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A Grammar of Bik

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Bik language (the 617th 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 Bik.

Typological Profile

It has a total lack of nasal consonants and the VSO basic order, common globally but unusual in many families.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Bik has a large consonant inventory, comprising 34 phonemes.

It has an extensive and fully contrastive palatal series, a total lack of nasal consonants, a notable dental–alveolar contrast across several manners, a conspicuous absence of approximants and a broad set of voiced–voiceless oppositions.

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

vel. labialpal. labialvel. alveolarpal. alveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolarvel. postalveolarpal. postalveolarvel. velarpal. velar
stoppˠ bˠ pʲ bʲ dˠ tˠ dʲ tʲ dˤ tˤ kˠ ɡˠ kʲ ɡʲ
ejective stopkˠʼ kʲʼ
fricativefˠ fʲ sˠ zˠ sʲ zʲ sˤ zˤ ʃˠ ʒˠ ʃʲ ʒʲ xˠ xʲ
affricatet͡ʃ
implosiveɓˠ ɓʲ

Vowels

Bik 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 an unusually fine-grained height system distinguishing four levels.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
open-midɛ ɔ
opena

Stress and Tones

Bik 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

Bik 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 /ˠa/б /b/б̱ /ɓ/г /ɡ/
д /d/е /ʲe/ж /ʒ/з /z/
и /ʲi/к /k, kʼ/о /ˠo/п /p/
с /s/т /t/у /ˠu/ф /f/
х /x/ч /t͡ʃ/ш /ʃ/ъ /ˠ/
ы /ˠi/ь /ʲ/э /ˠe/ю /ʲu/
я /ʲa/ё /ʲo/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

дъ /dˤ/зъ /zˤ/съ /sˤ/
тъ /tˤ/ъо /ˠɔ/ъэ /ˠɛ/
ьо /ʲɔ/ьэ /ʲɛ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Bik does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Bik has the following genders:

Gender masc – for instance: б̱агь ‘fire’, дъoкикь ‘bank’, дъuжъ ‘father’, зъeдаб̱ъ ‘net’, зъoкожь ‘fingernail’, зъoфь ‘tooth’, кучoзъ ‘dust’, кысъ ‘chair’, кьэб̱ь ‘eye’, кядъ ‘husband’, педишь ‘liver’, сишъ ‘ear’, съuсь ‘moon’, сэч ‘stone’, тахь ‘knife’, тёжухь ‘ash’, хасъ ‘night’, хэдюб̱ъ ‘forest’, чiзёзь ‘flower’, шиб̱югь ‘belly’.

Gender fem – for instance: б̱ыкъ ‘leaf’, б̱ёкебъ ‘louse’, богикъ ‘breath’, бэгозъ ‘breast’, гьофъ ‘friend’, дакать ‘snake’, жесоб̱ь ‘lamb’, жукахъ ‘knee’, жысъeсъ ‘feather’, кахь ‘idea’, пьэбъ ‘girl’, пюбюжъ ‘brick’, пётокь ‘lion’, сюбакь ‘apple’, сюбедь ‘wing’, тытопь ‘tower’, тэб̱огь ‘wheat’, факытъ ‘market’, хитъ ‘dog’, шъэтъ ‘egg’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Жъопытъ шидь хёбосъ кафехь бёпажъ тахёсъ касу хедъiкь съобъ быфехэжъ чaфесъ.

[ʒˠɔpˠitˠ ʃʲidʲ xʲobˠosˤ kʼˠafʲexʲ bʲopˠaʒˠ tˠaxʲosˤ kʼˠasˠu xʲedˤikʼʲ sˠɔbˠ bˠifʲexˠeʒˠ t͡ʃafʲesˤ]

ʒˠɔpˠ
catch -i
active -tˠ
3.sing.fem.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST xʲobˠ
woman -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -exʲ
ERG bʲopˠaʒˠ
COMIT tˠaxʲ
knife -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -u
LOC xʲedˤ
blind -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ sˠɔbˠ
three bˠifʲexˠ
mouse -eʒˠ
plur t͡ʃa
yon -fʲ
fem -esˤ
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 Bik consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -oсъ /-osˤ/ ‘sing’ and -eжъ /-eʒˠ/ ‘plur’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -aкъ /-akʼˠ/ ‘little’ and -eхь /-exʲ/ ‘big’

