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A Grammar of Aja

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Aja language (the 1807th 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 Aja.

Typological Profile

It has the highly uncommon basic word order OVS, four genders, a small but genuine set of click consonants, ergative case marking, i.e., the object of a transitive verb is marked the same as the subject of an intransitive one, and postpositions.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Aja has a large consonant inventory, comprising 40 phonemes.

It has a strikingly small set of lateral and rhotic consonants, a modest (but clearly contrastive) set of labialised consonants, a noticeable presence of pharyngealised phonemes, a small but genuine set of click consonants and a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts.

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

labialdentalphar. dentalalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatalpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velarglottal
stopb d t dˤ tˤ c ɟ ɖ ʈ k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ ʔ
ejective stopkʼ kʷʼ
nasalm n nˤ ɲ ɳ ŋ ŋʷ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef s sˤ ʃ ʂ h
approximantʋ j
affricatet͡ʃ t͡ɕ
implosiveɓ
clickᵏǀ ᵏǀˤ
click, nasalᵑǀ ᵑǀˤ

Vowels

Aja 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 strikingly compressed height system with only two vowel heights, a modest but genuine inventory of nasal vowels, a triangular vowel system with few low vowels, a full range of vowel qualities even in reduced syllables and occasional ghost vowels that surface only weakly.

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

front unroundedfront roundedcentralback
closei y u
opena

Stress and Tones

Aja 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: /u/ becomes /y/.

Writing System

Introduction

Aja is normally written using the Devanagari abugida, the script employed for Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi and several other Indo-Aryan languages. This grammar also makes systematic use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to present an exact account of pronunciation.

Devanagari’s syllabic structure differs markedly from the IPA’s segmental approach, so the two notations complement one another: the script shows the organisation of syllables, while the IPA supplies detail on individual sounds.

Orthography

Here are the various components of the orthography:

Simple letters

अ /a/अः /a̰/आ /aː/इ /i/
इः /ḭ/ई /iː/उ /u/उः /ṵ/
ऊ /uː/क् /k/ग् /ɡ/ङ् /ŋ/
च् /c, t͡ɕ/ज् /ɟ/ञ् /ɲ/ट् /ʈ/
ड् /ɖ/ण् /ɳ/त् /t/त़् /tˤ/
द् /d/द़् /dˤ/न् /n/ऩ् /nˤ/
ब् /b/भ् /ɓ/म् /m/य् /j/
ऱ् /ɽ/व् /ʋ/श् /ʃ/ष् /ʂ/
स् /s/स़् /sˤ/ह् /h/ऽ /ʔ/
क़ /kʼ/फ़् /f/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

क्त् /ᵏǀ/क्त़् /ᵏǀˤ/क्व् /kʷ/
ग्व् /ɡʷ/ङ्त् /ᵑǀ/ङ्त़् /ᵑǀˤ/
ङ्व् /ŋʷ/च्ष् /t͡ʃ/य्उ /y/
य्उः /y̰/य्ऊ /yː/क़व् /kʼʷ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Aja does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Aja has the following genders:

Gender cl.1 – for instance: अः ‘fish’, अनु ‘heart’, अव ‘table’, अहिफ़ि ‘seed’, इजुञ ‘knee’, इदिऩः ‘market’, इसि ‘child’, इक़वि ‘chair’, ईग्वफ़ ‘neck’, ईत़िमि ‘school’, ईक़इगः ‘root’, उच्षिऩि ‘teacher’, ऊजिः ‘book’, ऊनि ‘daughter’, युःऩ ‘bed’, युणिश ‘belly’, युविःङ ‘penis’, युशि ‘woman’, युऽइ ‘girl’, यूनःक़वः ‘guts’.

Gender cl.2 – for instance: अग्व ‘husband’, अङ्विचु ‘lion’, अभःस़ि ‘ash’, अमि ‘inside’, अवु ‘water’, इः ‘cat’, इःच ‘head’, इःच ‘money’, इचनः ‘salt’, इचि ‘back’, इणिक्व ‘court’, इबिसः ‘vagina’, ईडिक़उ ‘sand’, उडिङ्वः ‘dust’, उत़ि ‘man’, युःचः ‘nose’, युःञिच्षि ‘fat’, युःयः ‘hair’, युड ‘father’, युद़ ‘rain’.

