A Grammar of Fimo
Introduction
Scope and Purpose
This grammar provides a systematic description of the Fimo language (the 2052nd 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 Fimo.
Typological Profile
It has four genders and ergative case marking, i.e., the object of a transitive verb is marked the same as the subject of an intransitive one,.Phonology
Phoneme Inventory
Consonants
Fimo has 19 consonant phonemes, a size that falls within a broadly average range.
It has a complete absence of affricates, a markedly rich set of labial consonants and no glottal consonants at all.The table below presents the full inventory of consonant phonemes in Fimo. The chart lists all places and manners of articulation attested in the language.
| labial | alveolar | lateral | palatal | velar | uvular | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| stop | p b | d t | k ɡ | q | ||
| nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| trill/tap/flap | r | |||||
| fricative | f v | s | ||||
| approximant | w | l | j |
Vowels
Fimo has more than 14 vowel qualities. This constitutes an exceptionally rich vowel inventory, with numerous distinct categories represented in the chart.
It has a fully contrastive long–short vowel distinction across the system, a modest but genuine inventory of nasal vowels and a full range of vowel qualities even in reduced syllables.The table below presents the full inventory of vowel phonemes in Fimo. The system comprises the distinct vowel qualities listed in the chart.
| front | central | back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| close | i | u | |
| mid | e | ə̃ | o |
| open | a |
Stress and Tones
Fimo 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
Vowel harmony does not exist in this language.
Writing System
Introduction
Fimo 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/ | a’ /a̰/ | b /b/ | d /d/ |
| e /e/ | e’ /ḛ/ | f /f/ | g /ɡ/ |
| i /i/ | i’ /ḭ/ | j /j/ | k /k/ |
| l /l/ | m /m/ | n /n/ | o /o/ |
| o’ /o̰/ | p /p/ | q /q/ | r /r/ |
| s /s/ | t /t/ | u /u/ | u’ /ṵ/ |
| v /v/ | w /w/ | ñ /ɲ/ | ẽ /ə̃/ |
| ẽ’ /ə̰̃/ |
Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs
| aa /aː/ | ai /ai/ | au /au/ |
| ee /eː/ | ii /iː/ | ng /ŋ/ |
| oi /ɔi/ | oo /oː/ | uu /uː/ |
| ẽẽ /ə̃ː/ |
Word Classes and Morphology
Number and Gender
Number
Fimo distinguishes singular and plural.
Gender
Fimo has the following genders:
Gender cl.1 – for instance: bagaufa ‘ash’, beevesku ‘tail’, biinapi ‘bosom’, busa ‘speech’, daa ‘market’, da’bede’ ‘belly’, doo ‘face’, je’ ‘woman’, joomauskaa ‘fat’, kugo’qi ‘feather’, laqoima’ ‘neck’, lo’paro ‘guts’, mii ‘heart’, mo ‘wife’, nee ‘tongue’, nge ‘foot’, sareqee ‘breast’, suu ‘mother’, te’foive ‘smoke’, ñefoimii ‘liver’.
Gender cl.2 – for instance: bilẽẽwi ‘mortar’, diwainge ‘student’, dẽ ‘south’, ge ‘colour’, gi ‘boy’, juvabaa ‘hunter’, ki ‘man’, loviika ‘rope’, ma’wẽsko ‘tower’, pañoiko ‘net’, pikolo ‘brick’, poi ‘son’, qi’gi’go ‘seed’, siitoo ‘book’, ta’skaimẽ ‘bottle’, ti ‘east’, tẽẽfibo ‘machine’, vo’ ‘house’, vu ‘husband’, wiiñee ‘knife’.
Gender cl.3 – for instance: ba ‘name’, bi’ngauma ‘lake’, fiimo ‘Fimo’, gaastu ‘sea’, jaa ‘leaf’, jopi’wo ‘restaurant’, lo ‘human being’, maaqiivaa ‘library’, moi ‘fight’, ngaakiivi ‘farmer’, ngau ‘sun’, ngukaruu ‘medicine’, niitesqe’ ‘sand’, qai ‘star’, qa’ ‘year’, qepuqẽ ‘grass’, qoqidaa ‘plain’, qu ‘sound’, vau ‘fire’, ñawaali ‘cloud’.
