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| {{Kala 2}} | | {{Kala 2}} |
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| | {{wip}} |
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| | <big>'''THIS SECTION IS CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED TO REFLECT A NEW GRAMMAR.'''</big> |
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| The Kala conlang... | | The Kala conlang... |
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| * [[Kala/calendar|calendar]] | | * [[Kala/calendar|calendar]] |
| | * [[Kala/chat|conversations]] |
| * [[Kala/etymology|etymology]] | | * [[Kala/etymology|etymology]] |
| | ** [[Kala/roots|roots]] |
| * [[Kala/lexicon|lexicon]] | | * [[Kala/lexicon|lexicon]] |
| | ** [[Kala/affixes|affixes]] |
| ** [[Kala/lexicon/theme|thematic lexicon]] | | ** [[Kala/lexicon/theme|thematic lexicon]] |
| | * [[Kala/particles|particles]] |
| * [[Kala/phrases|phrases]] | | * [[Kala/phrases|phrases]] |
| * [[Kala/syllables|syllables]]
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| * [[Kala/affixes|word formation]] | | * [[Kala/affixes|word formation]] |
| * [[Kala/writing|writing]] | | * [[Kala/writing|writing]] |
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| = introduction =
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| Kala is a personal [[Wikipedia:Constructed_language|conlang]] (actually more of an [[Wikipedia:Artistic_language#Personal_languages|artlang]]), not attached to any [[Wikipedia:Worldbuilding|conworld]] or conculture.
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| == characteristics ==
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| Kala is a context-oriented language. In most cases, the more important elements of a phrase are clustered toward the end of the sentence (e.g. verbs and their modifiers). The less important an element is to the understanding of a sentence, the more likely it is to be dropped. Consequently, many Kala sentences end-up consisting solely of a verb (or adjectival verb). More so in conversation than in written Kala, these short phrases are grammatically correct and natural. Here are some examples:
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| * '''muya ka''' - <small>do Q</small> - ''(What are you) doing?''
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| * '''ina''' - <small>eat</small> - ''(I am) eating.''
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| * '''tamatse''' - <small>good-seem</small> - ''(That looks) good.''
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| * '''ueha ka''' - <small>want Q</small> - ''(Do you) want (some)?''
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| * '''nyasak''' - <small>thank-NEG</small> - ''No, thank (you).''
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| Notice that none of the above contain any pronouns, or nouns. Any contextually understood elements may be omitted unless indispensable.
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| == parts of speech ==
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| Kala has three parts of speech, each with several subgroups. Nouns and verbs are substantive, while particles tend to be only functional. Many of the words can be used as both nouns and verbs. The best, and most common example would be '''ina''' (food; to eat).
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| * '''na ina''' - <small>1sg eat</small> - ''I eat.''
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| ** '''na ke ina anya''' - <small>1sg O food see</small> - ''I see the food.''
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| == borrowing ==
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| Kala borrows extensively from various natural languages. This is a very small sample of borrowings:
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| ''See also: [[Kala/etymology|etymology]]''
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| * '''kala''' – ''to speak, talk, converse''; from Arabic [[Wiktionary:تكلم|''takallama'']]
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| * '''na''' – ''I, me''; from Arabic [[Wiktionary:أنا|''ʾanā'']]
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| * '''pato''' – ''duck (Anatidae)''; from Spanish [[Wiktionary:pato|''pato'']]
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| * '''tsenka''' – ''orange''; from Chinese [[Wiktionary:橙|''chéng'']]
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| * '''uasi''' – ''to take, get, acquire''; from Lakota [[Wiktionary:wasi'chu|''wasichu'']]
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| * '''myonta''' – ''to allow, permit''; from Finnish [[Wiktionary:myöntää|''myöntää'']]
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| * '''a''' – ''to be, exist, yes''; from Japanese [[Wiktionary:ある|''aru'']]
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| = phonology =
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| ...
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| = word order =
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| ...
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| = nouns =
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| ...
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| = determiners =
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| Determiners precede the noun they modify in Kala. 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).
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| * '''itla''' ('''i-''') - this (near me)
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| * '''uatla''' ('''ua-''') - that (near you)
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| * '''yetla''' ('''ye-''') - that (over there)
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| The demonstratives can be prefixed to any noun to show [[Wikipedia:Deixis|deixis]].
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| Quantifiers follow the noun that modify.