Gender cl.3 – for instance: अःग्विय ‘cheese’, अःटिस़ि ‘snake’, अःद़ ‘land’, अःभः ‘west’, अच ‘leaf’, अनि ‘moon’, आचु ‘tongue’, आञः ‘hand’, आणि ‘night’, आनुटि ‘plain’, इःत ‘south’, इञु ‘egg’, इभ ‘earth’, इयऽउ ‘ice’, इसःच ‘mammal’, इऽअ ‘sea’, ईषि ‘sun’, उयत़ि ‘lamb’, उषिचु ‘medicine’, युवः ‘east’.

Gender cl.4 – for instance: अ ‘fight’, अःति ‘city’, अःऩःड ‘net’, अऱु ‘tooth’, अषः ‘speech’, आगि ‘house’, आजति ‘student’, इ ‘dog’, इगःमु ‘binoculars’, इदुषः ‘umbrella’, इनिः ‘knife’, इयःद ‘religion’, इविऽइ ‘farmer’, ई ‘colour’, उ ‘sound’, उच्षि ‘road’, ऊक़विः ‘leg’, यूणःत़ि ‘bosom’, यूत़ुक़विः ‘brick’, यूवि ‘tree’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

ङ्व्युःदिः त़ीदिय गी च्षिदिः टिः ग्व्युदिः न्युशि स़ीबः निनिः स़ीदिः डुस़ि नुः।

[ŋʷy̰dḭ tˤiːdija ɡiː t͡ʃidḭ ʈḭ ɡʷydḭ nyʃi sˤiːba̰ ninḭ sˤiːdḭ ɖusˤi nṵ]

ŋʷy̰
blind -dḭ
POS tˤ-
3.cl.4.POSS iːdija
mouse ɡiː
three t͡ʃi
yon -dḭ
cl.4 ʈḭ
PAST ɡʷy
catch -dḭ
POS n-
no.owner.POSS yʃi
woman sˤiː
the -ba̰
cl.1 n-
no.owner.POSS inḭ
knife sˤiː
the -dḭ
cl.4 ɖusˤi
COMIT nṵ
ERG

“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 is one type of clitic in the nominal phrase, namely an enclitic (placed finally), expressing case. a clitic expressing case, comprising नुः /nṵ/ ‘ERG’, दः /da̰/ ‘DAT’, हः /ha̰/ ‘INS’, द़ः /dˤa̰/ ‘VOC’, सि /si/ ‘ALL’, सिः /sḭ/ ‘LOC’, ऱि /ɽi/ ‘ABL’ and क्वः /kʷa̰/ ‘PART’.

The morphology of the elements of the nominal phrase, i.e., nouns, numerals and pronouns, is described below, as is the way that possession is expressed in Aja.

The Noun

The noun in Aja consists of an obligatory prefix expressing possessor, comprising द्- /d-/ ‘1incl’, क्- /k-/ ‘1excl’, द़्- /dˤ-/ ‘2’, क्व्- /kʷ-/ ‘3.cl.1’, फ़्- /f-/ ‘3.cl.2’, ऩ्- /nˤ-/ ‘3.cl.3’, त़्- /tˤ-/ ‘3.cl.4’ and न्- /n-/ ‘no.owner’ followed by the root.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: six suffixes, namely -क़उ /-kʼu/ ‘little’, -दः /-da̰/ ‘big’, -ब /-ba/ ‘old’, -षु /-ʂu/ ‘new’, -ऽअ /-ʔa/ ‘good’ and -सि /-si/ ‘bad’, and five circumfixes, namely च्-ञ /t͡ɕ-ɲa/ ‘have’, च्-स़ि /t͡ɕ-sˤi/ ‘use’, ग्व्-भु /ɡʷ-ɓu/ ‘see’, न्-डि /n-ɖi/ ‘make’ and स़्-श /sˤ-ʃa/ ‘break’

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Aja, the determiner has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -बः /-ba̰/ ‘cl.1’, -बि /-bi/ ‘cl.2’, -ऱ /-ɽa/ ‘cl.3’ and -दिः /-dḭ/ ‘cl.4’.

