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A Grammar of Nosahk

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Nosahk language (the 625th 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 Nosahk.

Typological Profile

It has a maximally developed dental–alveolar opposition, ergative case marking, i.e., the object of a transitive verb is marked the same as the subject of an intransitive one, and the VSO basic order, common globally but unusual in many families.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Nosahk has a moderately large consonant inventory, with 29 phonemes.

It has a maximally developed dental–alveolar opposition, a broad set of voiced–voiceless oppositions and a markedly rich set of labial consonants.

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

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

Vowels

Nosahk 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 Nosahk. 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

Nosahk 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

Nosahk 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 /ɑ/б /b/в /v/г /h/
д /d/е /e/ж /ʒ/з /z/
и /i/к /k/л /l/м /m/
н /n/о /o/п /p/р /r/
с /s/т /t/у /u/ф /f/
х /x/ц /t͡s/ч /t͡ʃ/ш /ʃ/
э /ɛ/ј /j/њ /ɲ/ў /w/
џ /d͡ʒ/ѳ /θ/ґ /ɡ/ғ /ɣ/
ҙ /ð/ӈ /ŋ/ә /æ/ө /ɔ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

ай /ai/аў /au/ой /ɔi/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Nosahk does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Nosahk does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Шойциј бит фуџурәс даҙаўх жбэњәс пән жөл дицайдуф, сип фуциј.

[ˈʃɔit͡sij bit fuˈd͡ʒuræs dɑˈðaux ˈʒbɛɲæs ˈpæn ˈʒɔl diˈt͡saiduf, ˈsip ˈfut͡sij]

ˈʃɔi
catch -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST fu-
ERG ˈd͡ʒur
woman -æs
sing dɑˈðaux
COMIT ˈʒbɛɲ
knife -æs
sing ˈpæn
yon ˈʒɔl
three diˈt͡said
mouse -uf
plur ˈsip
RELPRON ˈfu
blind -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP

“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 possessor. a clitic expressing possessor, comprising пим /pim/ ‘1incl.sing’, ғаґ /ɣɑɡ/ ‘1excl.sing’, миѳ /miθ/ ‘2.sing’, жән /ʒæn/ ‘3.sing’, шип /ʃip/ ‘1incl.plur’, џиў /d͡ʒiw/ ‘1excl.plur’, тим /tim/ ‘2.plur’ and чик /t͡ʃik/ ‘3.plur’.

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 Nosahk.

The Noun

The noun in Nosahk consists of first, an optional prefix expressing case, comprising фу- /fu-/ ‘ERG’, ӈа- /ŋɑ-/ ‘GEN’, ги- /hi-/ ‘DAT’, џу- /d͡ʒu-/ ‘INS’, зґи- /zɡi-/ ‘VOC’, ки- /ki-/ ‘ALL’, ўа- /wɑ-/ ‘LOC’, ва- /vɑ-/ ‘ABL’ and ју- /ju-/ ‘PART’; second, the root; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -әс /-æs/ ‘sing’ and -уф /-uf/ ‘plur’.

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

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

Pronouns

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

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

Чуциј мәњ.

[ˈt͡ʃut͡sij ˈmæɲ]

ˈt͡ʃu
love -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP ˈmæɲ
3.sing

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

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

Чуциј мәњ мәњ.

[ˈt͡ʃut͡sij ˈmæɲ ˈmæɲ]

ˈt͡ʃu
love -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP ˈmæɲ
3.sing ˈmæɲ
3.sing

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

Чәмойциј фуНиґавәс Хизозәс.

[t͡ʃæˈmɔit͡sij funiˈɡɑvæs xiˈzozæs]

t͡ʃæˈmɔi
hate -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP fu-
ERG niˈɡɑv
Nigav -æs
sing xiˈzoz
Khizoz -æs
sing

“Nigav hates Khizoz.”

 (4)

Possession

ӈацоӈәс кәшэшәс жән

[ŋɑˈt͡soŋæs kæˈʃɛʃæs ʒæn]

ŋɑ-
GEN ˈt͡soŋ
boy -æs
sing kæˈʃɛʃ
apple -æs
sing ʒæn
3.sing.POSS

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
мәњ кәшэшәс жән

[ˈmæɲ kæˈʃɛʃæs ʒæn]

ˈmæɲ
3.sing kæˈʃɛʃ
apple -æs
sing ʒæn
3.sing.POSS

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
кәшэшәс ғаґ

[kæˈʃɛʃæs ɣɑɡ]

kæˈʃɛʃ
apple -æs
sing ɣɑɡ
1excl.sing.POSS

“my apple”

 (7)
Ґуџациј бит ӈавиғакәс фуфәдәс жән ӈафәшайфәс миѳ цөҙәс жән.

