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A Grammar of Mokh

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Mokh language (the 790th 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 Mokh.

Typological Profile

It has not just singular and plural, but also dual, as well as four genders, a small but genuine set of click consonants, ergative case marking, i.e., the object of a transitive verb is marked the same as the subject of an intransitive one, and a relatively uncommon VOS word order.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Mokh has a large consonant inventory, comprising 36 phonemes.

It has a conspicuous absence of approximants, a modest (but clearly contrastive) set of labialised consonants, a noticeable presence of pharyngealised phonemes, a small but genuine set of click consonants and a system with marginal but genuine retroflex contrasts.

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

labialdentalphar. dentalalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolaralveolo-palatalpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velarglottal
stopp t tˤ ʈ k kʷ
ejective stopkʼ kʷʼ
nasalm n nˤ ɲ ɳ ŋ ŋʷ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef θ θˤ s sˤ ʃ ʂ x xʷ h
affricatet͡s t͡sˤ t͡ʃ t͡ɕ
implosiveɓ
clickᵏǀ ᵏǀˤ
click, nasalᵑǀ ᵑǀˤ

Vowels

Mokh has more than 14 vowel qualities. This constitutes an exceptionally rich vowel inventory, with numerous distinct categories represented in the chart.

It has a modest but genuine inventory of nasal vowels, 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 moderately reduced system of unstressed vowels.

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

front unroundedfront roundedcentralback
closei y u
mide ø ə̃ o
opena

Stress and Tones

Mokh 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: /u/ becomes /y/, /o/ becomes /ø/.

Writing System

Introduction

Mokh is normally written using the Devanagari abugida, the script employed for Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi and several other Indo-Aryan languages. This grammar also makes systematic use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to present an exact account of pronunciation.

Devanagari’s syllabic structure differs markedly from the IPA’s segmental approach, so the two notations complement one another: the script shows the organisation of syllables, while the IPA supplies detail on individual sounds.

Orthography

Here are the various components of the orthography:

Simple letters

अ /a/अः /a̰/इ /i/इः /ḭ/
उ /u/उः /ṵ/ए /e/एँ /ə̃/
एँः /ə̰̃/एः /ḛ/ऐ /ai/ओ /o/
ओः /o̰/औ /au/क् /k/ङ् /ŋ/
च् /t͡ɕ/ञ् /ɲ/ट् /ʈ/ण् /ɳ/
त् /t/त़् /tˤ/थ् /θ/थ़् /θˤ/
न् /n/ऩ् /nˤ/प् /p/भ् /ɓ/
म् /m/ऱ् /ɽ/श् /ʃ/ष् /ʂ/
स् /s/स़् /sˤ/ह् /h/क़ /kʼ/
फ़् /f/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

क्त् /ᵏǀ/क्त़् /ᵏǀˤ/क्व् /kʷ/
ख्व् /xʷ/ङ्त् /ᵑǀ/ङ्त़् /ᵑǀˤ/
ङ्व् /ŋʷ/च्ष् /t͡ʃ/त्स् /t͡s/
त्स़् /t͡sˤ/य्उ /y/य्उः /y̰/
य्ओ /ø/य्ओः /ø̰/क़व् /kʼʷ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Mokh distinguishes singular, dual and plural.

Gender

Mokh has the following genders:

Gender cl.1 – for instance: इख्वत्स् ‘embrace’, क्त़ःत्स़ोथ् ‘wheat’, क्तु ‘daughter’, ङषेङ्व् ‘cheese’, चःस़त् ‘restaurant’, चुऱ्योख्व् ‘wild boar’, चैङ्व् ‘water’, च्षिऩेफ़् ‘snow’, त्स़िक़वःम् ‘dialect’, त्स़्योष् ‘rain’, थन्योम् ‘apple’, थिःक़ ‘egg’, ऩत्स् ‘speech’, ऩेश् ‘hair’, निःत्स़्योक् ‘ash’, न्योऩ् ‘woman’, ऱथ़ैक़ ‘fat’, षित्सथ् ‘salt’, क़वेःट् ‘fruit’, फ़ैभ् ‘chair’.

