Guimin
Guimin | |
---|---|
гӯймин | |
Pronunciation | [gʉːjˈmin] |
Created by | Dillon Hartwig |
Date | 2022 |
Setting | Dagestan, Russian Federation |
Indo-European
| |
Early form | |
Guimin /ˈgoɪmɪn/ (Guimin: гӯймин [gʉːjˈmin]) is an Indo-European language spoken in eastern Dagestan.
Etymology
Guimin is from the autonym and ethnonym гӯймин, which is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *gʷr̥H-h₁en-mén-s.
Orthography
Guimin has historically been written with the Arabic, Mkhedruli, and Latin scripts, but is now largely written with the Cyrillic script.
А а | А̄ а̄ | Ав ав | А̄в а̄в | Авъ авъ | А̄въ а̄въ | Ай ай | А̄й а̄й | Айъ айъ | А̄йъ а̄йъ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
/ɑ/ | /ɑː/ | /ɑu/ | /ɑuː/ | /ɑuˤ/ | /ɑuˤː/ | /ɑi/ | /ɑiː/ | /ɑiˤ/ | /ɑiˤː/ |
Б б | В в | Г г | Гъ гъ | Гь гь | Д д | Дж дж | Дз дз | Э э | Э̄ э̄ |
/b/ | /w/ | /g/ | /ʁ/ | /h/ | /d/ | /d͡ʒ/ | /d͡z/ | /e/ | /eː/ |
Ё ё | Ё̄ ё̄ | Ж ж | З з | И и | Ӣ ӣ | Иъ иъ | Ӣъ ӣъ | Й й | К к |
/jo/ | /joː/ | /ʒ/ | /z/ | /i/ | /iː/ | /iˤ/ | /iˤː/ | /j/ | /k/ |
Кк кк | Къ къ | Кь кь | Ккь ккь | Кӏ кӏ | Ккӏ ккӏ | Къӏ къӏ | Кьӏ кьӏ | Ккьӏ ккьӏ | Л л |
/kː/ | /qː/ | /t͡ɬ/ | /t͡ɬː/ | /kʼ/ | /kʼː/ | /qʼː/ | /t͡ɬʼ/ | /t͡ɬʼː/ | /l/ |
Лл лл | Лъ лъ | М м | Н н | О о | О̄ о̄ | П п | Пп пп | Пӏ пӏ | Ппӏ ппӏ |
/ɬː/ | /ɬ/ | /m/ | /n/ | /o/ | /oː/ | /p/ | /pː/ | /pʼ/ | /pʼː/ |
Р р | Рр рр | Ръ ръ | С с | Сс сс | Т т | Тт тт | Тӏ тӏ | Ттӏ ттӏ | У у |
/r/ | /r̥ː/ | /r̥/ | /s/ | /sː/ | /t/ | /tː/ | /tʼ/ | /tʼː/ | /u/ |
Ӯ ӯ | Уъ уъ | Ӯъ ӯъ | Ф ф | Фф фф | Х х | Хх хх | Хъ хъ | Ц ц | Цц цц |
/uː/ | /uˤ/ | /uˤː/ | /f/ | /fː/ | /x/ | /xː/ | /χː/ | /t͡s/ | /t͡sː/ |
Цӏ цӏ | Ццӏ ццӏ | Ч ч | Чч чч | Чӏ чӏ | Ччӏ ччӏ | Ш ш | Шш шш | Щ щ | Ы ы |
/t͡sʼ/ | /t͡sʼː/ | /t͡ʃ/ | /t͡ʃː/ | /t͡ʃʼ/ | /t͡ʃʼː/ | /ʃ/ | /ʃː/ | /ʃː/ | /ɨ/ |
Ы̄ ы̄ | Ыъ ыъ | Ы̄ъ ы̄ъ | Ӏ ӏ | Ә ә | Ә̄ ә̄ | Әъ әъ | Ә̄ъ ә̄ъ | Әв әв | Ә̄в ә̄в |
/ɨː/ | /ɨˤ/ | /ɨˤː/ | /ʔ/ | /æ/ | /æː/ | /æˤ/ | /æˤː/ | /æu/ | /æuː/ |
Әвъ әвъ | Ә̄въ ә̄въ | Әй әй | Ә̄й ә̄й | Әйъ әйъ | Ә̄йъ ә̄йъ | ||||
/æuˤ/ | /æuˤː/ | /æi/ | /æiː/ | /æiˤ/ | /æiˤː/ |
- ⟨й⟩+⟨а,э,у⟩ (including other letters and digraphs containing ⟨а,э,у⟩) have combining forms ⟨я,е,ю⟩.
