Kala: Difference between revisions

From FrathWiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
Line 48: Line 48:


= Morphology =
= Morphology =
'''Kala''' is a mostly [[wp:Agglutinative language|agglutinative]] language that makes extensive use of compounding, incorporation and derivation. That is, it can add many different [[wp:Prefix (linguistics)|prefixes]] and [[wp:Suffix|suffix]]es to a [[wp:Root (linguistics)|root]] until very long words are formed, and a single word can sometimes constitute an entire sentence.
== Nouns ==
Nouns in '''Kala''' are inflected only for number. Other relevant distinctions are animacy and possession, but these are not marked on the noun itself. Animacy plays a role both for pronoun choice and for the validity of some syntactic constructions.
=== Number ===
In general the plural suffix is not used when the plurality of the noun is clear from context. For example, while the English sentence "''there are three dogs''" would use the plural "dogs" instead of the singular "dog", the '''Kala''' sentence '''mita ha'o a''' "''dog three exist''" keeps the word '''mita''' "''dog''" in its unmarked form, as the numeral makes the plural marker redundant.
Nouns are marked for number; plural and collective:
* <b>mita</b> - <small>dog</small> - <i>a dog</i>
** <b>mita[[Kala/affixes#ma|m]]</b> - <small>dog-PL</small> - <i>dogs</i>
** <b>[[Kala/affixes#tla|tli]]mita</b> - <small>COL-dog</small> - <i>a dog pack / a pack of dogs</i>
** <b>tlimitam</b> - <small>COL-dog-PL</small> - <i>dog packs / packs of dogs</i>
When the final syllable of a word contains an <b>m</b>, <b>mp</b>, and sometimes a <b>p</b> the plural marking changes to <b>-lo</b>.
* <b>yama</b> - <small>mountain</small> - <i>a mountain</i>
** <b>yama[[Kala/affixes#la|lo]]</b> - <small>mountain-PL</small> - <i>mountains</i>
** <b>tliyama</b> - <small>COL-mountain</small> - <i>a mountain range / range of mountains</i>
** <b>tliyamalo</b> - <small>COL-mountain-PL</small> - <i>mountain ranges / ranges of mountains</i>
The collective plural is marked by '''tli'''-, derived from '''tatli''', meaning "''group; collection; gathering''". It is mainly used to indicate collectives of animals, but can also indicate groups of flora, geographic features, and various other groupings. This is called the [[wp:Collective_noun|collective]] plural ('''COL''').
=== Gender ===
Gender is not normally marked but can be with the endings <b>-na</b> and <b>-ta</b> to mark the feminine and masculine, respectively or nouns such as '''naka''', '''tlaka''', '''nahi''', or '''tahi''' (''the woman, the man, the girl, the boy''), etc. A gender neutral suffix, '''-nta''' may be used when the gender is unknown or ambiguous.
* <b>uma</b> - <small>horse</small> - <i>a horse</i>
** <b>uma[[Kala/affixes#na|na]]</b> - <small>horse-FEM</small> - <i>mare</i>
** <b>uma[[Kala/affixes#ta|ta]]</b> - <small>horse-MASC</small> - <i>stallion</i>
== Pronouns ==
'''Kala''' agent pronouns are often omitted when the person is obvious from context. There are four persons in Kala. The 4th being inanimate, or indefinite. The pronoun '''na'am''' is used as the 1st person plural exclusive, meaning "We, but not you." The 3rd person plural is irregular, all other pronoun decline regularly. Pronouns do not inflect for gender; if gender is significant, one can use words like '''naka, tlaka, nahi, tahi''' (''the woman, the man, the girl, the boy''), etc.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
Personal pronouns:
* '''na''' - 1st person
* '''ta''' - 2nd person
* '''ha''' - 3rd person
* '''tla''' - 4th person ("it", "one") (used for [[wp:Animacy|inanimate]] nouns)
{{col-break}}
Modifiers:
* [[Kala/affixes#ma|'''-m''']] - plural
* [[Kala/affixes#ka|'''-nku''']] - [[wp:Reciprocal_pronoun|reciprocal]] (only attaches to plural pronouns)
* [[Kala/affixes#a|'''e-''']] - patient
* [[Kala/affixes#a|'''-i''']] - reflexive
* [[Kala/affixes#ya|'''-yo''']] - possessive
{{col-break}}
Other pronouns include:
* '''tlokua''' - everyone, everybody
* '''kola''' - someone, somebody; whomever, anyone, anybody
* '''tlok''' - no one, nobody
* '''nokua''' - everything
* '''nola''' - something; whatever, anything
* '''nok''' - nothing
{{col-end}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 600px;"
|+ nkalo
|-
!
! Agent
! Patient
! Reflexive
! Possessive
! Reciprocal
|-
! 1sg
| '''na''' || '''ena''' || '''na'i''' || '''nayo''' || '''-'''
|-
! 2sg
| '''ta''' || '''eta''' || '''ta'i''' || '''tayo''' || '''-'''
|-
! 3sg
| '''ha''' || '''eha''' || '''ha'i''' || '''hayo''' || '''-'''
|-
! 4sg
| '''tla''' || '''etla''' || '''tla'i''' || '''tlayo''' || '''-'''
|-
! 1pl<br>1pl exclusive
| '''nam'''<br>'''na'am''' || '''enam'''<br>'''ena'am''' || '''nami'''<br>'''na'ami''' || '''namyo'''<br>'''na'amyo''' || '''nanku'''<br>'''na'anku'''
|-
! 2pl
| '''tam''' || '''etam''' || '''tami''' || '''tamyo''' || '''tanku'''
|-
! 3pl
| '''kam''' || '''ekam''' || '''kami''' || '''kamyo''' || '''kanku'''
|-
! 4pl
| '''tlam''' || '''etlam''' || '''tlami''' || '''tlamyo''' || '''tlanku'''
|}
==== Reflexives and Reciprocals ====
'''Kala''' has reflexive and reciprocal pronoun forms.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''na'i sepaye'''
