User:Masako/pataka: Difference between revisions

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= introduction =


= Introduction =
= phonology =


'''Kala''' is a personal artistic language, or constructed language (''conlang''). It is the culmination of my life-long appreciation and fascination with language and linguistics. This fascination began in my youth, c. 1988 when I received a book about ciphers and codes. I have studied multiple natural languages since that time, including several European languages, Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese (Mandarin), to name only a few. I have focused much of my interest in the subfield of writing systems, which will likely be apparent to anyone familiar with '''Kala''' and its many varied writing systems.
== consonants ==
 
'''Kala''' 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 considerably based on influence from several natural and constructed languages. Many – if not most – of '''Kala''' lexemes are derived from or inspired by natural languages. A few have been taken from previous projects or constructed languages such as '''Ajara''' (a cipherlang from my youth) and '''[[Qatama]]''' (a conlang that I abandoned several years ago).
 
== Borrowing ==
 
As can be seen [[Kala/etymology|here]], '''Kala''' borrows from many varied languages, including but not limited to: Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Turkish, and several others. These borrowings are most often based on aesthetics and function of the word. When borrowing, often changes made to the word include dropping of one or more syllables, vowel changes, and occasionally metathesis. These changes frequently leave the word unrecognizable from its original form. However, with each borrowing, an attempt has been made to retain as much original phonological and semantic meaning as possible. Of the numerous examples of borrowing, here is a breakdown of a few that are commonly used;
 
::* '''niha''' – ''good; nice; cool; sweet; enjoyable'' (from Arabic [[wiktionary:منيح|'''منيح''']] /mnīḥ/, meaning “fine; good”). So, the /m/ was dropped and an /a/ was added, also the /ḥ/ becomes /ɦ/. These changes align the word with the CVCV structure that the majority of '''Kala''' lexemes adhere to, as well as the phonological and phonotactical rules. This has been further reduced to a derivational suffix, -'''ni''' denoting a quality of goodness.
 
::* '''yohua''' – ''night(time); darkness'' (from Classical Nahuatl [[wiktionary:yohualli|'''yohualli''']] /jo(w)alli/, meaning “night; nighttime; darkness”). The absolutive suffix –'''''lli''''' was dropped, and the Spanish spelling used to inform pronunciation, making it /joːhʷa/. This word has been used in portmanteau to create new words such as '''huatso''' “''midnight''”.
 
::* '''tsoya''' – ''center; middle; mid-; half'' (from Mandarin [[wiktionary:中#Definitions|'''中''']] / ʈ͡ʂʊŋ/, meaning “middle; center”). So, the coda / ŋ/ was dropped and /ja/ was added, also the /ʈ͡ʂ/ becomes /ts~t͡ʃ/. This has been further reduced to a derivational suffix, -'''tso''' denoting half, or the middle of something. This word has been used in portmanteau to create new words such as '''huatso''' “''midnight''” and '''yotso''' “''midday; noon''”.
 
This is a very small sample of borrowings:
 
:* '''pato''' – ''duck (Anatidae)''; from Spanish [[wiktionary:pato#Noun_9|''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#Chinese|''chéng'']]
:* '''uasi''' – ''to take, get, acquire''; from Lakota [[wiktionary:wasicu|''wasichu'']]
:* '''a''' – ''to be, exist, yes''; from Japanese [[wiktionary:ある|''aru'']]
 
So, some phrases can contain words from multiple natlangs:
 
* '''ta (ke) inun uasiye ka'''
: <small>2sg (O) drink-ACC take-PST Q</small>
: ''Did you take the drink?''
 
* '''ta''' - Arabic [[wiktionary:أنت|''ʾanta'']]; '''ke''' - Chinese [[wiktionary:個#Definitions|''gè'']]; '''inu''' - Hawaiian [[wiktionary:inu#Hawaiian|''inu'']]; '''uasi''' - Lakota [[wiktionary:wasicu|''wasichu'']]; '''ka''' - Japanese [[wiktionary:か#Particle|''か'']]
 
= Phonology =
== Consonants ==
* Where '''~''' appears, it indicates [[wp:Free_variation|free variation]] between phonemes.
* Where '''~''' appears, it indicates [[wp:Free_variation|free variation]] between phonemes.


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* '''Labialized''':/pʷ kʷ mʷ nʷ ʃʷ hʷ t͡ʃʷ/
* '''Labialized''':/pʷ kʷ mʷ nʷ ʃʷ hʷ t͡ʃʷ/
* '''Palatalized''': /pʲ kʲ mʲ hʲ/
* '''Palatalized''': /pʲ kʲ mʲ hʲ/
=== Free variation ===
 
=== 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.
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.
=== Sound Changes ===
=== 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/.
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 ==
{| class="wikitable"  
{| class="wikitable"  
|+Vowels
|+Vowels
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'''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').
'''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 ===
=== 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.
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 ==
== 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.
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.


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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.
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 ===
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.
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 ===
=== 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 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 ===
=== syllable chart ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 600px;"
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 600px;"
|+the 136 basic Kala syllables
|+the 136 basic Kala syllables
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<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>
<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>


=== Collating Order ===
=== collating order ===
The collating sequence (alphabetical order) is based on the order established in the [[Kala/writing#Naua|'''Naua''']] script.
The collating sequence (alphabetical order) is based on the order established in the [[Kala/writing#Naua|'''Naua''']] script.


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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.
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.


== Stress ==
== 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). Monosyllabic words are not stressed. So;
[[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;


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* '''empa<u>ha</u>pak''' - /ɛᵐpaˈhaːpak/ → '''empaha<u>pa</u>yek''' - /ɛᵐpahaˈpaːjek/
* '''empa<u>ha</u>pak''' - /ɛᵐpaˈhaːpak/ → '''empaha<u>pa</u>yek''' - /ɛᵐpahaˈpaːjek/


= Morphology =
= orthography =
 
'''Kala''' is a mostly agglutinative language that makes extensive use of compounding, incorporation and derivation. That is, it can add many different prefixes and suffixes to a root until very long words are formed, and a single word can sometimes constitute an entire sentence. The words of '''Kala''' can be divided into two basic functional classes: verbs and nouns as content words, and particles and others as functional. Adjectives do not exist, instead, stative verbs explain the state of the subject, i.e. ''“to be red”''. The few adverbs that exist fall into the class of particles or are derived from verbs. The most important element of '''Kala''' lexemes to keep in mind is that they may function as a verb, noun, adjective, or an adverb based on where they fall in the phrase, and any various endings that may be affixed. '''Kala''' has two basic parts of speech. 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''' - /muːja gaː/ - <small>do Q</small> - ''(What are you) doing?''
* '''inanko''' - /iːna/ - <small>eat-CONT</small> - ''(I am) eating.''
* '''tamatse''' - /tamaːˌt͡ʃɛ/ - <small>good-seem</small> - ''(That looks) good.''
* '''ueha ka''' - /weːɦa kaː/ - <small>want Q</small> - ''(Do you) want (some)?''
* '''nyasak''' - /ɲaːʃak/ - <small>thank-NEG</small> - ''No, thank (you).''
 
Notice that none of the above contains any pronouns, or nouns. Any contextually understood elements may be omitted unless indispensable. There can be considerable divergence from what is grammatical, and what is acceptably idiomatic. The spectrum of formality and grammatical to idiomatic can be seen in the example below:
 
* '''netla muyaye''' – <small>1sg-P.4sg do-PST</small> – ''I did it.'' > [grammatical, formal]
* '''etla muyaye''' – <small>P.4sg do-PST</small> – ''(I) did it. >> It was done.'' > [grammatical, formal, passive]
* '''na muyaye''' – <small>1sg do-PST</small> – ''I did (it).'' > [grammatical, informal]
* '''muyaye''' – <small>do-PST</small> – ''(I) did (it).'' > [semi-grammatical, idiomatic]
* '''muyye''' – /muːɟɛ/ – <small>do-PST</small> – ''(I) did (it).'' > [ungrammatical, idiomatic]
 
 
:*'''Function Words'''
 
Function words are called '''mayatla''' (“water words”; flowing speech). In this case, the words are "empty" in that they don't do anything by themselves. They serve important grammatical functions by making clear relationships between words, logical connections, or modifications of meaning. Function words are the "grammar words" of Kala. There are subcategories of function words that include: prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, pragmatics, and particles.
 
:*'''Content Words'''
 
Content words are called '''konotla''' (“stone words”; still/solid speech) Contrary to function words, content words refer to real objects in the real world, whether solid and palpable, or observable in some other way. These words refer to objects, actions, concepts, and emotions, which exist in some real way as more than just grammatical tools. Subcategories of content words are: nouns, pronouns, verbs (active and stative), adverbials, number words, and onomatopoeia. 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. The English glosses are meant to give an idea of what the core meaning of the '''Kala''' word actually is, but which do not imply that the '''Kala''' word actually covers all the main senses of these English words. Conversely, many words with a meaning much narrower than their English gloss are not precisely specified.
 
= Nouns =
 
The morphology of '''Kala''' nouns can be complex enough to include number, gender, size, case, quality, etc. However, it should be noted that a few of these are also non-obligatory. That is, if the meaning or intended meaning can be inferred from context, certain nominal modifiers may be omitted. Due to the semantic range of '''Kala''' words, the declension of nouns is often used to convey both the lexical role, but also the semantic use, and grammatical importance of the word. '''Kala''' nominals (which includes full nouns, pronouns, and determiners) inflect for number and several cases.  Other relevant distinctions are animacy and possession, but these are not always marked on the noun itself. Animacy plays a role both for pronoun choice and for the validity of some syntactic constructions.
 
