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A short primer for Kala grammar. The full grammar can be found here:
= introduction =


= Han Moya=
= phonology =


'''Han Moya''' is an adaptation of [[wp:Hangul|Hangul]] for writing '''Kala'''. It is written horizontally, in lines running from left to right. It can also be written vertically in columns.
== consonants ==
* Where '''~''' appears, it indicates [[wp:Free_variation|free variation]] between phonemes.


== Consonants ==
{|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 ('''k''')
| 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''')
|
|}


* <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>ㄱㄲㄴㄷㄸㄹㅁㅂㅃㅅㅆㅇㅈㅉㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ</b></big></big></font>
The [[wp:Glottal_stop|glottal stop]] is not phonemic but is included in the chart above for completeness. It is only ever intervocalic, meaning it is pronounced between two vowels and/or diphthongs.
: '''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 [[wp:Prenasalized_consonant|prenasalization]]. Medial occurrences of nasalized syllables are written across syllables.
* '''Prenasalized''': /ᵐp ⁿt ᵑk/
* '''Labialized''':/pʷ kʷ mʷ nʷ ʃʷ hʷ t͡ʃʷ/
* '''Palatalized''': /pʲ kʲ mʲ hʲ/


== Vowels ==
=== free variation ===
Because of its small phoneme inventory, '''Kala''' allows for quite a lot of [[wp:Free_variation|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, but are most often only lengthened when stressed.


* <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>ㅏ ᅶ ㅐ ㅑ ᅸ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ</b></big></big></font>
=== Sound Changes ===
: '''a ao ai ya yao e ye o ao yo ua uai ue u i'''
The phoneme /n/ undergoes an assimilatory process when followed by /p~b/ to become /m/. Words that are ostensibly “vowel-initial” tend to be pronounced with an initial glottal stop when occurring within phrases. Where ~ appears, it indicates free variation between phonemes. However, certain sounds change in a predictable way. For example, /h/ becomes [ɦ] when preceded or followed by a front vowel, including when labialized or palatalized. It is also sometimes realized as [x], or even [χ]. The alveolar affricates are most often /t͡ʃ/ and /t͡ɬ/.  The “s” is almost always /ʃ/ unless preceded or followed by a syllable with the onset /t͡ʃ/, in which case “s” becomes /s/. So, '''sama''' (''sun; star; solar'') is /ˈʃaːma/ where '''sitsa''' (''heat; hot'') is /ˈsiːt͡ʃa/ and '''tsisi''' (''embroider; embroidery'') is /t͡ʃiːsi/. /ts~t͡ʃ/ is typically realized as / t͡ʃ / when followed by front vowels, and /ts/ elsewhere. This is also the case with /s~ʃ/; /sa/ >> /ʃi/.
: /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/


* <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>ㅘ</b></big></big></font> This is pronounced /we/ in Korean because of the order of the vowels; however, because [[wp:List_of_Hangul_jamo|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.
== vowels ==
{| class="wikitable"  
|+Vowels
!
!'''Front'''
!'''Back'''
|-align=center
!'''Close'''
|{{IPA|i~ɪ}} '''(i)''' || {{IPA|u~ʊ}} '''(u)'''
|-align=center
!'''Mid'''
|{{IPA|e~ɛ}} '''(e)''' || {{IPA|o~o:}} '''(o)'''
|-align=center
!'''Open'''
|colspan="2" align="center"|{{IPA|a~ɑ}} '''(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').


= Word order =
=== diphthongs ===
Phonetically, '''Kala''' has only two diphthongs, both falling; [aɪ̯] '''ai''' and [aʊ̯] '''ao''', but there are five syllables that can be analyzed as rising diphthongs; [wa] '''ua''', [we] '''ue''', [ja] '''ya''', [je] '''ye''', and [jo] '''yo'''. The two triphthongs [waɪ̯] '''uai''' and [jaʊ̯] '''yao''' are very rare but should be noted as possible.


