Grambank & Language Documentation: Zhwadi and

Its Features

Author: Jessie Sams

MS Date: 05-31-2023

FL Date: 06-01-2023

FL Number: FL-00008D-00

Citation: Sams, Jessie. 2023. “Grambank & Language

Documentation: Zhwadi and Its Features.”
FL-00008D-00, Fiat Lingua, . Web. 01 June 2023.

under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ 

Fiat Lingua is produced and maintained by the Language Creation Society (LCS). For more information
about the LCS, visit https://www.conlang.org/

Grambank & Language Documentation 1

Grambank & Language Documentation:
Zhwadi and Its Features 1

Jessie Sams (soon to be Peterson)

Grambank, an online database cataloging 195 linguistic features for over 2,000
languages, was released earlier this year. At ﬁrst, I approached it the same way I
approached other linguistic resources (e.g. WALS Online, World Lexicon of
Grammaticalization): as a tool for understanding distribution of linguistic features,
correlations among features, and ways languages use those features. And Grambank is
indeed an excellent resource to add to a conlanger’s “toolbox” because it isolates key
linguistic features of languages, provides descriptions with examples, and presents the
features as yes/no questions for the most part (only a handful diverge from that pattern).

There is a great deal of overlap between WALS Online and Grambank: the Max Planck
Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology supports both publications, and many scholars
contributed to both resources. Both strive to show feature distribution of language
features—not just to show how many languages have a particular feature but also to
show where those languages are spoken.

WALS Online breaks features into chapters, where each feature is described with
examples before a quantitative breakdown and associated map are provided (you need
to click on “Go to map” to see it). Each chapter ends with a summary of ﬁndings to
indicate whether the feature appears to be geographically situated and what other
ﬁndings are related to that particular feature. A sampling of chapter titles includes:

Chapter 65: Perfective/Imperfective Aspect
Chapter 66: The Past Tense
Chapter 67: The Future Tense
Chapter 68: The Perfect

There are 152 chapters in total that cover areas of phonology, morphosyntax, and
semantics.

Grambank focuses on morphosyntax and provides the distribution of features without
closing commentary. The goal is not to say whether there are patterns within the
distribution of features but to simply show what features occur based on published

This version is current as of June 2023.
1

Grambank & Language Documentation 2

linguistic descriptions of languages. These are the features that directly overlap with the
sampling of WALS chapters:

GB082:
GB083:
GB084:

GB086:

Is there overt morphological marking of present tense on verbs?
Is there overt morphological marking on the verb dedicated to past tense?
Is there overt morphological marking on the verb dedicated to future
tense?
Is a morphological distinction between perfective and imperfective aspect
available on verbs?

Languages are coded as either having the feature (an answer of “yes” is coded as 1), not
having the feature (an answer of “no” is coded as 0), or “not known” (coded as ?). The
“not known” response indicates that no published grammars speciﬁcally mention the
feature or have examples that demonstrate the feature (whether or not the feature was
in focus).

The number of languages surveyed is much greater in Grambank. Looking speciﬁcally
at the feature isolating the future tense in languages, WALS Online includes 222
languages in the sampling while Grambank includes 2,402 entries (with only 129
marked as “not known”).

Below is the map shown on WALS Online for the future tense:

Image 1. WALS map for future tense

Grambank & Language Documentation 3

Underneath the map is the list of languages in the sampling with a reference list to
indicate where the information came from for that language (very helpful if you want to
ﬁnd out more about the language!).

Here is the map for the same feature on Grambank:

Image 2. Grambank map for future tense

Like in WALS, there is a list of languages underneath the map that includes the
language names and sources. However, an added bonus is the “comment” section,
where some contributors provide more speciﬁc information, including examples of the
feature in the language. The comment section is what speciﬁcally inspired me for the
project that is really the focus of this article.

First, though, I’m going to present a minor tangent to highlight another feature of
Grambank: you can have the map show you a cross-section of two features to identify
possible correlations. For instance, combining the future tense with the past tense
provides this new feature-dependency map:

Grambank & Language Documentation 4

Image 3. Grambank dependency map for future and past tenses

The dots are coded to show all possible combinations of the two features, and this
shows that it is common for languages to not mark either tense (the 0/0 results) or to
mark both tenses (the 1/1 results), and that it is more common for languages to mark
the past tense but not the future (the 1/0 results) than it is for languages to mark the
future but not the past (the 0/1 results).

At the same time I was exploring more of Grambank, I was working on an outline for
two different podcast episodes for LangTime Studio: one for a trivia game where I
quizzed LangTime Studio co-host David Peterson on features of languages based on
information in Grambank, and a second where David and I discussed methods of
language documentation—speciﬁcally the features conlangers can and should include
in their written grammars to make the information more accessible and user-friendly.
As I was writing out notes for both episodes, I realized just how valuable that comment
section was underneath the maps. I further saw how marking the features as either
being present or absent made comparing languages and understanding how they work
a little easier.

Grambank & Language Documentation 5

That led me to the idea of actually using Grambank’s feature list as a method for
language documentation. Because the list provides a consistent set of features,
comparing information across languages is much easier. For conlangers sharing work
with other conlangers, that means ﬁnding a key piece of information is easier because
you can go directly to that feature listing. Furthermore, having a set list of features
means conlangers who struggle to provide write-ups of their conlangs don’t have to fret
about ways to present the information—they can just focus on answering the questions.
(Mind you, for those of us who enjoy writing up full descriptions of our languages, this
method is not meant to replace those written grammars. Instead, it is meant to
supplement it, especially as a shareable document for others to more quickly identify
the features that occur in the language and how they work.)

