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A Grammar of Thets

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Thets language (the 1885th 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 Thets.

Typological Profile

It has has no interesting typological features.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Thets has a large consonant inventory, comprising 35 phonemes.

It has a highly developed aspirated consonant series, an exceptionally large and contrastive labial series, a complete absence of palatal consonants, something which is a rare occurrence indeed, as well as an exceptionally extensive nasal inventory and a broad and varied fricative inventory.

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

labialdentalalveolarpostalveolarlateralretroflexvelarglottal
stopp b d t ɖ ʈ k ɡ ʔ
aspirated stoppʰ tʰ ʈʰ kʰ
nasalm m̥ n n̥ ɳ ɳ̥ ŋ ŋ̥
trill/tap/flapr ɽ
fricativef θ s ʃ ʂ x h
approximantw l
affricatet͡s t͡ʃ

Vowels

Thets 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 Thets. 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

Thets 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

Thets 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/
k /k/l /l/m /m/n /n/
o /ɔ/p /p/q /ʔ/r /r/
s /s/t /t/u /u/w /w/
x /x/z /θ/ä /æ/æ /ɛ/
ó /o/ŋ̥ /ŋ̥/ɳ̥ /ɳ̥/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ai /ai/au /au/ch /t͡ʃ/
hm /m̥/kh /kʰ/ng /ŋ/
nh /n̥/ph /pʰ/rd /ɖ/
rn /ɳ/rr /ɽ/rs /ʂ/
rt /ʈ/rth /ʈʰ/sh /ʃ/
th /tʰ/tz /t͡s/ɔi /ɔi/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Thets does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Thets does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Wigädäk srtifæp ɳ̥änädäk rtæk rsär khes nhæmäl nihmæbächäk.

[ˈwiɡædæk sʈiˈfɛp ˈɳ̥ænædæk ˈʈɛk ˈʂær ˈkʰes ˈn̥ɛmæl niˈm̥ɛbæt͡ʃæk]

ˈwiɡ
woman -æd
sing -æk
def sʈiˈfɛp
COMIT ˈɳ̥æn
knife -æd
sing -æk
def ˈʈɛ
catch -k
PAST ˈʂær
yon ˈkʰes
three ˈn̥ɛm
blind -æl
ACC niˈm̥ɛb
mouse -æt͡ʃ
plur -æk
def

“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 Thets consists of first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -äd /-æd/ ‘sing’ and -äch /-æt͡ʃ/ ‘plur’; and finally, third, an optional suffix expressing def, comprising -äk /-æk/ ‘def’.

The Adjective

In Thets, the adjective has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -itz /-it͡s/ ‘NOM’, -äl /-æl/ ‘ACC’, -id /-id/ ‘GEN’, -if /-if/ ‘DAT’, -uk /-uk/ ‘INS’, -un /-un/ ‘VOC’, -ät /-æt/ ‘ALL’, -ih /-ih/ ‘LOC’, -irt /-iʈ/ ‘ABL’ and -is /-is/ ‘PART’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

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

Pronouns

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

Thets 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:

Pho phaip pho.

[ˈpʰɔ ˈpʰaip ˈpʰɔ]

ˈpʰɔ
3.sing ˈpʰai
love -p
PRES ˈpʰɔ
3.sing

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

Proper Nouns

Mashkurthädäk nhizip Saɳ̥uphädäk.

[mɑˈʃkuʈʰædæk n̥iˈθip sɑˈɳ̥upʰædæk]

mɑˈʃkuʈʰ
Masahkut -æd
sing -æk
def n̥iˈθi
hate -p
PRES sɑˈɳ̥upʰ
Sanup -æd
sing -æk
def

“Masahkut hates Sanup.”

 (3)

Possession

wóshädäk rrärskaunhädäk

[ˈwoʃædæk ɽæˈʂkaun̥ædæk]

ˈwoʃ
boy -æd
sing -æk
def ɽæˈʂkaun̥
apple -æd
sing -æk
def

“the boy’s apple”

 (4)
pho rrärskaunhädäk

[ˈpʰɔ ɽæˈʂkaun̥ædæk]

ˈpʰɔ
3.sing ɽæˈʂkaun̥
apple -æd
sing -æk
def

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (5)
rdon rrärskaunhädäk

[ˈɖɔn ɽæˈʂkaun̥ædæk]

ˈɖɔn
1excl.sing ɽæˈʂkaun̥
apple -æd
sing -æk
def

“my apple”

 (6)
Rtatauhmädäk nertädäk rturthik nung ŋ̥irraibädäk khirädäk.

