A Grammar of Anoko
Introduction
Scope and Purpose
This grammar provides a systematic description of the Anoko language (the 2025th 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 Anoko.
Typological Profile
It has a complete lack of sibilant consonants and a complete absence of fricative consonants.Phonology
Phoneme Inventory
Consonants
Anoko has 10 consonant phonemes, forming a relatively small inventory.
It has a complete absence of fricative consonants, a complete absence of affricates, a complete absence of palatal consonants, something which is a rare occurrence indeed, as well as a complete lack of sibilant consonants and a complete absence of uvular and pharyngeal consonants.The table below presents the full inventory of consonant phonemes in Anoko. The chart lists all places and manners of articulation attested in the language.
| labial | alveolar | velar | glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stop | p | t | k | ʔ |
| nasal | m | n | ||
| trill/tap/flap | ɾ | |||
| fricative | h | |||
| approximant | w |
Vowels
Anoko has 7 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 fully contrastive long–short vowel distinction across the system and a full range of vowel qualities even in reduced syllables.The table below presents the full inventory of vowel phonemes in Anoko. The system comprises the distinct vowel qualities listed in the chart.
| front | central | back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| close | i | u | |
| mid | e | o | |
| open | a |
Stress and Tones
Anoko 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
Anoko 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 /a/ | e /e/ | h /h/ | i /i/ |
| k /k/ | m /m/ | n /n/ | o /o/ |
| p /p/ | q /ʔ/ | r /ɾ/ | t /t/ |
| u /u/ | w /w/ |
Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs
| aa /aː/ | ai /ai/ | au /au/ |
| ee /eː/ | ii /iː/ | oo /oː/ |
| uu /uː/ |
Word Classes and Morphology
Number and Gender
Number
Anoko distinguishes singular and plural.
Gender
Anoko does not have genders or noun classes.
The Nominal Phrase
Nominal phrases in Anoko can be exemplified by the following example:
Rate mine raarati naa rauqi qo pe hamoo riineniipawoohii. [ˈɾate miˈne ˈɾaːɾati naː ˈɾauʔi ˈʔo ˈpe ˈhamoː ˈɾiːneniːpawoːhiː] ɾ- def ˈate woman miˈne COMIT ɾ- def ˈaːɾati knife naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈauʔi catch ˈʔo yon ˈpe three ˈhamoː blind ɾ- def ˈiːneniːpa mouse -woː plur -hiː ACC “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 Anoko consists of first, an obligatory prefix expressing def, comprising h- /h-/ ‘not.def’ and r- /ɾ-/ ‘def’; second, the root; third, an optional suffix expressing number, comprising -woo /-woː/ ‘plur’; and finally, fourth, an optional suffix expressing case, comprising -hii /-hiː/ ‘ACC’, -ka /-ka/ ‘GEN’, -kii /-kiː/ ‘DAT’, -rii /-ɾiː/ ‘INS’, -ho /-ho/ ‘VOC’, -ruu /-ɾuː/ ‘ALL’, -ko /-ko/ ‘LOC’, -ra /-ɾa/ ‘ABL’ and -huu /-huː/ ‘PART’.