Gender cl.4 – for instance: bafoiqa ‘slime’, daadibẽ ‘bank’, fiiwaisqe ‘lamb’, jatuspu ‘fingernail’, kode’spa ‘lion’, kubava ‘dust’, lisi’we ‘salt’, lo’fẽñee ‘apple’, ngasausa ‘tiger’, no ‘cat’, po ‘day’, raa ‘dog’, ragaudi’ ‘dialect’, su ‘tooth’, tai ‘animal’, toi ‘fruit’, vomawo ‘worm’, wau ‘north’, wiinoikuu ‘wild boar’, wo ‘meat’.
The Nominal Phrase
Nominal phrases in Fimo can be exemplified by the following example:
Je’do’ qẽda wiiñee qẽẽ qẽẽ dauta’ ro’ fengaiqu fuuse’ nguu voi nẽẽ. [jḛdo̰ qə̃da wiːɲeː qə̃ː qə̃ː dauta̰ ro̰ feŋaiqu fuːsḛ ŋuː vɔi nə̃ː] jḛ woman -do̰ ERG qə̃da COMIT wiːɲeː knife qə̃ː sing.no.owner qə̃ː sing.no.owner dau yon -ta̰ cl.4 ro̰ three feŋaiqu mouse fuːsḛ blind ŋuː plur.no.owner vɔi catch nə̃ː PAST “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 number.possessor. a clitic expressing number.possessor, comprising luu /luː/ ‘sing.1incl.sing’, le /le/ ‘sing.1excl.sing’, ke /ke/ ‘sing.2.sing’, su’ /sṵ/ ‘sing.3.sing.cl.1’, si’ /sḭ/ ‘sing.3.sing.cl.2’, kaa /kaː/ ‘sing.3.sing.cl.3’, tu /tu/ ‘sing.3.sing.cl.4’, dẽ’ /də#̰/ ‘sing.1incl.plur’, jo’ /jo̰/ ‘sing.1excl.plur’, ma’ /ma̰/ ‘sing.2.plur’, mẽẽ /mə#ː/ ‘sing.3.plur.cl.1’, koo /koː/ ‘sing.3.plur.cl.2’, lu’ /lṵ/ ‘sing.3.plur.cl.3’, se’ /sḛ/ ‘sing.3.plur.cl.4’, qẽẽ /qə#ː/ ‘sing.no.owner’, to’ /to̰/ ‘plur.1incl.sing’, gi’ /ɡḭ/ ‘plur.1excl.sing’, guu /ɡuː/ ‘plur.2.sing’, lẽ’ /lə#̰/ ‘plur.3.sing.cl.1’, lee /leː/ ‘plur.3.sing.cl.2’, mi’ /mḭ/ ‘plur.3.sing.cl.3’, loo /loː/ ‘plur.3.sing.cl.4’, fi’ /fḭ/ ‘plur.1incl.plur’, ra /ra/ ‘plur.1excl.plur’, sẽ’ /sə#̰/ ‘plur.2.plur’, juu /juː/ ‘plur.3.plur.cl.1’, fa’ /fa̰/ ‘plur.3.plur.cl.2’, roo /roː/ ‘plur.3.plur.cl.3’, pẽ /pə#/ ‘plur.3.plur.cl.4’ and nguu /ŋuː/ ‘plur.no.owner’.
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 Fimo.
The Noun
The noun in Fimo consists of the root followed by an optional suffix expressing case, comprising -do’ /-do̰/ ‘ERG’, -tẽ’ /-tə#̰/ ‘GEN’, -qee /-qeː/ ‘DAT’, -pu’ /-pṵ/ ‘INS’, -qu’ /-qṵ/ ‘VOC’, -we’ /-wḛ/ ‘ALL’, -pi’ /-pḭ/ ‘LOC’, -da’ /-da̰/ ‘ABL’ and -maa /-maː/ ‘PART’.
