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{{Kala 2}}
{{Kala 2}}
{{wip}}
<big>'''THIS SECTION IS CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED TO REFLECT A NEW GRAMMAR.'''</big>


The Kala conlang...
The Kala conlang...
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* [[Kala/chat|conversations]]
* [[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/affixes|word formation]]
* [[Kala/affixes|word formation]]
* [[Kala/writing|writing]]
* [[Kala/writing|writing]]


= Introduction =
Kala is a personal [[Wikipedia:Constructed_language|conlang]] (actually more of an [[Wikipedia:Artistic_language#Personal_languages|artlang]]), based on my aesthetic preferences, not attached to any [[Wikipedia:Worldbuilding|conworld]] or conculture. This language draws on natlangs (natural language), other conlangs, and of course imagination. Kala was started in late 2009. The phonemic inventory is based on Classical Nahuatl while the syllable structure and vowels are based on the strict (C)V structure of Japanese, and the presence of prenasalized stops is influenced by Bantu languages. Kala’s grammar was initially based on Japanese but has changed based on influence from several natural and constructed languages. Many – if not most – of Kala lexemes are derived or inspired by natural languages. A few have been taken from previous projects or constructed languages such as '''Ajara''' (a cipherlang from my youth), '''[[Qatama]]''' (a conlang that I abandoned several years ago).
== Characteristics ==
Kala has two parts of speech. Nouns and verbs are [[wp:Content_word|content words]], while particles (and others) tend to be only [[wp:Function_word|functional]].  Many content words can be used as both nouns and verbs. The best, and most common example would be '''ina''' /iːˈna/ ‘food; to eat’. 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:
* '''muya ka''' - <small>do Q</small> - ''(What are you) doing?''
* '''ina''' - <small>eat</small> - ''(I am) eating.''
* '''tamatse''' - <small>good-seem</small> - ''(That looks) good.''
* '''ueha ka''' - <small>want Q</small> - ''(Do you) want (some)?''
* '''nyasak''' - <small>thank-NEG</small> - ''No, thank (you).''
Notice that none of the above contain any pronouns, or nouns. Any contextually understood elements may be omitted unless indispensable.
== Borrowing ==
Kala borrows extensively from various natural languages. This is a very small sample of borrowings:
''See also: [[Kala/etymology|etymology]]''
* '''pato''' – ''duck (Anatidae)''; from Spanish [[Wiktionary:pato|''pato'']]
* '''kala''' – ''to speak, talk, converse''; from Arabic [[Wiktionary:تكلم|''takallama'']]
* '''myonta''' – ''to allow, permit''; from Finnish [[Wiktionary:myöntää|''myöntää'']]
* '''na''' – ''I, me''; from Arabic [[Wiktionary:أنا|''ʾanā'']]
* '''tsenka''' – ''orange''; from Chinese [[Wiktionary:橙|''chéng'']]
* '''uasi''' – ''to take, get, acquire''; from Lakota [[Wiktionary:wasi'chu|''wasichu'']]
* '''a''' – ''to be, exist, yes''; from Japanese [[Wiktionary:ある|''aru'']]
= Phonology =
== Consonants ==
* Where '''~''' appears, it indicates [[wp:Free_variation|free variation]] between phonemes.
{|class=wikitable style="text-align: center; width:40%;"
|+Consonants
!
!Labial
!colspan=2|Alveolar
!Palatal
!Velar
!Glottal
|-
! Nasal
| m ('''m''')
|colspan=2|n ('''n''')
| ɲ ('''ny''')
|
|
|-
! Plosive
| p~b ('''p''')
|colspan=2|t~d ('''t''')
|
| k~g ('''g''')
| ʔ (''' ' ''')
|-
! Affricate
|
| ts~t͡ʃ ('''ts''') || t͡ɬ~tl ('''tl''')
|
|
|
|-
! Continuant
|
| s~ʃ ('''s''') || l~ɾ ('''l''')
|
|
| h~ɦ ('''h''')
|-
! Semivowel
|
|colspan=2|
| j ('''y''')
| w ('''u''')
|
|}
* '''Prenasalized''': /ᵐp ⁿt ᵑk/
* '''Labialized''':/pʷ kʷ mʷ nʷ ʃʷ hʷ t͡ʃʷ/
* '''Palatalized''': /pʲ kʲ mʲ hʲ/
<small>Note: Because of its small phoneme inventory, '''Kala''' allows for quite a lot of allophonic variation. For example, /p t k/ may be pronounced [b d ɡ] as well as [p t k], /s l h/ as [ʃ ɾ ɦ], and /t͡s t͡ɬ/ as [t͡ʃ t͡l]; also, vowels may be either long or short.</small>
== Vowels ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Vowels
!
!'''Front'''
!'''Back'''
|-align=center
!'''Close'''
|{{IPA|i~ɪ}} '''(i)''' || {{IPA|u~u:}} '''(u)'''
