A Grammar of Fe

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Fe language (the 538th 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 Fe.

Typological Profile

It has a rich system of noun classes.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Fe has a moderately large consonant inventory, with 27 phonemes.

It has a notably rich set of sibilant contrasts and a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts.

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

labialalveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatallateralpalatalretroflexvelarglottal
stopp b d t ɖ ʈ k ɡ
nasalm n ɲ ɳ ŋ
trill/tap/flapr ɽ
fricativef s ʃ ʂ h
approximantw l j
affricatet͡ʃ t͡ɕ
implosiveɓ

Vowels

Fe has 8 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 a maximally “square” vowel system balancing heights across backness.

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

frontback
closei u
mide o
openæ ɑ

Stress and Tones

Fe 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

Fe 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 /ɑ/б /b/б̱ /ɓ/в /w/
г /h/д /d/д̇ /ɖ/е /e/
и /i/к /k/л /l/м /m/
н /n/н̇ /ɳ/о /o/п /p/
р /r/р̇ /ɽ/с /s/с̇ /ʂ/
т /t/т̇ /ʈ/у /u/ф /f/
ч /t͡ʃ/ш /ʃ/ј /j/њ /ɲ/
ћ /t͡ɕ/ґ /ɡ/ӈ /ŋ/ә /æ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

аа /ɑː/ай /ai/аў /au/
ее /eː/ии /iː/оо /oː/
уу /uː/әә /æː/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Fe does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Fe has the following noun classes:

Class cl.1 – for instance: б̱ачииб ‘lamb’, вачиим ‘snake’, гайӈ ‘animal’, д̇еек ‘nose’, дур̇ ‘ear’, кењ ‘cat’, лијайр ‘wild boar’, муп ‘dog’, нәћайф ‘tiger’, нәґаўн ‘jaguar’, р̇адаћ ‘worm’, рәсиир ‘lion’, с̇асид̇ ‘louse’, сииј ‘fish’, т̇еб̱ ‘bird’, фуњул ‘mammal’, чул ‘tongue’, шуњаўс ‘mouse’, ћуч ‘eye’.

Class cl.2 – for instance: бикег ‘river’, вәћууб ‘lake’, даўр ‘human being’, деел ‘boy’, дәћайг ‘bark’, мәӈ ‘son’, раб̱ ‘people’, таћ ‘man’, тәр ‘father’, шаләәч ‘God’, ћайв ‘child’, ћел ‘sea’, ћид̇ ‘husband’.

Class cl.3 – for instance: бем ‘water’, вәбус ‘dust’, вәәл ‘leg’, гоћуј ‘urine’, ки ‘rain’, комәј ‘salt’, муу ‘fire’, н̇афес̇ ‘slime’, наӈ ‘hair’, педуул ‘money’, р̇ифоф ‘flower’, раат̇ ‘hand’, рошуб ‘smoke’, самеӈ ‘sand’, фичайб ‘fog’, фулаўћ ‘ash’, фәдоб̱ ‘faeces’, шанид ‘snow’, ґес̇ ‘mouth’, ӈопуур̇ ‘breath’.

Class cl.4 – for instance: б̱әнуп ‘net’, д̇есог ‘mortar’, даўт ‘knife’, кемут̇ ‘rope’, нуч ‘surface’, пеӈел ‘binoculars’, сијер̇ ‘umbrella’, фооб̱ ‘tree’, јәдеп ‘machine’, ћааћ ‘leaf’, ґекод̇ ‘grass’, ґосооч ‘plain’.

Class cl.5 – for instance: б̱ен̇ ‘mother’, б̱уук ‘face’, гап ‘girl’, р̇оол ‘sun’, шуум ‘daughter’, јећ ‘wife’, њиб̱ ‘woman’, ґур̇айф ‘breast’.

Class cl.6 – for instance: б̱епуф ‘box’, б̱иир ‘road’, воф ‘fruit’, дееф ‘chair’, китааб ‘book’, н̇оњиӈ ‘bottle’, нәњ ‘bed’, пәәт̇ ‘manner’, с̇әґаад̇ ‘apple’, т̇ањ ‘meat’, теӈ ‘table’, тојог ‘cheese’, фоод̇ ‘idea’, шееф ‘egg’, шәәл ‘speech’, јәӈаал ‘wheat’, њопуб̱ ‘tower’, ћаас̇ ‘house’, ӈиис ‘colour’.

