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A Grammar of Pang

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Pang language (the 1938th 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 Pang.

Typological Profile

It has a small but genuine set of click consonants and the VSO basic order, common globally but unusual in many families.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Pang has 22 consonant phonemes, a size that falls within a broadly average range.

It has a conspicuous absence of approximants, a modest (but clearly contrastive) set of labialised consonants, a small but genuine set of click consonants, a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts and a complete absence of phonemic voicing contrasts.

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

labialdentalalveolarpostalveolarpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velarglottal
stopp t ʈ k kʷ
nasalm n ɲ ɳ ŋ ŋʷ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef s ʃ ʂ h
affricatet͡ʃ
implosiveɓ
clickᵏǀ
click, nasalᵑǀ

Vowels

Pang has 5 vowel qualities. This places it within the broadly common range of mid-sized vowel inventories. The vowel chart shows the full set of contrasts employed in the language’s phonology.

It has a strikingly compressed height system with only two vowel heights.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
opena

Stress and Tones

Pang 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

The language employs vowel harmony. To be specific, the following vowels change to match the first vowel of the root: /i/ becomes /u/.

Writing System

Introduction

Pang 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 /a/б̱ /ɓ/г /h/и /i/
к /k/м /m/н /n/н̇ /ɳ/
п /p/р̇ /ɽ/с /s/с̇ /ʂ/
т /t/т̇ /ʈ/у /u/ф /f/
ч /t͡ʃ/ш /ʃ/њ /ɲ/ӈ /ŋ/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

аа /aː/ай /ai/аў /au/
ии /iː/кв /kʷ/уу /uː/
ҁн /ᵑǀ/ҁт /ᵏǀ/ӈв /ŋʷ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Pang does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Pang has the following genders:

Gender masc – for instance: б̱ас ‘back’, б̱аӈам ‘mountain’, б̱уук ‘book’, б̱уш ‘tooth’, квиич ‘star’, мур̇ ‘inside’, намаўкв ‘machine’, панаач ‘knee’, пачаб̱ ‘guts’, р̇инин̇ ‘brick’, с̇аўг ‘man’, т̇ин̇ат ‘horn’, фасайм ‘hunter’, фин ‘cat’, чаањ ‘son’, шиикв ‘south’, шуус̇ ‘west’, ҁтаап ‘year’, ҁтайп ‘night’, ҁтатииб̱ ‘plain’.

Gender fem – for instance: б̱ипан ‘library’, гичаш ‘snow’, каб̱уп ‘neighbour’, кваӈум ‘wild boar’, миф ‘moon’, миӈв ‘head’, нир̇ ‘hair’, пас̇ап ‘grass’, пифат ‘religion’, р̇аўсп ‘eye’, с̇иӈ ‘skin’, сашуус̇ ‘cloud’, тан ‘leg’, фичаас ‘teacher’, чаб̱ ‘ear’, шист̇ ‘mother’, њииб̱ ‘egg’, ҁнит ‘animal’, ҁтин̇иим ‘ash’, ҁтисиф ‘medicine’.

Gender neut – for instance: б̱асаан̇ ‘bottle’, ганааб̱ ‘dust’, майт̇ ‘foot’, н̇итаӈ ‘seed’, нууск ‘table’, паўт̇ ‘city’, р̇ууп ‘sound’, с̇аӈиӈв ‘worm’, т̇аап ‘human being’, тан̇аш ‘jaguar’, фифаас̇ ‘farmer’, чайњ ‘land’, час̇ас ‘anus’, њааск ‘fruit’, њаб̱ак ‘stick’, ҁнааф ‘people’, ҁтачус ‘louse’, ҁтиӈваўт ‘dialect’, ӈайс̇ ‘name’, ӈиш ‘fight’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

Чайр̇ р̇ир̇ р̇аймиб̱ ҁтус̇аш р̇ан̇у р̇ишиб̱ ҁтус̇ут̇ ҁнуум мањистат квакак, ҁнайӈ гуӈв.

