Nuliziti

Nulizit is an a priori engelang project. It is an analytic head-initial language. Its morphosyntactic alignment is direct, in other words it makes no distinction among agent, patient, and intransitive arguments. It has unambiguous and context-free grammar defined in the Extended Backus-Naur form. Note that semantical unambiguity is not the goal of Nulizit. A word may be highly polysemous but to the extent that its valence remains the same for all of its meanings.

Phonology and orthography

A word consists of syllables. A syllable structure is CV (consonant + vowel) or CVC in the end of the word. A weak accent is always on the first syllable like in Finnish. Phonemes allow a degree of variation as long as they are clearly distinct from other phonemes of Nulizit.

Nulizit uses the Latin alphabet: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z. One letter is read as one phoneme, and one phoneme is written with one letter. Words are written separated with any white space. All letters are uppercase. Punctuation and lowercase letters are not used.

Vowels

	unrounded	rounded
close	I / i /	U / u /
mid	E / e /	O / o /
open	A / a /

Consonants

	labial	dental	alveolar	postalveolar	velar
nasal	M / m /		N / n /		Q / ŋ /
voiceless stop	P / p /		T / t /		K / k /
voiced stop	B / b /		D / d /		G / g /
voiceless fricative	F / f /	H / θ /	S / s /	C / ʃ /	X / x /
voiced fricative	V / v /	W / ð /	Z / z /	J / ʒ /	Y / j /
lateral approximant			L / l /
trill			R / r /

Syntax

A text is hierarchically structured. A text consists of sentences separated with sentence conjunctions (and, or, but, if and so on), which are necessary and may not be omitted. A text may start with a sentence conjunction.

It rains, and I sleep. TOT FI NIS LUVIT rain.V and.SENTCONJ I.N sleep.V

And it rains. And I walk. FI TOT FI NIS DUZIT and.SENTCONJ rain.V and.SENTCONJ I.N walk.V

A sentence is either an interjection or a verb phrase.

Hello! It's windy now.

VO            FI            POT     MIL
hello.INTERJ  and.SENTCONJ  wind.V  now.ADV

The beginning of a sentence is for the topic, the given or mentioned information. In a complex sentence that place might be taken by adverb phrase or by the subject, whichever goes first. The rest of a sentence is for the comment, the new information.

Verb phrase

A verb is the syntactical top of a verb phrase, and the default form of a word in the vocabulary.

A verb phrase is V, or SV, or SVO, or SVOO, or SVOOO. In other words the first argument (or "subject") precedes the verb, other arguments (or "objects") follow it. Optional adverb phrases may be placed in the beginning of a sentence, and/or around the verb, and/or in the ending before the transgressive phrases. Optional transgressive phrases are placed in the very ending for all verbs with subject (= of valence from 1 to 4).

Specifically a verb phrase consists of:

• either optional adverb phrases, then an avalent verb, then optional adverb phrases,

It rains. TOT rain.V

It rains heavily. XUXIL TOT heavy.ADV rain.V

It rains heavily. TOT XUXIL rain.V heavy.ADV

• or optional adverb phrases, then an argument, then optional adverb phrases, then a monovalent verb, then optional adverb phrases, then optional transgressive phrases,

I sleep. NIS LUVIT I.N sleep.V

Ferociously I sleep. CAXIL NIS LUVIT wild.ADV I.N sleep.V

I ferociously sleep. NIS CAXIL LUVIT I.N wild.ADV sleep.V

I sleep ferociously. NIS LUVIT CAXIL I.N sleep.V wild.ADV

• or optional adverb phrases, then an argument, then optional adverb phrases, then a divalent verb, then optional adverb phrases, then an argument, then optional adverb phrases, then optional transgressive phrases,

I cuddle a cat. NIS PEXIVUT XOLIS I.N cuddle.V cat.N

Accurately I cuddle a cat. FORIL NIS PEXIVUT XOLIS accurate.ADV I.N cuddle.V cat.N

I accurately cuddle a cat. NIS FORIL PEXIVUT XOLIS I.N accurate.ADV cuddle.V cat.N

I cuddle a cat accurately. NIS PEXIVUT FORIL XOLIS I.N cuddle.V accurate.ADV cat.N

I cuddle a cat accurately.

NIS   PEXIVUT   XOLIS   FORIL
I.N   cuddle.V  cat.N   accurate.ADV

• or optional adverb phrases, then an argument, then optional adverb phrases, then a trivalent verb, then optional adverb phrases, then 2 arguments, then optional adverb phrases, then optional transgressive phrases,

I make a cat warm. NIS YET XOLIS BILUNIS I.N render.V cat.N warm.N

I make a cat warm, cuddling it. NIS YET XOLIS BILUNIS PEXIVUT XOLIS I.N render.V cat.N warm.N cuddle.V cat.N

I make a cat warm, cuddling it, while sleeping ferociously. NIS YET XOLIS BILUNIS I.N render.V cat.N warm.N PEXIVUT XOLIS LUVIT CAXIL cuddle.V cat.N sleep.V wild.ADV

• or optional adverb phrases, then an argument, then optional adverb phrases, then a tetravalent verb, then optional adverb phrases, then 3 arguments, then optional adverb phrases, then optional transgressive phrases.
  

I reward a cat with a fish for being nice.

NIS   PAT       XOLIS   XARONIS   LEMIR     VIS
I.N   reward.V  cat.N   fish.N    nice.INF  it.N

The verb is always required. Adverb phrases and transgressive phrases are optional. There may be one or many such phrases in a row.