Class cl.7 – for instance: ваћ ‘name’, дукайг ‘neck’, кек ‘friend’, кәлиим ‘teacher’, лит̇ай ‘hunter’, миис ‘blood’, нем ‘city’, с̇од̇уӈ ‘embrace’, фићаўс̇ ‘farmer’, чер̇иб̱ ‘neighbour’, ћен̇иит̇ ‘anus’, ґимуун ‘dialect’.

Class cl.8 – for instance: бес ‘bone’, кем ‘top’, мааф ‘night’, наам ‘inside’, некун̇ ‘horn’, нәлал ‘brick’, сојоф ‘vagina’, т̇ад̇ ‘day’, фин ‘tooth’, фод̇ ‘time’, шиид ‘sound’, јәбит ‘fingernail’, ћоњ ‘year’, ґиј ‘stone’.

Class cl.9 – for instance: б̱оћ ‘earth’, букид ‘cloud’, веґәј ‘forest’, гулуус̇ ‘stick’, д̇әњ ‘head’, дал ‘language’, лувич ‘ice’, нурайћ ‘mountain’, пуф ‘land’, с̇айв ‘moon’, соњ ‘wind’, тадеӈ ‘tail’, чоб ‘sky’, јәч ‘skin’, ћег ‘star’.

Class cl.10 – for instance: баам ‘back’, гид ‘west’, гојайш ‘guts’, д̇әәм ‘north’, куӈ ‘heart’, ләпен̇ ‘knee’, н̇ињон ‘belly’, нит ‘south’, шууӈ ‘east’, њәмор ‘liver’, ћәӈас ‘seed’, ӈиґод̇ ‘root’.

Class cl.11 – for instance: басаар ‘market’, губ̱уј ‘wing’, д̇әм ‘foot’, даб̱әәв ‘bosom’, дувоод̇ ‘court’, лиґәњ ‘penis’, лорер ‘feather’, мәрәәс ‘school’, петуф ‘restaurant’, фе ‘Fe’, чайф ‘fight’, шир̇ос̇ ‘religion’, шодаај ‘library’, њәс̇ор̇ ‘medicine’, ћифиф ‘student’, ґуӈеег ‘bank’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Њиб̱ суд̇аўв даўт н̇әливадоон̇иг шәваўј ночур мәшуњаўс ган.

[ɲiɓ suɖauw daut ɳæliwɑdoːɳih ʃæwauj not͡ʃur mæʃuɲaus hɑn]

ɲiɓ
woman
suɖauw
COMIT
daut
knife
ɳæ-
3.sing.cl.5.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
doːɳ
catch
-ih
3.plur.cl.1.OBJ
ʃæ-
ACC.cl.1
wauj
yon
no-
ACC
t͡ʃur
blind
mæ-
plur
ʃuɲaus
mouse
hɑn
three

“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 Fe consists of an optional prefix expressing number, comprising мә- /mæ-/ ‘plur’ followed by the root.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two prefixes, namely та- /tɑ-/ ‘little’ and во- /wo-/ ‘big’