The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -saa /-saː/ ‘little’ and -ngẽẽ /-ŋə#ː/ ‘big’
The Adjective
The adjective in Fimo stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
Numerals
The numeral in Fimo stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
Determiners
In Fimo, the determiner has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing gender, comprising -ta /-ta/ ‘cl.1’, -go /-ɡo/ ‘cl.2’, -di’ /-dḭ/ ‘cl.3’ and -ta’ /-ta̰/ ‘cl.4’.
Pronouns
The pronoun in Fimo stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
Fimo 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:
Nuu qẽẽ je qẽẽ mu ni’. [nuː qə̃ː je qə̃ː mu nḭ] nuː 3.sing.cl.2 qə̃ː sing.no.owner je 3.sing.cl.1 qə̃ː sing.no.owner mu love nḭ 3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ “He (the boy) loves her (the girl).” | (2) |
Proper Nouns
Quujaingido’ qẽẽ Wisoogo qẽẽ sista’ ni’. [quːjaiŋido̰ qə̃ː wisoːɡo qə̃ː sista̰ nḭ] quːjaiŋi Quyaingi -do̰ ERG qə̃ː sing.no.owner wisoːɡo Wisogo qə̃ː sing.no.owner sista̰ hate nḭ 3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ “Quyaingi hates Wisogo.” | (3) |
Possession
gitẽ’ qẽẽ lo’fẽñee si’ [ɡitə̰̃ qə̃ː lo̰fə̃ɲeː sḭ] ɡi boy -tə̰̃ GEN qə̃ː sing.no.owner lo̰fə̃ɲeː apple sḭ sing.3.sing.cl.2 “the boy’s apple” | (4) |
nuu qẽẽ lo’fẽñee si’ [nuː qə̃ː lo̰fə̃ɲeː sḭ] nuː 3.sing.cl.2 qə̃ː sing.no.owner lo̰fə̃ɲeː apple sḭ sing.3.sing.cl.2 “his (the boy’s) apple” | (5) |
lo’fẽñee le [lo̰fə̃ɲeː le] lo̰fə̃ɲeː apple le sing.1excl.sing “my apple” | (6) |
Juvabaatẽ’ qẽẽ waado’ si’ qẽẽ ño’seespotẽ’ ke poi kaa qẽẽ tiska nẽẽ. [juvabaːtə̰̃ qə̃ː waːdo̰ sḭ qə̃ː ɲo̰seːspotə̰̃ ke pɔi kaː qə̃ː tiska nə̃ː] juvabaː hunter -tə̰̃ GEN qə̃ː sing.no.owner waː daughter -do̰ ERG sḭ sing.3.sing.cl.2 qə̃ː sing.no.owner ɲo̰seːspo neighbour -tə̰̃ GEN ke sing.2.sing pɔi son kaː sing.3.sing.cl.3 qə̃ː sing.no.owner tiska kiss nə̃ː PAST “The hunter’s daughter kissed your neighbour’s son.” | (7) |
Derivation
Fimo has a few derivational processes. To illustrate this, let us start with a simple noun phrase:
fiiwaisqe qẽẽ [fiːwaisqe qə̃ː] fiːwaisqe lamb qə̃ː sing.no.owner “a lamb” | (8) |
In the following, the word for little becomes an affix attached to lamb:
fiiwaisqesaa qẽẽ [fiːwaisqesaː qə̃ː] fiːwaisqe lamb -saː little qə̃ː sing.no.owner “a little lamb” | (9) |
Compounding
Verbs
Inflectional Categories
All verbal phrase clitics in Fimo are enclitics (placed finally), and there are six types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising nẽẽ /nə#ː/ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising tẽ /tə#/ ‘imperative’, ju’ /jṵ/ ‘conditional’ and sẽ /sə#/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising kẽ’ /kə#̰/ ‘passive’; fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising du /du/ ‘NEG’; fifth, a clitic expressing subj, comprising ja /ja/ ‘1incl.sing’, soo /soː/ ‘1excl.sing’, bu’ /bṵ/ ‘2.sing’, ni’ /nḭ/ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, lo’ /lo̰/ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, pee /peː/ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, ku’ /kṵ/ ‘1incl.plur’, ngee /ŋeː/ ‘1excl.plur’, muu /muː/ ‘2.plur’, pi /pi/ ‘3.plur.cl.1’, lii /liː/ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, nu’ /nṵ/ ‘3.plur.cl.3’ and li’ /lḭ/ ‘3.plur.cl.4’; and finally, sixth, a clitic expressing question, comprising pe’ /pḛ/ ‘Q’.