- ⟨щ⟩ only occurs in Russian loanwords.
A a | Ā ā | Ä ä | Ǟ ǟ | B b | C c | Cc cc | C' c' | Cc' cc' | Č č |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
/ɑ/ | /ɑː/ | /æ/ | /æː/ | /b/ | /t͡s/ | /t͡sː/ | /t͡sʼ/ | /t͡sʼː/ | /t͡ʃ/ |
Čč čč | Č' č' | Čč' čč' | D d | E e | Ē ē | F f | Ff ff | G g | Ğ ğ |
/t͡ʃː/ | /t͡ʃʼ/ | /t͡ʃʼː/ | /d/ | /e/ | /eː/ | /f/ | /fː/ | /g/ | /ʁ/ |
H h | I i | Ī ī | J j | K k | Kk kk | K' k' | Kk' kk' | L l | Ł ł |
/h/ | /i/ | /iː/ | /j, i̯/ | /k/ | /kː/ | /kʼ/ | /kʼː/ | /l/ | /ɬ/ |
Łł łł | M m | N n | O o | Ō ō | P p | Pp pp | P' p' | Pp' pp' | Q q |
/ɬː/ | /m/ | /n/ | /o/ | /oː/ | /p/ | /pː/ | /pʼ/ | /pʼː/ | /qː/ |
Q' q' | R r | Rh rh | Rr rr | S s | Ss ss | Š š | Šš šš | T t | Tt tt |
/qʼː/ | /r/ | /r̥/ | /r̥ː/ | /s/ | /sː/ | /ʃ/ | /ʃː/ | /t/ | /tː/ |
T' t' | Tt' tt' | Tł tł | Tłł tłł | Tł' tł' | Tłł' tłł' | U u | Ū ū | W w | X x |
/tʼ/ | /tʼː/ | /t͡ɬ/ | /t͡ɬː/ | /t͡ɬʼ/ | /t͡ɬʼː/ | /u/ | /uː/ | /w, u̯/ | /x/ |
Xx xx | X̌ x̌ | Y y | Ȳ ȳ | Z z | Ž ž | Ʒ ʒ | Ǯ ǯ | ʔ | ◌ˤ |
/xː/ | /χː/ | /ɨ/ | /ɨː/ | /z/ | /ʒ/ | /d͡z/ | /d͡ʒ/ | /ʔ/ | /ˤ/ |
آ | آو | آوع | آي | آيع | ئ | ا | او | اي | ب |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
/ɑ, ɑː/ | /ɑu, ɑuː/ | /ɑuˤ, ɑuˤː/ | /ɑi, ɑiː/ | /ɑiˤ, ɑiˤː/ | /ʔ/ | /æ, æː/ | /æu, æuː/ | /æi, æiː/ | /b/ |
ت | تّ | ج | ڃ | ڃّ | چ | چّ | ح | خ | خّ |
/t/ | /tː/ | /d͡ʒ, ʒ/ | /t͡ʃʼ/ | /t͡ʃʼː/ | /t͡ʃ/ | /t͡ʃː/ | /χː/ | /x/ | /xː/ |
څ | د | ر | رّ | ز | س | سّ | ش | شّ | ص |
/qː/ | /d/ | /r̥, r/ | /r̥ː/ | /d͡z, z/ | /s/ | /sː/ | /ʃ/ | /ʃː/ | /t͡s/ |
صّ | ض | ضّ | ڝ | ڝّ | ط | طّ | ع | عو | عي |
/t͡sː/ | /t͡sʼ/ | /t͡sʼː/ | /ɬ/ | /ɬː/ | /tʼ/ | /tʼː/ | /æˤ, æˤː/ | /æuˤ, æuˤː/ | /æiˤ, æiˤː/ |
غ | ف | فّ | ڣ | ڣّ | ق | ڨ | ڨّ | ك | كّ |
/ʁ/ | /p, f/ | /pː, fː/ | /pʼ/ | /pʼː/ | /qʼː/ | /t͡ɬʼ/ | /t͡ɬʼː/ | /k/ | /kː/ |
گ | ࢰ | ࢰّ | ل | ڸ | ڸّ | م | ن | ە | و |
/g/ | /kʼ/ | /kʼː/ | /l/ | /t͡ɬ/ | /t͡ɬː/ | /m/ | /n/ | /h/ | /w, u, uː/ |
وع | ۈ | ي | يع | ێ | ێع | ې | |||
/uˤ, uˤː/ | /o, oː/ | /j, i, iː/ | /iˤ, iˤː/ | /ɨ, ɨː/ | /ɨˤ, ɨˤː/ | /e, eː/ |
- Arabic and Persian loanwords may instead be written as in the original language unadapted.