: <small>1s.REFL injure-PST</small>
: ''I hurt myself.''
* '''ha'i tlela'''
: <small>3s.REFL bathe</small>
: ''She bathes herself.''
{{col-break}}
* '''kanku ke onta nayo itsa'''
: <small>3pl.RECP O parent 1s.GEN love</small>
: ''My parents love each other.''
* '''na'anku amyapak'''
: <small>1pl.EXCL.RECP like-ABIL-NEG</small>
: ''We (but not you) are not able to like each other.''
{{col-end}}
=== Determiners & Demostratives ===
The demonstratives can be prefixed to any noun to show [[Wikipedia:Deixis|deixis]]. Kala makes a three-way distinction. Typically there is a distinction between [[Wikipedia:Demonstrative#Distal_and_proximal_demonstratives|proximal]] or first person (objects near to the speaker), [[Wikipedia:Demonstrative#Distal_and_proximal_demonstratives|medial]] or second person (objects near to the addressee), and [[Wikipedia:Demonstrative#Distal_and_proximal_demonstratives|distal]] or third person (objects far from both).
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''itla''' ('''i-''') - this (near me)
* '''uatla''' ('''ua-''') - that (near you)
* '''yetla''' ('''ye-''') - that (over there)
Examples:
* '''imitami''' - <small>PROX-dog-few</small> - ''These few dogs''
* '''yemitampa''' - <small>DIST-dog-many</small> - ''Those many dogs (over there)''
* '''uamitali''' - <small>MED-dog-each</small> - ''Each dog (each of those dogs) (near you)''
{{col-break}}
Quantifiers follow the noun that modify.
* '''kua''' ('''-kua''') - all; every; whole
* '''oli''' ('''-li''') - each; every
* '''ula''' ('''-la''') - whatever; any; some
* '''mi''' ('''-mi''') - few; little
* '''nke''' ('''-k''') - none
* '''mpa''' ('''-mpa''') - many; much; a lot
* '''maha''' - more; plus
* '''ohi''' - less; fewer
{{col-end}}
==== Correlatives ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 800px;"
|+ uatse
|-
!
! Proximal<br>'''i-'''
! Medial<br>'''ua-'''
! Distal<br>'''ye-'''
! Inclusive<br>'''-kua'''
! Negative<br>'''-k'''
! Indefinite<br>'''-la'''
|-
! mo<br>''(place)''
| '''hina'''<br>here || '''uana'''<br>there || '''yemua'''<br>over there || '''mokua'''<br>everywhere || '''mok'''<br>nowhere || '''mola'''<br>somewhere; anywhere
|-
! ko<br>''(person)''
| '''iko'''<br>this person || '''uako'''<br>that person || '''yeko'''<br>that person<br>(over there) || '''tlokua'''<br>everyone || '''tlok'''<br>no one || '''kola'''<br>someone; anyone
|-
! uku<br>''(amount)''
| '''iku'''<br>this much || '''uaku'''<br>that much || '''-''' || '''kua'''<br>all; every|| '''ok'''<br>none || '''ula'''<br>some; any
|-
! ama<br>''(time)''
| '''ima'''<br>now, at present || '''uama'''<br>then; at that time || '''-''' || '''kuama'''<br>always || '''amak'''<br>never || '''tlama'''<br>sometime; anytime
|-
! so<br>''(kind, type)''
| '''iso'''<br>this kind || '''so'o'''<br>that kind || '''yeso'''<br>that kind<br>(over there) || '''sokua'''<br>all kinds || '''sok'''<br>no kind (at all) || '''sola'''<br>some/any kind
|-
! no<br>''(thing)''
| '''itla'''<br>this || '''uatla'''<br>that || '''yetla'''<br>that<br>(over there) || '''nokua'''<br>everything || '''nok'''<br>nothing; none || '''nola'''<br>something; anything
|-
! to<br>''(manner, way)''
| '''yoto'''<br>thus; like this; this way|| '''uato'''<br>that way || '''ato'''<br>that way<br>(over there) || '''tokua'''<br>every way || '''tok'''<br>no way || '''tola'''<br>somehow; anyway
|}
== Verbs ==
'''Kala''' relies on analytic serial verb constructions, and can therefore get by with very little verbal morphology. Each verb has at most two possible forms: the [[wp:Dynamic_verb|''active'']] and the [[wp:Stative_verb|''stative'']]. Passivity is marked on the subject thus verbs are unmarked and must be analyzed based on surrounding morphology. Active verbs solely denote actions and occurrences and never states in Kala. Stative verbs are the words that modify nouns in an attributive and often adjectival way. They often express a state like a quality or result. Verbs can be marked with several suffixes to add or change meaning. The modals and tense affixes can be added in different order to a verb to create a new meaning; their placement is not always fixed. The negative, adverbial, and plural endings are always final, while other affixes can be varied, but in general they should be ordered:
<tt>STEM-(SIZE/IMPORTANCE)-(MOOD)-(ASPECT)-(TENSE)-(NEGATIVE)</tt>
Example:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 600px;"
|+
|-
! Verb Stem
! Size/Importance
! Mood
! Aspect
! Tense
! Negative
|-
| '''empa''' || '''-hi''' || '''-pa'''  || '''-nko''' || '''-ye''' || '''-k'''
|-
| run || DIM || ABIL || PROG  || PST || NEG
|}
* '''na empahipankoyek'''
: <small>1SG run-DIM-able-PROG-PST-NEG</small>
: ''I was not able to keep jogging.''
=== Tense ===
Kala has three simple tenses; past, present, and future. Present tense is unmarked. However, past ('''-ye''') and future ('''-tli''') tenses can be modified to include immediate future ("''is about to''..."), distant future ("''will...in a long while''"), recent past ("''just'' ..."), and remote past ("...''a long while ago''"). These distinctions are made with the augmentative and diminutive endings '''-ha''' and '''-hi'''.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 700px;"
|+ eme
|-
!
! ''Kala''
! ''gloss''