The Adjective

In Bik, the adjective has the following structure: an obligatory prefix expressing number, comprising фъ- /fˠ-/ ‘sing’ and дъ- /dˠ-/ ‘plur’ followed by the root.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Bik, the determiner has the following structure: first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -съ /-sˠ/ ‘masc’ and -фь /-fʲ/ ‘fem’; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -eсъ /-esˤ/ ‘NOM’, -eхь /-exʲ/ ‘ERG’, -iзъ /-izˤ/ ‘ACC’, -eб̱ь /-eɓʲ/ ‘GEN’, -aдъ /-adˠ/ ‘DAT’, -uть /-utʲ/ ‘INS’, -eжь /-eʒʲ/ ‘VOC’, -uзь /-uzʲ/ ‘ALL’, -u /-u/ ‘LOC’, -uкь /-ukʼʲ/ ‘ABL’ and -iдъ /-idˤ/ ‘PART’.

Pronouns

The pronoun in Bik has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -фъ /-fˠ/ ‘sing’ and -ть /-tʲ/ ‘plur’.

Bik always includes the personal pronouns, even if they are not stressed. This is similar to English, where the only way to distinguish "he loves her" from "he loves her" and "he loves her" is the stress. So the following corresponds exactly to English in this regard:

Тадыкь тьофъ пюфъ.

[tˠadˠikʼʲ tʲɔfˠ pʲufˠ]

tˠadˠ
love -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ tʲɔ
3.sing.masc -fˠ
sing pʲu
3.sing.fem -fˠ
sing

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

Proper Nouns

Бихезъiкь Шобъэпосъ касэсъ Дыфусёсъ кафизъ.

[bʲixʲezˤikʼʲ ʃˠobˠɛpˠosˤ kʼˠasˠesˤ dˠifˠusʲosˤ kʼˠafʲizˤ]

bʲixʲezˤ
hate -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ ʃˠobˠɛpˠ
Shobep -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -esˤ
NOM dˠifˠusʲ
Difus -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -izˤ
ACC

“Shobep hates Difus.”

 (3)

Possession

сюбакёсъ кафесъ геб̱осъ касэб̱ь

[sʲubˠakʼʲosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ ɡʲeɓˠosˤ kʼˠasˠeɓʲ]

sʲubˠakʼʲ
apple -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM ɡʲeɓˠ
boy -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -eɓʲ
GEN

“the boy’s apple”

 (4)
сюбакёсъ кафесъ тьофъ

[sʲubˠakʼʲosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ tʲɔfˠ]

sʲubˠakʼʲ
apple -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM tʲɔ
3.sing.masc -fˠ
sing

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (5)
сюбакёсъ кафесъ пьофъ

[sʲubˠakʼʲosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ pʲɔfˠ]

sʲubˠakʼʲ
apple -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM pʲɔ
1excl.sing -fˠ
sing

“my apple”

 (6)
Тебажитъ шидь тьососъ кафехь тяхудосъ касэб̱ь пязосъ касэсъ бясъeшёсъ кафеб̱ь бефъ.

[tʲebˠaʒʲitˠ ʃʲidʲ tʲɔsˠosˤ kʼˠafʲexʲ tʲaxˠudˠosˤ kʼˠasˠeɓʲ pʲazˠosˤ kʼˠasˠesˤ bʲasˤeʃʲosˤ kʼˠafʲeɓʲ bʲefˠ]

tʲebˠaʒʲ
kiss -i
active -tˠ
3.sing.fem.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST tʲɔsˠ
daughter -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -exʲ
ERG tʲaxˠudˠ
hunter -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -eɓʲ
GEN pʲazˠ
son -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -esˤ
NOM bʲasˤeʃʲ
neighbour -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -eɓʲ
GEN bʲe
2.sing -fˠ
sing

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

 (7)

Derivation

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

жесоб̱ёсъ фьофесъ

[ʒʲesˠoɓʲosˤ fʲɔfʲesˤ]

ʒʲesˠoɓʲ
lamb -osˤ
sing fʲɔ
a -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM

“a lamb”

 (8)