=== Number ===
 
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 collective plural (COL). There are also markers for paucal (''a few of something''), distributive (''each of a countable group''), or inclusive, and an indefinite large number (''many, much'').
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 500px;"
!
! ''Kala''
! ''gloss''
! ''English''
|-align=center
! Singular [SG]
| '''mita'''
| <small>dog</small>
| ''a/the dog''
|-align=center
! Plural [PL]
| '''mita-m'''
| <small>dog-PL</small>
| ''(the) dogs''
|-align=center
! Paucal [PAU]
| '''mita-mi'''
| <small>dog-PAU</small>
| ''(a) few dogs''
|-align=center
! Collective [COL]
| '''tli-mita'''
| <small>COL-dog</small>
| ''(a) dog pack''
|-align=center
! Distributive [DIS]
| '''mita-li''' [or '''-kua''']
| <small>dog-DIS/INCL</small>
| ''each/every dog''
|-align=center
! Indefinite Mass [IM]
| '''mita-mpa'''
| <small>dog-IM</small>
| ''many dogs''
|}
 
These endings can sometimes be combined to add nuance to the meaning, such as; '''tlimitam''' - <small>COL-dog-PL</small> - ''dog packs / packs of dogs''; '''imitalin malo''' - <small>PROX-dog-DIS-ACC be.brown</small> – ''each of these dogs is brown''
 
When the final syllable of a word contains a labial consonant, ‘'''m'''’, ‘'''mp'''’, and ‘'''p'''’ the plural marking changes to '''-lo'''. The '''–lo''' ending is also used when the word begins with a vowel, and when the '''–m''' ending conflicts phonotactically with a given case suffix. An example of this would be; '''yama''' - <small>mountain</small> - ''a mountain'' → '''yamalo''' - <small>mountain-PL</small> – ''mountains'' → '''tliyama''' - <small>COL-mountain</small> - ''a mountain range / range of mountains'' → '''tliyamalo''' - <small>COL-mountain-PL</small> - ''mountain ranges / ranges of mountains''.
 
==== Reduplication ====
 
Nominal reduplication in Kala indicates a plurality and that the items are scattered about in a disorderly manner. It can also indicate uncountable version of a countable noun. Occasionally, it reflects a juvenile or informal register; in this respect, it can be compared to the English diminutive ending "-y" or "-ie" (kitty, “doggie", etc.) Verb reduplication is also common in '''Kala''' as it marks adverbs. Often, this adverb is an informal and/or temporary character of the action. It may also indicate a nominal form of the verb.
 
* '''kya o’unkonke''' - <small>IMP be.loud-NEG</small> - ''Don’t speak loudly!''
 
The morphological process of reduplication is irregular in Kala and is based primarily on the initial syllable of the word. The nasals ('''N'''), plosives ('''P'''), affricates ('''A'''), continuants ('''C'''), and semivowels and vowels ('''S''') each undergo various changes during reduplication.
 
* N → N/(y/u)
::* '''muku''' - ''knife'' → '''mumuku''' – ''knives scattered around''
::* '''muela''' - ''raspberry'' → '''memuela''' – ''raspberries scattered around'' / ''a bunch of raspberries''
::* '''nyahi''' - ''snow'' → '''nanyahi''' – ''snow all around''
* P → nP/(y/u) or nP → P/(y/u)
::* '''pana''' - ''rain'' → '''pampana''' – ''rain all around'' (“It’s raining all over.”)
::* '''ntasi''' – ''excitement'' → '''ntatasi''' – ''chaotic fits''
::* '''kano''' – ''dear; darling'' → '''kankano''' – ''“sweetie; lovey”''
::* '''kyo’a''' – ''be quiet'' → '''konko’a''' – ''quietly''
* A → C/(y/u)
::* '''tloso''' – ''annoy; bother'' → '''tloloso''' – ''bothersome''
::* '''tsima''' – ''hour'' → '''tsisima''' – ''hourly; regularly''
::* '''tsuama''' – ''sandwich'' → '''tsasuama''' – ''sandwiches scattered about'' / ''a sandwich tray''
* C → ~/(y/u) [mostly '''s''' → '''ts''' and '''h''' → '''k''']
::* '''sama''' - ''sun'' → '''satsama''' – ''sunny; sunshine all around''
::* '''suku''' - ''shop'' → '''sutsuku''' – ''marketplace; bazaar''
::* '''hama''' – ''protect; defend'' → '''hakama''' – ''protective''
* S → '''‘u''' or '''~'''
::* '''ima''' – ''now; yet'' → '''i’uma''' – ''immediately'' [sounds like /ˈjuːma/]
::* '''etsa''' – ''degree; extent'' → '''e’utsa''' – ''extensive''
 
=== Gender ===
 
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 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.
 
* <b>kuma</b> - <small>bear</small> - <i>a bear</i> → <b>kumana</b> - <small>bear-FEM</small> - <i>sow</i> → <b>kumata</b> - <small>bear-MASC</small> - <i>boar</i>
* <b>masa</b> - <small>deer</small> - <i>a deer</i> → <b>masana</b> - <small>deer-FEM</small> - <i>doe</i> → <b>masata</b> - <small>deer-MASC</small> - <i>stag</i>
* <b>uma</b> - <small>horse</small> - <i>a horse</i> → <b>umana</b> - <small>horse-FEM</small> - <i>mare</i> → <b>umata</b> - <small>horse-MASC</small> - <i>stallion</i>
 
=== Case ===
 
Case is marked with suffixes. The regular forms of the case markers are given in the list below. Case is marked on noun phrases using null marking for agents, and '''-n''' for patients. The clitic '''-n''' can appear on multiple noun phrases in a single sentence at once, such as the direct object, indirect object, and adverbial nouns.
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 750px;"
! Case
! Suffix
! Use
|-align=center
| Nominative<br>[NOM]
| '''-Ø'''
| ''indicates a syntactic core participant of the action, agent, force, or experiencer''
|-align=center
| Accusative<br>[ACC]
| '''-n'''
| ''indicates a patient, theme or goal (used as '''''Oblique''''' occasionally), instrument, or experiencer''
|-align=center
| Genitive<br>[GEN]
| '''-yo'''
| ''indicates alienable association or possession (see also '''te''')''
|-align=center
| Dative<br>[DAT]
| '''-la'''
| ''indicates the recipient/beneficiary of an action, or movement towards object''
|-align=center
| Locative<br>[LOC]
| '''-hue'''
| ''indicates location or circumstance''
|-align=center
| Ablative<br>[ABL]
| '''-nte / -uai'''
| ''indicates origin, source, or movement away from a location''
|-align=center
| Comitative<br>[COM]
| '''-mua'''
| ''indicates instrument, or in company of something''
|-align=center
| Abessive<br>[ABE]
| '''-mue'''
| ''indicates the lack or absence of something''
|-align=center
| Terminative<br>[TERM]
| '''-mpe'''
| ''indicates the extent, finality, or limit (also '''Limitative''')''
|}
 
== 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.
{{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'''
|}
 
===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'''-.
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''neha anya'''
: <small>1s-P.3s see</small>
: ''I see her.''
 
* '''kameta motoyek'''
: <small>3pl-P.2s remember-PST-NEG</small>
: ''They didn’t remember you.''
{{col-break}}
* '''tametla yohauek'''
: <small>2pl-P.4s have-DES-NEG</small>
: ''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}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 800px;"
! A/P
! ''1sg''
! ''2sg''
! ''3sg''
! ''4sg''
! ''1pl''
! ''1pl.EXCL''
! ''2pl''
! ''3pl''
! ''4pl''
|-align=center
! ''1sg''
| '''-'''
| '''neta'''
| '''neha'''
| '''netla'''
| '''-'''
| '''-'''
| '''netam'''
| '''nekam'''
| '''netlam'''
|-align=center
! ''2sg''
| '''tena'''
| '''-'''
| '''teha'''
| '''tetla'''
| '''tenam'''
| '''tena'am'''
| '''-'''
| '''tekam'''
| '''tetlam'''
|-align=center
! ''3sg''
| '''hena'''
| '''heta'''
| '''-'''
| '''hetla'''
| '''henam'''
| '''hena'am'''
| '''hetam'''
| '''-'''
| '''hetlam'''
|-align=center
! ''4sg''
| '''tlena'''
| '''tleta'''
| '''tleha'''
| '''-'''
| '''tlenam'''
| '''tlena'am'''
| '''tletam'''
| '''tlekam'''
| '''-'''
|-align=center
! ''1pl''
| '''-'''
| '''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-break}}
* '''na'i sepaye'''
: <small>1s.REFL injure-PST</small>
: ''I hurt myself.''
 
* '''ha'i tlela'''
: <small>3s.REFL bathe</small>
: ''She bathes herself.''
{{col-break}}
* '''kanku ke onta nayo itsa'''
: <small>3pl.RECP O parent 1s.GEN love</small>
: ''My parents love each other.''
 
* '''na'anku amyapak'''
: <small>1pl.EXCL.RECP like-ABIL-NEG</small>
: ''We (but not you) are not able to like each other.''
{{col-end}}
 
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-break}}
* '''tanakoli matakiye'''
: <small>fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST</small>
: ''Each one of the warriors killed himself.''
{{col-break}}
* '''kanku ke tanakoli matakiye'''
: <small>3pl.RECP O fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST</small>
: ''The warriors killed each other ['''and nobody survived'''].''
{{col-end}}
 
=== 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: 800px;"
|+ 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 =
'''Kala''' relies on analytic serial verb constructions, and can therefore get by with very little verbal morphology. Each verb has at most two possible forms: the [[wp:Dynamic_verb|''active'']] and the [[wp:Stative_verb|''stative'']]. Passivity is marked on the subject thus verbs are unmarked and must be analyzed based on surrounding morphology. Active verbs solely denote actions and occurrences and never states in Kala. Stative verbs are the words that modify nouns in an attributive and often adjectival way. They often express a state like a quality or result. Verbs can be marked with several suffixes to add or change meaning. The modals and tense affixes can be added in different order to a verb to create a new meaning; their placement is not always fixed. The negative, adverbial, and plural endings are always final, while other affixes can be varied, but in general they should be ordered:
 
<tt>STEM-(SIZE/IMPORTANCE)-(MOOD)-(ASPECT)-(TENSE)-(NEGATIVE)</tt>
 
Example:
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 600px;"
|+
|-
! Verb Stem
! Size/Importance
! Mood
! Aspect
! Tense
! Negative
|-
| '''empa''' || '''-hi''' || '''-pa'''  || '''-nko''' || '''-ye''' || '''-k'''
|-
| run || DIM || ABIL || PROG  || PST || NEG
|}
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''na empahipankoyek'''
: <small>1s run-DIM-able-PROG-PST-NEG</small>
: ''I was not able to keep jogging.''
 
* '''na empahik'''
: <small>1s run-DIM-able-NEG</small>
: ''I don’t jog.''
 
* '''na empankoye'''
: <small>1s run-PROG-PST</small>
: ''I was running.''
{{col-break}}
* '''na empa’uk'''
: <small>1s run-ABIL-NEG</small>
: ''I can’t run.''
 