ა | ა̈ | აჲ | ა̈ჲ | ავ | ა̈ვ | ბ | გ | დ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
/ɑ/ | /æ/ | /ɑi/ | /æi/ | /ɑu/ | /æu/ | /b/ | /g/ | /d/ |
ე | ზ | თ | თჺ | ი | ი̈ | კ | ლ | მ |
/e/ | /z/ | /t/ | /t͡ɬ/ | /i/ | /ɨ/ | /kʼ/ | /l/ | /m/ |
ნ | ჲ | ო | პ | ჟ | რ | ს | ტ | ტჺ |
/n/ | /j/ | /o/ | /pʼ/ | /ʒ/ | /r/ | /s/ | /tʼ/ | /t͡ɬʼ/ |
ვ | უ | ფ | ქ | ყ | შ | ჩ | ც | ძ |
/w/ | /u/ | /p/ | /k/ | /qʼː/ | /ʃ/ | /t͡ʃ/ | /t͡s/ | /d͡z/ |
წ | ჭ | ხ | ჴ | ჯ | ჰ | ღ | ჶ | ჸ |
/t͡sʼ/ | /t͡ʃʼ/ | /χː/ | /qː/ | /d͡ʒ/ | /h/ | /ʁ/ | /f/ | /ʔ/ |
ჹ | ჺ | ჿ | ◌̄ | ◌◌ | ◌ჾ | |||
/ɬ/ | /x/ | /r̥/ | /Vː/ | /Cː/ | /ˤ/ |
- /t͡ɬː, t͡ɬʼː/ are doubled as ⟨თთჺ, ტტჺ⟩; /qː, qʼː, χː/ are not doubled.
Phonology
Consonants
Labial | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Lateral | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ||||||||||||
Stop | Voiceless | p | pː | t | tː | k | kː | qː | ʔ | |||||
Ejective | pʼ | pʼː | tʼ | tʼː | kʼ | kʼː | qʼː | |||||||
Voiced | b | d | g | |||||||||||
Affricate | Voiceless | t͡s | t͡sː | t͡ʃ | t͡ʃː | t͡ɬ | t͡ɬː | |||||||
Ejective | t͡sʼ | t͡sʼː | t͡ʃʼ | t͡ʃʼː | t͡ɬʼ | t͡ɬʼː | ||||||||
Voiced | d͡z | d͡ʒ | ||||||||||||
Fricative | Voiceless | f | fː | s | sː | ʃ | ʃː | ɬ | ɬː | x | xː | χː | h | |
Voiced | w | z | ʒ | ʁ | ||||||||||
Approximant | l | j | ||||||||||||
Trill | Voiceless | r̥ | r̥ː | |||||||||||
Voiced | r |
- /ʔ, d͡z, f, fː/ only occur in loanwords.
- /n/ assimilates in place of articulation to following stops.
- Consonants except /f, fː, j/ are pharyngealized adjacent to pharyngealized vowels and other pharyngealized consonants.
- Pharyngealization of trills is optional and varies by speaker.
- Pharyngealized alveolar consonants (except lateral consonants and trills) are realized as dental.
- Pharyngealized /ʔ/ is realized as [ʡ~ʕ].
- Pharyngealized /h/ is realized as [ħ~ʜ].
- Voiceless and non-geminated ejective stops may be lightly aspirated and ejected.
- Word-initial geminated consonants may be realized as strongly aspirated or ejected.
- Word-initial /qː, qʼː/ are realized as [q, qʼ].
- /l/ and [lˤ] are in free variation with [ɫ], especially for younger speakers.
- /w/ is in free variation with [v] except before rounded vowels and /j/.
- /w/ and [wˤ] before rounded vowels and /j/ are realized as [v].