Gender cl.2 – for instance: कचेँष् ‘forest’, किक् ‘man’, कौष् ‘earth’, क्त़ुच्षिऩ् ‘hunter’, क्तुथोत्स़् ‘mouse’, क्विषोञ् ‘machine’, क्वोङ् ‘sound’, क्वौथ् ‘sun’, ख्वञे ‘medicine’, ख्विक्व् ‘human being’, ङत्सोस़् ‘net’, ङ्व्युः ‘bird’, चुश् ‘husband’, च्ष्योत्स् ‘star’, त़िङ्युप् ‘ice’, त्स़ेट् ‘road’, शिभोस् ‘cloud’, स़िफ़् ‘friend’, क़वेःञ् ‘son’, फ़ौक़ ‘wind’.

Gender cl.3 – for instance: ङिःनैभ् ‘root’, ङौम् ‘little’, चोत्स् ‘child’, च्षोत्स़् ‘happy’, तथ़ैत़् ‘teacher’, तोस़् ‘correct’, त्स़िष् ‘large’, त्स़ेण् ‘day’, थ़ुत्सौक़व् ‘flower’, थ़्युत्स् ‘round’, थिञेच्ष् ‘furious’, भङुत़् ‘bank’, मुष्युन् ‘snake’, ऱत्स्युट् ‘binoculars’, स़ुथ् ‘right’, सिःश् ‘dry’, सैच्ष् ‘time’, स्युःञ् ‘heavy’, क़ओच् ‘warm’, फ़थ़्युक़व् ‘smooth’.

Gender cl.4 – for instance: केञ् ‘sea’, ङथ़त् ‘penis’, ङ्त़ोःष् ‘bone’, ङ्तुत्स़ुथ् ‘liver’, चःस् ‘inside’, ञ्योख्व् ‘mouth’, णख्वैट् ‘tail’, तःण्योच्ष् ‘wing’, त़िफ़ेष् ‘mortar’, त़ोत्स़् ‘ear’, तुशुक़ ‘belly’, त्स़िःत्स़ेप् ‘breast’, ऩेँस़् ‘language’, मो ‘Mokh’, ऱ्युस्त् ‘animal’, शेःच् ‘book’, षि ‘foot’, स़न्युःऩ् ‘fingernail’, क़अशट् ‘bosom’, क़इचिन् ‘anus’.

The Nominal Phrase

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

फ़िःथ़्योहिःसन् ख्वःक़ क्तुथोत्स़िक़विऩ् टिःकोस़् फ़ैउःक्विऩ् न्योऩ्युःक्विप् ममिःन् तःटुःक्विफ़्।

[ˈfḭθˤøhḭsan ˈxʷa̰kʼ ᵏǀuˈθot͡sˤikʼʷinˤ ˈʈḭkosˤ ˈfaixṵkʷinˤ ˈnønˤy̰kʷip maˈmḭn ˈta̰ʈṵkʷif]

f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈθˤø
catch -h
indicative -ḭ
active -s
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ -an
not.Q ˈxʷa̰kʼ
three ᵏǀuˈθot͡sˤ
mouse -ikʼʷ
3.sing.cl.3.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ʈ-
plur ḭ-
cl.2 ˈko
yon -sˤ
ABS ˈfaix
blind -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈnønˤ
woman -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG maˈmḭn
COMIT ˈta̰ʈ
knife -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -f
LOC

“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 Mokh consists of first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing possessor, comprising -उह् /-uh/ ‘1incl.sing’, -अह् /-ah/ ‘1excl.sing’, -इःफ़् /-ḭf/ ‘2.sing’, -उत्स् /-ut͡s/ ‘3.sing.cl.1’, -अक् /-ak/ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, -इक़व् /-ikʼʷ/ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, -इःत़् /-ḭtˤ/ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, -इःह् /-ḭh/ ‘1incl.dual’, -अक़व् /-akʼʷ/ ‘1excl.dual’, -अःत्स़् /-a̰t͡sˤ/ ‘2.dual’, -अःस़् /-a̰sˤ/ ‘3.dual.cl.1’, -उःह् /-ṵh/ ‘3.dual.cl.2’, -उक्व् /-ukʷ/ ‘3.dual.cl.3’, -अक्व् /-akʷ/ ‘3.dual.cl.4’, -इःङ्व् /-ḭŋʷ/ ‘1incl.plur’, -इऩ् /-inˤ/ ‘1excl.plur’, -अःऩ् /-a̰nˤ/ ‘2.plur’, -उःक़ /-ṵkʼ/ ‘3.plur.cl.1’, -अ /-ax/ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, -अःह् /-a̰h/ ‘3.plur.cl.3’, -उऩ् /-unˤ/ ‘3.plur.cl.4’ and -उःक्व् /-ṵkʷ/ ‘no.owner’; third, an obligatory suffix expressing def, comprising -उः /-ṵ/ ‘not.def’ and -इ /-i/ ‘def’; and finally, fourth, an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -ऩ् /-nˤ/ ‘ABS’, -प् /-p/ ‘ERG’, -क्व् /-kʷ/ ‘DAT’, -स् /-s/ ‘INS’, -ह् /-h/ ‘VOC’, -स़् /-sˤ/ ‘ALL’, -फ़् /-f/ ‘LOC’, -क् /-k/ ‘ABL’ and -न् /-n/ ‘PART’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -अप् /-ap/ ‘little’ and -अक़व् /-akʼʷ/ ‘big’

