Phonology
Vowels, consonants, diphthongs, tones, syllables, sound combinations, and pronunciation.
From speech sounds to complete discourse.
A strong grammar should explain patterns, show natural examples, identify alternatives, and state where usage varies. Each section should link to dictionary entries and corpus examples.
Morphology
How nouns, verbs, pronouns, modifiers, and particles are formed or changed.
Syntax
How words combine into phrases, clauses, questions, commands, and complex sentences.
Meaning and use
Information structure, politeness, emphasis, discourse markers, idioms, and variation.
Sounds and writing
Introduce the sound inventory first, then show how Roman Kokborok and Yapiri represent those sounds. Separate phonemes from letters, and clearly explain tone, aspiration, nasals, stops, glides, and diphthongs.
SchwaRoman w; dedicated Yapiri character; normally medial rather than word-initial.
Aspiratesph, th, kh, ch are taught as distinct digraph units.
High toneDocument the mark, distribution, minimal contrasts, and natural sentence examples.
Word classes and morphology
Give every major part of speech its own chapter. Explain inflection, derivation, compounding, reduplication where relevant to the language, and the difference between productive rules and lexicalised forms.
Phrase structure
Show the internal order of noun phrases, postpositional phrases, verb phrases, numeral expressions, modifiers, possessors, and coordination.
Clause and sentence patterns
Document basic constituent order, negation, questions, commands, comparison, subordination, relative clauses, reported speech, and discourse-level patterns using corpus-linked examples.
Recommended grammar record
Rule name · plain-language explanation · formal description · Roman examples · Yapiri examples · morpheme-by-morpheme gloss · English translation · exceptions · variation note · corpus links · sources.