* '''na empayepak'''
: <small>1s run-PST-ABIL-NEG</small>
: ''I couldn’t run.''
 
* '''na empahahye'''
: <small>1s run-AUG-REC</small>
: ''I just sprinted.''
{{col-end}}
== Tense ==
 
Kala has three simple tenses; past, present, and future. Present tense is unmarked. However, past ('''-ye''') and future ('''-tli''') tenses can be modified to include immediate future ("''is about to''..."), distant future ("''will...in a long while''"), recent past ("''just'' ..."), and remote past ("...''a long while ago''"). These distinctions are made with the augmentative and diminutive endings '''-ha''' and '''-hi'''. Kala’s distinguishing three levels of both past and future time is a unique typological trait. The use of the variations of past and future are not subject to strict grammatical rules and are a question of pragmatics. The recent and immediate markers are most commonly used for near-scope, that is, things which have just happened or will happen very soon. Of the triad tense–aspect–mood this section will only cover basic uses of the marked tense categories, followed by a discussion of complex tense combinations such as past-in-future. Subsequent sections will provide more insight into the morphological marking of aspectual categories; and the following section deals with the morphology of mood marking in Kala. Verbs in Kala are unmarked for present tense, as it is the normal mode of speaking. Besides being used to comment or report on current events, the present tense is also used to make statements of general truth. Also, Kala does not strictly mark its verbs for past tense in narrative discourses (instead the adverbial '''aye''' (“''it was''”) will start the first phrase); verbs may therefore appear as a present-time reference in spite of recounting past events, whether historical or fictional.
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 700px;"
|+ eme
|-
!
! ''Kala''
! ''gloss''
! ''English''
|-align=center
| remote past
| '''kamahi hina<span style="color:red">yeha</span>'''<br>or <span style="color:red">-'''hai'''</span>
| <small>town-DIM be.here-[[wp:Past_tense|REM]]</small>
| ''There was a village here (long ago).<br>''(before the lifetime of the speaker)
|-align=center
| past
| '''naka mita anya<span style="color:red">ye</span>'''
| <small>woman dog see-[[wp:Past_tense|PST]]</small>
| ''The woman saw the dog.''
|-align=center
| recent past
| '''ota namyo akya<span style="color:red">yehi</span>'''<br>or <span style="color:red">-'''hye'''</span>
| <small>father 1pl.GEN wake-[[wp:Past_tense|REC]]</small>
| ''Our father just woke.<br>''(action just finished) 
|-align=center
| present
| '''mita tahi yatsi'''
| <small>dog boy bite</small>
| ''The dog bites the boy.''
|-align=center
| future
| '''naka tahi tlepa<span style="color:red">tli</span>'''
| <small>woman boy teach-[[wp:Future_tense|FUT]]</small>
| ''The woman will teach the boy.''
|-align=center
| immediate future
| '''na tlela<span style="color:red">tlihi</span>'''<br>or <span style="color:red">-'''tlai'''</span>
| <small>1s bathe-[[wp:Future_tense|IMM]]</small>
| ''I'll bathe soon.''<br>(within the day)
|-align=center
| distant future
| '''panam opua<span style="color:red">tliha</span>'''
| <small>rain-PL end-[[wp:Future_tense|DIS]]</small>
| ''The rains will end.''<br>(months from now)
|}
 
The present tense can show immediacy by using the adverb '''ima''', "''now; at this time''"; If a temporal adverb is used, the tense suffix may be omitted:
 
* '''ima mita ina''' - <small>now dog eat</small> - ''The dog is eating right now.''
* '''yomaye nam ina''' – <small>yesterday 1pl eat</small> – ''We ate yesterday.''
* '''anyotli ha huato''' – <small>year-FUT 3s move.about</small> – ''He will move next year.''
* '''semaye kamena ke mita yeta''' – <small>week-PST 3pl-P.1s O dog give</small> – ''(A) week(s) ago they gave me a dog.''
 
Note that the recent and the remote past tense are not generally marked if the past context is clear, for instance, when a past context has already been established in discourse. This may also happen explicitly by using a temporal adverbial such as '''yomaye''' (“''yesterday''”) or '''anyoye nye’o''' (“''a hundred years ago''”). In the presence of an explicit temporal adverb, redundant tense marking is also dropped subsequently. Like the past tense, the future is often not explicitly marked if the time frame is clear from context or has been clarified with such adverbials as “''tomorrow''”.
 
“''Already''”, past in past & past in future; so far, we have only dealt with tense marking from the point of view of the present. However, it is also possible to refer to an event which precedes another event in the past. Kala uses the particle '''tso''' ("''already; since''") to indicate actions that took place prior to the primary tense of the verb. It is most often placed at the beginning of a verb phrase.
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''tso mikelo yetla inaye'''
: <small>already Michael DIST-4s eat-PST</small>
: ''Michael already ate that (before).''
{{col-break}}
* '''tso maliya yetla inatli ama nam talatli'''
: <small>already Mary DIST-4s eat-FUT time 1pl arrive-FUT</small>
: ''Mary will have already eaten that (before) when we (will) arrive.''
{{col-end}}
== Aspect ==
 
There are four aspects in Kala. The progressive, also called the [[Wikipedia:Continuous_and_progressive_aspects|continuous]] ['''CONT'''], this is used to express an incomplete action or state in progress at a specific time. It is marked with '''-nko''', from '''nkoso''' - "''to continue; proceed; progress''". The [[Wikipedia:Perfective_aspect|perfective]] aspect indicates that an action is completed ['''PFV''']. It is often translated by the English present perfect (''have done some-thing''). It is marked with '''-pua''', from '''opua''' - "''to end; finish; complete''". The [[Wikipedia:Inchoative_aspect|inchoative]] aspect refers to the beginning of a state ['''INCH''']. It is marked with '''-mu''', from '''mula''' - "''to begin; start; initiate''". The [[Wikipedia:Frequentative|frequentative]]  aspect refers to a repeated action ['''FREQ''']. It is marked with '''-nua''', from '''nua''' - "''frequent; often; regular''".
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 700px;"
!
! ''Kala''
! ''gloss''
! ''English''
|-align=center
| Continuous
| '''na ke niye puku<span style="color:red">nko</span>'''
| <small>1s O undergarment wear-[[wp:Continuous_and_progressive_aspects|CONT]]</small>
| ''I am wearing underclothes.''
|-align=center
| Frequentative
| '''tlaka ke apua tlato<span style="color:red">nua</span>'''
| <small>man O song recite-[[wp:Frequentative|FREQ]]</small>
| ''The man recites the song repetitively.''
|-align=center
| Inchoative
| '''nahi yoti<span style="color:red">mu</span>'''
| <small>girl play-[[wp:Inchoative_aspect|INCH]]</small>
| ''The girl begins to play.''
|-align=center
| Perfective
| '''kam ina<span style="color:red">pua</span>'''
| <small>3pl eat-[[wp:Perfective_aspect|PFV]]</small>
| ''They have eaten.''
|}
 
A few aspectual derivations:
 
* '''kuali''' - drill; bore; dig into → '''kualinua''' - cultivate, farm
* '''oma''' – shout; yell → '''omanua''' - scream
* '''noko''' – stay; remain → '''nokonua''' - survive, be resilient
* '''moku''' – sleep; rest → '''mokumu''' – fall asleep
* '''yelo''' – ice → '''yelomu''' – freeze; solidify → '''yelopua''' – frozen; solid
 
== Mood ==
Besides various aspects, '''Kala''' also marks moods other than [[wp:Realis_mood|realis]]: irrealis, imperative, hortative, and negative. These are also expressed by suffixes on the verb and typically follow aspectual marking where it is expressed by a suffix. As is common throughout natural and constructed languages, the indicative mood is unmarked. Subjunctive, conditional, and imperative moods are marked lexically, by various particles, and as such are covered in detail in the “particles” of this grammar.
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 900px;"
!
! ''Kala''
! ''gloss''
! ''English''
|-align=center
| Abilitative
| '''na mokuye<span style="color:red">pa</span>k'''
| <small>1s sleep-PST-[[wp:Natchez_language#Preverbs|ABIL]]-NEG</small>
| ''I was unable to sleep.''
|-align=center
| Attemptative
| '''neko ke panya mata<span style="color:red">pya</span>'''
| <small>cat O mouse kill-ATT</small>
| ''The cat is trying to kill the mouse.''
|-align=center
| Desiderative
| '''otsokai ka'e moli yala<span style="color:red">ue</span>'''
| <small>wolf-red toward forest go-[[wp:Desiderative_mood|DES]]</small>
| ''Redwolf wants/intends to go to the forest.''
|-align=center
| Dubitative
| '''ha tsakahue<span style="color:red">ke</span>'''
| <small>3s home-LOC-[[wp:Irrealis_mood#Dubitative|DUB]]</small>
| ''I guess he is at home.'' lit: ''He is at home, supposedly.''
|-align=center
| Hortative
| '''yala<span style="color:red">kya</span>'''
| <small>walk-[[wp:Hortative|HORT]]</small>
| ''Let's go!''
|-align=center
| Necessitative
| '''mita ina<span style="color:red">he</span>'''
| <small>dog eat-[[wp:Irrealis_mood#Necessitative|NEC]]</small>
| ''The dog needs to eat.''
|-align=center
| Negative
| '''naku nayo hina<span style="color:red">k</span>'''
| <small>sister 1s-GEN be.here-[[wp:Affirmative_and_negative|NEG]]</small>
| ''My sister is not here.''
|-align=center
| Permissive
| '''ta ke hina sima<span style="color:red">myo</span>k'''
| <small>2s O here sit-[[wp:Irrealis_mood#Permissive|PERM]]-NEG</small>
| ''You are not allowed to sit here.''
|-align=center
| Precative
| '''ke asi yeta<span style="color:red">te</span>'''
| <small>O salt give-[[wp:Irrealis_mood#Precative|PREC]]</small>
| ''Will you please pass me the salt?''
|-align=center
| Preparative
| '''tahi moku<span style="color:red">sue</span>'''
| <small>boy sleep-PREP</small>
| ''The boy is ready to sleep.''
|-align=center
| Propositive
| '''ta moku<span style="color:red">ne</span>'''
| <small>2s sleep-[[wp:Propositive_mood|PROP]]</small>
| ''You should sleep.''
|}
 
 
The negative mood (always marked finally) is indicated by the suffix –'''k''' or '''–nke''' (when the last syllable contains /k/).
 
