Latest revision as of 08:37, 24 January 2022

introduction

phonology

consonants

Where ~ appears, it indicates free variation between phonemes.

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;

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-= introduction ['''soka'''] =
+= introduction =
-This is the grammar of Kala. A personal constructed language based on aesthetic preferences and a desire to understand more deeply the linguistic and cognitive process. The name of the language is taken from the Arabic verb [''takallama''] meaning “to talk, to have a discussion or conversation”. This description of Kala is meant to be simultaneously simple and thorough as to engage the linguistically inclined yet be accessible to those less so. There are three basic parts of speech in Kala: noun, verb, and particle.
+= phonology =
-== borrowing ['''kasu'''] ==
+== consonants ==
+* Where '''~''' appears, it indicates [[wp:Free_variation|free variation]] between phonemes.
-Kala borrows from various natural languages. This is a very small sample of borrowings:
+{|class=wikitable style="text-align: center; width:40%;"
+|+Consonants
+!
+!Labial
+!colspan=2|Alveolar
+!Palatal
+!Velar
+!Glottal
+|-
+! Nasal
+| m ('''m''')
+|colspan=2|n ('''n''')
+| ɲ ('''ny''')
+|
+|
+|-
+! Plosive
+| p~b ('''p''')
+|colspan=2|t~d ('''t''')
+|
+| k~g ('''k''')
+| ʔ (''' ' ''')
+|-
+! Affricate
+|
+| ts~t͡ʃ ('''ts''') || t͡ɬ~tl ('''tl''')
+|
+|
+|
+|-
+! Continuant
+|
+| s~ʃ ('''s''') || l~ɾ ('''l''')
+|
+|
+| h~ɦ ('''h''')
+|-
+! Semivowel
+|
+|colspan=2|
+| j ('''y''')
+| w ('''u''')
+|
+|}
-* '''kala''' – ''to speak, talk, converse''; from Arabic [''takallama'']
+The [[wp:Glottal_stop|glottal stop]] is not phonemic but is included in the chart above for completeness. It is only ever intervocalic, meaning it is pronounced between two vowels and/or diphthongs.
-* '''na''' – ''I, me''; from Arabic [''ʾanā'']
-* '''pato''' – ''duck'' (Anatidae); from Spanish [''pato'']
-* '''tsenka''' – ''orange''; from Chinese [''chéng'']
-* '''uasi''' – ''to take, get, acquire''; from Lakota [''wasichu'']
-* '''myonta''' – ''to allow, permit''; from Finnish [''myöntää'']
-* '''a''' – ''to be, exist, yes''; from Japanese [''aru'']
-= phonology ['''oto'''] =
+* '''Prenasalized''': /ᵐp ⁿt ᵑk/
+* '''Labialized''':/pʷ kʷ mʷ nʷ ʃʷ hʷ t͡ʃʷ/
+* '''Palatalized''': /pʲ kʲ mʲ hʲ/
-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 plosives is influenced by Bantu languages.
+=== 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.
-== vowels ['''musa'''] ==
+=== 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/.
-Kala has five vowels {{IPA|/i/}}, {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/o/}} and {{IPA|/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''' [ˈʧũŋka] ('bug').
+== vowels ==
+{| class="wikitable"
+|+Vowels
+!
+!'''Front'''
+!'''Back'''
+|-align=center
+!'''Close'''
+|{{IPA|i~ɪ}} '''(i)''' || {{IPA|u~ʊ}} '''(u)'''
+|-align=center
+!'''Mid'''
+|{{IPA|e~ɛ}} '''(e)''' || {{IPA|o~o:}} '''(o)'''
+|-align=center
+!'''Open'''
+|colspan="2" align="center"|{{IPA|a~ɑ}} '''(a)'''
+|}
-=== diphthongs ['''tlimusa'''] ===
+'''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').
-Both of the falling diphthongs, '''ai''' [a͜ɪ] and '''ao''' [a͜ʊ], as well as '''uai''' [ʷ~wa͜ɪ] and '''yao''' [ʲ~ja͜ʊ] only occur word finally, and very infrequently.
+=== 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.
-== consonants ['''hapu'''] ==
+== 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.
-Where "~" appears, it indicates [[WP:Free_variation|free variation]] between phonemes.
+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).
-* Nasals: '''m''' – /m/, '''n''' – /n/, '''ny''' – /ɲ/
+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.
