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= Syntax =


'''Kala''' is primarily SOV (Subject-Object-Verb), but throughout this grammar is referred to as APV (Agent-Patient-Verb). The patient is most often marked for the accusative case ('''-n'''), however pronouns are marked with '''e-''', and a topic marker '''ke''' is precedes the patient that is being topicalized.


== Adjectives ==
:: '''na tiyan ueha'''
:: /na ˈtiːjan ˈwɛːɦa/
:: <small>1s bread-ACC want</small>
:: ''I want bread.''


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.
Given that '''Kala''' is a pro-drop language, and makes use of modal affixes, the above can be reduced:


{{Col-begin}}
:: '''tiyaue'''
{{Col-break}}
:: /tiˈjaːwe/
* '''mita inya''' - <small>dog hungry</small>
:: <small>bread-DES</small>
** ''The dog hungers.''
:: ''(I) want bread.''
** ''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 ===
This would be grammatical, and more common in spoken discourse. Note the lack of case marking, however there is no confusion as to what is desired.


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.
= Particles =
{{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'''
Syntactic particles that mark phrases in various ways ...
: <small>PROX-house 1sg reside-LOC-PST-REL-NEG</small>
: ''This is the house in which I did not live.''
{{col-end}}


== Adverbs ==
* '''ka''' is the interrogative particle [Q] and always occurs finnaly.
:: '''ta anya ka'''
:: <small>2SG see Q</small>
:: ''Do you see?''


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.
== Conjunctions ==


* '''aya''' - beautiful >> '''ayan''' - beautifully
* '''pa''' - ''although; even though; even if''
* '''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:
* '''ma''' - ''and; also; too; as well (as)'', basic noun phrase conjunction
::
* '''nya''' - ''for; because; in order to''


* '''yomaye''' - yesterday
== Interjections ==
* '''iyoma''' - today
* '''yomali''' - every day
* '''kuama''' - always
* '''ima''' - now


Temporal adverbs always precede the phrase they modify.


* '''yomuali na ka'e hakyo yala'''
=== Cursing ===
: <small>morning-each 1s to school go</small>
: ''I go to school every morning.''


Other adverbials can be marked on the verb.
* '''tsaya''' - ''damn (it); hell''


* '''ona kamyo ma'a siku kupayetsua'''
= Nouns =
: <small>mother 3pl.GEN with accident die-PST-almost</small>
: ''Their mother almost died in the accident.''


== Prepositions ==
== Pronouns ==


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]]:
'''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-begin}}
{{col-break}}
{{col-break}}
* '''pahe''' - against; touching
Personal pronouns:
* '''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'''
* '''na''' - 1st person
: <small>1sg O tree hill-LOC see-ABIL</small>
* '''ta''' - 2nd person
: ''I can see a tree on the hill.''
* '''ha''' - 3rd person
* '''tla''' - 4th person ("it", "one") (used for [[wp:Animacy|inanimate]] nouns)
{{col-break}}
Modifiers:


* '''ntahim nyaue tsaka yoti'''
* '''-m''' - plural
: <small>child-PL outside.of house play</small>
* '''-nku''' - [[wp:Reciprocal_pronoun|reciprocal]] (only attaches to plural pronouns)
: ''The children are playing outside of the house.''
* '''e-''' - patient
 
* '''-i''' - reflexive
Many of these take the motive suffix '''-la'''.
* '''-yo''' - possessive
 
* '''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}}
{{col-break}}
* '''pa''' - although; even though; even if
Other pronouns include:
* '''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'''
* '''tlokua''' - everyone, everybody
: <small>PST 1s come CONJ conquer</small>
* '''kola''' - someone, somebody; whomever, anyone, anybody
: ''I came, I conquered.''
* '''tlok''' - no one, nobody
* '''nokua''' - everything
* '''nola''' - something; whatever, anything
* '''nok''' - nothing
{{col-end}}
{{col-end}}


