The Yeh Language

Word Classes

Nouns

Nouns serve as names for people, things, and ideas. Nouns make up one of the largest classes of words in Yeh.

Examples

Number

In Yeh, number is not marked on the noun, and not obligatory when it is unnecessary or can be inferred from context. Number can be expressed with quantifiers, such as ványe (many) and esá (some), which come after the noun and other adjectives modifying it.

Pronouns

Yeh has 3 personal pronouns: no (I), im (you), and ye (he/she/singular they). The demonstratives oi (this) and nga (that) can also be used pronominally in the inanimate third person. Plurality can optionally be indicated with quantifiers, as in im rah (you two), or ye voi (they, lit. "he/she/they all"). Inclusivity can be indicated with conjunctions, as in no na ye (they and I).

Verbs

Verbs describe actions, occurences, and states of being. In Yeh, a declarative sentence is headed by a verb, which preceeds its subject and object.

Examples

Adjectives

Adjectives modify nouns by specifying the properties of the person, thing, or idea that the noun refers to. In Yeh, most adjectives follow the noun they modify.

Examples

Quantifiers

In Yeh, words describing the quanity of a noun form a special class, known as quantifiers. Like other adjectives, quantifiers follow the noun they modify. But quantifiers must also come after other adjectives modifying the same noun. Quantifiers include:

Demonstratives

Demonstratives indicate which person things and ideas are being referred to, and distinguish them from other such entities. Yeh has two demonstratives, oi (this) and nga (that), which may modify nouns. But unlike adjectives, these words directly preceed the noun they modify.

Adverbs

Coming soon...

Prepositions

Prepositions express a relationship of a noun phrase to another word in the sentence. Prepositions appear before their complement, which is always a noun phrase. In Yeh, prepositions must agree with their complement in animacy, indicated with the endings -e (animate) or -o (inanimate).

Examples

See also: preposition inventory, with examples and preposition syntax.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions connect words, phrases, and clauses.

Examples

Other

A few Yeh words do not fit conveniently into other word classes. These are typically function words that behave according to their own special rules.

Examples

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