A subject and an object are not marked, they look the same and formally are accounted as arguments. The order of the arguments is fixed for each verb in the vocabulary, but that limitation may be overcome with passive voices. The voices are described in the chapter 3. Also one may swap a verb and a subject this way:

I cuddle a cat. NIS PEXIVUT XOLIS I.N cuddle.V cat.N

The one cuddling a cat is me. PEXIVUS XOLIS NIT cuddle.N cat.N I.V

Arguments

There are 8 types of arguments, depending on what conjunctions are allowed or forbidden inside of a phrase:

allowed?	_	A	B	C	AB	AC	BC	ABC
argument conjunctions	yes	no	yes	yes	no	no	yes	no
apposition conjunctions	yes	yes	no	yes	no	yes	no	no
participle conjunctions	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	no	no	no

The purpose of this complex classification is to force the simple idea that conjunctions cannot nest. The same classification applies to nouns, infinitives, and participles. If one uses some type of conjunction in a phrase, that type may not be used in its subphrases anymore. Then, if one uses another type in such subphrase, that other type may not be used in subsubphrases, and so on. Restrictions add up until all conjunctions are forbidden in the ABC type of phrases. The following explains it in detail.

An argument is:

• an noun phrase,
• or an infinitive phrase,
• or two or more A-arguments with argument conjunctions before each of them,
• or two or more B-arguments with apposition conjunctions before each of them.

An A-argument is:

• a noun A-phrase,
• or an infinitive A-phrase,
• or two or more AB-arguments with apposition conjunctions before each of them.

A B-argument is:

• a noun B-phrase,
• or an infinitive B-phrase,
• or two or more AB-arguments with argument conjunctions before each of them.

An AB-argument is:

• a noun AB-phrase,
• or an infinitive AB-phrase.

A C-argument is:

• a noun C-phrase,
• or an infinitive C-phrase,
• or two or more AC-arguments with argument conjunctions before each of them,
• or two or more BC-arguments with apposition conjunctions before each of them.

An AC-argument is:

• a noun AC-phrase,
• or an infinitive AC-phrase,
• or two or more ABC-arguments with apposition conjunctions before each of them.

A BC-argument is:

• a noun BC-phrase,
• or an infinitive BC-phrase,
• or two or more ABC-arguments with argument conjunctions before each of them.

An ABC-argument is:

• a noun ABC-phrase,
• or an infinitive ABC-phrase.

The difference between apposition conjunction and argument conjunction is that the first lists the properties of the same object while the second lists possibly different objects happened to take the same syntactical place. A phrase with an argument conjunction may be precisely reworded as several sentences with a sentence conjunction, while a phrase with apposition conjunction may not, because the meaning might change:

1. A woman and a man walked into the house. FU POXIS FU MEFIS KUROTIT QUL TUTIS and.ARGCONJ female.N and.ARGCONJ male.N arrive.V at.ADV house.N

= A woman walked into the house, and a man walked into the house. = POXIS KUROTIT QUL TUTIS female.N arrive.V at.ADV house.N FI MEFIS KUROTIT QUL TUTIS and.SENTCONJ male.N arrive.V at.ADV house.N

2. A tall man walked into the house. FE MAPIS FE WUCOGIS KUROTIT QUL TUTIS APP tall.N APP human.N arrive.V at.ADV house.N

≠ A tall one walked into the house, and a man walked into the house. ≠ MAPIS KUROTIT QUL TUTIS tall.N arrive.V at.ADV house.N FI WUCOGIS KUROTIT QUL TUTIS and.SENTCONJ human.N arrive.V at.ADV house.N

A noun in apposition in Nulizit may be translated to a noun or an adjective in English: river Thames, John Smith, a tall man. However, not all English adjectives are appositions in Nulizit. If an English adjective can not be used independently without its main noun or it can but the meaning changes, then it is a participle in Nulizit:

1. He is a tall man. MEFIS SUT FE MAPIS FE WUCOGIS male.N be.V APP tall.N APP human.N

= He is a man, and he is tall. = MEFIS SUT WUCOGIS FI MEFIS SUT MAPIS male.N be.V human.N and.SENTCONJ male.N be.V tall.N

2. She is a true friend. POXIS SUT YUJUS MIBIQ VIS female.N be.V friend.N real.PTCP it.N

≠ She is a friend, and she is true. ≠ POXIS SUT YUJUS VIS FI POXIS SUT MIBIS female.N be.V friend.N it.N and.SENTCONJ female.N be.V real.N

Noun phrases

A noun is derived from a verb for example "to do it" and has the meaning "the one who does it", or "the one that does it", or literally "doer it". A noun returns the subject of the source verb, while the objects, if any, follow the noun the same way they follow the source verb. An avalent noun is impossible, because the source verb does not have a subject. There is no genitive constructions: instead of "a friend of Peter" one says "the-one-befriending Peter", or literally "friend Peter". Instead of using the genitive case or the preposition, the noun is divalent, and the word Peter is its direct object just like in a verb phrase.

A noun phrase is:

• a monovalent noun, then the optional participle phrase,
• or a divalent noun, then the optional participle phrase, then an argument,
• or a trivalent noun, then the optional participle phrase, then 2 arguments,
• or a tetravalent noun, then the optional participle phrase, then 3 arguments.

A noun A-phrase is:

• a monovalent noun, then the optional participle A-phrase,
• or a divalent noun, then the optional participle A-phrase, then an A-argument,
• or a trivalent noun, then the optional participle A-phrase, then 2 A-arguments,
• or a tetravalent noun, then the optional participle A-phrase, then 3 A-arguments.

A noun B-phrase is:

• a monovalent noun, then the optional participle B-phrase,
• or a divalent noun, then the optional participle B-phrase, then a B-argument,
• or a trivalent noun, then the optional participle B-phrase, then 2 B-arguments,
• or a tetravalent noun, then the optional participle B-phrase, then 3 B-arguments.

A noun C-phrase is:

• a monovalent noun, then the optional participle C-phrase,
• or a divalent noun, then the optional participle C-phrase, then a C-argument,
• or a trivalent noun, then the optional participle C-phrase, then 2 C-arguments,
• or a tetravalent noun, then the optional participle C-phrase, then 3 C-arguments.

