View source for Balog

{{privatelang}}
'''Balog''' [ˈbɐɫɔɡ̚] is the main language of the Balog people of Ub as well as the most widely used ''lingua franca'' on that planet.

==Phonology==
===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Manner !! Phonation !! Bilabial !! Dentolabial<br>Labiodental !! Dental/Alveolar !! Postalveolar !! Palatal !! Velar !! Uvular !! Glottal
|-
! Nasal !! voiced 
| /m/ <sup>1,</sup><sup>2</sup><br>‹'''m'''› ||  || /n/ <sup>2,</sup><sup>3</sup><br>‹'''n'''› ||  ||  || /ŋ/ <sup>2</sup><br>‹'''ŋ''' / '''ng'''› ||  || 
|-
! rowspan="3" | Plosive 
! voiced 
| /b/ <sup>4</sup><br>‹'''b'''› ||  || /d/ <sup>3,</sup><sup>4</sup><br>‹'''d'''› ||  ||  || /ɡ/ <sup>4</sup><br>‹'''g'''› ||  || 
|-
! voiceless 
| /p/ <sup>5</sup><br>‹'''p'''› ||  || /t/ <sup>3,</sup><sup>5</sup><br>‹'''t'''› ||  ||  || /k/ <sup>5</sup><br>‹'''k'''› ||  || /ʔ/<br>‹'''q'''›
|-
! ejective
| /pʼ/ <sup>6</sup><br>‹'''pq'''› ||  || /tʼ/ <sup>3,</sup><sup>6</sup><br>‹'''tq'''› ||  ||  || /kʼ/ <sup>6</sup><br>‹'''kq'''› ||  ||
|-
! rowspan="3" | Affricate 
! voiced 
| ||  || /d͡z/ <sup>7</sup><br>‹'''dz'''› || /d͡ʒ/ <sup>7</sup><br>‹'''dž''' / '''dzh'''› ||  ||  ||  || 
|-
! voiceless
| ||  || /t͡s/ <sup>7</sup><br>‹'''ts'''› || /t͡ʃ/ <sup>7</sup><br>‹'''tš''' / '''tsh'''› ||  ||  ||  ||
|-
! ejective
| ||  || /t͡sʼ/ <sup>6,</sup><sup>7</sup><br>‹'''tsq'''› || /t͡ʃʼ/ <sup>6,</sup><sup>7</sup><br>‹'''tšq''' / '''tshq'''› ||  || ||  ||
|-
! rowspan="3" | Lateral affricate 
! voiced 
| ||  || /d͡ɮ/ <sup>7</sup><br>‹'''dl'''› || ||  ||  ||  || 
|-
! voiceless
| ||  || /t͡ɬ/ <sup>7</sup><br>‹'''tl'''› ||  ||  ||  ||  ||
|-
! ejective
| ||  || /t͡ɬʼ/ <sup>6,</sup><sup>7</sup><br>‹'''tlq'''› || ||  || ||  ||
|-
! rowspan="2" | Fricative 
! voiced 
| colspan="2" | /v/ <sup>8</sup><br>‹'''v'''› ||  /z/<br>‹'''z'''› || /ʒ/<br>‹'''ž''' / '''zh'''› ||  
| colspan="2" | /ɣ/ <sup>9</sup><br>‹'''ğ''' / '''gh'''› ||  
|-
! voiceless 
| colspan="2" | /f/ <sup>8</sup><br>‹'''f'''› ||  /s/<br>‹'''s'''› || /ʃ/<br>‹'''š''' / '''sh'''› ||  
| colspan="2" | /x/ <sup>9</sup><br>‹'''x'''› || /h/<br>‹'''h'''›
|-
! Trill / Flap
! voiced
|  ||  || /r/ <sup>10</sup><br>‹'''r'''› ||  ||  || || ||
|-
! Lateral !! voiced
|  ||  || /l/ <sup>3,</sup><sup>11</sup><br>‹'''l'''› ||  ||  ||  ||  ||
|-
! Semivowel !! voiced
|  ||  ||  ||  || /j/<br>‹'''y'''› || /w/ <sup>12</sup><br>‹'''w'''› ||  ||
|}

