User:Masako/nkala: Difference between revisions
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===Gender=== | ===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=== | ===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 kama'a''' "the villages" | |||
:Example : '''inahi''' "snack", '''ke inahi''' "the/a snack", '''ke inahim''' "the snacks" | |||
===Number=== | ===Number=== | ||
* Nouns are either singular, plural or collective. | |||
* Concrete nouns are pluralized by suffixing '''-m'''. | |||
:Examples : '''kono''' - stone > '''konom''' - stones | '''naka''' - woman > '''nakam''' - women | |||
* When the last syllable of a word contains an '''m''', the plural is marked by reduplicating the final vowel. | |||
:Examples : '''kama''' - village > '''kama'a''' - villages | '''teyemi''' - phrase > '''teyemi'i''' - phrases | |||
* Collective (plural) nouns are marked by prefixing '''tli-'''. | |||
:Examples : '''tsaka''' - house > '''tlitsaka''' - neighborhood | '''yama''' - mountain > '''tliyama''' - mountain range | |||
* 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 show plural agreement. However, when an adjective is used nominally, it can be pluralized. | |||
:Example : '''nyeli''' - pink > '''nyelim''' - (the) pink (ones) | |||
=== | ===Names=== | ||
===Noun Suffixes=== | ===Noun Suffixes=== | ||
Revision as of 08:00, 10 December 2010
Pronunciation
- Where ~ appears, it indicates free variation between phonemes.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i~i: (i) | u~u: (u) | |
| Mid | e~e: (e) | o~o: (o) | |
| Open | a~a: (a) |
Diphthongs
falling
- [aɪ~aɪ:] - ai
- [aʊ~aʊ:] - ao
rising
- [wa~wa:] - ua
- [waɪ~waɪ:] - uai
- [ja~ja:] - ya
- [jaʊ~jaʊ:] - yao
- [je~je:] - ye
- [jo~jo:] - yo
Consonants
| Labial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| central | lateral | plain | labial | ||||
| Nasal | m (m) | n (n) | ɲ (ny) | ||||
| Plosive | p~b (p) | t~d (t) | k~g (k) | kʷ~gʷ (ku) | ʔ (') | ||
| Fricative | s (s) | ʃ (s) | h~ɦ (h) | ||||
| Affricate | ts (ts) | tɬ (tl) | tʃ (ts) | ||||
| Approximant | l~r (l) | j (y) | w (u) | ||||
Writing System
See: Moya
Word Order
Sentence
- Basic word order is SOV and is invariable.
-
- (subject) - (object) - (verb)
- tlaka (ke) naka anya
- man (TOP) woman see
- The man sees the woman.
- (subject) - (verb)
- nahi apuaye
- girl sing.PAST
- The girl sang. / The girl did sing.
- (subject) - (complement) - (verb)
- ke ina manka a
- TOP food cold COP
- The food is cold.
- (subject) - (prepositional phrase) - (verb)
- ke naka tsa'e kama yalaye
- TOP woman through village walk.PAST
- The woman walked through the village.
- (subject) - (prepositional phrase) - (object) - (verb)
- na'eta itla omena yeta
- 1s.ACC.2s this apple give
- I give to you this apple.
- (In this case, the prepositional phrase is replaced by the pronominal construction.)
- (subject) - (prepositional phrase) - (verb)
- ta kima poto tayo tse'ek
- 2s like photo 2s.POSS appear.NEG
- You do not look like your photo.
Clauses
- In addition to phrases, some sentences contain clauses, which resemble smaller sentences nested within the larger sentence.
- They can modify noun phrases, verb phrases, or the whole of the larger sentence.
-
- (subject) - (clause) - (prepositional phrase) - (verb)
- tlaka ke ko asaye hina ka'e nuyoku yalaye
- man CONJ live.PAST here to New York go.PAST
- The man who lived here went to New York.
- (subject) - (clause) - (verb)
- na ke ha aya a omu
- 1s CONJ 3s beautiful COP think
- I think that she is beautiful.
Nouns
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 kama'a "the villages"
- Example : inahi "snack", ke inahi "the/a snack", ke inahim "the snacks"
Number
- Nouns are either singular, plural or collective.
- Concrete nouns are pluralized by suffixing -m.
- Examples : kono - stone > konom - stones | naka - woman > nakam - women
- When the last syllable of a word contains an m, the plural is marked by reduplicating the final vowel.
- Examples : kama - village > kama'a - villages | teyemi - phrase > teyemi'i - phrases
- Collective (plural) nouns are marked by prefixing tli-.
- Examples : tsaka - house > tlitsaka - neighborhood | yama - mountain > tliyama - mountain range
- 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 show plural agreement. However, when an adjective is used nominally, it can be pluralized.
- Example : nyeli - pink > nyelim - (the) pink (ones)