<small>SUBJECT - OBJECT - VERB</small>
== phonotactics ==
The maximal syllable structure is (strictly open syllables) '''(N)(C)(u, y)V(a, i)''' where '''(N)''' indicates nasalization, and '''u''' and '''y''' indicate labialization and palatalization respectively. Consonant clusters within a syllable typically only occur in place names or “foreign” words, so that the majority of syllables follow a simple (C)V(ː) pattern.


* <b>naka ke mita itsa</b>
There is a limited set of syllables, of the type CV (consonant-vowel), allowed by '''Kala''' phonotactics, similar to Japanese or Chinese. Kala phonotactics does not typically allow the onsets of adjacent syllables to be identical, nor both to be labialized or palatalized. (There are a few exceptions to this, such as '''tata''' for the informal/familiar form of “father”, etc., as well as reduplication as a form of plurality.) Syllables beginning with /l/ do not occur as the first syllable of a headword (except in loanwords and toponyms).  
: <small>woman O dog love</small>
: <i>The woman loves the dog.</i>


Kala lacks morphological adjectives and instead uses attributive verbs.
When an affix causes reduplication of a syllable it is replaced by '''–u''', which has no meaning. This is done to reduce duplicate syllables. An example might be '''tsuala’u''' meaning ''“to become prosperous”'', from '''tsuala''' ''“prosper; be prosperous”'' and the suffix '''–la''' meaning ''“become; change into”'', used to indicate the mutative.


* <b>ke tsaka taha</b>
=== gemination ===
: <small>O house be.big</small>
Gemination is only found as a product of word compounding and not as a phonological process, however it affects the pronunciation as the phonemic variation is lost and all geminated consonants are voiceless. '''naka''' (''woman'') can be /ˈnaːka/ or /ˈnaːga/, whereas '''nakkan''' (''chieftess'') can only be /ˈnaːkkan/. All consonants except for semivowels can undergo gemination.
: <i>The big house / The house is big</i>


Kala lacks morphological adverbs, verbs modified with the adverbial ending '''-n''' tend to precede the verb phrase they modify.
=== syllables ===
Syllable structure in Kala is exclusively made up of open syllables of the type CV (consonant-vowel) with most lexemes having two syllables exclusively of this type. The exception to this rule are the word final endings '''–m''' (indicating general plural, deriving from '''ma''', meaning ''“and, also”''), '''-n''' (indicating accusative case, deriving from '''no''', meaning ''“thing, object”''), and '''–k''' (indicating negative mood, deriving from '''nke''', meaning ''“no, not”'').  


* <b>tsumun nam yokone</b>
=== syllable chart ===
: <small>cautious-ADV 1pl swim-SUG</small>
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 600px;"
: <i>We should swim cautiously.</i>
|+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>
|}


Kala lacks morphological prepositions and instead uses locational and relational verbs.
<small>Syllables such as '''nsa''', '''ntla''', or '''ntsa''' can occur but usually only in place names or loanwords. The '''A-O''' columns are called '''''mpalo''''' and are the most common, the '''U-YO''' are called '''''puhyo''''', the '''AI-YAO'''/red syllables above occur infrequently and most often as the final syllable of a word, are referred to as '''''paihyao'''''.</small>


* <b>mita ke yempa tahe</b>
=== collating order ===
: <small>dog O table be.under</small>
The collating sequence (alphabetical order) is based on the order established in the [[Kala/writing#Naua|'''Naua''']] script.
: <i>The dog is under the table.</i>


= Nouns =
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 400px;"
! Consonants
| '''p'''
| '''t'''
| '''k'''
| '''m'''
| '''n'''
| '''s'''
| '''h'''
| '''ts'''
| '''tl'''
| '''l'''
|-align=center
! Vowels
| '''a'''
| '''e'''
| '''i'''
| '''o'''
| '''u'''
| '''ua'''
| '''ue'''
| '''ya'''
| '''ye'''
| '''yo'''
|-align=center
|}


Nouns are marked for number; plural and collective:
Based on this order, '''ma''' would come before '''ha''', etc. Prenasalized syllables are ordered after their non-prenasalized counterparts, i.e. '''mpa''' comes after '''pyo''' but before '''ta'''. To see the collating sequence in action, look through the [[Kala/lexicon|lexicon]]. This order can be vocalized as ''“pa, ta, ka, ma, na, nya, sa, ha, tsa, tla, ua, la, ya, a”'', this aides in memorization and organization.


