Kala: Difference between revisions
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=== s === | === s === | ||
* '''satani''' - tick / arthropod | |||
* '''saka''' - fish, any cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in water | * '''saka''' - fish, any cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in water | ||
* '''sama''' - sun / solar / star | * '''sama''' - sun / solar / star | ||
* '''sahi''' - color | * '''sahi''' - color | ||
* '''sala''' - room / chamber / section | * '''sala''' - room / chamber / section |
Revision as of 08:15, 12 May 2009
- Kala is meant to be a simple and euphonic personal conlang.
- Many lexical entries are inspired and/or influenced by any number of natlangs
Phonology
consonants
- Plosives
- p - [p~b] | t - [t~d] | k - [k~g] | ' - [?]
- Nasals
- m - [m] | n - [n] | ny - [J]
- Fricatives
- s - [s~S] | ts - [ts~tS] | h - [h~h\]
- Approximants
- u - [w] | y - [j]
- Laterals
- l - [l] | tl - [tK]
clusters
- ky - [k~g_j]
- mp - [mp]
- mh - [m_h\]
- my - [m_j]
- nt - [nt~d]
- nk - [Nk]
- nh - [n_h\]
- lh - [l_h\]
- ly - [l_j]
vowels
- a - /a~a:/ | e - /e~e:/ | i - /i~i:/ | o - /o~o:/ | u - /u~u:/
diphthongs
- ua - /wa:/ | ue - /we:/
phonotactics
- Kala allows only a single consonant at the start or end of a syllable, and up to two consonants word medially across a syllable boundary.
- l cannot appear as an onset.
syllable structure
- (C)V(k, l, m, n, t)
syllable stress
- Kala stress is penultimate; that is, the next-to-last syllable of the word is stressed.
Grammar
word order
- The usual, declarative formal word order is subject noun phrase - (object noun phrase) - verb phrase.
- Example : He/She is preparing food.
- ha ina yaso
- 3sg food/eat prepare/ready
- ha ina yaso
- The "indirect object" exists only in the form of a prepositional phrase, and follows the object noun phrase.
- Example : The woman gives the house to me.
- naka ke tsaka ika na yeta
- woman the/a house to/at 1sg give
- This construction changes when both the subject (agent) and (indirect)/object (patient) are personal pronouns. In this case, the preposition/al (phrase) is unnecessary.
- naka ke tsaka ika na yeta
- Example : She gives the house to me.
- ha'ena ke tsaka yeta
- 3sg-TR-part-1sg the/a house give
- ha'ena ke tsaka yeta
- A chart of the agent-patient transitivity constructions;
1st sing | 2nd sing | 3rd sing | 1st plu | 2nd plu | 3rd plu | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st sing | - | na'eta | na'eha | - | na'etam | na'ekam |
2nd sing | ta'ena | - | ta'eha | ta'enam | - | ta'ekam |
3rd sing | ha'ena | ha'eta | - | ha'enam | ha'etam | ha'ekam |
1st plu | - | nameta | nameha | - | nametam | namekam |
2nd plu | tamena | - | tameha | tamenam | - | tamekam |
3rd plu | kamena | kameta | kameha | kamenam | kametam | - |
verbs
tense
- The present tense is indicated by the basic form.
- ha apua
- 3SG sing
- He/She sings.
- 3SG sing
- The simple past tense is indicated by the suffix -ye.
- ha apuaye
- 3SG sing-PAST
- He/She sang.
- 3SG sing-PAST
- The simple future tense is indicated by the suffix -tli.
- ha apuatli
- 3SG sing-FUT
- He/She will sing.
- 3SG sing-FUT
- The tense may be left out if it is clearly indicated by another word in the same sentence, or when telling a story (the "historical" tense).
- ha yomatli apua
- 3SG day-FUT sing
- He/She will sing tomorrow.
- 3SG day-FUT sing
- ha semaye apua
- 3SG week-PAST sing
- He/She sang last week.
- 3SG week-PAST sing
mood
- The negative mood is indicated by the suffix -k, it is affixed in all tenses.
- kam inak
- 3PL eat-NEG
- They are not eating. / They do not eat.
- 3PL eat-NEG
- kam inayek
- 3PL eat-PAST-NEG
- They did not eat.
- 3PL eat-PAST-NEG
- kam inatlik
- 3PL eat-FUT-NEG
- They will not eat.
- 3PL eat-FUT-NEG
degree
- The diminutive is formed with -l, and the augmentative with -t.
- Example : ina - food, meal | inal - snack, morsel | inat - feast, banquet
- Example : tsaka - house, home, dwelling | tsakal - shack, hut, cabin | tsakat - palace, mansion
- These are also used to differentiate hue, or shade.
- Example : yanal - light yellow, kuyat - dark green
plurals
- To make a noun plural, add -m to the end, or -im for words ending in a consonant.
- Example : kono - stone | konom - stones
- Example : sukal - piglet | sukalim - piglets
- Nouns need not be marked plural if a number is used to show quantity.