[ˈt͡ʃaiɽ ɽiɽ ˈɽaimiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂaʃ ɽaˈɳu ˈɽiʃiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ ˈᵑǀuːm maˈɲistat kʷaˈkak, ˈᵑǀaiŋ ˈhuŋʷ]

ˈt͡ʃaiɽ
catch ɽiɽ
PAST ˈɽaim
woman -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -aʃ
fem ɽaˈɳu
COMIT ˈɽiʃ
knife -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc ˈᵑǀuːm
three maˈɲist
mouse -at
plur kʷa-
plur ˈkak
yon ˈᵑǀaiŋ
RELPRON ˈhuŋʷ
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 is one type of clitic in the nominal phrase, namely an enclitic (placed finally), expressing possessor. a clitic expressing possessor, comprising сиф /sif/ ‘1incl.sing’, с̇ит /ʂit/ ‘1excl.sing’, наш /naʃ/ ‘2.sing’, квин /kʷin/ ‘3.sing.masc’, ҁтањ /ᵏǀaɲ/ ‘3.sing.fem’, ҁнак /ᵑǀak/ ‘3.sing.neut’, ки /ki/ ‘1incl.plur’, сањ /saɲ/ ‘1excl.plur’, сиӈв /siŋʷ/ ‘2.plur’, саб̱ /saɓ/ ‘3.plur.masc’, т̇акв /ʈakʷ/ ‘3.plur.fem’ and б̱им /ɓim/ ‘3.plur.neut’.

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 Pang.

The Noun

The noun in Pang consists of first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -иб̱ /-iɓ/ ‘sing’ and -ат /-at/ ‘plur’; and finally, third, an optional suffix expressing case, comprising -ињ /-iɲ/ ‘ACC’, -ип /-ip/ ‘GEN’, -ас̇ /-aʂ/ ‘DAT’, -аӈ /-aŋ/ ‘INS’, -ин /-in/ ‘VOC’, -акв /-akʷ/ ‘ALL’, -иӈ /-iŋ/ ‘LOC’, -ас /-as/ ‘ABL’ and -ак /-ak/ ‘PART’.

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Pang, the determiner has the following structure: first, an optional prefix expressing number, comprising ква- /kʷa-/ ‘plur’; second, the root; and finally, third, an optional suffix expressing gender, comprising -ит̇ /-iʈ/ ‘masc’ and -аш /-aʃ/ ‘fem’.

Pronouns

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

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

Шаўт̇ саўч.

[ˈʃauʈ ˈsaut͡ʃ]

ˈʃauʈ
love ˈsaut͡ʃ
3.sing.fem

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

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

Шаўт̇ т̇ап саўч.

[ˈʃauʈ ˈʈap ˈsaut͡ʃ]

ˈʃauʈ
love ˈʈap
3.sing.masc ˈsaut͡ʃ
3.sing.fem

“He loves her.”

 (3)

Proper Nouns

Тикааб̱ Гуӈваўшуб̱ ҁтус̇ут̇ Кучуфуб̱ињ ҁтус̇аш.

[tiˈkaːɓ huˈŋʷauʃuɓ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ kuˈt͡ʃufuɓiɲ ˈᵏǀuʂaʃ]

tiˈkaːɓ
hate hiˈŋʷauʃ
Hingaush -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc kiˈt͡ʃuf
Kichuf -iɓ
sing -iɲ
ACC ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -aʃ
fem

“Hingaush hates Kichuf.”

 (4)

Possession

квипис̇иб̱ ҁтус̇ квин найтиб̱ип ҁтус̇ут̇

[kʷiˈpiʂiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂ kʷin ˈnaitiɓip ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ]

kʷiˈpiʂ
apple -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the kʷin
3.sing.masc.POSS ˈnait
boy -iɓ
sing -ip
GEN ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc

“the boy’s apple”

 (5)
квипис̇иб̱ ҁтус̇ квин т̇ап

[kʷiˈpiʂiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂ kʷin ˈʈap]

kʷiˈpiʂ
apple -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the kʷin
3.sing.masc.POSS ˈʈap
3.sing.masc

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (6)
квипис̇иб̱ ҁтус̇ с̇ит

[kʷiˈpiʂiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂ ʂit]

kʷiˈpiʂ
apple -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the ʂit
1excl.sing.POSS

“my apple”

 (7)
Китииф р̇ир̇ матиб̱ ҁтус̇аш квин фасаймиб̱ип ҁтус̇ут̇ чаањиб̱ињ ҁтус̇ут̇ ҁтањ каб̱упуб̱ип ҁтус̇аш наш.