-* Plosives: '''p''' – /p~b/, '''t''' – /t~d/, '''k''' – /k~g/, '''‘''' /ʔ/
-* Affricates: '''ts''' – /t͡s~t͡ʃ/, '''tl''' – /t͡l~ t͡ɬ/
-* Continuants: '''s''' – /s~ʃ/, '''h''' – /h~ɦ/, '''l''' – /l~r/
-* Semivowels: '''u''' – /w/, '''y''' – /j/
-=== labialization ===
+=== 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.
-Labialized consonants: /pʷ/, /kʷ/, /mʷ/, /nʷ/, /sʷ/, /hʷ/, /t͡ʃʷ/
+=== 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”'').
-=== nasalization ===
+=== syllable chart ===
+{| class="wikitable" style="width: 600px;"
+|+the 136 basic Kala syllables
+|-
+!
+! a
+! e
+! i
+! o
+! u
+! ua
+! ue
+! ya
+! ye
+! yo
+! ai
+! ao
+! uai
+! yao
+|-
+! p
+| align="center"|''(m)pa''
+| align="center"|''(m)pe''
+| align="center"|''(m)pi''
+| align="center"|''(m)po''
+| align="center"|''(m)pu''
+| align="center"|''pua''
+| align="center"|''pue''
+| align="center"|''pya''
+| align="center"|''pye''
+| align="center"|''pyo''
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''pai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''pao''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''puai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''pyao''</font>
+|-
+! t
+| align="center"|''(n)ta''
+| align="center"|''(n)te''
+| align="center"|''(n)ti''
+| align="center"|''(n)to''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''tai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''tao''</font>
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+|-
+! k
+| align="center"|''(n)ka''
+| align="center"|''(n)ke''
+| align="center"|''(n)ki''
+| align="center"|''(n)ko''
+| align="center"|''(n)ku''
+| align="center"|''kua''
+| align="center"|''kue''
+| align="center"|''kya''
+| align="center"|''kye''
+| align="center"|''kyo''
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''kai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''kao''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''kuai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''kyao''</font>
+|-
+! m
+| align="center"|''ma''
+| align="center"|''me''
+| align="center"|''mi''
+| align="center"|''mo''
+| align="center"|''mu''
+| align="center"|''mua''
+| align="center"|''mue''
+| align="center"|''mya''
+| align="center"|''mye''
+| align="center"|''myo''
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''mai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''mao''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''muai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''myao''</font>
+|-
+! n
+| align="center"|''na''
+| align="center"|''ne''
+| align="center"|''ni''
+| align="center"|''no''
+| align="center"|''nu''
+| align="center"|''nua''
+| align="center"|''nue''
+| align="center"|''nya''
+| align="center"|''nye''
+| align="center"|''nyo''
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''nai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''nao''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''nuai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''nyao''</font>
+|-
+! s
+| align="center"|''sa''
+| align="center"|''se''
+| align="center"|''si''
+| align="center"|''so''
+| align="center"|''su''
+| align="center"|''sua''
+| align="center"|''sue''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''sai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''sao''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''suai''</font>
+| align="center"|'' ''
+|-
+! h
+| align="center"|''ha''
+| align="center"|''he''
+| align="center"|''hi''
+| align="center"|''ho''
+| align="center"|''hu''
+| align="center"|''hua''
+| align="center"|''hue''
+| align="center"|''hya''
+| align="center"|''hye''
+| align="center"|''hyo''
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''hai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''hao''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''huai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''hyao''</font>
+|-
+! ts
+| align="center"|''tsa''
+| align="center"|''tse''
+| align="center"|''tsi''
+| align="center"|''tso''
+| align="center"|''tsu''
+| align="center"|''tsua''
+| align="center"|''tsue''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''tsai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''tsao''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''tsuai''</font>
+| align="center"|'' ''
+|-
+! tl
+| align="center"|''tla''
+| align="center"|''tle''
+| align="center"|''tli''
+| align="center"|''tlo''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''tlai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''tlao''</font>
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+|-
+! l
+| align="center"|''la''
+| align="center"|''le''
+| align="center"|''li''
+| align="center"|''lo''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''lai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''lao''</font>
+| align="center"|'' ''
+| align="center"|'' ''
+|-
+! -
+| align="center"|''a''
+| align="center"|''e''
+| align="center"|''i''
+| align="center"|''o''
+| align="center"|''u''
+| align="center"|''ua''
+| align="center"|''ue''
+| align="center"|''ya''
+| align="center"|''ye''
+| align="center"|''yo''
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''ai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''ao''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''uai''</font>
+| align="center"|<font color="red">''yao''</font>
+|}
-Prenasalized plosives: /ᵐp~ᵐb/, /ⁿt~ⁿd/, /ᵑk~ᵑ/
+<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>
-=== palatalization ===
+=== collating order ===
+The collating sequence (alphabetical order) is based on the order established in the [[Kala/writing#Naua|'''Naua''']] script.
