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A Grammar of Nyaung

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Nyaung language (the 433rd 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 Nyaung.

Typological Profile

It has postpositions.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Nyaung has 22 consonant phonemes, a size that falls within a broadly average range.

It has a conspicuous absence of approximants, a modest (but clearly contrastive) set of labialised consonants, an exceptionally extensive nasal inventory and an unusually restricted set of labial consonants.

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

labialdentalalveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatalpalatalvelarlab. velarglottal
stopb d t k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ
nasalm n ɲ ŋ ŋʷ
fricativef s ʃ h
affricatet͡ʃ t͡ɕ
implosiveɓ
clickᵏǀ
click, nasalᵑǀ

Vowels

Nyaung 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 has a completely boring and uninteresting vowel system.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Nyaung 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

The language employs vowel harmony. To be specific, the following vowels change to match the first vowel of the root: /i/ becomes /u/, /e/ becomes /o/.

Writing System

Introduction

Nyaung 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/c /ᵏǀ/d /d/
e /e/f /f/g /ɡ/h /h/
i /i/k /k/m /m/n /n/
o /o/s /s/t /t/u /u/
ñ /ɲ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ai /ai/au /au/bb /ɓ/
ch /t͡ʃ/gw /ɡʷ/nc /ᵑǀ/
ng /ŋ/ngw /ŋʷ/qu /kʷ/
sh /ʃ/ty /t͡ɕ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Nyaung does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Nyaung does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Cabich sifich tyafabb fim ncau ncitabadech haibbad mob bba.

[ᵏǀabit͡ʃ sifit͡ʃ t͡ɕafaɓ fim ᵑǀau ᵑǀitabadet͡ʃ haiɓad mob ɓa]

ᵏǀab
woman -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def sif
knife -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def t͡ɕafaɓ
COMIT fim
yon ᵑǀau
three ᵑǀit-
ACC t͡ʃabam
mouse -da
plur -it͡ʃ
def t-
ACC haiɓad
blind mob
catch ɓa
PAST

“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 Nyaung consists of first, an optional prefix expressing case, comprising ncit- /ᵑǀit-/ ‘ACC’, señ- /seɲ-/ ‘DAT’, gwash- /ɡʷaʃ-/ ‘INS’, cis- /ᵏǀis-/ ‘VOC’, san- /san-/ ‘ALL’, dich- /dit͡ʃ-/ ‘LOC’, kash- /kaʃ-/ ‘ABL’ and tañ- /taɲ-/ ‘PART’; second, the root; third, an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -bbi /-ɓi/ ‘sing’ and -da /-da/ ‘plur’; and finally, fourth, an obligatory suffix expressing def, comprising -af /-af/ ‘not.def’ and -ich /-it͡ʃ/ ‘def’.

The Adjective

In Nyaung, the adjective has the following structure: an obligatory prefix expressing case, comprising f- /f-/ ‘NOM’, t- /t-/ ‘ACC’, h- /h-/ ‘DAT’, ñ- /ɲ-/ ‘INS’, b- /b-/ ‘VOC’, ngw- /ŋʷ-/ ‘ALL’, g- /ɡ-/ ‘LOC’, k- /k-/ ‘ABL’ and bb- /ɓ-/ ‘PART’ followed by the root.

Numerals

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

Determiners

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

Pronouns

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

Nyaung always includes the personal pronouns, even if they are not stressed. This is similar to English, where the only way to distinguish "he loves her" from "he loves her" and "he loves her" is the stress. So the following corresponds exactly to English in this regard:

Tyes tyes tik.

[t͡ɕes t͡ɕes tik]

t͡ɕes
3.sing t͡ɕes
3.sing tik
love

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

Proper Nouns

Tyamongich ncuTanochich ncengwingw.

[t͡ɕamoŋit͡ʃ ᵑǀutanot͡ʃit͡ʃ ᵑǀeŋʷiŋʷ]

t͡ɕamoŋ
Chamong -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ᵑǀit-
ACC ɡʷanot͡ʃ
Ganoch -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ᵑǀeŋʷiŋʷ
hate

“Chamong hates Ganoch.”

 (3)

Possession

bbisich quaquochich

[ɓisit͡ʃ kʷakʷot͡ʃit͡ʃ]

ɓis
boy -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def kʷakʷot͡ʃ
apple -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def

“the boy’s apple”

 (4)
tyes quaquochich

[t͡ɕes kʷakʷot͡ʃit͡ʃ]

t͡ɕes
3.sing kʷakʷot͡ʃ
apple -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (5)
sobb quaquochich

[soɓ kʷakʷot͡ʃit͡ʃ]

soɓ
1excl.sing kʷakʷot͡ʃ
apple -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def

“my apple”

 (6)
Taguchich hobbich sety bagabbich ncumubich bbigam bba.