The Adjective

In Fe, the adjective has the following structure: an optional prefix expressing case, comprising но- /no-/ ‘ACC’, ӈи- /ŋi-/ ‘DAT’, фо- /fo-/ ‘INS’, ӈу- /ŋu-/ ‘VOC’, ду- /du-/ ‘ALL’, ви- /wi-/ ‘LOC’, чу- /t͡ʃu-/ ‘ABL’ and б̱о- /ɓo-/ ‘PART’ followed by the root.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Fe, the determiner has the following structure: an optional prefix expressing case.gender, comprising ма- /mɑ-/ ‘NOM.cl.1’, пә- /pæ-/ ‘NOM.cl.2’, ра- /rɑ-/ ‘NOM.cl.3’, шо- /ʃo-/ ‘NOM.cl.4’, ли- /li-/ ‘NOM.cl.5’, фи- /fi-/ ‘NOM.cl.6’, вә- /wæ-/ ‘NOM.cl.7’, дә- /dæ-/ ‘NOM.cl.8’, мо- /mo-/ ‘NOM.cl.9’, ку- /ku-/ ‘NOM.cl.10’, д̇е- /ɖe-/ ‘NOM.cl.11’, шә- /ʃæ-/ ‘ACC.cl.1’, јә- /jæ-/ ‘ACC.cl.2’, ґу- /ɡu-/ ‘ACC.cl.3’, ко- /ko-/ ‘ACC.cl.4’, фә- /fæ-/ ‘ACC.cl.5’, ри- /ri-/ ‘ACC.cl.6’, ћи- /t͡ɕi-/ ‘ACC.cl.7’, ту- /tu-/ ‘ACC.cl.8’, ке- /ke-/ ‘ACC.cl.9’, ле- /le-/ ‘ACC.cl.10’, шу- /ʃu-/ ‘ACC.cl.11’, б̱а- /ɓɑ-/ ‘DAT.cl.1’, па- /pɑ-/ ‘DAT.cl.2’, н̇у- /ɳu-/ ‘DAT.cl.3’, да- /dɑ-/ ‘DAT.cl.4’, ба- /bɑ-/ ‘DAT.cl.5’, ру- /ru-/ ‘DAT.cl.6’, су- /su-/ ‘DAT.cl.7’, је- /je-/ ‘DAT.cl.8’, ну- /nu-/ ‘DAT.cl.9’, фа- /fɑ-/ ‘DAT.cl.10’, ло- /lo-/ ‘DAT.cl.11’, ка- /kɑ-/ ‘INS.cl.1’, б̱е- /ɓe-/ ‘INS.cl.2’, та- /tɑ-/ ‘INS.cl.3’, ни- /ni-/ ‘INS.cl.4’, фу- /fu-/ ‘INS.cl.5’, ӈе- /ŋe-/ ‘INS.cl.6’, ги- /hi-/ ‘INS.cl.7’, ћу- /t͡ɕu-/ ‘INS.cl.8’, д̇ә- /ɖæ-/ ‘INS.cl.9’, не- /ne-/ ‘INS.cl.10’, лу- /lu-/ ‘INS.cl.11’, ћа- /t͡ɕɑ-/ ‘VOC.cl.1’, би- /bi-/ ‘VOC.cl.2’, те- /te-/ ‘VOC.cl.3’, до- /do-/ ‘VOC.cl.4’, р̇и- /ɽi-/ ‘VOC.cl.5’, ја- /jɑ-/ ‘VOC.cl.6’, кә- /kæ-/ ‘VOC.cl.7’, лә- /læ-/ ‘VOC.cl.8’, гу- /hu-/ ‘VOC.cl.9’, ге- /he-/ ‘VOC.cl.10’, де- /de-/ ‘VOC.cl.11’, си- /si-/ ‘ALL.cl.1’, му- /mu-/ ‘ALL.cl.2’, ће- /t͡ɕe-/ ‘ALL.cl.3’, че- /t͡ʃe-/ ‘ALL.cl.4’, ре- /re-/ ‘ALL.cl.5’, ве- /we-/ ‘ALL.cl.6’, го- /ho-/ ‘ALL.cl.7’, гә- /hæ-/ ‘ALL.cl.8’, јо- /jo-/ ‘ALL.cl.9’, га- /hɑ-/ ‘ALL.cl.10’, ју- /ju-/ ‘ALL.cl.11’, р̇у- /ɽu-/ ‘LOC.cl.1’, ми- /mi-/ ‘LOC.cl.2’, ла- /lɑ-/ ‘LOC.cl.3’, чи- /t͡ʃi-/ ‘LOC.cl.4’, чо- /t͡ʃo-/ ‘LOC.cl.5’, ме- /me-/ ‘LOC.cl.6’, нә- /næ-/ ‘LOC.cl.7’, ро- /ro-/ ‘LOC.cl.8’, чә- /t͡ʃæ-/ ‘LOC.cl.9’, рә- /ræ-/ ‘LOC.cl.10’, на- /nɑ-/ ‘LOC.cl.11’, пи- /pi-/ ‘ABL.cl.1’, то- /to-/ ‘ABL.cl.2’, пу- /pu-/ ‘ABL.cl.3’, ча- /t͡ʃɑ-/ ‘ABL.cl.4’, н̇а- /ɳɑ-/ ‘ABL.cl.5’, пе- /pe-/ ‘ABL.cl.6’, по- /po-/ ‘ABL.cl.7’, се- /se-/ ‘ABL.cl.8’, д̇у- /ɖu-/ ‘ABL.cl.9’, ӈо- /ŋo-/ ‘ABL.cl.10’, во- /wo-/ ‘ABL.cl.11’, со- /so-/ ‘PART.cl.1’, ӈә- /ŋæ-/ ‘PART.cl.2’, сә- /sæ-/ ‘PART.cl.3’, са- /sɑ-/ ‘PART.cl.4’, тә- /tæ-/ ‘PART.cl.5’, ћо- /t͡ɕo-/ ‘PART.cl.6’, ва- /wɑ-/ ‘PART.cl.7’, т̇е- /ʈe-/ ‘PART.cl.8’, бу- /bu-/ ‘PART.cl.9’, р̇е- /ɽe-/ ‘PART.cl.10’ and бе- /be-/ ‘PART.cl.11’ followed by the root.