The Adjective

In Mokh, the adjective has the following structure: the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing number, comprising -अःन् /-a̰n/ ‘sing’, -इःट् /-ḭʈ/ ‘dual’ and -उःफ़् /-ṵf/ ‘plur’.

Numerals

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

Determiners

In Mokh, the determiner has the following structure: first, an obligatory prefix expressing number, comprising ऩ्- /nˤ-/ ‘sing’, क्- /k-/ ‘dual’ and ट्- /ʈ-/ ‘plur’; second, an obligatory prefix expressing gender, comprising इ- /i-/ ‘cl.1’, इः- /ḭ-/ ‘cl.2’, उः- /ṵ-/ ‘cl.3’ and अ- /a-/ ‘cl.4’; third, the root; and finally, fourth, an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -स़् /-sˤ/ ‘ABS’, -ट् /-ʈ/ ‘ERG’, -ख्व् /-xʷ/ ‘DAT’, -भ् /-ɓ/ ‘INS’, -क् /-k/ ‘VOC’, -त़् /-tˤ/ ‘ALL’, -स् /-s/ ‘LOC’, -त् /-t/ ‘ABL’ and -ष् /-ʂ/ ‘PART’.

Pronouns

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

Mokh 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:

फ़न्योहिःत्स़न् त्सिन् षौङ्।

[ˈfanøhḭt͡sˤan ˈt͡sin ˈʂauŋ]

f-
POS a-
PRES ˈnø
love -h
indicative -ḭ
active -t͡sˤ
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ -an
not.Q ˈt͡sin
3.sing.cl.1 ˈʂauŋ
3.sing.cl.2

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

Proper Nouns

फ़क़अस्तिहिःत्स़न् क्त़णोःटुःक्विऩ् क़इःएत्स़ुःक्विप्।

[ˈfakʼastihḭt͡sˤan ᵏǀˤaˈɳo̰ʈṵkʷinˤ kʼḭˈxet͡sˤṵkʷip]

f-
POS a-
PRES ˈkʼasti
hate -h
indicative -ḭ
active -t͡sˤ
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ -an
not.Q ᵏǀˤaˈɳo̰ʈ
Kanot -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS kʼḭˈxet͡sˤ
Kikhets -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG

“Kikhets hates Kanot.”

 (3)

Possession

थन्योमकिऩ् ऩिःञुःक्विऩ्

[θaˈnømakinˤ ˈnˤḭɲṵkʷinˤ]

θaˈnøm
apple -ak
3.sing.cl.2.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈnˤḭɲ
boy -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS

“the boy’s apple”

 (4)
थन्योमकिऩ् षौङ्

[θaˈnømakinˤ ˈʂauŋ]

θaˈnøm
apple -ak
3.sing.cl.2.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈʂauŋ
3.sing.cl.2

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (5)
थन्योमहिऩ्

[θaˈnømahinˤ]

θaˈnøm
apple -ah
1excl.sing.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS

“my apple”

