A Grammar of Tost

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Tost language (the 1923rd 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 Tost.

Typological Profile

It has the VSO basic order, common globally but unusual in many families.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Tost has a moderately large consonant inventory, with 28 phonemes.

It has a conspicuous absence of approximants, a strongly reduced sibilant system, a broad set of voiced–voiceless oppositions, a noticeable presence of pharyngealised phonemes and a complete absence of laryngeal consonants.

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

labialalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatalpalatalvelar
stopp b d t dˤ tˤ c ɟ k ɡ
nasalm n nˤ ɲ ŋ
trill/tap/flapr rˤ
fricativef s z sˤ zˤ
affricatet͡s t͡sˤ d͡ʒ t͡ʃ t͡ɕ

Vowels

Tost has 9 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 and a moderately reduced system of unstressed vowels.

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

frontback
closei u
mide o
openæ ɑ

Stress and Tones

Tost 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

Tost 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/ḍ /dˤ/
e /e/f /f/g /ɡ/i /i/
j /d͡ʒ/k /k/m /m/n /n/
ṇ /nˤ/o /o/p /p/r /r/
ṛ /rˤ/s /s/ṣ /sˤ/t /t/
ṭ /tˤ/u /u/z /z/ẓ /zˤ/
ä /æ/ñ /ɲ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

aa /ɑː/ai /ai/au /au/
ch /t͡ʃ/dy /ɟ/ee /eː/
ii /iː/ng /ŋ/oo /oː/
tj /c/ty /t͡ɕ/tz /t͡s/
tẓ /t͡sˤ/uu /uː/ää /æː/
ɔi /ɔi/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Tost does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Tost does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Ketj stutz ḍir bääjäf tziretẓ ḍir stauṭäf ñuẓgiiz keef sungurañ ngaiñ.

[ˈkec stut͡s ˈdˤir ˈbæːd͡ʒæf t͡siˈret͡sˤ ˈdˤir ˈstautˤæf ɲuˈzˤɡiːz ˈkeːf suˈŋurɑɲ ˈŋaiɲ]

ˈkec
catch
stut͡s
PAST
ˈdˤir
the
ˈbæːd͡ʒ
woman
-æf
sing
t͡siˈret͡sˤ
COMIT
ˈdˤir
the
ˈstautˤ
knife
-æf
sing
ɲu-
ACC
ˈzˤɡiːz
yon
ˈkeːf
three
suˈŋur
mouse
-ɑɲ
plur
ˈŋaiɲ
blind

“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 Tost consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -äf /-æf/ ‘sing’ and -añ /-ɑɲ/ ‘plur’.

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Tost, the determiner has the following structure: an optional prefix expressing case, comprising ñu- /ɲu-/ ‘ACC’, pi- /pi-/ ‘DAT’, pu- /pu-/ ‘INS’, ngu- /ŋu-/ ‘VOC’, ḍa- /dˤɑ-/ ‘ALL’, ḍu- /dˤu-/ ‘LOC’, mi- /mi-/ ‘ABL’ and tyä- /t͡ɕæ-/ ‘PART’ followed by the root.

Pronouns

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

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

Zḍiñ tẓaiẓ.

[ˈzdˤiɲ ˈt͡sˤaizˤ]

ˈzdˤiɲ
love
ˈt͡sˤaizˤ
3.sing

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

(2)

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

Zḍiñ tẓaiẓ tẓaiẓ.

[ˈzdˤiɲ ˈt͡sˤaizˤ ˈt͡sˤaizˤ]

ˈzdˤiɲ
love
ˈt͡sˤaizˤ
3.sing
ˈt͡sˤaizˤ
3.sing

“He loves her.”

(3)

Proper Nouns

Tyumid ḍir Tyidyautyäf ñuḍir Ñatyɔiṛäf.

[t͡ɕuˈmid ˈdˤir t͡ɕiˈɟaut͡ɕæf ɲuˈdˤir ɲɑˈt͡ɕɔirˤæf]

t͡ɕuˈmid
hate
ˈdˤir
the
t͡ɕiˈɟaut͡ɕ
Chijauch
-æf
sing
ɲu-
ACC
ˈdˤir
the
ɲɑˈt͡ɕɔirˤ
Nyachoir
-æf
sing

“Chijauch hates Nyachoir.”

