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A Grammar of Nauch

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Nauch language (the 1709th 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 Nauch.

Typological Profile

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

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Nauch has a moderately large consonant inventory, with 31 phonemes.

It has an exceptionally large and contrastive labial series, a strikingly small set of lateral and rhotic consonants, a noticeable presence of pharyngealised phonemes and a small but genuine set of click consonants.

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

labialdentalphar. dentalalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatalpalatalvelarglottal
stopb d t dˤ tˤ c ɟ k ɡ
nasalm n nˤ ɲ ŋ
fricativef s sˤ ʃ h
approximantw j
affricatet͡s t͡sˤ t͡ʃ t͡ɕ
implosiveɓ
clickᵏǀ ᵏǀˤ
click, nasalᵑǀ ᵑǀˤ

Vowels

Nauch 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 phonologically distinctive back unrounded vowels.

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

frontcentralback unroundedback rounded
closei ɯ u
mide ɤ o
opena

Stress and Tones

Nauch 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

Nauch 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/इ /i/उ /u/ए /e/
ऐ /ai/ओ /o/औ /au/क् /k/
ग् /ɡ/ङ् /ŋ/च् /c, t͡ɕ/ज् /ɟ/
ञ् /ɲ/त् /t/त़् /tˤ/द् /d/
द़् /dˤ/न् /n/ऩ् /nˤ/ब् /b/
भ् /ɓ/म् /m/य् /j/व् /w/
ष् /ʃ/स् /s/स़् /sˤ/ह् /h/
फ़् /f/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

क्त् /ᵏǀ/क्त़् /ᵏǀˤ/ङ्त् /ᵑǀ/
ङ्त़् /ᵑǀˤ/च्ष् /t͡ʃ/त्स् /t͡s/
त्स़् /t͡sˤ/व्इ /ɯ/व्ए /ɤ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Nauch does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Nauch has the following noun classes:

Class cl.1 – for instance: क्त़ुगुष् ‘horn’, ङ्तत्स़् ‘stone’, ङ्त़्वित्सोष् ‘feather’, ङ्तफ़् ‘human being’, चिच्षेय् ‘teacher’, च्वेऩिफ़् ‘brick’, द़ेबोम् ‘urine’, दोब् ‘bone’, भ्वेन्वित्स् ‘fingernail’, मेयम् ‘hunter’, वम् ‘man’, विच् ‘people’, विञत्स् ‘faeces’, हेच्ष् ‘tooth’.

Class cl.2 – for instance: ङ्तेकैत़् ‘God’, च्वेय् ‘sound’, त्स़ुव् ‘leaf’, त्स़्वेज् ‘egg’, द़िद़ोस़् ‘embrace’, द़ुस़् ‘name’, द़्वेम् ‘manner’, ऩौस् ‘fight’, बुग् ‘speech’, स़ेत्स़िय् ‘breath’, सिच्ष् ‘language’, सुऩौष् ‘dialect’, हिद़् ‘idea’, फ़्वित्स़् ‘colour’.

Class cl.3 – for instance: क्त़ोत्स् ‘chair’, क्त़्वेच् ‘knife’, गोद़् ‘house’, ग्विऩ् ‘table’, त्सन् ‘little’, त्स़ेव्वि ‘tower’, त्सेफ़ज् ‘snake’, दुचैद् ‘bottle’, द्वि ‘road’, बुक् ‘book’, भ्वि ‘land’, भ्विक् ‘bed’, यक् ‘fruit’, स़ोऩ्वे ‘jaguar’, फ़्विस़्वेङ् ‘box’.

Class cl.4 – for instance: ङ्त़ोत्स़् ‘earth’, चेजोज् ‘breast’, च्वित़िज् ‘salt’, च्ष्वेच् ‘sun’, जेत्स़ुफ़् ‘wheat’, जेव् ‘child’, जफ़िऩ् ‘apple’, ञब् ‘father’, त़ोच्षैत् ‘ice’, तोमिच् ‘cheese’, त्स्वेत़ैद़् ‘dust’, भिञ् ‘son’, मिद़च् ‘ash’, मोच्ष्विऩ् ‘plain’, म्वेनिष् ‘money’, यौ ‘boy’, वोस्तभ् ‘smoke’, षुकिम् ‘sand’, फ़त्सिग् ‘slime’.