To that end, I created a shareable Google Sheet with six columns. The ﬁrst column is a
link directly to the related Grambank feature description (which is especially important
for understanding what the feature targets). The second column is the feature question,
copied directly from Grambank (i.e. I have not changed or modiﬁed any of the wording
used).

The third and fourth columns are organizational features that I added because I noticed
that the features list is not necessarily in an order that would be helpful for identifying
groups of information, such as ﬁnding all the features relevant for articles and their use
in the language. I categorized each feature as belonging to one of three major categories
found cross-linguistically: noun, verb, or clause. And then I further categorized each
feature as belonging to a more speciﬁc subcategory of information, with 20
subcategories represented, such as article, negation, or relative clause. For example,
there are eight features that focus on articles and their use in the language, and each of
those features are, in turn, categorized in the noun category since they are relevant to
nouns. These columns allow you to sort the sheet to, for example, show all the article
features together (they appear in multiple places in the original order of the Grambank
list).

The ﬁfth column provides dropdown menus for answering the question. Again, most
features are yes/no questions, so the dropdown menus provide three options: yes, no,
and not sure. The “not sure” response indicates it is a feature you haven’t yet ﬁgured
out for your language. Finally, the last column is perhaps the most important. It
provides a space for you to describe the feature and provide examples of how it works
in your language. That’s the information other conlangers really want to see: they want
to know how you implemented a particular feature (or the strategy you chose in its
absence).

Grambank & Language Documentation 6

Another feature of the sheet is that I added a second page with instructions for using
the sheet. To access the instructions, look at the tabs across the bottom of the screen and
click on “Instructions.” The sheet is a view-only document, so you will need to copy or
download it to use for yourself. When you do, you can make all sorts of customizations
to it, including changing the colors, fonts, category and subcategory labels, and column
sizes.

As an example, I have started a document for my conlang Zhwadi. It is a work in
progress, and there are many features coded as “not sure” for the time being since I
haven’t quite sussed those out yet. But it provides an example of how you can use the
sheet to document your own language. (Or to document a natlang or begin a new
conlang!)

The ﬁnal half of this article is a PDF of Zhwadi’s feature list as it currently stands. As I
enter more information and make more decisions about the language, I will continue
updating this article (hence, the note on its current version at the bottom of the ﬁrst
page).

In the meantime, happy documenting!

The internal cell-to-cell links do not work in the PDF version. For the more interactive version with all
2
links active, you need to go to the Zhwadi Google Sheet linked in the previous paragraph.

Grambank Feature

Basic Category

Subcategory

Y/N

Conlang Description and Example(s)

GB020

Are there definite or specific articles?

GB021

Do indefinite nominals commonly have indefinite
articles?

GB022

Are there prenominal articles?

Noun

Article

Noun

Article

GB023

Are there postnominal articles?

Noun

GB024 What is the order of numeral and noun in the NP? Noun

GB025 What is the order of adnominal demonstrative and

noun?

Article

Numeral

Noun

Demonstrative

Dem-N

GB026

Can adnominal property words occur
disontinuously?

Yes

Zhwadi lacks definite and indefinite articles, so sentence like Pela
liriyám abazíl can be translated with indefinite articles, definite articles,
or a mix of both: “The/A person collected (the) wildflowers.”

See example in Feature 020.

The demonstrative determiner attaches as a prefixed clitic to the noun
(or to a modifier preceding the noun).

• gyav-ani “that sky”
• gyav-ara ani “that dark sky”

See Feature 025 for more examples.

The only articles in Zhwadi are demonstrative determiners, and they
precede the noun.

Not sure

It will probably be Num-Noun.

The demonstrative determiners attach as a prefixed clitic, and their
forms depend on the initial sound of the word they attach to. Each
demonstrative determiner has a vowel-final form (used when occurring
with a stem beginning with a consonant) and consonant-final form
(used when occurring with a stem beginning with a vowel).

• ko-dunī “this moss” / kol-anjé “this bee”
• gya-zhelu “that (visible) ivy” / gyav-obi “that (visible) mud”
• akla-yazhī “that (non-visible) lightning” / aklav-itu “that (non-visible)
mouse”
Modifiers typically precede their noun, but they can also appear directly
after the noun in an inflected form that indicates the class of the noun
being modified.

• gwava ipa ~ ipa igwava “smooth ice”
• rakye sarā ~ sarā tarakye “rough leaf”

Noun

Property Word

Nominal modifiers can only occur before their nouns:

GB027

GB028

Are nominal conjunction and comitative expressed
by different elements?

Is there a distinction between inclusive and
exclusive?

Noun

Case/Flag

Not sure

Pronoun

Yes

chāra sarā “green leaf”
uki chal “light hair” (or “white hair”)

Regardless of whether they appear before or after the noun, they
cannot appear discontinuously.

I think I want to have different strategies for these, especially when
more than two nouns are being joined.

Inclusive “we” is loa (or lo(w)- in its dependent form), and exclusive
“we” is wa (or w(a)- in its dependent form).

Grambank Feature

Basic Category

Subcategory

Y/N

Conlang Description and Example(s)

GB030

Is there a gender distinction in independent 3rd
person pronouns?