=== Interjections ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 600px;"
There are a few particles, usually appearing at the beginning of the sentence, with a pragmatic meaning. These typically precede phrases they modify.
|+ nkalo
 
|-
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 900px;"
!
! 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''' || '''-'''
|-
|-
! morpheme !! indicates !! gloss !! example
! 1pl<br>1pl exclusive
| '''nam'''<br>'''na'am''' || '''enam'''<br>'''ena'am''' || '''nami'''<br>'''na'ami''' || '''namyo'''<br>'''na'amyo''' || '''nanku'''<br>'''na'anku'''
|-
|-
| '''a''' || acknowledgement, agreement, or that one is listening || ''yes; hm mm; yeah'' || '''a ta inaue'''<br>''Mm hmm...You want to eat.''
! 2pl
| '''tam''' || '''etam''' || '''tami''' || '''tamyo''' || '''tanku'''
|-
|-
| '''e''' || filler or pause during conversation || ''uh, er, well'' || '''e na uamek'''<br>''Well, I'm not sure.''
! 3pl
| '''kam''' || '''ekam''' || '''kami''' || '''kamyo''' || '''kanku'''
|-
|-
| '''yali''' || excuses jostling or interruptions || ''excuse me'' || '''yali itla tayo ka'''<br>''Excuse me, is this yours?''
! 4pl
| '''tlam''' || '''etlam''' || '''tlami''' || '''tlamyo''' || '''tlanku'''
|}
|}


== Noun Phrase ==
===Pronominal constructions===


The structure of a Kala noun phrase is relatively rigid. The order of NP components is:
The agent and patient pronouns are linked in most constructions. That means that the agent and the patient form one word. This is done with the pronominal patient marking affix -'''e'''-.


<tt>Determiner(s) - Noun - (Modifiers)</tt>
== Word Order ==
The basic structure of a '''Kala''' sentence is: <tt>AGENT--PATIENT--ACTION</tt> (or [[wp:Subject–object–verb|'''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:
{{col-begin}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
{{col-break}}
* '''mita tlaka anya'''
* '''neha anya'''
: <small>dog man see</small>
: <small>1s-P.3s see</small>
: ''The dog sees the man.''
: ''I see her.''
 
* '''kameta motoyek'''
: <small>3pl-P.2s remember-PST-NEG</small>
: ''They didn’t remember you.''
{{col-break}}
{{col-break}}
* '''tlaka mita anya'''
* '''tametla yohauek'''
: <small>man dog see</small>
: <small>2pl-P.4s have-DES-NEG</small>
: ''The man sees the dog.''
: ''You (all) don’t want to have it.''
 
* '''nya tena tapya ka'''
: <small>for 2s-P.1s follow Q</small>
: ''Why are you following me?''
{{col-end}}
{{col-end}}
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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 800px;"
 
! A/P
The use of the object marker '''ke''' indicates the recipient of the action.
! ''1sg''
 
! ''2sg''
* <b>naka ke mita itsa</b>
! ''3sg''
: <small>woman O dog love</small>
! ''4sg''
: <i>The woman loves the dog.</i>
! ''1pl''
 
! ''1pl.EXCL''
Kala lacks morphological adjectives and instead uses [[wp:Predicative_verb|predicative]] verbs.
! ''2pl''
 
! ''3pl''
* <b>ke tsaka taha</b>
! ''4pl''
: <small>O house be.big</small>
|-align=center
: <i>The big house / The house is big</i>
! ''1sg''
 
| '''-'''
Kala lacks morphological adverbs, verbs modified with the adverbial ending '''-n''' tend to precede the verb phrase they modify.
| '''neta'''
 
| '''neha'''
* <b>tsumun nam yokone</b>
| '''netla'''
: <small>cautious-ADV 1pl swim-SUG</small>
| '''-'''
: <i>We should swim cautiously.</i>
| '''-'''
 
| '''netam'''
Kala lacks morphological prepositions and instead uses locational and relational verbs.
| '''nekam'''
 
| '''netlam'''
* <b>mita ke yempa tahe</b>
|-align=center
: <small>dog O table be.under</small>
! ''2sg''
: <i>The dog is under the table.</i>
| '''tena'''
 