Pronouns

The pronoun in Fe has the following structure: an optional prefix expressing number, comprising бо- /bo-/ ‘plur’ followed by the root.

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

Ґаӈиӈи мәд.

[ɡɑŋiŋi mæd]

ɡɑ-
3.sing.cl.2.POS
ŋiŋ
love
-i
3.sing.cl.5.OBJ
mæd
3.sing.cl.5

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(2)

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

Р̇әс ґаӈиӈи мәд.

[ɽæs ɡɑŋiŋi mæd]

ɽæs
3.sing.cl.2
ɡɑ-
3.sing.cl.2.POS
ŋiŋ
love
-i
3.sing.cl.5.OBJ
mæd
3.sing.cl.5

He loves her.”

(3)

Proper Nouns

Дајее ґатәр̇еӈи Д̇әриир.

[dɑjeː ɡɑtæɽeŋi ɖæriːr]

dɑjeː
Daye
ɡɑ-
3.sing.cl.2.POS
tæɽeŋ
hate
-i
3.sing.cl.5.OBJ
ɖæriːr
Darir

“Daye hates Darir.”

(4)

Possession

с̇әґаад̇ деел

[ʂæɡɑːɖ deːl]

ʂæɡɑːɖ
apple
deːl
boy

“the boy’s apple”

(5)
с̇әґаад̇ р̇әс

[ʂæɡɑːɖ ɽæs]

ʂæɡɑːɖ
apple
ɽæs
3.sing.cl.2

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(6)
с̇әґаад̇ ген

[ʂæɡɑːɖ hen]

ʂæɡɑːɖ
apple
hen
1excl.sing

“my apple”

(7)
Шуум лит̇ай н̇әливагичәб̱әп мәӈ чер̇иб̱ б̱уб̱.

[ʃuːm liʈai ɳæliwɑhit͡ʃæɓæp mæŋ t͡ʃeɽiɓ ɓuɓ]

ʃuːm
daughter
liʈai
hunter
ɳæ-
3.sing.cl.5.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
hit͡ʃæɓ
kiss
-æp
3.sing.cl.2.OBJ
mæŋ
son
t͡ʃeɽiɓ
neighbour
ɓuɓ
2.sing

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

(8)

Derivation

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

б̱ачииб

[ɓɑt͡ʃiːb]

ɓɑt͡ʃiːb
lamb

“a lamb”

(9)

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

таб̱ачииб

[tɑɓɑt͡ʃiːb]

tɑ-
little
ɓɑt͡ʃiːb
lamb

“a little lamb”