* <b>mita</b> - <small>dog</small> - <i>a dog</i>
== stress ==
** <b>mitam</b> - <small>dog-PL</small> - <i>dogs</i>
[[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). Monosyllabic words are not stressed. So;
** <b>tlimita</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>.
* '''<u>ma</u>sa''' - /ˈmaːsa/ → '''ma<u>sa</u>ko''' - /maːˈsako/
* '''tli<u>ya</u>ma''' - /tɬiːˈjama/ → '''tliya<u>ma</u>lo''' - /tɬiːjaˈmalo/
* '''kam''' - /kaːm/ → '''<u>ka</u>myo''' - /ˈkaːmʲo/
* '''empa<u>ha</u>pak''' - /ɛᵐpaˈhaːpak/ → '''empaha<u>pa</u>yek''' - /ɛᵐpahaˈpaːjek/


* <b>yama</b> - <small>mountain</small> - <i>a mountain</i>
= orthography =
** <b>yamalo</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>


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.
= morphology =


* <b>uma</b> - <small>horse</small> - <i>a horse</i>
== nouns ==
** <b>umana</b> - <small>horse-FEM</small> - <i>mare</i>
** <b>umata</b> - <small>horse-MASC</small> - <i>stallion</i>


== Pronouns ==
=== pronouns ===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
''Personal pronouns'':


* '''na''' - 1st person
=== determiners and demonstratives ===
* '''ta''' - 2nd person
* '''ha''' - 3rd person
* '''tla''' - 4th person ("it", "one") (used for [[wp:Animacy|inanimate]] nouns)
:
* '''na'am''' - 1st person plural [[wp:Clusivity|exclusive]] (we but not you)
* '''kam''' - 3rd person plural
{{col-break}}
''Modifiers'':


* '''-m''' - plural
== verbs ==
* '''-nku''' - [[wp:Reciprocal_pronoun|reciprocal]] (inherently plural)
* '''e-''' - patient
* '''-i''' - reflexive
* '''-yo''' - possessive
{{col-break}}
''Other pronouns include'':


* '''tlokua''' - everyone, everybody
=== passive ===
* '''kola''' - someone, somebody; whomever, anyone, anybody
* '''tlok''' - no one, nobody
* '''nokua''' - everything
* '''nola''' - something; whatever, anything
* '''nok''' - nothing
{{col-end}}


= Verbs =
=== causative ===


Verbs are marked for tense, aspect, and mood.
=== inceptive ===


{{col-begin}}
=== infinitive ===
{{col-break}}
'''''Tense''''':


Simple past, present, and future.
=== copula ===


* <b>naka ke mita anyaye</b>
=== stative verbs ===
: <small>woman O dog see-[[wp:Past_tense|PST]]</small>
: <i>The woman saw the dog.</i>


* <b>mita ke tahi yatsi</b>
= derivational morphology =
: <small>dog O boy bite</small>
: <i>The dog bites the boy.</i>


* <b>naka ke tahi tlepatli</b>
== nominalizers ==
: <small>woman O boy teach-[[wp:Future_tense|FUT]]</small>
: <i>The woman will teach the boy.</i>
{{col-break}}
'''''Aspect''''':


Continuous, Perfective, Inchoative, and Frequentative.
== reduplication ==


* <b>na ke niye pukunko</b>
== verbalizers ==
: <small>1s O undergarment wear-[[wp:Continuous_and_progressive_aspects|CONT]]</small>
: <i>I am wearing underclothes.</i>


* <b>kam inapua</b>
= syntax =
: <small>3pl eat-[[wp:Perfective_aspect|PFV]]</small>
: <i>They have eaten.</i>


* <b>nahi yotimu</b>
== word order ==
: <small>girl play-[[wp:Inchoative_aspect|INCH]]</small>
: <i>The girl begins to play.</i>