Pronouns

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

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

क़युदिः ऩु।

[kʼydḭ nˤu]

kʼy
love -dḭ
POS nˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:

क़युदिः ऩु टि नुः।

[kʼydḭ nˤu ʈi nṵ]

kʼy
love -dḭ
POS nˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ ʈi
3.cl.2 nṵ
ERG

“He loves her.”

 (3)

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

फ़िः क़युदिः ऩु।

[fḭ kʼydḭ nˤu]

fḭ
3.cl.1 kʼy
love -dḭ
POS nˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ

“He loves her.”

 (4)

Proper Nouns

न्उफ़ुग स़ीबः चिटःदिः ऩु न्ईद़ऽअ स़ीबि नुः।

[nufuɡa sˤiːba̰ ciʈa̰dḭ nˤu niːdˤaʔa sˤiːbi nṵ]

n-
no.owner.POSS ufuɡa
Ufuga sˤiː
the -ba̰
cl.1 ciʈa̰
hate -dḭ
POS nˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ n-
no.owner.POSS iːdˤaʔa
Idaa sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 nṵ
ERG

“Idaa hates Ufuga.”

 (5)

Possession

फ़ऽइवि स़ीऱ नुक़अ स़ीबि

[faʔiʋi sˤiːɽa nukʼa sˤiːbi]

f-
3.cl.2.POSS aʔiʋi
apple sˤiː
the -ɽa
cl.3 n-
no.owner.POSS ukʼa
boy sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2

“the boy’s apple”

 (6)
फ़ऽइवि स़ीऱ टि

[faʔiʋi sˤiːɽa ʈi]

f-
3.cl.2.POSS aʔiʋi
apple sˤiː
the -ɽa
cl.3 ʈi
3.cl.2

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (7)
कऽइवि स़ीऱ

[kaʔiʋi sˤiːɽa]

k-
1excl.POSS aʔiʋi
apple sˤiː
the -ɽa
cl.3

“my apple”

 (8)
त़्युःच स़ीबि द़चषः स़ीदिः टिः क़वःडदिः फ़ूनि स़ीबः नञिव स़ीबि नुः।

[tˤy̰ca sˤiːbi dˤacaʂa̰ sˤiːdḭ ʈḭ kʼʷa̰ɖadḭ fuːni sˤiːba̰ naɲiʋa sˤiːbi nṵ]

tˤ-
3.cl.4.POSS y̰ca
son sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 dˤ-
2.POSS acaʂa̰
neighbour sˤiː
the -dḭ
cl.4 ʈḭ
PAST kʼʷa̰ɖa
kiss -dḭ
POS f-
3.cl.2.POSS uːni
daughter sˤiː
the -ba̰
cl.1 n-
no.owner.POSS aɲiʋa
hunter sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 nṵ
ERG

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

 (9)

Derivation

नुयत़ि

[nujatˤi]

n-
no.owner.POSS ujatˤi
lamb

“a lamb”

 (10)
नुयत़िक़उ

[nujatˤikʼu]

n-
no.owner.POSS ujatˤi
lamb -kʼu
little

“a little lamb”

 (11)
टिः चुयत़िक़उञदिः।

[ʈḭ t͡ɕujatˤikʼuɲadḭ]

ʈḭ
PAST t͡ɕ-
have₁ ujatˤi
lamb -kʼu
little -ɲa
have₂ -dḭ
POS

“She had a little lamb.”

 (12)

This doesn’t affect all adjectives and verbs. Compare, for instance the previous example with this one, where black and love do not undergo affixation:

मिःदिः त़ुयत़ि टिः क़युदिः।

[mḭdḭ tˤujatˤi ʈḭ kʼydḭ]

mḭ
black -dḭ
POS tˤ-
3.cl.4.POSS ujatˤi
lamb ʈḭ
PAST kʼy
love -dḭ
POS

“She loved a black lamb.”

