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A Grammar of Chakh

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Chakh language (the 1881st 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 Chakh.

Typological Profile

It has has no interesting typological features.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Chakh has 25 consonant phonemes, a size that falls within a broadly average range.

It has a complete absence of palatal consonants, something which is a rare occurrence indeed, and a broad set of voiced–voiceless oppositions.

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

labialalveolarpostalveolarlateralvelarglottal
stopp b d t k ɡ
nasalm n ŋ
trill/tap/flapr
fricativef v s z ʃ ʒ x ɣ h
approximantw l
affricatet͡s d͡ʒ t͡ʃ

Vowels

Chakh has 11 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, an unusually fine-grained height system distinguishing four levels and a moderately reduced system of unstressed vowels.

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

frontback
closei u
close-mide o
open-midɛ ɔ
openæ ɑ

Stress and Tones

Chakh 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

Chakh 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 /ɑ/b /b/d /d/e /e/
f /f/g /ɡ/h /h/i /i/
j /d͡ʒ/k /k/l /l/m /m/
n /n/o /ɔ/p /p/r /r/
s /s/t /t/u /u/v /v/
w /w/z /z/ä /æ/æ /ɛ/
ó /o/ğ /ɣ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ai /ai/au /au/ch /t͡ʃ/
kh /x/ng /ŋ/sh /ʃ/
tz /t͡s/zh /ʒ/ɔi /ɔi/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Chakh does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Chakh does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Jamudak tagäb puludak pub shkɔich shótz gep spaw fushizesudih.

[ˈd͡ʒɑmudɑk tɑˈɡæb ˈpuludɑk pub ˈʃkɔit͡ʃ ˈʃot͡s ˈɡep ˈspɑw fuʃiˈzesudih]

ˈd͡ʒɑm
woman -ud
def -ɑk
NOM tɑˈɡæb
COMIT ˈpul
knife -ud
def -ɑk
NOM pub
PAST ˈʃkɔi
catch -t͡ʃ
POS ˈʃot͡s
yon ˈɡep
three ˈspɑw
blind fu-
plur ʃiˈzes
mouse -ud
def -ih
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 Chakh consists of first, an optional prefix expressing number, comprising fu- /fu-/ ‘plur’; second, the root; third, an optional suffix expressing def, comprising -ud /-ud/ ‘def’; and finally, fourth, an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -ak /-ɑk/ ‘NOM’, -ih /-ih/ ‘ACC’, -al /-ɑl/ ‘GEN’, -aj /-ɑd͡ʒ/ ‘DAT’, -ik /-ik/ ‘INS’, -ar /-ɑr/ ‘VOC’, -am /-ɑm/ ‘ALL’, -ah /-ɑh/ ‘LOC’, -af /-ɑf/ ‘ABL’ and -äh /-æh/ ‘PART’.

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

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

Pronouns

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

Chakh 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:

Ğæng tach ğæng.

[ˈɣɛŋ ˈtɑt͡ʃ ˈɣɛŋ]

ˈɣɛŋ
3.sing ˈtɑ
love -t͡ʃ
POS ˈɣɛŋ
3.sing

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

Proper Nouns

Sakɔimudak wäfóch Shpijɔipudih.

[sɑˈkɔimudɑk wæˈfot͡ʃ ʃpiˈd͡ʒɔipudih]

sɑˈkɔim
Sakoim -ud
def -ɑk
NOM wæˈfo
hate -t͡ʃ
POS ʃpiˈd͡ʒɔip
Sahpijoip -ud
def -ih
ACC

“Sakoim hates Sahpijoip.”