| '''-'''
== Clauses ==
| '''teha'''
 
| '''tetla'''
Relative clauses (or adjective clauses) function like adjectives. Relative clauses follow the noun or noun phrase that they modify:
| '''tenam'''
 
| '''tena'am'''
* '''naka ke na itsatle te ameyo'''
| '''-'''
: <small>woman O 1s love-REL from America</small>
| '''tekam'''
: ''The woman (that) I love comes from America.''
| '''tetlam'''
 
|-align=center
* '''mayo ke na kitlayetle muyak'''
! ''3sg''
: <small>tool O 1s create-PST-REL do-NEG</small>
| '''hena'''
: ''The tool (that) I built doesn't function.''
| '''heta'''
 
| '''-'''
* '''na ke ta yani unyak''' / '''na ke yani tayo unyak'''
| '''hetla'''
: <small>1s O 2s mean know-NEG / 1s O meaning 2s.GEN know-NEG</small>
| '''henam'''
: ''I don't understand what you mean.''
| '''hena'am'''
 
| '''hetam'''
Subordinate clauses rely on [[Kala#Conjunctions_.28penku.29|conjunctions]] and other particles.
| '''-'''
 
| '''hetlam'''
* '''eya ta ke mpeka inaye yatli ta pasala'''
|-align=center
: <small>maybe 2s O toad eat-PST therefore 2s nauseous-become</small>
! ''4sg''
: ''If you ate the toad (which you might have), you might get sick.''
| '''tlena'''
 
| '''tleta'''
* '''naye na tasa ke masa okyohue anyaye'''
| '''tleha'''
: <small>while 1s hunt O deer clearing-LOC see-PST</small>
| '''-'''
: ''While hunting, I saw a deer in a clearing.''
| '''tlenam'''
 
| '''tlena'am'''
== Questions ==
| '''tletam'''
 
| '''tlekam'''
There are two types of questions: Polar, those which may be answered "yes" or "no," and those which require explanations as answers.
| '''-'''
 
|-align=center
==== Polar Questions ====
! ''1pl''
 
| '''-'''
Any statement can become a polar question by adding the interrogative particle '''ka''' at the end of the sentence.
| '''nameta'''
| '''nameha'''
| '''nametla'''
| '''-'''
| '''-'''
| '''nametam'''
| '''namekam'''
| '''nametlam'''
|-align=center
! ''1pl.EXCL''
| '''-'''
| '''na'ameta'''
| '''na'ameha'''
| '''na'ametla'''
| '''-'''
| '''-'''
| '''na'ametam'''
| '''na'amekam'''
| '''na'ametlam'''
|-align=center
! ''2pl''
| '''tamena'''
| '''-'''
| '''tameha'''
| '''tametla'''
| '''tamenam'''
| '''tamena'am'''
| '''-'''
| '''tamekam'''
| '''tametlam'''
|-align=center
! ''3pl''
| '''kamena'''
| '''kameta'''
| '''-'''
| '''kametla'''
| '''kamenam'''
| '''kamena'am'''
| '''kametam'''
| '''-'''
| '''kametlam'''
|-align=center
! ''4pl''
| '''tlamena'''
| '''tlameta'''
| '''tlameha'''
| '''-'''
| '''tlamenam'''
| '''tlamena'am'''
| '''tlametam'''
| '''tlamekam'''
| '''-'''
|}


=== Reflexives and Reciprocals ===
Kala handles reflexives and reciprocals using suffixes that can be added to either the pronoun or the verb. The reflexive suffix added to pronouns is –'''i''', when added to verbs it is –'''ki''', from '''ki''' meaning “''self; essence''”. The reciprocal suffix added to pronouns and verbs is –'''nku''', , from '''anku''' meaning “''reciprocate; [in] return''”.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
{{col-break}}
* '''mita ina'''
* '''na'i sepaye'''
: <small>dog eat</small>
: <small>1s.REFL injure-PST</small>
: ''The dog eats.''
: ''I hurt myself.''
 