[taɡut͡ʃit͡ʃ hoɓit͡ʃ set͡ɕ baɡaɓit͡ʃ ᵑǀumubit͡ʃ ɓiɡam ɓa]

taɡut͡ʃ
hunter -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def hoɲ
daughter -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def set͡ɕ
2.sing baɡaʃ
neighbour -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ᵑǀit-
ACC mub
son -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ɓiɡam
kiss ɓa
PAST

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

 (7)

Derivation

Nyaung has no derivational processes.

ncais dakafef

[ᵑǀais dakafef]

ᵑǀais
a dakaf
lamb -ɓi
sing -af
not.def

“a lamb”

 (8)

Note how none show up here:

Tyes ncais ncidakafef tuk ncen bba hegwaf kingw bba.

[t͡ɕes ᵑǀais ᵑǀidakafef tuk ᵑǀen ɓa heɡʷaf kiŋʷ ɓa]

t͡ɕes
3.sing ᵑǀais
a ᵑǀit-
ACC dakaf
lamb -ɓi
sing -af
not.def t-
ACC ʃuk
little ᵑǀen
have ɓa
PAST heɡʷaf
COMP kiŋʷ
want ɓa
PAST

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

 (9)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Nyaung are enclitics (placed finally), and there are four types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising bba /ɓa/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising deb /deb/ ‘imperative’, bbegw /ɓeɡʷ/ ‘conditional’ and ñid /ɲid/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing negation, comprising gwis /ɡʷis/ ‘NEG’; and finally, fourth, a clitic expressing question, comprising ngad /ŋad/ ‘Q’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an optional suffix expressing voice, comprising -aiach /-aiat͡ʃ/ ‘passive’.

Sobb sety tik.

[soɓ set͡ɕ tik]

soɓ
1excl.sing set͡ɕ
2.sing tik
love

“I love you.”

 (10)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

chomich tadich fas

[t͡ʃomit͡ʃ tadit͡ʃ fas]

t͡ʃom
table -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def tad
surface -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def fas
in

“on the table”

 (11)
bigwebbich tyiquich mun

[biɡʷeɓit͡ʃ t͡ɕikʷit͡ʃ mun]

biɡʷeɡ
box -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def t͡ɕikʷ
inside -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def mun
to

“into the box”

 (12)
sobb tyafabb

[soɓ t͡ɕafaɓ]

soɓ
1excl.sing t͡ɕafaɓ
COMIT

“with me”

 (13)

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.

Nyaung has basic Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) word order. The subject precedes the object, and the verb appears at the end of the clause. This is one of the most frequent patterns cross-linguistically.

The following examples illustrate the basic, unmarked, constituent order in Nyaung.

Ñishibbich ncutaguchich fan bba.

[ɲiʃiɓit͡ʃ ᵑǀutaɡut͡ʃit͡ʃ fan ɓa]

ɲiʃiɡ
jaguar -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ᵑǀit-
ACC taɡut͡ʃ
hunter -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def fan
kill ɓa
PAST

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (14)
Negabich taguchich hobbich ncitebich gwaungw bba.

[neɡabit͡ʃ taɡut͡ʃit͡ʃ hoɓit͡ʃ ᵑǀitebit͡ʃ ɡʷauŋʷ ɓa]

neɡab
lion -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def taɡut͡ʃ
hunter -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def hoɲ
daughter -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ᵑǀit-
ACC ᵏǀeb
dog -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ɡʷauŋʷ
eat ɓa
PAST

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

 (15)

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 Nyaung 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, Nyaung 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.

sety mubich misich sibenich

[set͡ɕ mubit͡ʃ misit͡ʃ sibenit͡ʃ]

set͡ɕ
2.sing mub
son -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def mis
friend -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def siben
book -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (16)

Case Marking

Nyaung 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.

Gwongich gem.

[ɡʷoŋit͡ʃ ɡem]

ɡʷoŋ
cat -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ɡem
sleep

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (17)
Gwongich ncaish.

[ɡʷoŋit͡ʃ ᵑǀaiʃ]

ɡʷoŋ
cat -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ᵑǀaiʃ
run

“The cat is running.”

 (18)
Gwongich ncitabamich ncifib.

[ɡʷoŋit͡ʃ ᵑǀitabamit͡ʃ ᵑǀifib]

ɡʷoŋ
cat -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ᵑǀit-
ACC t͡ʃabam
mouse -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ᵑǀifib
chase

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (19)
Gwongich ncitabamich mob bba.