* '''mita inayek''' - <small>dog eat-PST-NEG</small> - ''The dog did not eat.''
* '''mita mokunke''' - <small>dog sleep-NEG</small> - ''The dog does not sleep.''
 
== Evidentiality ==
Verb clauses in '''Kala''' may optionally be marked for evidentiality, particularly if the described event took place in the past and/or when the speaker was not directly involved in it. This set of six verbal suffixes indicating the nature of the evidence supporting a statement. These morphemes are not obligatory; however, the lack of an evidential in a main clause not marked as interrogative or irrealis is usually taken as a sign of pure speculation and thus likely to raise suspicions about the statement's truth.
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 900px;"
!
! ''Kala''
! ''gloss''
! ''English''
|-align=center
| Visual [VIS]
| '''kam ke yoti matsu<span style="color:red">nya</span>'''
| <small>3pl O game win-VIS</small>
| ''They won the game.'' (<tt>I saw it</tt>)
|-align=center
| Auditory [AUD]
| '''naku hayo ke metlamya<span style="color:red">nu</span>'''
| <small>sister 3s.GEN O flute-CAUS-AUD</small>
| ''His sister plays the flute.'' (<tt>I heard it</tt>)
|-align=center
| Hearsay [HSY]<br>(''reported speech'')
| '''<span style="color:red">kye</span> ota tayo kupanko'''
| <small>HSY father 2s.GEN die-CONT</small>
| (<tt>it is said</tt>) ''Your father is dying.''
|-align=center
| Inferred [INFR]
| '''kola ke katso kuha<span style="color:red">tsi</span>'''
| <small>AG.INDEF O meal cook-INF</small>
| ''Someone is cooking a meal.'' (<tt>based on evidence</tt>)
|-align=center
| Assumptive/Assertive [ASS]
| '''ke maliya kantipua<span style="color:red">ho</span>'''
| <small>O Maria cheat-PFV-ASS</small>
| ''Maria has been cheated.'' (<tt>I assert</tt>)
|}
 
As can be seen in the above examples, there are two direct evidentials, and three indirect;
 
* ''Direct'':
: -'''nya''' - visual evidence, the speaker witnessed the event
: -'''nu''' - auditory/general evidence, the speaker heard/felt the event
 
* ''Indirect'':
: '''kye''' - reported speech; hearsay, the speaker received via hearsay and may or may not be accurate
: -'''tsi''' - inferred based on physical evidence
: -'''ho''' - assumed or asserted based on experience
 
=Particles=
Particles in Kala cover a broad spectrum of what are more accurately called function words. These include adverbs, prepositions (more accurately locative or relative verbs), conjunctions, interjections, onomatopes, and structural particles.
 
==Interjections==
 
The term “interjection” is used to cover a range of pragmatic, or discourse markers that do not fit well into any other category.  This is because many words and expressions have a pragmatic rather than a semantic meaning.
 
* '''a''' – expresses acknowledgement, agreement, or simply that one is listening
* '''e''' – marks dispreferreds, ends a digression,
* '''po''' – marks a sudden change of topic
* '''ya''' – vocative marker, polite imperative, expresses commiseration
* '''yali''' – excuses jostling or interruptions
 
These can occur either at the beginning or the end of a sentence.
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''e…nakkan ke ameyo yohatsek'''
: <small>well queen O America have-seem-NEG</small>
: ''Well... America doesn’t really have a queen.''
 
* '''ke motsa ya’o…a'''
: <small>O banana five yes</small>
: ''Mm hmm, (you want) five bananas.''
{{col-break}}
* '''po…taye katso ka'''
: <small>so about meal Q</small>
: ''Anyway, what about dinner?''
 
* '''ya kyo’a…nam tsipue'''
: <small>VOC quiet 1pl late</small>
: ''Hey, shut up, we’re late!''
{{col-end}}
===Cursing===
 
Other common interjections – of course – include curses, vulgarities, obscenities, etc.
 
* '''kotsa''' – a spiteful person (“bitch; bastard”)
* '''kuna''' – excrete; expel; defecate (“shit”)
* '''kyosa''' – sex; copulation; fornicate (“fuck”)
* '''nanka''' – emphasizing disgust; [interj. of contempt]; (“damn; darn”)
* '''tsaya''' – damn [general invective]
 
==Locative Verbs==
 
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 adpositions:
 
* -'''hue'''  – in; at; on (general locative)
* '''nahe''' – within; inside
* '''nyaue''' – out; outside of; exterior
* '''ma’e''' – before; in front of
* '''pue''' – behind; after; in back of
* '''ua’e''' – above; over; on
* '''tahe''' – below; under; beneath; bottom
* '''ya’e''' – near; close to
* '''uaye''' – away (from)
* '''maye''' – between; among
 
The above are used as prepositions, but can also function strictly as verbs.
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''mita tahe yempa ina'''
: <small>dog under table eat</small>
: ''The dog is eating under the table.''
{{col-break}}
* '''mita ke yempa tahe'''
: <small>dog table be.under</small>
: ''The dog is under the table.''
{{col-end}}
 
The suffix -'''la''' (from '''yala''' ''“go; walk; travel”'') forms an allative (or motive) preposition, expressing movement in the indicated direction, stopping at the position indicated by the locative:
 
* '''nahela  topu''' – ''into bed''
* '''pahela ke ana tayo''' – ''onto your head''
* '''tsayela tsaka''' – ''up to the house''
 
The locative/allative pair works like English on/onto, in/into, but in Kala this distinction is made for all locatives: you must distinguish between them:
 
* '''pue’ela  kuanu''' – ''go behind a bush''  - (motion implied → allative)
* '''pue kuanu koma''' – ''hide behind a bush''  - (no motion → locative)
 
=Derivation=
 
Because '''Kala''' has only two main parts of speech ([[wp:Content_word|content]] and [[wp:function_word|functional words]]), new words formed by derivation should be analyzed based on context. [[wp:Function_word|Functional]] words can rarely be used to form new words, but this is typically to form extensions of functions, or new functions.
 
== Compounding ==
 
New nouns are usually created through head-initial compounding, using both nominal and verbal stems as the second, dependent element of the compound. The resulting lexical entries usually behave as single phonological words, which, however, have four full syllables: '''kuatlatloha''' "grass snake". Compounding of more than two elements is not common.
 
* '''kayapusu''' - "earthquake" → '''kaya''' - earth + '''pusu''' - vibrate
* '''asuaseka''' - "leather" → '''asua''' - skin + '''seka''' - dry
 
Clipped compounding does occur and is distinctive. This clipping occurs consistently in content words, but is usually blocked in functional words and auxiliaries.  Syllables are clipped based on euphonic choices but must remain recognizable and retain grammatical functionality.
 
* '''naka''' – woman & '''kana''' – leader → '''nakkan''' – chieftess; queen
* '''naua''' – to tie & '''ualo''' – bring → '''naualo''' – get someone involved in one's trouble
* '''uaso''' – cup; jug; vessel & '''sitsa''' – hot; heat → '''uassitsa''' – flask; thermos; bottle
* '''yasa''' – wind & '''sitsa''' – hot; heat → '''yassitsa''' – warm breeze
* '''yasa''' – wind & '''yesa''' – peace → '''yassa''' – peaceful-wind
 
There are also numerous [[Kala/affixes|'''affixes''']] used to form new meanings. A few examples are;
 
* '''tiyasu''' - "bakery" → '''tiya''' - bread + '''-su''' - market; shop
* '''onyomo''' - "school" → '''onyo''' - learn + '''-mo''' - place; location
* '''kuhasa''' - "kitchen" → '''kuha''' - cook + '''-sa''' - room; chamber
* '''pyetampu''' - "egg-shaped" → '''pyeta''' - egg + '''-mpu''' - shape; form
 
== Derivation ==
 
In Kala, new words can be formed by adding prefixes or suffixes to existing words, or by combining two existing words as a compound noun. It's also possible to reuse adjectives as nouns, and verbs as nouns, without adding an affix.
 
The most common ending (other than tense, aspect, and modals) is the adverbial ending –'''n'''. It is used to mean ''"similar to ...", "-like", "-ish", "full of ..." or "made of ..."'', and ''"pertaining to ..."'' or ''"to do with ..."''.
 
Here are some common examples:
 
* '''kyo’a''' - "quiet" → '''kyo’an''' – ''quietly''
* '''enke''' - "simple" → '''enken''' – ''simply''
* '''ntahi''' - "child" → '''ntahin''' – ''childish; childlike''
* '''putsu''' - "monster" → '''putsun''' – ''monstrous''
* '''yoti''' - "game" → '''yotin''' – ''playful''
* '''hanya''' - "nation" → '''hanyan''' – ''national''
* '''kuaha''' - "science" → '''kuahan''' – ''scientific''
* '''olo''' - "gold" → '''olon''' – ''made of gold''
 
=== Verbalization ===
 
Causative verbs (as well as achievement verbs) can be formed from other verbs by adding [[Kala/affixes#mya|-'''mya''']] (from [[Kala/lexicon#ma|'''muya''']] - ''"do, make, cause"'') or [[Kala/affixes#la|-'''la''']] (from [[Kala/lexicon#a|'''ela''']] - ''"become; change into; turn into"''). This type of derivation is fairly common; however, verbs created in this way are syntactically defective and tend to appear only in serial verb constructions.
 
* '''tinamya''' - "bend" ← '''tina''' - be bent
* '''pitamya''' - "hollow out" ← '''pita''' - be hollow; void
* '''enomya''' - "annoy, bother" ← '''eno''' - be angry
* '''tsipuela''' - "slow down" ← '''tsipue''' - be slow
* '''kyolola''' - "speed up" ← '''kyolo''' - be quick
 
Intensive verbs can be formed from other verbs by adding [[Kala/affixes#mpa|-'''mpa''']] (from [[Kala/lexicon#mpa|'''mpa''']] - ''"many; much; very"''), or more commonly [[Kala/affixes#hu|-'''hu''']] (from [[Kala/lexicon#ka|'''kyohu''']] - ''"be drastic; extreme; aggressive"'').
 