The noun displays the following derivational morphology: 11 suffixes, namely -hi /-hi/ ‘little’, -roo /-ɾoː/ ‘big’, -maa /-maː/ ‘old’, -re /-ɾe/ ‘new’, -pee /-peː/ ‘good’, -me /-me/ ‘bad’, -rii /-ɾiː/ ‘have’, -kaa /-kaː/ ‘use’, -haa /-haː/ ‘see’, -pu /-pu/ ‘make’ and -na /-na/ ‘break’
The Adjective
The adjective in Anoko stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
Numerals
The numeral in Anoko stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
Determiners
The determiner in Anoko stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
Pronouns
The pronoun in Anoko stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
Anoko 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:
Tuu reeqe tuu. [ˈtuː ˈɾeːʔe ˈtuː] ˈtuː 3.sing ɾ- indicative ˈeːʔe love ˈtuː 3.sing “He (the boy) loves her (the girl).” | (2) |
Proper Nouns
RApoopiqee reepapaa rAunatenahii. [ˈɾapoːpiʔeː ˈɾeːpapaː ˈɾaunatenahiː] ɾ- def ˈapoːpiʔeː Apopie ɾ- indicative ˈeːpapaː hate ɾ- def ˈaunatena Aunatena -hiː ACC “Apopie hates Aunatena.” | (3) |
Possession
rauraka ruuwequuqe [ˈɾauɾaka ˈɾuːweʔuːʔe] ɾ- def ˈauɾa boy -ka GEN ɾ- def ˈuːweʔuːʔe apple “the boy’s apple” | (4) |
tuu ruuwequuqe [ˈtuː ˈɾuːweʔuːʔe] ˈtuː 3.sing ɾ- def ˈuːweʔuːʔe apple “his (the boy’s) apple” | (5) |
nu ruuwequuqe [ˈnu ˈɾuːweʔuːʔe] ˈnu 1excl.sing ɾ- def ˈuːweʔuːʔe apple “my apple” | (6) |
Rimotamooka ruri naa rauweetaa pu runinumaka reetihii. [ˈɾimotamoːka ˈɾuɾi naː ˈɾauweːtaː ˈpu ˈɾuninumaka ˈɾeːtihiː] ɾ- def ˈimotamoː hunter -ka GEN ɾ- def ˈuɾi daughter naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈauweːtaː kiss ˈpu 2.sing ɾ- def ˈuninuma neighbour -ka GEN ɾ- def ˈeːti son -hiː ACC “The hunter’s daughter kissed your neighbour’s son.” | (7) |
Derivation
hoomeewiiwoo [ˈhoːmeːwiːwoː] h- not.def ˈoːmeːwiːwoː lamb “a lamb” | (8) |
hoomeewiiwoohi [ˈhoːmeːwiːwoːhi] h- not.def ˈoːmeːwiːwoː lamb -hi little “a little lamb” | (9) |
Tuu naa roomeewiiwoohirii. [ˈtuː naː ˈɾoːmeːwiːwoːhiɾiː] ˈtuː 3.sing naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈoːmeːwiːwoː lamb -hi little -ɾiː have “She had a little lamb.” | (10) |
This doesn’t affect all adjectives and verbs. Compare, for instance the previous example with this one, where black and love do not undergo affixation:
Tuu naa reeqe pe hoomeewiiwoohii. [ˈtuː naː ˈɾeːʔe pe ˈhoːmeːwiːwoːhiː] ˈtuː 3.sing naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈeːʔe love pe black h- not.def ˈoːmeːwiːwoː lamb -hiː ACC “She loved a black lamb.” | (11) |
Compounding
Verbs
Inflectional Categories
The verbal phrase clitics in Anoko fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising naa /naː/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing voice, comprising ku /ku/ ‘passive’; and finally, third, a clitic expressing negation, comprising poo /poː/ ‘NEG’.
In addition, the verb is structured like this: an obligatory prefix expressing mode, comprising r- /ɾ-/ ‘indicative’, p- /p-/ ‘imperative’, k- /k-/ ‘conditional’ and n- /n-/ ‘optative’ followed by the root.
The verb displays the following derivational morphology: five suffixes, namely -ka /-ka/ ‘begin’, -wa /-wa/ ‘stop’, -ke /-ke/ ‘continue’, -mi /-mi/ ‘try’ and -wi /-wi/ ‘start’
Nu reeqe pu. [ˈnu ˈɾeːʔe ˈpu] ˈnu 1excl.sing ɾ- indicative ˈeːʔe love ˈpu 2.sing “I love you.” | (12) |
Adverbs Minor Classes
Adpositions
There is one type of clitic in the adpositional phrase, namely an enclitic (placed finally), expressing root.
mee roqipa [ˈmeː ˈɾoʔipa] ˈmeː in_surface ɾ- def ˈoʔipa table “on the table” | (13) |
koo raahohopu [ˈkoː ˈɾaːhohopu] ˈkoː to_inside ɾ- def ˈaːhohopu box “into the box” | (14) |
mine nu [miˈne ˈnu] miˈne COMIT ˈnu 1excl.sing “with me” | (15) |
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.
