A Grammar of Doeh
Introduction
Scope and Purpose
This grammar provides a systematic description of the Doeh language (the 1971st 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 Doeh.
Typological Profile
It has proper polysynthesis, no inflections (clitics do the hard work) and postpositions.Phonology
Phoneme Inventory
Consonants
Doeh has 22 consonant phonemes, a size that falls within a broadly average range.
It has a maximally contrastive voicing system, a complete absence of affricates, a substantial inventory of palatal or palatalised consonants, a wide range of approximant contrasts and a notably rich set of sibilant contrasts.The table below presents the full inventory of consonant phonemes in Doeh. The chart lists all places and manners of articulation attested in the language.
| labial | alveolar | postalveolar | lateral | palatal | velar | glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| stop | p b | d t | c ɟ | k ɡ | |||
| nasal | m | n | |||||
| fricative | f v | s z | ʃ ʒ | h | |||
| approximant | w | l ʎ | j |
Vowels
Doeh 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 full range of vowel qualities even in reduced syllables, front rounded vowels (these are cross-linguistically relatively uncommon, but occur in a number of well-known languages, including French, German, Turkish and Mandarin) and a fully three-way front–central–back distinction.The table below presents the full inventory of vowel phonemes in Doeh. The system comprises the distinct vowel qualities listed in the chart.
| front unrounded | front rounded | central | back unrounded | back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| close | i | y | ʉ | u | |
| mid | e | ø | o | ||
| open | æ | ɑ |
Stress and Tones
Doeh has neither phonemic stress nor lexical tone. Prosodic prominence and pitch variation are determined by pragmatic and discourse factors rather than by lexical contrasts.
Phonological Processes
Vowel Harmony
The language employs vowel harmony. To be specific, the following vowels change to match the first vowel of the root: /u/ becomes /y/, /o/ becomes /ø/.
Writing System
Introduction
Doeh 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 /j/ | k /k/ | l /l/ | m /m/ |
| n /n/ | o /o/ | p /p/ | s /s/ |
| t /t/ | u /u/ | v /v/ | w /w/ |
| y /y/ | z /z/ | ä /æ/ | ø /ø/ |
| ʉ /ʉ/ |
Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs
| dy /ɟ/ | ll /ʎ/ | sh /ʃ/ |
| ty /c/ | zh /ʒ/ |
Word Classes and Morphology
Number and Gender
Number
Doeh distinguishes singular and plural.
Gender
Doeh does not have genders or noun classes.
The Nominal Phrase
Nominal phrases in Doeh can be exemplified by the following example:
Väp kety dukul dill le soz pytyød gen tizh wʉb zhäty zaz. [væp kec dukul diʎ le soz pycød ɡen tiʒ wʉb ʒæc zɑz] væp woman kec knife dukul COMIT diʎ yon le three soz blind pucød mouse ɡen plur tiʒ ACC wʉb catch ʒæc PAST zɑz 3.plur.OBJ “The woman with the knife caught those three blind mice.” | (1) |
In the following, we shall look at the various components in more details.
All nominal phrase clitics in Doeh are enclitics (placed finally), and there are three types: first, a clitic expressing number, comprising gen /ɡen/ ‘plur’; second, a clitic expressing possessor, comprising kat /kɑt/ ‘1incl.sing’, zhip /ʒip/ ‘1excl.sing’, zham /ʒɑm/ ‘2.sing’, täh /tæh/ ‘3.sing’, sum /sum/ ‘1incl.plur’, bak /bɑk/ ‘1excl.plur’, huk /huk/ ‘2.plur’ and keb /keb/ ‘3.plur’; and finally, third, a clitic expressing case, comprising tizh /tiʒ/ ‘ACC’, täk /tæk/ ‘GEN’, tyiw /ciw/ ‘DAT’, jov /jov/ ‘INS’, doh /doh/ ‘VOC’, pun /pun/ ‘ALL’, lʉn /lʉn/ ‘LOC’, tyʉt /cʉt/ ‘ABL’ and säty /sæc/ ‘PART’.