A noun AB-phrase is:

• a monovalent noun, then the optional participle AB-phrase,
• or a divalent noun, then the optional participle AB-phrase, then an AB-argument,
• or a trivalent noun, then the optional participle AB-phrase, then 2 AB-arguments,
• or a tetravalent noun, then the optional participle AB-phrase, then 3 AB-arguments.

A noun AC-phrase is:

• a monovalent noun, then the optional participle AC-phrase,
• or a divalent noun, then the optional participle AC-phrase, then an AC-argument,
• or a trivalent noun, then the optional participle AC-phrase, then 2 AC-arguments,
• or a tetravalent noun, then the optional participle AC-phrase, then 3 AC-arguments.

A noun BC-phrase is:

• a monovalent noun, then the optional participle BC-phrase,
• or a divalent noun, then the optional participle BC-phrase, then a BC-argument,
• or a trivalent noun, then the optional participle BC-phrase, then 2 BC-arguments,
• or a tetravalent noun, then the optional participle BC-phrase, then 3 BC-arguments.

A noun ABC-phrase is:

• a monovalent noun, then the optional participle ABC-phrase,
• or a divalent noun, then the optional participle ABC-phrase, then an ABC-argument,
• or a trivalent noun, then the optional participle ABC-phrase, then 2 ABC-arguments,
• or a tetravalent noun, then the optional participle ABC-phrase, then 3 ABC-arguments.

Infinitive phrases

A infinitive is derived from a verb for example "to do it" and has the meaning "the one’s doing of it", or literally "doing one it". An infinitive returns the source verb, while arguments, if any, follow the infinitive. Unlike in a verb phrase, a subject follows an infinitive. Unlike in most languages, no arguments may be omitted including the subject.

An infinitive phrase is:

• an avalent infinitive, then an optional participle phrase,

• or a monovalent infinitive, then an optional participle phrase, then an argument,
• or a divalent infinitive, then an optional participle phrase, then 2 arguments,
• or a trivalent infinitive, then an optional participle phrase, then 3 arguments,
• or a tetravalent infinitive, then an optional participle phrase, then 4 arguments.

An infinitive A-phrase is:

• an avalent infinitive, then an optional participle A-phrase,

• or a monovalent infinitive, then an optional participle A-phrase, then an A-argument,
• or a divalent infinitive, then an optional participle A-phrase, then 2 A-arguments,
• or a trivalent infinitive, then an optional participle A-phrase, then 3 A-arguments,
• or a tetravalent infinitive, then an optional participle A-phrase, then 4 A-arguments.

An infinitive B-phrase is:

• an avalent infinitive, then an optional participle B-phrase,

• or a monovalent infinitive, then an optional participle B-phrase, then a B-argument,
• or a divalent infinitive, then an optional participle B-phrase, then 2 B-arguments,
• or a trivalent infinitive, then an optional participle B-phrase, then 3 B-arguments,
• or a tetravalent infinitive, then an optional participle B-phrase, then 4 B-arguments.

An infinitive C-phrase is:

• an avalent infinitive, then an optional participle C-phrase,

• or a monovalent infinitive, then an optional participle C-phrase, then a C-argument,
• or a divalent infinitive, then an optional participle C-phrase, then 2 C-arguments,
• or a trivalent infinitive, then an optional participle C-phrase, then 3 C-arguments,
• or a tetravalent infinitive, then an optional participle C-phrase, then 4 C-arguments.

An infinitive AB-phrase is:

• an avalent infinitive, then an optional participle AB-phrase,

• or a monovalent infinitive, then an optional participle AB-phrase, then an AB-argument,
• or a divalent infinitive, then an optional participle AB-phrase, then 2 AB-arguments,
• or a trivalent infinitive, then an optional participle AB-phrase, then 3 AB-arguments,
• or a tetravalent infinitive, then an optional participle AB-phrase, then 4 AB-arguments.

An infinitive AC-phrase is:

• an avalent infinitive, then an optional participle AC-phrase,

• or a monovalent infinitive, then an optional participle AC-phrase, then an AC-argument,
• or a divalent infinitive, then an optional participle AC-phrase, then 2 AC-argument,
• or a trivalent infinitive, then an optional participle AC-phrase, then 3 AC-arguments,
• or a tetravalent infinitive, then an optional participle AC-phrase, then 4 AC-arguments.

An infinitive BC-phrase is:

• an avalent infinitive, then an optional participle BC-phrase,

• or a monovalent infinitive, then an optional participle BC-phrase, then a BC-argument,
• or a divalent infinitive, then an optional participle BC-phrase, then 2 BC-arguments,
• or a trivalent infinitive, then an optional participle BC-phrase, then 3 BC-arguments,
• or a tetravalent infinitive, then an optional participle BC-phrase, then 4 BC-arguments.

An infinitive ABC-phrase is:

• an avalent infinitive, then an optional participle ABC-phrase,

• or a monovalent infinitive, then an optional participle ABC-phrase, then an ABC-argument,
• or a divalent infinitive, then an optional participle ABC-phrase, then 2 ABC-arguments,
• or a trivalent infinitive, then an optional participle ABC-phrase, then 3 ABC-arguments,
• or a tetravalent infinitive, then an optional participle ABC-phrase, then 4 ABC-arguments.

Participle phrases

A participle is derived from a verb for example "to do it" and has the meaning "doingly it". A participle modifies or more closely defines a noun, an infinitive, an adverb, or another participle, making it its semantical subject. It typically expresses manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, and so on. Its other arguments, if any, follow it. An avalent participle is impossible, because the source verb does not have a subject.

A participle phrase is:

• a monovalent participle, then an optional participle phrase,
• or a divalent participle, then an optional participle phrase, then an argument,
• or a trivalent participle, then an optional participle phrase, then 2 arguments,
• or a tetravalent participle, then an optional participle phrase, then 3 arguments,
• or two or more participle C-phrases with participle conjunctions before each of them.