* '''nta'i moku'''
: <small>baby sleep</small>
: ''The baby is sleeping. / The baby sleeps.''


* '''ta ke tlo'o anyaye'''
* '''ha'i tlela'''
: <small>2SG O elephant see-PST</small>
: <small>3s.REFL bathe</small>
: ''You saw the elephant.''
: ''She bathes herself.''
 
* '''tekatlo eta ke ya'a yetaye'''
: <small>heal-AG P.2SG O medicine give-PST</small>
: ''The doctor gave you the medicine.''
{{col-break}}
{{col-break}}
* '''mita ina ka'''
* '''kanku ke onta nayo itsa'''
: <small>dog eat Q</small>
: <small>3pl.RECP O parent 1s.GEN love</small>
: ''Does the dog eat?''
: ''My parents love each other.''


* '''nta'i moku ka'''
* '''na'anku amyapak'''
: <small>baby sleep Q</small>
: <small>1pl.EXCL.RECP like-ABIL-NEG</small>
: ''Is the baby sleeping?''
: ''We (but not you) are not able to like each other.''
 
* '''ta ke tlo'o anyaye ka'''
: <small>2SG O elephant see-PST Q</small>
: ''Did you see the elephant?''
 
* '''tekatlo eta ke ya'a yetaye ka'''
: <small>heal-AG P.2SG O medicine give-PST Q</small>
: ''Did the doctor give you the medicine?''
{{col-end}}
{{col-end}}
==== 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).  
In order to differentiate non-singular reflexives from reciprocals, -'''li''' (“''each; every''”) can be added – to the subject for reflexives, and to the object for reciprocals. Note however that this construction usually implies that all members of the subject group were actually affected by the action.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
{{col-break}}
* '''ta ke nkapa ue maya inuue ka'''
* '''tanakoli matakiye'''
: <small>2s O beer or.EXCL water drink-DES Q</small>
: <small>fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST</small>
: ''Do you want to drink beer or water?''
: ''Each one of the warriors killed himself.''
{{col-break}}
{{col-break}}
* '''uala ta ke sinka mataye ue empa ma koma ka'''
* '''kanku ke tanakoli matakiye'''
: <small>truly 2s O lion kill-PST or.EXCL flee CONJ hide Q</small>
: <small>3pl.RECP O fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST</small>
: ''Did you really kill the lion, or did you run away and hide?''
: ''The warriors killed each other ['''and nobody survived'''].''
{{col-end}}
{{col-end}}
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:
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''ko ta ka'''
: <small>person 2ss Q</small>
: ''Who are you?''
{{col-break}}
* '''itla ka'''
: <small>this Q</small>
: ''What is this?''
{{col-break}}
* '''to kihu ka'''
: <small>manner weather Q</small>
: ''What's the weather like?''
{{col-end}}
The other type contains a question word and is followed by '''ka''':
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 700px;"
|+ kanyo
|-
!
! Kala
! gloss
! English
|-
! object
| '''ke mita ina ka''' || <small>O dog eat Q</small> || ''What does the dog eat?''
|-
! person
| '''ko ina ka''' || <small>person eat Q</small> || ''Who eats?''
|-
! possession
| '''koyo mita ina ka''' || <small>person-POSS dog eat Q</small> || ''Whose dog eats?''
|-
! manner
| '''to mita ina ka''' || <small>manner dog eat Q</small> || ''How does the dog eat?''
|-
! place
| '''mo mita ina ka''' || <small>place dog eat Q</small> || ''Where does the dog eat?''
|-
! reason
| '''nye mita ina ka''' || <small>reason dog eat Q</small> || ''Why does the dog eat?''
|-
! time
| '''ama mita ina ka''' || <small>time dog eat Q</small> || ''When does the dog eat?''
|-
! amount
| '''uku mita ina ka''' || <small>amount dog eat Q</small> || ''How much/many does the dog eat?''
|-
! which
| '''ula mita ina ka''' || <small>any dog eat Q</small> || ''Which dog eats?''
|}
=Semantic fields and pragmatics=
=Writing system=
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.
== ''Han Moya'' ==
'''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 ====
* <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>ㄱㄲㄴㄷㄸㄹㅁㅂㅃㅅㅆㅇㅈㅉㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ</b></big></big></font>
: '''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.
: Example:
* <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>까바</b></big></big></font> - '''nkapa''' - alcohol; liquor / <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>단가</b></big></big></font> - '''tanka''' - eagle; hawk; falcon
* <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>감바</b></big></big></font> - '''kampa''' - Cheers! / <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>쁘라</b></big></big></font> - '''mpula''' - lamp; lantern; light
==== vowels ====
* <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>ㅏ ᅶ ㅐ ㅑ ᅸ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ</b></big></big></font>
: '''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/
* <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>ㅘ</b></big></big></font> This is pronounced /wa/ 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.
=Examples=
* <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>어하 거 거하 가먀터 하요 마아 타감 뱌사하먀여</b></big></big></font>
: '''eha ke keha kamyatle hayo ma’a tlakam pyasahamyaye'''
: [eːɦa kɛ keːɦa kamʲaːt͡ɬe haːjo maːʔa t͡ɬaːkam pʲaʃahamʲaːjɛ]
: <tt>P.3s O body stun-REL 3s.POSS with man-PL be.popular-AUG-CAUS-PST</tt>
: ''Her bewitching body made her very popular with men.''
=Lexicon=
=== references ===
* akana.conlang.org/wiki/Ronc_Tyu
* en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Na’vi
* frathwiki.com/Kala
* hungarianreference.com/
* japaneselanguageguide.com/grammar/noun.asp
* kinezika.info/pdf/ChineseEssentialGrammar.pdf
* klingonwiki.net/En/Math
* ossicone.com/conlangs/uskra
* pomax.github.io/nrGrammar/
* resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/
* rickmor.x10.mx/arabic_morphology.html
* turkishlanguage.co.uk/
* zompist.com/kitgram.html
* zompist.com/wedei.html
* languagesgulper.com/eng/Quechua.html
=EVID=
==== direct ====