-Palatalized consonants: /pʲ/, /kʲ/, /mʲ/, /hʲ/
+{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 400px;"
+! Consonants
+| '''p'''
+| '''t'''
+| '''k'''
+| '''m'''
+| '''n'''
+| '''s'''
+| '''h'''
+| '''ts'''
+| '''tl'''
+| '''l'''
+|-align=center
+! Vowels
+| '''a'''
+| '''e'''
+| '''i'''
+| '''o'''
+| '''u'''
+| '''ua'''
+| '''ue'''
+| '''ya'''
+| '''ye'''
+| '''yo'''
+|-align=center
+|}
+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 ==
+[[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;
-== allophones ['''tonua'''] ==
+* '''<u>ma</u>sa''' - /ˈmaːsa/ → '''ma<u>sa</u>ko''' - /maːˈsako/
+* '''tli<u>ya</u>ma''' - /tɬiːˈjama/ → '''tliya<u>ma</u>lo''' - /tɬiːjaˈmalo/
-The nasal at the end of a syllable can be pronounced as any nasal stop, though it is normally assimilated to the following consonant. That is, it typically occurs as an [n] before /t/ or /s/, as an [m] before /p/, as an [ŋ] before /k/, and as an [ɲ] before /j/. 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], /ts/ as [dz] or [tʃ] as well as [ts],  /s/ as [z] or [ʃ] as well as [s], /l/ as [ɾ] as well as [l], and vowels may be either long or short.
+* '''kam''' - /kaːm/ → '''<u>ka</u>myo''' - /ˈkaːmʲo/
+* '''empa<u>ha</u>pak''' - /ɛᵐpaˈhaːpak/ → '''empaha<u>pa</u>yek''' - /ɛᵐpahaˈpaːjek/
-== phonotactics ['''oto'u'''] ==
-Kala has a fairly simple phonological system. It allows only syllables with maximally one initial and one final consonant. Consonant clusters only occur word-medially and over syllable boundaries, with the exception of prenasalized plosive which can start a word.
-=== syllable structure ===
-= word order ['''tsukimila'''] =
-The only strict rule of word order is that the verb must be placed at the end of a sentence (possibly followed by sentence-end particles). This is because Kala sentence elements tend to be marked with particles that identify their grammatical functions. Kala is a subject-object-verb (SOV) language (e.g., '''mikelo amenyatla onyo''' “Michael German studies”). In Kala, verbs and adjectives appear at the end of the sentence. All other elements such as nouns (e.g., subject and/or object), adverbs, and numbers, appear before verbs and/or adjectives. In addition, modifiers (e.g., adverbs, demonstratives, and relative clauses) appear before the modified words.
-For instance, let us consider the following English sentence: “Michael studies history at the library in the afternoon.” We know that “Peter” is the subject since it comes before the verb “studies,” and “history” is the object as it appears after the verb. Notice that extra elements such as “at the library” and “in the afternoon” are placed after the object. In addition, English prepositions always appear before nouns, as in “at the library.” However, the word order of Kala would be '''mikelo mosamohue ke saha onyo''' “Michael library-at history studies.”
-Consider another example:
-'''mikelo tsakahue ke katsoyotso ina''' - “Michael eats lunch at home”
-The locative suffix -'''hue''' marks '''tsaka''' (home) as the location. In addition, the object particle '''ke''' marks '''katsoyotso''' (lunch) as the object of the sentence.
-== context ==
-In Kala the most important elements tend to cluster to the end of the sentence. The further the word is from the end of the sentence, the less important the element is and more likely it is to be dropped. In other words, what appears at the very end of the sentence (e.g., verbs) is most important. Consequently, Kala sentences that have no subject or object but just a verb or an adjective, such as in '''ina''' “eat,” are grammatically correct and natural in conversation.