Vowels
Front | Central | Back | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
High | i | iː | ɨ | ɨː | u | uː |
High pharyngealized | iˤ | iˤː | ɨˤ | ɨˤː | uˤ | uˤː |
Close-mid | e | eː | o | oː | ||
Low | æ | æː | ɑ | ɑː | ||
Low pharyngealized | æˤ | æˤː |
æi | æiː | æiˤ | æiˤː |
æu | æuː | æuˤ | æuˤː |
ɑi | ɑiː | ɑiˤ | ɑiˤː |
ɑu | ɑuː | ɑuˤ | ɑuˤː |
- /æˤ/ only occurs in loanwords.
- /u, uː, o, oː, ɑ, ɑː/ are realized as /ʉ, ʉː, ɵ, ɵː, ɐ, ɑː/ if the following syllable contains /i, iː, iˤ, iˤː, e, eː/.
- /u/ in diphthongs is realized as /ɵ/.
- /iˤ, iˤː, ɨˤ, ɨˤː, uˤ, uˤː, æˤ, æˤː/ are realized as /e, eː, ɘ, ɘː, o, oː, ɘ, ɘː/ word-finally after pharyngealized consonants.
- /e, o/ are in free variation with [ɛ, ɔ].
- Epenthetic [ɘ] is optionally inserted between morphemes, most often between obstruents of different voicing/fortition.
Prosody
Stress is phonemic, most often either stem-initial or directly after the stem (which shifts to stem-final with zero-suffixes).
Phonotactics
Guimin has a maximum syllable structure of CCVCC. C[C,!{w,j}] clusters cannot occur word-initially.
Morphology
Alignment
Guimin has ergative-absolutive morphosyntactic alignment.
Nouns
Nouns inflect for case and number, and are gendered masculine, feminine, or neuter.
Cases are split into absolutive (including genitive 1) and oblique. Genitive 1 and 2 are used with absolutive and absolutive (not including genitive 1) head nouns respectively. Some nouns also have suppletive oblique stems.
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Demonstratives and pronouns
Pronouns inflect for the same categories as nouns. First-person plural pronouns also mark clusivity, and third-person pronouns mark gender.
Guimin third-person masculine singular pronouns also function as demonstratives, and when used as such often absolutive сә is treated as the stem inflected as a first-declension noun.
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Locative cases
A number of locative cases can be applied to nouns (including demonstratives and pronouns).
LOC | LAT | ABL | TRANS | TERM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
-э | -дэ | -әд | -игъ | -быд | |
in- | -инэ | -индэ | -инәд | -инигъ | -имбыд |
super- | -ыънэ | -ыъндэ | -ыънәд | -ыънигъ | -ыъмбыд |
sub- | -уъпӏэ | -уъпӏтӏэ | -уъпӏәд | -уъпӏигъ | -уъппыд |
pre- | -рэ̄ | -рэ̄дэ | -рэ̄д | -рэ̄игъ | -рэ̄быд |
post- | -ппӏэ | -ппӏтӏэ | -ппӏәд | -ппӏигъ | -ппӏыд |
Locative suffixes are applied to the ergative stem of the noun, and in plural nouns follows ergative plural marking.
Verbs
Guimin has 22 light verbs from which all others are derived. They inflect for tense, aspect, mood, voice, patient number and gender, and other optional categories.
M | F | N | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | |||
INF | тӣ | |||||||
PFV | IND | PRES | тӣтӏ | тӣнтӏ | тә̄тӏ | тэнтӏ | тыътӏ | ттинтӏ |
PST | тӣнтӏ | тӣнинтӏ | тә̄нтӏ | тә̄нинтӏ | ттытӏ | тыънинтӏ | ||
PRF | тита̄тӏ | титнэнтӏ | тита̄тӏ | титнэнтӏ | тита̄тӏ | титнэнтӏ | ||
FUT | тӣтӏиъ | тӣнтӏиъ | тэтӏиъ | тә̄нтӏиъ | ттитӏиъ | ттәнтӏиъ | ||
PASS | тӣтӏә | тӣрә | тә̄тӏә | тә̄рә | тыътӏә | тыърә | ||
IMP | тӣтӏуъ | тӣнтӏуъ | тә̄тӏуъ | тэнтӏуъ | тыътӏуъ | ттинтӏуъ | ||
PTCP | NPST | ттәнцӏ | ||||||
PST | тыънәнцӏ | |||||||
PASS | тты̄нәс | |||||||
IPFV | IND | NPST | тэ̄нтӏ | тинэнтӏ | та̄нтӏ | тәнэнтӏ | та̄тӏ | тынэнтӏ |
PST | итэ̄нтӏ | итинэнтӏ | ита̄нтӏ | итәнэнтӏ | ита̄тӏ | итнэнтӏ | ||
PASS | тэ̄нтӏә | тэ̄нрә | та̄нтӏә | та̄нрә | та̄тӏә | та̄рә | ||
PTCP | NPST | тынанцӏ | ||||||
PST | та̄нәнцӏ | |||||||
PASS | та̄мынәс |
Verbs are most often derived by pairing a light verb with either a following adjective or a preceding absolutive noun. When an absolutive noun is part of a complex verb, the clause's patient is instead marked as dative.