# /m/ assimilates to the articulation of a following /v/ or /f/, being pronounced bilabially [m] by speakers with bilabial pronunciations of /v/ and /f/ ([β] and [ɸ]), dentolabially [ɱ͆] by speakers with dentolabial pronunciations of /v/ and /f/ ([v͆] and [f͆]) and labiodentally by speakers with labiodental pronunciation of /v/ and /f/ ([v] and [f])
# Nasal consonants may be pronounced syllabically when not adjacent to a vowel. Their syllabic pronunciations are always short and unstressed.
# The alveolar/dental consonants /n d t tʼ l/ are pronounced with dental articulation by some speakers and alveolar articulation by others. This varies chiefly by region and/or native language.
# The voiced plosives /b d g/ are frequently pronounced as implosives ''post pausa'': [ɓ ɗ~ɗ̪ ɠ]
# The voiceless plosives /p t k/ are generally unaspirated although aspirated pronunciations may be found, especially by L2 speakers: [pʰ tʰ~t̪ʰ kʰ]. The glottal plosive /ʔ/ is never aspirated.
# The ejective consonants /pʼ tʼ kʼ t͡sʼ t͡ʃʼ t͡ɬʼ/ are frequently pronounced irregularly by L2 speakers who lack ejective consonants in their native languages. As there are many minimal pairs that can result in dangerous misunderstandings if the ejective consonants are not pronounced, many L2 speakers who are unable to pronounce the ejectives substitute them with sequences of a plain plosive or affricate, a weakly articulated schwa and then a glottal stop: [pə͉ʔ tə͉ʔ kə͉ʔ t͡sə͉ʔ t͡ʃə͉ʔ t͡ɬə͉ʔ].
# In careful speech, affricates are distinguished phonetically from equivalent sequences of plosive and fricative that come together across word boundaries. The clusters are pronounced with a separate release.
# The majority of Balog pronounce the fricatives /v/ and /f/ dentolabially: [v͆] and [f͆]. Due to anatomical differences, the majority of non-Balog pronounce these labiodentally as [v] and [f]. Speakers of certain regions, both Balog and non-Balog, may pronounce them bilabially as [β] and [ɸ]. 
# The fricatives /ɣ/ and /x/ may be pronounced either at the velum as [ɣ] and [x], or at the uvula as [ʁ] and [χ]. Speakers with uvular pronunciations of /ɣ/ may frequently pronounce it as a trill [ʀ].
# The consonant /r/ is generally pronounced as a tap or flap [ɾ] with trilled pronunciations generally restricted to emphatic speech. When geminate, the pronunciation is always as a trill.
# The lateral /l/ may be, as discussed in point 3., either be dental or alveolar, however there is frequently also a strong velar or pharyngeal coarticulation: [ɫ~ɫ̪]
# The semivowel /w/ is generally pronounced unrounded by Balog speakers due to anatomical differences. It is, however, pronounced with lip compression that results in a similar auditory effect: [w͍]. Non-Balog who speak it as an L2 may pronounce it with rounding: [w].

===Vowels===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  !! Front !! Front </br>Labialised || Back || Back </br>Labialised
|-
! High 
| /i/ [ɪ] ‹'''i'''› || /y/ [ʏ͍] ‹'''ü'''› || || /u/ [ʊ͍] ‹'''u'''›
|-
! Mid 
| /e/ [ɛ] ‹'''e'''› || /ø/ [œ͍] ‹'''ö'''› || || /o/ [ɔ͍] ‹'''o'''›
|-
! Low 
| /æ/ [æ] ‹'''ä'''› || || /a/ [ɑ] ‹'''a'''› ||
|}

The labialised vowels are pronounced by phenotypical Balog as unrounded vowels due to their protruding lower canines, however they are distinguished from their unlabialised counterparts by lip compression which has a similar auditory effect to rounding. This compression may sometimes be so extreme as to form a complete closure in the centre of the lips, leaving the airflow to escape laterally. Non-Balog speakers of Balog typically pronounce these vowels as rounded vowels. 

The phonetic realisation of these vowels, especially the higher ones, is generally quite lax, hence the symbols < ɪ ʏ͍ ʊ͍ ɛ œ͍ ɔ͍ æ ɑ > have been used here to represent the phones. The symbols < i y u e ø o æ a > were chosen to represent the phonemes purely for ease of typing, although in all cases except that of /a/, the IPA value of each of these characters is well within the range of possible realisations. A pure [a] would be right on the edge of the ranges of /æ/ and /a/: with the most fronted pronunciations of /a/ being in the realm of [ä].

====Diphthongs====
All mid and low vowels can begin falling diphthongs. The following sequences are diphthongs: /ai au æi æy ei eu ey oi ou øi øy/. All other vowel combinations will be separated by a consonant, including the semivowels /w/ and /j/.

===Phonotactics===
Syllables in Balog are maximally CSVC, where C represents a consonant, S semivowel /w/ or /j/ and V a vowel. Syllables with a CS onset are rather rare.

Consonant clusters other than those in which the second element is a semivowel do not occur within a morpheme or even within a clause, meaning that the appearance of such a consonant cluster reliably indicates a clause boundary. 