Class cl.5 – for instance: कुज् ‘fire’, क्त़ुष् ‘tree’, क्त्वेम् ‘south’, ग्विवेव् ‘snow’, ङ्त़िद्विच् ‘root’, चिय् ‘wife’, चोय् ‘west’, ञन् ‘water’, ञ्विफ़् ‘rain’, त़ुचोच्ष् ‘flower’, त्स़मच्ष् ‘lake’, त्स़िऩ् ‘friend’, त्सि ‘north’, नज् ‘sea’, बुम् ‘husband’, भेद़् ‘east’, स़ेतोब् ‘neighbour’, ह्विस़य् ‘fog’.

Class cl.6 – for instance: क्त़ि ‘correct’, क्त़्विऩ् ‘time’, ङ्त़िऩद़् ‘library’, ङ्त़्वेग् ‘bad’, ङ्तेन् ‘big’, चिस़् ‘day’, चुग्विष् ‘restaurant’, जिव् ‘round’, त़जुङ् ‘religion’, त्स़द् ‘year’, दम् ‘happy’, ऩिहोद् ‘furious’, ऩ्विच्वेत्स् ‘mortar’, नोच्ष् ‘large’, येव् ‘full’, विचिब् ‘smooth’, षित्स़्वेद़् ‘court’, षोच्ष् ‘far’, फ़ेत्स़् ‘wind’, फ़ेदुब् ‘student’.

Class cl.7 – for instance: ङौद् ‘moon’, चव् ‘top’, च्षेष् ‘daughter’, ञिकद् ‘grass’, ञो ‘sky’, त़ुचत्स़् ‘farmer’, द़्वेत्स़् ‘star’, नैग् ‘city’, नैच्ष् ‘inside’, योच्षस् ‘forest’, षिस् ‘mother’, सेज् ‘girl’, स्विफ़् ‘woman’, हिगौम् ‘cloud’, ह्वित्स् ‘surface’.

Class cl.8 – for instance: क्त़चैच् ‘tiger’, गेबिम् ‘worm’, ङ्त़ऩैञ् ‘lion’, ङ्त़ित्स़ुत़् ‘louse’, च्ष्वेज् ‘bird’, तिबुम् ‘lamb’, त्स़्वेवग् ‘stick’, द़न् ‘dog’, देत्स़् ‘animal’, नद़िच् ‘rope’, ऩुच्विऩ् ‘mouse’, बैच्ष् ‘fish’, भुत् ‘cat’, व्विषौन् ‘river’, स़चऩ् ‘mountain’, होत़िच् ‘bark’, फ़ितत् ‘wild boar’, फ़िदैन् ‘mammal’.

Class cl.9 – for instance: क्त्वेफ़्विद़् ‘penis’, ङ्तेक् ‘hand’, जेस़् ‘blood’, त़िसज् ‘anus’, तिभेद् ‘liver’, त्स़ुगच् ‘vagina’, त्स़ुत्विद् ‘belly’, त्सिभैम् ‘fat’, त्सुभ् ‘ear’, द़ग् ‘mouth’, दुन् ‘nose’, ऩुव् ‘skin’, ऩ्विफ़् ‘meat’, बिस़् ‘heart’, भविङ् ‘guts’, योवस़् ‘knee’, वद़् ‘hair’, षौद् ‘head’, फ़ुङ् ‘leg’, फ़्विऩम् ‘bosom’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

हि त्स्विव् स्विफ़् चिऩ् क्त़्वेच् चिच् म्विभक् ञेभुन् चि ऩुच्विऩ्विद् हत् गोस़्।