[ɡuˈd͡ʒɑt͡sij bit ŋɑviˈɣɑkæs fuˈfædæs ʒæn ŋɑfæˈʃaifæs miθ ˈt͡sɔðæs ʒæn]

ɡuˈd͡ʒɑ
kiss -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST ŋɑ-
GEN viˈɣɑk
hunter -æs
sing fu-
ERG ˈfæd
daughter -æs
sing ʒæn
3.sing.POSS ŋɑ-
GEN fæˈʃaif
neighbour -æs
sing miθ
2.sing.POSS ˈt͡sɔð
son -æs
sing ʒæn
3.sing.POSS

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

 (8)

Derivation

Nosahk has no derivational processes.

ѳухойӈәс

[θuˈxɔiŋæs]

θuˈxɔiŋ
lamb -æs
sing

“a lamb”

 (9)

Note how none show up here:

Ҙойциј бит кацуџ бит ѳухойӈәс, сип гәциј.

[ˈðɔit͡sij bit ˈkɑt͡sud͡ʒ bit θuˈxɔiŋæs, ˈsip ˈhæt͡sij]

ˈðɔi
want -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST ˈkɑ
have -t͡s
not.Q -ud͡ʒ
COMP bit
PAST θuˈxɔiŋ
lamb -æs
sing ˈsip
RELPRON ˈhæ
little -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

 (10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Nosahk are enclitics (placed finally), and there are four types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising бит /bit/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising тәт /tæt/ ‘imperative’, шиф /ʃif/ ‘conditional’ and жәж /ʒæʒ/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising жаф /ʒɑf/ ‘passive’; and finally, fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising хәм /xæm/ ‘NEG’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing question, comprising -м /-m/ ‘Q’ and -ц /-t͡s/ ‘not.Q’; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing comp, comprising -иј /-ij/ ‘not.COMP’ and -уџ /-ud͡ʒ/ ‘COMP’.

Чуциј төл.

[ˈt͡ʃut͡sij ˈtɔl]

ˈt͡ʃu
love -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP ˈtɔl
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.

шоч њоймәс шкикәс

[ˈʃot͡ʃ ˈɲɔimæs ˈʃkikæs]

ˈʃot͡ʃ
in ˈɲɔim
table -æs
sing ˈʃkik
surface -æs
sing

“on the table”

 (12)
шус ҙиҙәрәс цивәс

[ˈʃus ðiˈðæræs ˈt͡sivæs]

ˈʃus
to ðiˈðær
box -æs
sing ˈt͡siv
inside -æs
sing

“into the box”

 (13)
даҙаўх хез

[dɑˈðaux ˈxez]

dɑˈðaux
COMIT ˈxez
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.

The basic constituent order of Nosahk 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 Nosahk.

Хэциј бит фугуўойчәс виғакәс.

[ˈxɛt͡sij bit fuhuˈwɔit͡ʃæs viˈɣɑkæs]

ˈxɛ
kill -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST fu-
ERG huˈwɔit͡ʃ
jaguar -æs
sing viˈɣɑk
hunter -æs
sing

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (15)
Тайциј бит фуфәлахәс ӈавиғакәс ӈафәдәс жән темәс жән.

[ˈtait͡sij bit fufæˈlɑxæs ŋɑviˈɣɑkæs ŋɑˈfædæs ʒæn ˈtemæs ʒæn]

ˈtai
eat -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST fu-
ERG fæˈlɑx
lion -æs
sing ŋɑ-
GEN viˈɣɑk
hunter -æs
sing ŋɑ-
GEN ˈfæd
daughter -æs
sing ʒæn
3.sing.POSS ˈtem
dog -æs
sing ʒæn
3.sing.POSS

“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 Nosahk 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, Nosahk 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.

ӈацөҙәс миѳ ӈаздэґәс жән ливеғәс жән

[ŋɑˈt͡sɔðæs miθ ŋɑˈzdɛɡæs ʒæn liveɣæs ʒæn]

ŋɑ-
GEN ˈt͡sɔð
son -æs
sing miθ
2.sing.POSS ŋɑ-
GEN ˈzdɛɡ
friend -æs
sing ʒæn
3.sing.POSS liveɣ
book -æs
sing ʒæn
3.sing.POSS

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (17)

Case Marking

Nosahk 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.

Ғайциј пөрәс.

[ˈɣait͡sij ˈpɔræs]

ˈɣai
sleep -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP ˈpɔr
cat -æs
sing

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (18)
Стэциј пөрәс.

[ˈstɛt͡sij ˈpɔræs]

ˈstɛ
run -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP ˈpɔr
cat -æs
sing

“The cat is running.”

 (19)
Лудайциј фупөрәс дицайдәс.