Any consonant may appear initially or medially in a morpheme. Ejective consonants cannot appear at the end of a morpheme. The plain voiceless stops and affricates are sometimes allophonically ejectivised at the end of an utterance.

==Morphophonology==
===Vowel Length and Gemination===
A number of proclitic morphemes such as the nominals (which indicate a subject), the essive proclitic ⫽weː⫽ and the possessive proclitics ⫽niː⫽ and ⫽nuː⫽ contain the archiphoneme ⫽ː⫽ which is realised as the gemination of the following consonant, which belongs to the next morpheme, unless the next morpheme is a verb consisting of a single consonant or another morpheme containing ⫽ː⫽, in which case ⫽ː⫽ is realised as a lengthening of the vowel of the proclitic. 

For example, verb corresponding to the first person singular subject pronoun ("I") may be either '''''ž''''' or '''''žan'''''. Applying the b-ranked, definite subject nominal clitic ⫽aː⫽ results in '''''aaž''''' or '''''ažžan''''' respectively (both meaning 'I', with the latter being more emphatically singular, 'I and no one else'). The essive proclitic ⫽weː⫽ applied to '''''ž''''' or '''''žan''''' results in '''''weež''''' or '''''wežžan''''' respectively ('who is me') and the a sequence of essive ⫽weː⫽ and subordinate possessive ⫽niː⫽ applied to '''''ž''''' or '''''žan''''' results in '''''wenniiž''''' or '''''wennižžan''''' respectively ('my', 'which is mine').

===Vowel Harmony===
All of the eight monophthongs and eleven diphthongs can be assigned to a harmonic class. Only /i/, /e/ and /ei/ are neutral. 

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  !! Neutral!! Front-</br>Harmonic || Back-</br>Harmonic
|-
! High Monophthongs
| /i/ || /y/ || /u/
|-
! Mid Monophthongs
| /e/ || /ø/ || /o/
|-
! Low Monophthongs
| || /æ/ || /a/
|-
! Mid Diphthongs to non-labial
| /ei/ || /øi/ || /oi/
|-
! Mid Diphthongs non-labial to labial
|  || /ey/ || /eu/
|-
! Mid Diphthongs labial to labial
|  || /øy/ || /ou/
|-
! High diphthongs to non-labial
| || /æi/ || /ai/
|-
! High diphthongs to labial
| || /æy/ || /au/
|-
|}

Individual morphemes in Balog cannot contain both front-harmonic and back-harmonic vowels. Both sets can coexist with neutral vowels. The front harmonic vowels are relatively rare in Balog, with the majority of roots containing only back-harmonic and or neutral vowels.

In the standard dialect of Tšqaigal, the hub of the Balog empire, vowel harmony spreads only to derivational affixes. For example, the causative infix '''''-uw-''''' becomes '''''-üw-'''''when added to front-harmonic words such as '''''däz''''' ('be an assertion/claim') → '''''düwäz'''''. In other dialects, front vowel harmony may spread from subject clitics, including the subordinator '''''ää=''''', onto roots, neutralising the difference between front-harmonic and back-harmonic roots in these positions. Back vowel harmony does not spread from clitics to roots. Vowel harmony does not spread through compounding, except for some very old compound words.

Front harmonic vowels are often associated with animateness, as in the minimal pair '''''maš''''' 'what' vs '''''mäš''''' 'who'.

==Morphology==
In the Balog's own grammatical tradition, three parts of speech are recognised:

* '''''Xam''''' "meat" 
* '''''Mološ''''' "sauce"  
* '''''Tlaz''''' "spice"

According to grammatical descriptions of Balog in Balog, '''''xam''''' or "meat words" are those that are integral to the meaning of a sentence. These are the content words or ''contentives''. '''''Mološ''''' or "sauce words" glue the meat words together and form grammatically correct sentences. These are termed 'linkers'. '''''Tlaz''''' or "spice words" provide finer shades of meaning and bring greater context and clarity to the whole utterance, although it is often possible to omit them. These are called 'particles' in English.

===Contentives (''Xam'')===
There is only one class of content word in Balog. These form the equivalent of verbs, nouns, adjectives and pronouns in other languages. Words of this lexical category cannot be sorted into separate discrete classes of nouns, verbs etc. using syntax or morphology. With few exceptions, each contentive exhibits complete bidirectional subject-predicate flexibility, meaning they can be used in predicates ("verbally") or be preceded by a subject clitic in order to be used ("nominally") as the subject of a clause without any irregular changes in form or meaning. This class of words in Balog is refered to as "contentives".