 (13)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Aja fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising टिः /ʈḭ/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising मु /mu/ ‘imperative’, षि /ʂi/ ‘conditional’ and च /t͡ɕa/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising क्विः /kʷḭ/ ‘passive’; fourth, a clitic expressing subj, comprising चिः /cḭ/ ‘1incl’, ऩिः /nˤḭ/ ‘1excl’, चुः /cṵ/ ‘2’, ऩु /nˤu/ ‘3.cl.2’, त़िः /tˤḭ/ ‘3.cl.3’ and षिः /ʂḭ/ ‘3.cl.4’; and finally, fifth, a clitic expressing question, comprising ञिः /ɲḭ/ ‘Q’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing negation, comprising -हुः /-hṵ/ ‘NEG’ and -दिः /-dḭ/ ‘POS’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: five suffixes, namely -निः /-nḭ/ ‘begin’, -बि /-bi/ ‘stop’, -ऩिः /-nˤḭ/ ‘continue’, -कि /-ki/ ‘try’ and -ञ /-ɲa/ ‘start’

क़युदिः ऩिः।

[kʼydḭ nˤḭ]

kʼy
love -dḭ
POS nˤḭ
1excl.SUBJ

“I love you.”

 (14)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

निच नव स़ीबः सिः ह्यु

[nit͡ɕa naʋa sˤiːba̰ sḭ hy]

n-
no.owner.POSS it͡ɕa
surface n-
no.owner.POSS aʋa
table sˤiː
the -ba̰
cl.1 sḭ
LOC hy
in

“on the table”

 (15)
नमि नऽइःद़ स़ीबः दः ङ्व्यु

[nami naʔḭdˤa sˤiːba̰ da̰ ŋʷy]

n-
no.owner.POSS ami
inside n-
no.owner.POSS aʔḭdˤa
box sˤiː
the -ba̰
cl.1 da̰
DAT ŋʷy
to

“into the box”

 (16)
स़्युः सिः डुस़ि

[sˤy̰ sḭ ɖusˤi]

sˤy̰
1excl sḭ
LOC ɖusˤi
COMIT

“with me”

 (17)

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.

Aja has Object–Verb–Subject (OVS) as its basic constituent order. Clauses begin with the object, followed by the verb, with the subject in final position. This is a rare but attested configuration in the world’s languages.

The following examples illustrate the basic, unmarked, constituent order in Aja.

नञिव स़ीबि टिः क़आदिः त़िः न्युऽइत़ः स़ीऱ नुः।

[naɲiʋa sˤiːbi ʈḭ kʼaːdḭ tˤḭ nyʔitˤa̰ sˤiːɽa nṵ]

n-
no.owner.POSS aɲiʋa
hunter sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 ʈḭ
PAST kʼaː
kill -dḭ
POS tˤḭ
3.cl.3.SUBJ n-
no.owner.POSS yʔitˤa̰
jaguar sˤiː
the -ɽa
cl.3 nṵ
ERG

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (18)
क्वि स़ीदिः फ़ूनि स़ीबः नञिव स़ीबि टिः टादिः ऩु नङ्विचु स़ीबि नुः।

[kʷi sˤiːdḭ fuːni sˤiːba̰ naɲiʋa sˤiːbi ʈḭ ʈaːdḭ nˤu naŋʷit͡ɕu sˤiːbi nṵ]

kʷ-
3.cl.1.POSS i
dog sˤiː
the -dḭ
cl.4 f-
3.cl.2.POSS uːni
daughter sˤiː
the -ba̰
cl.1 n-
no.owner.POSS aɲiʋa
hunter sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 ʈḭ
PAST ʈaː
eat -dḭ
POS nˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ n-
no.owner.POSS aŋʷit͡ɕu
lion sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 nṵ
ERG

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

 (19)

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 Aja 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, Aja 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.

त़ूजिः स़ीबः फ़्युःक्व स़ीदिः द़्युःच स़ीबि

[tˤuːɟḭ sˤiːba̰ fy̰kʷa sˤiːdḭ dˤy̰ca sˤiːbi]

tˤ-
3.cl.4.POSS uːɟḭ
book sˤiː
the -ba̰
cl.1 f-
3.cl.2.POSS y̰kʷa
friend sˤiː
the -dḭ
cl.4 dˤ-
2.POSS y̰ca
son sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (20)

Case Marking

Aja uses ergative–absolutive case marking. The subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb are treated alike and take the absolutive case, while the subject of a transitive verb is marked with the ergative case. From the point of view of such a system, this is a perfectly natural way to organise the clause: the absolutive marks the participant most directly involved in the event or state, while the ergative marks the additional participant that causes or controls a transitive event.

