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A Grammar of Bany

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Bany language (the 1752nd 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 Bany.

Typological Profile

It has postpositions.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Bany has a large consonant inventory, comprising 36 phonemes.

It has a notable dental–alveolar contrast across several manners, a modest (but clearly contrastive) set of labialised consonants, a noticeable presence of pharyngealised phonemes, a modest set of implosive stops and a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts.

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

labialalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolarlateralpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velarglottal
stopp b d t dˤ tˤ ɖ ʈ k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ
ejective stopkʼ kʷʼ
nasalm n nˤ ɲ ɳ ŋ ŋʷ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef s sˤ ʃ ʂ h
approximantw ɾ j
affricatet͡ʃ
implosiveɓ ɗ ɗˤ

Vowels

Bany 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 Bany. The system comprises the distinct vowel qualities listed in the chart.

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Bany 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

Bany 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/б /b/б̱ /ɓ/в /w/
г /h/д /d/д̇ /ɖ/д̱ /ɗ/
е /e/и /i/к /k, kʼ/м /m/
н /n/н̇ /ɳ/о /o/п /p/
р /ɾ/р̇ /ɽ/с /s/с̇ /ʂ/
т /t/т̇ /ʈ/у /u/ф /f/
ч /t͡ʃ/ш /ʃ/ј /j/њ /ɲ/
ґ /ɡ/ӈ /ŋ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ай /ai/аў /au/д̱ъ /ɗˤ/
дъ /dˤ/кв /kʷ/квъ /kʼʷ/
нъ /nˤ/съ /sˤ/тъ /tˤ/
ґв /ɡʷ/ӈв /ŋʷ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Bany does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Bany has the following genders:

Gender masc – for instance: гиґвайч ‘bottle’, д̱ъанъаўд̇ ‘sand’, д̱ъаўр̇ ‘house’, дај ‘son’, дъед̇од̱ ‘stick’, кайс̇ ‘stone’, квъак ‘day’, квъаўґ ‘bone’, мен ‘night’, нип ‘hair’, нуд̱ ‘leg’, р̇адъиґв ‘bark’, сайв ‘boy’, седъиј ‘lamb’, съаквес ‘wild boar’, фачос ‘fat’, чанъеп ‘lion’, шасайк ‘jaguar’, њайт̇ ‘blood’, њодъ ‘man’.

Gender fem – for instance: вид̱иб ‘mortar’, гед̱ ‘friend’, д̱ин̇утъ ‘binoculars’, дъам ‘top’, дъетъаўкв ‘anus’, квитаўнъ ‘machine’, кет̇ ‘ear’, киј ‘girl’, нивик ‘neck’, радо ‘net’, санеј ‘river’, сишад̱ ‘snow’, т̇ад̱ ‘mother’, т̇ун ‘eye’, тъик ‘hand’, фиф ‘wind’, шиквъ ‘south’, шо ‘daughter’, ґаўб ‘back’, ӈвод̇ ‘mouth’.

Gender neut – for instance: боњ ‘land’, буј ‘dog’, вој ‘skin’, д̱апок ‘guts’, деб̱уб̱ ‘grass’, доӈв ‘fruit’, кад̱уд̱ ‘tail’, каквъ ‘language’, квоп ‘moon’, квъакасъ ‘cheese’, квъас̇ик ‘liver’, квъаӈ ‘bed’, нам ‘face’, нъавач ‘bank’, с̇ап ‘meat’, с̇ат̇усъ ‘cloud’, сидој ‘knee’, фиквъап ‘apple’, чиґвај ‘forest’, шоквъ ‘leaf’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Квеґар ӈет квеґар годот ваб̱ед̱ квед̱ид̱ъ њас̇аф с̇аӈисъ д̱айс чор̇аӈ р̇иб.