This situation can distinguished from the extensive zero-derivation, such as that employed by English, whereby verbs and nouns can, with a fair degree of flexibility, change category. Zero derivation results in identical verbs and nouns whose meanings relate to one another in somewhat unpredictable ways. For instance, although, by definition, a '''spy''' ''spies'' and a '''stray''' ''strays'', it cannot be said that, by definition, a '''fish''' ''fishes'' or '''burger''' ''burgers''. A '''tree''' ''grows'', but there is nothing called a '''grow''' that can be said to ''tree''. The verbal and nominal meanings formed by zero-derivation must therefore be regarded as separate (although related) lexical entities in their own right.

By contrast, the meaning of Balog contentives does not change depending on their syntactic position within a clause. Each contentive may be given a nominal or a verbal translation into English, but the relationship between them is consistent. If given a nominal translation, then the verbal translation is simply "be [noun]". If given a verbal translation, the nominal translation is simply the agent noun of it or, more specifically, "entity that [verbs]s", "one who [verbs]", "that which [verbs]", "those that [verb]" etc. 

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Balog Contentive!! Verbal Translation !! Nominal Translation
|-
| '''dauz''' || be a tree || tree
|-
| '''ŋaž''' || be tall || tall one
|-
| '''magaz''' || fall over || one that falls over
|-
| '''dek''' || die without obvious cause || one that dies without obvious cause
|-
| '''vaŋ''' || hunt; be a hunter || one who hunts; hunter
|}

It could be argued that a non-syntactic division of the category of verbs into classes of true verbs, nouns, adjectives etc., could be made on the basis of semantics. For example, semanticists may argue that the contentive '''magaz''' (fall over) is semantically a ''verb'' as it describes "an action/state",  whereas the contentive '''dauz''' (be a tree) is semantically a ''noun'' because it describes "an entity". This semantic approach to the creation of additional categories that are not supported by syntactic analysis will, however, inevitably cause disagreements as semantic categories have fuzzy edges. A contentive such as '''lisim''' could equally well regarded as a noun meaning "(an) annoyance" or "nuisance" or as a verb meaning "annoy" or "bother". The question as to whether ''lisim'' refers to an entity or to an action/state can be answered with "Both!" '''Lisim''' refers to the action and the agent of that action. Likewise, the contentive '''vaŋ''' could be argued to be a true verb meaning ''hunt'' (an action) or a noun meaning "hunter" (an entity or that performs the action). Even in more apparently clear-cut cases,  although the contentive '''magaz''' "fall over", which patently seems to describe an action, is most conveniently translated into English as a verb, it also describes an ''entity that falls over'' (a "faller-over"). Likewise, the contentive '''dauz''' describes an entity, a "tree", yet it also describes the action/state of '''being a tree'''. Balog simply makes no syntactic or lexical distinction between performing an action or being the agent of such an action. 

In many cases, the difference between what semanticists would regard as verbs or nouns depends on the the intrinsic temporal aspect or ''Aktionsart'' of the word's definition. Words describing relatively long-lasting and static attributes of an entity, such as '''dauz''' "be a tree" or '''ŋaž''' "be tall" are less likely to be perceived by semanticists as verbs and also less likely to be translatable by verbs alone in languages with a noun-verb distinction. Dynamic states or actions involving movement or change, especially transient or momentane descriptions of an entity that the entity may quickly pass through, are more likely to be regarded as intrinsically "verb like" and, when translated into English, may frequently have awkward, clunky nominal translations involving relative clauses headed by "entity that", "one who" or "that which".

The following table illustrates the temporal duration of varying attributes of what may be regarded as a single entity, a tree. This entity can be regarded as performing the action "be tree" for a substantial period of time, although, archetypally, it would most likely be described as a tree when fully grown and not yet fallen over. The size of the X's in the table indicates the suitability of the word or similarity to its conceptual archetype. Throughout a tree's life, it undergoes dynamic, changing action/states, some only for a single moment such as germinating or falling over, others, such as flowering may continue for a few weeks or months at a time and recur intermittantly. Other action/states, such as verbal "growing", occur for similar durations of time as more semantically nominal action/states such as "be tree", "be sapling", however these are regarded by semanticists as verbal merely due to the focus of the word on the change of state, contrasting with "be tree", in which changes of state are not in focus. 