(10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

There are no clitics in the verbal phrase.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, an optional prefix expressing question, comprising бә- /bæ-/ ‘Q’; second, an optional prefix expressing subj.negation, comprising б̱и- /ɓi-/ ‘1incl.sing.NEG’, б̱у- /ɓu-/ ‘1incl.sing.POS’, б̱ә- /ɓæ-/ ‘1excl.sing.NEG’, д̇и- /ɖi-/ ‘1excl.sing.POS’, д̇о- /ɖo-/ ‘2.sing.NEG’, д̇а- /ɖɑ-/ ‘2.sing.POS’, ґи- /ɡi-/ ‘3.sing.cl.1.NEG’, ґо- /ɡo-/ ‘3.sing.cl.1.POS’, ґә- /ɡæ-/ ‘3.sing.cl.2.NEG’, ґа- /ɡɑ-/ ‘3.sing.cl.2.POS’, њи- /ɲi-/ ‘3.sing.cl.3.NEG’, њу- /ɲu-/ ‘3.sing.cl.3.POS’, ње- /ɲe-/ ‘3.sing.cl.4.NEG’, њо- /ɲo-/ ‘3.sing.cl.4.POS’, њә- /ɲæ-/ ‘3.sing.cl.5.NEG’, н̇ә- /ɳæ-/ ‘3.sing.cl.5.POS’, ња- /ɲɑ-/ ‘3.sing.cl.6.NEG’, н̇и- /ɳi-/ ‘3.sing.cl.6.POS’, н̇е- /ɳe-/ ‘3.sing.cl.7.NEG’, н̇о- /ɳo-/ ‘3.sing.cl.7.POS’, р̇о- /ɽo-/ ‘3.sing.cl.8.NEG’, т̇о- /ʈo-/ ‘3.sing.cl.8.POS’, р̇ә- /ɽæ-/ ‘3.sing.cl.9.NEG’, р̇а- /ɽɑ-/ ‘3.sing.cl.9.POS’, с̇и- /ʂi-/ ‘3.sing.cl.10.NEG’, с̇у- /ʂu-/ ‘3.sing.cl.10.POS’, с̇е- /ʂe-/ ‘3.sing.cl.11.NEG’, с̇о- /ʂo-/ ‘3.sing.cl.11.POS’, с̇а- /ʂɑ-/ ‘1incl.plur.NEG’, ши- /ʃi-/ ‘1incl.plur.POS’, ше- /ʃe-/ ‘1excl.plur.NEG’, ша- /ʃɑ-/ ‘1excl.plur.POS’, т̇и- /ʈi-/ ‘2.plur.NEG’, т̇у- /ʈu-/ ‘2.plur.POS’, т̇ә- /ʈæ-/ ‘3.plur.cl.1.NEG’, т̇а- /ʈɑ-/ ‘3.plur.cl.1.POS’, ди- /di-/ ‘3.plur.cl.2.NEG’, дека- /dekɑ-/ ‘3.plur.cl.2.POS’, нәбо- /næbo-/ ‘3.plur.cl.3.NEG’, гәфа- /hæfɑ-/ ‘3.plur.cl.3.POS’, лејә- /lejæ-/ ‘3.plur.cl.4.NEG’, ӈени- /ŋeni-/ ‘3.plur.cl.4.POS’, ґоки- /ɡoki-/ ‘3.plur.cl.5.NEG’, њуну- /ɲunu-/ ‘3.plur.cl.5.POS’, јаду- /jɑdu-/ ‘3.plur.cl.6.NEG’, мила- /milɑ-/ ‘3.plur.cl.6.POS’, њефе- /ɲefe-/ ‘3.plur.cl.7.NEG’, чәге- /t͡ʃæhe-/ ‘3.plur.cl.7.POS’, д̇ите- /ɖite-/ ‘3.plur.cl.8.NEG’, д̇ићо- /ɖit͡ɕo-/ ‘3.plur.cl.8.POS’, р̇оґу- /ɽoɡu-/ ‘3.plur.cl.9.NEG’, баґе- /bɑɡe-/ ‘3.plur.cl.9.POS’, шиӈи- /ʃiŋi-/ ‘3.plur.cl.10.NEG’, чесу- /t͡ʃesu-/ ‘3.plur.cl.10.POS’, р̇уфа- /ɽufɑ-/ ‘3.plur.cl.11.NEG’ and фепу- /fepu-/ ‘3.plur.cl.11.POS’; third, an optional prefix expressing voice, comprising шури- /ʃuri-/ ‘passive’; fourth, an optional prefix expressing mode, comprising баӈи- /bɑŋi-/ ‘imperative’, вења- /weɲɑ-/ ‘conditional’ and нефу- /nefu-/ ‘optative’; fifth, an optional prefix expressing ta, comprising лива- /liwɑ-/ ‘PAST’; sixth, the root; and finally, seventh, an optional suffix expressing obj, comprising -ит /-it/ ‘1incl.sing’, -ур̇ /-uɽ/ ‘1excl.sing’, -ан /-ɑn/ ‘2.sing’, -ел /-el/ ‘3.sing.cl.1’, -әп /-æp/ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, -ич /-it͡ʃ/ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, -уј /-uj/ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, /-i/ ‘3.sing.cl.5’, -ит̇ /-iʈ/ ‘3.sing.cl.6’, -ош /-oʃ/ ‘3.sing.cl.7’, -им /-im/ ‘3.sing.cl.8’, -әј /-æj/ ‘3.sing.cl.9’, -ом /-om/ ‘3.sing.cl.10’, -ес /-es/ ‘3.sing.cl.11’, -ад̇ /-ɑɖ/ ‘1incl.plur’, -оф /-of/ ‘1excl.plur’, -ән /-æn/ ‘2.plur’, -иг /-ih/ ‘3.plur.cl.1’, -ин /-in/ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, -әд /-æd/ ‘3.plur.cl.3’, -әг /-æh/ ‘3.plur.cl.4’, -ид /-id/ ‘3.plur.cl.5’, -ис /-is/ ‘3.plur.cl.6’, -аґ /-ɑɡ/ ‘3.plur.cl.7’, -ој /-oj/ ‘3.plur.cl.8’, -ет /-et/ ‘3.plur.cl.9’, -оч /-ot͡ʃ/ ‘3.plur.cl.10’ and -ал /-ɑl/ ‘3.plur.cl.11’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two prefixes, namely мә- /mæ-/ ‘begin’ and гә- /hæ-/ ‘stop’