The morphology of the elements of the nominal phrase, i.e., nouns, adjectives, numerals and pronouns, is described below, as is the way that possession is expressed in Doeh.
The Noun
The noun in Doeh stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
The noun displays the following derivational morphology: 39 suffixes, namely -es /-es/ ‘little’, -ʉzh /-ʉʒ/ ‘big’, -ʉh /-ʉh/ ‘old’, -ik /-ik/ ‘new’, -äj /-æj/ ‘good’, -ezh /-eʒ/ ‘bad’, -äsh /-æʃ/ ‘make’, -izh /-iʒ/ ‘help’, -af /-ɑf/ ‘have’, -ep /-ep/ ‘use’, -up /-up/ ‘see’, -ish /-iʃ/ ‘break’, -eb /-eb/ ‘eat’, -äh /-æh/ ‘drink’, -uv /-uv/ ‘wear’, -on /-on/ ‘own’, -un /-un/ ‘contain’, -u /-u/ ‘hold’, -ush /-uʃ/ ‘lack’, -ef /-ef/ ‘touch’, -ʉg /-ʉɡ/ ‘carry’, -oj /-oj/ ‘find’, -in /-in/ ‘hunt’, -iw /-iw/ ‘guard’, -oh /-oh/ ‘search’, -uf /-uf/ ‘learn’, -äw /-æw/ ‘teach’, -ity /-ic/ ‘follow’, -ady /-ɑɟ/ ‘chase’, -ull /-uʎ/ ‘build’, -as /-ɑs/ ‘burn’, -us /-us/ ‘hit’, -ʉs /-ʉs/ ‘take’, -iv /-iv/ ‘cut’, -el /-el/ ‘hear’, -ak /-ɑk/ ‘know’, -ädy /-æɟ/ ‘love’, -i /-i/ ‘protect’ and -idy /-iɟ/ ‘possess’
The Adjective
The adjective in Doeh stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
Numerals
The numeral in Doeh stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
Determiners
The determiner in Doeh stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
Pronouns
The pronoun in Doeh stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
In Doeh, both subject and object pronouns are dropped unless they are stressed. Here is an example where neither of the pronouns are stressed:
Kugädy. [kuɡæɟ] kuɡ girl -æɟ love “He (the boy) loves her (the girl).” | (2) |
But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:
Faz kugädy. [fɑz kuɡæɟ] fɑz 3.sing kuɡ girl -æɟ love “He loves her.” | (3) |
And here, it is the one translated as her that is stressed:
Kugädy. [kuɡæɟ] kuɡ girl -æɟ love “He loves her.” | (4) |
Proper Nouns
Mizal Kefon tizh däpon dʉl. [mizɑl kefon tiʒ dæpon dʉl] mizɑl Mizal kefon Kefon tiʒ ACC dæpon hate dʉl 3.sing.OBJ “Mizal hates Kefon.” | (5) |
Possession
mew tʉvab täh [mew tʉvɑb tæh] mew boy tʉvɑb apple tæh 3.sing.POSS “the boy’s apple” | (6) |
faz tʉvab täh [fɑz tʉvɑb tæh] fɑz 3.sing tʉvɑb apple tæh 3.sing.POSS “his (the boy’s) apple” | (7) |
tʉvab zhip [tʉvɑb ʒip] tʉvɑb apple ʒip 1excl.sing.POSS “my apple” | (8) |
Shiwady løsh täh kitäd zham dyum täh tizh jʉpij zhäty dʉl. [ʃiwɑɟ løʃ tæh kitæd ʒɑm ɟum tæh tiʒ jʉpij ʒæc dʉl] ʃiwɑɟ hunter løʃ daughter tæh 3.sing.POSS kitæd neighbour ʒɑm 2.sing.POSS ɟum son tæh 3.sing.POSS tiʒ ACC jʉpij kiss ʒæc PAST dʉl 3.sing.OBJ “The hunter’s daughter kissed your neighbour’s son.” | (9) |
Derivation
dyig näded [ɟiɡ næded] ɟiɡ a næded lamb “a lamb” | (10) |
dyig nädedes [ɟiɡ nædedes] ɟiɡ a næded lamb -es little “a little lamb” | (11) |
