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A Grammar of Kenap

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Kenap language (the 1803rd 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 Kenap.

Typological Profile

It has has no interesting typological features.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Kenap has 20 consonant phonemes, a size that falls within a broadly average range.

It has has no particularly unusual consonantal features.

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

labialalveolarpostalveolarlateralpalatalvelarglottal
stopp b d t k ɡ
nasalm n ɲ ŋ
trill/tap/flapr
fricativef s ʃ h
approximantʋ l j
affricatet͡ʃ

Vowels

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

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Kenap 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

Kenap 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/p /p/r /r/
s /s/t /t/u /u/w /ʋ/
ñ /ɲ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ch /t͡ʃ/ng /ŋ/sh /ʃ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Kenap does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Kenap does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Rem hañong pijang shachu kit pech mim dudisijung.

[rem haˈɲoŋ ˈpijaŋ ˈʃat͡ʃu ˈkit ˈpet͡ʃ ˈmim duˈdisijuŋ]

rem
woman haˈɲoŋ
COMIT ˈpijaŋ
knife ˈʃat͡ʃ
catch -u
PAST ˈkit
yon ˈpet͡ʃ
three ˈmim
blind duˈdisij
mouse -uŋ
ACC

“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 Kenap consists of the root followed by an optional suffix expressing case, comprising -ung /-uŋ/ ‘ACC’, -ik /-ik/ ‘GEN’, -it /-it/ ‘DAT’, -ur /-ur/ ‘INS’, -un /-un/ ‘VOC’, -uj /-uj/ ‘ALL’, -up /-up/ ‘LOC’, -i /-i/ ‘ABL’ and -al /-al/ ‘PART’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -sa /-sa/ ‘little’ and -cha /-t͡ʃa/ ‘big’

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

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

Pronouns

The pronoun in Kenap has the following structure: an obligatory prefix expressing number, comprising w- /ʋ-/ ‘sing’ and d- /d-/ ‘plur’ followed by the root.

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

Pof wow.

[ˈpof ˈʋoʋ]

ˈpof
love ʋ-
sing ˈoʋ
3.sing

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

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

Wow pof wow.

[ˈʋoʋ ˈpof ˈʋoʋ]

ʋ-
sing ˈoʋ
3.sing ˈpof
love ʋ-
sing ˈoʋ
3.sing

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

Lurañash biwid Sifokabung.

[luˈraɲaʃ biˈʋid siˈfokabuŋ]

luˈraɲaʃ
Luranyash biˈʋid
hate siˈfokab
Sifokab -uŋ
ACC

“Luranyash hates Sifokab.”

 (4)

Possession

bajik tuñinush

[bajik tuˈɲinuʃ]

baj
boy -ik
GEN tuˈɲinuʃ
apple

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
wow tuñinush

[ˈʋoʋ tuˈɲinuʃ]

ʋ-
sing ˈoʋ
3.sing tuˈɲinuʃ
apple

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
weñ tuñinush

[ˈʋeɲ tuˈɲinuʃ]

ʋ-
sing ˈeɲ
1excl.sing tuˈɲinuʃ
apple

“my apple”

 (7)
Sijunawik but ngananu wew ñubapurik jesung.

[siˈjunaʋik but ŋaˈnanu ˈʋeʋ ɲuˈbapurik jesuŋ]

siˈjunaʋ
hunter -ik
GEN but
daughter ŋaˈnan
kiss -u
PAST ʋ-
sing ˈeʋ
2.sing ɲuˈbapur
neighbour -ik
GEN jes
son -uŋ
ACC

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

 (8)

Derivation

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

ditipap

[diˈtipap]

diˈtipap
lamb

“a lamb”

 (9)

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

ditipapsa

[diˈtipapsa]

diˈtipap
lamb -sa
little

“a little lamb”

 (10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Kenap fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing negation, comprising han /han/ ‘NEG’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising daw /daʋ/ ‘imperative’, kal /kal/ ‘conditional’ and ril /ril/ ‘optative’; and finally, third, a clitic expressing question, comprising ñad /ɲad/ ‘Q’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, the root; second, an optional suffix expressing ta, comprising -u /-u/ ‘PAST’; and finally, third, an optional suffix expressing voice, comprising -aw /-aʋ/ ‘passive’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -ru /-ru/ ‘begin’ and -shi /-ʃi/ ‘stop’

Pof wew.

[ˈpof ˈʋeʋ]

ˈpof
love ʋ-
sing ˈeʋ
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.

ber shadis

[ˈber ˈʃadis]

ˈber
in_surface ˈʃadis
table

“on the table”

 (12)
mish tisemiw

[ˈmiʃ tiˈsemiʋ]

ˈmiʃ
to_inside tiˈsemiʋ
box

“into the box”

 (13)
hañong weñ

[haˈɲoŋ ˈʋeɲ]

haˈɲoŋ
COMIT ʋ-
sing ˈeɲ
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.

Kenap 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 Kenap.

Situshuch mowu sijunawung.

[siˈtuʃut͡ʃ ˈmoʋu siˈjunaʋuŋ]

siˈtuʃut͡ʃ
jaguar ˈmoʋ
kill -u
PAST siˈjunaʋ
hunter -uŋ
ACC

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (15)
Takalir funu sijunawik butik ranung.