A participle A-phrase is:

• a monovalent participle, then an optional participle A-phrase,
• or a divalent participle, then an optional participle A-phrase, then an A-argument,
• or a trivalent participle, then an optional participle A-phrase, then 2 A-arguments,
• or a tetravalent participle, then an optional participle A-phrase, then 3 A-arguments,
• or two or more participle AC-phrases with participle conjunctions before each of them.

A participle B-phrase is:

• a monovalent participle, then an optional participle B-phrase,
• or a divalent participle, then an optional participle B-phrase, then a B-argument,
• or a trivalent participle, then an optional participle B-phrase, then 2 B-arguments,
• or a tetravalent participle, then an optional participle B-phrase, then 3 B-arguments,
• or two or more participle BC-phrases with participle conjunctions before each of them.

A participle C-phrase is:

• a monovalent participle, then an optional participle C-phrase,
• or a divalent participle, then an optional participle C-phrase, then a C-argument,
• or a trivalent participle, then an optional participle C-phrase, then 2 C-arguments,
• or a tetravalent participle, then an optional participle C-phrase, then 3 C-arguments.

A participle AB-phrase is:

• a monovalent participle, then an optional participle AB-phrase,
• or a divalent participle, then an optional participle AB-phrase, then an AB-argument,
• or a trivalent participle, then an optional participle AB-phrase, then 2 AB-arguments,
• or a tetravalent participle, then an optional participle AB-phrase, then 3 AB-arguments,
• or two or more participle ABC-phrases with participle conjunctions before each of them.

A participle AC-phrase is:

• a monovalent participle, then an optional participle AC-phrase,
• or a divalent participle, then an optional participle AC-phrase, then a AC-argument,
• or a trivalent participle, then an optional participle AC-phrase, then 2 AC-arguments,
• or a tetravalent participle, then an optional participle AC-phrase, then 3 AC-arguments.

A participle BC-phrase is:

• a monovalent participle, then an optional participle BC-phrase,
• or a divalent participle, then an optional participle BC-phrase, then a BC-argument,
• or a trivalent participle, then an optional participle BC-phrase, then 2 BC-arguments,
• or a tetravalent participle, then an optional participle BC-phrase, then 3 BC-arguments.

A participle ABC-phrase is:

• a monovalent participle, then an optional participle ABC-phrase,
• or a divalent participle, then an optional participle ABC-phrase, then an ABC-argument,
• or a trivalent participle, then an optional participle ABC-phrase, then 2 ABC-arguments,
• or a tetravalent participle, then an optional participle ABC-phrase, then 3 ABC-arguments.

Transgressive phrase

A transgressive is derived from a verb for example "to do it" and has the meaning "while doing it" or "also doing it". It is a secondary non-finite verb, that additionally describes the sentence subject. It has the same ending as a verb. It is used to render an action done by the subject simultaneously with the action of the main verb, same as nouns in apposition do for nouns.

I am a tall man. NIS SUT FE MAPIS FE WUCOGIS I.N be.V APP tall.N APP human.N

I am a tall man. = NIS MAPIT WUCOGIT I.N tall.V human.V

An avalent transgressive is impossible, because the source verb does not have a subject.

A transgressive phrase is:

• a monovalent verb, then an optional adverb phrase,
• or a divalent verb, then an optional adverb phrase, then an argument, then an optional adverb phrase,
• or a trivalent verb, then an optional adverb phrase, then 2 arguments, then an optional adverb phrase,
• or a tetravalent verb, then an optional adverb phrase, then 3 arguments, then an optional adverb phrase.

Adverb phrase

Like a participle, an adverb is derived from a verb for example "to do it" and has the meaning "doingly it". Unlike a participle, an adverb modifies or more closely defines the verb, making it its semantical subject. So it is possible to change the top of the phrase like this:

It rains heavily. TOT XUXIL rain.V heavy.ADV

A rain is heavy. TOR XUXIT rain.INF heavy.V

An adverb typically expresses manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, and so on. Its other arguments, if any, follow it. An avalent adverb is impossible, because the source verb does not have a subject.

An adverb phrase is:

• a monovalent adverb, then an optional participle phrase,
• a divalent adverb, then an optional participle phrase, then an argument,
• a trivalent adverb, then an optional participle phrase, then 2 arguments,
• a tetravalent adverb, then an optional participle phrase, then 3 arguments.

Morphology

There are several types of parts of speech:

• a closed class of 1-syllable words for conjunctions,
• a closed class of roots for numerals, being concatenated into the infinite number of words,
• an open class of stems from avalent to tetravalent for most parts of speech,
• and an open class of avalent stems for interjections.

A numeral is always monovalent, and its stem always ends in "CI". Non-numeral stems may not end in "CI".

A valence of an open-class stem is determined by its last phoneme:

• O, avalent,
• I, monovalent,
• U, divalent,
• E, trivalent,
• A, tetravalent.

After a stem an open-class word has a part-of-speech suffix. Also, divalent, trivalent, and tetravalent words may have the order of their arguments changed in passive voices with a voice suffix. Sentences in the following examples are equal:

• -∅, active voice, direct order
  • NIS(1) PAT XOLIS(2) XARONIS(3) VIS(4)
• -U, passive voice I, shift of arguments to the left one time
  • XOLIS(2) PATU XARONIS(3) VIS(4) NIS(1)
• -E, passive voice II, shift of arguments to the left two times
  • XARONIS(3) PATE VIS(4) NIS(1) XOLIS(2)
• -A, passive voice III, shift of arguments to the left three times
  • VIS(4) PATA NIS(1) XOLIS(2) XARONIS(3)

The passive voice is not valence-decreasing, in other words the number of arguments remains the same. Also it does not emphasize the verb in favour of the subject, it is just a mechanical move of arguments.