! ''English''
|-align=center
| remote past
| '''kamahi hina<span style="color:red">yeha</span>'''<br>or <span style="color:red">-'''hai'''</span>
| <small>town-DIM be.here-[[wp:Past_tense|REM]]</small>
| ''There was a village here (long ago).<br>''(before the lifetime of the speaker)
|-align=center
| past
| '''naka mita anya<span style="color:red">ye</span>'''
| <small>woman dog see-[[wp:Past_tense|PST]]</small>
| ''The woman saw the dog.''
|-align=center
| recent past
| '''ota namyo akya<span style="color:red">yehi</span>'''<br>or <span style="color:red">-'''hye'''</span>
| <small>father 1pl.GEN wake-[[wp:Past_tense|REC]]</small>
| ''Our father just woke.<br>''(action just finished) 
|-align=center
| present
| '''mita tahi yatsi'''
| <small>dog boy bite</small>
| ''The dog bites the boy.''
|-align=center
| future
| '''naka tahi tlepa<span style="color:red">tli</span>'''
| <small>woman boy teach-[[wp:Future_tense|FUT]]</small>
| ''The woman will teach the boy.''
|-align=center
| immediate future
| '''na tlela<span style="color:red">tlihi</span>'''<br>or <span style="color:red">-'''tlai'''</span>
| <small>1s bathe-[[wp:Future_tense|FUT]]</small>
| ''I'll bathe soon.''<br>(within the day)
|-align=center
| distant future
| '''panam opua<span style="color:red">tliha</span>'''
| <small>rain-PL end-[[wp:Future_tense|FUT]]</small>
| ''The rains will end.''<br>(months from now)
|}
* The present tense can show immediacy by using the adverb '''ima''', "now; at this time":
:'''ima mita ina''' - <small>now dog eat</small> - ''The dog is eating right now.''
* If a temporal adverb is used, the tense suffix may be omitted:
:'''yomaye nam ina''' - <small>yesterday 1pl eat</small> - We ate yesterday.
=== Aspect ===
There are four aspects in Kala. The progressive, also called the [[Wikipedia:Continuous_and_progressive_aspects|continuous]] ['''CONT'''], this is used to express an incomplete action or state in progress at a specific time. It is marked with '''-nko''', from '''nkoso''' - "''to continue; proceed; progress''". The [[Wikipedia:Perfective_aspect|perfective]] aspect indicates that an action is completed ['''PFV''']. It is often translated by the English present perfect (''have done some-thing''). It is marked with '''-pua''', from '''opua''' - "''to end; finish; complete''". The [[Wikipedia:Inchoative_aspect|inchoative]] aspect refers to the beginning of a state ['''INCH''']. It is marked with '''-mu''', from '''mula''' - "''to begin; start; initiate''". The [[Wikipedia:Frequentative|frequentative]]  aspect refers to a repeated action ['''FREQ''']. It is marked with '''-nua''', from '''nua''' - "''frequent; often; regular''".
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 700px;"
!
! ''Kala''
! ''gloss''
! ''English''
|-align=center
| Continuous
| '''na ke niye puku<span style="color:red">nko</span>'''
| <small>1s O undergarment wear-[[wp:Continuous_and_progressive_aspects|CONT]]</small>
| ''I am wearing underclothes.''
|-align=center
| Frequentative
| '''tlaka ke apua tlato<span style="color:red">nua</span>'''
| <small>man O song recite-[[wp:Frequentative|FREQ]]</small>
| ''The man recites the song repetitively.''
|-align=center
| Inchoative
| '''nahi yoti<span style="color:red">mu</span>'''
| <small>girl play-[[wp:Inchoative_aspect|INCH]]</small>
| ''The girl begins to play.''
|-align=center
| Perfective
| '''kam ina<span style="color:red">pua</span>'''
| <small>3pl eat-[[wp:Perfective_aspect|PFV]]</small>
| ''They have eaten.''
|}
=== Mood ===
Besides various aspects, '''Kala''' also marks moods other than [[wp:Realis_mood|realis]]: irrealis, imperative, hortative, and negative. These are also expressed by suffixes on the verb and typically follow aspectual marking where it is expressed by a suffix. As is common throughout natural and constructed languages, the indicative mood is unmarked. Subjunctive, conditional, and imperative moods are marked lexically, by various particles, and as such are covered in detail in the “particles” of this grammar.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 900px;"
!
! ''Kala''
! ''gloss''
! ''English''
|-align=center
| Abilitative
| '''na mokuye<span style="color:red">pa</span>k'''
| <small>1s sleep-PST-[[wp:Natchez_language#Preverbs|ABIL]]-NEG</small>
| ''I was unable to sleep.''
|-align=center
| Assumptive
| '''naka hina<span style="color:red">ho</span>'''
| <small>woman be.here-[[wp:Assumptive_mood|ASS]]</small>
| ''The woman must be here. (I assume)'' (also used as "assertive")
|-align=center
| Attemptative
| '''neko ke panya mata<span style="color:red">pya</span>'''
| <small>cat O mouse kill-ATT</small>
| ''The cat is trying to kill the mouse.''
|-align=center
| Dubitative
| '''ha tsakahue<span style="color:red">ke</span>'''
| <small>3s home-LOC-[[wp:Irrealis_mood#Dubitative|DUB]]</small>
| ''I guess he is at home.'' lit: ''He is at home, supposedly.''
|-align=center
| Hortative
| '''yala<span style="color:red">kya</span>'''
| <small>walk-[[wp:Hortative|HORT]]</small>
| ''Let's go!''
|-align=center
| Necessitative
| '''mita ina<span style="color:red">he</span>'''
| <small>dog eat-[[wp:Irrealis_mood#Necessitative|NEC]]</small>
| ''The dog needs to eat.''
|-align=center
| Negative
| '''naku nayo hina<span style="color:red">k</span>'''