[taˈkalir ˈfunu siˈjunaʋik butik ranuŋ]

taˈkalir
lion ˈfun
eat -u
PAST siˈjunaʋ
hunter -ik
GEN but
daughter -ik
GEN ran
dog -uŋ
ACC

“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 Kenap 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, Kenap 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.

wew jesik kufik buk

[ˈʋeʋ jesik kufik buk]

ʋ-
sing ˈeʋ
2.sing jes
son -ik
GEN kuf
friend -ik
GEN buk
book

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (17)

Case Marking

Kenap 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.

Mich suw.

[mit͡ʃ ˈsuʋ]

mit͡ʃ
cat ˈsuʋ
sleep

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (18)
Mich jap.

[mit͡ʃ ˈjap]

mit͡ʃ
cat ˈjap
run

“The cat is running.”

 (19)
Mich kinim dudisijung.

[mit͡ʃ kiˈnim duˈdisijuŋ]

mit͡ʃ
cat kiˈnim
chase duˈdisij
mouse -uŋ
ACC

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (20)
Mich shachu dudisijung.

[mit͡ʃ ˈʃat͡ʃu duˈdisijuŋ]

mit͡ʃ
cat ˈʃat͡ʃ
catch -u
PAST duˈdisij
mouse -uŋ
ACC

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Sijunaw mowu situshuchung tech tihobifung tech takalirung.

[siˈjunaʋ ˈmoʋu siˈtuʃut͡ʃuŋ ˈtet͡ʃ tiˈhobifuŋ ˈtet͡ʃ taˈkaliruŋ]

siˈjunaʋ
hunter ˈmoʋ
kill -u
PAST siˈtuʃut͡ʃ
jaguar -uŋ
ACC ˈtet͡ʃ
and tiˈhobif
tiger -uŋ
ACC ˈtet͡ʃ
and taˈkalir
lion -uŋ
ACC

“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 Kenap 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

Kenap 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:

Bashelu michung.

[baˈʃelu mit͡ʃuŋ]

baˈʃel
pat -u
PAST mit͡ʃ
cat -uŋ
ACC

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Bashelu mich, wot shachu dudisijung.

[baˈʃelu mit͡ʃ, ˈʋot ˈʃat͡ʃu duˈdisijuŋ]

baˈʃel
pat -u
PAST mit͡ʃ
cat ʋ-
sing ˈot
RELPRON ˈʃat͡ʃ
catch -u
PAST duˈdisij
mouse -uŋ
ACC

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Bashelu mich, wot shachu dudisij, wot funu hafujasung.

[baˈʃelu mit͡ʃ, ˈʋot ˈʃat͡ʃu duˈdisij, ˈʋot ˈfunu haˈfujasuŋ]

baˈʃel
pat -u
PAST mit͡ʃ
cat ʋ-
sing ˈot
RELPRON ˈʃat͡ʃ
catch -u
PAST duˈdisij
mouse ʋ-
sing ˈot
RELPRON ˈfun
eat -u
PAST haˈfujas
cheese -uŋ
ACC

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

 (25)

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

Bashelu mich, wot shachu dudisij, wot funu hafujas, wot bupu weñ.

[baˈʃelu mit͡ʃ, ˈʋot ˈʃat͡ʃu duˈdisij, ˈʋot ˈfunu haˈfujas, ˈʋot ˈbupu ˈʋeɲ]

baˈʃel
pat -u
PAST mit͡ʃ
cat ʋ-
sing ˈot
RELPRON ˈʃat͡ʃ
catch -u
PAST duˈdisij
mouse ʋ-
sing ˈot
RELPRON ˈfun
eat -u
PAST haˈfujas
cheese ʋ-
sing ˈot
RELPRON ˈbup
buy -u
PAST ʋ-
sing ˈeɲ
1excl.sing

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Kenap 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:

Baj jafu gushit tuñinushung shirat shinganu tidichilit.

[baj ˈjafu ɡuʃit tuˈɲinuʃuŋ ʃiˈrat ʃiˈŋanu tidit͡ʃilit]

baj
boy ˈjaf
give -u
PAST ɡuʃ
girl -it
DAT tuˈɲinuʃ
apple -uŋ
ACC ʃiˈrat
COMP ʃiˈŋan
surprise -u
PAST tidit͡ʃil
teacher -it
DAT

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

 (27)

Quotes

Kenap 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:

Baj gagu gushit weñ pof wew shirat.

[baj ˈɡaɡu ɡuʃit ˈʋeɲ ˈpof ˈʋeʋ ʃiˈrat]

baj
boy ˈɡaɡ
tell -u
PAST ɡuʃ
girl -it
DAT ʋ-
sing ˈeɲ
1excl.sing ˈpof
love ʋ-
sing ˈeʋ
2.sing ʃiˈrat
COMP

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

 (28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Kenap. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 9 October 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/5NWKF

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-5NWKF,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Kenap}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/5NWKF}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 9 October 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Kenap / Kenap–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/5NWKF

Behind the scenes, the Language Creator stores the generated language in a JSON-based format known as ELD. The corresponding ELD file may be downloaded, edited as required, and reuploaded in order to regenerate the grammar, dictionary and texts.

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