* '''ketsahu''' - "dismiss, reject, repudiate" ← '''ketsa''' - doubt
* '''amyampa''' - "fall in love with" ← '''amya''' - be fond of; like; prefer (of people)
 
Adjective-like stative verbs which name an associated quality may be formed from nouns by [[Kala/affixes#n|-'''n''']] (from [[Kala/lexicon#na|'''no''']] - ''"thing" (-ish, -ly, -ous)'').
 
* '''timan''' - "be cruel, be bloody" ← '''tima''' - blood
* '''amyan''' - "be welcoming, be hospitable" ← '''amya''' - be fond of
 
=== Nominalization ===
 
==== Agentive ====
 
Nouns referring to a human subject of a verb (''usually in a habitual sense'') can be formed with the agentive suffix [[Kala/affixes#ko|-'''ko''']] (from [[Kala/lexicon#ka|'''ko''']] - ''"individual; person"''). This suffix changes to '''-tlo''' when a [[wp:Velar_stop|velar stop]] is present in the preceding syllable.
 
* '''kitlako''' - "craftsman" ← '''kitla''' - create; invent; make-up
* '''sutako''' - "inhabitant (of)" ← '''suta''' - live; reside; dwell; inhabit; settle
* '''yekatlo''' - "unmarried young adult" ← '''yeka''' - be separate, be on one's own
* '''makatlo''' - "musician" ← '''maka''' - music; play ~; tune
* '''tsaniko''' - "storyteller" ← '''tsani''' - recite, tell (a story)
 
==== Instrumental ====
 
Instrument nouns and names for tools and other inanimates can be derived from verbs or from other nouns by adding the suffix [[Kala/affixes#nyo|-'''nyo''']] (from [[Kala/lexicon#ma|'''mayo''']] - ''"device; equipment; tool"'').
 
* '''hitanyo''' - "atlatl (spear-thrower)" ← '''hita''' - throw; cast; expel
* '''amonyo''' - "handle (for carrying)" ← '''amo''' - transport; carry
* '''kusunyo''' - "clasp, brooch, fibula" ← '''kusu''' - squeeze
* '''toponyo''' - "lock" ← '''topo''' - door; gate
 
==== Locative ====
 
Location nouns can be formed from both nouns and verbs by several suffixes. These indicate specific places where either something happens, or something resides there are a few affixes which modify both verbs and nouns.
 
[[Kala/affixes#mo|-'''mo''']] (from [[Kala/lexicon#ma|'''mo''']] - ''"location; place; site"''). This suffix is used to form the general idea of where something happens or resides.
 
* '''tanamo''' - "battlefield; boxing ring; wrestling mat, etc." ← '''tana''' - fight; combat
* '''uelomo''' - "bicycle-place; bike path; bike rack, etc." ← '''uelo''' - bicycle; bike
* '''inamo''' - "eat-place; dining room; restaurant" [This can also mean food-place; pantry, etc.] ← '''ina''' - food; eat
* '''onyomo''' - "learn-place; school" ← '''onyo''' - learn; study
 
[[Kala/affixes#su|-'''su''']] (from [[Kala/lexicon#sa|'''suku''']] - ''"market; shop; store"''). This suffix is used to specify a business where items are produced and/or sold.
 
* '''tiyasu''' - "bread-shop; bakery" ← '''tiya''' - bread
* '''inasu''' - "food-market; grocery store; restaurant" ← '''ina''' - food; eat
* '''uelosu''' - "bicycle-shop" ← '''uelo''' - bicycle; bike
 
[[Kala/affixes#kyo|-'''kyo''']] (from [[Kala/lexicon#ha|'''hakyo''']] - ''"college; school; university"''). This suffix is used to specify a location where students learn. This can also be used to indicate a school of thought, or ideology.
 
* '''tanakyo''' - "dojo; martial arts training academy; etc." ← '''tana''' - fight; combat
* '''kuhakyo''' - "culinary-school; chef’s academy" ← '''kuha''' - cook; prepare food
* '''tsiyakyo''' - "liberalism" ← '''tsiya''' - freedom; liberty
* '''ya'akyo''' - "medical-school" ← '''ya'a''' - medicine; drug; cure
 
[[Kala/affixes#sa|-'''sa''']] (from [[Kala/lexicon#sa|'''sala''']] - ''"chamber; room; section"''). This is more specific than
[[Kala/affixes#mo|-'''mo''']] and used primarily for spaces inside buildings.
 
* '''kuhasa''' - "cook-room; kitchen" ← '''kuha''' - cook; prepare food
* '''mokusa''' - "sleep-room; bedroom" ← '''moku''' - sleep; rest
* '''inasa''' - "eat-room; dining room" ← '''ina''' - food; eat
* '''onyosa''' - "learn-room; classroom" ← '''onyo''' - learn; study
 
==== Diminutive ====
 
Diminutive nouns and endearment terms can be formed from verbs and other nouns by adding the suffix [[Kala/affixes#hi|-'''hi''']] (from [[Kala/lexicon#a|'''ahi''']] - ''"few; small"''). This becomes '''-ki''' after a syllable that contains a [[wp:Glottal_fricative|glottal fricative]].
 
* '''mukuhi''' - "blade" ← '''muku''' - knife
* '''umahi''' - "foal" ← '''uma''' - horse; equine
* '''mitahi''' - "puppy" ← '''mita''' - dog; canine
* '''ohuaki''' - "indulgence" ← '''ohua''' - luxurious; extravagant
 
==== Augmentative ====
 
Augmentative nouns can be formed from verbs and other nouns by adding the suffix [[Kala/affixes#ha|-'''ha''']] (from [[Kala/lexicon#ta|'''taha''']] - ''"big; large; grand"''). This becomes '''-ka''' after a syllable that contains a [[wp:Glottal_fricative|glottal fricative]].
 
* '''kamaha''' - "city" ← '''kama''' - village; town
* '''ohaka''' - "dislocate one's jaw" ← '''oha''' - yawn; open one's mouth
* '''mosaha''' - "epic; novel" ← '''mosa''' - book; letter; scroll
* '''tiniha''' - "hurricane" ← '''tini''' - spiral; whorl
 
==== Honorific ====
 
Honorific nouns can be formed from other nouns by prefixing [[Kala/affixes#o|'''o'''-]].
 
* '''omasa''' - "stag" ← '''masa''' - deer; cervine
* '''okama''' - "capital" ← '''kama''' - town; village
 
=Syntax=
 
Kala has an extremely regular grammar, with very few exceptions to its rules. Sentences are made up of one or more phrases. Each phrase consists of a verb (optionally followed by modifying particles) and a subject (optionally followed by modifying particles). The subject, if understood, can be omitted at the end of an utterance: '''pana''' ("''It is raining.''") '''pana!''' ("''Rain!''") An utterance can be anything from an interjection to a story.
 
==Basic Sentences==
 
The importance of word order can be seen by comparing the following sentences:
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''mita tlaka anya'''
: <small>dog man see</small>
: ''The dog sees the man.''
{{col-break}}
* '''tlaka mita anya'''
: <small>man dog see</small>
: ''The man sees the dog.''
{{col-end}}
In both sentences, the words are identical: '''mita''' – “''dog''”, '''tlaka''' – “''man''”, '''anya'''  - “''eye; see''”. The only way to know who is seeing whom is by the order of the words in the sentence. Intransitive (including those of the existential type) clauses in Kala minimally consist of a subject followed by an intransitive verb, giving SV word order.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''nta’i moku'''
: <small>baby sleep</small>
: ''The baby sleeps.''
{{col-break}}
* '''sama nala'''
: <small>sun shine</small>
: ''The sun shines.''
{{col-end}}
Transitive clauses follow a SOV pattern and grammatically require the object particle '''ke'''.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''ona ke matla kuha'''
: <small>mother O stew cook</small>
: ''(The) mother is cooking (the) stew.''
{{col-break}}
* '''tasako ke masami yake'''
: <small>hunt-AG O deer-PAU pursue</small>
: ''The hunters are chasing some deer.''
{{col-end}}
 
==Predicates==
 
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” in interlinears.)
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''mita hikya'''
: <small>dog old</small>
: ''The dog is old.''
{{col-break}}
* '''nahi tayo aya'''
: <small>daughter 2s.GEN beautiful</small>
: ''Your daughter is beautiful.''
{{col-end}}
The same phrases can be formed using the copula '''a''', this is grammatical but bulky and jarring.
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''mita hikya a'''
: <small>dog old COP</small>
: ''The dog is old.''
{{col-break}}
* '''nahi tayo aya a'''
: <small>daughter 2s.GEN beautiful COP</small>
: ''Your daughter is beautiful.''
{{col-end}}
===Negation===
 
The negative mood [NEG] (always marked finally on the primary verb) is indicated by the suffix –'''k''' or –'''nke''' (when the last syllable contains /k/).  ''See also: 3.2.3) Mood''
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''tahi inyak'''
: <small>boy hunger-NEG</small>
: ''The boy is not hungry.''
{{col-break}}
* '''yohuaye ha ke samalo anyak'''
: <small>night-PST 3s O star-PL watch-NEG</small>
: ''She did not watch the stars last night.''
{{col-end}}
 
In general, contiguous serial verb constructions can only be negated as a whole. Negating one or more of the verbs in the construction separately is ungrammatical.
 
* '''na ke tsakahue nya ina ka’elatlik'''
: <small>1s O home-LOC for eat toward-MVT-FUT-NEG</small>
: ''I'm not coming home for dinner.''
 
However, if there is a modal auxiliary, negation may either take scope over the modal (and thus over the whole clause), or alternatively only over the non-modal part of the serial verb construction:
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''eta tlahapok'''
: <small>P.2s leave-compel-NEG</small>
: ''You don't have to leave.''
{{col-break}}
* '''eta tlahamyok'''
: <small>P.2s leave-PERM-NEG</small>
: ''You're not allowed to leave.''
{{col-end}}
 
In some serial verb constructions, where the middle noun phrase acts both as the object of the first verb and as the subject of the second verb, each verb phrase can be negated separately.
 
===Voice===
 
Passive voice emphasizes the process rather than who is performing the action. In Kala this form is called '''kemi'''. There are few patterns to help distinguish between active and passive voices in Kala verbs. Using the passive voice is not common in Kala. It can sometimes be used to emphasize what would normally have been the object of the sentence. In order to shift emphasis away from the agent and towards the patient or theme, a transitive sentence can be passivized simply by word order, or using the particle '''ni''' (“''by''”) ['''PASS'''].
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
'''''ACTIVE'''''
* '''na ke tanum yempahue moheye'''
: <small>1s O plate-PL table-LOC place-PST</small>
: ''I put dishes on the table.''
 
