A Grammar of Susu

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Susu language (the 475th 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 Susu.

Typological Profile

It has a complete absence of bilabial or labiodental consonants and a total lack of nasal consonants.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Susu has 10 consonant phonemes, forming a relatively small inventory.

It has a complete absence of bilabial or labiodental consonants, a total lack of nasal consonants and a complete absence of phonemic voicing contrasts.

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

alveolarpostalveolarlateralpalatalvelarglottal
stopt k
fricatives ʃ x h
approximantl j
affricatet͡ʃ

Vowels

Susu 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 full range of vowel qualities even in reduced syllables.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Susu 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

Susu is normally written using the Cyrillic alphabet, a script with a long and varied history across Eastern Europe and northern Asia. In this grammar, phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) are also used to give an unambiguous representation of sound.

The conventions adopted here follow standard Cyrillic practice for the language where that exists; where they do not, the IPA transcription should be taken as authoritative.

Orthography

Here are the various components of the orthography:

Simple letters

а /a/г /h/е /e/и /i/
к /k/л /l/о /o/с /s/
т /t/у /u/х /x/ч /t͡ʃ/
ш /ʃ/ј /j/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Susu does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Susu does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Чогуш тохих хијушет хошох хох кач гухал гелехушет.

[t͡ʃohuʃ toxix xijuʃet xoʃox xox kat͡ʃ huxal helexuʃet]

t͡ʃo
woman
-huʃ
ERG
toxix
COMIT
xiju
knife
-ʃet
NOM
xoʃ
catch
-ox
PAST
xox
yon
kat͡ʃ
three
huxal
blind
helexu
mouse
-ʃet
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 Susu consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -шет /-ʃet/ ‘NOM’, -гуш /-huʃ/ ‘ERG’, -туш /-tuʃ/ ‘ACC’, -кох /-kox/ ‘DAT’, -тох /-tox/ ‘INS’, -соч /-sot͡ʃ/ ‘VOC’, -кик /-kik/ ‘ALL’, -чиј /-t͡ʃij/ ‘LOC’, -лес /-les/ ‘ABL’ and -чах /-t͡ʃax/ ‘PART’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -хачи /-xat͡ʃi/ ‘little’ and -јути /-juti/ ‘big’

The Adjective

In Susu, the adjective has the following structure: an optional prefix expressing case, comprising селе- /sele-/ ‘ERG’, таје- /taje-/ ‘ACC’, хасо- /xaso-/ ‘DAT’, шушу- /ʃuʃu-/ ‘INS’, хашу- /xaʃu-/ ‘VOC’, хати- /xati-/ ‘ALL’, хаја- /xaja-/ ‘LOC’, луча- /lut͡ʃa-/ ‘ABL’ and сете- /sete-/ ‘PART’ followed by the root.

Numerals

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

Determiners

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

Pronouns

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

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

Точ ке.

[tot͡ʃ ke]

tot͡ʃ
love
ke
3

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(2)

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

Ке точ ке.

[ke tot͡ʃ ke]

ke
3
tot͡ʃ
love
ke
3

He loves her.”

(3)

Proper Nouns

Хилахашет шашус Костехитуш.

[xilaxaʃet ʃaʃus kostexituʃ]

xilaxa
Khilakha
-ʃet
NOM
ʃaʃus
hate
kostexi
Kostekhi
-tuʃ
ACC

“Khilakha hates Kostekhi.”

(4)

Possession

шешет јушасишет

[ʃeʃet juʃasiʃet]

ʃe
boy
-ʃet
NOM
juʃasi
apple
-ʃet
NOM

“the boy’s apple”

(5)
ке јушасишет

[ke juʃasiʃet]

ke
3
juʃasi
apple
-ʃet
NOM

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(6)
ток јушасишет

[tok juʃasiʃet]

tok
1excl
juʃasi
apple
-ʃet
NOM

“my apple”

(7)
Кехелишет хогуш кехетох тош логаташет гушет.

[kexeliʃet xohuʃ kexetox toʃ lohataʃet huʃet]

kexeli
hunter
-ʃet
NOM
xo
daughter
-huʃ
ERG
kexet
kiss
-ox
PAST
toʃ
2
lohata
neighbour
-ʃet
NOM
hu
son
-ʃet
NOM

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

(8)

Derivation

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

чатачашет

[t͡ʃatat͡ʃaʃet]

t͡ʃatat͡ʃa
lamb
-ʃet
NOM

“a lamb”

(9)

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

чатачахачишет

[t͡ʃatat͡ʃaxat͡ʃiʃet]

t͡ʃatat͡ʃa
lamb
-xat͡ʃi
little
-ʃet
NOM

“a little lamb”

(10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

There is one type of clitic in the verbal phrase, namely an enclitic (placed finally), expressing voice. a clitic expressing voice, comprising кол /kol/ ‘passive’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, an optional prefix expressing mode, comprising шули- /ʃuli-/ ‘imperative’, шаса- /ʃasa-/ ‘conditional’ and саша- /saʃa-/ ‘optative’; second, the root; third, an optional suffix expressing ta, comprising -ох /-ox/ ‘PAST’; and finally, fourth, an optional suffix expressing negation, comprising -еч /-et͡ʃ/ ‘NEG’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -хело /-xelo/ ‘begin’ and -сиши /-siʃi/ ‘stop’

Точ тош.