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

жесоб̱якосъ фьофесъ

[ʒʲesˠoɓʲakʼˠosˤ fʲɔfʲesˤ]

ʒʲesˠoɓʲ
lamb -akʼˠ
little -osˤ
sing fʲɔ
a -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM

“a little lamb”

 (9)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Bik are enclitics (placed finally), and there are four types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising шидь /ʃʲidʲ/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising тяфъ /tʲafˠ/ ‘imperative’, фетъ /fʲetˠ/ ‘conditional’ and б̱ыбъ /ɓˠibˠ/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing negation, comprising хысъ /xˠisˠ/ ‘NEG’; and finally, fourth, a clitic expressing question, comprising пэтъ /pˠetˠ/ ‘Q’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing voice, comprising -i /-i/ ‘active’ and -u /-u/ ‘passive’; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing subj, comprising -бь /-bʲ/ ‘1incl.sing’, -фъ /-fˠ/ ‘1excl.sing’, -съ /-sˠ/ ‘2.sing’, -кь /-kʼʲ/ ‘3.sing.masc’, -тъ /-tˠ/ ‘3.sing.fem’, -тъ /-tˤ/ ‘1incl.plur’, -къ /-kˠ/ ‘1excl.plur’, -ть /-tʲ/ ‘2.plur’, -б̱ь /-ɓʲ/ ‘3.plur.masc’ and -сь /-sʲ/ ‘3.plur.fem’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -aжь /-aʒʲ/ ‘begin’ and -iб̱ъ /-iɓˠ/ ‘stop’

Тадыфъ пьофъ бефъ.

[tˠadˠifˠ pʲɔfˠ bʲefˠ]

tˠadˠ
love -i
active -fˠ
1excl.sing.SUBJ pʲɔ
1excl.sing -fˠ
sing bʲe
2.sing -fˠ
sing

“I love you.”

 (10)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

ситъ погосъ б̱итъoсъ касэсъ

[sʲitˠ pˠoɡˠosˤ ɓʲitˤosˤ kʼˠasˠesˤ]

sʲitˠ
in pˠoɡˠ
surface -osˤ
sing ɓʲitˤ
table -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -esˤ
NOM

“on the table”

 (11)
б̱ятъ зъoкёсъ зэтьодъoсъ кафесъ

[ɓʲatˠ zˤokʲosˤ zˠetʲɔdˤosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ]

ɓʲatˠ
to zˤokʲ
inside -osˤ
sing zˠetʲɔdˤ
box -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM

“into the box”

 (12)
бёпажъ пьофъ

[bʲopˠaʒˠ pʲɔfˠ]

bʲopˠaʒˠ
COMIT pʲɔ
1excl.sing -fˠ
sing

“with me”

 (13)

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.

The basic constituent order of Bik is Verb–Subject–Object (VSO). Clauses begin with the verb, followed by the subject, with the object in final position. This pattern is attested among various verb-initial languages.

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

Фекикь шидь шагикосъ касэхь тяхудосъ касэсъ.

[fʲekʼʲikʼʲ ʃʲidʲ ʃˠaɡʲikʼˠosˤ kʼˠasˠexʲ tʲaxˠudˠosˤ kʼˠasˠesˤ]

fʲekʼʲ
kill -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST ʃˠaɡʲikʼˠ
jaguar -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -exʲ
ERG tʲaxˠudˠ
hunter -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -esˤ
NOM

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (14)
Пакытъ шидь пётокёсъ кафехь хитъoсъ кафесъ тьососъ кафеб̱ь тяхудосъ касэб̱ь.

[pˠakʼˠitˠ ʃʲidʲ pʲotˠokʼʲosˤ kʼˠafʲexʲ xʲitˤosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ tʲɔsˠosˤ kʼˠafʲeɓʲ tʲaxˠudˠosˤ kʼˠasˠeɓʲ]

pˠakʼˠ
eat -i
active -tˠ
3.sing.fem.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST pʲotˠokʼʲ
lion -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -exʲ
ERG xʲitˤ
dog -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM tʲɔsˠ
daughter -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -eɓʲ
GEN tʲaxˠudˠ
hunter -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -eɓʲ
GEN

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

 (15)

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 Bik 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, Bik 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.