Zhwadi has eleven noun classes, and each noun class has a distinct
third-person pronoun form, presented here in singular and plural forms:

Noun

Pronoun

Yes

• animate class a ~ vya
• dirt class me ~ mevo
• stone class ka ~ kavo
• grass class ta ~ taku
• down class lu ~ luvo
• water class she ~ shi
• ice class i ~ ipi
• fire class zu ~ zwi
• sky class ni ~ nī
• day class ro ~ roi/rozhe
• night class je ~ jei/jezhe

Noun

Pronoun

Zhwadi does not have any dual forms for either pronouns or nouns.

GB031

Is there a dual or unit augmented form (in addition
to plural or augmented) for all person categories in
the pronoun system?

GB035

Are there three or more distance contrasts in the
demonstratives?

Noun

Demonstrative

Yes

GB036

Do demonstratives show an elevation distinction? Noun

Demonstrative

GB037

Do demonstratives show a visible-nonvisible
distinction?

GB038

Are there demonstrative classifiers?

Noun

Demonstrative

Yes

GB039

Is there nonphonological allomorphy of noun
number markers?

Noun

Number

Yes

GB041

Are there several nouns (more than three) which
are suppletive for number?

Noun

Number

Not sure

Zhwadi demonstratives demonstrate a three-way distinction based on
distance and visibility. The form of the demonstrative shifts if it is an
adnominal modifier or an independent pronoun. Below, both forms are
provided. The modifier form is a clitic that attaches either directly to the
head noun or to a prenominal modifier. (See Feature 022 for more
examples.)

• proximal (to speaker and/or addressee): ko(l)- / ekó
• distal and visible (to speaker and/or addressee): gya(v)- / ogyá
• distal and not visible (to any participants in the conversation): akla(v)-
/ vaklá

There are no elevation distinctions in demonstratives.

See Feature 035 for more information.

Demonstratives do not feature any differences based on the semantic
properties of the head noun.

Singular nouns are unmarked, and there are five different plural
suffixes, which are not dependent on any phonological features of the
stem. Which plural suffix is used with a noun is partially semantically
determined, though some nouns are less predictable in which suffix
they co-occur with:

• -(y)á typically only occurs with animate nouns (more specifically,
animate nouns capable of volitionally forming groups) (e.g. “sisters”)
• (v)ó is often used nouns that are found in mounds or can be put into
mounds (e.g. “acorns”)
• kū is the most common and generic plural suffix, occurring with many
nouns
• -ī occurs with nouns that tend to grow to fill a space rather than having
individual referents (e.g. “water”, as in a great deal of water)
• -zhé typically only occurs with temporal nouns or events (e.g. “days”)

So far, there are no nouns that are suppletive for number.

Grambank Feature

Basic Category

Subcategory

Y/N

Conlang Description and Example(s)

GB042

GB043

GB044

Is there productive overt morphological singular
marking on nouns?

Is there productive morphological dual marking on
nouns?

Noun

Is there productive morphological plural marking on
nouns?

Noun

GB046

Is there an associative plural marker for nouns?

GB047

Is there a productive morphological pattern for
deriving an action/state noun from a verb?

GB048

Is there a productive morphological pattern for
deriving an agent noun from a verb?

Noun

Number

Yes

The singular forms of nouns are unmarked.

Zwhadi does not have a dual marker for nouns.

See Feature 039 for more information.

Not sure

This is a cool feature, but I’m not sure it will fit as a marker on the noun
in my current vision of the noun system as a whole.

Formation

Not sure

Having noun classes means I can turn any verb into a noun in some
shape or form. I haven’t yet decided if one class marker will be used as
the basic (i.e. most generic) derivation.

The animate noun class marker a(v)- can be used to create an agent
noun from a verb, though its meaning is dependent on the verb in
question (e.g. it will not always be a generic agent interpretation but
may have a specific meaning). For instance:

• generic agent interpretation: ke “to paint” > aké “painter, artist”
• specific interpretation: onī “to howl” > avonī “coyote”

Noun

Formation

Yes

Is there a productive morphological pattern for
deriving an object noun from a verb?

Noun

Formation

Not sure

GB049

GB051

GB052

GB053

Is there a gender/noun class system where sex is a
factor in class assignment?

Noun

Is there a gender/nounclass system where shape
is a factor in class assignment?

Noun

Is there a gender/noun class system where
animacy is a factor in class assignment?

Class

See Feature 053 for more information.

Noun

Class

Yes

One of the noun classes in Zhwadi is the animate class, so animacy is
a factor. Inanimate nouns, though, are further classified into 10 different
classes based primarily on texture and touch features. For instance, the
grass class of nouns includes nouns that are solid but malleable—they
can bend without breaking. The root eza means “body” and is an
animate noun. Built off that root are the nouns kreza “trunk (of a tree)”
(stone class) and cheza “stalk (of a plant)” (grass class).

The classes can also refer to locations (both spatially and temporally)
where the noun is typically found. For instance, aké is “bird” (animate
class), and its derivatives include shaké “duck” (water class), raké
“hummingbird” (day class), and dimaké “owl” (night class).

These classes are more easily applied to concrete nouns, and abstract
nouns occur in classes that are metaphorically attached to those
qualities. The root zhwa means “soul, heart (in a metaphorical sense)”
and belongs to the animate class. Built off that root are the nouns
zuzhwá “love” (fire class), anzhwá “joy, joyfulness” (sky class), and
rozhwa “happiness” (day class).

GB054

Is there a gender/noun class system where plant
status is a factor in class assignment?

GB057

Are there numeral classifiers?

GB058

Are there possessive classifiers?

Noun

Class

See Feature 053 for more information.

Numeral

Not sure

I’m more likely to incorporate this if I choose a N-Num order (it would
end up reflecting postnominal modifiers in that respect). Otherwise, I
probably won’t include this feature.