ज्युदिः ऩु निः स़ीबि।

[ɟydḭ nˤu nḭ sˤiːbi]

ɟy
sleep -dḭ
POS nˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ n-
no.owner.POSS ḭ
cat sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (21)
क्वादिः ऩु निः स़ीबि।

[kʷaːdḭ nˤu nḭ sˤiːbi]

kʷaː
run -dḭ
POS nˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ n-
no.owner.POSS ḭ
cat sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2

“The cat is running.”

 (22)
नीदिय स़ीदिः च्षिभदिः ऩु निः स़ीबि नुः।

[niːdija sˤiːdḭ t͡ʃiɓadḭ nˤu nḭ sˤiːbi nṵ]

n-
no.owner.POSS iːdija
mouse sˤiː
the -dḭ
cl.4 t͡ʃiɓa
chase -dḭ
POS nˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ n-
no.owner.POSS ḭ
cat sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 nṵ
ERG

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (23)
नीदिय स़ीदिः टिः ग्व्युदिः ऩु निः स़ीबि नुः।

[niːdija sˤiːdḭ ʈḭ ɡʷydḭ nˤu nḭ sˤiːbi nṵ]

n-
no.owner.POSS iːdija
mouse sˤiː
the -dḭ
cl.4 ʈḭ
PAST ɡʷy
catch -dḭ
POS nˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ n-
no.owner.POSS ḭ
cat sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 nṵ
ERG

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

न्युऽइत़ः स़ीऱ ङ्यू नक़विङ्वि स़ीऱ ङ्यू नङ्विचु स़ीबि टिः क़आदिः ऩु नञिव स़ीबि नुः।

[nyʔitˤa̰ sˤiːɽa ŋyː nakʼʷiŋʷi sˤiːɽa ŋyː naŋʷit͡ɕu sˤiːbi ʈḭ kʼaːdḭ nˤu naɲiʋa sˤiːbi nṵ]

n-
no.owner.POSS yʔitˤa̰
jaguar sˤiː
the -ɽa
cl.3 ŋyː
and n-
no.owner.POSS akʼʷiŋʷi
tiger sˤiː
the -ɽa
cl.3 ŋyː
and n-
no.owner.POSS aŋʷit͡ɕu
lion sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 ʈḭ
PAST kʼaː
kill -dḭ
POS nˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ n-
no.owner.POSS aɲiʋa
hunter sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 nṵ
ERG

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

 (25)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Aja forms relative clauses by using a head-internal strategy. The head noun appears inside the clause itself, occupying its regular syntactic position. The entire clause functions as a modifier, and its external syntactic behaviour is identical to that of a noun-modifying phrase.

To illustrate how relative clauses work, let us begin with a simple sentence:

निः स़ीबि टिः ऽइडिदिः ऩिः।

[nḭ sˤiːbi ʈḭ ʔiɖidḭ nˤḭ]

n-
no.owner.POSS ḭ
cat sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 ʈḭ
PAST ʔiɖi
pat -dḭ
POS nˤḭ
1excl.SUBJ

“I patted the cat.”

 (26)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

नीदिय स़ीदिः टिः ग्व्युदिः त़िः स़ीबि टिः ऽइडिदिः ऩिः।

[niːdija sˤiːdḭ ʈḭ ɡʷydḭ tˤḭ sˤiːbi ʈḭ ʔiɖidḭ nˤḭ]

n-
no.owner.POSS iːdija
mouse sˤiː
the -dḭ
cl.4 ʈḭ
PAST ɡʷy
catch -dḭ
POS tˤ-
3.cl.4.POSS ḭ
cat sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 ʈḭ
PAST ʔiɖi
pat -dḭ
POS nˤḭ
1excl.SUBJ

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (27)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