- Example : sahi - color, sahim - colors, sahi ya'o - five color(s)
- Adjectives do not change when they are plural. However, when an adjective is used in place of a noun, it can be pluralized.
- Example : nyeli - pink | nyelim - (the) pink (ones)
gender
- In general, nouns do not indicate their gender. To distinguish the sexes, one can use the adjectival endings -ta and -na.
- Example : nikata "a male dog", nikana "a female dog".
articles
- There is only one article in Kala, ke. It is used primarily as a "noun marker".
- It is ambi-definite, meaning it can be either definite or indefinite. The distinction is made through context.
- Example : kama "village", ke kama "the/a village", ke kamam "the villages"
- Example : inal "snack", ke inal "the/a snack", ke inalim "the snacks"
questions
- When asking questions in Kala, the idea, or concept, is the subject, and the entire construction is followed by the interrogative particle ka.
- ama...ka - when, lit: time...INT
- ko...ka - who, lit: person [Agentive]...INT
- nye...ka - why, lit: reason...INT
- to...ka - what, lit: thing [Instrument]...INT
- koyo...ka - whose, lit: person-POSS...INT
- mo...ka - where, lit: place...INT
- no...ka - how, what manner, lit: manner/method...INT
- ko'o...ka - how much/many, lit: number/amount...INT
examples
- ama nam yalatli ka
- time 1PL go-FUT INT
- When will we go?
- ko ke tlaka ka
- person the/that man INT
- Who is that man?
- nye kam hina ka
- reason 3PL here INT
- Why are they here?
- to a ka
- thing be INT
- What is this?
- koyo kama ke yama hina ka
- person-POSS village the mountain near INT
- Whose village is near the mountain?
- mo nayo satila ka
- place 1SG-POSS sandwich INT
- Where is my sandwich?
- no nam yalatli ka
- manner 1PL travel-FUT INT
- How will we travel?
- ko'o ekam yetaye ka
- number/amount TR-3PL give-PAST INT
- How many were they given?
pronouns
Nominative | Accusative | Possessive | Reflexive | Reciprocal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st sing | na | ena | nayo | na'i | |
2nd sing | ta | eta | tayo | ta'i | |
3rd sing | ha | eha | hayo | ha'i | |
1st plu | nam | enam | namyo | nami | nanku |
2nd plu | tam | etam | tamyo | tami | tanku |
3rd plu | kam | ekam | kamyo | kami | kanku |
examples
- namyo ina
- 1PL-POSS food
- Our food.
- kami itsa
- 3PL-REFL love
- They love themselves.
- tanku moto ka
- 2PL-RECP remember/familiar INT
- Do you remember each other?
- eha unyatlik
- ACC-3SG understand-FUT-NEG
- He/She will not be understood.
Thematic Lexicon
numbers
- zero / nothing / 0 - e'o
- one / 1 - na'o
- two / 2 - ta'o
- three / 3 - ha'o
- four / 4 - ma'o
- five / 5 - ya'o
- six / 6 - tsa'o
- seven / 7 - ka'o
- eight / 8 - pa'o
- nine / 9 - sa'o
- ten / 10 - ue'o
- hundred / 100 - nye'o
- thousand / 1000 - tle'o
higher numbers
- eleven / 11 - uena'o
- twenty / 20 - taue'o
- one hundred one / 107 - nyeka'o
- three hundred twenty five / 326 - hanyetauetsa'o (long form) | hatatsa'o (short form)
- six thousand and twenty / 6020 - tsatletaue'o
ordinals, fractions etc.
- ki- - ordinal/multiple prefix
- Example : kisa'o - ninth, or nine times
- Example : kiyanyepa'o - 508th, or 508 times
- i- - fractional prefix
- Example : isa'o - a ninth
- Example : iha'o pa'o - three eighths, ⅜
family
- family / kin - tlika
- parent - onata
- grandparent - onataha
- spouse - tlanata
- sibling - uanata
- child - inata
- father / uncle - ota
- mother / aunt - ona
- husband - tla'ota
- wife - tla'ona
- grandfather - otaha
- grandmother - onaha
- brother / cousin - otaua
- sister / cousin - onaua
- boy / son - ota'i
- girl / daughter - ona'i
- man / masculine / male - tlaka
- woman / feminine / female - naka
colors
- red - ketla
- orange - tliyo
- yellow - yana
- green - kuya
- blue - tsuku
- indigo, violet, purple - tlaku
- white, pale - nyahi
- black, dark - oya
- clear - yehi
time
- moment, instant - imal
- occasion | present, now (yet) - ima
- hour, period - imat
- day - yoma
- week (7 days) - sema
- month (~30 days) - huama
- season - amal
- time, year (~365 days) - ama
- era - amat
- past - amaye
- future - amatli
- always, forever - kuama
- never - amak
General Lexica
- The majority of lexical units in Kala can have multiple roles.
- Most have a primary role, such as verb, noun or adjective, but almost all can serve in at least two roles.