Д̇иӈиӈан б̱уб̱.

[ɖiŋiŋɑn ɓuɓ]

ɖi-
1excl.sing.POS
ŋiŋ
love
-ɑn
2.sing.OBJ
ɓuɓ
2.sing

“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.

ћиир нуч теӈ

[t͡ɕiːr nut͡ʃ teŋ]

t͡ɕiːr
in
nut͡ʃ
surface
teŋ
table

“on the table”

(12)
чайш наам б̱епуф

[t͡ʃaiʃ nɑːm ɓepuf]

t͡ʃaiʃ
to
nɑːm
inside
ɓepuf
box

“into the box”

(13)
суд̇аўв ген

[suɖauw hen]

suɖauw
COMIT
hen
1excl.sing

“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.

Fe 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 Fe.

Нәґаўн ґоливасолош лит̇ай.

[næɡaun ɡoliwɑsoloʃ liʈai]

næɡaun
jaguar
ɡo-
3.sing.cl.1.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
sol
kill
-oʃ
3.sing.cl.7.OBJ
liʈai
hunter

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(15)
Рәсиир ґоливатубел муп шуум лит̇ай.

[ræsiːr ɡoliwɑtubel mup ʃuːm liʈai]

ræsiːr
lion
ɡo-
3.sing.cl.1.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
tub
eat
-el
3.sing.cl.1.OBJ
mup
dog
ʃuːm
daughter
liʈai
hunter

“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 Fe 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-initial: the possessed noun precedes the possessor. For instance, Fe expresses “the child’s toy” with the equivalent of “toy child”. This structure is typologically rarer and often co-occurs with verb-initial syntax or with grammatical marking on the noun.

китааб кек мәӈ б̱уб̱

[kitɑːb kek mæŋ ɓuɓ]

kitɑːb
book
kek
friend
mæŋ
son
ɓuɓ
2.sing

“your son’s friend’s book”

(17)

Case Marking

Fe 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.

Кењ ґот̇әб.

[keɲ ɡoʈæb]

keɲ
cat
ɡo-
3.sing.cl.1.POS
ʈæb
sleep

“The cat is sleeping.”

(18)
Кењ ґочән̇.

[keɲ ɡot͡ʃæɳ]

keɲ
cat
ɡo-
3.sing.cl.1.POS
t͡ʃæɳ
run

“The cat is running.”

(19)
Кењ ґобинисел шуњаўс.

[keɲ ɡobinisel ʃuɲaus]

keɲ
cat
ɡo-
3.sing.cl.1.POS
binis
chase
-el
3.sing.cl.1.OBJ
ʃuɲaus
mouse

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

(20)
Кењ ґоливадоон̇ел шуњаўс.

[keɲ ɡoliwɑdoːɳel ʃuɲaus]

keɲ
cat
ɡo-
3.sing.cl.1.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
doːɳ
catch
-el
3.sing.cl.1.OBJ
ʃuɲaus
mouse

“The cat caught the mouse.”

(21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Лит̇ай н̇оливасолиг мәнәґаўн с̇ааб мәнәћайф с̇ааб мәрәсиир.