[ˈhi t͡sɯw ˈsɯf ˈcinˤ ˈᵏǀˤɤc ˈcic mɯˈɓak ˈɲeɓun ˈci nˤuˈcɯnˤɯd ˈhat ˈɡosˤ]

ˈhi
catch t͡sɯw
PAST ˈsɯf
woman ˈci
the -nˤ
cl.7 ˈᵏǀˤɤc
knife ˈci
the -c
cl.3 mɯˈɓak
COMIT ˈɲeɓ
blind -un
GEN ˈci
the nˤuˈcɯnˤ
mouse -ɯd
ACC ˈhat
three ˈɡo
yon -sˤ
cl.8

“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 Nauch consists of the root followed by an optional suffix expressing case, comprising -विद् /-ɯd/ ‘ACC’, -उन् /-un/ ‘GEN’, -उव् /-uw/ ‘DAT’, -विद़् /-ɯdˤ/ ‘INS’, -इद़् /-idˤ/ ‘VOC’, -उब् /-ub/ ‘ALL’, -वेक् /-ɤk/ ‘LOC’, -उम् /-um/ ‘ABL’ and -वेद़् /-ɤdˤ/ ‘PART’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -त्स़्वे /-t͡sˤɤ/ ‘little’ and -द़े /-dˤe/ ‘big’

The Adjective

In Nauch, the adjective has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -उङ् /-uŋ/ ‘cl.1’, -विऩ् /-ɯnˤ/ ‘cl.2’, -इद् /-id/ ‘cl.3’, -इच् /-ic/ ‘cl.4’, -वेष् /-ɤʃ/ ‘cl.5’, -वित्स् /-ɯt͡s/ ‘cl.6’, -अस् /-as/ ‘cl.7’, -अच्ष् /-at͡ʃ/ ‘cl.8’ and -ओस़् /-osˤ/ ‘cl.9’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Nauch, the determiner has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -क् /-k/ ‘cl.1’, -फ़् /-f/ ‘cl.2’, -च् /-c/ ‘cl.3’, -न् /-n/ ‘cl.4’, -य् /-j/ ‘cl.5’, -म् /-m/ ‘cl.6’, -ऩ् /-nˤ/ ‘cl.7’, -स़् /-sˤ/ ‘cl.8’ and -स् /-s/ ‘cl.9’.

Pronouns

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

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

बेष् वैय्।

[ˈbeʃ ˈwaij]

ˈbeʃ
love ˈwaij
3.cl.7

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

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

बेष् चिभ् वैय्।

[ˈbeʃ ˈciɓ ˈwaij]

ˈbeʃ
love ˈciɓ
3.cl.4 ˈwaij
3.cl.7

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

च्षुषज् द्विद़ि चिफ़् त्विऩिच्विद् चिफ़्।

[t͡ʃuˈʃaɟ dɯˈdˤi ˈcif tɯˈnˤicɯd ˈcif]

t͡ʃuˈʃaɟ
hate dɯˈdˤi
Dudi ˈci
the -f
cl.2 tɯˈnˤic
Tunich -ɯd
ACC ˈci
the -f
cl.2

“Dudi hates Tunich.”

 (4)

Possession

यौउन् चिन् जफ़िऩ् चिन्

[ˈjauun ˈcin ɟaˈfinˤ ˈcin]

ˈjau
boy -un
GEN ˈci
the -n
cl.4 ɟaˈfinˤ
apple ˈci
the -n
cl.4

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
चिभ् जफ़िऩ् चिन्

[ˈciɓ ɟaˈfinˤ ˈcin]

ˈciɓ
3.cl.4 ɟaˈfinˤ
apple ˈci
the -n
cl.4

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
ङिञ् जफ़िऩ् चिन्

[ˈŋiɲ ɟaˈfinˤ ˈcin]

ˈŋiɲ
1excl ɟaˈfinˤ
apple ˈci
the -n
cl.4

“my apple”