नःग्विय स़ीऱ टिः टादिः त़ीदिय स़ीदिः टिः ग्व्युदिः त़िः स़ीबि टिः ऽइडिदिः ऩिः।

[na̰ɡʷija sˤiːɽa ʈḭ ʈaːdḭ tˤiːdija sˤiːdḭ ʈḭ ɡʷydḭ tˤḭ sˤiːbi ʈḭ ʔiɖidḭ nˤḭ]

n-
no.owner.POSS a̰ɡʷija
cheese sˤiː
the -ɽa
cl.3 ʈḭ
PAST ʈaː
eat -dḭ
POS tˤ-
3.cl.4.POSS iːdija
mouse sˤiː
the -dḭ
cl.4 ʈḭ
PAST ɡʷy
catch -dḭ
POS tˤ-
3.cl.4.POSS ḭ
cat sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 ʈḭ
PAST ʔiɖi
pat -dḭ
POS nˤḭ
1excl.SUBJ

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

 (28)

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

नःग्विय स़ीऱ टिः ङ्त़ुदिः स़्युः टिः टादिः त़ीदिय स़ीदिः टिः ग्व्युदिः त़िः स़ीबि टिः ऽइडिदिः ऩिः।

[na̰ɡʷija sˤiːɽa ʈḭ ᵑǀˤudḭ sˤy̰ ʈḭ ʈaːdḭ tˤiːdija sˤiːdḭ ʈḭ ɡʷydḭ tˤḭ sˤiːbi ʈḭ ʔiɖidḭ nˤḭ]

n-
no.owner.POSS a̰ɡʷija
cheese sˤiː
the -ɽa
cl.3 ʈḭ
PAST ᵑǀˤu
buy -dḭ
POS sˤy̰
1excl ʈḭ
PAST ʈaː
eat -dḭ
POS tˤ-
3.cl.4.POSS iːdija
mouse sˤiː
the -dḭ
cl.4 ʈḭ
PAST ɡʷy
catch -dḭ
POS tˤ-
3.cl.4.POSS ḭ
cat sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 ʈḭ
PAST ʔiɖi
pat -dḭ
POS nˤḭ
1excl.SUBJ

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

 (29)

Complementation Strategies

Aja 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:

नुच्षिऩि स़ीबः दः टिः मङ्वीदिः षिः नऽइवि न्युऽइ स़ीबः दः टिः त़ीदिः त़ुक़अ स़ीबि नुः।

[nut͡ʃinˤi sˤiːba̰ da̰ ʈḭ maŋʷiːdḭ ʂḭ naʔiʋi nyʔi sˤiːba̰ da̰ ʈḭ tˤiːdḭ tˤukʼa sˤiːbi nṵ]

n-
no.owner.POSS ut͡ʃinˤi
teacher sˤiː
the -ba̰
cl.1 da̰
DAT ʈḭ
PAST maŋʷiː
surprise -dḭ
POS ʂḭ
3.cl.4.SUBJ n-
no.owner.POSS aʔiʋi
apple n-
no.owner.POSS yʔi
girl sˤiː
the -ba̰
cl.1 da̰
DAT ʈḭ
PAST tˤiː
give -dḭ
POS tˤ-
3.cl.4.POSS ukʼa
boy sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 nṵ
ERG

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

 (30)

Quotes

Aja 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:

च क़युदिः स़्युः न्युऽइ स़ीबः दः टिः च्षदिः ऩु नुक़अ स़ीबि नुः।

[ca kʼydḭ sˤy̰ nyʔi sˤiːba̰ da̰ ʈḭ t͡ʃadḭ nˤu nukʼa sˤiːbi nṵ]

ca
2 kʼy
love -dḭ
POS sˤy̰
1excl n-
no.owner.POSS yʔi
girl sˤiː
the -ba̰
cl.1 da̰
DAT ʈḭ
PAST t͡ʃa
tell -dḭ
POS nˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ n-
no.owner.POSS ukʼa
boy sˤiː
the -bi
cl.2 nṵ
ERG

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

 (31)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Aja. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 12 October 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/5PPZ3

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-5PPZ3,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Aja}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/5PPZ3}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 12 October 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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