| <small>sister 1s-GEN be.here-[[wp:Affirmative_and_negative|NEG]]</small>
| ''My sister is not here.''
|-align=center
| Permissive
| '''ta ke hina sima<span style="color:red">myo</span>k'''
| <small>2s O here sit-[[wp:Irrealis_mood#Permissive|PERM]]-NEG</small>
| ''You are not allowed to sit here.''
|-align=center
| Precative
| '''ke asi yeta<span style="color:red">te</span>'''
| <small>O salt give-[[wp:Irrealis_mood#Precative|PREC]]</small>
| ''Will you please pass me the salt?''
|-align=center
| Preparative
| '''tahi moku<span style="color:red">sue</span>'''
| <small>boy sleep-PREP</small>
| ''The boy is ready to sleep.''
|-align=center
| Propositive
| '''ta moku<span style="color:red">ne</span>'''
| <small>2s sleep-[[wp:Propositive_mood|PROP]]</small>
| ''You should sleep.''
|-align=center
| Volitive
| '''otsokai ka'e moli yala<span style="color:red">ue</span>'''
| <small>wolf-red toward forest go-[[wp:Irrealis_mood#Volitive|VOL]]</small>
| ''Redwolf wants/intends to go to the forest.''
|}
The negative mood (always marked finally) is indicated by the suffix –'''k''' or '''–nke''' (when the last syllable contains /k/).
* '''mita inayek''' - <small>dog eat-PST-NEG</small> - ''The dog did not eat.''
* '''mita mokunke''' - <small>dog sleep-NEG</small> - ''The dog does not sleep.''
== Adjectives ==
Kala does not have morphologically distinct adjectives. Stative verbs are the words that modify nouns in an predicative and often adjectival way. They often express a state like a quality or result.  In the simplest form, the adjective simply appears after the noun, in verbal position. Many statements that would be phrased as adjectival predicates in English are preferably expressed with stative intransitive verbs in '''Kala''', requiring no copula. (For simplicity, such verbs are glossed without “be”.) This leaves open to interpretation many phrases.
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break}}
* '''mita inya''' - <small>dog hungry</small>
** ''The dog hungers.''
** ''The dog is hungry.''
** ''The hungry dog.''
** ''A hungry dog.''
{{Col-break}}
* '''tsaka ketlahi''' - <small>house red-DIM</small>
** ''The house is a little red.''
** ''The light-red house.''
** ''A pale red house.''
{{Col-break}}
* '''taki saua''' - <small>coat wet</small>
** ''The coat is wet.''
** ''The wet coat.''
** ''A wet coat.''
{{Col-break}}
* '''umalo tahaku''' - <small>horse-PL big-extreme</small>
** ''The horses are extremely large.''
** ''The very big horses.''
{{Col-end}}
=== Comparison ===
In [[Kala]] the concepts of comparative and superlative degree of an predicative adjective (verb) are merged into a single form, the [[Wikipedia:Elative_(gradation)|elative]]. How this form is understood or translated depends upon context and definiteness. In the absence of comparison, the elative conveys the notion of “greatest”, “supreme.” The comparative is made by using the augmentative or diminutive ending on the verb.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''tsaka hayo ke nayo tahaka'''
: <small>house 3sg.POSS O 1sg.POSS big-AUG</small>
: ''His house is bigger than mine.''
{{col-break}}
* '''ke mauam tayo yanaha'''
: <small>O flower.PL 2sg.POSS yellow-AUG</small>
: ''Your flowers are the most yellow.''
{{col-break}}
* '''iyapo ke tsaka tayo pakoha'''
: <small>PROX-building O home 2sg new-AUG</small>
: ''This building is newer than your home.''
{{col-end}}
=== Equivalence ===
Equivalence is indicated with either '''kue''' (as, like), or '''mya''' (as...as).
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''tsaka hayo kue nayo ketla'''
: <small>house 3s.GEN as 1s.GEN be.red</small>
: ''His house is red like mine.''
{{col-break}}
* '''tsaka hayo mya nayo ketla'''
: <small>house 3s.GEN as.X.as 1s.GEN be.red</small>
: ''His house is as red as mine.''
{{col-end}}
Like verbs, adjectives can be used as nouns. For example, '''aya''' means "''beautiful''", but '''ayako''' means "''a beautiful one''" or "''a beauty''." An adjective can be made into an abstract noun by adding -'''n''' (''-ity, -ness, -ship, -hood''). In this way '''aya''' becomes '''ayan''', meaning "''beauty''". This can also be used with nouns: '''ona''' (mother) becomes '''onan''' (''motherhood'').
==== Relative ====
In a relative clause, the verb has the suffix '''-tle''' (or '''-le''' if the final syllable contains /tl/) added to it. The order of the words in relative clauses remains the same as in regular clauses. The use of participles in Kala is rather different than in English and at first sight is difficult to understand. This is mainly due to the fact that the relative pronouns ''who, what, which, where'' are not used in Kala as in English.
* '''yalapa''' - ''to be able to walk'' produces: '''yalapatle''' - ''who/which/that can walk''
* '''yalapak''' - ''to not be able to walk'' produces: '''yalapanketle''' - ''who/which/that can't walk''
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
This nominalizes the verb in some cases, and makes it possible for it to be either the subject or the object.
* '''na ke tlaka nya inama talatle unya'''
: <small>1sg O man for eat-time come-REL know</small>
: ''I know the man who is coming to lunch.''
* '''ke naka patlole pako'''