 (7)
त़्विमित्स् त्स्विव् मेयमुन् चिक् च्षेष् चिऩ् ञौव् स़ेतोबुन् चिय् भिञ्विद् चिन्।

[tˤɯˈmit͡s t͡sɯw meˈjamun ˈcik ˈt͡ʃeʃ ˈcinˤ ˈɲauw sˤeˈtobun ˈcij ˈɓiɲɯd ˈcin]

tˤɯˈmit͡s
kiss t͡sɯw
PAST meˈjam
hunter -un
GEN ˈci
the -k
cl.1 ˈt͡ʃeʃ
daughter ˈci
the -nˤ
cl.7 ˈɲauw
2 sˤeˈtob
neighbour -un
GEN ˈci
the -j
cl.5 ˈɓiɲ
son -ɯd
ACC ˈci
the -n
cl.4

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

 (8)

Derivation

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

तिबुम् म्विस़्

[tiˈbum ˈmɯsˤ]

tiˈbum
lamb ˈmɯ
a -sˤ
cl.8

“a lamb”

 (9)

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

तिबुम्त्स़्वे म्विस़्

[tiˈbumt͡sˤɤ ˈmɯsˤ]

tiˈbum
lamb -t͡sˤɤ
little ˈmɯ
a -sˤ
cl.8

“a little lamb”

 (10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Nauch are enclitics (placed finally), and there are five types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising त्स्विव् /t͡sɯw/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising हिव् /hiw/ ‘imperative’, स़िद़् /sˤidˤ/ ‘conditional’ and क्त़ेद़् /ᵏǀˤedˤ/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising न /na/ ‘passive’; fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising ङ्त़्वेऩ् /ᵑǀˤɤnˤ/ ‘NEG’; and finally, fifth, a clitic expressing question, comprising सेभ् /seɓ/ ‘Q’.

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

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -षे /-ʃe/ ‘begin’ and -च्षे /-t͡ʃe/ ‘stop’

बेष् ञौव्।

[ˈbeʃ ˈɲauw]

ˈbeʃ
love ˈɲauw
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.

ग्विऩ् चिच् ह्वित्स् क्त़ित्स्

[ˈɡɯnˤ ˈcic ˈhɯt͡s ˈᵏǀˤit͡s]

ˈɡɯnˤ
table ˈci
the -c
cl.3 ˈhɯt͡s
surface ˈᵏǀˤit͡s
in

“on the table”

 (12)
फ़्विस़्वेङ् चिच् नैच्ष् च्ष्विग्

[fɯˈsˤɤŋ ˈcic ˈnait͡ʃ ˈt͡ʃɯɡ]

fɯˈsˤɤŋ
box ˈci
the -c
cl.3 ˈnait͡ʃ
inside ˈt͡ʃɯɡ
to

“into the box”

 (13)
ङिञ् म्विभक्

[ˈŋiɲ mɯˈɓak]

ˈŋiɲ
1excl mɯˈɓak
COMIT

“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.

The basic constituent order of Nauch 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 Nauch.

ङ्तौत्स़् त्स्विव् स़ोऩ्वे चिच् मेयम्विद् चिक्।

[ˈᵑǀaut͡sˤ t͡sɯw sˤoˈnˤɤ ˈcic meˈjamɯd ˈcik]

ˈᵑǀaut͡sˤ
kill t͡sɯw
PAST sˤoˈnˤɤ
jaguar ˈci
the -c
cl.3 meˈjam
hunter -ɯd
ACC ˈci
the -k
cl.1

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (15)
चोङ् त्स्विव् ङ्त़ऩैञ् चिस़् मेयमुन् चिक् च्षेषुन् चिऩ् द़न्विद् चिस़्।

[ˈcoŋ t͡sɯw ᵑǀˤaˈnˤaiɲ ˈcisˤ meˈjamun ˈcik ˈt͡ʃeʃun ˈcinˤ ˈdˤanɯd ˈcisˤ]

ˈcoŋ
eat t͡sɯw
PAST ᵑǀˤaˈnˤaiɲ
lion ˈci
the -sˤ
cl.8 meˈjam
hunter -un
GEN ˈci
the -k
cl.1 ˈt͡ʃeʃ
daughter -un
GEN ˈci
the -nˤ
cl.7 ˈdˤan
dog -ɯd
ACC ˈci
the -sˤ
cl.8

“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 Nauch 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, Nauch 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.