|-align=center
!'''Mid'''
|{{IPA|e~ɛ}} '''(e)''' || {{IPA|o~o:}} '''(o)'''
|-align=center
!'''Open'''
|colspan="2" align="center"|{{IPA|a~a:}} '''(a)'''
|}
'''Kala''' has five vowels /i/, /e/, /a/, /o/ and /u/. Each occurs in both stressed and unstressed syllables. Phonetic nasalization occurs for vowels occurring between nasal consonants or when preceding a syllable-final nasal, e.g. '''tsunka''' [ˈt͡ʃũᵑka] ('bug').
=== Diphthongs ===
Phonetically, Kala has only two diphthongs, both falling; [aɪ̯] and [aʊ̯], but there are five syllables that can be analyzed as rising diphthongs; [wa], [we], [ja], [je], and [jo]. The two triphthongs [waɪ̯] and [jaʊ̯] are very rare but should be noted as possible.
== Phonotactics ==
'''Kala''' words are typically made up of [[wp:Syllable#Open_and_closed|open syllables]] of the type CV (consonant-vowel) with most words having syllables exclusively of this type. There is a limited set of syllables allowed by '''Kala''' phonotactics, similar to Japanese or Chinese.
* /l/ cannot occur word initially (except in loan words and [[wp:Toponymy|toponyms]]).
=== Syllables ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 600px;"
|+the 136 basic Kala syllables
|-
!
! a
! e
! i
! o
! u
! ua
! ue
! ya
! ye
! yo
! ai
! ao
! uai
! yao
|-
! p
| align="center"|''(m)pa''
| align="center"|''(m)pe''
| align="center"|''(m)pi''
| align="center"|''(m)po''
| align="center"|''(m)pu''
| align="center"|''pua''
| align="center"|''pue''
| align="center"|''pya''
| align="center"|''pye''
| align="center"|''pyo''
| align="center"|<font color="red">''pai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''pao''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''puai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''pyao''</font>
|-
! t
| align="center"|''(n)ta''
| align="center"|''(n)te''
| align="center"|''(n)ti''
| align="center"|''(n)to''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|<font color="red">''tai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''tao''</font>
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
|-
! k
| align="center"|''(n)ka''
| align="center"|''(n)ke''
| align="center"|''(n)ki''
| align="center"|''(n)ko''
| align="center"|''(n)ku''
| align="center"|''kua''
| align="center"|''kue''
| align="center"|''kya''
| align="center"|''kye''
| align="center"|''kyo''
| align="center"|<font color="red">''kai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''kao''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''kuai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''kyao''</font>
|-
! m
| align="center"|''ma''
| align="center"|''me''
| align="center"|''mi''
| align="center"|''mo''
| align="center"|''mu''
| align="center"|''mua''
| align="center"|''mue''
| align="center"|''mya''
| align="center"|''mye''
| align="center"|''myo''
| align="center"|<font color="red">''mai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''mao''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''muai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''myao''</font>
|-
! n
| align="center"|''na''
| align="center"|''ne''
| align="center"|''ni''
| align="center"|''no''
| align="center"|''nu''
| align="center"|''nua''
| align="center"|''nue''
| align="center"|''nya''
| align="center"|''nye''
| align="center"|''nyo''
| align="center"|<font color="red">''nai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''nao''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''nuai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''nyao''</font>
|-
! s
| align="center"|''sa''
| align="center"|''se''
| align="center"|''si''
| align="center"|''so''
| align="center"|''su''
| align="center"|''sua''
| align="center"|''sue''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|<font color="red">''sai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''sao''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''suai''</font>
| align="center"|'' ''
|-
! h
| align="center"|''ha''
| align="center"|''he''
| align="center"|''hi''
| align="center"|''ho''
| align="center"|''hu''
| align="center"|''hua''
| align="center"|''hue''
| align="center"|''hya''
| align="center"|''hye''
| align="center"|''hyo''