: <small>O woman sweep-REL young</small>
: ''The woman who is sweeping is young.''
{{col-break}}
The relative suffix is most often in the final position. In some cases, it may be followed by the negative '''-k'''.
* '''itsaka na sutahuetle'''
: <small>PROX-house 1sg reside-LOC-REL</small>
: ''This is the house in which I live.''
* '''itsaka na sutahueyetlek'''
: <small>PROX-house 1sg reside-LOC-PST-REL-NEG</small>
: ''This is the house in which I did not live.''
{{col-end}}
== Adverbs ==
Adverbs tell us when, how, why or where the action happens. They modify a verb, a noun, an adjective, another adverb or a complete sentence. They also can provide us information about manner, quantity, frequency, time, or place. Kala does not have morphologically distinct adverbs. Adverbs can be formed from all adjectives (or stative verbs) by adding '''-n''' to the root. Since this rule is regular, it is not generally indicated in grammatical examples or in the lexicon.
* '''aya''' - beautiful >> '''ayan''' - beautifully
* '''tama''' - good >> '''taman''' - well
* '''poyo''' - rich >> '''poyon''' - richly
* '''tsipue''' - slow >> '''tsipuen''' - slowly (<small>this can also be marked on the main verb with '''-tsue'''</small>)
* '''tlaki''' - fluent >> '''tlakin''' - fluently
Many adverbs (mostly temporal) do not derive from verbs:
* '''yomaye''' - yesterday
* '''iyoma''' - today
* '''yomali''' - every day
* '''kuama''' - always
* '''ima''' - now
Temporal adverbs always precede the phrase they modify.
* '''yomuali na ka'e hakyo yala'''
: <small>morning-each 1s to school go</small>
: ''I go to school every morning.''
Other adverbials can be marked on the verb.
* '''ona kamyo ma'a siku kupayetsua'''
: <small>mother 3pl.GEN with accident die-PST-almost</small>
: ''Their mother almost died in the accident.''
== Prepositions ==
Kala does not have prepositions (or postpositions) as a distinct part of speech. Instead, many locative verbs can be used as adpositionals, in which case they precede the noun they modify. There is one general locative (-'''hue''') which is affixed to nouns (and occasionally verbs) to indicate the sense of “at; in; on”. Here are some common verbs used as [[wp:Preposition_and_postposition|adpositions]]:
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''pahe''' - against; touching
* '''pa'e''' - apart from; other than; except for
* '''paye''' - beyond; exceeding; farther than
* '''pue''' - after; back; behind; rear
* '''tahe''' - below; beneath; under
* '''ka'e''' - to; towards; at [moving toward]
* '''kaye''' - around; encircling; surrounding
* '''mahe''' - around; approximate; close to
* '''ma'a''' - with [accompanied by / furnished with]
* '''ma'e''' - before; in front
* '''maye''' - between; among
{{col-break}}
* '''nahe ''' - in [located inside of]; internal
* '''nyaue''' - outside of; exterior to
* '''sahe''' - across; opposite; other side
* '''saye''' - along; following [a line]
* '''hue / -hue''' - at [in the same location as] [LOC]
* '''tsa'e''' - across; through
* '''ua'e''' - above; over / on
* '''uaye''' - from [moving out of or away from]
* '''ya'e''' - near; close to
* '''yomo''' - to the right of
* '''yoso''' - to the left of
{{col-end}}
* '''na ke ito yamahue anyapa'''
: <small>1sg O tree hill-LOC see-ABIL</small>
: ''I can see a tree on the hill.''
* '''ntahim nyaue tsaka yoti'''
: <small>child-PL outside.of house play</small>
: ''The children are playing outside of the house.''
Many of these take the motive suffix '''-la'''.
* '''mita ke tsaka nahelaye'''
: <small>dog O house go.into-PST</small>
: ''The dog went into the house.''
* '''taku nayo ke ito ua'ela'''
: <small>brother 1s.GEN O tree go.up</small>
: ''My brother is climbing the tree.''
== Particles ==
=== Conjunctions ===
Words and phrases may be coordinated in Kala with the following words:
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''pa''' - although; even though; even if
* '''ku''' - and; also [clause level]
* '''ma''' - and; also; too; as well
* '''ehe''' / ('''me''') - but; yet; however
* '''impo''' - therefore; as a result; so; consequently; thus
* '''ua''' - or; other; else
* '''ue''' - either X or Y
* '''uenke''' / ('''uek''') - neither X nor Y
* '''yatli''' - if X then Y
* '''yema''' - both X and Y
* '''yetli''' - if it were not; if not X then Y >> X '''yatli''' Y
{{col-break}}
* '''ha'ena itsa ehe hinak'''
: <small>3s-P.1s love but be.here-NEG</small>
: ''She loves me but is not here.''
* '''aye na tala ku matsu'''
: <small>PST 1s come CONJ conquer</small>
: ''I came, I conquered.''
{{col-end}}
=== Interjections ===
There are a few particles, usually appearing at the beginning of the sentence, with a pragmatic meaning. These typically precede phrases they modify.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 900px;"
|-
! morpheme !! indicates !! gloss !! example
|-
| '''a''' || acknowledgement, agreement, or that one is listening || ''yes; hm mm; yeah'' || '''a ta inaue'''<br>''Mm hmm...You want to eat.''
|-
| '''e''' || filler or pause during conversation || ''uh, er, well'' || '''e na uamek'''<br>''Well, I'm not sure.''
|-
| '''yali''' || excuses jostling or interruptions || ''excuse me'' || '''yali itla tayo ka'''<br>''Excuse me, is this yours?''
|}