ञौव् भिञुन् चिन् त्स़िऩुन् चिय् बुक् चिच्

[ˈɲauw ˈɓiɲun ˈcin ˈt͡sˤinˤun ˈcij buk ˈcic]

ˈɲauw
2 ˈɓiɲ
son -un
GEN ˈci
the -n
cl.4 ˈt͡sˤinˤ
friend -un
GEN ˈci
the -j
cl.5 buk
book ˈci
the -c
cl.3

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (17)

Case Marking

Nauch 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.

ग्वेज् भुत् चिस़्।

[ˈɡɤɟ ˈɓut ˈcisˤ]

ˈɡɤɟ
sleep ˈɓut
cat ˈci
the -sˤ
cl.8

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (18)
ङिय् भुत् चिस़्।

[ˈŋij ˈɓut ˈcisˤ]

ˈŋij
run ˈɓut
cat ˈci
the -sˤ
cl.8

“The cat is running.”

 (19)
विऩुऩ् भुत् चिस़् ऩुच्विऩ्विद् चिस़्।

[wiˈnˤunˤ ˈɓut ˈcisˤ nˤuˈcɯnˤɯd ˈcisˤ]

wiˈnˤunˤ
chase ˈɓut
cat ˈci
the -sˤ
cl.8 nˤuˈcɯnˤ
mouse -ɯd
ACC ˈci
the -sˤ
cl.8

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (20)
हि त्स्विव् भुत् चिस़् ऩुच्विऩ्विद् चिस़्।

[ˈhi t͡sɯw ˈɓut ˈcisˤ nˤuˈcɯnˤɯd ˈcisˤ]

ˈhi
catch t͡sɯw
PAST ˈɓut
cat ˈci
the -sˤ
cl.8 nˤuˈcɯnˤ
mouse -ɯd
ACC ˈci
the -sˤ
cl.8

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

ङ्तौत्स़् त्स्विव् मेयम् चिक् स़ोऩ्वेविद् चिच् दोफ़् क्त़चैच्विद् चिस़् दोफ़् ङ्त़ऩैञ्विद् चिस़्।

[ˈᵑǀaut͡sˤ t͡sɯw meˈjam ˈcik sˤoˈnˤɤɯd ˈcic ˈdof ᵏǀˤaˈcait͡ɕɯd ˈcisˤ ˈdof ᵑǀˤaˈnˤaiɲɯd ˈcisˤ]

ˈᵑǀaut͡sˤ
kill t͡sɯw
PAST meˈjam
hunter ˈci
the -k
cl.1 sˤoˈnˤɤ
jaguar -ɯd
ACC ˈci
the -c
cl.3 ˈdof
and ᵏǀˤaˈcait͡ɕ
tiger -ɯd
ACC ˈci
the -sˤ
cl.8 ˈdof
and ᵑǀˤaˈnˤaiɲ
lion -ɯd
ACC ˈci
the -sˤ
cl.8

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

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Modifiers and Determiners

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

Nauch 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:

तुचस़् त्स्विव् भुत्विद् चिस़्।

[tuˈcasˤ t͡sɯw ˈɓutɯd ˈcisˤ]

tuˈcasˤ
pat t͡sɯw
PAST ˈɓut
cat -ɯd
ACC ˈci
the -sˤ
cl.8

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

हि त्स्विव् ऩुच्विऩ्विद् चिस़् तुचस़् त्स्विव् होक् चौङ्।

[ˈhi t͡sɯw nˤuˈcɯnˤɯd ˈcisˤ tuˈcasˤ t͡sɯw ˈhok ˈt͡ɕauŋ]