The suffixes for most parts of speech are summarized in the following table.

active voice	passive voice I	passive voice II	passive voice III	part of speech	abbreviation
T	TU	TE	TA	verb	V
S	SU	SE	SA	noun	N
R	RU	RE	RA	infinitive	INF
L	LU	LE	LA	adverb	ADV
Q	QU	QE	QA	participle	PTCP

Verb

Unlike in many languages, verbs are not inflected to encode tense, aspect, and mood. That information may be added with adverbs. Also verbs do not agree with the person, gender or number of any of its arguments.

An avalent verb consists of:

• an avalent stem,
• then the verb suffix "T".

A monovalent verb consists of:

• a monovalent stem,
• then the verb suffix "T".

A divalent verb consists of:

• a divalent stem,
• then the verb suffix "T",
• then optionally the passive-voice-I suffix "U".

A trivalent verb consists of:

• a trivalent stem,
• then the verb suffix "T",
• then optionally either passive-voice-I suffix "U" or the passive-voice-II suffix "E".

A tetravalent verb consists of:

• a tetravalent stem,
• then the verb suffix "T",
• then optionally either the passive-voice-I suffix "U" or the passive-voice-II suffix "E" or the passive-voice-III suffix "A".

Noun

Nouns are not inflected to encode number, gender, case and definiteness. That information may be added with participles and appositions. The implied number is "one or many", like in Japanese.

A monovalent noun consists of:

• a monovalent stem,
• then the noun suffix "S".

A divalent noun consists of:

• a divalent stem,
• then the noun suffix "S",
• then optionally the passive-voice-I suffix "U".

A trivalent noun consists of:

• a trivalent stem,
• then the noun suffix "S",
• then optionally either the passive-voice-I suffix "U" or the passive-voice-II suffix "E".

A tetravalent noun consists of:

• a tetravalent stem,
• then the noun suffix "S",
• then optionally either the passive-voice-I suffix "U" or the passive-voice-II suffix "E" or the passive-voice-III suffix "A".

Infinitive

An avalent infinitive consists of:

• an avalent stem,
• then the infinitive suffix "R".

A monovalent infinitive consists of:

• a monovalent stem,
• then the infinitive suffix "R".

A divalent infinitive consists of:

• a divalent stem,
• then the infinitive suffix "R",
• then optionally the passive-voice-I suffix "U".

A trivalent infinitive consists of:

• a trivalent stem,
• then the infinitive suffix "R",
• then optionally either the passive-voice-I suffix "U" or the passive-voice-II suffix "E".

A tetravalent infinitive consists of:

• a tetravalent stem,
• then the infinitive suffix "R",
• then optionally either the passive-voice-I suffix "U" or the passive-voice-II suffix "E" or the passive-voice-III suffix "A".

Participle

A monovalent participle consists of:

• a monovalent stem,
• then the participle suffix "Q".

A divalent participle consists of:

• a divalent stem,
• then the participle suffix "Q",
• then optionally the passive-voice-I suffix "U".

A trivalent participle consists of:

• a trivalent stem,
• then the participle suffix "Q",
• then optionally either the passive-voice-I suffix "U" or the passive-voice-II suffix "E".

A tetravalent participle consists of:

• a tetravalent stem,
• then the participle suffix "Q",
• then optionally either the passive-voice-I suffix "U" or the passive-voice-II suffix "E" or the passive-voice-III suffix "A".

Adverb

A monovalent adverb consists of:

• a monovalent stem,
• then the adverb suffix "L".

A divalent adverb consists of:

• a divalent stem,
• then the adverb suffix "L",
• then optionally the passive-voice-I suffix "U".

A trivalent adverb consists of:

• a trivalent stem,
• then the adverb suffix "L",
• then optionally either the passive-voice-I suffix "U" or the passive-voice-II suffix "E".

A tetravalent adverb consists of:

• a tetravalent stem,
• then the adverb suffix "L",
• then optionally either the passive-voice-I suffix "U" or the passive-voice-II suffix "E" or the passive-voice-III suffix "A".

Conjunction

A sentence conjunctions may be coordinating (single) or correlative (pairwise). Other types of conjunctions are only pairwise. There is only one apposition conjunction "FE" - "and". Conjunctions "but", "if", and "only if" are restricted to the sentence type, because they are not pairwise.

sentence conjunction	argument conjunction	apposition conjunction	participle conjunction	translation
FI	FU	FE	FA	and
HI	HU		HA	or
ZI	ZU		ZA	and/or
CI				but
XI				if
DI				only if

Interjection

An interjection is any word ending in -O. It may match an avalent stem while having a different meaning. An interjection is immutable.

Numeral

Numeral stems are the specific case of monovalent stems, therefore a numeral may be a verb, a noun, an infinitive, a participle, and an adverb. A numeral stem always ends in "CI". The roots for numbers and numeric signs are:

meaning	root	stem
0	MO	MOCI
1	NI	NICI
2	LU	LUCI
3	RE	RECI
4	QA	QACI
5	FO	FOCI
6	PI	PICI
7	HU	HUCI
8	SE	SECI
9	CA	CACI
.	TO	TOCI
e	XI	XICI
&	KU	KUCI
-	VE	VECI
/	ZA	ZACI

To make bigger numbers, roots may be concatenated as in the positional notation:

10	NIMOCI
11	NINICI
12	NILUCI
13	NIRECI
14	NIQACI
19	NICACI
20	LUMOCI
21	LUNICI
42	QALUCI
100	NIMOMOCI
777	HUHUHUCI
1.2	NITOLUCI
3.1416	RETONIQANIPICI
-1/3	VENIZARECI
2 3/7	LUKUREZAHUCI

However, it is not practical for very big or very small numbers. One may use the e-notation instead:

1 000	1e3	NIXIRECI
680 000	6.8e5	PITOSEXIFOCI
1 000 000	1e6	NIXIPICI
1 000 000 000	1e9	NIXICACI
1 000 000 000 000	1e12	NIXINILUCI
	1.38e-23	NITORESEXIVELURECI
	6.02e23	PITOMOLUXILURECI

The definition of a numeral is:

• a number, or a decimal point ("."), or an exponent sign ("e"), or a unary minus ("-"), or a mixed fraction joiner sign ("&"), or a division sign ("/"),
• then a terminal "CI".