[kiˈtiːf ɽiɽ ˈmatiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂaʃ kʷin faˈsaimiɓip ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ ˈt͡ʃaːɲiɓiɲ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ ᵏǀaɲ kaˈɓupuɓip ˈᵏǀuʂaʃ naʃ]

kiˈtiːf
kiss ɽiɽ
PAST ˈmat
daughter -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -aʃ
fem kʷin
3.sing.masc.POSS faˈsaim
hunter -iɓ
sing -ip
GEN ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc ˈt͡ʃaːɲ
son -iɓ
sing -iɲ
ACC ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc ᵏǀaɲ
3.sing.fem.POSS kaˈɓup
neighbour -iɓ
sing -ip
GEN ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -aʃ
fem naʃ
2.sing.POSS

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

 (8)

Derivation

Pang has no derivational processes.

њасуњуб̱ њаўӈв

[ɲaˈsuɲuɓ ˈɲauŋʷ]

ɲaˈsuɲ
lamb -iɓ
sing ˈɲauŋʷ
a

“a lamb”

 (9)

Note how none show up here:

Квип р̇ир̇ н̇ип р̇ир̇ њасуњуб̱, ҁнайӈ шус, њаўӈв.

[ˈkʷip ɽiɽ ˈɳip ɽiɽ ɲaˈsuɲuɓ, ˈᵑǀaiŋ ˈʃus, ˈɲauŋʷ]

ˈkʷip
want ɽiɽ
PAST ˈɳip
have ɽiɽ
PAST ɲaˈsuɲ
lamb -iɓ
sing ˈᵑǀaiŋ
RELPRON ˈʃus
little ˈɲauŋʷ
a

“She wanted to have a little lamb.”

 (10)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Pang fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing voice, comprising б̱ањ /ɓaɲ/ ‘passive’; second, a clitic expressing ta, comprising р̇ир̇ /ɽiɽ/ ‘PAST’; third, a clitic expressing mode, comprising сич /sit͡ʃ/ ‘imperative’, тит /tit/ ‘conditional’ and ҁна /ᵑǀa/ ‘optative’; and finally, fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising мињ /miɲ/ ‘NEG’.

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

Шаўт̇ ҁниит.

[ˈʃauʈ ˈᵑǀiːt]

ˈʃauʈ
love ˈᵑǀiːt
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.

н̇уӈ нуускуб̱ ҁтус̇

[ˈɳuŋ ˈnuːskuɓ ˈᵏǀuʂ]

ˈɳuŋ
in_surface ˈnuːsk
table -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the

“on the table”

 (12)
сум час̇иит̇иб̱ ҁтус̇

[ˈsum t͡ʃaˈʂiːʈiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂ]

ˈsum
to_inside t͡ʃaˈʂiːʈ
box -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the

“into the box”

 (13)
р̇ан̇у б̱и

[ɽaˈɳu ˈɓi]

ɽaˈɳu
COMIT ˈɓi
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 Pang 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 Pang.

Мач р̇ир̇ тан̇ашиб̱ ҁтус̇ фасаймиб̱ињ ҁтус̇ут̇.

[ˈmat͡ʃ ɽiɽ taˈɳaʃiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂ faˈsaimiɓiɲ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ]

ˈmat͡ʃ
kill ɽiɽ
PAST taˈɳaʃ
jaguar -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the faˈsaim
hunter -iɓ
sing -iɲ
ACC ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (15)
Чииӈ р̇ир̇ пачиињиб̱ ҁтус̇ њайӈвиб̱ињ ҁтус̇ут̇ ҁтањ матиб̱ип ҁтус̇аш квин фасаймиб̱ип ҁтус̇ут̇.

[ˈt͡ʃiːŋ ɽiɽ paˈt͡ʃiːɲiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂ ˈɲaiŋʷiɓiɲ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ ᵏǀaɲ ˈmatiɓip ˈᵏǀuʂaʃ kʷin faˈsaimiɓip ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ]

ˈt͡ʃiːŋ
eat ɽiɽ
PAST paˈt͡ʃiːɲ
lion -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the ˈɲaiŋʷ
dog -iɓ
sing -iɲ
ACC ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc ᵏǀaɲ
3.sing.fem.POSS ˈmat
daughter -iɓ
sing -ip
GEN ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -aʃ
fem kʷin
3.sing.masc.POSS faˈsaim
hunter -iɓ
sing -ip
GEN ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc

“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 Pang 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, Pang 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.

