ ɽikʼʷaɲ kʷiɽeɖ ʈiː hiʈ miɡ baŋ liboɓeɖ fiːt͡ʃuɡ faukof]

ɳaɓ
woman -eɖ
def ɽikʼʷaɲ
COMIT kʷiɽ
knife -eɖ
def ʈiː
catch hiʈ
PAST miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ baŋ
three liboɓ
mouse -eɖ
def f-
NOM iːt͡ʃuɡ
blind fau
yon -k
fem -of
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 Chash consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing def, comprising -iqu /-ikʷ/ ‘not.def’ and -erd /-eɖ/ ‘def’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -ung /-uŋ/ ‘little’ and -ul /-ul/ ‘big’

The Adjective

In Chash, the adjective has the following structure: an obligatory prefix expressing case, comprising f- /f-/ ‘NOM’, k- /k-/ ‘ERG’, qu- /kʷ-/ ‘ACC’, gqu- /kʼʷ-/ ‘GEN’, ngw- /ŋʷ-/ ‘DAT’, ch- /t͡ʃ-/ ‘INS’, w- /ʋ-/ ‘VOC’, d- /d-/ ‘ALL’, ng- /ŋ-/ ‘LOC’, h- /h-/ ‘ABL’ and gk- /kʼ-/ ‘PART’ followed by the root.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Chash, the determiner has the following structure: first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -h /-h/ ‘masc’ and -k /-k/ ‘fem’; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -of /-of/ ‘NOM’, -et /-et/ ‘ERG’, -igqu /-ikʼʷ/ ‘ACC’, -uf /-uf/ ‘GEN’, -ug /-uɡ/ ‘DAT’, -ub /-ub/ ‘INS’, -eñ /-eɲ/ ‘VOC’, -irr /-iɽ/ ‘ALL’, -ek /-ek/ ‘LOC’, -equ /-ekʷ/ ‘ABL’ and -ul /-ul/ ‘PART’.

Pronouns

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

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

Said gquig.

[said kʼʷiɡ]

said
love kʼʷiɡ
3.fem

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

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

Rsut said gquig.

[ʂut said kʼʷiɡ]

ʂut
3.masc said
love kʼʷiɡ
3.fem

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

Gquequirderd junus Rrilacherd.

[kʼʷekʷiɖeɖ junus ɽilat͡ʃeɖ]

kʼʷekʷiɖ
Kekid -eɖ
def junus
hate ɽilat͡ʃ
Rilach -eɖ
def

“Kekid hates Rilach.”

 (4)

Possession

ngegquerd rronusherd

[ŋekʼʷeɖ ɽonuʃeɖ]

ŋekʼʷ
boy -eɖ
def ɽonuʃ
apple -eɖ
def

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
rsut rronusherd

[ʂut ɽonuʃeɖ]

ʂut
3.masc ɽonuʃ
apple -eɖ
def

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
faut rronusherd

[faut ɽonuʃeɖ]

faut
1excl ɽonuʃ
apple -eɖ
def

“my apple”

 (7)
Tiwogwerd chaurserd rroluuf hirt mig gquaaj rsungirrerd shagkerd.

[tiʋoɡʷeɖ t͡ʃauʂeɖ ɽoluːf hiʈ miɡ kʼʷaːj ʂuŋiɽeɖ ʃakʼeɖ]

tiʋoɡʷ
hunter -eɖ
def t͡ʃauʂ
daughter -eɖ
def ɽoluːf
kiss hiʈ
PAST miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ kʼʷaːj
2 ʂuŋiɽ
neighbour -eɖ
def ʃakʼ
son -eɖ
def

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

 (8)

Derivation

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

wochuuniqu fokof

[ʋot͡ʃuːnikʷ fokof]

ʋot͡ʃuːn
lamb -ikʷ
not.def fo
a -k
fem -of
NOM

“a lamb”

 (9)

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

wochuunungiqu fokof

[ʋot͡ʃuːnuŋikʷ fokof]

ʋot͡ʃuːn
lamb -uŋ
little -ikʷ
not.def fo
a -k
fem -of
NOM

“a little lamb”