Other verb markers
Tense, aspect, and mood
A number of tense-aspect combinations are formed by compounding verbs.
imperfective infinitive | verb.IPFV | + | be.INF |
---|---|---|---|
pluperfect | verb.PRF | be.IPFV.NPST | |
discontinuous | verb.PRF | become.PFV | |
habitual | verb.IPFV | do.IPFV | |
iterative | verb.IPFV | verb.IPFV |
Four mood suffixes can be applied to indicative verbs: subjunctive -кьи, conditional -ссә, counterfactual -(й)ә̄й, and abilitative -ыъ.
Converbs
There are two converbs: relative/attributive -ды which puts no restriction on its verb's inflection, and simultaneous -цы which can only be applied to imperfective verbs.
Valency modifiers
Verb valency can be increased and decreased with suffixes -гьэ and -ухъ respectively. These suffixes are also mostly used to derive new verbs, for example диркӏ, диркӏгьэ "to see, to look" and вӣд, вӣдухъ "to know, to think."
Causatives
Causative verbs are marked with particles preceding the causee. These particles agree with the causer's gender: masculine вит, feminine вәт, neuter уът.
If present in the clause, the causer is marked as the agent of the verb, and the causee is put in the absolutive.
Reflexives and reciprocals
For reflexives see Demonstratives and pronouns. Reciprocals are marked with a verb suffix -зәм.
Questions
Questions are marked either with interrogative proforms or an interrogative verb suffix: -ма for polar questions, and -май for mediative questions.
Verb affix order
negation | пӏә- "un-"/ двиъ- "re-" |
verb stem |
valency modifier |
reciprocal | mood | converb | question | gerund/ agentivizer |
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Adjectives
Adjectives agree with their head noun in case, number, and gender.
First declension | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M | F | N | ||||
SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | |
ABS | тӏ(ә)- | -әм | ццӏ(а)- | -э̄с | с(ә)- | -ә̄с |
ERG | -әс | -эс | -э̄ | -әс | ||
GEN1 | -итиъ | -әмтиъ | -э̄тиъ | -э̄мтиъ | -әтиъ | -әгьиъ |
GEN2 | -әш | -ә̄м | -э̄с | -э̄м | -исәс | -исә̄м |
DAT | -э | -әмәс | -ӣъ | -э̄мәс | -исӣ | -исмәс |
INSTR | -ә̄ | -э̄с | -эхъ | -э̄биъ | -исс | -иппиъ |
COM | -әми | -э̄ми | -ими | |||
EQ | -әсы | -э̄сы | -исы |
Second declension | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M | F | N | ||||
SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | |
ABS | тӏ(ә)- | -иъм, -йм | ццӏ(а)- | -е̄с | с(ә)- | -йә̄с |
ERG | -иъс, -йс | -ӣс | -е̄ | -йәс | ||
GEN1 | -иътиъ, -йтиъ | -е̄тиъ | -ӣтиъ | -е̄мтиъ | -йәтиъ | -йәгьиъ |
GEN2 | -ӣс | -ё̄м | -е̄с | -е̄м | -исәс | -исә̄м |
DAT | -ӣъ | -иъмәс, -ймәс | -ӣъ | -е̄мәс | -исӣ | -исмәс |
INSTR | -иъбиъ, -йбиъ | -е̄хъ | -е̄биъ | -исс | -иппиъ | |
COM | -иъми, -йми | -е̄ми | -ими | |||
EQ | -иъсы, -йсы | -е̄сы | -исы |
Third declension | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M | F | N | ||||
SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | |
ABS | тӏ(ә)- | -вис | ццӏ(а)- | -вэ̄с | с(ә)- | -вә̄с |
ERG | -уъс, -вс | -вэ̄ | -вәс | |||
GEN1 | -уътиъ, -втиъ | -отиъ | -вэ̄тиъ | -вэ̄мтиъ | -вәтиъ | -вәгьиъ |
GEN2 | -ос | -вә̄м | -вэ̄с | -вэ̄м | -висәс | -висә̄м |
DAT | -вӣ | -уъмәс, -вмәс | -вӣъ | -вэ̄мәс | -висӣ | -висмәс |
INSTR | -ӯъ, -в | -уъбиъ, -вбиъ | -вэхъ | -вэ̄биъ | -висс | -виппиъ |
COM | -уъми, -вми | -вэ̄ми | -вими | |||
EQ | -уъсы, -всы | -вэ̄сы | -висы |
The absolutive singular prefixes тӏ(ә)-, ццӏ(а)-, с(ә)- are optional and most often used for disambiguation.