* '''na ke topa muntaye'''
: <small>1s O bed rearrange-PST</small>
: ''I changed the bed.''
 
* '''ha ke yona yomutli'''
: <small>3s O book read-FUT</small>
: ''She will read the book.''
{{col-break}}
'''''PASSIVE'''''
* '''ke tanum yempahue moheye'''
: <small>O plate-PL table-LOC place-PST</small>
: ''Dishes were put on the table.''
 
* '''ke topa ni naku nayo muntaye'''
: <small>O bed PASS sister 1s.GEN rearrange-PST</small>
: ''The bed was changed by my sister.''
 
* '''ke yona ni kola yomutli'''
: <small>O book PASS AG.INDEF read-FUT</small>
: ''The book will be read by someone.''
{{col-end}}
 
==Compound Sentences==
 
Two sentences may be joined together to form a longer compound sentence. Both sentences must be able to stand alone as properly formed sentences. When combined, they simply come one after the other, joined by a conjunction. Common Conjunctions:
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 500px;"
! ''Kala''
! ''meaning''
! ''example''
|-align=center
| '''pa'''
| <small>although; even; despite</small>
| She is here ''despite'' my protest.
|-align=center
| '''po'''
| <small>so; thus</small>
| He seems nice ''so'' I ate with him.
|-align=center
| '''ku'''
| <small>and; also; too</small>
| I see it ''and'' I see you.
|-align=center
| '''ma'''
| <small>and; also; too</small>
| I see it ''and'' you.
|-align=center
| '''ua'''
| <small>and/or; either</small>
| You may eat ''and/or'' drink.
|-align=center
| '''ue'''
| <small>either X or Y</small>
| You may ''either'' eat ''or'' drink.
|-align=center
| '''uenke''' ('''uek''')
| <small>neither X or Y</small>
| You may ''neither'' eat ''nor'' drink.
|-align=center
| '''yema'''
| <small>both X and Y</small>
| I ate ''both'' soup ''and'' bread.
|-align=center
| '''yo'''
| <small>if X then Y; therefore</small>
| ''If'' she comes ''then'' we’ll eat.
|-align=center
| '''ehe''' ('''me''')
| <small>but ; however</small>
| I dislike him, ''but'' he is my brother.
|}
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''na ina ku ha moku'''
: <small>1s eat and 3s sleep</small>
: ''I am eating and she is sleeping.''
{{col-break}}
* '''na ina ehe ha moku'''
: <small>1s eat but 3s sleep</small>
: ''I am eating but she is sleeping.''
{{col-end}}
<small>Note: '''ku''' is a clause level conjunction used to join to independent clauses.</small>
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''ta ina ua inu'''
: <small>2s eat and/or drink</small>
: ''You are eating and/or you are drinking.''
 
* '''ntahi ke mita anya ma inamya'''
: <small>child O dog see and eat-CAUS</small>
: ''The child saw and fed the dog.''
{{col-break}}
* '''ta ina ue inu'''
: <small>2s eat or drink</small>
: ''You are either eating or else you are drinking.''
 
* '''ha tala yo na’am hinatlik'''
: <small>3s come therefore 1pl.EXCL be.here-FUT-NEG</small>
: ''If she comes we won’t be here.''
{{col-end}}
 
Clause-level conjunctions such as '''ku''' (“''and; also; too''”), '''ua''' (“''or; either; otherwise''”), or '''ehe''' (“''but; however''”) are placed clause-initially. Note that these conjunctions (except for '''ku''') can be used to connect noun phrases.
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''tahi tohyo ku nahi pina'''
: <small>boy brave CL.CONJ girl intelligent</small>
: ''The boy is brave and the girl is intelligent.''
{{col-break}}
* '''ima kihu saman ehe pakyotlai'''
: <small>now weather sun-ADJ however storm-IMM</small>
: ''Now the weather is sunny, but a storm will come soon.''
{{col-end}}
 
Non-subject noun phrases are coordinated using the conjunction '''ma''' "''and''" (sometimes "''with''").
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''yomaye na ke tanka ma pato anya'''
: <small>day-PST 1s O eagle CONJ duck see</small>
: ''I saw an eagle and a duck yesterday.''
 
* '''kinti ke tsaka kamyo ma'a yosu sapotle ma siuem muya'''
: <small>squirrel O house 3pl.GEN with moss soft-REL and leaf.PL make</small>
: ''The squirrels make their nest comfortable with soft moss and leaves.''
{{col-break}}
* '''ona ma ota kyosanku'''
: <small>mother and father fornicate-RECP</small>
: ''Mother and father have sex.''
 
* '''ta ma'a na ke molihuelatli'''
: <small>2s with 1s O forest-LOC-MVT-FUT</small>
: ''You and I will go to the forest together.''
{{col-end}}
 
Noun phrases can be presented as alternatives to each other with the conjunction '''ua''' ("''or; other''"). This conjunction can be used with both subjects and non-subjects. The conjunction '''ue''' ("(exclusive) ''either X or Y''") is used to delimit other nouns from the conjunction phrase.
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''ta ke nasi ua poma inamyo'''
: <small>2s O pear or apple eat-PERM</small>
: ''You may eat an apple or a pear.''
{{col-break}}
* '''tsola ue otso itsikua mataye'''
: <small>fox either.X.or.Y wolf PROX-bird kill-PST</small>
: ''It must have been a fox or a wolf that killed this bird.''
{{col-end}}
 
Contrastive coordination of noun phrases is achieved with '''ehe''' ("''but; however''") (or '''me''' more informally) if the noun phrases appear in subject position.
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''yomaye mita'u ehek mitana ke kutsu kapya'''
: <small>day-PST dog-MASC but-NEG O meat receive</small>
: ''The male dog but not the female dog received meat yesterday.''
{{col-break}}
* '''na itlaka mek inaka unya'''
: <small>1s PROX-man but-NEG PROX-woman know</small>
: ''I know this man, but not this woman.''
{{col-end}}
 
==Compliment Clauses==
 
Complement clauses, i.e. subordinated clauses acting as a noun (most importantly as the subject or object of a sentence), and are formed exactly like ordinary main clauses, preceded by the particle '''ke''' (“topic particle”).
 
* '''nakkan ke eya tekim kamahi hyoka munaye'''
: <small>woman-chief O maybe enemy-PL city-DIM attack worry-PST</small>
: ''The queen was worried that the enemies might attack the village.''
 
* '''itomatle ke maliya noyamya'''
: <small>wood-carve O Mary happy-CAUS</small>
: ''Carving wood makes Mary happy.''
 
Complement clauses can also act as the object of a motional/locational verb:
 
* '''ta ke naha ka’elak yatli ke tlohi kuyepak'''
: <small>2s O river toward-MVT-NEG if.X.then.Y O salmon grab-ABIL-NEG</small>
: ''You can't catch salmon if you don't go to the river.''
 
* '''kam ka’e tsiua uahe moku ma ina yalayenko'''
: <small>3pl toward lake instead.of rest and eat walk-PST-CONT</small>
: ''Instead of taking a rest and eating, they continued to walk towards the lake.''
 
Since complement clauses behave like nouns syntactically, they may participate in existential constructions as well. Semantically, this indicates that the occurrence of the action described in the complement clause is emphatically affirmed.
 
* '''uala ke yemua tlana masenko'''
: <small>verily O DIST-place person dance-CONT</small>
: ''There is dancing over there.'' (lit. <tt>it's true that people are dancing there</tt>)
 
In addition to the particle '''ke''', Kala possesses a few other words which may fill the same syntactic position under special circumstances. The most common of these appears in the context of reported speech. A couple of other specialized particles have a more limited distribution, appearing mainly in evidential constructions.
 
==Relative Clauses==
 
Relative clauses, i.e. subordinated clauses acting as an attribute to a noun phrase, are marked with the relativizer -'''tle''' (or -'''le''' if the last syllable has '''tl'''). A pronoun referring to the relativized noun is retained within the relative clause:
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''na ke naka amyatle pesoue'''
: <small>1s O woman liked-REL meet-VOL</small>
: ''I want to meet a girl who is friendly.''
{{col-break}}
* '''kam tananitle ke teki tlalitli'''
: <small>3pl fight-nice-REL O enemy defeat-FUT</small>
: ''They who fight well will defeat the enemy.''
{{col-end}}
 
* '''naku nayo ke yakokua na tikuyetle inapua'''
: <small>sister 1s.GEN O strawberry-all 1s pick-PST-REL eat-PFV</small>
: ''My sister has eaten all the strawberries that I picked.''
 
 
If both subject and object of a transitive relative clause are represented by the same pronoun, the relativized noun will be assumed to be the subject of the subclause. In order to relativize the object in such a situation, the subject must be represented by one of the reflexive, or reciprocal pronouns instead, which explicitly refer back to the subject of the matrix clause:
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''aye tanako ke tlaka eha hyokatle mata'''
: <small>past fight-AG O man P.3s attack-REL kill</small>
: ''The warrior killed the man who attacked him.''
{{col-break}}
* '''aye tanako ke ha tlaka hyokatle mata'''
: <small>past fight-AG O 3s man attack-REL kill</small>
: ''The warrior killed the man whom he attacked.''
{{col-end}}
 
Relativization of oblique participants works very much the same way as relativization of subjects and objects, but the repeated pronoun needs to appear inside a prepositional phrase or coverb phrase which shows the role of the relativized noun within the subclause.
 
* '''ikamahi ena nasayetle'''
: <small>PROX-city-DIM P.1s be.born-PST-REL</small>
: ''This is the village in which I was born.''
 
* '''ke taku tlakayo na tlayayetle nya teki matapua'''
: <small>O brother man-GEN 1s wed-PST-REL by enemy kill-PFV</small>
: ''The man whose brother I married has been killed by the enemy.''
 
* '''iyoma ke yomatle ta’ena nya uapa talaue'''
: <small>today O day-REL 2s-P.1s for visit come-VOL</small>
: ''Today is the day on which you want to come and visit me.''
 
 
In case a relative clause would contain only the subject and an intransitive verb phrase, speakers of Kala are likely to use an attributive construction instead. If the attributed verb phrase contains more than one verb, all of them need to appear in the attributive form.
 