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| * '''kua''' ('''-kua''') - all; every; whole
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| * '''oli''' ('''-li''') - each; every
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| * '''ula''' ('''-la''') - whatever; any; some
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| * '''mi''' ('''-mi''') - few; little
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| * '''nke''' ('''-k''') - none
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| * '''mpa''' ('''-mpa''') - many; much; a lot
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| * '''maha''' - more; plus
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| * '''ohi''' - less; fewer
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| = pronouns =
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| ...
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| = verbs =
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| ...
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| = particles =
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| == '''ke''' ==
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| * The [[wp:Patient_(grammar)|patient]], or object ('''O''') marker.
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| == conjunctions ==
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| There are three coordinating conjunctions in Kala and three correlative conjunctions:
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| {{col-begin}}
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| {{col-break}}
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| === coordinating ===
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| * '''ma''' - and; also
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| :: '''mita ina ma moku''' - <small>dog eat and sleep</small> - ''The dog eats and sleeps.''
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| * '''ua''' - or
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| :: '''mita ina ua moku''' - <small>dog eat or sleep</small> - ''The dog eats or sleeps.''
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| * '''ehe''' ('''me''') - but; yet
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| :: '''mita ina ma mokunke''' - <small>dog eat but sleep-NEG</small> - ''The dog eats but does not sleep.''
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| {{col-break}}
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| === correlative ===
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| * '''yema''' - both X and Y
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| :: '''mita ina yema empa''' - <small>dog eat both.X.and.Y run</small> - ''The dog eats and runs.''
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| * '''ue''' - either X or Y
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| :: '''mita ina ue empa''' - <small>dog eat either.X.or.Y run</small> - ''The dog is either eating or running.''
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| * '''uenke''' ('''uek''') - neither X nor Y
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| :: '''mita ina uenke empa''' - <small>dog eat neither.X.nor.Y run</small> - ''The dog is neither eating nor running.''
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| {{col-end}}
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| == prepositions ==
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| Kala does not have prepositions as a distinct part of speech. Instead, many locative verbs can be used as prepositions, 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”.
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| = adjectives =
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| ...
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| = adverbs =
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| Temporal adverbs in Kala precede the verb phrase they modify. Other adverbs follow the verb or adjective they modify and are explicitly marked by '''-n'''.
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| = questions =
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| There are two types of questions: [[Wikipedia:Yes–no_question|Polar]], those which may be answered "yes" or "no," and those which require explanations as answers. Any statement can become a polar question by adding the interrogative particle '''ka''' at the end of the sentence.
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| * '''mita ina''' - <small>dog eat</small> - ''The dog eats.''
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| ** '''mita ina ka''' - <small>dog eat Q</small> - ''Does the dog eat?''
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| The other type contains a question word and is followed by '''ka''':
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| {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 600px;"
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| |+ kanyo
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| |-
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| !
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| ! Kala
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| ! gloss
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| ! English
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| |-
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| ! object
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| | '''ke mita ina ka''' || <small>O dog eat Q</small> || ''What does the dog eat?''
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| |-
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| ! person
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| | '''ko ina ka''' || <small>person eat Q</small> || ''Who eats?''
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| |-
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| ! possession
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| | '''koyo mita ina ka''' || <small>person-POSS dog eat Q</small> || ''Whose dog eats?''
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| |-
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| ! manner
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| | '''to mita ina ka''' || <small>manner dog eat Q</small> || ''How does the dog eat?''
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| |-
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| ! place
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| | '''mo mita ina ka''' || <small>place dog eat Q</small> || ''Where does the dog eat?''
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| |-
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| ! reason
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| | '''nye mita ina ka''' || <small>reason dog eat Q</small> || ''Why does the dog eat?''
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| |-
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| ! time
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| | '''ama mita ina ka''' || <small>time dog eat Q</small> || ''When does the dog eat?''
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| |-
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| ! amount
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| | '''uku mita ina ka''' || <small>amount dog eat Q</small> || ''How much/many does the dog eat?''
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| |-
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| ! which
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| | '''ula mita ina ka''' || <small>any dog eat Q</small> || ''Which dog eats?''
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| |}
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| = clauses =
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| == comparative ==
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| In [[Kala]] the concepts of comparative and superlative degree of an 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.”
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| * '''tsaka hayo ke nayo tahaka'''
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| : <small>house 3sg.POSS O 1sg.POSS big-AUG</small>
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| : ''His house is bigger than mine.''