[tot͡ʃ toʃ]

tot͡ʃ
love
toʃ
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.

луч такошет

[lut͡ʃ takoʃet]

lut͡ʃ
in_surface
tako
table
-ʃet
NOM

“on the table”

(12)
хе тачекешет

[xe tat͡ʃekeʃet]

xe
to_inside
tat͡ʃeke
box
-ʃet
NOM

“into the box”

(13)
тохих ток

[toxix tok]

toxix
COMIT
tok
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.

Susu 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 Susu.

Чатосигуш јушох кехелишет.

[t͡ʃatosihuʃ juʃox kexeliʃet]

t͡ʃatosi
jaguar
-huʃ
ERG
juʃ
kill
-ox
PAST
kexeli
hunter
-ʃet
NOM

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(15)
Шујукагуш јохох кехелишет хошет тешет.

[ʃujukahuʃ joxox kexeliʃet xoʃet teʃet]

ʃujuka
lion
-huʃ
ERG
jox
eat
-ox
PAST
kexeli
hunter
-ʃet
NOM
xo
daughter
-ʃet
NOM
te
dog
-ʃet
NOM

“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 Susu 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, Susu 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.

тош гушет кушет хушет

[toʃ huʃet kuʃet xuʃet]

toʃ
2
hu
son
-ʃet
NOM
ku
friend
-ʃet
NOM
xu
book
-ʃet
NOM

“your son’s friend’s book”

(17)

Case Marking

Susu 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.

Шошет тал.

[ʃoʃet tal]

ʃo
cat
-ʃet
NOM
tal
sleep

“The cat is sleeping.”

(18)
Шошет гах.

[ʃoʃet hax]

ʃo
cat
-ʃet
NOM
hax
run

“The cat is running.”

(19)
Шошет чисус гелехутуш.

[ʃoʃet t͡ʃisus helexutuʃ]

ʃo
cat
-ʃet
NOM
t͡ʃisus
chase
helexu
mouse
-tuʃ
ACC

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

(20)
Шогуш хошох гелехушет.

[ʃohuʃ xoʃox helexuʃet]

ʃo
cat
-huʃ
ERG
xoʃ
catch
-ox
PAST
helexu
mouse
-ʃet
NOM

“The cat caught the mouse.”

(21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Кехелигуш јушох чатосишет сол тостакашет сол шујукашет.

[kexelihuʃ juʃox t͡ʃatosiʃet sol tostakaʃet sol ʃujukaʃet]

kexeli
hunter
-huʃ
ERG
juʃ
kill
-ox
PAST
t͡ʃatosi
jaguar
-ʃet
NOM
sol
and
tostaka
tiger
-ʃet
NOM
sol
and
ʃujuka
lion
-ʃet
NOM

“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 Susu 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

Susu 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:

Хуласох шошет.

[xulasox ʃoʃet]

xulas
pat
-ox
PAST
ʃo
cat
-ʃet
NOM

“I patted the cat.”

(23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Хуласох шошет, гај хошох гелехушет.

[xulasox ʃoʃet, haj xoʃox helexuʃet]

xulas
pat
-ox
PAST
ʃo
cat
-ʃet
NOM
haj
RELPRON
xoʃ
catch
-ox
PAST
helexu
mouse
-ʃet
NOM

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Хуласох шошет, гај хошох гелехушет, гај јохох лалачишет.

[xulasox ʃoʃet, haj xoʃox helexuʃet, haj joxox lalat͡ʃiʃet]

xulas
pat
-ox
PAST
ʃo
cat
-ʃet
NOM
haj
RELPRON
xoʃ
catch
-ox
PAST
helexu
mouse
-ʃet
NOM
haj
RELPRON
jox
eat
-ox
PAST
lalat͡ʃi
cheese
-ʃet
NOM

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

(25)

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

Хуласох шошет, гај хошох гелехушет, гај јохох лалачишет, гај калох ток.

[xulasox ʃoʃet, haj xoʃox helexuʃet, haj joxox lalat͡ʃiʃet, haj kalox tok]

xulas
pat
-ox
PAST
ʃo
cat
-ʃet
NOM
haj
RELPRON
xoʃ
catch
-ox
PAST
helexu
mouse
-ʃet
NOM
haj
RELPRON
jox
eat
-ox
PAST
lalat͡ʃi
cheese
-ʃet
NOM
haj
RELPRON
kal
buy
-ox
PAST
tok
1excl

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

(26)

Complementation Strategies

Susu 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:

Шегуш шахох хакох јушасишет секик силајох халикокох.

[ʃehuʃ ʃaxox xakox juʃasiʃet sekik silajox xalikokox]

ʃe
boy
-huʃ
ERG
ʃax
give
-ox
PAST
xa
girl
-kox
DAT
juʃasi
apple
-ʃet
NOM
sekik
COMP
silaj
surprise
-ox
PAST
xaliko
teacher
-kox
DAT

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

(27)

Quotes

Susu 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:

Шегуш гекох хакох ток точ тош секик.

[ʃehuʃ hekox xakox tok tot͡ʃ toʃ sekik]

ʃe
boy
-huʃ
ERG
hek
tell
-ox
PAST
xa
girl
-kox
DAT
tok
1excl
tot͡ʃ
love
toʃ
2
sekik
COMP

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

(28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Susu. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 25 June 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/59RUU

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-59RUU,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Susu}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/59RUU}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 25 June 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Susu / Susu–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/59RUU

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