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A Grammar of Unis

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Unis language (the 463rd 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 Unis.

Typological Profile

It has has no interesting typological features.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Unis has a moderately small consonant inventory, comprising 17 phonemes.

It has a complete absence of affricates, a strongly reduced sibilant system and an unusually restricted set of labial consonants.

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

labialalveolarlateralpalatalvelarglottal
stopb d t k ɡ
nasalm n ɲ ŋ
trill/tap/flapr
fricativef s h
approximantw l j

Vowels

Unis has 5 vowel qualities. This places it within the broadly common range of mid-sized vowel inventories. The vowel chart shows the full set of contrasts employed in the language’s phonology.

It has a moderately reduced system of unstressed vowels.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Unis 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

Unis 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/r /r/s /s/
t /t/u /u/w /w/ñ /ɲ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ng /ŋ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Unis does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Unis does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Tin kel lanal tin kifit tungik ham ñed far kohagam, ting tusib.

[tin kel lanal tin kifit tuŋik ham ɲed far kohaɡam, tiŋ tusib]

tin
the k-
NOM el
woman lanal
COMIT tin
the k-
NOM ifit
knife t-
POS uŋik
catch ham
PAST ɲed
yon far
three k-
NOM ohaɡam
mouse tiŋ
RELPRON t-
POS usib
blind

“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 Unis consists of an obligatory prefix expressing case, comprising k- /k-/ ‘NOM’, r- /r-/ ‘DAT’, l- /l-/ ‘INS’, m- /m-/ ‘VOC’, n- /n-/ ‘ALL’, j- /j-/ ‘LOC’, s- /s-/ ‘ABL’ and ng- /ŋ-/ ‘PART’ followed by the root.

The Adjective

The adjective in Unis stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

Numerals

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

Determiners

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

Pronouns

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

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

Tomug.

[tomuɡ]

t-
POS omuɡ
love

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:

Lek tomug.

[lek tomuɡ]

lek
3 t-
POS omuɡ
love

“He loves her.”

 (3)

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

Tomug lek.

[tomuɡ lek]

t-
POS omuɡ
love lek
3

“He loves her.”

 (4)

Proper Nouns

Tin kEsabiñ toñusuj tin kEngiruw.

[tin kesabiɲ toɲusuj tin keŋiruw]

tin
the k-
NOM esabiɲ
Esabiny t-
POS oɲusuj
hate tin
the k-
NOM eŋiruw
Engiruw

“Esabiny hates Engiruw.”

 (5)

Possession

tin kil tin kamajas

[tin kil tin kamajas]

tin
the k-
NOM il
boy tin
the k-
NOM amajas
apple

“the boy’s apple”

 (6)
lek tin kamajas

[lek tin kamajas]

lek
3 tin
the k-
NOM amajas
apple

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (7)
sel tin kamajas

[sel tin kamajas]

sel
1excl tin
the k-
NOM amajas
apple

“my apple”

 (8)
Tin kowamag tin kar teñiñib ham tab tin kabidib tin kof.

[tin kowamaɡ tin kar teɲiɲib ham tab tin kabidib tin kof]

tin
the k-
NOM owamaɡ
hunter tin
the k-
NOM ar
daughter t-
POS eɲiɲib
kiss ham
PAST tab
2 tin
the k-
NOM abidib
neighbour tin
the k-
NOM of
son

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

 (9)

Derivation

Unis has no derivational processes.

kewidal

[kewidal]

k-
NOM ewidal
lamb

“a lamb”

 (10)

Note how none show up here:

Tetak ham tiñañ ham wijum kewidal, ting ten.

[tetak ham tiɲaɲ ham wijum kewidal, tiŋ ten]

t-
POS etak
want ham
PAST t-
POS iɲaɲ
have ham
PAST wijum
COMP k-
NOM ewidal
lamb tiŋ
RELPRON t-
POS en
little

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

 (11)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Unis are enclitics (placed finally), and there are three types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising ham /ham/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising kim /kim/ ‘imperative’, ngang /ŋaŋ/ ‘conditional’ and tar /tar/ ‘optative’; and finally, third, a clitic expressing question, comprising fung /fuŋ/ ‘Q’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, an obligatory prefix expressing negation, comprising h- /h-/ ‘NEG’ and t- /t-/ ‘POS’; second, the root; and finally, third, an optional suffix expressing voice, comprising -awar /-awar/ ‘passive’.

Tomug.

[tomuɡ]

t-
POS omuɡ
love

“I love you.”

 (12)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

nim tin kusag

[nim tin kusaɡ]

nim
in_surface tin
the k-
NOM usaɡ
table

“on the table”

 (13)
wil tin kelidung

[wil tin keliduŋ]

wil
to_inside tin
the k-
NOM eliduŋ
box

“into the box”

 (14)
lanal sel

[lanal sel]

lanal
COMIT sel
1excl

“with me”

 (15)

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.