 (3)

Possession

baizhudal fifæchudak

[ˈbaiʒudɑl fiˈfɛt͡ʃudɑk]

ˈbaiʒ
boy -ud
def -ɑl
GEN fiˈfɛt͡ʃ
apple -ud
def -ɑk
NOM

“the boy’s apple”

 (4)
ğæng fifæchudak

[ˈɣɛŋ fiˈfɛt͡ʃudɑk]

ˈɣɛŋ
3.sing fiˈfɛt͡ʃ
apple -ud
def -ɑk
NOM

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (5)
zhbul fifæchudak

[ˈʒbul fiˈfɛt͡ʃudɑk]

ˈʒbul
1excl.sing fiˈfɛt͡ʃ
apple -ud
def -ɑk
NOM

“my apple”

 (6)
Pusójudal tzosudak pub batzach zbas hägedudal mizudih.

[puˈsod͡ʒudɑl ˈt͡sɔsudɑk pub bɑˈt͡sɑt͡ʃ ˈzbɑs hæˈɡedudɑl ˈmizudih]

puˈsod͡ʒ
hunter -ud
def -ɑl
GEN ˈt͡sɔs
daughter -ud
def -ɑk
NOM pub
PAST bɑˈt͡sɑ
kiss -t͡ʃ
POS ˈzbɑs
2.sing hæˈɡed
neighbour -ud
def -ɑl
GEN ˈmiz
son -ud
def -ih
ACC

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

 (7)

Derivation

Chakh has no derivational processes.

shtang chätingak

[ˈʃtɑŋ t͡ʃæˈtiŋɑk]

ˈʃtɑŋ
a t͡ʃæˈtiŋ
lamb -ɑk
NOM

“a lamb”

 (8)

Note how none show up here:

Ğæng pub hoch pub tzɔich shtang vauv chätingih päfaiw.

[ˈɣɛŋ pub ˈhɔt͡ʃ pub ˈt͡sɔit͡ʃ ˈʃtɑŋ ˈvauv t͡ʃæˈtiŋih pæˈfaiw]

ˈɣɛŋ
3.sing pub
PAST ˈhɔ
want -t͡ʃ
POS pub
PAST ˈt͡sɔi
have -t͡ʃ
POS ˈʃtɑŋ
a ˈvauv
little t͡ʃæˈtiŋ
lamb -ih
ACC pæˈfaiw
COMP

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

 (9)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Chakh fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing mode, comprising fäng /fæŋ/ ‘imperative’, zhgif /ʒɡif/ ‘conditional’ and fär /fær/ ‘optative’; second, a clitic expressing ta, comprising pub /pub/ ‘PAST’; third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising tik /tik/ ‘passive’; and finally, fourth, a clitic expressing question, comprising shäg /ʃæɡ/ ‘Q’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing negation, comprising -h /-h/ ‘NEG’ and -ch /-t͡ʃ/ ‘POS’.

Zhbul tach zbas.

[ˈʒbul ˈtɑt͡ʃ ˈzbɑs]

ˈʒbul
1excl.sing ˈtɑ
love -t͡ʃ
POS ˈzbɑs
2.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.

nag tzishudak

[ˈnɑɡ ˈt͡siʃudɑk]

ˈnɑɡ
in_surface ˈt͡siʃ
table -ud
def -ɑk
NOM

“on the table”

 (11)
voch tzuzhäkhudak

[ˈvɔt͡ʃ t͡suˈʒæxudɑk]

ˈvɔt͡ʃ
to_inside t͡suˈʒæx
box -ud
def -ɑk
NOM

“into the box”

 (12)
tagäb zhbul

[tɑˈɡæb ˈʒbul]

tɑˈɡæb
COMIT ˈʒbul
1excl.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.

Chakh 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 Chakh.

Pusazhudak pub nach pusójudih.

[puˈsɑʒudɑk pub ˈnɑt͡ʃ puˈsod͡ʒudih]

puˈsɑʒ
jaguar -ud
def -ɑk
NOM pub
PAST ˈnɑ
kill -t͡ʃ
POS puˈsod͡ʒ
hunter -ud
def -ih
ACC

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (14)
Gazhazdudak pub khæch pusójudal tzosudal khózhudih.

