Nyjeve

Nyjeve is a hypothetical grammatical category used in linguistic theory and in some works of fiction to describe a class of evidential markers. In analyses where nyjeve is invoked, these markers express the source of a speaker’s information—such as direct observation, report from another, or inference—often affecting the stance of the utterance.

Origin and naming: The term nyjeve is drawn from the fictional Nyjevic language group, where the category is said to be widespread. The word itself is used as a label for a set of particles or affixes that attach to verb complexes or auxiliary verbs.

Description: In languages described as having nyjeve, markers can appear as suffixes on the verb, as standalone particles in clause-periphery, or as clitics attached to main predicates. They typically occupy a single slot with a preferred order, such as evidential markers (direct, indirect, inferred) before or after the main verb depending on the language. Some systems couple nyjeve with other mood markers to encode speaker attitude (certainty, doubt, surprise).

Usage and typology: Nyjeve is most often discussed in typological surveys of evidential systems and in studies of constructed languages used for world-building. It serves as a convenient abstraction for comparing how different languages encode information sources in discourse.

See also: Evidentiality, Grammatical mood, Constructed languages, Language typology.