Possession

See Feature 059 for more information.

Grambank Feature

Basic Category

Subcategory

Y/N

Conlang Description and Example(s)

GB059

Is the adnominal possessive construction different
for alienable and inalienable nouns?

Noun

Possession

Yes

Zhwadi distinguishes between alienable and inalienable possessions.
Inalienable possession is marked by placing the possessor before the
possessed noun without marking the possessor noun for the genitive
case (it is treated as a modifier). Alienable possession is marked with
the genitive case.

• Inalienable possession: pela un “a person’s nose”
• Alienable possession: pelto lugī “a person’s bag”

GB065 What is the pragmatically unmarked order of

adnominal possessor noun and possessed noun? Noun

Possession

Possessor-
Possessed

Whether it’s inalienable or alienable possession, the order of
constituents is the possessor followed by the possessed. See Feature
059 for more information.

GB068

Do core adjectives (defined semantically as
property concepts such as value, shape, age,
dimension) act like verbs in predicative position?

Clause

Core Adjective

GB069

Do core adjectives (defined semantically as
property concepts such as value, shape, age,
dimension) used attributively require the same
morphological treatment as verbs?

Clause

Core Adjective

Yes

GB070

Are there morphological cases for non-pronominal
core arguments (i.e. S/A/P)?

Zhwadi has a class of core adjectives that are a class of their own, such
as pirka “tall” and tanchi “short.” In predicative positions, they appear
unmarked before the verb.

• Swo pirka tozhá. “The tree is tall.”
• Swo pirka tagī. “The tree appears to be tall.”

When attributive adjectives appear before the noun they modify, they
are unmarked and so are not treated in the same way verbs are.
However, when they follow the noun they modify, they take the same
prefix that marks a subject index on verbs to agree with the noun being
modified:

• pirka swo “tall tree”
• swo tabirka “tall tree”

Case suffixes are a later development in Zhwadi (coming from
postpositions that eventually reduced and attached to the noun), so
they are much more regular than other inflectional markings and are
applied to both nouns and pronouns. There are five cases in Zhwadi,
which is a nominative-accusative aligned language:

Noun

Case/Flag

Yes

• nominative (unmarked form)
• accusative -(a)m
• genitive -to
• dative/locative -za/-ez
• instrumental -jo

NB: The dative and locative cases came from two different
postpositions that, when reduced, were phonologically so similar that
they merged.

GB071

GB072

GB073

Are there morphological cases for pronominal core
arguments (i.e. S/A/P)?

Are there morphological cases for oblique non-
pronominal NPs (i.e. not S/A/P)?

Are there morphological cases for independent
oblique personal pronominal arguments (i.e. not
S/A/P)?

Noun

Case/Flag

GB074

Are there prepositions?

Clause

Order

Yes

See Feature 070 for more information.

See Feature 074 for more information.

Grambank Feature

Basic Category

Subcategory

Y/N

Conlang Description and Example(s)

GB075

Are there postpositions?

Clause

Order

Yes

GB079

GB080

Do verbs have prefixes/proclitics, other than those
that only mark A, S or P (do include portmanteau:
A & S + TAM)?

Do verbs have suffixes/enclitics, other than those
that only mark A, S or P (do include portmanteau:
A & S + TAM)?

GB081

Is there productive infixation in verbs?

GB082

GB083

GB084

Is there overt morphological marking of present
tense on verbs?

Is there overt morphological marking on the verb
dedicated to past tense?

Is there overt morphological marking on the verb
dedicated to future tense?

Verb

TAM

Yes

Verb

TAM

Yes

GB086

GB089

GB090

GB091

GB092

GB093

GB094

Is a morphological distinction between perfective
and imperfective aspect available on verbs?

Can the S argument be indexed by a suffix/enclitic
on the verb in the simple main clause?

Can the S argument be indexed by a prefix/proclitic
on the verb in the simple main clause?

Verb

TAM

Index

Verb

Index

Can the A argument be indexed by a suffix/enclitic
on the verb in the simple main clause?

Verb

Can the A argument be indexed by a prefix/proclitic
on the verb in the simple main clause?

Verb

Can the P argument be indexed by a suffix/enclitic
on the verb in the simple main clause?

Verb

Can the P argument be indexed by a prefix/proclitic
on the verb in the simple main clause?

Verb

Index

Yes

Zhwadi is a postpositional language, and the nouns co-occurring with
postpositions typically occur in either the accusative or dative/locative
case. When used with a pronoun, the form is further reduced so the
pronoun appears as a prefix on the postposition without any case
marking.

• jemam mas “during the night”
• jemas “during it (night class)”

• avazhyám le “with butterflies”
• vyale “with them (animate class)”

Prefixes on verbs only mark A (subject).

Suffixes on verbs include the infinitive marker -(í)l, future tense -ún, and
negator -za.

Zhwadi does not feature any infixation.

See Feature 084 for more information.

Zhwadi’s verbs have a future-nonfuture distinction in tense marking.
Unmarked forms of the verb are used for both present and past tenses
while future forms are marked with the suffix -ún (the vowel sometimes
appears in different forms, depending on the phonological form of the
stem):

• fir “harvest/harvested” ~ firún “will harvest”
• tizhó “swing/swinged” ~ tizhón “will swing”
• zavi “leap/leapt” ~ zavyún “will leap”
• pyaka “jump/jumped” ~ pyakón “will jump”
Zhwadi has a perfective auxiliary. See Feature 120 for more
information.

See Feature 090 for more information.