A number is:

• an integer,
• or a mixed fraction,
• or a floating-point number,
• or a number in e-notation.

An integer is:

• zero,
• or an optional unary minus followed by a non zero natural number.

A mixed fraction is:

• an optional unary minus,
• then an optional pair of nonzero natural followed by a mixed fraction joiner sign ("&" or "plus"),
• then a non zero natural number,
• then a division sign,
• then a non zero natural number.

A floating-point number is:

• an integer,
• then a decimal point,
• then a natural number.

A number in e-notation is:

• an optional unary minus,
• then a nonzero digit (1-9),
• then optionally a pair of a decimal point and a natural number,
• then an exponent sign ("e"),
• then an integer.

A non zero natural number is:

• nonzero digit (1-9),
• then optionally one or many digits (0-9).

A natural number is:

• zero,
• or a non zero natural number.

The part-of-speech suffix is added after the stem. By default a number is nominal, in other words it means abstract "a number one", "a number sixty two" and so on. For other meanings there are the following words in the vocabulary:

• KUT, a cardinal number.
  • BILUMIS KUQ RECIS - 3 flowers.
  • NIS LUVIT KUL RECIS - I sleep 3 times.
• TUT, an ordinal number.
  • BILUMIS TUQ RECIS - the third flower.
  • NIS LUVIT TUL RECIS - I sleep for the third time.
• PUT, a distributive number.
  • NOWIS DUZIT PUL RECIS - Ladies walk three each.
• LUT, a multiplier.
  • TEMIS LUQ RECIS - a triple dish.

Pro-forms

Pro-forms are not a special part of speech. They match other parts of speech, depending on their role and meaning. Occasionally other words not listed here may have a pronominal function.

• LENIS - which one;
• PIS - this one;
• MIPIS - yon one;
• QIS - that one;
• LUQIS - that second one;
• REQIS - that third one;
• QAQIS - that fourth one;
• FOQIS - that fifth one;
• NEMIS - something;
• BOTIS - anything;
• MAQIS - everything;
• KIS - nothing;
• DATIS - something else;
• VIS - something unpsecified;
• NIS - I;
• QAMIS - we including you;
• PEQIS - we excluding you;
• TIS - you (singular).

There are many words for "something" and "that", because they work differently. When you use VIS several times in a text, it may describe different things, each not mentioned for some reason. When you use QIS several times, it refers to the same thing (the same is true for LUQIS, or REQIS, etc). You may need to use definite "that" on more than one thing. That is why there are 5 such words.

EBNF

Let us define EBNF first. The EBNF is a formal tool for defining context-free grammars. The following represents a proposed ISO/IEC 14977 standard, page 7, table 1.

Notation	Usage
definition	=
concatenation	,
termination	;
alternation	|
optional	[ ... ]
repetition	{ ... }
grouping	( ... )
terminal string	" ... "
terminal string	' ... '
comment	(* ... *)
special sequence	? ... ?
exception	-

The normal character representing each operator of Extended BNF and its implied precedence is (highest precedence at the top):

*
-
,
|
=
;
.

The normal precedence is overridden by the following bracket pairs:

' '
" "
(* *)
( )
[ ]
{ }
? ?

The interpretation of the text inside a special sequence is beyond the scope of the EBNF standard. For example, the space character could be defined by the following rule:

space = ? US-ASCII character 32 ?;

The EBNF of Nulizit follows. It is a formal representation of everything above.

Phonology and orthography

phoneme = vowel | consonant;

space = ?white space characters?;

Vowels

vowel = "A" | "E" | "I" | "O" | "U";

Consonants

consonant = "B" | "C" | "D" | "F" | "G" | "H" | "J" | "K" | "L" | "M" | "N" | "P" | "Q" | "R" | "S" | "T" | "V" | "W" | "X" | "Y" | "Z";

Syntax

text = [sentence conjunction], sentence, {sentence conjunction, sentence};

sentence = interjection | verb phrase;

Verb phrase

verb phrase = {adverb phrase}, 0valent verb, {adverb phrase}
| {adverb phrase}, argument, {adverb phrase}, 1valent verb, {adverb phrase}, {transgressive phrase}
| {adverb phrase}, argument, {adverb phrase}, 2valent verb, {adverb phrase}, argument, {adverb phrase}, {transgressive phrase}
| {adverb phrase}, argument, {adverb phrase}, 3valent verb, {adverb phrase}, 2 * argument, {adverb phrase}, {transgressive phrase}
| {adverb phrase}, argument, {adverb phrase}, 4valent verb, {adverb phrase}, 3 * argument, {adverb phrase}, {transgressive phrase};

Argument

argument = noun phrase | infinitive phrase
| 2 * (argument conjunction, argument A), {argument conjunction, argument A}
| 2 * (apposition conjunction, argument B), {apposition conjunction, argument B};

argument A = noun phrase A | infinitive phrase A
| 2 * (apposition conjunction, argument AB), {apposition conjunction, argument AB};

argument B = noun phrase B | infinitive phrase B
| 2 * (argument conjunction, argument AB), {argument conjunction, argument AB};

argument AB = noun phrase AB | infinitive phrase AB;

argument C = noun phrase C | infinitive phrase C
| 2 * (argument conjunction, argument AC), {argument conjunction, argument AC}
| 2 * (apposition conjunction, argument BC), {apposition conjunction, argument BC};

argument AC = noun phrase AC | infinitive phrase AC
| 2 * (apposition conjunction, argument ABC), {apposition conjunction, argument ABC};

argument BC = noun phrase BC | infinitive phrase BC
| 2 * (argument conjunction, argument ABC), {argument conjunction, argument ABC};

argument ABC = noun phrase ABC | infinitive phrase ABC;