[kʷeɡaɾ ŋet kʷeɡaɾ hodot waɓeɗ kʷeɗiɗˤ ɲaʂaf ʂaŋisˤ ɗais t͡ʃoɽaŋ ɽib]

kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the ŋet
woman kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the hod
knife -et
LOC waɓeɗ
COMIT kʷe-
fem ɗiɗˤ
yon ɲaʂ
blind -af
fem ʂaŋisˤ
mouse ɗais
three t͡ʃoɽ
catch -aŋ
active ɽib
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 Bany consists of the root followed by an optional suffix expressing case, comprising -ињ /-iɲ/ ‘DAT’, -ип /-ip/ ‘INS’, -едъ /-edˤ/ ‘VOC’, -ид̱ъ /-iɗˤ/ ‘ALL’, -ет /-et/ ‘LOC’, -ад̱ /-aɗ/ ‘ABL’ and -ас̇ /-aʂ/ ‘PART’.

The Adjective

In Bany, the adjective has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -аґ /-aɡ/ ‘masc’, -аф /-af/ ‘fem’ and -исъ /-isˤ/ ‘neut’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Bany, the determiner has the following structure: an optional prefix expressing gender, comprising ме- /me-/ ‘masc’ and кве- /kʷe-/ ‘fem’ followed by the root.

Pronouns

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

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

Д̇ад̇ р̇айб̱аӈ.

[ɖaɖ ɽaiɓaŋ]

ɖaɖ
3.fem ɽaiɓ
love -aŋ
active

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

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

Р̇аўдъ д̇ад̇ р̇айб̱аӈ.

[ɽaudˤ ɖaɖ ɽaiɓaŋ]

ɽaudˤ
3.masc ɖaɖ
3.fem ɽaiɓ
love -aŋ
active

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

Меґар Ӈвитид квеґар Нењиб тъапидъаӈ.

[meɡaɾ ŋʷitid kʷeɡaɾ neɲib tˤapidˤaŋ]

me-
masc ɡaɾ
the ŋʷitid
Nagitid kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the neɲib
Nenyib tˤapidˤ
hate -aŋ
active

“Nagitid hates Nenyib.”

 (4)

Possession

меґар сайв ґар фиквъап

[meɡaɾ saiw ɡaɾ fikʼʷap]

me-
masc ɡaɾ
the saiw
boy ɡaɾ
the fikʼʷap
apple

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
р̇аўдъ ґар фиквъап

[ɽaudˤ ɡaɾ fikʼʷap]

ɽaudˤ
3.masc ɡaɾ
the fikʼʷap
apple

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
ниф ґар фиквъап

[nif ɡaɾ fikʼʷap]

nif
1excl ɡaɾ
the fikʼʷap
apple

“my apple”

 (7)
Меґар б̱афор квеґар шо рар квеґар рисад меґар дај ґисистаӈ р̇иб.

[meɡaɾ ɓafoɾ kʷeɡaɾ ʃo ɾaɾ kʷeɡaɾ ɾisad meɡaɾ daj ɡisistaŋ ɽib]

me-
masc ɡaɾ
the ɓafoɾ
hunter kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the ʃo
daughter ɾaɾ
2 kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the ɾisad
neighbour me-
masc ɡaɾ
the daj
son ɡisist
kiss -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST

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

 (8)

Derivation

Bany has no derivational processes.

меквъат седъиј

[mekʼʷat sedˤij]

me-
masc kʼʷat
a sedˤij
lamb

“a lamb”

 (9)

Note how none show up here:

Меквъат с̇ошаґ седъиј нъукваӈ р̇иб ӈваўчаӈ р̇иб.

[mekʼʷat ʂoʃaɡ sedˤij nˤukʷaŋ ɽib ŋʷaut͡ʃaŋ ɽib]

me-
masc kʼʷat
a ʂoʃ
little -aɡ
masc sedˤij
lamb nˤukʷ
have -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST ŋʷaut͡ʃ
want -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

 (10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Bany fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing question, comprising касъ /kʼasˤ/ ‘Q’; second, a clitic expressing ta, comprising р̇иб /ɽib/ ‘PAST’; third, a clitic expressing mode, comprising факв /fakʷ/ ‘imperative’, н̇енъ /ɳenˤ/ ‘conditional’ and т̇еґв /ʈeɡʷ/ ‘optative’; and finally, fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising чак /t͡ʃak/ ‘NEG’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing voice, comprising -аӈ /-aŋ/ ‘active’ and -ад /-ad/ ‘passive’.