Zhwadi verbs take an indexing prefix to agree with the S/A argument.
As a nominative-accusative language, it does not distinguish between
the S and A arguments. The prefixes indicate the class of the S/A
argument. For instance, “it grew” might occur as meyuni (dirt class),
kuyuni (stone class), or royuni (day class).

See Feature 090 for more information.

Zhwadi has a series of indexing prefixes to agree with the S/A
argument. See Feature 090 for more information.

See Feature 090 for more information.

Grambank Feature

Basic Category

Subcategory

Y/N

Conlang Description and Example(s)

GB095

GB096

GB098

GB099

GB103

GB104

GB105

GB107

GB108

Are variations in marking strategies of core
participants based on TAM distinctions?

Are variations in marking strategies of core
participants based on verb classes?

Are variations in marking strategies of core
participants based on person distinctions?

Can verb stems alter according to the person of a
core participant?

Is there a benefactive applicative marker on the
verb (including indexing)?

Is there an instrumental applicative marker on the
verb (including indexing)?

Can the recipient in a ditransitive construction be
marked like the monotransitive patient?

Can standard negation be marked by an affix, clitic
or modification of the verb?

Is there directional or locative morphological
marking on verbs?

GB109

Is there verb suppletion for participant number?

GB110

Is there verb suppletion for tense or aspect?

GB111

Are there conjugation classes?

GB113

GB114

GB115

GB116

Are there verbal affixes or clitics that turn
intransitive verbs into transitive ones?

Is there a phonologically bound reflexive marker on
the verb?

Verb

Is there a phonologically bound reciprocal marker
on the verb?

Do verbs classify the shape, size or consistency of
absolutive arguments by means of incorporated
nouns, verbal affixes or suppletive verb stems?

Verb

Core participants are marked with the same case suffixes (where
applicable) regardless of TAM distinctions.

Core participants are marked with the same case suffixes (where
applicable) regardless of verb type.

While Zhwadi has pronominal forms to indicate person (with first-,
second-, and third-person distinctions), the suffixes indicating case do
not alter according to person. Those markers are the same.

Noun

Verb

Case/Flag

Index

Not sure

Clause

Construction

Not sure

Negation

Yes

Verbal negation appears as the suffix -za on the verb (or the auxiliary
verb in some cases).

Formation

Index

TAM

Verb Type

Formation

Index

Not sure

Zhwadi verbs demonstrate the same conjugation patterns.

Absolutive arguments are not indexed on or otherwise incorporated into
the verb form.

Zhwadi has four different copular verb forms used with predicate
nominals:

• shā “to be” (generic copula)
• kī “to seem, to appear”
• gya “to be (short-term or temporary state of being)”
• rozhi “to be (long-term or more permanent state of being)”

GB117

Is there a copula for predicate nominals?

Verb

Verb Type

Yes

GB118

Are there serial verb constructions?

GB119

Can mood be marked by an inflecting word
(“auxiliary verb”)?

Verb

Construction

TAM

Not sure

Grambank Feature

Basic Category

Subcategory

Y/N

Conlang Description and Example(s)

GB120

Can aspect be marked by an inflecting word
(“auxiliary verb”)?

Verb

TAM

Yes

GB121

Can tense be marked by an inflecting word
(“auxiliary verb”)?

GB122

Is verb compounding a regular process?

GB123

GB124

Are there verb-adjunct (aka light-verb)
constructions?

Is incorporation of nouns into verbs a productive
intransitivizing process?

GB126

Is there an existential verb?

GB127

Are different posture verbs used obligatorily
depending on an inanimate locatum’s shape or
position (e.g. ‘to lie’ vs. ‘to stand’)?

GB129

Is there a notably small number, i.e. about 100 or
less, of verb roots in the language?

GB130 What is the pragmatically unmarked order of S and

Verb

TAM

Formation

Construction

Formation

Verb Type

Not sure

Verb Type

Not sure

Verb Type

Not sure

V in intransitive clauses?

Clause

Order

GB131

GB132

GB133

GB134

GB135

GB136

Is a pragmatically unmarked constituent order
verb-initial for transitive clauses?

Is a pragmatically unmarked constituent order
verb-medial for transitive clauses?

Is a pragmatically unmarked constituent order
verb-final for transitive clauses?

Is the order of constituents the same in main and
subordinate clauses?

Do clausal objects usually occur in the same
position as nominal objects?

Is the order of core argument (i.e. S/A/P)
constituents fixed?

Clause

Order

GB137

Can standard negation be marked clause-finally?

Clause

GB138

Can standard negation be marked clause-initially? Clause

Negation

GB139

GB140

GB146

Is there a difference between imperative
(prohibitive) and declarative negation
constructions?

Is verbal predication marked by the same negator
as all of the following types of predication:
locational, existential and nominal?

Is there a morpho-syntactic distinction between
predicates expressing controlled versus
uncontrolled events or states?

Clause

Negation

Clause

Negation

Not sure

Verb

Construction

Not sure

Yes

Not sure

The perfective auxiliary, vi, in Zhwadi is primarily used in storytelling
and narrations, though it can also be used in other circumstances to
disambiguate a present/past interpretation.

• tizhó vīl “to have swung”
• pyaka aví “she jumped”
• zavi leviza “you didn’t leap”
• fīrza loví “we didn’t harvest”

Tense is marked as a suffix on the verb. See Feature 084 for more
information.

Zhwadi is an SOV language, and that constituent order is followed in
pragmatically unmarked instances regardless of transitivity of the verb
or status of the clause.