 (6)
फ़िःभिस़ैहिःसन् क़वेःञुत्सिऩ् तिःञुसिःफ़िऩ् क्तुअकिप् क्त़ुच्षिऩुःक्विऩ्।

[ˈfḭɓisˤaihḭsan ˈkʼʷḛɲut͡sinˤ tḭˈɲusḭfinˤ ˈᵏǀuxakip ᵏǀˤuˈt͡ʃinˤṵkʷinˤ]

f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈɓisˤai
kiss -h
indicative -ḭ
active -s
3.sing.cl.1.SUBJ -an
not.Q ˈkʼʷḛɲ
son -ut͡s
3.sing.cl.1.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS tḭˈɲus
neighbour -ḭf
2.sing.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈᵏǀux
daughter -ak
3.sing.cl.2.POSS -i
def -p
ERG ᵏǀˤuˈt͡ʃinˤ
hunter -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS

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

 (7)

Derivation

Mokh has a few derivational processes. To illustrate this, let us start with a simple noun phrase:

ङ्विसिङ्वुःक्वुःऩ् ऩत़िस़्

[ŋʷiˈsiŋʷṵkʷṵnˤ ˈnˤatˤisˤ]

ŋʷiˈsiŋʷ
lamb -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -ṵ
not.def -nˤ
ABS nˤ-
sing a-
cl.4 ˈtˤi
a -sˤ
ABS

“a lamb”

 (8)

In the following, the word for little becomes an affix attached to lamb:

ङ्विसिङ्वपुःक्वुःऩ् ऩत़िस़्

[ŋʷiˈsiŋʷapṵkʷṵnˤ ˈnˤatˤisˤ]

ŋʷiˈsiŋʷ
lamb -ap
little -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -ṵ
not.def -nˤ
ABS nˤ-
sing a-
cl.4 ˈtˤi
a -sˤ
ABS

“a little lamb”

 (9)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

There are no clitics in the verbal phrase.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, an obligatory prefix expressing negation, comprising ङ्व्- /ŋʷ-/ ‘NEG’ and फ़्- /f-/ ‘POS’; second, an obligatory prefix expressing ta, comprising अ- /a-/ ‘PRES’ and इः- /ḭ-/ ‘PAST’; third, the root; fourth, an obligatory suffix expressing mode, comprising -ह् /-h/ ‘indicative’, -क्व् /-kʷ/ ‘imperative’, -क् /-k/ ‘conditional’ and -ऩ् /-nˤ/ ‘optative’; fifth, an obligatory suffix expressing voice, comprising -इः /-ḭ/ ‘active’ and -इ /-i/ ‘passive’; sixth, an obligatory suffix expressing subj, comprising -ह् /-h/ ‘1incl.sing’, -ख्व् /-xʷ/ ‘1excl.sing’, -क़ /-kʼ/ ‘2.sing’, -स् /-s/ ‘3.sing.cl.1’, -त्स़् /-t͡sˤ/ ‘3.sing.cl.2’, -म् /-m/ ‘3.sing.cl.3’, -त् /-t/ ‘3.sing.cl.4’, -ऩ् /-nˤ/ ‘1incl.dual’, -फ़् /-f/ ‘1excl.dual’, -स़् /-sˤ/ ‘2.dual’, -क् /-k/ ‘3.dual.cl.1’, -त़् /-tˤ/ ‘3.dual.cl.2’, -क्व् /-kʷ/ ‘3.dual.cl.3’, -न् /-n/ ‘3.dual.cl.4’, -च् /-t͡ɕ/ ‘1incl.plur’, -त्स् /-t͡s/ ‘1excl.plur’, -क़व् /-kʼʷ/ ‘2.plur’, -च्ष् /-t͡ʃ/ ‘3.plur.cl.1’, - /-x/ ‘3.plur.cl.2’, -प् /-p/ ‘3.plur.cl.3’ and -ङ्व् /-ŋʷ/ ‘3.plur.cl.4’; and finally, seventh, an obligatory suffix expressing question, comprising -उःत् /-ṵt/ ‘Q’ and -अन् /-an/ ‘not.Q’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -क़वि /-kʼʷi/ ‘begin’ and -ऩु /-nˤu/ ‘stop’

फ़न्योहिःख्वन् शुम् श्यो।

[ˈfanøhḭxʷan ˈʃum ˈʃø]

f-
POS a-
PRES ˈnø
love -h
indicative -ḭ
active -xʷ
1excl.sing.SUBJ -an
not.Q ˈʃum
2.sing ˈʃø
1excl.sing

“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.