= Derivational morphology =
= Derivational morphology =

Revision as of 16:29, 25 November 2017

The Kala conlang...

Introduction

Orthography

  • Kala conscripts are many and varied. Rather than multiple pages explaining each of them, this page serves as a working list with a consistent example across each script. The most commonly used script is the Hangul adaptation for Kala.

Han Moya

Han Moya is an adaptation of Hangul for writing Kala. It is written horizontally, in lines running from left to right. It can also be written vertically in columns.

consonants

  • ㄱㄲㄴㄷㄸㄹㅁㅂㅃㅅㅆㅇㅈㅉㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ
k nk n t nt l m p mp s ns a ts nts ts` k` tl p` h
/k~g ᵑk~ⁿg n t~d ⁿt~ⁿd l~ɾ m p~b ᵐp~ᵐb s~ʃ ⁿs~ⁿʃ - ts~t͡ʃ ⁿts~ⁿt͡ʃ tsʰ~t͡ʃʰ kʰ t͡ɬ~tl pʰ h~ɦ/

The adaptations of doubled consonants are used word initially to indicate prenasalization. Medial occurrences of nasalized syllables are written across syllables.

Example:
  • 까바 - nkapa - alcohol; liquor / 단가 - tanka - eagle; hawk; falcon
  • 감바 - kampa - Cheers! / 쁘라 - mpula - lamp; lantern; light

vowels

  • ㅏ ᅶ ㅐ ㅑ ᅸ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ
a ao ai ya yao e ye o ao yo ua uai ue u i
/a~a: aʊ̯ aɪ̯ ja~ʲa: jaʊ̯~ʲaʊ̯ e~ɛ je~ʲɛ o~o: jo~ʲo: wa~ʷa: waɪ̯~ʷaɪ̯ we~ʷe: u~u: i~ɪ/
  • ㅘ This is pronounced /wa/ in Korean because of the order of the vowels; however, because obsolete jamo are difficult to type and look junky as images, in Kala, this is used for /aʊ̯/ when typing. It is rarely seen due to the diphthong itself being uncommon.

Phonology

Morphology

Derivational morphology

Because Kala has only two main parts of speech (content and functional words), new words formed by derivation should be analyzed based on context. Functional words can rarely be used to form new words, but this is typically to form extensions of functions, or new functions.

Compounding

New nouns are usually created through head-initial compounding, using both nominal and verbal stems as the second, dependent element of the compound. The resulting lexical entries usually behave as single phonological words, which, however, have four full syllables: kuatlatloha "grass snake". Compounding of more than two elements is not common.

  • kayapusu - "earthquake" > kaya - earth + pusu - vibrate
  • asuaseka - "leather" > asua - skin + seka - dry

There are also numerous affixes used to form new meanings. A few examples are;

  • tiyasu - "bakery" > tiya - bread + -su - market; shop
  • onyomo - "school" > onyo - learn + -mo - place; location
  • kuhasa - "kitchen" > kuha - cook + -sa - room; chamber
  • pyetampu - "egg-shaped" > pyeta - egg + -mpu - shape; form

Derivation

Verbalization

Causative verbs (as well as achievement verbs) can be formed from other verbs by adding -mya (from muya - "do, make, cause") or -la (from ela - "become; change into; turn into"). This type of derivation is fairly common; however, verbs created in this way are syntactically defective and tend to appear only in serial verb constructions.

  • tinamya - "bend" < tina - be bent
  • pitamya - "hollow out" < pita - be hollow; void
  • enomya - "annoy, bother" < eno - be angry
  • tsipuela - "slow down" < tsipue - be slow
  • kyolola - "speed up" < kyolo - be quick

Intensive verbs can be formed from other verbs by adding -mpa (from mpa - "many; much; very"), or more commonly -hu (from kyohu - "be drastic; extreme; aggressive").

  • ketsahu - "dismiss, reject, repudiate" < ketsa - doubt
  • amyampa - "fall in love with" < amya - be fond of; like; prefer (of people)

Adjective-like stative verbs which name an associated quality may be formed from nouns by -n (from no - "thing" (-ish, -ly, -ous)).

  • timan - "be cruel, be bloody" < tima - blood
  • amyan - "be welcoming, be hospitable" < amya - be fond of

Nominalization

Agentive

Nouns referring to a human subject of a verb (usually in a habitual sense) can be formed with the agentive suffix -ko (from ko - "individual; person"). This suffix changes to -tlo when a velar stop is present in the preceding syllable.