The verb itself does not have any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -tee /-teː/ ‘begin’ and -dẽ /-də#/ ‘stop’
Fee qẽẽ fo qẽẽ mu soo. [feː qə̃ː fo qə̃ː mu soː] feː 1excl.sing qə̃ː sing.no.owner fo 2.sing qə̃ː sing.no.owner mu love soː 1excl.sing.SUBJ “I love you.” | (10) |
Adverbs Minor Classes
Adpositions
There is one type of clitic in the adpositional phrase, namely an enclitic (placed finally), expressing root.
pai puunga qẽẽ boi qẽẽ [pai puːŋa qə̃ː bɔi qə̃ː] pai in puːŋa table qə̃ː sing.no.owner bɔi surface qə̃ː sing.no.owner “on the table” | (11) |
ña’ jewengẽ qẽẽ bo’ qẽẽ [ɲa̰ jeweŋə̃ qə̃ː bo̰ qə̃ː] ɲa̰ to jeweŋə̃ box qə̃ː sing.no.owner bo̰ inside qə̃ː sing.no.owner “into the box” | (12) |
qẽda fee qẽẽ [qə̃da feː qə̃ː] qə̃da COMIT feː 1excl.sing qə̃ː sing.no.owner “with me” | (13) |
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.
Fimo 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 Fimo.
Nuqusido’ qẽẽ juvabaa qẽẽ nga’ nẽẽ pee. [nuqusido̰ qə̃ː juvabaː qə̃ː ŋa̰ nə̃ː peː] nuqusi jaguar -do̰ ERG qə̃ː sing.no.owner juvabaː hunter qə̃ː sing.no.owner ŋa̰ kill nə̃ː PAST peː 3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ “The jaguar killed the hunter.” | (14) |
Kode’spado’ qẽẽ juvabaatẽ’ qẽẽ waatẽ’ si’ raa su’ qẽẽ ñe nẽẽ pee. [kodḛspado̰ qə̃ː juvabaːtə̰̃ qə̃ː waːtə̰̃ sḭ raː sṵ qə̃ː ɲe nə̃ː peː] kodḛspa lion -do̰ ERG qə̃ː sing.no.owner juvabaː hunter -tə̰̃ GEN qə̃ː sing.no.owner waː daughter -tə̰̃ GEN sḭ sing.3.sing.cl.2 raː dog sṵ sing.3.sing.cl.1 qə̃ː sing.no.owner ɲe eat nə̃ː PAST peː 3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ “The lion ate the hunter’s daughter’s dog.” | (15) |
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 Fimo 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, Fimo 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.
poitẽ’ ke sautẽ’ si’ siitoo kaa [pɔitə̰̃ ke sautə̰̃ sḭ siːtoː kaː] pɔi son -tə̰̃ GEN ke sing.2.sing sau friend -tə̰̃ GEN sḭ sing.3.sing.cl.2 siːtoː book kaː sing.3.sing.cl.3 “your son’s friend’s book” | (16) |
Case Marking
Fimo 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.