(4)

Possession

ḍir täsetẓäf ḍir ṇiiḍäf

[ˈdˤir tæˈset͡sˤæf ˈdˤir ˈnˤiːdˤæf]

ˈdˤir
the
tæˈset͡sˤ
apple
-æf
sing
ˈdˤir
the
ˈnˤiːdˤ
boy
-æf
sing

“the boy’s apple”

(5)
ḍir täsetẓäf tẓaiẓ

[ˈdˤir tæˈset͡sˤæf ˈt͡sˤaizˤ]

ˈdˤir
the
tæˈset͡sˤ
apple
-æf
sing
ˈt͡sˤaizˤ
3.sing

“his (the boy’s) apple”

(6)
ḍir täsetẓäf muutz

[ˈdˤir tæˈset͡sˤæf ˈmuːt͡s]

ˈdˤir
the
tæˈset͡sˤ
apple
-æf
sing
ˈmuːt͡s
1excl.sing

“my apple”

(7)
Ṣistiidy stutz ḍir ṣputzäf ḍir tẓazitäf ñuḍir jizäf ḍir duruutäf zḍich.

[sˤiˈstiːɟ stut͡s ˈdˤir ˈsˤput͡sæf ˈdˤir t͡sˤɑˈzitæf ɲuˈdˤir ˈd͡ʒizæf ˈdˤir duˈruːtæf ˈzdˤit͡ʃ]

sˤiˈstiːɟ
kiss
stut͡s
PAST
ˈdˤir
the
ˈsˤput͡s
daughter
-æf
sing
ˈdˤir
the
t͡sˤɑˈzit
hunter
-æf
sing
ɲu-
ACC
ˈdˤir
the
ˈd͡ʒiz
son
-æf
sing
ˈdˤir
the
duˈruːt
neighbour
-æf
sing
ˈzdˤit͡ʃ
2.sing

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

(8)

Derivation

Tost has no derivational processes.

toor chutyotyäf

[ˈtoːr t͡ʃuˈt͡ɕot͡ɕæf]

ˈtoːr
a
t͡ʃuˈt͡ɕot͡ɕ
lamb
-æf
sing

“a lamb”

(9)

Note how none show up here:

Tyauñ stutz poz stutz ñutoor chutyotyäf tjutẓ.

[ˈt͡ɕauɲ stut͡s ˈpoz stut͡s ɲuˈtoːr t͡ʃuˈt͡ɕot͡ɕæf ˈcut͡sˤ]

ˈt͡ɕauɲ
want
stut͡s
PAST
ˈpoz
have
stut͡s
PAST
ɲu-
ACC
ˈtoːr
a
t͡ʃuˈt͡ɕot͡ɕ
lamb
-æf
sing
ˈcut͡sˤ
little

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

(10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Tost are enclitics (placed finally), and there are four types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising stutz /stut͡s/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising fap /fɑp/ ‘imperative’, ñädy /ɲæɟ/ ‘conditional’ and sär /sær/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising säf /sæf/ ‘passive’; and finally, fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising muty /mut͡ɕ/ ‘NEG’.

The verb itself does not have any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

Zḍiñ zḍich.

[ˈzdˤiɲ ˈzdˤit͡ʃ]

ˈzdˤiɲ
love
ˈzdˤit͡ʃ
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.

tätẓ keṛäf ḍir tzesṭäf

[ˈtæt͡sˤ ˈkerˤæf ˈdˤir ˈt͡sestˤæf]

ˈtæt͡sˤ
in
ˈkerˤ
surface
-æf
sing
ˈdˤir
the
ˈt͡sestˤ
table
-æf
sing

“on the table”

(12)
ṭoj tyuuṛäf ḍir zdyagotẓäf

[ˈtˤod͡ʒ ˈt͡ɕuːrˤæf ˈdˤir zɟɑˈɡot͡sˤæf]

ˈtˤod͡ʒ
to
ˈt͡ɕuːrˤ
inside
-æf
sing
ˈdˤir
the
zɟɑˈɡot͡sˤ
box
-æf
sing

“into the box”

(13)
tziretẓ muutz

[t͡siˈret͡sˤ ˈmuːt͡s]

t͡siˈret͡sˤ
COMIT
ˈmuːt͡s
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 Tost 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 Tost.

Spu stutz ḍir fächääjäf ñuḍir tẓazitäf.

[ˈspu stut͡s ˈdˤir fæˈt͡ʃæːd͡ʒæf ɲuˈdˤir t͡sˤɑˈzitæf]

ˈspu
kill
stut͡s
PAST
ˈdˤir
the
fæˈt͡ʃæːd͡ʒ
jaguar
-æf
sing
ɲu-
ACC
ˈdˤir
the
t͡sˤɑˈzit
hunter
-æf
sing

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

(15)
Dyooṛ stutz ḍir tzäspidyäf ñuḍir kiiṇäf ḍir ṣputzäf ḍir tẓazitäf.