See Feature 130 for more information.

For pragmatic purposes, Zhwadi could allow for alternate orders (since
arguments and oblique constituents will be marked for their roles).

Grambank Feature

Basic Category

Subcategory

Y/N

Conlang Description and Example(s)

Is there a morphological passive marked on the
lexical verb?

Verb

(Anti)Passive

Not sure

Is there a morphological antipassive marked on the
lexical verb?

Verb

(Anti)Passive

Not sure

Verb

Clause

(Anti)Passive

Construction

Not sure

Clause

Construction

Not sure

Clause

Construction

Not sure

Clause

Construction

Yes

Causatives can be formed with the prefix da(f)-, as in datavi “to inspire”
(“cause-ignite”) and davida “to create” (“cause-exist”).

GB147

GB148

GB149

Is there a morphologically marked inverse on
verbs?

GB150

Is there clause chaining?

GB151

GB152

GB155

GB156

Is there an overt verb marker dedicated to
signalling coreference on noncoreference between
the subject of one clause and an argument of an
adjacent clause (“switch reference”)?

Is there a morphologically marked distinction
between simultaneous and sequential clauses?

Are causatives formed by affixes or clitics on
verbs?

Is there a causative construction involving an
element that is unmistakably grammaticalized from
a verb for ‘to say’?

GB158

Are verbs reduplicated?

GB159

Are nouns reduplicated?

GB160

GB165

GB166

Are elements apart from verbs or nouns
reduplicated?

Is there productive morphological trial marking on
nouns?

Is there productive morphological paucal marking
on nouns?

GB167

Is there a logophoric pronoun?

GB170

GB171

GB172

GB177

Can an adnominal property word agree with the
noun in gender/noun class?

Can an adnominal demonstrative agree with the
noun in gender/noun class?

Can an article agree with the noun in gender/noun
class?

Can the verb carry a marker of animacy of
argument, unrelated to any gender/noun class of
the argument visible in the NP domain?

GB184

Can an adnominal property word agree with the
noun in number?

Clause

Construction

Not sure

Verb

Noun

Formation

Clause

Formation

Noun

Number

Pronoun

Property Word

Demonstrative

Article

Verb

Index

Not sure

Yes

Noun

Property Word

GB185

Can an adnominal demonstrative agree with the
noun in number?

Noun

Demonstrative

Nouns only have singular and plural forms.

Any paucal marking is carried by a modifier rather than as a bound unit
on the noun.

When adjectives (i.e. not nouns) are used as postnominal modifiers,
they agree with the noun in class. See Feature 026 for examples.

Adnominal demonstratives attach as prefixed clitics to the noun and do
not reflect the noun’s class. See Feature 025 for examples.

Zhwadi lacks articles. See Feature 020 for more information.

While animacy is one of the index possibilities on verbs, the verb index
reflects the noun class of the argument. If the subject of the verb
belongs to the animate noun class, the animate prefix marker occurs
with the verb. If the subject belongs to the grass class, the grass prefix
marker is used. (That remains the case for all eleven noun classes.)

Modifiers are not marked for plurality to agree with the noun in number.
For instance, compare zuki avāzhi “butterfly” and zuki avazhá
“butterflies.” In fact, when the modifier is a noun itself, it can be marked
with number to create a meaningful distinction in some instances (not
all): sarā swo “leafy tree (i.e. a deciduous tree)” can be contrasted with
saravó swo “leafy tree (i.e. a tree with many leaves on it)”.

Adnominal demonstratives attach as prefixed clitics to the noun and do
not reflect the noun’s number. For instance, compare kol-anjé “this
bee” and kol-andiyá “these bees.”

Grambank Feature

Basic Category

Subcategory

Y/N

Conlang Description and Example(s)

GB186

Can an article agree with the noun in number?

Noun

Article

Zhwadi lacks articles. See Feature 020 for more information.

GB187

GB188

GB192

Is there any productive diminutive marking on the
noun (exclude marking by system of nominal
classification only)?

Is there any productive augmentative marking on
the noun (exclude marking by system of nominal
classification only)?

Is there a gender system where a noun’s
phonological properties are a factor in class
assignment?

GB193 What is the order of adnominal property word and

noun?

GB196

GB197

GB198

Is there a male/female distinction in 2nd person
independent pronouns?

Is there a male/female distinction in 1st person
independent pronouns?

Can an adnominal numeral agree with the noun in
gender/noun class?

GB203 What is the order of the adnominal collecitve

universal quantifier (‘all’) and the noun?

Do collective (‘all’) and distributive (‘every’)
universal quantifiers differ in their forms or their
syntactic positions?

Can predicative possession be expressed with a
transitive ‘habeo’ verb?

Noun

Formation

Not sure

Noun

Formation

Not sure

Noun

Class

Not sure

Noun

Property Word

ANM – N

Pronoun

Numeral

Article

Not sure

Clause

Possession

Not sure

Probably not since I have so far made class assignments based on
semantics. It may be an option for abstract nouns that defy
categorization, but I think I’d prefer to stick with finding the closest
semantic match.

Most adnominal modifiers appear before the noun. See Feature 026 for
more information.

Zhwadi does not mark gender/sex distinctions.

GB204

GB250

GB252

GB253

GB254

GB256

GB257

GB260

Can predicative possession be expressed with an
S-like possessum and a locative-coded possessor?

Clause

Possession

Not sure

Can predicative possession be expressed with an
S-like possessum and a dative-coded possessor?

Can predicative possession be expressed with an
S-like possessum and a possessor that is coded
like an adnominal possessor?