No qẽẽ ñii pee. [no qə̃ː ɲiː peː] no cat qə̃ː sing.no.owner ɲiː sleep peː 3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ “The cat is sleeping.” | (17) |
No qẽẽ so’ pee. [no qə̃ː so̰ peː] no cat qə̃ː sing.no.owner so̰ run peː 3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ “The cat is running.” | (18) |
Nodo’ qẽẽ fengaiqu qẽẽ biiskaa pee. [nodo̰ qə̃ː feŋaiqu qə̃ː biːskaː peː] no cat -do̰ ERG qə̃ː sing.no.owner feŋaiqu mouse qə̃ː sing.no.owner biːskaː chase peː 3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ “The cat is chasing the mouse.” | (19) |
Nodo’ qẽẽ fengaiqu qẽẽ voi nẽẽ pee. [nodo̰ qə̃ː feŋaiqu qə̃ː vɔi nə̃ː peː] no cat -do̰ ERG qə̃ː sing.no.owner feŋaiqu mouse qə̃ː sing.no.owner vɔi catch nə̃ː PAST peː 3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ “The cat caught the mouse.” | (20) |
Conjunctions
Here is an example of a conjunction.
Juvabaado’ qẽẽ nuqusi nguu goo ngasausa nguu goo kode’spa nguu nguu nga’ nẽẽ ni’. [juvabaːdo̰ qə̃ː nuqusi ŋuː ɡoː ŋasausa ŋuː ɡoː kodḛspa ŋuː ŋuː ŋa̰ nə̃ː nḭ] juvabaː hunter -do̰ ERG qə̃ː sing.no.owner nuqusi jaguar ŋuː plur.no.owner ɡoː and ŋasausa tiger ŋuː plur.no.owner ɡoː and kodḛspa lion ŋuː plur.no.owner ŋuː plur.no.owner ŋa̰ kill nə̃ː PAST nḭ 3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ “The hunter killed the jaguars, the tigers and the lions.” | (21) |
Modifiers and Determiners
The ordering of demonstratives, articles (if present), and other modifiers in Fimo 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
Fimo 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:
Fee qẽẽ no qẽẽ veesaa nẽẽ soo. [feː qə̃ː no qə̃ː veːsaː nə̃ː soː] feː 1excl.sing qə̃ː sing.no.owner no cat qə̃ː sing.no.owner veːsaː pat nə̃ː PAST soː 1excl.sing.SUBJ “I patted the cat.” | (22) |
We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:
Foi qẽẽ fengaiqu qẽẽ voi nẽẽ pee fee qẽẽ foi qẽẽ qẽẽ veesaa nẽẽ soo ju. [fɔi qə̃ː feŋaiqu qə̃ː vɔi nə̃ː peː feː qə̃ː fɔi qə̃ː qə̃ː veːsaː nə̃ː soː ju] fɔi 3.sing.cl.4 qə̃ː sing.no.owner feŋaiqu mouse qə̃ː sing.no.owner vɔi catch nə̃ː PAST peː 3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ feː 1excl.sing qə̃ː sing.no.owner fɔi 3.sing.cl.4 qə̃ː sing.no.owner qə̃ː sing.no.owner veːsaː pat nə̃ː PAST soː 1excl.sing.SUBJ ju then “I patted the cat that caught the mouse.” | (23) |
Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:
Foi qẽẽ ja’waquu qẽẽ ñe nẽẽ pee foi qẽẽ foi qẽẽ qẽẽ voi nẽẽ pee ju fee qẽẽ foi qẽẽ qẽẽ veesaa nẽẽ soo ju. [fɔi qə̃ː ja̰waquː qə̃ː ɲe nə̃ː peː fɔi qə̃ː fɔi qə̃ː qə̃ː vɔi nə̃ː peː ju feː qə̃ː fɔi qə̃ː qə̃ː veːsaː nə̃ː soː ju] fɔi 3.sing.cl.4 qə̃ː sing.no.owner ja̰waquː cheese qə̃ː sing.no.owner ɲe eat nə̃ː PAST peː 3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ fɔi 3.sing.cl.4 qə̃ː sing.no.owner fɔi 3.sing.cl.4 qə̃ː sing.no.owner qə̃ː sing.no.owner vɔi catch nə̃ː PAST peː 3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ ju then feː 1excl.sing qə̃ː sing.no.owner fɔi 3.sing.cl.4 qə̃ː sing.no.owner qə̃ː sing.no.owner veːsaː pat nə̃ː PAST soː 1excl.sing.SUBJ ju then “I patted the cat that caught the mouse that ate the cheese.” | (24) |