* '''na ke nahi amyan pesoue'''
: <small>1s O girl like-ADV meet-VOL</small>
: ''I want to meet a girl who is friendly. (lit. <tt>a friendly girl</tt>)''
 
* '''kola sima ke ina kapyatli'''
: <small>AG-INDEF sit O food receive-FUT</small>
: ''Anyone who is sitting quietly gets food.''
 
 
Note that both relative clauses and attributive constructions tend to be avoided when they refer to the subject of a sentence. Instead, the semantically ‘attributive’ verb describing the subject is treated syntactically as forming a sequential or simultaneous event together with the main verb of the sentence:
 
* '''tahi pina ke kema unya'''
: <small>boy smart O task understand</small>
: ''The smart boy understands the task.''
 
===Adverbial clauses===
 
Kala has several different ways to express adverbial elements – adverbial suffix, adpositional phrases, serial verb constructions, and full-scale adverbialized subclauses. For most types of adverbials, more than one of these methods can be used. Because an adequate description of this gets rather lengthy, and because it presupposes an understanding of how serial verb constructions work in Kala, it is described in a later section of this document. Adverbial constructions which are valid constituents typically appear near the beginning of a sentence, with adpositional phrases preceding subclauses, but they may be topic-fronted for emphasis. If several adverbial constituents of the same syntactic type are present, they are generally ordered place → manner → reason → purpose → result → time.
 
==Copular Sentences==
 
The copula '''a''' (''to be; exist; yes'') is not used as it is in English. It is primarily used to affirm Yes/No questions. '''ta inaye ka''' (''Did you eat?'') '''a''' (''Yes.'') However, it can be used to add emphasis or nuance to a descriptive phrase. In an adjectival predicate the verb [to be] is not normally used.
 
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{{col-break}}
* '''ha kiha'''
: <small>3s tall</small>
: ''She is tall.''
{{col-break}}
* '''tomua nya itsaka yasue'''
: <small>rent for PROX-house cheap</small>
: ''The rent for this house is cheap.''
{{col-end}}
==Questions==
There are two types of questions: Polar, those which may be answered "yes" or "no," and those which require explanations as answers.
===Polar questions===
Any statement can become a polar question by adding the interrogative particle '''ka''' at the end of the sentence.
 
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{{col-break}}
* '''mita ina'''
: <small>dog eat</small>
: ''The dog eats.''
 
* '''ta ke tlo’o anyaye'''
: <small>2s O elephant see-PST</small>
: ''You saw the elephant.''
{{col-break}}
* '''mita ina ka'''
: <small>dog eat Q</small>
: ''Does the dog eat?''
 
* '''ta ke tlo’o anyaye ka'''
: <small>2s O elephant see-PST Q</small>
: ''Did you see the elephant?''
{{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).
 
* '''ta ke nkapa ue maya inuue ka'''
: <small>2s O beer or.EXCL water drink-VOL Q</small>
: ''Do you want to drink beer or water?''
 
* '''uala ta ke sinka mataye ue empa ma koma ka'''
: <small>truly 2s O lion kill-PST or.EXCL flee CONJ hide Q</small>
: ''Did you really kill the lion, or did you run away and hide?''
 
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 2s Q</small>
: ''Who are you?''
 
* '''to kihu ka'''
: <small>manner weather Q</small>
: ''What's the weather like?''
{{col-break}}
* '''itla ka'''
: <small>this Q</small>
: ''What is this?''
 
* '''to taku tayo ka'''
: <small>manner brother 2s.GEN Q</small>
: ''How’s your brother?''
{{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''
|-align=center
| ''object''
| '''ke mita ina ka'''
| <small>O dog eat Q</small>
| ''What does the dog eat?''
|-align=center
| ''person''
| '''ko ina ka'''
| <small>person eat Q</small>
| ''Who eats?''
|-align=center
| ''possession''
| '''koyo mita ina ka'''
| <small>person-GEN dog eat Q</small>
| ''Whose dog eats?''
|-align=center
| ''manner''
| '''to mita ina ka'''
| <small>manner dog eat Q</small>
| ''How does the dog eat?''
|-align=center
| ''place''
| '''mo mita ina ka'''
| <small>place dog eat Q</small>
| ''Where does the dog eat?''
|-align=center
| ''reason''
| '''nye mita ina ka'''
| <small>reason dog eat Q</small>
| ''Why does the dog eat?''
|-align=center
| ''time''
| '''ama mita ina ka'''
| <small>time dog eat Q</small>
| ''When does the dog eat?''
|-align=center
| ''amount''
| '''uku mita ina ka'''
| <small>amount dog eat Q</small>
| ''How much/many does the dog eat?''
|-align=center
| ''which''
| '''ula mita ina ka'''
| <small>INDEF dog eat Q</small>
| ''Which dog eats?''
|}
 
==Comparison==
In Kala the concepts of comparative and superlative degree of an adjective (verb) are merged into a single form, the 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.”
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''tsaka hayo ke nayo tahaka'''
: <small>house 3s.GEN O 1s.GEN big-AUG</small>
: ''His house is bigger than mine.''
 
* '''iyapo ke tsaka tayo pakoha'''
: <small>PROX-building O home 2sg new-AUG</small>
: ''This building is newer than your home.''
{{col-break}}
* '''ke mauam tayo yanahu'''
: <small>O flower.PL 2s.GEN yellow-EXT</small>
: ''Your flowers are the most yellow.''
 
* '''mitala ke yetlam hikyahi'''
: <small>dog-INDEF O DIST-4pl old-DIM</small>
: ''Some dogs are less old (younger) than others.''
{{col-end}}
When comparing the amount of involvement of several participants in a transitive verb, an appositional construction is used with competing subjects, and complement clauses are used with competing objects:
 
* '''tsaneya ke ona pa’e naku hayo itsaha'''
: <small>Jane O mother other.than sister 3s.GEN love-AUG</small>
: ''Jane loves her mother more than her sister does.''
 
* '''imukuhi ke asua uahe tleno telaniha'''
: <small>PROX-blade-DIM O leather instead.of timber cut-nice-AUG</small>
: ''This knife cuts leather better than it cuts wood.''
 
==Indirect Objects==
Kala verb phrases have only a single object slot. As a result, the recipient of a ditransitive clause needs to be introduced with the help of an adverbial preposition. The same strategy is also used to introduce other participants in oblique roles.
 
* '''ka’e''' – to; toward [Dative]
* '''ma’a''' – with; using [Instrumental] / with; together [Comitative]
* '''mue''' – without; lacking [Abessive]
* '''nya''' – for (the benefit of) [Benefactive] / by [Passive]
* '''-hue''' – at; in; on [Locative]
 
===Dative===
Dative participants can be marked with '''ka’e''' (“''toward; to''”), '''nya''' (“''for; by''”), or be syntactically indicated.
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''ntahi ke ina ka’e mita yeta'''
: <small>child O food toward dog give</small>
: ''The child gives food to a dog.''
 
* '''katiko nya ntakum tsani'''
: <small>old-AG for sibling-PL tell.story</small>
: ''The old man recites a story for the siblings.''
{{col-break}}
* '''ikema nya ena enke'''
: <small>PROX-task for P.1s easy</small>
: ''This task is easy for me.''
 
* '''teki ke kama na’amyo tanyaye'''
: <small>enemy O village 1pl.EXCL.GEN destroy-PST</small>
: ''The enemies destroyed our village.''
{{col-end}}
===Instrumental===
Instrumental participants can be marked with '''ma’a''' (“''with; using''”), '''nya''' (“''for; by''”), or be syntactically indicated.
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''ona ke ntahi ma’a tlimu nohya'''
: <small>mother O child with blanket wrap</small>
: ''The mother wraps the child in a blanket.''
{{col-break}}
* '''tsani nya ntaha moyapua'''
: <small>PROX-task for P.1s easy</small>
: ''The story has been written by the elder.''
{{col-end}}
===Comitative===
Comitative participants are marked with the preposition '''ma’a''' (“'''with; together'''”), and anticomitative (or abessive) participants are marked with the preposition '''mue''' (“''without''”).
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''na ma’a amyako nayo ke masa tasa'''
: <small>1s with friend 1s.GEN O deer hunt</small>
: ''I'm hunting deer with my friend.''
{{col-break}}
* '''ha ke naha mue ta ka’elaye ka'''
: <small>3s O river without 2s toward-MVT Q</small>
: ''Did she go to the river without you?''
{{col-end}}
===Locative===
Locative participants can be marked with a variety of adverbial prepositions, most typically -'''hue''' (“''at; in; on''”). ''See also'': 5.1) [[Kala#Locative_Verbs|Locative verbs]].
 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''taku nayo ke poti patlahue patsi'''
: <small>brother 1s.GEN O goat field-LOC herd</small>
: ''My brother is herding goats in the field.''
{{col-break}}
* '''nam tlatsahue masetli'''
: <small>1pl fire-LOC dance-FUT</small>
: ''We will dance near (at) the fire.''
{{col-end}}
 
=Semantic Fields and Pragmatics=
'''Kala''', like all languages relies on the relationship of meanings instead of meanings in isolation. Additionally, morphemes tend to have a range of meanings that exist on a spectrum. A morpheme often can only be defined by its relationship to other morphemes within an utterance, or to other words of a similar semantic field.
 
One example would be in discussing temperature. Of course there is a system of degrees, but that is a quantitative statement, a qualitative statement would be more relative and open to interpretation.
 
[[File:Tlolo.png|400px|How to express temperature]]
 
English divides temperature into "hot, warm, cool, cold", while Kala has just '''sitsa, tlolo''', and '''manka'''. However, these can be expanded to be more specific;
 
* '''manka''' – cold
* '''tlolo''' – cool; warm (mild)
* '''sitsa''' – hot; heat
 
Using the augmentative -'''ha''' and the diminutive -'''hi''' adds even more nuance to expressing temperature. '''mankaha''' (or '''mankampa, mankahu''') being the coldest, and '''sitsaha''' (or '''sitsampa, sitsahu''') the hottest means that '''tloloha''' is closer to '''sitsahi''' and '''tlolohi''' is closer to '''mankahi'''. This means that '''tlolotso''' (mild-middle) is likely how someone would describe their ideal temperature.
 