Noun phrases

noun phrase =
1valent noun, [participle phrase]
| 2valent noun, [participle phrase], argument
| 3valent noun, [participle phrase], 2 * argument
| 4valent noun, [participle phrase], 3 * argument;

noun phrase A =
1valent noun, [participle phrase A]
| 2valent noun, [participle phrase A], argument A
| 3valent noun, [participle phrase A], 2 * argument A
| 4valent noun, [participle phrase A], 3 * argument A;

noun phrase B =
1valent noun, [participle phrase B]
| 2valent noun, [participle phrase B], argument B
| 3valent noun, [participle phrase B], 2 * argument B
| 4valent noun, [participle phrase B], 3 * argument B;

noun phrase C =
1valent noun, [participle phrase C]
| 2valent noun, [participle phrase C], argument C
| 3valent noun, [participle phrase C], 2 * argument C
| 4valent noun, [participle phrase C], 3 * argument C;

noun phrase AB =
1valent noun, [participle phrase AB]
| 2valent noun, [participle phrase AB], argument AB
| 3valent noun, [participle phrase AB], 2 * argument AB
| 4valent noun, [participle phrase AB], 3 * argument AB;

noun phrase AC =
1valent noun, [participle phrase AC]
| 2valent noun, [participle phrase AC], argument AC
| 3valent noun, [participle phrase AC], 2 * argument AC
| 4valent noun, [participle phrase AC], 3 * argument AC;

noun phrase BC =
1valent noun, [participle phrase BC]
| 2valent noun, [participle phrase BC], argument BC
| 3valent noun, [participle phrase BC], 2 * argument BC
| 4valent noun, [participle phrase BC], 3 * argument BC;

noun phrase ABC =
1valent noun, [participle phrase ABC]
| 2valent noun, [participle phrase ABC], argument ABC
| 3valent noun, [participle phrase ABC], 2 * argument ABC
| 4valent noun, [participle phrase ABC], 3 * argument ABC;

Infinitive phrases

infinitive phrase =
0valent infinitive, [participle phrase]
| 1valent infinitive, [participle phrase], argument
| 2valent infinitive, [participle phrase], 2 * argument
| 3valent infinitive, [participle phrase], 3 * argument
| 4valent infinitive, [participle phrase], 4 * argument;

infinitive phrase A =
0valent infinitive, [participle phrase A]
| 1valent infinitive, [participle phrase A], argument A
| 2valent infinitive, [participle phrase A], 2 * argument A
| 3valent infinitive, [participle phrase A], 3 * argument A
| 4valent infinitive, [participle phrase A], 4 * argument A;

infinitive phrase B =
0valent infinitive, [participle phrase B]
| 1valent infinitive, [participle phrase B], argument B
| 2valent infinitive, [participle phrase B], 2 * argument B
| 3valent infinitive, [participle phrase B], 3 * argument B
| 4valent infinitive, [participle phrase B], 4 * argument B;

infinitive phrase C =
0valent infinitive, [participle phrase C]
| 1valent infinitive, [participle phrase C], argument C
| 2valent infinitive, [participle phrase C], 2 * argument C
| 3valent infinitive, [participle phrase C], 3 * argument C
| 4valent infinitive, [participle phrase C], 4 * argument C;

infinitive phrase AB =
0valent infinitive, [participle phrase AB
| 1valent infinitive, [participle phrase AB], argument AB
| 2valent infinitive, [participle phrase AB], 2 * argument AB
| 3valent infinitive, [participle phrase AB], 3 * argument AB
| 4valent infinitive, [participle phrase AB], 4 * argument AB;

infinitive phrase AC =
0valent infinitive, [participle phrase AC]
| 1valent infinitive, [participle phrase AC], argument AC
| 2valent infinitive, [participle phrase AC], 2 * argument AC
| 3valent infinitive, [participle phrase AC], 3 * argument AC
| 4valent infinitive, [participle phrase AC], 4 * argument AC;

infinitive phrase BC =
0valent infinitive, [participle phrase BC]
| 1valent infinitive, [participle phrase BC], argument BC
| 2valent infinitive, [participle phrase BC], 2 * argument BC
| 3valent infinitive, [participle phrase BC], 3 * argument BC
| 4valent infinitive, [participle phrase BC], 4 * argument BC;

infinitive phrase ABC =
0valent infinitive, [participle phrase ABC]
| 1valent infinitive, [participle phrase ABC], argument ABC
| 2valent infinitive, [participle phrase ABC], 2 * argument ABC
| 3valent infinitive, [participle phrase ABC], 3 * argument ABC
| 4valent infinitive, [participle phrase ABC], 4 * argument ABC;

Participle phrases

participle phrase =
1valent participle, [participle phrase]
| 2valent participle, [participle phrase], argument
| 3valent participle, [participle phrase], 2 * argument
| 4valent participle, [participle phrase], 3 * argument
| 2 * (participle conjunction, participle phrase C), {participle conjunction, participle phrase C};

participle phrase A =
1valent participle, [participle phrase A]
| 2valent participle, [participle phrase A], argument A
| 3valent participle, [participle phrase A], 2 * argument A
| 4valent participle, [participle phrase A], 3 * argument A
| 2 * (participle conjunction, participle phrase AC), {participle conjunction, participle phrase AC};

participle phrase B =
1valent participle, [participle phrase B]
| 2valent participle, [participle phrase B], argument B
| 3valent participle, [participle phrase B], 2 * argument B
| 4valent participle, [participle phrase B], 3 * argument B
| 2 * (participle conjunction, participle phrase BC), {participle conjunction, participle phrase BC};