Unis 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 Unis.

Tin kusadat tasuj ham tin kowamag.

[tin kusadat tasuj ham tin kowamaɡ]

tin
the k-
NOM usadat
jaguar t-
POS asuj
kill ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM owamaɡ
hunter

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (16)
Tin kiwamis tinit ham tin kowamag tin kar tin koj.

[tin kiwamis tinit ham tin kowamaɡ tin kar tin koj]

tin
the k-
NOM iwamis
lion t-
POS init
eat ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM owamaɡ
hunter tin
the k-
NOM ar
daughter tin
the k-
NOM oj
dog

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

 (17)

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 Unis 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, Unis 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.

tab tin kof tin kow tin kag

[tab tin kof tin kow tin kaɡ]

tab
2 tin
the k-
NOM of
son tin
the k-
NOM ow
friend tin
the k-
NOM aɡ
book

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (18)

Case Marking

Unis does not use case marking to distinguish the core participants of the clause. There is therefore no regular nominative, accusative, ergative, active or stative marking on subjects and objects. Instead, the roles of the participants are identified by other means, cf. the examples below.

Tin kam talin.

[tin kam talin]

tin
the k-
NOM am
cat t-
POS alin
sleep

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (19)
Tin kam tedal.

[tin kam tedal]

tin
the k-
NOM am
cat t-
POS edal
run

“The cat is running.”

 (20)
Tin kam tegida tin kohagam.

[tin kam teɡida tin kohaɡam]

tin
the k-
NOM am
cat t-
POS eɡida
chase tin
the k-
NOM ohaɡam
mouse

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (21)
Tin kam tungik ham tin kohagam.

[tin kam tuŋik ham tin kohaɡam]

tin
the k-
NOM am
cat t-
POS uŋik
catch ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM ohaɡam
mouse

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (22)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Tin kowamag tasuj ham tin kusadat nar tin kosibib nar tin kiwamis.

[tin kowamaɡ tasuj ham tin kusadat nar tin kosibib nar tin kiwamis]

tin
the k-
NOM owamaɡ
hunter t-
POS asuj
kill ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM usadat
jaguar nar
and tin
the k-
NOM osibib
tiger nar
and tin
the k-
NOM iwamis
lion

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

 (23)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Unis 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:

Tumisa ham tin kam.

[tumisa ham tin kam]

t-
POS umisa
pat ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM am
cat

“I patted the cat.”

 (24)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Tumisa ham tin kam, ting tungik ham tin kohagam.

[tumisa ham tin kam, tiŋ tuŋik ham tin kohaɡam]

t-
POS umisa
pat ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM am
cat tiŋ
RELPRON t-
POS uŋik
catch ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM ohaɡam
mouse

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (25)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Tumisa ham tin kam, ting tungik ham tin kohagam, ting tinit ham tin kibibaw.

[tumisa ham tin kam, tiŋ tuŋik ham tin kohaɡam, tiŋ tinit ham tin kibibaw]

t-
POS umisa
pat ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM am
cat tiŋ
RELPRON t-
POS uŋik
catch ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM ohaɡam
mouse tiŋ
RELPRON t-
POS init
eat ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM ibibaw
cheese

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

 (26)

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

Tumisa ham tin kam, ting tungik ham tin kohagam, ting tinit ham tin kibibaw, ting tisuñ ham sel.

[tumisa ham tin kam, tiŋ tuŋik ham tin kohaɡam, tiŋ tinit ham tin kibibaw, tiŋ tisuɲ ham sel]

t-
POS umisa
pat ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM am
cat tiŋ
RELPRON t-
POS uŋik
catch ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM ohaɡam
mouse tiŋ
RELPRON t-
POS init
eat ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM ibibaw
cheese tiŋ
RELPRON t-
POS isuɲ
buy ham
PAST sel
1excl

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

 (27)

Complementation Strategies

Unis 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:

Tin kil teriñ ham tin kab kamajas wijum tatinad ham tin kitugiw.

[tin kil teriɲ ham tin kab kamajas wijum tatinad ham tin kituɡiw]

tin
the k-
NOM il
boy t-
POS eriɲ
give ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM ab
girl k-
NOM amajas
apple wijum
COMP t-
POS atinad
surprise ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM ituɡiw
teacher

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

 (28)

Quotes

Unis 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:

Tin kil tirar ham tin kab sel tomug tab wijum.

[tin kil tirar ham tin kab sel tomuɡ tab wijum]

tin
the k-
NOM il
boy t-
POS irar
tell ham
PAST tin
the k-
NOM ab
girl sel
1excl t-
POS omuɡ
love tab
2 wijum
COMP

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

 (29)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Unis. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 24 June 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/57BMW

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-57BMW,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Unis}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/57BMW}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 24 June 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Unis / Unis–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/57BMW

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