* <b>tlaka ke apua tlatonua</b>
== case usage ==
: <small>man O song recite-[[wp:Frequentative|FREQ]]</small>
: <i>The man recites the song repetitively.</i>
{{col-break}}
'''''Mood''''':


* <b>na mokuyepak</b>
== noun phrases ==
: <small>1s sleep-PST-[[wp:Natchez_language#Preverbs|ABIL]]-NEG</small>
: <i>I was unable to sleep.</i>


* <b>neko ke panya matapya</b>
== numbers ==
: <small>cat O mouse kill-ATT</small>
: <i>The cat is trying to kill the mouse.</i>


* <b>yalakya</b>
== comparisons ==
: <small>walk-[[wp:Hortative|HORT]]</small>
: <i>Let's go!</i>


* <b>ke asi yetate</b>
== prepositions ==
: <small>O salt give-[[wp:Irrealis_mood#Precative|PREC]]</small>
: <i>Will you please pass me the salt?</i>


* <b>ha tsakahueke</b>
== tense usage ==
: <small>3s home-LOC-[[wp:Irrealis_mood#Dubitative|DUB]]</small>
: <i>I guess he is at home.</i> lit: ''He is at home, supposedly.''


{{col-end}}
== moods ==
 
== aspect ==
 
== conditionals ==
 
== subordinate clauses ==
 
== negatives ==
 
== questions ==

Latest revision as of 07:37, 24 January 2022

introduction

phonology

consonants

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m (m) n (n) ɲ (ny)
Plosive p~b (p) t~d (t) k~g (k) ʔ ( ' )
Affricate ts~t͡ʃ (ts) t͡ɬ~tl (tl)
Continuant s~ʃ (s) l~ɾ (l) h~ɦ (h)
Semivowel j (y) w (u)

The glottal stop is not phonemic but is included in the chart above for completeness. It is only ever intervocalic, meaning it is pronounced between two vowels and/or diphthongs.

  • Prenasalized: /ᵐp ⁿt ᵑk/
  • Labialized:/pʷ kʷ mʷ nʷ ʃʷ hʷ t͡ʃʷ/
  • Palatalized: /pʲ kʲ mʲ hʲ/

free variation

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, but are most often only lengthened when stressed.

Sound Changes

The phoneme /n/ undergoes an assimilatory process when followed by /p~b/ to become /m/. Words that are ostensibly “vowel-initial” tend to be pronounced with an initial glottal stop when occurring within phrases. Where ~ appears, it indicates free variation between phonemes. However, certain sounds change in a predictable way. For example, /h/ becomes [ɦ] when preceded or followed by a front vowel, including when labialized or palatalized. It is also sometimes realized as [x], or even [χ]. The alveolar affricates are most often /t͡ʃ/ and /t͡ɬ/. The “s” is almost always /ʃ/ unless preceded or followed by a syllable with the onset /t͡ʃ/, in which case “s” becomes /s/. So, sama (sun; star; solar) is /ˈʃaːma/ where sitsa (heat; hot) is /ˈsiːt͡ʃa/ and tsisi (embroider; embroidery) is /t͡ʃiːsi/. /ts~t͡ʃ/ is typically realized as / t͡ʃ / when followed by front vowels, and /ts/ elsewhere. This is also the case with /s~ʃ/; /sa/ >> /ʃi/.

vowels

Vowels
Front Back
Close i~ɪ (i) u~ʊ (u)
Mid e~ɛ (e) o~o: (o)
Open a~ɑ (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] ai and [aʊ̯] ao, but there are five syllables that can be analyzed as rising diphthongs; [wa] ua, [we] ue, [ja] ya, [je] ye, and [jo] yo. The two triphthongs [waɪ̯] uai and [jaʊ̯] yao are very rare but should be noted as possible.

phonotactics

The maximal syllable structure is (strictly open syllables) (N)(C)(u, y)V(a, i) where (N) indicates nasalization, and u and y indicate labialization and palatalization respectively. Consonant clusters within a syllable typically only occur in place names or “foreign” words, so that the majority of syllables follow a simple (C)V(ː) pattern.