participle phrase C =
1valent participle, [participle phrase C]
| 2valent participle, [participle phrase C], argument
| 3valent participle, [participle phrase C], 2 * argument
| 4valent participle, [participle phrase C], 3 * argument;

participle phrase AB =
1valent participle, [participle phrase AB]
| 2valent participle, [participle phrase AB], argument AB
| 3valent participle, [participle phrase AB], 2 * argument AB
| 4valent participle, [participle phrase AB], 3 * argument AB
| 2 * (participle conjunction, participle phrase ABC), {participle conjunction, participle phrase ABC};

participle phrase AC =
1valent participle, [participle phrase AC]
| 2valent participle, [participle phrase AC], argument AC
| 3valent participle, [participle phrase AC], 2 * argument AC
| 4valent participle, [participle phrase AC], 3 * argument AC;

participle phrase BC =
1valent participle, [participle phrase BC]
| 2valent participle, [participle phrase BC], argument BC
| 3valent participle, [participle phrase BC], 2 * argument BC
| 4valent participle, [participle phrase BC], 3 * argument BC;

participle phrase ABC =
1valent participle, [participle phrase ABC]
| 2valent participle, [participle phrase ABC], argument ABC
| 3valent participle, [participle phrase ABC], 2 * argument ABC
| 4valent participle, [participle phrase ABC], 3 * argument ABC;

Transgressive phrase

transgressive phrase = 1valent verb, {adverb phrase}
| 2valent verb, {adverb phrase}, argument, {adverb phrase}
| 3valent verb, {adverb phrase}, 2 * argument, {adverb phrase}
| 4valent verb, {adverb phrase}, 3 * argument, {adverb phrase};

Adverb phrase

adverb phrase = 1valent adverb, [participle phrase]
| 2valent adverb, [participle phrase], argument
| 3valent adverb, [participle phrase], 2 * argument
| 4valent adverb, [participle phrase], 3 * argument;

Morphology

0valent stem = {consonant, vowel}, consonant, "O";
1valent stem = {consonant, vowel}, consonant - "C", "I" | numeral;
2valent stem = {consonant, vowel}, consonant, "U";
3valent stem = {consonant, vowel}, consonant, "E";
4valent stem = {consonant, vowel}, consonant, "A";

passive voice I = "U";
passive voice II = "E";
passive voice III = "A";

Verb

verb suffix = "T";

0valent verb = 0valent stem, verb suffix, space;
1valent verb = 1valent stem, verb suffix, space;
2valent verb = 2valent stem, verb suffix, [passive voice I], space;
3valent verb = 3valent stem, verb suffix, [passive voice I | passive voice II], space;
4valent verb = 4valent stem, verb suffix, [passive voice I | passive voice II | passive voice III], space;

Noun

noun suffix = "S";

1valent noun = 1valent stem, noun suffix, space;
2valent noun = 2valent stem, noun suffix, [passive voice I], space;
3valent noun = 3valent stem, noun suffix, [passive voice I | passive voice II], space;
4valent noun = 4valent stem, noun suffix, [passive voice I | passive voice II | passive voice III], space;

Infinitive

infinitive suffix = "R";

0valent infinitive = 0valent stem, infinitive suffix, space;
1valent infinitive = 1valent stem, infinitive suffix, space;
2valent infinitive = 2valent stem, infinitive suffix, [passive voice I], space;
3valent infinitive = 3valent stem, infinitive suffix, [passive voice I | passive voice II], space;
4valent infinitive = 4valent stem, infinitive suffix, [passive voice I | passive voice II | passive voice III], space;

Participle

participle suffix = "Q";

1valent participle = 1valent stem, participle suffix, space;
2valent participle = 2valent stem, participle suffix, [passive voice I], space;
3valent participle = 3valent stem, participle suffix, [passive voice I | passive voice II], space;
4valent participle = 4valent stem, participle suffix, [passive voice I | passive voice II | passive voice III], space;

Adverb

adverb suffix = "L";

1valent adverb = 1valent stem, adverb suffix, space;
2valent adverb = 2valent stem, adverb suffix, [passive voice I], space;
3valent adverb = 3valent stem, adverb suffix, [passive voice I | passive voice II], space;
4valent adverb = 4valent stem, adverb suffix, [passive voice I | passive voice II | passive voice III], space;

Conjunction

conjunction root pairwise = "F" | "H" | "Z";
conjunction root single = "C" | "X" | "D"

sentence conjunction = conjunction root pairwise | conjunction root single, "I", space;
argument conjunction = conjunction root pairwise, "U", space;
participle conjunction = conjunction root pairwise, "A", space;

apposition conjunction = "FE", space;

Interjection

interjection = 0valent stem;

Numeral

zero = "MO";

nonzero digit = "NI" | "LU" | "RE" | "QA" | "FO" | "PI" | "HU" | "SE" | "CA";

digit = nonzero digit | zero;

point = "TO";

exponent = "XI";

mixed fraction joiner = "KU";

unary minus = "VE";

division = "ZA";

terminal = "CI";

nonzero natural = nonzero digit, {digit};

natural = zero | nonzero natural;

integer = zero | [minus], nonzero natural;

decimal = integer, point, natural;

mixed fraction = [minus], [nonzero natural, mixed fraction joiner], nonzero natural, division, nonzero natural;

e notation = [minus], nonzero digit, [point, natural], exponent, integer;

number = mixed fraction | e notation | decimal | integer;

numeral = (number | point | exponent | unary minus | mixed fraction joiner | division), terminal.

Vocabulary

Nuliziti/Vocabulary

Example texts

Nuliziti/Examples

Known bugs

In the end of a written text there should be a trailing whitespace. In EBNF every word is defined being followed by whitespace. It is probably impossible to determine which word will be the last in the infinite number of variants of sentences. The special "end of text" word could be a solution, but in the author’s opinion it is not convenient.