[ʈɑˈtaum̥ædæk ˈneʈædæk ʈuˈʈʰik ˈnuŋ ŋ̥iˈɽaibædæk ˈkʰirædæk]

ʈɑˈtaum̥
hunter -æd
sing -æk
def ˈneʈ
daughter -æd
sing -æk
def ʈuˈʈʰi
kiss -k
PAST ˈnuŋ
2.sing ŋ̥iˈɽaib
neighbour -æd
sing -æk
def ˈkʰir
son -æd
sing -æk
def

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

 (7)

Derivation

Thets has no derivational processes.

qex ŋ̥äshtoɳ̥äd

[ˈʔex ŋ̥æˈʃtɔɳ̥æd]

ˈʔex
a ŋ̥æˈʃtɔɳ̥
lamb -æd
sing

“a lamb”

 (8)

Note how none show up here:

Pho rthók zauk qex dinhäl ŋ̥äshtoɳ̥äd rskirnaitz.

[ˈpʰɔ ˈʈʰok ˈθauk ˈʔex ˈdin̥æl ŋ̥æˈʃtɔɳ̥æd ʂkiˈɳait͡s]

ˈpʰɔ
3.sing ˈʈʰo
want -k
PAST ˈθau
have -k
PAST ˈʔex
a ˈdin̥
little -æl
ACC ŋ̥æˈʃtɔɳ̥
lamb -æd
sing ʂkiˈɳait͡s
COMP

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

 (9)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Thets are enclitics (placed finally), and there are four types: first, a clitic expressing mode, comprising wip /wip/ ‘imperative’, rstuk /ʂtuk/ ‘conditional’ and shkaw /ʃkɑw/ ‘optative’; second, a clitic expressing voice, comprising quf /ʔuf/ ‘passive’; third, a clitic expressing negation, comprising tib /tib/ ‘NEG’; and finally, fourth, a clitic expressing question, comprising gad /ɡɑd/ ‘Q’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing ta, comprising -p /-p/ ‘PRES’ and -k /-k/ ‘PAST’.

Rdon phaip nung.

[ˈɖɔn ˈpʰaip ˈnuŋ]

ˈɖɔn
1excl.sing ˈpʰai
love -p
PRES ˈnuŋ
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.

rthal tzersädäk

[ˈʈʰɑl ˈt͡seʂædæk]

ˈʈʰɑl
in_surface ˈt͡seʂ
table -æd
sing -æk
def

“on the table”

 (11)
tzäng gabenhädäk

[ˈt͡sæŋ ɡɑˈben̥ædæk]

ˈt͡sæŋ
to_inside ɡɑˈben̥
box -æd
sing -æk
def

“into the box”

 (12)
srtifæp rdon

[sʈiˈfɛp ˈɖɔn]

sʈiˈfɛp
COMIT ˈɖɔn
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.

Thets 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 Thets.

Käɳ̥adädäk khaik rtatauhmädäk.

[kæˈɳ̥ɑdædæk ˈkʰaik ʈɑˈtaum̥ædæk]

kæˈɳ̥ɑd
jaguar -æd
sing -æk
def ˈkʰai
kill -k
PAST ʈɑˈtaum̥
hunter -æd
sing -æk
def

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (14)
Phardægädäk xak rtatauhmädäk nertädäk rtingädäk.

[pʰɑˈɖɛɡædæk ˈxɑk ʈɑˈtaum̥ædæk ˈneʈædæk ˈʈiŋædæk]

pʰɑˈɖɛɡ
lion -æd
sing -æk
def ˈxɑ
eat -k
PAST ʈɑˈtaum̥
hunter -æd
sing -æk
def ˈneʈ
daughter -æd
sing -æk
def ˈʈiŋ
dog -æd
sing -æk
def

“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 Thets 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, Thets 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.

nung khirädäk phaishkädäk libærädäk

[ˈnuŋ ˈkʰirædæk ˈpʰaiʃkædæk libɛrædæk]

ˈnuŋ
2.sing ˈkʰir
son -æd
sing -æk
def ˈpʰaiʃk
friend -æd
sing -æk
def libɛr
book -æd
sing -æk
def

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (16)

Case Marking

Thets 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.

Beshädäk rrop.

[ˈbeʃædæk ˈɽɔp]

ˈbeʃ
cat -æd
sing -æk
def ˈɽɔ
sleep -p
PRES

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (17)
Beshädäk rstip.

[ˈbeʃædæk ˈʂtip]

ˈbeʃ
cat -æd
sing -æk
def ˈʂti
run -p
PRES

“The cat is running.”

 (18)
Beshädäk kärsaip nihmæbädäk.

[ˈbeʃædæk kæˈʂaip niˈm̥ɛbædæk]

ˈbeʃ
cat -æd
sing -æk
def kæˈʂai
chase -p
PRES niˈm̥ɛb
mouse -æd
sing -æk
def

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (19)
Beshädäk rtæk nihmæbädäk.

[ˈbeʃædæk ˈʈɛk niˈm̥ɛbædæk]

ˈbeʃ
cat -æd
sing -æk
def ˈʈɛ
catch -k
PAST niˈm̥ɛb
mouse -æd
sing -æk
def

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (20)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Rtatauhmädäk khaik käɳ̥adächäk rdip tiwirrächäk rdip phardægächäk.