букосъ касэсъ гьофосъ кафеб̱ь пязосъ касэб̱ь бефъ

[bˠukˠosˤ kʼˠasˠesˤ ɡʲɔfˠosˤ kʼˠafʲeɓʲ pʲazˠosˤ kʼˠasˠeɓʲ bʲefˠ]

bˠukˠ
book -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -esˤ
NOM ɡʲɔfˠ
friend -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -eɓʲ
GEN pʲazˠ
son -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -eɓʲ
GEN bʲe
2.sing -fˠ
sing

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (16)

Case Marking

Bik 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.

Тикытъ шотъoсъ кафесъ.

[tʲikʼˠitˠ ʃˠotˤosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ]

tʲikʼˠ
sleep -i
active -tˠ
3.sing.fem.SUBJ ʃˠotˤ
cat -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (17)
Тэкитъ шотъoсъ кафесъ.

[tˠekʼʲitˠ ʃˠotˤosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ]

tˠekʼʲ
run -i
active -tˠ
3.sing.fem.SUBJ ʃˠotˤ
cat -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM

“The cat is running.”

 (18)
Гакяхытъ шотъoсъ кафесъ быфехосъ кафизъ.

[ɡˠakʼʲaxˠitˠ ʃˠotˤosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ bˠifʲexˠosˤ kʼˠafʲizˤ]

ɡˠakʼʲaxˠ
chase -i
active -tˠ
3.sing.fem.SUBJ ʃˠotˤ
cat -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM bˠifʲexˠ
mouse -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -izˤ
ACC

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (19)
Жъопытъ шидь шотъoсъ кафехь быфехосъ кафесъ.

[ʒˠɔpˠitˠ ʃʲidʲ ʃˠotˤosˤ kʼˠafʲexʲ bˠifʲexˠosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ]

ʒˠɔpˠ
catch -i
active -tˠ
3.sing.fem.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST ʃˠotˤ
cat -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -exʲ
ERG bˠifʲexˠ
mouse -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (20)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Фекикь шидь тяхудосъ касэхь шагикэжъ касэсъ жушь жидъiдэжъ кафесъ жушь пётокежъ кафесъ.

[fʲekʼʲikʼʲ ʃʲidʲ tʲaxˠudˠosˤ kʼˠasˠexʲ ʃˠaɡʲikʼˠeʒˠ kʼˠasˠesˤ ʒˠuʃʲ ʒʲidˤidˠeʒˠ kʼˠafʲesˤ ʒˠuʃʲ pʲotˠokʼʲeʒˠ kʼˠafʲesˤ]

fʲekʼʲ
kill -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST tʲaxˠudˠ
hunter -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -exʲ
ERG ʃˠaɡʲikʼˠ
jaguar -eʒˠ
plur kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -esˤ
NOM ʒˠuʃʲ
and ʒʲidˤidˠ
tiger -eʒˠ
plur kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM ʒˠuʃʲ
and pʲotˠokʼʲ
lion -eʒˠ
plur kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM

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

 (21)

Modifiers and Determiners

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

Bik 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:

Б̱утушыфъ шидь пьофъ шотъoсъ кафесъ.

[ɓˠutˠuʃˠifˠ ʃʲidʲ pʲɔfˠ ʃˠotˤosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ]

ɓˠutˠuʃˠ
pat -i
active -fˠ
1excl.sing.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST pʲɔ
1excl.sing -fˠ
sing ʃˠotˤ
cat -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM

“I patted the cat.”

 (22)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Б̱утушыфъ шидь пьофъ жъопыкь шидь быфехосъ кафесъ шотъoсъ кафесъ.

[ɓˠutˠuʃˠifˠ ʃʲidʲ pʲɔfˠ ʒˠɔpˠikʼʲ ʃʲidʲ bˠifʲexˠosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ ʃˠotˤosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ]

ɓˠutˠuʃˠ
pat -i
active -fˠ
1excl.sing.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST pʲɔ
1excl.sing -fˠ
sing ʒˠɔpˠ
catch -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST bˠifʲexˠ
mouse -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM ʃˠotˤ
cat -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (23)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Б̱утушыфъ шидь пьофъ жъопыкь шидь пакыкь шидь гяпьогёсъ кафесъ быфехосъ кафесъ шотъoсъ кафесъ.