<pre>Balog       Verbal               
Contentive: Translation:       Time:-----------------------------------------------------------------------> 
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________       
dauz       | be tree         | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ŋurad      | germinate       | X
biyad      | grow:           | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
zemalik    | be seedling     |  XXXXXXXXXXxxx
dauzit     | be sapling      |         xxxXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxx
ŋaž        | be tall         |                             xxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
nax        | photosynthesise |  X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 
zambilif   | flower          |                    XX    XX    XX   XX   XXX  XXX XX   XXX
magaz      | fall down       |                                                         X
dišif      | rot             |                                                       xxxXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxx
däžib      | fallen tree, log|                                                          XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxx</pre>

===Particles===
Particles modify contentives to give them new shades of meaning. The vast majority of particles are very short words. For example, particles indicating tense and aspect optionally stand before a contentive and give temporal information about it. These are not restricted to use with semantically verbal contentives, nor are they restricted to syntactic positions within a predicate as subject phrases themselves consist of a subject clitic followed by a contentive (phrase).

In the following example, the continuous particle '''''hi''''' indicates that the action of dying is not spoken about as a completed whole, but, rather, an action seen from the middle, thus "is dying" (or according to context, "was dying" etc.). The past tense particle '''''do''''' appears before '''''garag''''' "be neighbour" to indicate "be one who was a neighbour", thus "former neighbour" in the translation. 

: {| 
|- 
| colspan="8" | '''''Hi zowak aqaddo garag wenniiž.'''''
|-
| colspan="8" | [hɪ ˈzɔ͍w͍ɐk ɐʔɐdːɔ͍ ˈɡɐɾɐɡ wɛnːiːʒ]
|-
| <span style="color:#0000FF">'''hi'''</span> || '''zowak''' || '''aqa(ː)-''' || '''<span style="color:#0000FF">do</span>''' || '''garag''' || '''we(ː)-''' || '''ni(ː)-''' || '''ž'''
|-
| <span style="color:#0000FF">IPFV</span> || die.of.protracted.illness || SPEC(B)- || <span style="color:#0000FF">PST</span> || Garag || ESS- || GEN- || 1S
|-
| colspan="8" | "A <span style="color:#0000FF">former</span> garag of mine <span style="color:#0000FF">is</span> dy<span style="color:#0000FF">ing</span> (of a protracted illness)."
|}

===Linkers=== 
Linkers are morphemes that attach to the first word of a contentive phrase in order to coordinate them with or subordinate them in some manner into another contentive phrase. Clitic linkers include the archiphoneme /ː/, which lengthens the clitic's vowel when the rest of the clause consists of only a single consonant and otherwise geminates the following consonant.

====Essive====
The essive or equative clitic '''''we(:)-''''' introduces a contentive phrase that modifies its preceding head in a strict, additive manner. It is frequently translated into English by means of a relative pronoun.

: {| 
|- 
| colspan="4" | '''''aqabbalog weŋŋaž'''''
|-
| '''aqa(:) || '''balog''' || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''we(:)-'''</span> || '''ŋaž''' 
|-
| SPEC.R2 || be.Balog || <span style="color:#0000FF">ESS-</span> || be.tall
|-
| colspan="4" | "a tall Balog"
|}

: {| 
|- 
| colspan="4" | '''''iddžeb weššwaŋ'''''
|-
| '''i(:) || '''džeb''' || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''we(:)-'''</span> || '''šwaŋ''' 
|-
| SPEC.R5 || be.slave|| <span style="color:#0000FF">ESS-</span> || execute.PRF.PASS
|-
| colspan="4" | "the slave who has been executed"
|}

: {| 
|- 
| colspan="4" | '''''iddemeg weddag'''''
|-
| '''i(:)- || '''demeg''' || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''we(:)-'''</span> || '''dag''' 
|-
| DEF.R5 || be.book || <span style="color:#0000FF">ESS-</span> || be.big
|-
| colspan="4" | "the big book"
|}

: {| 
|- 
| colspan="4" | '''''eqeŋŋal wellouh'''''
|-
| '''eqe(:)- || '''ŋal''' || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''we(:)-'''</span> || '''louh''' 
|-
| SPEC.R4 || use.leg || <span style="color:#0000FF">ESS-</span> || sleep
|-
| colspan="4" | "a sleepwalker", "a walker who sleeps"
|}

: {| 
|- 
| colspan="5" | '''''iddemeg wennuuž'''''
|-
| '''i(:)- || '''demeg''' || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''we(:)-'''</span> || '''nu(:)-''' || '''ž'''
|-
| DEF(e) || be.book || <span style="color:#0000FF">ESS-</span> || POSS.DOM- || 1S
|-
| colspan="5" | "my book"
|}

: {| 
|- 
| colspan="7" | '''''iddiž weddemeg webbad wennuuž'''''
|-
| '''i(:)- || '''diž''' || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''we(:)-'''</span> || '''demeg''' || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''we(:)-'''</span> || '''nu(:)-''' || '''ž'''
|-
| DEF(e) || be.DEM.PROX.1 || <span style="color:#0000FF">ESS-</span> || be.book || <span style="color:#0000FF">ESS-</span> || POSS.DOM- || 1S
|-
| colspan="7" | "this big book of mine"
|}

====Subject Clitics====
''Subject clitics'' or ''subjectifiers'' appear at the beginning of every phrase denoting a grammatical subject. They indicate not only that the following base phrase is the subject of the preceding predicate but also convey information about '''definiteness''' (whether the addressee is expected to know which exact entity), '''specificity''' (whether the speaker knows which exact entity) and an inflectional dimension integral to Balog called ''rank'', described below. 