[ʈɑˈtaum̥ædæk ˈkʰaik kæˈɳ̥ɑdæt͡ʃæk ˈɖip tiˈwiɽæt͡ʃæk ˈɖip pʰɑˈɖɛɡæt͡ʃæk]

ʈɑˈtaum̥
hunter -æd
sing -æk
def ˈkʰai
kill -k
PAST kæˈɳ̥ɑd
jaguar -æt͡ʃ
plur -æk
def ˈɖip
and tiˈwiɽ
tiger -æt͡ʃ
plur -æk
def ˈɖip
and pʰɑˈɖɛɡ
lion -æt͡ʃ
plur -æk
def

“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 Thets 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

Thets 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:

Rdon richók beshädäk.

[ˈɖɔn riˈt͡ʃok ˈbeʃædæk]

ˈɖɔn
1excl.sing riˈt͡ʃo
pat -k
PAST ˈbeʃ
cat -æd
sing -æk
def

“I patted the cat.”

 (22)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Rdon richók beshädäk, kóng rtæk nihmæbädäk.

[ˈɖɔn riˈt͡ʃok ˈbeʃædæk, ˈkoŋ ˈʈɛk niˈm̥ɛbædæk]

ˈɖɔn
1excl.sing riˈt͡ʃo
pat -k
PAST ˈbeʃ
cat -æd
sing -æk
def ˈkoŋ
RELPRON ˈʈɛ
catch -k
PAST niˈm̥ɛb
mouse -æd
sing -æk
def

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (23)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Rdon richók beshädäk, kóng rtæk nihmæbädäk, kóng xak phuhmidädäk.

[ˈɖɔn riˈt͡ʃok ˈbeʃædæk, ˈkoŋ ˈʈɛk niˈm̥ɛbædæk, ˈkoŋ ˈxɑk pʰuˈm̥idædæk]

ˈɖɔn
1excl.sing riˈt͡ʃo
pat -k
PAST ˈbeʃ
cat -æd
sing -æk
def ˈkoŋ
RELPRON ˈʈɛ
catch -k
PAST niˈm̥ɛb
mouse -æd
sing -æk
def ˈkoŋ
RELPRON ˈxɑ
eat -k
PAST pʰuˈm̥id
cheese -æd
sing -æk
def

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

 (24)

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

Rdon richók beshädäk, kóng rtæk nihmæbädäk, kóng xak phuhmidädäk, kóng pɔik rdon.

[ˈɖɔn riˈt͡ʃok ˈbeʃædæk, ˈkoŋ ˈʈɛk niˈm̥ɛbædæk, ˈkoŋ ˈxɑk pʰuˈm̥idædæk, ˈkoŋ ˈpɔik ˈɖɔn]

ˈɖɔn
1excl.sing riˈt͡ʃo
pat -k
PAST ˈbeʃ
cat -æd
sing -æk
def ˈkoŋ
RELPRON ˈʈɛ
catch -k
PAST niˈm̥ɛb
mouse -æd
sing -æk
def ˈkoŋ
RELPRON ˈxɑ
eat -k
PAST pʰuˈm̥id
cheese -æd
sing -æk
def ˈkoŋ
RELPRON ˈpɔi
buy -k
PAST ˈɖɔn
1excl.sing

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

 (25)

Complementation Strategies

Thets 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:

Wóshädäk wɔik rspirthädäk qex rrärskaunhäd rskirnaitz tzinæk gitærädäk.

[ˈwoʃædæk ˈwɔik ˈʂpiʈʰædæk ˈʔex ɽæˈʂkaun̥æd ʂkiˈɳait͡s t͡siˈnɛk ɡitɛrædæk]

ˈwoʃ
boy -æd
sing -æk
def ˈwɔi
give -k
PAST ˈʂpiʈʰ
girl -æd
sing -æk
def ˈʔex
a ɽæˈʂkaun̥
apple -æd
sing ʂkiˈɳait͡s
COMP t͡siˈnɛ
surprise -k
PAST ɡitɛr
teacher -æd
sing -æk
def

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

 (26)

Quotes

Thets 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:

Wóshädäk rtik rspirthädäk rdon phaip nung rskirnaitz.

[ˈwoʃædæk ˈʈik ˈʂpiʈʰædæk ˈɖɔn ˈpʰaip ˈnuŋ ʂkiˈɳait͡s]

ˈwoʃ
boy -æd
sing -æk
def ˈʈi
tell -k
PAST ˈʂpiʈʰ
girl -æd
sing -æk
def ˈɖɔn
1excl.sing ˈpʰai
love -p
PRES ˈnuŋ
2.sing ʂkiˈɳait͡s
COMP

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

 (27)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Thets. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 17 October 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/65EA7

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-65EA7,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Thets}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/65EA7}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 17 October 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Thets / Thets–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/65EA7

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