б̱уукуб̱ ҁтус̇ут̇ ҁтањ б̱ашиб̱ип ҁтус̇аш квин чаањиб̱ип ҁтус̇ут̇ наш

[ɓuːkuɓ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ ᵏǀaɲ ˈɓaʃiɓip ˈᵏǀuʂaʃ kʷin ˈt͡ʃaːɲiɓip ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ naʃ]

ɓuːk
book -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc ᵏǀaɲ
3.sing.fem.POSS ˈɓaʃ
friend -iɓ
sing -ip
GEN ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -aʃ
fem kʷin
3.sing.masc.POSS ˈt͡ʃaːɲ
son -iɓ
sing -ip
GEN ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc naʃ
2.sing.POSS

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (17)

Case Marking

Pang 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.

Ӈвайӈв финиб̱ ҁтус̇ут̇.

[ˈŋʷaiŋʷ ˈfiniɓ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ]

ˈŋʷaiŋʷ
sleep ˈfin
cat -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (18)
Кваўс̇ финиб̱ ҁтус̇ут̇.

[ˈkʷauʂ ˈfiniɓ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ]

ˈkʷauʂ
run ˈfin
cat -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc

“The cat is running.”

 (19)
Киб̱аак финиб̱ ҁтус̇ут̇ мањистиб̱ињ ҁтус̇.

[kiˈɓaːk ˈfiniɓ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ maˈɲistiɓiɲ ˈᵏǀuʂ]

kiˈɓaːk
chase ˈfin
cat -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc maˈɲist
mouse -iɓ
sing -iɲ
ACC ˈᵏǀuʂ
the

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (20)
Чайр̇ р̇ир̇ финиб̱ ҁтус̇ут̇ мањистиб̱ињ ҁтус̇.

[ˈt͡ʃaiɽ ɽiɽ ˈfiniɓ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ maˈɲistiɓiɲ ˈᵏǀuʂ]

ˈt͡ʃaiɽ
catch ɽiɽ
PAST ˈfin
cat -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc maˈɲist
mouse -iɓ
sing -iɲ
ACC ˈᵏǀuʂ
the

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (21)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

Мач р̇ир̇ фасаймиб̱ ҁтус̇ут̇ тан̇ашатињ кваҁтус̇ нааӈ с̇ир̇афатињ кваҁтус̇аш нааӈ пачиињатињ кваҁтус̇.

[ˈmat͡ʃ ɽiɽ faˈsaimiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ taˈɳaʃatiɲ kʷaˈᵏǀuʂ ˈnaːŋ ʂiˈɽafatiɲ kʷaˈᵏǀuʂaʃ ˈnaːŋ paˈt͡ʃiːɲatiɲ kʷaˈᵏǀuʂ]

ˈmat͡ʃ
kill ɽiɽ
PAST faˈsaim
hunter -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc taˈɳaʃ
jaguar -at
plur -iɲ
ACC kʷa-
plur ˈᵏǀuʂ
the ˈnaːŋ
and ʂiˈɽaf
tiger -at
plur -iɲ
ACC kʷa-
plur ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -aʃ
fem ˈnaːŋ
and paˈt͡ʃiːɲ
lion -at
plur -iɲ
ACC kʷa-
plur ˈᵏǀuʂ
the

“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 Pang 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

Pang 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:

Шаспаўн̇ р̇ир̇ финиб̱ињ ҁтус̇ут̇.

[ʃaˈspauɳ ɽiɽ ˈfiniɓiɲ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ]

ʃaˈspauɳ
pat ɽiɽ
PAST ˈfin
cat -iɓ
sing -iɲ
ACC ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc

“I patted the cat.”

 (23)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

Шаспаўн̇ р̇ир̇ финиб̱ ҁтус̇ут̇, ҁнайӈ чайр̇ р̇ир̇ мањистиб̱ињ ҁтус̇.

[ʃaˈspauɳ ɽiɽ ˈfiniɓ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ, ˈᵑǀaiŋ ˈt͡ʃaiɽ ɽiɽ maˈɲistiɓiɲ ˈᵏǀuʂ]

ʃaˈspauɳ
pat ɽiɽ
PAST ˈfin
cat -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc ˈᵑǀaiŋ
RELPRON ˈt͡ʃaiɽ
catch ɽiɽ
PAST maˈɲist
mouse -iɓ
sing -iɲ
ACC ˈᵏǀuʂ
the

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

Шаспаўн̇ р̇ир̇ финиб̱ ҁтус̇ут̇, ҁнайӈ чайр̇ р̇ир̇ мањистиб̱ ҁтус̇, ҁнайӈ чииӈ р̇ир̇ пасуучуб̱ињ ҁтус̇аш.