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Subject Clitics
|-
! colspan="2" | Status (Gloss)  !! Definite<br>Specific<br>(DEF) !! Indefinite<br>Specific<br>(SPEC)!! Indefinite<br>Non-Specific<br>(NSPC) !! Unrankable<br>Non-Specific 
|-
! colspan="6" | <small>Entities</small>
|-
! "Powerful" !! (A) 
| <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''uu='''''</span> || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''uquu='''''</span> || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''uhuu='''''</span> || —
|-
! "Dominant" !! (B)
| <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''aa='''''</span> || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''aqaa='''''</span> || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''ahaa='''''</span> || —
|-
! "Intermediate" !! (C)
| <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''oo='''''</span> || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''oqoo=''''</span> || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''ohoo='''''</span> || —
|-
! "Subordinate" !! (D)
| <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''ee='''''</span> || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''eqee='''''</span> || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''ehee='''''</span> || —
|-
! "Powerless" !! (E)
| <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''ii='''''</span> || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''iqii='''''</span> || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''ihii='''''</span> || —
|-
! "Unknown, animate"  !! (ANIM)
| — || — || — || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''üü='''''</span>
|-
! "Unknown, inanimate"  !! (INAN)
| — || — || — || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''aii='''''</span>
|-
! colspan="6" | <small>Propositions</small>
|-
! Propositional !! (P)
| <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''ä(:)-'''''</span> || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''äqä(:)-'''''</span> || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''''ähä(:)-'''''</span> ||
|}

The above table gives the forms as expressed in old prescriptive texts in Balog. In everyday use, however, the usage of what are here termed the specific indefinite forms (with VqVV=) and the non-specific indefinite forms is different.

Due to the fact that non-specific referents are unknown, the ranked non-specific forms with /h/ are nowadays usually replaced by the unknown clitics '''''üü=''''' and '''''aii='''''. Formerly, the ranked forms were used in order to set the rank of an unknown entity so that it may be discussed in following sentences, however, this distinction is no longer maintained and unknown entities, unless their rank is clear from the context, are left unranked and referred to using '''''üü=''''' and '''''aii='''''. The distinction between the VqVV= forms and VhVV= forms has thus effectively been neutralised. The non-specific subject clitics of the form VhVV= are nowadays chiefly used as allomorphs of the specific indefinite subject clitics with the form VqVV=, being more frequently used in environments near another instance of /ʔ/. For example, '''''luq eqeggitsag''''' 'a Balog's assistant is present' may also be pronounced as '''''luq eheggitsag''''' with no change in meaning. When speaking of the desire of a non-specific non-Balog man's presence, the unknown animate subject clitic will be used: '''''he luq üggitsag''''' 'May a Balog's assistant be present.' Some speakers have a preference for the VhVV= forms and others for the VqVV= forms. A few speakers still abide by the old prescriptive norms, distinguishing specific from non-specific from unrankable unknown entities.

Furthermore, the definite forms (VV=) are frequently used even for specific indefinite referents, with the indefinite forms (VqVV= and VhVV=) being more emphatically indefinite, representing a marked indication to the listener that they are not expected to know the identity of the referent. When speaking to higher ranked individuals, failure to use the indefinite forms when needed is seen as an affront to the hierarchy of respect as it effectively eliminates any indication of the listener's knowledge of the situation.

=====Rank=====
All known referents are assigned a '''rank''' any time they are appear as the subject of a clause. Rank is not a permanent attribute of a referent but rather a context-dependent assignment within a discourse that depends on the speaker's perceived and expressed relations between the referent and other referents. When a single referent is mentioned, the rank used depends only on the speaker's perception of the referent, however when there are two or more referents, ranks may be assigned that would otherwise not be used in order to differentiate between multiple referents within a discourse in order to show a hierarchy. Rank is the chief means of anaphoric reference and even person and number marking proforms such as '''''ž''''' 'I' and '''''l''''' 'you' (singular) are frequently dropped once they have been assigned a rank.