| align="center"|<font color="red">''hai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''hao''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''huai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''hyao''</font>
|-
! ts
| align="center"|''tsa''
| align="center"|''tse''
| align="center"|''tsi''
| align="center"|''tso''
| align="center"|''tsu''
| align="center"|''tsua''
| align="center"|''tsue''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|<font color="red">''tsai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''tsao''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''tsuai''</font>
| align="center"|'' ''
|-
! tl
| align="center"|''tla''
| align="center"|''tle''
| align="center"|''tli''
| align="center"|''tlo''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|<font color="red">''tlai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''tlao''</font>
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
|-
! l
| align="center"|''la''
| align="center"|''le''
| align="center"|''li''
| align="center"|''lo''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|<font color="red">''lai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''lao''</font>
| align="center"|'' ''
| align="center"|'' ''
|-
! -
| align="center"|''a''
| align="center"|''e''
| align="center"|''i''
| align="center"|''o''
| align="center"|''u''
| align="center"|''ua''
| align="center"|''ue''
| align="center"|''ya''
| align="center"|''ye''
| align="center"|''yo''
| align="center"|<font color="red">''ai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''ao''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''uai''</font>
| align="center"|<font color="red">''yao''</font>
|}
<small>Syllables such as '''nsa''', '''ntla''', or '''ntsa''' can occur but usually only in place names or loanwords. The red syllables above occur infrequently and most often as the final syllable of a word.</small>
== Stress ==
[[wp:Stress_(linguistics)|Stress]] generally falls on the penultimate syllable, which means that stress is ''de facto'' initial in most lemma given that stems are most often (CVCV).
= Orthography =
* Kala conscripts are many and varied. Rather than multiple pages explaining each of them, [[Kala/writing|'''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.
= Morphology =
== 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 ===
* Most nouns in '''Kala''' distinguish singular and plural number. There are several different “regular” ways to form the plural, which are to a certain degree predictable from the phonological shape of the singular form. Nouns can be marked [[wp:Plural|plural]] ('''PL''') by '''-m''' (or '''-lo''' if the final syllable contains /m/ or /p/, or, if the word begins with a vowel).
** 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.
** 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''').
::
* '''ata''' - name > '''atalo''' - names
* '''mita''' – dog > '''mitam''' - dogs > '''tlimita''' – a pack of dogs
* '''yama''' – mountain > '''tliyamalo''' – mountain ranges
* '''tsaka''' – house > '''tlitsaka''' – neighborhood
* '''puku''' – clothing > '''tlipuku''' – wardrobe
=== Gender ===
[[wp:Grammatical_gender|Gender]] is not normally marked but can be by '''-na''' (FEM), '''-ta''' (MASC), 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.
== 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. There is a special pronoun '''na'am''' which 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:
* '''-m''' - plural
* '''-nku''' - [[wp:Reciprocal_pronoun|reciprocal]] (only attaches to plural pronouns)
* '''e-''' - patient
* '''-i''' - reflexive
* '''-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'''
|}
=== 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: 1000px;"
|+ 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 ==
=== Tense ===
=== Aspect ===


=== Mood ===


==== Negative ====


= Syntax =


[[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category:Conlangs]][[Category:Conscripts]][[Category:Kala]]

Latest revision as of 11:58, 7 December 2021


THIS SECTION IS CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED TO REFLECT A NEW GRAMMAR.

The Kala conlang...