टिट् चोःस़ुःक्विफ़्

[ˈʈiʈ ˈt͡ɕo̰sˤṵkʷif]

ˈʈiʈ
in_surface ˈt͡ɕo̰sˤ
table -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -f
LOC

“on the table”

 (11)
क्वोःफ़् किहेत्सुःक्विफ़्

[ˈkʷo̰f kiˈhet͡sṵkʷif]

ˈkʷo̰f
to_inside kiˈhet͡s
box -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -f
LOC

“into the box”

 (12)
ममिःन् श्यो

[maˈmḭn ˈʃø]

maˈmḭn
COMIT ˈʃø
1excl.sing

“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.

Mokh displays Verb–Object–Subject (VOS) as its primary word order. The verb is followed by the object, with the subject appearing clause-finally. Although relatively uncommon, VOS is well documented cross-linguistically.

The following examples illustrate the basic, unmarked, constituent order in Mokh.

फ़िःकिहिःमन् क्त़ुच्षिऩुःक्विऩ् क़अख्विङुःक्विप्।

[ˈfḭkihḭman ᵏǀˤuˈt͡ʃinˤṵkʷinˤ kʼaˈxʷiŋṵkʷip]

f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈki
kill -h
indicative -ḭ
active -m
3.sing.cl.3.SUBJ -an
not.Q ᵏǀˤuˈt͡ʃinˤ
hunter -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS kʼaˈxʷiŋ
jaguar -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (14)
फ़िःभहिःमन् त्सऱुत्सिऩ् क्तुअकिऩ् क्त़ुच्षिऩुःक्विऩ् पप्योत़्युःक्विप्।

[ˈfḭɓahḭman ˈt͡saɽut͡sinˤ ˈᵏǀuxakinˤ ᵏǀˤuˈt͡ʃinˤṵkʷinˤ paˈpøtˤy̰kʷip]

f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈɓa
eat -h
indicative -ḭ
active -m
3.sing.cl.3.SUBJ -an
not.Q ˈt͡saɽ
dog -ut͡s
3.sing.cl.1.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈᵏǀux
daughter -ak
3.sing.cl.2.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ᵏǀˤuˈt͡ʃinˤ
hunter -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS paˈpøtˤ
lion -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG

“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 Mokh 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, Mokh 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.

शेःचकिऩ् स़िफ़किऩ् क़वेःञिःफ़िऩ्

[ˈʃḛt͡ɕakinˤ ˈsˤifakinˤ ˈkʼʷḛɲḭfinˤ]

ˈʃḛt͡ɕ
book -ak
3.sing.cl.2.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈsˤif
friend -ak
3.sing.cl.2.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈkʼʷḛɲ
son -ḭf
2.sing.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (16)

Case Marking

Mokh 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.

फ़फ़िहिःमन् ख्व्योक़युःक्विऩ्।

[ˈfafihḭman ˈxʷøkʼy̰kʷinˤ]

f-
POS a-
PRES ˈfi
sleep -h
indicative -ḭ
active -m
3.sing.cl.3.SUBJ -an
not.Q ˈxʷøkʼ
cat -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (17)
फ़ञिहिःमन् ख्व्योक़युःक्विऩ्।

[ˈfaɲihḭman ˈxʷøkʼy̰kʷinˤ]

f-
POS a-
PRES ˈɲi
run -h
indicative -ḭ
active -m
3.sing.cl.3.SUBJ -an
not.Q ˈxʷøkʼ
cat -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS

“The cat is running.”

 (18)
फ़ऩऱ्युहिःमन् क्तुथोत्स़ुःक्विऩ् ख्व्योक़युःक्विप्।

[ˈfanˤaɽyhḭman ᵏǀuˈθot͡sˤṵkʷinˤ ˈxʷøkʼy̰kʷip]

f-
POS a-
PRES ˈnˤaɽy
chase -h
indicative -ḭ
active -m
3.sing.cl.3.SUBJ -an
not.Q ᵏǀuˈθot͡sˤ
mouse -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈxʷøkʼ
cat -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (19)
फ़िःथ़्योहिःमन् क्तुथोत्स़ुःक्विऩ् ख्व्योक़युःक्विप्।