  • kitlako - "craftsman" < kitla - create; invent; make-up
  • sutako - "inhabitant (of)" < suta - live; reside; dwell; inhabit; settle
  • yekatlo - "unmarried young adult" < yeka - be separate, be on one's own
  • makatlo - "musician" < maka - music; play ~; tune
  • tsaniko - "storyteller" < tsani - recite, tell (a story)

Instrumental

Instrument nouns and names for tools and other inanimates can be derived from verbs or from other nouns by adding the suffix -nyo (from mayo - "device; equipment; tool").

  • hitanyo - "atlatl (spear-thrower)" < hita - throw; cast; expel
  • amonyo - "handle (for carrying)" < amo - transport; carry
  • kusunyo - "clasp, brooch, fibula" < kusu - squeeze
  • toponyo - "lock" < topo - door; gate

Locative

Location nouns can be formed from both nouns and verbs by several suffixes. These indicate specific places where either something happens, or something resides there are a few affixes which modify both verbs and nouns.

-mo (from mo - "location; place; site"). This suffix is used to form the general idea of where something happens or resides.

  • tanamo - "battlefield; boxing ring; wrestling mat, etc." < tana - fight; combat
  • uelomo - "bicycle-place; bike path; bike rack, etc." < uelo - bicycle; bike
  • inamo - "eat-place; dining room; restaurant" [This can also mean food-place; pantry, etc.] < ina - food; eat
  • onyomo - "learn-place; school" < onyo - learn; study

-su (from suku - "market; shop; store"). This suffix is used to specify a business where items are produced and/or sold.

  • tiyasu - "bread-shop; bakery" < tiya - bread
  • inasu - "food-market; grocery store; restaurant" < ina - food; eat
  • uelosu - "bicycle-shop" < uelo - bicycle; bike

-kyo (from hakyo - "college; school; university"). This suffix is used to specify a location where students learn. This can also be used to indicate a school of thought, or ideology.

  • tanakyo - "dojo; martial arts training academy; etc." < tana - fight; combat
  • kuhakyo - "culinary-school; chef’s academy" < kuha - cook; prepare food
  • tsiyakyo - "liberalism" < tsiya - freedom; liberty
  • ya'akyo - "medical-school" < ya'a - medicine; drug; cure

-sa (from sala - "chamber; room; section"). This is more specific than -mo and used primarily for spaces inside buildings.

  • kuhasa - "cook-room; kitchen" < kuha - cook; prepare food
  • mokusa - "sleep-room; bedroom" < moku - sleep; rest
  • inasa - "eat-room; dining room" < ina - food; eat
  • onyosa - "learn-room; classroom" < onyo - learn; study

Diminutive

Diminutive nouns and endearment terms can be formed from verbs and other nouns by adding the suffix -hi (from ahi - "few; small"). This becomes -ki after a syllable that contains a glottal fricative.

  • mukuhi - "blade" < muku - knife
  • umahi - "foal" < uma - horse; equine
  • mitahi - "puppy" < mita - dog; canine
  • ohuaki - "indulgence" < ohua - luxurious; extravagant

Augmentative

Augmentative nouns can be formed from verbs and other nouns by adding the suffix -ha (from taha - "big; large; grand"). This becomes -ka after a syllable that contains a glottal fricative.

  • kamaha - "city" < kama - village; town
  • ohaka - "dislocate one's jaw" < oha - yawn; open one's mouth
  • mosaha - "epic; novel" < mosa - book; letter; scroll
  • tiniha - "hurricane" < tini - spiral; whorl

Honorific

Honorific nouns can be formed from other nouns by prefixing o-.

  • omasa - "stag" < masa - deer; cervine
  • okama - "capital" < kama - town; village

Syntax

Kala has an extremely regular grammar, with very few exceptions to its rules. Sentences are made up of one or more phrases. Each phrase consists of a verb (optionally followed by modifying particles) and a subject (optionally followed by modifying particles). The subject, if understood, can be omitted at the end of an utterance: pana ("It is raining.") pana! ("Rain!") An utterance can be anything from an interjection to a story.

The basic structure of a Kala sentence is: AGENT--PATIENT--VERB (or SOV)

The agent is the person or thing doing the action described by the verb; The patient is the recipient of that action. The importance of word order can be seen by comparing the following sentences:

  • mita tlaka anya
dog man see
The dog sees the man.
  • tlaka mita anya
man dog see
The man sees the dog.

In both sentences, the words are identical, the only way to know who is seeing whom is by the order of the words in the sentence.

The use of the object marker ke indicates the recipient of the action.

  • naka ke mita itsa
woman O dog love
The woman loves the dog.

Kala lacks morphological adjectives and instead uses predicative verbs.

  • ke tsaka taha
O house be.big
The big house / The house is big

Kala lacks morphological adverbs, verbs modified with the adverbial ending -n tend to precede the verb phrase they modify.

  • tsumun nam yokone
cautious-ADV 1pl swim-SUG
We should swim cautiously.

Kala lacks morphological prepositions and instead uses locational and relational verbs.

  • mita ke yempa tahe
dog O table be.under
The dog is under the table.

Clauses

Relative clauses (or adjective clauses) function like adjectives. Relative clauses follow the noun or noun phrase that they modify:

  • naka ke na itsatle te ameyo
woman O 1s love-REL from America
The woman (that) I love comes from America.
  • mayo ke na kitlayetle muyak
tool O 1s create-PST-REL do-NEG
The tool (that) I built doesn't function.
  • na ke ta yani unyak / na ke yani tayo unyak
1s O 2s mean know-NEG / 1s O meaning 2s.GEN know-NEG
I don't understand what you mean.