Can predicative possession be expressed with an
S-like possessor and a possessum that is coded
like a comitative argument?

Can polar interrogation be marked by intonation
only?

Can polar interrogation be indicated by a special
word order?

Clause

Possession

Not sure

Clause

Possession

Not sure

Clause

Possession

Not sure

Clause

Interrogative

Not sure

Clause

Interrogative

GB262

Is there a clause-initial polar interrogative particle? Clause

GB263

Is there a clause-final polar interrogative particle?

Clause

Interrogative

GB264

Is there a polar interrogative particle that most
commonly occurs neither clause-initially nor
clause-finally?

GB265

Is there a comparative construction that includes a
form that elsewhere means ‘surpass, exceed’?

Clause

Interrogative

Not sure

Clause

Construction

Not sure

Grambank Feature

Basic Category

Subcategory

Y/N

Conlang Description and Example(s)

GB266

GB270

GB273

GB275

GB276

GB285

GB286

Is there a comparative construction that employs a
marker of the standard which elsewhere has a
locational meaning?

Can comparatives be expressed using two
conjoined clauses?

Is there a comparative construction with a standard
marker that elsewhere has neither a locational
meaning nor a ‘surpass/exceed’ meaning?

Is there a bound comparative degree marker on
the property word in a comparative construction?

Is there a non-bound comparative degree marker
modifying the property word in a comparative
construction?

Can polar interrogation be marked by a question
particle and verbal morphology?

Can polar interrogation be indicated by overt verbal
morphology only?

GB291

Can polar interrogation be marked by tone?

GB296

GB297

GB298

GB299

GB300

Is there a phonologically or morphosyntactically
definable class of ideophones that includes
ideophones depicting imagery beyond sound?

Can polar interrogation be indicated by a V-not-V
construction?

Can standard negation be marked by an inflecting
word (“auxiliary verb”)?

Can standard negation be marked by a non-
inflecting word (“auxiliary particle”)?

Does the verb for ‘give’ have suppletive verb
forms?

GB301

Is there an inclusory construction?

GB302

GB303

GB304

GB305

GB306

GB309

Is there a phonologically free passive marker
(“particle” or “auxiliary”)?

Is there a phonologically free antipassive marker
(“particle” or “auxiliary”)?

Can the agent be expressed overtly in a passive
clause?

Is there a phonologically independent reflexive
pronoun?

Is there a phonologically independent non-bipartite
reciprocal pronoun?

Are there multiple past or multiple future tenses,
distinguishing distance from Time of Reference?

GB312

Is there overt morphological marking on the verb
dedicated to mood?

Verb

Clause

Construction

Not sure

Clause

Construction

Not sure

Clause

Construction

Not sure

Clause

Construction

Not sure

Clause

Construction

Not sure

Clause

Interrogative

Not sure

Clause

Interrogative

Not sure

Clause

Formation

Not sure

Clause

Interrogative

Not sure

Clause

Negation

Clause

Negation

Verb

Noun

Verb Type

Formation

Clause

(Anti)Passive

Not sure

Clause

(Anti)Passive

Not sure

Clause

(Anti)Passive

Not sure

The verb heza “to give” does not have suppletive forms.

Noun

Verb

Pronoun

TAM

Not sure

Zhwadi does not distinguish distance from time of reference on the verb
(context, adverbs, and other added information can distinguish that
where necessary). See Feature 084 for examples of the future-
nonfuture distinction.

Grambank Feature

Basic Category

Subcategory

Y/N

Conlang Description and Example(s)

GB313

GB314

GB315

GB316

GB317

GB318

Are there special adnominal possessive pronouns
that are not formed by an otherwise regular
process?

Can augmentative meaning be expressed
productively by a shift of gender/noun class?

Noun

Can diminutive meaning be expressed productively
by a shift of gender/noun class?

Noun

Pronoun

Not sure

Class

Not sure

Is singular number regularly marked in the noun
phrase by a dedicated phonologically free
element?

Is dual number regularly marked in the noun
phrase by a dedicated phonologically free
element?

Is plural number regularly marked in the noun
phrase by a dedicated phonologically free
element?

Noun

Number

Noun

Number

Noun

Number

GB319

Is trial number regularly marked in the noun phrase
by a dedicated phonologically free element?

Noun

Number

GB320

GB321

GB322

GB323

GB324

GB325

GB326

Is paucal number regularly marked in the noun
phrase by a dedicated phonologically free
element?

Is there a large class of nouns whose gender/noun
class is not phonologically or semantically
predictable?

Noun

Number

Not sure

Noun

Class

Is there grammatical marking of direct evidence
(perceived with the senses)?

Is there grammatical marking of indirect evidence
(hearsay, inference, etc.)?

Verb

Formation

Not sure

Formation

Not sure

Is there an interrogative verb for content
interrogatives (who?, what?, etc.)?

Is there a count/mass distinction in interrogative
quantifiers?

Do (nominal) content interrogatives normally or
frequently occur in situ?

Clause

Interrogative

Not sure

Clause

Interrogative

Not sure

Clause

Interrogative

Not sure

Probably not since the semantics of the noun classes don’t lend
themselves to diminutive/augmentative readings.

Singular nouns in Zhwadi are unmarked forms, while plural forms occur
with one of five plural suffixes. See Feature 039 for more information
and examples.

Plural forms occur with one of five plural suffixes, and plurality does not
distinguish dual or trial number. See Feature 039 for more information
and examples.

Plural forms occur with one of five plural suffixes. See Feature 039 for
more information and examples.