[ɡʷoŋit͡ʃ ᵑǀitabamit͡ʃ mob ɓa]

ɡʷoŋ
cat -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ᵑǀit-
ACC t͡ʃabam
mouse -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def mob
catch ɓa
PAST

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (20)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Taguchich ncitishidech bbem ncutubudech bbem ncinegabech fan bba.

[taɡut͡ʃit͡ʃ ᵑǀitiʃidet͡ʃ ɓem ᵑǀutubudet͡ʃ ɓem ᵑǀineɡabet͡ʃ fan ɓa]

taɡut͡ʃ
hunter -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ᵑǀit-
ACC ɲiʃiɡ
jaguar -da
plur -it͡ʃ
def ɓem
and ᵑǀit-
ACC ŋʷibuk
tiger -da
plur -it͡ʃ
def ɓem
and ᵑǀit-
ACC neɡab
lion -da
plur -it͡ʃ
def fan
kill ɓa
PAST

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

 (21)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Nyaung 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:

Sobb ncutongich mofauqu bba.

[soɓ ᵑǀutoŋit͡ʃ mofaukʷ ɓa]

soɓ
1excl.sing ᵑǀit-
ACC ɡʷoŋ
cat -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def mefaukʷ
pat ɓa
PAST

“I patted the cat.”

 (22)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Tyes ncitabamich mob bba sobb tyes mofauqu bba ngin.

[t͡ɕes ᵑǀitabamit͡ʃ mob ɓa soɓ t͡ɕes mofaukʷ ɓa ŋin]

t͡ɕes
3.sing ᵑǀit-
ACC t͡ʃabam
mouse -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def mob
catch ɓa
PAST soɓ
1excl.sing t͡ɕes
3.sing mefaukʷ
pat ɓa
PAST ŋin
then

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (23)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Tyes ncututaungwich gwaungw bba tyes tyes mob bba ngin sobb tyes mofauqu bba ngin.

[t͡ɕes ᵑǀututauŋʷit͡ʃ ɡʷauŋʷ ɓa t͡ɕes t͡ɕes mob ɓa ŋin soɓ t͡ɕes mofaukʷ ɓa ŋin]

t͡ɕes
3.sing ᵑǀit-
ACC t͡ɕitauŋʷ
cheese -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ɡʷauŋʷ
eat ɓa
PAST t͡ɕes
3.sing t͡ɕes
3.sing mob
catch ɓa
PAST ŋin
then soɓ
1excl.sing t͡ɕes
3.sing mefaukʷ
pat ɓa
PAST ŋin
then

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

 (24)

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

Sobb tyes hin bba tyes tyes gwaungw bba ngin tyes tyes mob bba ngin sobb tyes mofauqu bba ngin.

[soɓ t͡ɕes hin ɓa t͡ɕes t͡ɕes ɡʷauŋʷ ɓa ŋin t͡ɕes t͡ɕes mob ɓa ŋin soɓ t͡ɕes mofaukʷ ɓa ŋin]

soɓ
1excl.sing t͡ɕes
3.sing hin
buy ɓa
PAST t͡ɕes
3.sing t͡ɕes
3.sing ɡʷauŋʷ
eat ɓa
PAST ŋin
then t͡ɕes
3.sing t͡ɕes
3.sing mob
catch ɓa
PAST ŋin
then soɓ
1excl.sing t͡ɕes
3.sing mefaukʷ
pat ɓa
PAST ŋin
then

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

 (25)

Complementation Strategies

Nyaung 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:

Bbisich sebaisich ncais ncuquaquochef bbung bba hegwaf segitenich dinit bba.

[ɓisit͡ʃ sebaisit͡ʃ ᵑǀais ᵑǀukʷakʷot͡ʃef ɓuŋ ɓa heɡʷaf seɡitenit͡ʃ dinit ɓa]

ɓis
boy -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def seɲ-
DAT bais
girl -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def ᵑǀais
a ᵑǀit-
ACC kʷakʷot͡ʃ
apple -ɓi
sing -af
not.def ɓuŋ
give ɓa
PAST heɡʷaf
COMP seɲ-
DAT ɡiten
teacher -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def dinit
surprise ɓa
PAST

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

 (26)

Quotes

Nyaung 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:

Bbisich sebaisich sobb sety tik hegwaf shes bba.

[ɓisit͡ʃ sebaisit͡ʃ soɓ set͡ɕ tik heɡʷaf ʃes ɓa]

ɓis
boy -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def seɲ-
DAT bais
girl -ɓi
sing -it͡ʃ
def soɓ
1excl.sing set͡ɕ
2.sing tik
love heɡʷaf
COMP ʃes
tell ɓa
PAST

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

 (27)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Nyaung. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 21 June 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/51A4J

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-51A4J,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Nyaung}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/51A4J}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 21 June 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Nyaung / Nyaung–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/51A4J

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