[ʃaˈspauɳ ɽiɽ ˈfiniɓ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ, ˈᵑǀaiŋ ˈt͡ʃaiɽ ɽiɽ maˈɲistiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂ, ˈᵑǀaiŋ ˈt͡ʃiːŋ ɽiɽ paˈsuːt͡ʃuɓiɲ ˈᵏǀuʂaʃ]

ʃaˈspauɳ
pat ɽiɽ
PAST ˈfin
cat -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc ˈᵑǀaiŋ
RELPRON ˈt͡ʃaiɽ
catch ɽiɽ
PAST maˈɲist
mouse -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the ˈᵑǀaiŋ
RELPRON ˈt͡ʃiːŋ
eat ɽiɽ
PAST paˈsuːt͡ʃ
cheese -iɓ
sing -iɲ
ACC ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -aʃ
fem

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

 (25)

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

Шаспаўн̇ р̇ир̇ финиб̱ ҁтус̇ут̇, ҁнайӈ чайр̇ р̇ир̇ мањистиб̱ ҁтус̇, ҁнайӈ чииӈ р̇ир̇ пасуучуб̱ ҁтус̇аш, ҁнайӈ б̱иш р̇ир̇ б̱и.

[ʃaˈspauɳ ɽiɽ ˈfiniɓ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ, ˈᵑǀaiŋ ˈt͡ʃaiɽ ɽiɽ maˈɲistiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂ, ˈᵑǀaiŋ ˈt͡ʃiːŋ ɽiɽ paˈsuːt͡ʃuɓ ˈᵏǀuʂaʃ, ˈᵑǀaiŋ ˈɓiʃ ɽiɽ ˈɓi]

ʃaˈspauɳ
pat ɽiɽ
PAST ˈfin
cat -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc ˈᵑǀaiŋ
RELPRON ˈt͡ʃaiɽ
catch ɽiɽ
PAST maˈɲist
mouse -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the ˈᵑǀaiŋ
RELPRON ˈt͡ʃiːŋ
eat ɽiɽ
PAST paˈsuːt͡ʃ
cheese -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -aʃ
fem ˈᵑǀaiŋ
RELPRON ˈɓiʃ
buy ɽiɽ
PAST ˈɓi
1excl.sing

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

 (26)

Complementation Strategies

Pang 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:

Квиӈваас р̇ир̇ ҁтат р̇ир̇ квипис̇иб̱ињ њаўӈв шит̇иб̱ас̇ ҁтус̇аш найтиб̱ ҁтус̇ут̇ ҁнак фичаасиб̱ас̇ ҁтус̇аш.

[kʷiˈŋʷaːs ɽiɽ ˈᵏǀat ɽiɽ kʷiˈpiʂiɓiɲ ˈɲauŋʷ ˈʃiʈiɓaʂ ˈᵏǀuʂaʃ ˈnaitiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ ᵑǀak fit͡ʃaːsiɓaʂ ˈᵏǀuʂaʃ]

kʷiˈŋʷaːs
surprise ɽiɽ
PAST ˈᵏǀat
give ɽiɽ
PAST kʷiˈpiʂ
apple -iɓ
sing -iɲ
ACC ˈɲauŋʷ
a ˈʃiʈ
girl -iɓ
sing -aʂ
DAT ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -aʃ
fem ˈnait
boy -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc ᵑǀak
3.sing.neut.POSS fit͡ʃaːs
teacher -iɓ
sing -aʂ
DAT ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -aʃ
fem

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

 (27)

Quotes

Pang 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:

Фат р̇ир̇ найтиб̱ ҁтус̇ут̇ шаўт̇ ҁниит б̱и ҁнак шит̇иб̱ас̇ ҁтус̇аш.

[ˈfat ɽiɽ ˈnaitiɓ ˈᵏǀuʂuʈ ˈʃauʈ ˈᵑǀiːt ˈɓi ᵑǀak ˈʃiʈiɓaʂ ˈᵏǀuʂaʃ]

ˈfat
tell ɽiɽ
PAST ˈnait
boy -iɓ
sing ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -iʈ
masc ˈʃauʈ
love ˈᵑǀiːt
2.sing ˈɓi
1excl.sing ᵑǀak
3.sing.neut.POSS ˈʃiʈ
girl -iɓ
sing -aʂ
DAT ˈᵏǀuʂ
the -aʃ
fem

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

 (28)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Pang. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 31 October 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/6G3CJ

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-6G3CJ,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Pang}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/6G3CJ}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 31 October 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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