Finally, here is an example containing several layers of embedding:
Fee qẽẽ foi qẽẽ go nẽẽ soo foi qẽẽ foi qẽẽ qẽẽ ñe nẽẽ pee ju foi qẽẽ foi qẽẽ qẽẽ voi nẽẽ pee ju fee qẽẽ foi qẽẽ qẽẽ veesaa nẽẽ soo ju. [feː qə̃ː fɔi qə̃ː ɡo nə̃ː soː fɔi qə̃ː fɔi qə̃ː qə̃ː ɲe nə̃ː peː ju fɔi qə̃ː fɔi qə̃ː qə̃ː vɔi nə̃ː peː ju feː qə̃ː fɔi qə̃ː qə̃ː veːsaː nə̃ː soː ju] feː 1excl.sing qə̃ː sing.no.owner fɔi 3.sing.cl.4 qə̃ː sing.no.owner ɡo buy nə̃ː PAST soː 1excl.sing.SUBJ fɔi 3.sing.cl.4 qə̃ː sing.no.owner fɔi 3.sing.cl.4 qə̃ː sing.no.owner qə̃ː sing.no.owner ɲe eat nə̃ː PAST peː 3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ ju then fɔi 3.sing.cl.4 qə̃ː sing.no.owner fɔi 3.sing.cl.4 qə̃ː sing.no.owner qə̃ː sing.no.owner vɔi catch nə̃ː PAST peː 3.sing.cl.4.SUBJ ju then feː 1excl.sing qə̃ː sing.no.owner fɔi 3.sing.cl.4 qə̃ː sing.no.owner qə̃ː sing.no.owner veːsaː pat nə̃ː PAST soː 1excl.sing.SUBJ ju then “I patted the cat that caught the mouse that ate the cheese that I bought.” | (25) |
Complementation Strategies
Fimo 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:
Gido’ su’ lẽẽqee qẽẽ lo’fẽñee qẽẽ ru nẽẽ qẽẽ qẽẽ seesaangə̃ːqee qẽẽ peegoi nẽẽ. [ɡido̰ sṵ lə̃ːqeː qə̃ː lo̰fə̃ɲeː qə̃ː ru nə̃ː qə̃ː qə̃ː seːsaːŋə̃ːqeː qə̃ː peːɡɔi nə̃ː] ɡi boy -do̰ ERG sṵ sing.3.sing.cl.1 lə̃ː girl -qeː DAT qə̃ː sing.no.owner lo̰fə̃ɲeː apple qə̃ː sing.no.owner ru give nə̃ː PAST qə̃ː sing.no.owner qə̃ː sing.no.owner seːsaːŋə̃ː teacher -qeː DAT qə̃ː sing.no.owner peːɡɔi surprise nə̃ː PAST “It surprised the teacher that the boy had given the girl an apple.” | (26) |
Quotes
Fimo 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:
Gido’ qẽẽ lẽẽqee qẽẽ fee su’ fo qẽẽ mu qẽẽ qẽẽ ñi’ nẽẽ ni’. [ɡido̰ qə̃ː lə̃ːqeː qə̃ː feː sṵ fo qə̃ː mu qə̃ː qə̃ː ɲḭ nə̃ː nḭ] ɡi boy -do̰ ERG qə̃ː sing.no.owner lə̃ː girl -qeː DAT qə̃ː sing.no.owner feː 1excl.sing sṵ sing.3.sing.cl.1 fo 2.sing qə̃ː sing.no.owner mu love qə̃ː sing.no.owner qə̃ː sing.no.owner ɲḭ tell nə̃ː PAST nḭ 3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ “The boy told the girl that he loved her.” | (27) |
How to cite this grammar
Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Fimo. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.93, on 14 November 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/752AG
In BibTeX format:
@misc{LC-752AG,
year = 2026,
author = {{Language Creator}},
title = {A Grammar of {Fimo}},
howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/752AG}},
note = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.93, on 14 November 2026}
}
Supplementary Materials
A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Fimo / Fimo–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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https://languagecreator.org/grammar/752AG
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