Subordinate clauses rely on conjunctions and other particles.

  • eya ta ke mpeka inaye yatli ta pasala
maybe 2s O toad eat-PST therefore 2s nauseous-become
If you ate the toad (which you might have), you might get sick.
  • naye na tasa ke masa okyohue anyaye
while 1s hunt O deer clearing-LOC see-PST
While hunting, I saw a deer in a clearing.

Questions

There are two types of questions: Polar, those which may be answered "yes" or "no," and those which require explanations as answers.

Polar Questions

Any statement can become a polar question by adding the interrogative particle ka at the end of the sentence.

  • mita ina
dog eat
The dog eats.
  • nta'i moku
baby sleep
The baby is sleeping. / The baby sleeps.
  • ta ke tlo'o anyaye
2SG O elephant see-PST
You saw the elephant.
  • tekatlo eta ke ya'a yetaye
heal-AG P.2SG O medicine give-PST
The doctor gave you the medicine.
  • mita ina ka
dog eat Q
Does the dog eat?
  • nta'i moku ka
baby sleep Q
Is the baby sleeping?
  • ta ke tlo'o anyaye ka
2SG O elephant see-PST Q
Did you see the elephant?
  • tekatlo eta ke ya'a yetaye ka
heal-AG P.2SG O medicine give-PST Q
Did the doctor give you the medicine?

Content questions

Questions that give a list of possible answers are formed like polar questions, with the conjunction ue ‘or’ introducing each alternative (which must appear in the form of a noun phrase).

  • ta ke nkapa ue maya inuue ka
2SG O beer or.EXCL water drink-VOL Q
Do you want to drink beer or water?
  • uala ta ke sinka mataye ue empa ma koma ka
truly 2sg O lion kill-PST or.EXCL flee CONJ hide Q
Did you really kill the lion, or did you run away and hide?

Open content questions are most easily formed with the correlatives, such as ko ‘person’, mo ‘place’, to ‘manner’, etc. These correlatives always appear clause-initially:

  • ko ta ka
person 2sg Q
Who are you?
  • itla ka
this Q
What is this?
  • to kihu ka
manner weather Q
What's the weather like?

The other type contains a question word and is followed by ka:

kanyo
Kala gloss English
object ke mita ina ka O dog eat Q What does the dog eat?
person ko ina ka person eat Q Who eats?
possession koyo mita ina ka person-POSS dog eat Q Whose dog eats?
manner to mita ina ka manner dog eat Q How does the dog eat?
place mo mita ina ka place dog eat Q Where does the dog eat?
reason nye mita ina ka reason dog eat Q Why does the dog eat?
time ama mita ina ka time dog eat Q When does the dog eat?
amount uku mita ina ka amount dog eat Q How much/many does the dog eat?
which ula mita ina ka any dog eat Q Which dog eats?

Numbers

Kala uses a base 10 number system. The basic numbers are as follows:

Kala number English Kala number English Kala number English
ye'o 0 zero tsa'o 6 six nya'o 500 five hundred
na'o 1 one ka'o 7 seven tle'o 103 (one) thousand
ta'o 2 two pa'o 8 eight mue'o 104 ten thousand
ha'o 3 three sa'o 9 nine kye'o 105 (one) hundred thousand
ma'o 4 four ue'o 10 ten nte'o 106 (one) million
ya'o 5 five nye'o 100 (one) hundred hue'o 109 (one) billion

Forming Larger Numbers

  • uena'o - eleven / 11
  • taue'o - twenty / 20
  • nyeka'o - one hundred seven / 107
  • hanyetauetsa'o (long form) / hatatsa'o (short form) - three hundred twenty six / 326
  • tsatletauema'o - six thousand and twenty four / 6024

Long form numbers are used in formal situations, including financial transactions, especially involving large sums. Short form numbers are used in everyday speech and when calculating basic math.

Other Number Forms

Kala number English ordinal multiple fractional
na'o 1 one kina'o
first		 tina'o
once		 -
ueta'o 12 twelve kiueta'o
twelfth		 tiueta'o
duodecuple		 iueta'o
a twelfth
yauema'o
(yama'o)		 54 fifty four kiyama'o
fifty fourth		 tiyama'o
54 times		 iyama'o
a fifty fourth
nyetsa'o 106 one hundred (and) six kinyetsa'o
106th		 tinyetsa'o
106 times		 inyetsa'o
a 106th
katle'o 7000 seven thousand kikatle'o
seven thousandth		 tikatle'o
7000 times		 ikatle'o
1/7000

Math Operations

Kala math is fairly basic and relies on particles and verbs to express functions.

Addition uses ma (and; also). There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation.

  • ha'o ma ya'o ke pa'o a
3 and 5 O 8 COP
Three plus five is eight.

Subtraction uses ma (and; also) and a negative form of the smaller integer. There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation.

  • tsa'o ma ya'ok ke na'o a
6 and 5-NEG O 1 COP
Six and five-less is one.

Multiplication uses ma (and; also) and a multiple form of one of the integers. There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation.

  • ha'o ma tima'o ke ueta'o a
3 and multiple-4 O 12 COP
Three times four is twelve.

Division uses yeka (divide; separate; partition), or ma (and; also) and a multiple-negative form of one of the integers. There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation.

  • tama'o ma ha'o ke pa'o yeka
24 and 3 O 8 division
Twenty-four divided by three is eight.
Retrieved from "http://www.frathwiki.com/index.php?title=Kala&oldid=110940"