There is a limited set of syllables, of the type CV (consonant-vowel), allowed by Kala phonotactics, similar to Japanese or Chinese. Kala phonotactics does not typically allow the onsets of adjacent syllables to be identical, nor both to be labialized or palatalized. (There are a few exceptions to this, such as tata for the informal/familiar form of “father”, etc., as well as reduplication as a form of plurality.) Syllables beginning with /l/ do not occur as the first syllable of a headword (except in loanwords and toponyms).

When an affix causes reduplication of a syllable it is replaced by –u, which has no meaning. This is done to reduce duplicate syllables. An example might be tsuala’u meaning “to become prosperous”, from tsuala “prosper; be prosperous” and the suffix –la meaning “become; change into”, used to indicate the mutative.

gemination

Gemination is only found as a product of word compounding and not as a phonological process, however it affects the pronunciation as the phonemic variation is lost and all geminated consonants are voiceless. naka (woman) can be /ˈnaːka/ or /ˈnaːga/, whereas nakkan (chieftess) can only be /ˈnaːkkan/. All consonants except for semivowels can undergo gemination.

syllables

Syllable structure in Kala is exclusively made up of open syllables of the type CV (consonant-vowel) with most lexemes having two syllables exclusively of this type. The exception to this rule are the word final endings –m (indicating general plural, deriving from ma, meaning “and, also”), -n (indicating accusative case, deriving from no, meaning “thing, object”), and –k (indicating negative mood, deriving from nke, meaning “no, not”).

syllable chart

the 136 basic Kala syllables
a e i o u ua ue ya ye yo ai ao uai yao
p (m)pa (m)pe (m)pi (m)po (m)pu pua pue pya pye pyo pai pao puai pyao
t (n)ta (n)te (n)ti (n)to tai tao
k (n)ka (n)ke (n)ki (n)ko (n)ku kua kue kya kye kyo kai kao kuai kyao
m ma me mi mo mu mua mue mya mye myo mai mao muai myao
n na ne ni no nu nua nue nya nye nyo nai nao nuai nyao
s sa se si so su sua sue sai sao suai
h ha he hi ho hu hua hue hya hye hyo hai hao huai hyao
ts tsa tse tsi tso tsu tsua tsue tsai tsao tsuai
tl tla tle tli tlo tlai tlao
l la le li lo lai lao
- a e i o u ua ue ya ye yo ai ao uai yao

Syllables such as nsa, ntla, or ntsa can occur but usually only in place names or loanwords. The A-O columns are called mpalo and are the most common, the U-YO are called puhyo, the AI-YAO/red syllables above occur infrequently and most often as the final syllable of a word, are referred to as paihyao.

collating order

The collating sequence (alphabetical order) is based on the order established in the Naua script.

Consonants p t k m n s h ts tl l
Vowels a e i o u ua ue ya ye yo

Based on this order, ma would come before ha, etc. Prenasalized syllables are ordered after their non-prenasalized counterparts, i.e. mpa comes after pyo but before ta. To see the collating sequence in action, look through the lexicon. This order can be vocalized as “pa, ta, ka, ma, na, nya, sa, ha, tsa, tla, ua, la, ya, a”, this aides in memorization and organization.

stress

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). Monosyllabic words are not stressed. So;

  • masa - /ˈmaːsa/ → masako - /maːˈsako/
  • tliyama - /tɬiːˈjama/ → tliyamalo - /tɬiːjaˈmalo/
  • kam - /kaːm/ → kamyo - /ˈkaːmʲo/
  • empahapak - /ɛᵐpaˈhaːpak/ → empahapayek - /ɛᵐpahaˈpaːjek/

orthography

morphology

nouns

pronouns

determiners and demonstratives

verbs

passive

causative

inceptive

infinitive

copula

stative verbs

derivational morphology

nominalizers

reduplication

verbalizers

syntax

word order

case usage

noun phrases

numbers

comparisons

prepositions

tense usage

moods

aspect

conditionals

subordinate clauses

negatives

questions