ˈhi
catch t͡sɯw
PAST nˤuˈcɯnˤ
mouse -ɯd
ACC ˈci
the -sˤ
cl.8 tuˈcasˤ
pat t͡sɯw
PAST ˈhok
3.cl.8 ˈt͡ɕauŋ
then

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

चोङ् त्स्विव् तोमिच्विद् चिन् हि त्स्विव् होक् चौङ् तुचस़् त्स्विव् होक् चौङ्।

[ˈcoŋ t͡sɯw toˈmit͡ɕɯd ˈcin ˈhi t͡sɯw ˈhok ˈt͡ɕauŋ tuˈcasˤ t͡sɯw ˈhok ˈt͡ɕauŋ]

ˈcoŋ
eat t͡sɯw
PAST toˈmit͡ɕ
cheese -ɯd
ACC ˈci
the -n
cl.4 ˈhi
catch t͡sɯw
PAST ˈhok
3.cl.8 ˈt͡ɕauŋ
then tuˈcasˤ
pat t͡sɯw
PAST ˈhok
3.cl.8 ˈt͡ɕauŋ
then

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

 (25)

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

म्वेऩ् त्स्विव् चिभ् चोङ् त्स्विव् चिभ् चौङ् हि त्स्विव् होक् चौङ् तुचस़् त्स्विव् होक् चौङ्।

[ˈmɤnˤ t͡sɯw ˈciɓ ˈcoŋ t͡sɯw ˈciɓ ˈt͡ɕauŋ ˈhi t͡sɯw ˈhok ˈt͡ɕauŋ tuˈcasˤ t͡sɯw ˈhok ˈt͡ɕauŋ]

ˈmɤnˤ
buy t͡sɯw
PAST ˈciɓ
3.cl.4 ˈcoŋ
eat t͡sɯw
PAST ˈciɓ
3.cl.4 ˈt͡ɕauŋ
then ˈhi
catch t͡sɯw
PAST ˈhok
3.cl.8 ˈt͡ɕauŋ
then tuˈcasˤ
pat t͡sɯw
PAST ˈhok
3.cl.8 ˈt͡ɕauŋ
then

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Nauch 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:

भुचोच् त्स्विव् म्वेस् त्स्विव् यौ चिन् जफ़िऩ्विद् म्विन् सेजुव् चिऩ् मिहिम् चिच्षेयुव् चिक्।

[ɓuˈt͡ɕoc t͡sɯw ˈmɤs t͡sɯw ˈjau ˈcin ɟaˈfinˤɯd ˈmɯn ˈseɟuw ˈcinˤ miˈhim cit͡ʃejuw ˈcik]

ɓuˈt͡ɕoc
surprise t͡sɯw
PAST ˈmɤs
give t͡sɯw
PAST ˈjau
boy ˈci
the -n
cl.4 ɟaˈfinˤ
apple -ɯd
ACC ˈmɯ
a -n
cl.4 ˈseɟ
girl -uw
DAT ˈci
the -nˤ
cl.7 miˈhim
COMP cit͡ʃej
teacher -uw
DAT ˈci
the -k
cl.1

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

 (27)

Quotes

Nauch 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:

यत्स़् त्स्विव् यौ चिन् बेष् ङिञ् ञौव् मिहिम् सेजुव् चिऩ्।

[ˈjat͡sˤ t͡sɯw ˈjau ˈcin ˈbeʃ ˈŋiɲ ˈɲauw miˈhim ˈseɟuw ˈcinˤ]

ˈjat͡sˤ
tell t͡sɯw
PAST ˈjau
boy ˈci
the -n
cl.4 ˈbeʃ
love ˈŋiɲ
1excl ˈɲauw
2 miˈhim
COMP ˈseɟ
girl -uw
DAT ˈci
the -nˤ
cl.7

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

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How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Nauch. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 19 September 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/53YMR

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-53YMR,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Nauch}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/53YMR}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 19 September 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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