Рар р̇айб̱аӈ.

[ɾaɾ ɽaiɓaŋ]

ɾaɾ
2 ɽaiɓ
love -aŋ
active

“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.

ґар фиӈет кин

[ɡaɾ fiŋet kʼin]

ɡaɾ
the fiŋ
table -et
LOC kʼin
in_surface

“on the table”

 (12)
меґар речиӈет байд̇

[meɡaɾ ɾet͡ʃiŋet baiɖ]

me-
masc ɡaɾ
the ɾet͡ʃiŋ
box -et
LOC baiɖ
to_inside

“into the box”

 (13)
ниф ваб̱ед̱

[nif waɓeɗ]

nif
1excl waɓeɗ
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.

Bany 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 Bany.

Меґар шасайк меґар б̱афор квифаӈ р̇иб.

[meɡaɾ ʃasaikʼ meɡaɾ ɓafoɾ kʷifaŋ ɽib]

me-
masc ɡaɾ
the ʃasaikʼ
jaguar me-
masc ɡaɾ
the ɓafoɾ
hunter kʷif
kill -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (15)
Меґар чанъеп меґар б̱афор квеґар шо ґар буј н̇айквъаӈ р̇иб.

[meɡaɾ t͡ʃanˤep meɡaɾ ɓafoɾ kʷeɡaɾ ʃo ɡaɾ buj ɳaikʼʷaŋ ɽib]

me-
masc ɡaɾ
the t͡ʃanˤep
lion me-
masc ɡaɾ
the ɓafoɾ
hunter kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the ʃo
daughter ɡaɾ
the buj
dog ɳaikʼʷ
eat -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST

“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 Bany 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, Bany 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.

рар меґар дај квеґар гед̱ квеґар какв

[ɾaɾ meɡaɾ daj kʷeɡaɾ heɗ kʷeɡaɾ kʼakʷ]

ɾaɾ
2 me-
masc ɡaɾ
the daj
son kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the heɗ
friend kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the kʼakʷ
book

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (17)

Case Marking

Bany 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.

Ґар фаўт д̱ъекаӈ.

[ɡaɾ faut ɗˤekʼaŋ]

ɡaɾ
the faut
cat ɗˤekʼ
sleep -aŋ
active

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (18)
Ґар фаўт д̱айјаӈ.

[ɡaɾ faut ɗaijaŋ]

ɡaɾ
the faut
cat ɗaij
run -aŋ
active

“The cat is running.”

 (19)
Ґар фаўт квеґар с̇аӈисъ б̱авад̱аӈ.

[ɡaɾ faut kʷeɡaɾ ʂaŋisˤ ɓawaɗaŋ]

ɡaɾ
the faut
cat kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the ʂaŋisˤ
mouse ɓawaɗ
chase -aŋ
active

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (20)
Ґар фаўт квеґар с̇аӈисъ чор̇аӈ р̇иб.

[ɡaɾ faut kʷeɡaɾ ʂaŋisˤ t͡ʃoɽaŋ ɽib]

ɡaɾ
the faut
cat kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the ʂaŋisˤ
mouse t͡ʃoɽ
catch -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Меґар б̱афор меґар шасайк нъас̇ меґар ґунъус̇ нъас̇ меґар чанъеп квифаӈ р̇иб.

[meɡaɾ ɓafoɾ meɡaɾ ʃasaikʼ nˤaʂ meɡaɾ ɡunˤuʂ nˤaʂ meɡaɾ t͡ʃanˤep kʷifaŋ ɽib]

me-
masc ɡaɾ
the ɓafoɾ
hunter me-
masc ɡaɾ
the ʃasaikʼ
jaguar nˤaʂ
and me-
masc ɡaɾ
the ɡinˤuʂ
tiger nˤaʂ
and me-
masc ɡaɾ
the t͡ʃanˤep
lion kʷif
kill -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST

“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 Bany 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

Bany 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:

Ґар фаўт ӈепикаӈ р̇иб.

[ɡaɾ faut ŋepikʼaŋ ɽib]

ɡaɾ
the faut
cat ŋepikʼ
pat -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Ӈепикаӈ р̇иб ґар фаўт, д̱ъињ чор̇аӈ р̇иб квеґар с̇аӈисъ.