Anoko 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 Anoko.
Rimaamawe naa raaqe rimotamoohii. [ˈɾimaːmawe naː ˈɾaːʔe ˈɾimotamoːhiː] ɾ- def ˈimaːmawe jaguar naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈaːʔe kill ɾ- def ˈimotamoː hunter -hiː ACC “The jaguar killed the hunter.” | (16) |
Raitapiita naa roomaa rimotamooka rurika ruwihii. [ˈɾaitapiːta naː ˈɾoːmaː ˈɾimotamoːka ˈɾuɾika ˈɾuwihiː] ɾ- def ˈaitapiːta lion naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈoːmaː eat ɾ- def ˈimotamoː hunter -ka GEN ɾ- def ˈuɾi daughter -ka GEN ɾ- def ˈuwi dog -hiː ACC “The lion ate the hunter’s daughter’s dog.” | (17) |
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 Anoko 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, Anoko 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.
pu reetika romeeka reewiipeeree [ˈpu ˈɾeːtika ˈɾomeːka ɾeːwiːpeːɾeː] ˈpu 2.sing ɾ- def ˈeːti son -ka GEN ɾ- def ˈomeː friend -ka GEN ɾ- def eːwiːpeːɾeː book “your son’s friend’s book” | (18) |
Case Marking
Anoko 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.
Rupuu repe. [ˈɾupuː ˈɾepe] ɾ- def ˈupuː cat ɾ- indicative ˈepe sleep “The cat is sleeping.” | (19) |
Rupuu roo. [ˈɾupuː ˈɾoː] ɾ- def ˈupuː cat ɾ- indicative ˈoː run “The cat is running.” | (20) |
Rupuu rauquwa riineniipahii. [ˈɾupuː ˈɾauʔuwa ˈɾiːneniːpahiː] ɾ- def ˈupuː cat ɾ- indicative ˈauʔuwa chase ɾ- def ˈiːneniːpa mouse -hiː ACC “The cat is chasing the mouse.” | (21) |
Rupuu naa rauqi riineniipahii. [ˈɾupuː naː ˈɾauʔi ˈɾiːneniːpahiː] ɾ- def ˈupuː cat naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈauʔi catch ɾ- def ˈiːneniːpa mouse -hiː ACC “The cat caught the mouse.” | (22) |
Conjunctions
Here is an example of a conjunction.