[luˈdait͡sij fuˈpɔræs diˈt͡saidæs]

luˈdai
chase -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP fu-
ERG ˈpɔr
cat -æs
sing diˈt͡said
mouse -æs
sing

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (20)
Шойциј бит фупөрәс дицайдәс.

[ˈʃɔit͡sij bit fuˈpɔræs diˈt͡saidæs]

ˈʃɔi
catch -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST fu-
ERG ˈpɔr
cat -æs
sing diˈt͡said
mouse -æs
sing

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Хэциј бит фувиғакәс гуўойчуф ѳум гуўешуф ѳум фәлахуф.

[ˈxɛt͡sij bit fuviˈɣɑkæs huˈwɔit͡ʃuf ˈθum huˈweʃuf ˈθum fæˈlɑxuf]

ˈxɛ
kill -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST fu-
ERG viˈɣɑk
hunter -æs
sing huˈwɔit͡ʃ
jaguar -uf
plur ˈθum
and huˈweʃ
tiger -uf
plur ˈθum
and fæˈlɑx
lion -uf
plur

“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 Nosahk 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

Nosahk 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:

Ўисициј бит пөрәс.

[wiˈsit͡sij bit ˈpɔræs]

wiˈsi
pat -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST ˈpɔr
cat -æs
sing

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Ўисициј бит пөрәс, сип шойциј бит дицайдәс.

[wiˈsit͡sij bit ˈpɔræs, ˈsip ˈʃɔit͡sij bit diˈt͡saidæs]

wiˈsi
pat -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST ˈpɔr
cat -æs
sing ˈsip
RELPRON ˈʃɔi
catch -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST diˈt͡said
mouse -æs
sing

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Ўисициј бит пөрәс, сип шойциј бит дицайдәс, сип тайциј бит ғижемәс.

[wiˈsit͡sij bit ˈpɔræs, ˈsip ˈʃɔit͡sij bit diˈt͡saidæs, ˈsip ˈtait͡sij bit ɣiˈʒemæs]

wiˈsi
pat -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST ˈpɔr
cat -æs
sing ˈsip
RELPRON ˈʃɔi
catch -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST diˈt͡said
mouse -æs
sing ˈsip
RELPRON ˈtai
eat -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST ɣiˈʒem
cheese -æs
sing

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

 (25)

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

Ўисициј бит пөрәс, сип шойциј бит дицайдәс, сип тайциј бит ғижемәс, сип ґуциј бит хез.

[wiˈsit͡sij bit ˈpɔræs, ˈsip ˈʃɔit͡sij bit diˈt͡saidæs, ˈsip ˈtait͡sij bit ɣiˈʒemæs, ˈsip ˈɡut͡sij bit ˈxez]

wiˈsi
pat -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST ˈpɔr
cat -æs
sing ˈsip
RELPRON ˈʃɔi
catch -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST diˈt͡said
mouse -æs
sing ˈsip
RELPRON ˈtai
eat -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST ɣiˈʒem
cheese -æs
sing ˈsip
RELPRON ˈɡu
buy -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST ˈxez
1excl.sing

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Nosahk marks complement clauses with subordinating verbal morphology. The embedded verb is fully finite and carries a subordinating suffix that identifies the clause as a complement. No structural changes occur within the clause apart from this verbal marking.

The following example illustrate how complement clauses function:

Банэциј бит лацуџ бит фуцоӈәс кәшэшәс гиґитәс гифәсэғәс.

[bɑˈnɛt͡sij bit ˈlɑt͡sud͡ʒ bit fuˈt͡soŋæs kæˈʃɛʃæs hiˈɡitæs hifæsɛɣæs]

bɑˈnɛ
surprise -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST ˈlɑ
give -t͡s
not.Q -ud͡ʒ
COMP bit
PAST fu-
ERG ˈt͡soŋ
boy -æs
sing kæˈʃɛʃ
apple -æs
sing hi-
DAT ˈɡit
girl -æs
sing hi-
DAT fæsɛɣ
teacher -æs
sing

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

 (27)

Quotes

Nosahk 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:

Сәциј бит фуцоӈәс чуцуџ хез төл гиґитәс.

[ˈsæt͡sij bit fuˈt͡soŋæs ˈt͡ʃut͡sud͡ʒ ˈxez ˈtɔl hiˈɡitæs]

ˈsæ
tell -t͡s
not.Q -ij
not.COMP bit
PAST fu-
ERG ˈt͡soŋ
boy -æs
sing ˈt͡ʃu
love -t͡s
not.Q -ud͡ʒ
COMP ˈxez
1excl.sing ˈtɔl
2.sing hi-
DAT ˈɡit
girl -æs
sing

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

 (28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Nosahk. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 7 July 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/65ZDL

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-65ZDL,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Nosahk}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/65ZDL}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 7 July 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Nosahk / Nosahk–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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