[ɓˠutˠuʃˠifˠ ʃʲidʲ pʲɔfˠ ʒˠɔpˠikʼʲ ʃʲidʲ pˠakʼˠikʼʲ ʃʲidʲ ɡʲapʲɔɡʲosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ bˠifʲexˠosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ ʃˠotˤosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ]

ɓˠutˠuʃˠ
pat -i
active -fˠ
1excl.sing.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST pʲɔ
1excl.sing -fˠ
sing ʒˠɔpˠ
catch -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST pˠakʼˠ
eat -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST ɡʲapʲɔɡʲ
cheese -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM bˠifʲexˠ
mouse -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM ʃˠotˤ
cat -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM

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

 (24)

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

Б̱утушыфъ шидь пьофъ жъопыкь шидь пакыкь шидь б̱ашыкь шидь гяпьогёсъ кафесъ пьофъ быфехосъ кафесъ шотъoсъ кафесъ.

[ɓˠutˠuʃˠifˠ ʃʲidʲ pʲɔfˠ ʒˠɔpˠikʼʲ ʃʲidʲ pˠakʼˠikʼʲ ʃʲidʲ ɓˠaʃˠikʼʲ ʃʲidʲ ɡʲapʲɔɡʲosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ pʲɔfˠ bˠifʲexˠosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ ʃˠotˤosˤ kʼˠafʲesˤ]

ɓˠutˠuʃˠ
pat -i
active -fˠ
1excl.sing.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST pʲɔ
1excl.sing -fˠ
sing ʒˠɔpˠ
catch -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST pˠakʼˠ
eat -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST ɓˠaʃˠ
buy -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST ɡʲapʲɔɡʲ
cheese -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM pʲɔ
1excl.sing -fˠ
sing bˠifʲexˠ
mouse -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM ʃˠotˤ
cat -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM

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

 (25)

Complementation Strategies

Bik 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:

Тиб̱ъэдитъ шидь тежыкь шидь сюбакёсъ фьофесъ пьэбосъ кафядъ геб̱осъ касэхь дъiчeзосъ кафядъ.

[tʲiɓˠɛdʲitˠ ʃʲidʲ tʲeʒˠikʼʲ ʃʲidʲ sʲubˠakʼʲosˤ fʲɔfʲesˤ pʲɛbˠosˤ kʼˠafʲadˠ ɡʲeɓˠosˤ kʼˠasˠexʲ dˤit͡ʃezˠosˤ kʼˠafʲadˠ]

tʲiɓˠɛdʲ
surprise -i
active -tˠ
3.sing.fem.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST tʲeʒˠ
give -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST sʲubˠakʼʲ
apple -osˤ
sing fʲɔ
a -fʲ
fem -esˤ
NOM pʲɛbˠ
girl -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -adˠ
DAT ɡʲeɓˠ
boy -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -exʲ
ERG dˤit͡ʃezˠ
teacher -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -adˠ
DAT

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

 (26)

Quotes

Bik 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:

Фыпыкь шидь геб̱осъ касэхь тадыкь бефъ пьофъ пьэбосъ кафядъ.

[fˠipˠikʼʲ ʃʲidʲ ɡʲeɓˠosˤ kʼˠasˠexʲ tˠadˠikʼʲ bʲefˠ pʲɔfˠ pʲɛbˠosˤ kʼˠafʲadˠ]

fˠipˠ
tell -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ ʃʲidʲ
PAST ɡʲeɓˠ
boy -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -sˠ
masc -exʲ
ERG tˠadˠ
love -i
active -kʼʲ
3.sing.masc.SUBJ bʲe
2.sing -fˠ
sing pʲɔ
1excl.sing -fˠ
sing pʲɛbˠ
girl -osˤ
sing kʼˠa
the -fʲ
fem -adˠ
DAT

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

 (27)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Bik. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 5 July 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/64CLA

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-64CLA,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Bik}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/64CLA}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 5 July 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Bik / Bik–English) accompany this grammar. The complete work – comprising the grammar, dictionary and texts – may also be downloaded in ODT or DOCX format.

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https://languagecreator.org/grammar/64CLA

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