Dyig nädedes tizh mav zhäty dʉl. [ɟiɡ nædedes tiʒ mɑv ʒæc dʉl] ɟiɡ a næded lamb -es little tiʒ ACC mɑv have ʒæc PAST dʉl 3.sing.OBJ “She had a little lamb.” | (12) |
Mavuj zhäty. [mɑvuj ʒæc] mɑv have -uj want ʒæc PAST “She wanted to have a little lamb.” | (13) |
Dyig nädedes täh mav zhäty täk shuw nyf zhäty dʉl. [ɟiɡ nædedes tæh mɑv ʒæc tæk ʃuw nyf ʒæc dʉl] ɟiɡ a næded lamb -es little tæh 3.sing.POSS mɑv have ʒæc PAST tæk GEN ʃuw want nyf often ʒæc PAST dʉl 3.sing.OBJ “She often wanted to have a little lamb.” | (14) |
Faz täh dyig nädedes täh mav zhäty täk shuw nyf zhäty dʉl tizh llity zhäty dʉl tizh nof llin sem dʉl? [fɑz tæh ɟiɡ nædedes tæh mɑv ʒæc tæk ʃuw nyf ʒæc dʉl tiʒ ʎic ʒæc dʉl tiʒ nof ʎin sem dʉl] fɑz 3.sing tæh 3.sing.POSS ɟiɡ a næded lamb -es little tæh 3.sing.POSS mɑv have ʒæc PAST tæk GEN ʃuw want nyf often ʒæc PAST dʉl 3.sing.OBJ tiʒ ACC ʎic think ʒæc PAST dʉl 3.sing.OBJ tiʒ ACC nof be ʎin NEG sem 2.sing.SUBJ dʉl 3.sing.OBJ “Are you not one of those who thought that she often wanted to have a little lamb?” | (15) |
Compounding
Verbs
Inflectional Categories
All verbal phrase clitics in Doeh are enclitics (placed finally), and there are six types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising zhäty /ʒæc/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising faty /fɑc/ ‘imperative’, väw /væw/ ‘conditional’ and di /di/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising nim /nim/ ‘passive’; fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising llin /ʎin/ ‘NEG’; fifth, a clitic expressing subj, comprising fäw /fæw/ ‘1incl.sing’, luzh /luʒ/ ‘1excl.sing’, sem /sem/ ‘2.sing’, häj /hæj/ ‘1incl.plur’, nol /nol/ ‘1excl.plur’, dyef /ɟef/ ‘2.plur’ and nuf /nuf/ ‘3.plur’; and finally, sixth, a clitic expressing obj, comprising hun /hun/ ‘1incl.sing’, tan /tɑn/ ‘1excl.sing’, lon /lon/ ‘2.sing’, dʉl /dʉl/ ‘3.sing’, llul /ʎul/ ‘1incl.plur’, neh /neh/ ‘1excl.plur’, wid /wid/ ‘2.plur’ and zaz /zɑz/ ‘3.plur’.
The verb itself does not have any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
The verb displays the following derivational morphology: 19 suffixes, namely -oz /-oz/ ‘begin’, -uw /-uw/ ‘stop’, -it /-it/ ‘continue’, -at /-ɑt/ ‘try’, -az /-ɑz/ ‘start’, -uj /-uj/ ‘want’, -ig /-iɡ/ ‘can’, -äzh /-æʒ/ ‘finish’, -ʉl /-ʉl/ ‘need’, -en /-en/ ‘decide’, -ʉf /-ʉf/ ‘fail’, -ʉj /-ʉj/ ‘hope’, -an /-ɑn/ ‘must’, -ʉv /-ʉv/ ‘pretend’, -ʉn /-ʉn/ ‘let’, -äm /-æm/ ‘force’, -ab /-ɑb/ ‘keep’, -em /-em/ ‘cause’ and -et /-et/ ‘allow’
Pity luzh lon. [pic luʒ lon] pic love luʒ 1excl.sing.SUBJ lon 2.sing.OBJ “I love you.” | (16) |
Adverbs Minor Classes
Adpositions
There is one type of clitic in the adpositional phrase, namely an enclitic (placed finally), expressing root.