These are both first hand evidentials.
== Gender ==


* '''-nya''' - visual evidence, the speaker witnessed the event
Gender is not normally marked...
* '''-nu''' - auditory evidence, the speaker heard the event


==== indirect ====
* Masculine gender [MASC] is marked with '''-ta''' from '''tlaka''' meaning "man; male".


Second hand.
* Feminine gender [FEM] is marked with '''-na''' from '''naka''' meaning "woman; female".


* '''kye''' - reported speech; hearsay, the speaker received via hearsay and may or may not be accurate
= Verbs =


Inferred or assumed.
== Moods ==


* '''-tsi''' - inferred based on physical evidence
* Abilitative mood [ABIL] is marked with '''-pa''' from '''pala''' meaning "be able; can; possible". It can also be thought of as the potential mood [POT].
* '''-ho''' - assumed or asserted based on experience
* Desiderative mood [DES] is marked with '''-ue''' from '''ueha''' meaning "want; desire; wish (for)". It can also be thought of as the volitive, or optative mood.

Latest revision as of 03:43, 25 June 2024

Syntax

Kala is primarily SOV (Subject-Object-Verb), but throughout this grammar is referred to as APV (Agent-Patient-Verb). The patient is most often marked for the accusative case (-n), however pronouns are marked with e-, and a topic marker ke is precedes the patient that is being topicalized.

na tiyan ueha
/na ˈtiːjan ˈwɛːɦa/
1s bread-ACC want
I want bread.

Given that Kala is a pro-drop language, and makes use of modal affixes, the above can be reduced:

tiyaue
/tiˈjaːwe/
bread-DES
(I) want bread.

This would be grammatical, and more common in spoken discourse. Note the lack of case marking, however there is no confusion as to what is desired.

Particles

Syntactic particles that mark phrases in various ways ...

  • ka is the interrogative particle [Q] and always occurs finnaly.
ta anya ka
2SG see Q
Do you see?