[ɡɑˈʒɑzdudɑk pub ˈxɛt͡ʃ puˈsod͡ʒudɑl ˈt͡sɔsudɑl ˈxoʒudih]

ɡɑˈʒɑzd
lion -ud
def -ɑk
NOM pub
PAST ˈxɛ
eat -t͡ʃ
POS puˈsod͡ʒ
hunter -ud
def -ɑl
GEN ˈt͡sɔs
daughter -ud
def -ɑl
GEN ˈxoʒ
dog -ud
def -ih
ACC

“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 Chakh 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, Chakh 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.

zbas mizudal zhazdudal libærudak

[ˈzbɑs ˈmizudɑl ˈʒɑzdudɑl libɛrudɑk]

ˈzbɑs
2.sing ˈmiz
son -ud
def -ɑl
GEN ˈʒɑzd
friend -ud
def -ɑl
GEN libɛr
book -ud
def -ɑk
NOM

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (16)

Case Marking

Chakh 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.

Wɔiwudak sech.

[ˈwɔiwudɑk ˈset͡ʃ]

ˈwɔiw
cat -ud
def -ɑk
NOM ˈse
sleep -t͡ʃ
POS

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (17)
Wɔiwudak zhdich.

[ˈwɔiwudɑk ˈʒdit͡ʃ]

ˈwɔiw
cat -ud
def -ɑk
NOM ˈʒdi
run -t͡ʃ
POS

“The cat is running.”

 (18)
Wɔiwudak hakɔich shizesudih.

[ˈwɔiwudɑk hɑˈkɔit͡ʃ ʃiˈzesudih]

ˈwɔiw
cat -ud
def -ɑk
NOM hɑˈkɔi
chase -t͡ʃ
POS ʃiˈzes
mouse -ud
def -ih
ACC

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (19)
Wɔiwudak pub shkɔich shizesudih.

[ˈwɔiwudɑk pub ˈʃkɔit͡ʃ ʃiˈzesudih]

ˈwɔiw
cat -ud
def -ɑk
NOM pub
PAST ˈʃkɔi
catch -t͡ʃ
POS ʃiˈzes
mouse -ud
def -ih
ACC

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (20)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Pusójudak pub nach fupusazhudih bózh fugäpachudih bózh fugazhazdudih.

[puˈsod͡ʒudɑk pub ˈnɑt͡ʃ fupuˈsɑʒudih ˈboʒ fuɡæˈpɑt͡ʃudih ˈboʒ fuɡɑˈʒɑzdudih]

puˈsod͡ʒ
hunter -ud
def -ɑk
NOM pub
PAST ˈnɑ
kill -t͡ʃ
POS fu-
plur puˈsɑʒ
jaguar -ud
def -ih
ACC ˈboʒ
and fu-
plur ɡæˈpɑt͡ʃ
tiger -ud
def -ih
ACC ˈboʒ
and fu-
plur ɡɑˈʒɑzd
lion -ud
def -ih
ACC

“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 Chakh 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

Chakh 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:

Zhbul pub zhbäzhuch wɔiwudih.

[ˈʒbul pub ʒbæˈʒut͡ʃ ˈwɔiwudih]

ˈʒbul
1excl.sing pub
PAST ʒbæˈʒu
pat -t͡ʃ
POS ˈwɔiw
cat -ud
def -ih
ACC

“I patted the cat.”

 (22)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Zhbul pub zhbäzhuch wɔiwudak, fäğ pub shkɔich shizesudih.

[ˈʒbul pub ʒbæˈʒut͡ʃ ˈwɔiwudɑk, ˈfæɣ pub ˈʃkɔit͡ʃ ʃiˈzesudih]

ˈʒbul
1excl.sing pub
PAST ʒbæˈʒu
pat -t͡ʃ
POS ˈwɔiw
cat -ud
def -ɑk
NOM ˈfæɣ
RELPRON pub
PAST ˈʃkɔi
catch -t͡ʃ
POS ʃiˈzes
mouse -ud
def -ih
ACC

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (23)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Zhbul pub zhbäzhuch wɔiwudak, fäğ pub shkɔich shizesudak, fäğ pub khæch häkenudih.