A useful way to conceptualise the typical assignment of rank is to use the question "Who would win in a physical fight?" as the deciding metric. Physically larger, stronger and more active referents are ranked higher than smaller, weaker referents. In some contexts, height alone has been agreed upon as the way to assign ranks. The highest rank, glossed R1, the "powerful" rank, indicated with the vowel '''u''', is a slight exception, frequently assigned to those who do not necessarily have physical strength but rather social, financial or political power. A referent marked with '''u''' is not necessarily physically dominant over other referents, but a conflict with an individual could lead to more significant consequences for referents of lower status than the physical prowess of the R1-ranked referent alone would afford them. "Weighty" or "untouchable" abstract concepts may sometimes be referred to with the U-status when there is no person in the discourse assigned to this rank. This is common with a few contentives such as '''''guwax''''' 'sun' and '''''tot''''' 'time'.
======Proforms======
{| class="wikitable" style="font-style:italic; font-weight:bold;" style="vertical-align: top;"
|- style="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal;" style="vertical-align: top;"
! 
! colspan="2" | 1st Person<br />(Exclusive)
! colspan="3" | 1st + 2nd<br />Person
! colspan="2" | 2nd <br />Person
! colspan="3" | 3rd <br />Person
|- style="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal;" style="vertical-align: top;"
| Status
| Singular
| Plural
| Neutral
| Dual
| Plural
| Singular
| Plural
| Neutral
| Singulative
| Plurative
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| style="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal;" | A "Powerful"
| style="color:#00009b;" | uuž<br />(užžan)
| style="color:#00009b;" | uuz <br />(uzzim)
| style="color:#00009b;" | uuŋ
| style="color:#00009b;" | uŋŋan
| style="color:#00009b;" | uŋŋim
| style="color:#00009b;" | uul<br />(ullan)<br />
| style="color:#00009b;" | uur<br />(ullim,<br />urrim)
| style="color:#00009b;" | uu
| style="color:#00009b;" | uun
| style="color:#00009b;" | uum
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| style="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal;" | B "Dominant"
| style="color:#00009b;" | aaž<br />(ažžan)
| style="color:#00009b;" | aaz<br />(azzim)
| style="color:#00009b;" | aaŋ
| style="color:#00009b;" | aŋŋan
| style="color:#00009b;" | aŋŋim
| style="color:#00009b;" | aal<br />(allan)
| style="color:#00009b;" | aar<br />(allim,<br />arrim)
| style="color:#00009b;" | aa
| style="color:#00009b;" | aan
| style="color:#00009b;" | aam
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| style="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal;" | C "Intermediate"
| style="color:#00009b;" | oož<br />(ožžan)
| style="color:#00009b;" | ooz<br />(ozzim)
| style="color:#00009b;" | ooŋ
| style="color:#00009b;" | oŋŋan
| style="color:#00009b;" | oŋŋim
| style="color:#00009b;" | ool<br />(ollan)
| style="color:#00009b;" | oor<br />(ollim,<br />orrim)
| style="color:#00009b;" | oo
| style="color:#00009b;" | oon
| style="color:#00009b;" | oom
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| style="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal;" | D "Subordinate"
| style="color:#00009b;" | eež<br />(ežžan)
| style="color:#00009b;" | eez<br />(ezzim)
| style="color:#00009b;" | eeŋ
| style="color:#00009b;" | eŋŋan
| style="color:#00009b;" | eŋŋim
| style="color:#00009b;" | eel<br />(ellan)
| style="color:#00009b;" | eer<br />(ellim,<br />errim)
| style="color:#00009b;" | ee
| style="color:#00009b;" | een
| style="color:#00009b;" | eem
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| style="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal;" | E "Powerless"
| style="color:#00009b;" | iiž<br />(ižžan)
| style="color:#00009b;" | iiz<br />(izzim)
| style="color:#00009b;" | iiŋ
| style="color:#00009b;" | iŋŋan
| style="color:#00009b;" | iŋŋim
| style="color:#00009b;" | iil<br />(illan)
| style="color:#00009b;" | eer<br />(illim,<br />irrim)
| style="color:#00009b;" | ii
| style="color:#00009b;" | iin
| style="color:#00009b;" | iim
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| style="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal;" | P "Propositional"
| style="color:#00009b;" | -
| style="color:#00009b;" | -
| style="color:#00009b;" | -
| style="color:#00009b; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal;" | 
| style="color:#00009b; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal;" | 
| style="color:#00009b;" | -
| style="color:#00009b;" | -
| style="color:#00009b;" | ää
| style="color:#00009b;" | -
| style="color:#00009b;" | -
|}