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| * '''ke mauam tayo yanaha'''
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| : <small>O flower.PL 2sg.POSS yellow-AUG</small>
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| : ''Your flowers are the most yellow.''
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| * '''iyapo ke tsaka tayo pakoha'''
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| : <small>PROX-building O home 2sg new-AUG</small>
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| : ''This building is newer than your home.''
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| == relative ==
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| 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.
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| * '''yalapa''' - ''to be able to walk'' produces: '''yalapatle''' - ''who/which/that can walk''
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| * '''yalapak''' - ''not to be able to walk'' produces: '''yalapanketle''' - ''who/which/that can't walk''
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| This nominalizes the verb in some cases, and makes it possible for it to be either the subject or the object.
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| * '''na ke tlaka nya inama talatle unya'''
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| : <small>1sg O man for eat-time come-REL know</small>
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| : ''I know the man who is coming to lunch.''
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| * '''ke naka patlole pako'''
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| : <small>O woman sweep-REL young</small>
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| : ''The woman who is sweeping is young.''
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| The relative suffix is most often in the final position. In some cases, it may be followed by the negative '''-k'''.
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| * '''itsaka na sutahuetle'''
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| : <small>PROX-house 1sg reside-LOC-REL</small>
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| : ''This is the house in which I live.''
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| * '''itsaka na sutahueyetle'''
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| : <small>PROX-house 1sg reside-LOC-PST-REL</small>
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| : ''This is the house in which I lived.''
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| = numbers =
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| {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 800px;"
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| |+ uku
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| |-
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| ! Kala
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| ! number
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| ! English
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| ! Kala
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| ! number
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| ! English
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| ! Kala
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| ! number
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| ! English
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| |-
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| | '''ye'o''' || 0 || zero || '''tsa'o''' || 6 || six || '''nya'o''' || 500 || five hundred
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| | '''na'o''' || 1 || one || '''ka'o''' || 7 || seven || '''tle'o''' || 10<sup>3</sup> || (one) thousand
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| | '''ta'o''' || 2 || two || '''pa'o''' || 8 || eight || '''mue'o''' || 10<sup>4</sup> || ten thousand
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| | '''ha'o''' || 3 || three || '''sa'o''' || 9 || nine || '''kye'o''' || 10<sup>5</sup> || (one) hundred thousand
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| | '''ma'o''' || 4 || four || '''ue'o''' || 10 || ten || '''nte'o''' || 10<sup>6</sup> || (one) million
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| |-
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| | '''ya'o''' || 5 || five || '''nye'o''' || 100 || (one) hundred || '''hue'o''' || 10<sup>9</sup> || (one) billion
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| |}
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| === forming larger numbers ===
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| * '''uena'o''' - eleven / 11
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| * '''taue'o''' - twenty / 20
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| * '''nyeka'o''' - one hundred seven / 107
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| * '''hanyetauetsa'o''' (''long form'') / '''hatatsa'o''' (''short form'') - three hundred twenty six / 326
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| * '''tsatletauema'o''' - six thousand and twenty four / 6024
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| === other number forms ===
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| {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 600px;"
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| |+
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| |-
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| ! Kala
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| ! number
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| ! English
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| ! ordinal
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| ! multiple
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| ! fractional
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| |-
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| | '''na'o''' || 1 || one || '''kina'o'''<br>first || '''tina'o'''<br>once || -
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| | '''ueta'o''' || 12 || twelve || '''kiueta'o'''<br>twelfth || '''tiueta'o'''<br>twelve times || '''iueta'o'''<br>a twelfth
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| |-
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| | '''yauema'o'''<br>'''(yama'o)''' || 54 || fifty four || '''kiyama'o'''<br>fifty fourth || '''tiyama'o'''<br>54 times || '''iyama'o'''<br>a fifty fourth
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| |-
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| | '''nyetsa'o''' || 106 || one hundred (and) six || '''kinyetsa'o'''<br>106<sup>th</sup> || '''tinyetsa'o'''<br>106 times || '''inyetsa'o'''<br>a 106<sup>th</sup>
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| |-
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| | '''katle'o''' || 7000 || seven thousand || '''kikatle'o'''<br>seven thousandth || '''tikatle'o'''<br>7000 times || '''ikatle'o'''<br>1/7000
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| |}
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| [[Category:Conlangs]] | | [[Category:Conlangs]][[Category:Conscripts]][[Category:Kala]] |