[ˈɟoːrˤ stut͡s ˈdˤir t͡sæˈspiɟæf ɲuˈdˤir ˈkiːnˤæf ˈdˤir ˈsˤput͡sæf ˈdˤir t͡sˤɑˈzitæf]

ˈɟoːrˤ
eat
stut͡s
PAST
ˈdˤir
the
t͡sæˈspiɟ
lion
-æf
sing
ɲu-
ACC
ˈdˤir
the
ˈkiːnˤ
dog
-æf
sing
ˈdˤir
the
ˈsˤput͡s
daughter
-æf
sing
ˈdˤir
the
t͡sˤɑˈzit
hunter
-æf
sing

“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 Tost 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, Tost 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.

ḍir buukäf ḍir tyiiẓdäf ḍir jizäf zḍich

[ˈdˤir buːkæf ˈdˤir ˈt͡ɕiːzˤdæf ˈdˤir ˈd͡ʒizæf ˈzdˤit͡ʃ]

ˈdˤir
the
buːk
book
-æf
sing
ˈdˤir
the
ˈt͡ɕiːzˤd
friend
-æf
sing
ˈdˤir
the
ˈd͡ʒiz
son
-æf
sing
ˈzdˤit͡ʃ
2.sing

“your son’s friend’s book”

(17)

Case Marking

Tost 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.

Fer ḍir teṇäf.

[ˈfer ˈdˤir ˈtenˤæf]

ˈfer
sleep
ˈdˤir
the
ˈtenˤ
cat
-æf
sing

“The cat is sleeping.”

(18)
Tyuṛ ḍir teṇäf.

[ˈt͡ɕurˤ ˈdˤir ˈtenˤæf]

ˈt͡ɕurˤ
run
ˈdˤir
the
ˈtenˤ
cat
-æf
sing

“The cat is running.”

(19)
Tigang ḍir teṇäf ñuḍir sunguräf.

[tiˈɡɑŋ ˈdˤir ˈtenˤæf ɲuˈdˤir suˈŋuræf]

tiˈɡɑŋ
chase
ˈdˤir
the
ˈtenˤ
cat
-æf
sing
ɲu-
ACC
ˈdˤir
the
suˈŋur
mouse
-æf
sing

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

(20)
Ketj stutz ḍir teṇäf ñuḍir sunguräf.

[ˈkec stut͡s ˈdˤir ˈtenˤæf ɲuˈdˤir suˈŋuræf]

ˈkec
catch
stut͡s
PAST
ˈdˤir
the
ˈtenˤ
cat
-æf
sing
ɲu-
ACC
ˈdˤir
the
suˈŋur
mouse
-æf
sing

“The cat caught the mouse.”

(21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Spu stutz ḍir tẓazitäf ñuḍir fächääjañ joṛ ñuḍir tururañ joṛ ñuḍir tzäspidyañ.

[ˈspu stut͡s ˈdˤir t͡sˤɑˈzitæf ɲuˈdˤir fæˈt͡ʃæːd͡ʒɑɲ ˈd͡ʒorˤ ɲuˈdˤir tuˈrurɑɲ ˈd͡ʒorˤ ɲuˈdˤir t͡sæˈspiɟɑɲ]

ˈspu
kill
stut͡s
PAST
ˈdˤir
the
t͡sˤɑˈzit
hunter
-æf
sing
ɲu-
ACC
ˈdˤir
the
fæˈt͡ʃæːd͡ʒ
jaguar
-ɑɲ
plur
ˈd͡ʒorˤ
and
ɲu-
ACC
ˈdˤir
the
tuˈrur
tiger
-ɑɲ
plur
ˈd͡ʒorˤ
and
ɲu-
ACC
ˈdˤir
the
t͡sæˈspiɟ
lion
-ɑɲ
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 Tost 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

Tost uses the correlative strategy to form relative clauses. The relative clause is introduced by a dedicated relativiser and appears as an independent clause. The main clause contains a demonstrative that corresponds to the relativiser and identifies the element being modified. The relative clause precedes the main clause when used on its own, and follows the head noun when it functions as a modifier. The internal structure of both clauses is fully finite.

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

Siṇat stutz ñuḍir teṇäf.

[siˈnˤɑt stut͡s ɲuˈdˤir ˈtenˤæf]

siˈnˤɑt
pat
stut͡s
PAST
ɲu-
ACC
ˈdˤir
the
ˈtenˤ
cat
-æf
sing

“I patted the cat.”