==Syntax==
One of the most unusual features of Balog is its complete lack of grammatical objects. Every verb is monovalent (intransitive), meaning it can refer to only one noun at a time. For this reason, it is essentially impossible to describe the morphosyntactic alignment of Balog. It can, however, be noted that there is a preponderance of unaccusative verbs to describe actions, with semantic agents generally appearing in clauses containing information about manner.
===Verb Phrases=== 
===Clause Syntax===
Clauses consist of a predicate followed by a subject. The predicate consists of a verb phrase. The subject consists of a verb phrase marked by a subject clitic.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Structure of a Clause
|-
| colspan="3" | '''C'''lause
|-
| '''P'''redicate
| colspan="2" |'''S'''ubject
|-
| '''V'''erb '''P'''hrase|| '''S'''ubject '''C'''litic|| '''V'''erb '''P'''hrase
|}

Here are some examples showing this structure.

: {|
|-
| colspan="3" | '''Magaz iddauz'''.
|-
| '''''magaz''''' || '''''i(:)-''''' || '''''dauz'''''
|-
| fall.over || DEF(E)- || be.tree
|-
| VP|| SC|| VP
|-
| colspan="3" | ''The tree fell over.''<br>''The tree falls over.''
|}

: {|
|-
| colspan="3" | '''Dauz immagaz'''.
|-
| '''''dauz''''' || '''''i(:)-''''' || '''''magaz'''''
|-
| be.tree || DEF(E)- || fall.over
|-
| VP|| SC|| VP
|-
| colspan="3" | ''What fell over was a tree.''<br>''The thing that is falling over is a tree.''
|}

===Clause Apposition===
As shown above, an intransitive clause such as 'the tree falls over,' can easily be expressed in Balog by means of a single clause. However, the strictly monovalent (intransitive) nature of all verbs in Balog prevents clauses from containing objects or adjuncts. The equivalent of sentences in other languages that contain an object must be multiclausal in Balog, with each argument being associated with its own verb. Typically, the agent of an action is the subject of a clause giving information about the manner of the action, very frequently indicating the body part or tool used whereas the patient is the subject of a verb conveying more semantic information. In the following examples, clauses are separated with commas, although this is not usually done.

: {|
|-
| colspan="6" | '''B'avvaŋ, magaz iddauz'''.
|-
| '''''b''''' || '''''a(:)-''''' || '''''vaŋ,''''' || '''''magaz''''' || '''''i(:)-''''' || '''''dauz'''''
|-
| use.hand || DEF(B)- || hunt, || fall.over || DEF(E)- || be.tree
|-
| VP|| SC|| VP, || VP|| SC|| VP
|-
| colspan="6" | ''The hunter pushes the tree over by hand.''
|}

Clauses that are placed next to each other in apposition, without any linking conjunction, are interpreted as causally and pragmatically related to one another. The conjunctive adverb ''tšqe'' "and unrelatedly" can be used to prevent this as well as to introduce new topics.

===Complementiser===
The propositional subject markers '''''ä(ä)-''''', '''''äqä(ä)-''''' and '''''ähä(ä)-''''' function as a complementiser akin to "that", attaching to the beginning of the predicate of a clause and marking it as the subject of the matrix clause. '''''Ä(ä)-''''' and '''''ähä(ä)-''''' are frequently used with the former referring to definite facts and events and the latter referring to the generalised idea. The following examples should elucidate the difference.


:{|
|-
| colspan="8" | '''M'oož nam ämmelets eel.'''
|-
| colspan="8" | [ˈmɔ͍ːʒ ˈnɐm ˈæmːɛɫɛt͡s ˈɛːɫ]
|-
| '''m''' || '''o(o)-''' || '''ž''' || '''nam''' || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''ä(ä)-'''</span> || '''melets''' || '''e(e)-''' || '''l'''
|-
| feel.emotionally || DEF(C)- || 1S || appeal || <span style="color:#0000FF">DEF(P)-</span> || be.happy || DEF(D)- || 2S
|-
| colspan="8" | "I'm glad you're happy."<br>"I like that you're happy."
|}


:{|
|-
| colspan="8" | '''M'oož nam ähämmelets eel.'''
|-
| colspan="8" | [ˈmɔ͍ːʒ ˈnɐm æˈhæmːɛɫɛt͡s ˈɛːɫ]
|-
| '''m''' || '''o(o)-''' || '''ž''' || '''nam''' || <span style="color:#0000FF">'''ähä(ä)-'''</span> || '''melets''' || '''e(e)-''' || '''l'''
|-
| feel.emotionally || DEF(C)- || 1S || appeal || <span style="color:#0000FF">NSPC(P)-</span> || be.happy || DEF(D)- || 2S
|-
| colspan="8" | "I like the idea of you being happy."
|}