* '''ya iyoma kihua tlolotso!'''
: <small>VOC PROX-day fine.weather mild-middle</small>
: ''Oh, how today’s weather is so mild!''
 
Of course, some meanings do exist in a binary state;
 
* '''asa''' - alive / '''kupa''' - dead
 
Meanings may also be divided into non-linear semantic space — e.g. color, social classes, directions, parts of the body, time, geographical features.
 
=Numbers=
'''Kala''' uses a base 10 number system. The basic numbers are as follows:
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 800px;"
|+
|-
! Kala
! number
! English
! Kala
! number
! English
! Kala
! number
! English
|-
| '''ye'o''' || 0 || zero || '''tsa'o''' || 6 || six || '''nya'o''' || 500 || five hundred
|-
| '''na'o''' || 1 || one || '''ka'o''' || 7 || seven || '''tle'o''' || 10<sup>3</sup> || (one) thousand
|-
| '''ta'o''' || 2 || two || '''pa'o''' || 8 || eight || '''mue'o''' || 10<sup>4</sup> || ten thousand
|-
| '''ha'o''' || 3 || three || '''sa'o''' || 9 || nine || '''kye'o''' || 10<sup>5</sup> || (one) hundred thousand
|-
| '''ma'o''' || 4 || four || '''ue'o''' || 10 || ten || '''nte'o''' || 10<sup>6</sup> || (one) million
|-
| '''ya'o''' || 5 || five || '''nye'o''' || 100 || (one) hundred || '''hue'o''' || 10<sup>9</sup> || (one) billion
|}
 
==== Forming Larger Numbers ====
 
* '''uena'o''' - eleven / 11
* '''taue'o''' - twenty / 20
* '''nyeka'o''' - one hundred seven / 107
* '''hanyetauetsa'o''' (''long form'') / '''hatatsa'o''' (''short form'') - three hundred twenty six / 326
* '''tsatletauema'o''' - six thousand and twenty four / 6024
 
Long form numbers are used in formal situations, including financial transactions, especially involving large sums. Short form numbers are used in everyday speech and when calculating basic math.
 
==== Other Number Forms ====
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 600px;"
|+
|-
! Kala
! number
! English
! ordinal
! multiple
! fractional
|-
| '''na'o''' || 1 || one  || '''kina'o'''<br>first || '''tina'o'''<br>once || -
|-
| '''ueta'o''' || 12 || twelve || '''kiueta'o'''<br>twelfth  || '''tiueta'o'''<br>duodecuple || '''iueta'o'''<br>a twelfth
|-
| '''yauema'o'''<br>'''(yama'o)''' || 54 || fifty four  || '''kiyama'o'''<br>fifty fourth || '''tiyama'o'''<br>54 times || '''iyama'o'''<br>a fifty fourth
|-
| '''nyetsa'o''' || 106 || one hundred (and) six || '''kinyetsa'o'''<br>106<sup>th</sup> || '''tinyetsa'o'''<br>106 times || '''inyetsa'o'''<br>a 106<sup>th</sup>
|-
| '''katle'o''' || 7000 || seven thousand  || '''kikatle'o'''<br>seven thousandth || '''tikatle'o'''<br>7000 times || '''ikatle'o'''<br>1/7000
|}
 
=== Math Operations ===


'''Kala''' math is fairly basic and relies on particles and verbs to express functions. Notable is the use of the copular '''a''' to express the result of an equation.
= morphology =


Addition uses '''ma''' (''and; also''). There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation. Subtraction uses '''ma''' (''and; also'') and a negative form of the smaller integer. There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation.
== nouns ==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''ta’o ma ya’o ke ka’o a'''
: <small>two and five O seven COP</small>
: ''2 + 5 = 7''
{{col-break}}
* '''ka’o ma ta’ok ke ya’o a'''
: <small>seven and two-NEG O five COP</small>
: ''7 - 2 = 5''
{{col-end}}
Multiplication uses '''ma''' (''and; also'') and a multiple form of one of the integers. There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation. Division uses '''ma''' (''and; also'') and a multiple-negative form of one of the integers. There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* '''ka’o ma tita’o ke uema’o a'''
: <small>seven and multiple-two O fourteen COP</small>
: ''7 x 2 = 14''
{{col-break}}
* '''hata’o ma tisa’ok ke ma’o a'''
: <small>thrity-two and multiple-eight-NEG O four COP</small>
: ''32 ÷ 8 = 4''
{{col-end}}


=Writing system=
=== pronouns ===
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.
=== determiners and demonstratives ===


==== consonants ====
== verbs ==


* <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>ㄱㄲㄴㄷㄸㄹㅁㅂㅃㅅㅆㅇㅈㅉㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ</b></big></big></font>
=== passive ===
: '''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.
=== causative ===


: Example:
=== inceptive ===


* <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
=== infinitive ===


* <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
=== copula ===


==== vowels ====
=== stative verbs ===


* <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>ㅏ ᅶ ㅐ ㅑ ᅸ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ</b></big></big></font>
= derivational morphology =
: '''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.
== nominalizers ==


===Examples===
== reduplication ==


* <font face="gungsuh"><big><big><b>어하 거 거하 가먀터 하요 마아 타감 뱌사하먀여</b></big></big></font>
== verbalizers ==
: '''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.''


=Examples=
= syntax =


* '''seko saye puani nahayo yalaye ma ke tsa’eto omoye'''
== word order ==
: <small>scorpion along bank river-GEN walk-PST and TOP across-way think-PST</small>
: ''A scorpion was walking along the bank of a river, wondering how to get to the other side.''


* '''haye seko ke tsola anyaye'''
== case usage ==
: <small>sudden scorpion TOP fox see-PST</small>
: ''Suddenly, he saw a fox.''


* '''seko nya tsa’e naha amo ua’e muta tsolayo kanyoye'''
== noun phrases ==
: <small>scorpion for across river carry on back fox-GEN ask-PST</small>
: ''He asked the fox to take him on his back across the river.''


* '''tsola kye ak na’eta amo yatli ta’ena kute nuesitli'''
== numbers ==
: <small>fox IND.SP COP.NEG 1SG-P.2SG carry if.X.then.Y 2SG-P.1SG sting drown-FUT</small>
: ''The fox said, “No. If I do that, you’ll sting me, and I’ll drown.”''


* '''seko kye na’eta kute yatli nam nuesitli'''
== comparisons ==
: <small>scorpion IND.SP 1SG-P.2SG sting if.X.then.Y 1PL drown-FUT</small>
: ''The scorpion assured him, “If I do that, we’ll both drown.”''


* '''tsola pue omo nkataye'''
== prepositions ==
: <small>fox after think agree-PST</small>
: ''The fox thought about it and finally agreed.''


* '''ya seko ua’e muta tsolayo uayaye ma tsola yokomuye'''
== tense usage ==
: <small>VOC scorpion on back fox-GEN climb and fox swim-begin-PST</small>
: ''So the scorpion climbed up on his back, and the fox began to swim.''


* '''me tsa’etsohue nahayo seko ke tsola kuteye'''
== moods ==
: <small>however across-half-LOC river-GEN scorpion TOP fox sting-PST</small>
: ''But halfway across the river, the scorpion stung him.''


* '''tsola ike sunu ke sila hayo yeno ka’e seko muka kye nye ta’ena kuteye ka ima ta nuesitli'''
== aspect ==
: <small>fox while poison TOP vein 3SG.POSS fill toward scorpion face IND.SP reason 2SG-P.1SG sting-PST Q now 2SG drown-FUT</small>
: ''As poison filled his veins, the fox turned to the scorpion and said, “Why did you do that? Now you’ll drown, too.”''


* '''seko kye na’i ke to nayo tlinapayek'''
== conditionals ==
: <small>scorpion IND.SP 1SG.REFL TOP way 1SG.POSS stop-able-PST.NEG</small>
: ''“I couldn’t help it,” said the scorpion. “It’s my nature.”''


=Lexicon=
== subordinate clauses ==
''See also'': [[Kala/lexicon|Lexicon]], [[Kala/lexicon/theme|Kala thematic lexicon]], and [[Kala/etymology|Kala etymological lexicon]].


A small sampling of Kala lexemes.
== negatives ==


* '''pa''' - although; even though; even if
== questions ==
* '''pa'a''' - be well-ordered; regular; organized
* '''pina''' - be clever; intelligent; wise
* '''punka''' - fruit; fruit tree
* '''mpana''' - wide; broad; extensive; vast; width
* '''tanko''' - group; organization; team
* '''tepe''' - conceal; cover; shield; shelter
* '''tiku''' - extract; withdraw; pick-up
* '''tona''' - tuna
* '''ntela''' - interact; interplay; interrelated
* '''kanyo''' - question; ask; raise a question
* '''kemu''' - experience; undergo
* '''kinyo''' - intervene; get involved
* '''kona''' - dress; skirt
* '''kunye''' - moon; lunar; satellite
* '''kuya''' - green; foliage; verdant
* '''nkanu''' - short [in height and from end edge]
* '''makua''' - iron; press; smooth out
* '''menka''' - cotton
* '''mosukua''' - Moscow
* '''mutla''' - be absolute; unconditional
* '''napo''' - turnip
* '''ne''' - indirect object particle
* '''nota''' - lie; be in horizontal position; horizon
* '''nyalo''' - call; number; telephone
* '''sahe''' - across; opposite; other side
* '''sipanya''' - Spain
* '''sokyo''' - helium
* '''suama''' - sew; seam; mend; stitch
* '''hasu''' - conjecture; guess; supposition; assumption
* '''hilo''' - plaza; public square
* '''hueta''' - testicle
* '''tsame''' - accumulate; collect; gather; cluster
* '''tsemu''' - jam; marmalade
* '''tsitli''' - farm; ranch
* '''tsuto''' - be curly-haired
* '''tlato''' - recite rhythmically; chant; intone
* '''tlehe''' - esteemed; honest; candid; sincere
* '''tlokua''' - everybody; everyone
* '''ato''' - that way [over there]
* '''atsa''' - disc; rotate; wheel
* '''esue''' - fail; lose
* '''ila''' - sail; fly; navigate
* '''otso''' - wolf; lupine
* '''ulo''' - crop rotation
* '''uatli''' - inferior; of lower quality
* '''uetsi''' - dispirited downcast [idiom]; in low spirits
* '''yatso''' - ferment; brew; make honey; liquor
* '''yopi''' - mail; post [office]

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

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