Plural forms occur with one of five plural suffixes, and plurality does not
distinguish dual or trial number. See Feature 039 for more information
and examples.

While some class assignments in Zhwadi may be more unpredictable or
idiosyncratic (e.g. abstract nouns), they are all classified into one of 11
classes with some basic tendencies to match the noun to the class’s
basic semantic features. See Feature 053 for examples.

Grambank Feature

Basic Category

Subcategory

Y/N

Conlang Description and Example(s)

GB327

Can the relative clause follow the noun?

Clause

Relative Clause

Yes

GB328

Can the relative clause precede the noun?

GB329

Are there internally-headed relative clauses?

Clause

Relative Clause

GB330

Are there correlative relative clauses?

Clause

Relative Clause

GB331

Are there non-adjacent relative clauses?

Clause

Relative Clause

Yes

GB333

Is there a decimal numeral system?

GB334

GB335

Is there synchronic evidence for any element of a
quinary numeral system?

Is there synchronic evidence for any element of a
vigesimal numeral system?

GB336

Is there a body-part tallying system?

GB400

Are all person categories neutralized in some
voice, tense, aspect, mood and/or negation?

GB401

Is there a class of patient-labile verbs?

Noun

Verb

GB402

Does the verb for ‘see’ have suppletive verb forms? Verb

Numeral

TAM

Verb Type

Not sure

A relative clause directly follows the noun in most instances. Relative
clauses require the relativizer kori at the beginning of the clause, and
then the relative clause structure follows the typical SOV pattern found
in main clauses. In the examples below, the noun being modified is
underlined, and the relative clause is in square brackets.

• Pela [kori shokikūm bera aví] chamazdam varín. “The person [who
cut sticks] weaves a blanket.”
• Pela chamazdam [kori ta ubera] arín aví. “The person wove the
blanket that I cut.”

Like main clauses, relative clauses can omit the independent subject
pronoun. Speakers can choose to include the independent pronouns,
as in these modified examples:

• Pela [kori a shokikūm bera aví] chamazdam varín. “The person
[who cut sticks] weaves a blanket.”
• Pela chamazdam [kori wo ta ubera] arín aví. “The person wove the
blanket that I cut.”

Relative clauses do not appear before the noun they modify in Zhwadi.

The relative clause is treated syntactically distinct from the main clause
structure, so there are no internally-headed relative clause structures.

There is no anaphoric pronoun in the main clause, so Zhwadi does not
have any correlative relative clause structures.

While relative clauses most typically follow the noun they modify, they
can occur after the verb of the main clause. This typically occurs when
a speaker wishes to add information as an afterthought or when the
relative clause is especially heavy. The two examples provided in
Feature 327 can be reworded as the following:

• Pela chamazdam varín [kori (a) shokikūm bera aví]. “The person
[who cut sticks] weaves a blanket.”
• Pela chamazdam arín aví [kori (wo) ta ubera]. “The person wove
the blanket that I cut.”

As with the previous examples, the independent subject pronouns are
optional, so they are indicated in parentheses in these examples.

Zhwadi is a base-12 language. While multiples of 12 are important for
counting higher numbers, multiples of ten are not.

No numbers are formed based on a root of five.

No numbers are formed based on a root of twenty.

No numbers refer to body parts.

Grambank Feature

Basic Category

Subcategory

Y/N

Conlang Description and Example(s)

GB403

Does the verb for ‘come’ have suppletive verb
forms?

GB408

Is there any accusative alignment of flagging?

GB409

Is there any ergative alignment of flagging?

GB410

Is there any neutral alignment of flagging?

GB415

GB421

GB422

GB430

GB431

GB432

GB433

GB519

GB520

GB521

GB522

Is there a politeness distinction in 2nd person
forms?

Is there a preposed complementizer in
complements of verbs of thinking and/or knowing?

Is there a postposed complementizer in
complements of verbs of thinking and/or knowing?

Can adnominal possession be marked by a prefix
on the possessor?

Can adnominal possession be marked by a prefix
on the possessed noun?

Can adnominal possession be marked by a suffix
on the possessor?

Can adnominal possession be marked by a suffix
on the possessed noun?

Can mood be marked by a non-inflecting word
(“auxiliary particle”)?

Can aspect be marked by a non-inflecting word
(“auxiliary particle”)?

Can tense be marked by a non-inflecting word
(“auxiliary particle”)?

Can the S or A argument be omitted from a
pragmatically unmarked clause when the referent
is inferrable from context (“pro-drop” or “null
anaphora”)?

Verb

Noun

Verb Type

Not sure

Case/Flag

Pronoun

Yes

Not sure

Clause

Construction

Not sure

Clause

Construction

Not sure

Noun

Verb

Possession

TAM

Yes

Not sure

Clause

Construction

Yes

S and P arguments are flagged differently: the S argument is unmarked
while the P argument occurs with the suffix -(a)m.

S and A arguments are flagged the same (i.e. they are unmarked).

See Feature 059 for more information.

While inalienable possession does not occur with any suffixes,
alienable possession is marked with the genitive suffix on the
possessor. See Feature 059 for examples.

See Feature 059 for more information.

Tense is marked by an overt suffix on the verb form. See Feature 084
for more information.

The S/A arguments can be omitted. When the S/A argument is a
pronoun, it is typically omitted.

• Tivi achún. “The child is sewing.” / “The child sewed.”
• A achún. “He/she is sewing.” / “He/she sewed.”
• Achún. “He/she is sewing.” / “He/she sewed.”

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