 (10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Chash are enclitics (placed finally), and there are six types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising hirt /hiʈ/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising bbirs /ɓiʂ/ ‘imperative’, kegk /kekʼ/ ‘conditional’ and ñers /ɲeʂ/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising shok /ʃok/ ‘passive’; fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising dij /dij/ ‘NEG’; fifth, a clitic expressing subj, comprising gquim /kʼʷim/ ‘1incl’, sharn /ʃaɳ/ ‘1excl’, rrard /ɽaɖ/ ‘2’ and mig /miɡ/ ‘3.fem’; and finally, sixth, a clitic expressing question, comprising diqu /dikʷ/ ‘Q’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an optional suffix expressing comp, comprising -ij /-ij/ ‘COMP’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -quu /-kʷu/ ‘begin’ and -gquu /-kʼʷu/ ‘stop’

Said sharn gquaaj.

[said ʃaɳ kʼʷaːj]

said
love ʃaɳ
1excl.SUBJ kʼʷaːj
2

“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.

gwoch chaquerd

[ɡʷot͡ʃ t͡ʃakʷeɖ]

ɡʷot͡ʃ
in_surface t͡ʃakʷ
table -eɖ
def

“on the table”

 (12)
shaif mageernerd

[ʃaif maɡeːɳeɖ]

ʃaif
to_inside maɡeːɳ
box -eɖ
def

“into the box”

 (13)
rrigquañ faut

[ɽikʼʷaɲ faut]

ɽikʼʷaɲ
COMIT faut
1excl

“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.

Chash 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 Chash.

Birniderd sail hirt mig tiwogwerd.

[biɳideɖ sail hiʈ miɡ tiʋoɡʷeɖ]

biɳid
jaguar -eɖ
def sail
kill hiʈ
PAST miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ tiʋoɡʷ
hunter -eɖ
def

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (15)
Rduniibberd miigqu hirt mig tiwogwerd chaurserd rrebberd.

[ɖuniːɓeɖ miːkʼʷ hiʈ miɡ tiʋoɡʷeɖ t͡ʃauʂeɖ ɽeɓeɖ]

ɖuniːɓ
lion -eɖ
def miːkʼʷ
eat hiʈ
PAST miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ tiʋoɡʷ
hunter -eɖ
def t͡ʃauʂ
daughter -eɖ
def ɽeɓ
dog -eɖ
def

“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 Chash 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, Chash 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.

gquaaj shagkerd karderd chasterd

[kʼʷaːj ʃakʼeɖ kaɖeɖ t͡ʃasteɖ]

kʼʷaːj
2 ʃakʼ
son -eɖ
def kaɖ
friend -eɖ
def t͡ʃast
book -eɖ
def

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (17)

Case Marking

Chash 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.

Gweferd se mig.

[ɡʷefeɖ se miɡ]

ɡʷef
cat -eɖ
def se
sleep miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (18)
Gweferd dud mig.

[ɡʷefeɖ dud miɡ]

ɡʷef
cat -eɖ
def dud
run miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ

“The cat is running.”

 (19)
Gweferd cheming mig libobberd.

[ɡʷefeɖ t͡ʃemiŋ miɡ liboɓeɖ]

ɡʷef
cat -eɖ
def t͡ʃemiŋ
chase miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ liboɓ
mouse -eɖ
def

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (20)
Gweferd rtii hirt mig libobberd.

[ɡʷefeɖ ʈiː hiʈ miɡ liboɓeɖ]

ɡʷef
cat -eɖ
def ʈiː
catch hiʈ
PAST miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ liboɓ
mouse -eɖ
def

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Tiwogwerd sail hirt birniderd shud shobuuterd shud rduniibberd.

[tiʋoɡʷeɖ sail hiʈ biɳideɖ ʃud ʃobuːteɖ ʃud ɖuniːɓeɖ]

tiʋoɡʷ
hunter -eɖ
def sail
kill hiʈ
PAST biɳid
jaguar -eɖ
def ʃud
and ʃobuːt
tiger -eɖ
def ʃud
and ɖuniːɓ
lion -eɖ
def

“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 Chash 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

Chash 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:

Gkowaab hirt sharn gweferd.