[ˈʒbul pub ʒbæˈʒut͡ʃ ˈwɔiwudɑk, ˈfæɣ pub ˈʃkɔit͡ʃ ʃiˈzesudɑk, ˈfæɣ pub ˈxɛt͡ʃ hæˈkenudih]

ˈʒbul
1excl.sing pub
PAST ʒbæˈʒu
pat -t͡ʃ
POS ˈwɔiw
cat -ud
def -ɑk
NOM ˈfæɣ
RELPRON pub
PAST ˈʃkɔi
catch -t͡ʃ
POS ʃiˈzes
mouse -ud
def -ɑk
NOM ˈfæɣ
RELPRON pub
PAST ˈxɛ
eat -t͡ʃ
POS hæˈken
cheese -ud
def -ih
ACC

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

 (24)

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

Zhbul pub zhbäzhuch wɔiwudak, fäğ pub shkɔich shizesudak, fäğ pub khæch häkenudak, fäğ pub tóch zhbul.

[ˈʒbul pub ʒbæˈʒut͡ʃ ˈwɔiwudɑk, ˈfæɣ pub ˈʃkɔit͡ʃ ʃiˈzesudɑk, ˈfæɣ pub ˈxɛt͡ʃ hæˈkenudɑk, ˈfæɣ pub ˈtot͡ʃ ˈʒbul]

ˈʒbul
1excl.sing pub
PAST ʒbæˈʒu
pat -t͡ʃ
POS ˈwɔiw
cat -ud
def -ɑk
NOM ˈfæɣ
RELPRON pub
PAST ˈʃkɔi
catch -t͡ʃ
POS ʃiˈzes
mouse -ud
def -ɑk
NOM ˈfæɣ
RELPRON pub
PAST ˈxɛ
eat -t͡ʃ
POS hæˈken
cheese -ud
def -ɑk
NOM ˈfæɣ
RELPRON pub
PAST ˈto
buy -t͡ʃ
POS ˈʒbul
1excl.sing

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

 (25)

Complementation Strategies

Chakh 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:

Baizhudak pub tzoch zhdiludaj shtang fifæchih päfaiw pub gäkäch gitærudaj.

[ˈbaiʒudɑk pub ˈt͡sɔt͡ʃ ˈʒdiludɑd͡ʒ ˈʃtɑŋ fiˈfɛt͡ʃih pæˈfaiw pub ɡæˈkæt͡ʃ ɡitɛrudɑd͡ʒ]

ˈbaiʒ
boy -ud
def -ɑk
NOM pub
PAST ˈt͡sɔ
give -t͡ʃ
POS ˈʒdil
girl -ud
def -ɑd͡ʒ
DAT ˈʃtɑŋ
a fiˈfɛt͡ʃ
apple -ih
ACC pæˈfaiw
COMP pub
PAST ɡæˈkæ
surprise -t͡ʃ
POS ɡitɛr
teacher -ud
def -ɑd͡ʒ
DAT

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

 (26)

Quotes

Chakh 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:

Baizhudak pub bóch zhdiludaj zhbul tach zbas päfaiw.

[ˈbaiʒudɑk pub ˈbot͡ʃ ˈʒdiludɑd͡ʒ ˈʒbul ˈtɑt͡ʃ ˈzbɑs pæˈfaiw]

ˈbaiʒ
boy -ud
def -ɑk
NOM pub
PAST ˈbo
tell -t͡ʃ
POS ˈʒdil
girl -ud
def -ɑd͡ʒ
DAT ˈʒbul
1excl.sing ˈtɑ
love -t͡ʃ
POS ˈzbɑs
2.sing pæˈfaiw
COMP

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

 (27)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Chakh. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 16 October 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/64LWK

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-64LWK,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Chakh}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/64LWK}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 16 October 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Chakh / Chakh–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/64LWK

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