Comparative and superlative adjectives are preceded by particles е and бәч respectively, and compared nouns use the equative case.
Evidentiality
Witness and nonwitness evidence are marked with clause-initial particles ыг and гӯ respectively. Gnomic clauses use neither particle.
Reportative clauses use a separate particle that agrees in gender with the reportee: masculine кӏу, feminine кӏо, neuter ккӏа. If the reportee is included in or near the clause the reportative particle follows the reportee, otherwise it is clause-initial.
Negation and prohibitives
Clauses are negated with a verb clitic ни-, or an emphatic equivalent вэ̄-. These clitics can also function as preceding particles to negate individual words, and as negative interjections.
Prohibitive verbs are marked with a preceding particle мӣ plus imperative inflection.
Postpositions
Numerals
Guimin uses base-20 numerals, except past 1000 where base-10 is used.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|
эв | двә̄ | тӏырӣ | кӏтӏӯр | пӏукӏ |
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
биккӏ | сипӏтӏы | әкӏтӏә̄ | нон | дикӏы |
11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
дикӏмэв | дикӏыдвә̄ | дикӏытӏырӣ | дикӏыкӏтӏӯр | дикӏыпӏукӏ |
16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
дикӏмиккӏ | дикӏысипӏтӏы | дикӏмәкӏтӏә̄ | дикӏынон | виъгьы |
400 | 1,000 | 10,000 | 100,000 | 1,000,000 |
кӏытӏ | гьәзә̄р | бә̄вр | дикӏы бә̄вр | милён |
- Numeral places above 1,000,000 are Russian loans.
Numerals 1-4 have irregular ordinal forms пӏӯв, двиъчӏ, тӏыриътӏ, кӏтӏвытӏ, other ordinals are marked by -(ы)тӏ. Distributive and collective numerals are marked by -ар and -ла respectively.
Syntax
Constituent order
The predominant word order is SOV, but word order is very flexible.
Noun and verb phrases
Numerals precede their head. Genitives, possessives, and adjectives may either precede or follow their head. Adverbs follow their head.
Dependent clauses
Dependent clauses follow the head they modify after any other modifiers, and are generally marked with the attributive.
Example texts
Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 1
Гӯ мәнвис виъсәм муъкӏтӏмими гьу вэ̄кьӏмими карә̄мэ̄с гьу гьуъкъӯкъә̄м упӏрә. Гӯ әъкь гьу виджд дӯрә гьу тӣнтӏзәм такэ̄ бырэ̄тӏ гӯъдэчэ̄.
Гӯ
NWIT
мәнвис
human.ABS-PL.ABS
виъсәм
all-M.PL.ABS
муъкӏтӏмими
free-ADJ.NZ-COM
гьу
and
вэ̄кьӏмими
equal-ADJ.NZ-COM
карә̄мэ̄с
dignity-SG.GEN2
гьу
and
гьуъкъӯкъә̄м
rights-PL.GEN2
упӏрә.
make.PFV.PASS.M.PL
Гӯ
NWIT
әъкь
reason
гьу
and
виджд
conscience
дӯрә
give.PFV.PASS.M.PL
гьу
and
тӣнтӏзәм
do.PFV.PRES.M.PL
такэ̄
should
бырэ̄тӏ
brother
гӯъдэчэ̄.
be.INF-LAT-GER-ADV