[ˈfḭθˤøhḭman ᵏǀuˈθot͡sˤṵkʷinˤ ˈxʷøkʼy̰kʷip]

f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈθˤø
catch -h
indicative -ḭ
active -m
3.sing.cl.3.SUBJ -an
not.Q ᵏǀuˈθot͡sˤ
mouse -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈxʷøkʼ
cat -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (20)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

फ़िःकिहिःत्स़न् क़अख्विङुःक्विऩ् चोस़् स़त्स्योऩ्युःक्विऩ् चोस़् पप्योत़्युःक्विऩ् क्त़ुच्षिऩुःक्विप्।

[ˈfḭkihḭt͡sˤan kʼaˈxʷiŋṵkʷinˤ ˈt͡ɕosˤ sˤaˈt͡sønˤy̰kʷinˤ ˈt͡ɕosˤ paˈpøtˤy̰kʷinˤ ᵏǀˤuˈt͡ʃinˤṵkʷip]

f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈki
kill -h
indicative -ḭ
active -t͡sˤ
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ -an
not.Q kʼaˈxʷiŋ
jaguar -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈt͡ɕosˤ
and sˤaˈt͡sønˤ
tiger -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈt͡ɕosˤ
and paˈpøtˤ
lion -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ᵏǀˤuˈt͡ʃinˤ
hunter -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG

“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 Mokh 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

Mokh forms relative clauses by using a head-internal strategy. The head noun appears inside the clause itself, occupying its regular syntactic position. The entire clause functions as a modifier, and its external syntactic behaviour is identical to that of a noun-modifying phrase.

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

फ़िःचथ्युहिःख्वन् ख्व्योक़युःक्विऩ् श्यो।

[ˈfḭt͡ɕaθyhḭxʷan ˈxʷøkʼy̰kʷinˤ ˈʃø]

f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈt͡ɕaθy
pat -h
indicative -ḭ
active -xʷ
1excl.sing.SUBJ -an
not.Q ˈxʷøkʼ
cat -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈʃø
1excl.sing

“I patted the cat.”

 (22)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

फ़िःचथ्युहिःख्वन् फ़िःथ़्योहिःमन् क्तुथोत्स़ुःक्विऩ् ख्व्योक़युःक्विप् शुणुङ्व् श्यो।

[ˈfḭt͡ɕaθyhḭxʷan ˈfḭθˤøhḭman ᵏǀuˈθot͡sˤṵkʷinˤ ˈxʷøkʼy̰kʷip ʃuˈɳuŋʷ ˈʃø]

f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈt͡ɕaθy
pat -h
indicative -ḭ
active -xʷ
1excl.sing.SUBJ -an
not.Q f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈθˤø
catch -h
indicative -ḭ
active -m
3.sing.cl.3.SUBJ -an
not.Q ᵏǀuˈθot͡sˤ
mouse -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈxʷøkʼ
cat -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG ʃuˈɳuŋʷ
COMP ˈʃø
1excl.sing

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (23)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

फ़िःचथ्युहिःख्वन् फ़िःथ़्योहिःमन् फ़िःभहिःत्स़न् ङषेङ्वुःक्विऩ् क्तुथोत्स़ुःक्विप् शुणुङ्व् ख्व्योक़युःक्विप् शुणुङ्व् श्यो।

[ˈfḭt͡ɕaθyhḭxʷan ˈfḭθˤøhḭman ˈfḭɓahḭt͡sˤan ŋaˈʂeŋʷṵkʷinˤ ᵏǀuˈθot͡sˤṵkʷip ʃuˈɳuŋʷ ˈxʷøkʼy̰kʷip ʃuˈɳuŋʷ ˈʃø]

f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈt͡ɕaθy
pat -h
indicative -ḭ
active -xʷ
1excl.sing.SUBJ -an
not.Q f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈθˤø
catch -h
indicative -ḭ
active -m
3.sing.cl.3.SUBJ -an
not.Q f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈɓa
eat -h
indicative -ḭ
active -t͡sˤ
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ -an
not.Q ŋaˈʂeŋʷ
cheese -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ᵏǀuˈθot͡sˤ
mouse -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG ʃuˈɳuŋʷ
COMP ˈxʷøkʼ
cat -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG ʃuˈɳuŋʷ
COMP ˈʃø
1excl.sing