[ŋepikʼaŋ ɽib ɡaɾ faut, ɗˤiɲ t͡ʃoɽaŋ ɽib kʷeɡaɾ ʂaŋisˤ]

ŋepikʼ
pat -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST ɡaɾ
the faut
cat ɗˤiɲ
RELPRON t͡ʃoɽ
catch -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the ʂaŋisˤ
mouse

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Ӈепикаӈ р̇иб ґар фаўт, д̱ъињ чор̇аӈ р̇иб квеґар с̇аӈисъ, д̱ъињ н̇айквъаӈ р̇иб ґар квъакасъ.

[ŋepikʼaŋ ɽib ɡaɾ faut, ɗˤiɲ t͡ʃoɽaŋ ɽib kʷeɡaɾ ʂaŋisˤ, ɗˤiɲ ɳaikʼʷaŋ ɽib ɡaɾ kʼʷakʼasˤ]

ŋepikʼ
pat -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST ɡaɾ
the faut
cat ɗˤiɲ
RELPRON t͡ʃoɽ
catch -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the ʂaŋisˤ
mouse ɗˤiɲ
RELPRON ɳaikʼʷ
eat -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST ɡaɾ
the kʼʷakʼasˤ
cheese

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

 (25)

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

Ӈепикаӈ р̇иб ґар фаўт, д̱ъињ чор̇аӈ р̇иб квеґар с̇аӈисъ, д̱ъињ н̇айквъаӈ р̇иб ґар квъакасъ, д̱ъињ петаӈ р̇иб ниф.

[ŋepikʼaŋ ɽib ɡaɾ faut, ɗˤiɲ t͡ʃoɽaŋ ɽib kʷeɡaɾ ʂaŋisˤ, ɗˤiɲ ɳaikʼʷaŋ ɽib ɡaɾ kʼʷakʼasˤ, ɗˤiɲ petaŋ ɽib nif]

ŋepikʼ
pat -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST ɡaɾ
the faut
cat ɗˤiɲ
RELPRON t͡ʃoɽ
catch -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the ʂaŋisˤ
mouse ɗˤiɲ
RELPRON ɳaikʼʷ
eat -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST ɡaɾ
the kʼʷakʼasˤ
cheese ɗˤiɲ
RELPRON pet
buy -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST nif
1excl

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Bany forms complement clauses by nominalising the embedded verb. The nominalised form lacks finite verbal categories and behaves as a noun phrase. Subjects of nominalised clauses occur in the genitive case, and the nominalised verb establishes the semantic content of the complement.

The following example illustrate how complement clauses function:

Меґар сайв квеґар киј квъат фиквъап рираӈ р̇иб меґар съиби р̇аб̱ораӈ р̇иб.

[meɡaɾ saiw kʷeɡaɾ kij kʼʷat fikʼʷap ɾiɾaŋ ɽib meɡaɾ sˤibi ɽaɓoɾaŋ ɽib]

me-
masc ɡaɾ
the saiw
boy kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the kij
girl kʼʷat
a fikʼʷap
apple ɾiɾ
give -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST me-
masc ɡaɾ
the sˤibi
teacher ɽaɓoɾ
surprise -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST

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

 (27)

Quotes

Bany 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:

Меґар сайв квеґар киј ниф рар р̇айб̱аӈ кайдъаӈ р̇иб.

[meɡaɾ saiw kʷeɡaɾ kij nif ɾaɾ ɽaiɓaŋ kʼaidˤaŋ ɽib]

me-
masc ɡaɾ
the saiw
boy kʷe-
fem ɡaɾ
the kij
girl nif
1excl ɾaɾ
2 ɽaiɓ
love -aŋ
active kʼaidˤ
tell -aŋ
active ɽib
PAST

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

 (28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Bany. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 23 September 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/5CM6Y

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-5CM6Y,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Bany}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/5CM6Y}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 23 September 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Bany / Bany–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/5CM6Y

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Language creation took 0.03 seconds; writing the grammar 0.06 seconds.