- Because of this, this list is sorted alphabetically and not by part of speech or category.
p
- pameya - okra, ladies' fingers
- pana - (to) rain | perspire, moisten | dew
- petsa - mild, soft
- pila - to saw, rip, crush
- puna - dirt, soil | sand
t
- -ta - suffix indicating masculine gender
- taka - honor, respect, esteem
- takolo - peach (tree or fruit)
- tama - good / well / favorable / effective
- tasa - hunt, track | scout / seek
- taha - big, grand, large
- tala - come (back) | return
- tali - metal
- teyo - die | death | (be) dead
- tima - blood | bleed
- tiya - bread (flat round bread made out of cornmeal or flour)
- to - thing | instrument | object
- topa - bed, mattress | any piece of furniture to sleep on
- tohi - especially cabbage, but including cauliflower and other varieties of Brassica oleracea
k
- ka - interrogative particle
- kata - nature, universe | essence
- kama - village, town, city
- kana - to lead, command | chief, leader
- kasuma - onion
- kaua - coffee
- kala - to speak, talk, say | language, dialect
- kalo - be difficult | burden | cumbersome
- ketla - red | blood | to bleed
- kipa - tooth | to bite, chew
- kita - to greet, welcome | hello, hi
- kito - symbol | mark | glyph
- ko - person | agentive
- kopa - mushroom | fungi
- koni - skunk
- kono - gray | stone, rock
- ko'o - number, amount, quantity | to count
- kue'a - deer, cervine
- kuna - to expel | to excrete, shit, defecate
- kulu - all, every, each
- kuya - green | grass, foliage
m
- ma - and, also, as well | plus | more
- mata - to kill, murder
- mala - bad, unfavorable, negative
- matla - stew, casserole, goulash
- maya - water, fluid | wet
- metla - to whistle | sound of wind | flute
- mitla - arrow, dart
- mo - to locate, place | locative | location [where]
- muluku - arrowhead / pointed part of an arrow
n
- naso - wolf, lupine
- naha - river, stream | lake, pond
- naho - to regulate | rule | grammar
- nika - dog, canine
- no - method, manner | way
ny
- nyahi - white | snow | to snow
- nye - reason, cause | because
- nyeli - pink
s
- satani - tick / arthropod
- saka - fish, any cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in water
- sama - sun / solar / star
- sahi - color
- sala - room / chamber / section
- seta - smooth / silk / flat
- seka - dry / sharp / strict
- seya - seal / stamp
- sima - sit / recline / relax
- sinta - snake
- sinu - sand / beach / finely ground rock
- suka - pig / hog / swine
- suha - tongue / mouth / taste
ts
h
- hani - land | a country or region
- hika - to stop, halt | wait
- hina - near, close, here
y
- yato - finger | hand
- yaka - arm, leg | appendage
- yama - mountain, hill | pile, mound
- ya'asa - wind, breeze | air
- yala - go, move | travel
- yesa - be quiet, tranquil | peaceful
- -yo - possessive, genitive suffix
l
tl
- tlayo - to wed, marry | marriage, matrimony
- tlela - to wash, bathe | clean, pure
- tlito - bread, baked with sauce and other assorted toppings
a
- a - to be, exist | yes
- aposi - outhouse, toilette
- ato - body, anatomy | corpse
- ato'a - torso | chest, belly
- ama - time, year, season
- ani - wish, hope | to aspire
- ahi - potato
- ala - to be born | to birth
- aya - beauty | to be beautiful
e
- -'e- - used to link agent and patient
- e- - prefix that marks accusative form of personal pronouns
i
- ito - wood
- itola - to fall, drop, plummet
- ikana - friend, ally
- impa - table | desk | flat work surface
- ina - food, sustenance | to eat, consume
- iso - to hit, strike | slap
- itsa - love, affection | to love, care for
- ila - bird, avian | to fly, glide
o
- omo - to exchange, trade | commerce, business
u
Examples
- mo ta yala ka
- place/locale 2sg go/walk/travel INT-part
- Where are you going?
- nam tsala inaye
- 1pl sauce/paste eat-PAST
- We ate the sauce.
- ko tayo onatam ka
- person 2sg-POSS parent-PL INT-part
- Who are your parents?
- na yalaye nye ta talaye
- 1SG go-PAST because 2SG return-PAST
- I left because you returned.
Article 1, UDHR
Writing System
Kito is an abugida, or syllabic alphabet, used to represent the Kala language.
notable features
- Kito is written in glyph blocks by vertically stacking the syllable glyphs to form words. The script is written vertically, in columns running from left to right.
- The word kito not only refers to the script but also means "mark, symbol, glyph" in Kala.
- Kito was inspired by Phags-pa, and the Chinese Seal Script.
- Kito contains 14 syllable glyphs, 4 cluster glyphs, and 7 vowel diacritics.
consonants
cluster glyphs
vowel diacritics
notes
- The vowels are placed below the syllable they modify.
- The labialisation and palatalization are shown by modifying the vowel diacritics as shown above.
- The script can also be written horizontally in glyph blocks, but this is only done to save space.