Conjunctions

  • pa - although; even though; even if
  • ma - and; also; too; as well (as), basic noun phrase conjunction
  • nya - for; because; in order to

Interjections

Cursing

  • tsaya - damn (it); hell

Nouns

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.

Personal pronouns:

  • na - 1st person
  • ta - 2nd person
  • ha - 3rd person
  • tla - 4th person ("it", "one") (used for inanimate nouns)

Modifiers:

  • -m - plural
  • -nku - reciprocal (only attaches to plural pronouns)
  • e- - patient
  • -i - reflexive
  • -yo - possessive

Other pronouns include:

  • tlokua - everyone, everybody
  • kola - someone, somebody; whomever, anyone, anybody
  • tlok - no one, nobody
  • nokua - everything
  • nola - something; whatever, anything
  • nok - nothing


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
1pl exclusive
nam
na'am
enam
ena'am
nami
na'ami
namyo
na'amyo
nanku
na'anku
2pl tam etam tami tamyo tanku
3pl kam ekam kami kamyo kanku
4pl tlam etlam tlami tlamyo tlanku

Pronominal constructions

The agent and patient pronouns are linked in most constructions. That means that the agent and the patient form one word. This is done with the pronominal patient marking affix -e-.

  • neha anya
1s-P.3s see
I see her.
  • kameta motoyek
3pl-P.2s remember-PST-NEG
They didn’t remember you.
  • tametla yohauek
2pl-P.4s have-DES-NEG
You (all) don’t want to have it.
  • nya tena tapya ka
for 2s-P.1s follow Q
Why are you following me?
A/P 1sg 2sg 3sg 4sg 1pl 1pl.EXCL 2pl 3pl 4pl
1sg - neta neha netla - - netam nekam netlam
2sg tena - teha tetla tenam tena'am - tekam tetlam
3sg hena heta - hetla henam hena'am hetam - hetlam
4sg tlena tleta tleha - tlenam tlena'am tletam tlekam -
1pl - nameta nameha nametla - - nametam namekam nametlam
1pl.EXCL - na'ameta na'ameha na'ametla - - na'ametam na'amekam na'ametlam
2pl tamena - tameha tametla tamenam tamena'am - tamekam tametlam
3pl kamena kameta - kametla kamenam kamena'am kametam - kametlam
4pl tlamena tlameta tlameha - tlamenam tlamena'am tlametam tlamekam -

Reflexives and Reciprocals

Kala handles reflexives and reciprocals using suffixes that can be added to either the pronoun or the verb. The reflexive suffix added to pronouns is –i, when added to verbs it is –ki, from ki meaning “self; essence”. The reciprocal suffix added to pronouns and verbs is –nku, , from anku meaning “reciprocate; [in] return”.

  • na'i sepaye
1s.REFL injure-PST
I hurt myself.
  • ha'i tlela
3s.REFL bathe
She bathes herself.
  • kanku ke onta nayo itsa
3pl.RECP O parent 1s.GEN love
My parents love each other.
  • na'anku amyapak
1pl.EXCL.RECP like-ABIL-NEG
We (but not you) are not able to like each other.


In order to differentiate non-singular reflexives from reciprocals, -li (“each; every”) can be added – to the subject for reflexives, and to the object for reciprocals. Note however that this construction usually implies that all members of the subject group were actually affected by the action.

  • tanakoli matakiye
fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST
Each one of the warriors killed himself.
  • kanku ke tanakoli matakiye
3pl.RECP O fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST
The warriors killed each other [and nobody survived].


Gender

Gender is not normally marked...

  • Masculine gender [MASC] is marked with -ta from tlaka meaning "man; male".
  • Feminine gender [FEM] is marked with -na from naka meaning "woman; female".

Verbs

Moods

  • Abilitative mood [ABIL] is marked with -pa from pala meaning "be able; can; possible". It can also be thought of as the potential mood [POT].
  • Desiderative mood [DES] is marked with -ue from ueha meaning "want; desire; wish (for)". It can also be thought of as the volitive, or optative mood.