[kʼoʋaːb hiʈ ʃaɳ ɡʷefeɖ]

kʼoʋaːb
pat hiʈ
PAST ʃaɳ
1excl.SUBJ ɡʷef
cat -eɖ
def

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Rtii hirt mig libobberd gkowaab hirt sharn gquig ñauqu.

[ʈiː hiʈ miɡ liboɓeɖ kʼoʋaːb hiʈ ʃaɳ kʼʷiɡ ɲaukʷ]

ʈiː
catch hiʈ
PAST miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ liboɓ
mouse -eɖ
def kʼoʋaːb
pat hiʈ
PAST ʃaɳ
1excl.SUBJ kʼʷiɡ
3.fem ɲaukʷ
then

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Miigqu hirt mig rrokongerd rtii hirt mig gquig ñauqu gkowaab hirt sharn gquig ñauqu.

[miːkʼʷ hiʈ miɡ ɽokoŋeɖ ʈiː hiʈ miɡ kʼʷiɡ ɲaukʷ kʼoʋaːb hiʈ ʃaɳ kʼʷiɡ ɲaukʷ]

miːkʼʷ
eat hiʈ
PAST miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ ɽokoŋ
cheese -eɖ
def ʈiː
catch hiʈ
PAST miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ kʼʷiɡ
3.fem ɲaukʷ
then kʼoʋaːb
pat hiʈ
PAST ʃaɳ
1excl.SUBJ kʼʷiɡ
3.fem ɲaukʷ
then

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

 (25)

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

Ñiqu hirt sharn rsut miigqu hirt mig rsut ñauqu rtii hirt mig gquig ñauqu gkowaab hirt sharn gquig ñauqu.

[ɲikʷ hiʈ ʃaɳ ʂut miːkʼʷ hiʈ miɡ ʂut ɲaukʷ ʈiː hiʈ miɡ kʼʷiɡ ɲaukʷ kʼoʋaːb hiʈ ʃaɳ kʼʷiɡ ɲaukʷ]

ɲikʷ
buy hiʈ
PAST ʃaɳ
1excl.SUBJ ʂut
3.masc miːkʼʷ
eat hiʈ
PAST miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ ʂut
3.masc ɲaukʷ
then ʈiː
catch hiʈ
PAST miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ kʼʷiɡ
3.fem ɲaukʷ
then kʼoʋaːb
pat hiʈ
PAST ʃaɳ
1excl.SUBJ kʼʷiɡ
3.fem ɲaukʷ
then

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Chash marks complement clauses with subordinating verbal morphology. The embedded verb is fully finite and carries a subordinating suffix that identifies the clause as a complement. No structural changes occur within the clause apart from this verbal marking.

The following example illustrate how complement clauses function:

Ngegquerd mirrij hirt taubberd rronushiqu fohof ngwashaarn hirt mig warnigerd.

[ŋekʼʷeɖ miɽij hiʈ tauɓeɖ ɽonuʃikʷ fohof ŋʷaʃaːɳ hiʈ miɡ ʋaɳiɡeɖ]

ŋekʼʷ
boy -eɖ
def miɽ
give -ij
COMP hiʈ
PAST tauɓ
girl -eɖ
def ɽonuʃ
apple -ikʷ
not.def fo
a -h
masc -of
NOM ŋʷaʃaːɳ
surprise hiʈ
PAST miɡ
3.fem.SUBJ ʋaɳiɡ
teacher -eɖ
def

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

 (27)

Quotes

Chash 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:

Ngegquerd rto hirt taubberd faut saidij sharn gquaaj.

[ŋekʼʷeɖ ʈo hiʈ tauɓeɖ faut saidij ʃaɳ kʼʷaːj]

ŋekʼʷ
boy -eɖ
def ʈo
tell hiʈ
PAST tauɓ
girl -eɖ
def faut
1excl said
love -ij
COMP ʃaɳ
1excl.SUBJ kʼʷaːj
2

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

 (28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Chash. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 16 September 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/50J68

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-50J68,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Chash}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/50J68}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 16 September 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Chash / Chash–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/50J68

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