Rimotamoo naa raaqe rimaamawewoohii maa rutupaamuwoohii maa raitapiitawoohii. [ˈɾimotamoː naː ˈɾaːʔe ˈɾimaːmawewoːhiː ˈmaː ˈɾutupaːmuwoːhiː ˈmaː ˈɾaitapiːtawoːhiː] ɾ- def ˈimotamoː hunter naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈaːʔe kill ɾ- def ˈimaːmawe jaguar -woː plur -hiː ACC ˈmaː and ɾ- def ˈutupaːmu tiger -woː plur -hiː ACC ˈmaː and ɾ- def ˈaitapiːta lion -woː plur -hiː ACC “The hunter killed the jaguars, the tigers and the lions.” | (23) |
Modifiers and Determiners
The ordering of demonstratives, articles (if present), and other modifiers in Anoko 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
Anoko 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:
Nu naa riqiqa rupuuhii. [ˈnu naː ˈɾiʔiʔa ˈɾupuːhiː] ˈnu 1excl.sing naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈiʔiʔa pat ɾ- def ˈupuː cat -hiː ACC “I patted the cat.” | (24) |
We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:
Nu naa riqiqa rupuu, ta naa rauqi riineniipahii. [ˈnu naː ˈɾiʔiʔa ˈɾupuː, ˈta naː ˈɾauʔi ˈɾiːneniːpahiː] ˈnu 1excl.sing naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈiʔiʔa pat ɾ- def ˈupuː cat ˈta RELPRON naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈauʔi catch ɾ- def ˈiːneniːpa mouse -hiː ACC “I patted the cat that caught the mouse.” | (25) |
Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:
Nu naa riqiqa rupuu, ta naa rauqi riineniipa, ta naa roomaa roraqiwiihii. [ˈnu naː ˈɾiʔiʔa ˈɾupuː, ˈta naː ˈɾauʔi ˈɾiːneniːpa, ˈta naː ˈɾoːmaː ˈɾoɾaʔiwiːhiː] ˈnu 1excl.sing naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈiʔiʔa pat ɾ- def ˈupuː cat ˈta RELPRON naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈauʔi catch ɾ- def ˈiːneniːpa mouse ˈta RELPRON naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈoːmaː eat ɾ- def ˈoɾaʔiwiː cheese -hiː ACC “I patted the cat that caught the mouse that ate the cheese.” | (26) |
Finally, here is an example containing several layers of embedding:
Nu naa riqiqa rupuu, ta naa rauqi riineniipa, ta naa roomaa roraqiwii, ta naa riiraa nu. [ˈnu naː ˈɾiʔiʔa ˈɾupuː, ˈta naː ˈɾauʔi ˈɾiːneniːpa, ˈta naː ˈɾoːmaː ˈɾoɾaʔiwiː, ˈta naː ˈɾiːɾaː ˈnu] ˈnu 1excl.sing naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈiʔiʔa pat ɾ- def ˈupuː cat ˈta RELPRON naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈauʔi catch ɾ- def ˈiːneniːpa mouse ˈta RELPRON naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈoːmaː eat ɾ- def ˈoɾaʔiwiː cheese ˈta RELPRON naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈiːɾaː buy ˈnu 1excl.sing “I patted the cat that caught the mouse that ate the cheese that I bought.” | (27) |
Complementation Strategies
Anoko 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:
Raura naa reera raawekii huuwequuqehii kooqaa naa raanaami raakiiteereekii. [ˈɾauɾa naː ˈɾeːɾa ˈɾaːwekiː ˈhuːweʔuːʔehiː koːˈʔaː naː ˈɾaːnaːmi ɾaːkiːteːɾeːkiː] ɾ- def ˈauɾa boy naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈeːɾa give ɾ- def ˈaːwe girl -kiː DAT h- not.def ˈuːweʔuːʔe apple -hiː ACC koːˈʔaː COMP naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈaːnaːmi surprise ɾ- def aːkiːteːɾeː teacher -kiː DAT “It surprised the teacher that the boy had given the girl an apple.” | (28) |
Quotes
Anoko 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:
Raura naa raikaa raawekii nu reeqe pu kooqaa. [ˈɾauɾa naː ˈɾaikaː ˈɾaːwekiː ˈnu ˈɾeːʔe ˈpu koːˈʔaː] ɾ- def ˈauɾa boy naː PAST ɾ- indicative ˈaikaː tell ɾ- def ˈaːwe girl -kiː DAT ˈnu 1excl.sing ɾ- indicative ˈeːʔe love ˈpu 2.sing koːˈʔaː COMP “The boy told the girl that he loved her.” | (29) |
How to cite this grammar
Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Anoko. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.93, on 9 November 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/6ZMBV
In BibTeX format:
@misc{LC-6ZMBV,
year = 2026,
author = {{Language Creator}},
title = {A Grammar of {Anoko}},
howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/6ZMBV}},
note = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.93, on 9 November 2026}
}
Supplementary Materials
A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Anoko / Anoko–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/6ZMBV
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