zhis gyzh lʉn lʉsh [ʒis ɡyʒ lʉn lʉʃ] ʒis table ɡyʒ surface lʉn LOC lʉʃ in “on the table” | (17) |
sätyäm gih tyiw tih [sæcæm ɡih ciw tih] sæcæm box ɡih inside ciw DAT tih to “into the box” | (18) |
lun lʉn dukul [lun lʉn dukul] lun 1excl.sing lʉn LOC dukul COMIT “with me” | (19) |
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.
Doeh has basic Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) word order. The subject precedes the object, and the verb appears at the end of the clause. This is one of the most frequent patterns cross-linguistically.
The following examples illustrate the basic, unmarked, constituent order in Doeh.
Pälläd shiwady tizh tyak zhäty dʉl. [pæʎæd ʃiwɑɟ tiʒ cɑk ʒæc dʉl] pæʎæd jaguar ʃiwɑɟ hunter tiʒ ACC cɑk kill ʒæc PAST dʉl 3.sing.OBJ “The jaguar killed the hunter.” | (20) |
Zhidyäb shiwady løsh täh sip täh tizh llʉl zhäty dʉl. [ʒiɟæb ʃiwɑɟ løʃ tæh sip tæh tiʒ ʎʉl ʒæc dʉl] ʒiɟæb lion ʃiwɑɟ hunter løʃ daughter tæh 3.sing.POSS sip dog tæh 3.sing.POSS tiʒ ACC ʎʉl eat ʒæc PAST dʉl 3.sing.OBJ “The lion ate the hunter’s daughter’s dog.” | (21) |
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 Doeh 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, Doeh 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.
dyum zham bov täh kitab täh [ɟum ʒɑm bov tæh kitɑb tæh] ɟum son ʒɑm 2.sing.POSS bov friend tæh 3.sing.POSS kitɑb book tæh 3.sing.POSS “your son’s friend’s book” | (22) |
Case Marking
Doeh 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.
Nøh shäll. [nøh ʃæʎ] nøh cat ʃæʎ sleep “The cat is sleeping.” | (23) |
Nøh tyej. [nøh cej] nøh cat cej run “The cat is running.” | (24) |
Nøh pytyødady. [nøh pycødɑɟ] nøh cat pucød mouse -ɑɟ chase “The cat is chasing the mouse.” | (25) |
Nøh pytyød tizh wʉb zhäty dʉl. [nøh pycød tiʒ wʉb ʒæc dʉl] nøh cat pucød mouse tiʒ ACC wʉb catch ʒæc PAST dʉl 3.sing.OBJ “The cat caught the mouse.” | (26) |
Conjunctions
Here is an example of a conjunction.
Shiwady pälläd gen llʉw shuzhew gen llʉw zhidyäb gen tizh tyak zhäty zaz. [ʃiwɑɟ pæʎæd ɡen ʎʉw ʃuʒew ɡen ʎʉw ʒiɟæb ɡen tiʒ cɑk ʒæc zɑz] ʃiwɑɟ hunter pæʎæd jaguar ɡen plur ʎʉw and ʃuʒew tiger ɡen plur ʎʉw and ʒiɟæb lion ɡen plur tiʒ ACC cɑk kill ʒæc PAST zɑz 3.plur.OBJ “The hunter killed the jaguars, the tigers and the lions.” | (27) |
Modifiers and Determiners
The ordering of demonstratives, articles (if present), and other modifiers in Doeh 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
Doeh forms relative clauses by placing them before the noun they modify. The modifier takes the form of a finite clause that precedes the head noun without any relative pronoun. The clause shows ordinary clausal structure, with the role of the head noun recoverable from the syntactic position inside the clause.