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

 (24)

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

फ़िःचथ्युहिःख्वन् फ़िःथ़्योहिःमन् फ़िःभहिःत्स़न् फ़िःसहिःख्वन् ङषेङ्वुःक्विऩ् श्यो शुणुङ्व् क्तुथोत्स़ुःक्विप् शुणुङ्व् ख्व्योक़युःक्विप् शुणुङ्व् श्यो।

[ˈfḭt͡ɕaθyhḭxʷan ˈfḭθˤøhḭman ˈfḭɓahḭt͡sˤan ˈfḭsahḭxʷan ŋaˈʂeŋʷṵkʷinˤ ˈʃø ʃuˈɳuŋʷ ᵏǀuˈθot͡sˤṵkʷip ʃuˈɳuŋʷ ˈxʷøkʼy̰kʷip ʃuˈɳuŋʷ ˈʃø]

f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈt͡ɕaθy
pat -h
indicative -ḭ
active -xʷ
1excl.sing.SUBJ -an
not.Q f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈθˤø
catch -h
indicative -ḭ
active -m
3.sing.cl.3.SUBJ -an
not.Q f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈɓa
eat -h
indicative -ḭ
active -t͡sˤ
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ -an
not.Q f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈsa
buy -h
indicative -ḭ
active -xʷ
1excl.sing.SUBJ -an
not.Q ŋaˈʂeŋʷ
cheese -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -nˤ
ABS ˈʃø
1excl.sing ʃuˈɳuŋʷ
COMP ᵏǀuˈθot͡sˤ
mouse -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG ʃuˈɳuŋʷ
COMP ˈxʷøkʼ
cat -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG ʃuˈɳuŋʷ
COMP ˈʃø
1excl.sing

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

 (25)

Complementation Strategies

Mokh 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:

फ़िःक़अःत्स़ैहिःमन् तथ़ैत़ुःक्विक्व् फ़िःषिहिःत्स़न् थन्योम्युःक्वुःऩ् ऩित़िस़् ङ्तौसुःक्विक्व् ऩिःञुःक्विप् शुणुङ्व्।

[ˈfḭkʼa̰t͡sˤaihḭman taˈθˤaitˤṵkʷikʷ ˈfḭʂihḭt͡sˤan θaˈnømy̰kʷṵnˤ ˈnˤitˤisˤ ˈᵑǀausṵkʷikʷ ˈnˤḭɲṵkʷip ʃuˈɳuŋʷ]

f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈkʼa̰t͡sˤai
surprise -h
indicative -ḭ
active -m
3.sing.cl.3.SUBJ -an
not.Q taˈθˤaitˤ
teacher -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -kʷ
DAT f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈʂi
give -h
indicative -ḭ
active -t͡sˤ
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ -an
not.Q θaˈnøm
apple -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -ṵ
not.def -nˤ
ABS nˤ-
sing i-
cl.1 ˈtˤi
a -sˤ
ABS ˈᵑǀaus
girl -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -kʷ
DAT ˈnˤḭɲ
boy -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG ʃuˈɳuŋʷ
COMP

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

 (26)

Quotes

Mokh 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:

फ़िःत्युहिःत्स़न् फ़न्योहिःख्वन् शुम् श्यो शुणुङ्व् ङ्तौसुःक्विक्व् ऩिःञुःक्विप्।

[ˈfḭtyhḭt͡sˤan ˈfanøhḭxʷan ˈʃum ˈʃø ʃuˈɳuŋʷ ˈᵑǀausṵkʷikʷ ˈnˤḭɲṵkʷip]

f-
POS ḭ-
PAST ˈty
tell -h
indicative -ḭ
active -t͡sˤ
3.sing.cl.2.SUBJ -an
not.Q f-
POS a-
PRES ˈnø
love -h
indicative -ḭ
active -xʷ
1excl.sing.SUBJ -an
not.Q ˈʃum
2.sing ˈʃø
1excl.sing ʃuˈɳuŋʷ
COMP ˈᵑǀaus
girl -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -kʷ
DAT ˈnˤḭɲ
boy -ṵkʷ
no.owner.POSS -i
def -p
ERG

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

 (27)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Mokh. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 12 July 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/757Q1

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-757Q1,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Mokh}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/757Q1}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 12 July 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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