(23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Ketj stutz ñuḍir sunguräf siṇat stutz tẓaiẓ zdyɔif.

[ˈkec stut͡s ɲuˈdˤir suˈŋuræf siˈnˤɑt stut͡s ˈt͡sˤaizˤ ˈzɟɔif]

ˈkec
catch
stut͡s
PAST
ɲu-
ACC
ˈdˤir
the
suˈŋur
mouse
-æf
sing
siˈnˤɑt
pat
stut͡s
PAST
ˈt͡sˤaizˤ
3.sing
ˈzɟɔif
then

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

(24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Dyooṛ stutz ñuḍir zdyagechäf ketj stutz tẓaiẓ zdyɔif siṇat stutz tẓaiẓ zdyɔif.

[ˈɟoːrˤ stut͡s ɲuˈdˤir zɟɑˈɡet͡ʃæf ˈkec stut͡s ˈt͡sˤaizˤ ˈzɟɔif siˈnˤɑt stut͡s ˈt͡sˤaizˤ ˈzɟɔif]

ˈɟoːrˤ
eat
stut͡s
PAST
ɲu-
ACC
ˈdˤir
the
zɟɑˈɡet͡ʃ
cheese
-æf
sing
ˈkec
catch
stut͡s
PAST
ˈt͡sˤaizˤ
3.sing
ˈzɟɔif
then
siˈnˤɑt
pat
stut͡s
PAST
ˈt͡sˤaizˤ
3.sing
ˈzɟɔif
then

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

(25)

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

Ñim stutz tẓaiẓ dyooṛ stutz tẓaiẓ zdyɔif ketj stutz tẓaiẓ zdyɔif siṇat stutz tẓaiẓ zdyɔif.

[ˈɲim stut͡s ˈt͡sˤaizˤ ˈɟoːrˤ stut͡s ˈt͡sˤaizˤ ˈzɟɔif ˈkec stut͡s ˈt͡sˤaizˤ ˈzɟɔif siˈnˤɑt stut͡s ˈt͡sˤaizˤ ˈzɟɔif]

ˈɲim
buy
stut͡s
PAST
ˈt͡sˤaizˤ
3.sing
ˈɟoːrˤ
eat
stut͡s
PAST
ˈt͡sˤaizˤ
3.sing
ˈzɟɔif
then
ˈkec
catch
stut͡s
PAST
ˈt͡sˤaizˤ
3.sing
ˈzɟɔif
then
siˈnˤɑt
pat
stut͡s
PAST
ˈt͡sˤaizˤ
3.sing
ˈzɟɔif
then

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

(26)

Complementation Strategies

Tost 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:

Ṇibum stutz tjir stutz ñutoor täsetẓäf piḍir ẓdyezḍäf ḍir ṇiiḍäf piḍir tjicheezäf.

[nˤiˈbum stut͡s ˈcir stut͡s ɲuˈtoːr tæˈset͡sˤæf piˈdˤir ˈzˤɟezdˤæf ˈdˤir ˈnˤiːdˤæf piˈdˤir cit͡ʃeːzæf]

nˤiˈbum
surprise
stut͡s
PAST
ˈcir
give
stut͡s
PAST
ɲu-
ACC
ˈtoːr
a
tæˈset͡sˤ
apple
-æf
sing
pi-
DAT
ˈdˤir
the
ˈzˤɟezdˤ
girl
-æf
sing
ˈdˤir
the
ˈnˤiːdˤ
boy
-æf
sing
pi-
DAT
ˈdˤir
the
cit͡ʃeːz
teacher
-æf
sing

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

(27)

Quotes

Tost 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:

Ḍiif stutz ḍir ṇiiḍäf zḍiñ zḍich muutz piḍir ẓdyezḍäf.

[ˈdˤiːf stut͡s ˈdˤir ˈnˤiːdˤæf ˈzdˤiɲ ˈzdˤit͡ʃ ˈmuːt͡s piˈdˤir ˈzˤɟezdˤæf]

ˈdˤiːf
tell
stut͡s
PAST
ˈdˤir
the
ˈnˤiːdˤ
boy
-æf
sing
ˈzdˤiɲ
love
ˈzdˤit͡ʃ
2.sing
ˈmuːt͡s
1excl.sing
pi-
DAT
ˈdˤir
the
ˈzˤɟezdˤ
girl
-æf
sing

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

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How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Tost. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 27 October 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/6D2LV

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-6D2LV,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Tost}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/6D2LV}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 27 October 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Tost / Tost–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/6D2LV

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