[liʈai ɳoliwɑsolih mænæɡaun ʂɑːb mænæt͡ɕaif ʂɑːb mæræsiːr]

liʈai
hunter
ɳo-
3.sing.cl.7.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
sol
kill
-ih
3.plur.cl.1.OBJ
mæ-
plur
næɡaun
jaguar
ʂɑːb
and
mæ-
plur
næt͡ɕaif
tiger
ʂɑːb
and
mæ-
plur
ræsiːr
lion

“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 Fe 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

Fe 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:

Д̇иливаруґаћел кењ.

[ɖiliwɑruɡɑt͡ɕel keɲ]

ɖi-
1excl.sing.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
ruɡɑt͡ɕ
pat
-el
3.sing.cl.1.OBJ
keɲ
cat

“I patted the cat.”

(23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Д̇иливаруґаћ кењ, њииӈ ґоливадоон̇ел шуњаўс.

[ɖiliwɑruɡɑt͡ɕ keɲ, ɲiːŋ ɡoliwɑdoːɳel ʃuɲaus]

ɖi-
1excl.sing.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
ruɡɑt͡ɕ
pat
keɲ
cat
ɲiːŋ
RELPRON
ɡo-
3.sing.cl.1.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
doːɳ
catch
-el
3.sing.cl.1.OBJ
ʃuɲaus
mouse

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Д̇иливаруґаћ кењ, њииӈ ґоливадоон̇ шуњаўс, њииӈ ґоливатубит̇ тојог.

[ɖiliwɑruɡɑt͡ɕ keɲ, ɲiːŋ ɡoliwɑdoːɳ ʃuɲaus, ɲiːŋ ɡoliwɑtubiʈ tojoh]

ɖi-
1excl.sing.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
ruɡɑt͡ɕ
pat
keɲ
cat
ɲiːŋ
RELPRON
ɡo-
3.sing.cl.1.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
doːɳ
catch
ʃuɲaus
mouse
ɲiːŋ
RELPRON
ɡo-
3.sing.cl.1.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
tub
eat
-iʈ
3.sing.cl.6.OBJ
tojoh
cheese

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

(25)

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

Д̇иливаруґаћ кењ, њииӈ ґоливадоон̇ шуњаўс, њииӈ ґоливатуб тојог, њииӈ д̇иливасимит̇ ген.

[ɖiliwɑruɡɑt͡ɕ keɲ, ɲiːŋ ɡoliwɑdoːɳ ʃuɲaus, ɲiːŋ ɡoliwɑtub tojoh, ɲiːŋ ɖiliwɑsimiʈ hen]

ɖi-
1excl.sing.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
ruɡɑt͡ɕ
pat
keɲ
cat
ɲiːŋ
RELPRON
ɡo-
3.sing.cl.1.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
doːɳ
catch
ʃuɲaus
mouse
ɲiːŋ
RELPRON
ɡo-
3.sing.cl.1.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
tub
eat
tojoh
cheese
ɲiːŋ
RELPRON
ɖi-
1excl.sing.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
sim
buy
-iʈ
3.sing.cl.6.OBJ
hen
1excl.sing

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

(26)

Complementation Strategies

Fe 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:

Ливашикит̇ гап с̇әґаад̇ деел н̇иливас̇урайс̇ кәлиим.

[liwɑʃikiʈ hɑp ʂæɡɑːɖ deːl ɳiliwɑʂuraiʂ kæliːm]

liwɑ-
PAST
ʃik
give
-iʈ
3.sing.cl.6.OBJ
hɑp
girl
ʂæɡɑːɖ
apple
deːl
boy
ɳi-
3.sing.cl.6.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
ʂuraiʂ
surprise
kæliːm
teacher

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

(27)

Quotes

Fe 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:

Деел ґаливашуутур̇ гап ӈиӈан б̱уб̱ ген.

[deːl ɡɑliwɑʃuːtuɽ hɑp ŋiŋɑn ɓuɓ hen]

deːl
boy
ɡɑ-
3.sing.cl.2.POS
liwɑ-
PAST
ʃuːt
tell
-uɽ
1excl.sing.OBJ
hɑp
girl
ŋiŋ
love
-ɑn
2.sing.OBJ
ɓuɓ
2.sing
hen
1excl.sing

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

(28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Fe. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 29 June 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/5NFE9

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-5NFE9,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Fe}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/5NFE9}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 29 June 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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