To illustrate how relative clauses work, let us begin with a simple sentence:
Nøh tizh boshazh zhäty luzh dʉl. [nøh tiʒ boʃɑʒ ʒæc luʒ dʉl] nøh cat tiʒ ACC boʃɑʒ pat ʒæc PAST luʒ 1excl.sing.SUBJ dʉl 3.sing.OBJ “I patted the cat.” | (28) |
We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:
Pytyød tizh wʉb zhäty dʉl nøh tizh boshazh zhäty luzh dʉl. [pycød tiʒ wʉb ʒæc dʉl nøh tiʒ boʃɑʒ ʒæc luʒ dʉl] pucød mouse tiʒ ACC wʉb catch ʒæc PAST dʉl 3.sing.OBJ nøh cat tiʒ ACC boʃɑʒ pat ʒæc PAST luʒ 1excl.sing.SUBJ dʉl 3.sing.OBJ “I patted the cat that caught the mouse.” | (29) |
Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:
Gameweb zhäty pytyød tizh wʉb zhäty dʉl nøh tizh boshazh zhäty luzh dʉl. [ɡɑmeweb ʒæc pycød tiʒ wʉb ʒæc dʉl nøh tiʒ boʃɑʒ ʒæc luʒ dʉl] ɡɑmew cheese -eb eat ʒæc PAST pucød mouse tiʒ ACC wʉb catch ʒæc PAST dʉl 3.sing.OBJ nøh cat tiʒ ACC boʃɑʒ pat ʒæc PAST luʒ 1excl.sing.SUBJ dʉl 3.sing.OBJ “I patted the cat that caught the mouse that ate the cheese.” | (30) |
Finally, here is an example containing several layers of embedding:
Lun täh dus zhäty gamew tizh llʉl zhäty tan pytyød tizh wʉb zhäty tan nøh tizh boshazh zhäty luzh tan. [lun tæh dus ʒæc ɡɑmew tiʒ ʎʉl ʒæc tɑn pycød tiʒ wʉb ʒæc tɑn nøh tiʒ boʃɑʒ ʒæc luʒ tɑn] lun 1excl.sing tæh 3.sing.POSS dus buy ʒæc PAST ɡɑmew cheese tiʒ ACC ʎʉl eat ʒæc PAST tɑn 1excl.sing.OBJ pucød mouse tiʒ ACC wʉb catch ʒæc PAST tɑn 1excl.sing.OBJ nøh cat tiʒ ACC boʃɑʒ pat ʒæc PAST luʒ 1excl.sing.SUBJ tɑn 1excl.sing.OBJ “I patted the cat that caught the mouse that ate the cheese that I bought.” | (31) |
Complementation Strategies
Doeh 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:
Mew täh kug tyiw dyig tʉvab tizh maj zhäty dʉl kälim tyiw sanis zhäty. [mew tæh kuɡ ciw ɟiɡ tʉvɑb tiʒ mɑj ʒæc dʉl kælim ciw sɑnis ʒæc] mew boy tæh 3.sing.POSS kuɡ girl ciw DAT ɟiɡ a tʉvɑb apple tiʒ ACC mɑj give ʒæc PAST dʉl 3.sing.OBJ kælim teacher ciw DAT sɑnis surprise ʒæc PAST “It surprised the teacher that the boy had given the girl an apple.” | (32) |
Quotes
Doeh 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:
Mew kug tyiw lun täh lis tizh pity lon tizh mel zhäty tan. [mew kuɡ ciw lun tæh lis tiʒ pic lon tiʒ mel ʒæc tɑn] mew boy kuɡ girl ciw DAT lun 1excl.sing tæh 3.sing.POSS lis 2.sing tiʒ ACC pic love lon 2.sing.OBJ tiʒ ACC mel tell ʒæc PAST tɑn 1excl.sing.OBJ “The boy told the girl that he loved her.” | (33) |
How to cite this grammar
Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Doeh. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.93, on 5 November 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/6NREM
In BibTeX format:
@misc{LC-6NREM,
year = 2026,
author = {{Language Creator}},
title = {A Grammar of {Doeh}},
howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/6NREM}},
note = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.93, on 5 November 2026}
}
Supplementary Materials
A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Doeh / Doeh–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:
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