+= orthography =
-Here are more examples:
+= morphology =
-* '''to ka''' - “How are you?” - <small>manner Q</small>
-* '''onyo ka''' - “What do you study?” - <small>study Q</small>
-* '''nyasa''' - “Thank you” - <small>thank</small>
-Notice that none of the above expressions contains the first or second person pronoun. What determines the omission is the context. Kala is a context-oriented language in that any contextually understood elements may be omitted unless they are indispensable.
+== nouns ==
-= root words =
+=== pronouns ===
-== suffixes ==
+=== determiners and demonstratives ===
-=== dependent suffixes ===
+== verbs ==
-==== nominal ====
+=== passive ===
-==== verbal ====
+=== causative ===
-==== derivational ====
+=== inceptive ===
-==== multifunction ====
+=== infinitive ===
-=== independent suffixes ===
+=== copula ===
-= particles =
+=== stative verbs ===
-== object ==
+= derivational morphology =
-== vocative ==
+== nominalizers ==
-== interrogative ==
+== reduplication ==
-= nouns =
+== verbalizers ==
-=== plural ===
+= syntax =
-==== quantity ====
+== word order ==
-=== gender ===
+== case usage ==
-== pronouns ==
+== noun phrases ==
-=== subject/object pronoun constructions ===
+== numbers ==
-=== demonstratives ===
-=== possessives ===
-= descriptive verbs =
 == comparisons ==
-== superlatives ==
+== prepositions ==
-= adverbs =
-= verbs =
-== tense ==
+== tense usage ==
-=== present ===
+== moods ==
-=== past ===
-=== future ===
 == aspect ==
-=== progressive ===
+== conditionals ==
-=== completed ===
-== mood ==
-=== negative ===
-=== commands & requests ===
-=== should/ought to ===
-=== able to/can ===
-= questions =
-== yes/no ==
-= locative verbs =
-Kala does not have prepositions as a distinct part of speech. Instead, many locative verbs can be used as prepositions, 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”.
-* '''na tsakahue''' – <small>1SG house-LOC</small> – ''I am at home''
-* '''iyoma tahi nayo hakyohue''' – <small>today son 1SG.POSS school-LOC</small> – ''My son is in school today''
-Almost any locative verb can be used in the preposition role.
-* '''mita tsakam maye''' – <small>dog house be.among</small> – ''The dog is among the houses''
-* '''mita naye yohua inak''' – <small>dog during night eat-NEG</small> – ''The dog does not eat during the night''
-* '''mita tsaka nahe''' – <small>dog house inside</small> – ''The dog is inside the house''
-* '''mita nahe tsaka ina''' – <small>dog inside house eat</small> – ''The dog is eating inside the house''
-There is a special suffix (-'''la''') to indicate motion. It can be added to a locative verb only in the verb role and is never affixed to –'''hue'''.
-* '''mita tsaka ka’ela''' – <small>dog house toward-go</small> – ''The dog is going toward the house''
-* '''mita ka’e tsaka yala''' – <small>dog toward house go</small> – ''The dog is going toward the house''
-* '''mita yempa tahelaye''' – <small>dog table under-MOT-PST</small> – ''The dog went under the table''
-In certain expressions a preposition is unnecessary. Most often this is because of the pronominal constructions.
-* '''kamena ke mita yetaye''' – <small>3PL-P.1SG O dog give-PST</small> – ''They gave me a dog. / They gave the dog to me.''
-* '''na’ameta ke apua tayo makatli''' – <small>1PL.EXCL-P.2SG TOP song 2SG.POSS play.music-FUT</small> – ''We will play your song to/for you.''
-A list of some common locative verbs:
-* '''ma’a''' – with [accompanied by / furnished with]
-* '''ma’ak''' – without; with no…
-* '''nyahe''' – by means of; per; via
-* '''pahe''' – against; touching
-* '''sahe''' – across; opposite; other side
-* '''saye''' – along; following [a line]
-* '''tsa’e''' – across; through
-* '''ma’e''' – before; in front
-* '''pue''' – after; back; behind; rear
-* '''ua’e''' – above; over / on
-* '''tahe''' – below; beneath; under
-* '''ka’e''' – to; towards; at [moving toward]
-* '''uaye''' – from [moving out of or away from]
-* '''nahe''' – in [located inside of]; internal
-* '''nyaue''' – outside of; exterior to
-* '''ya’e''' – near; close to
-* '''mahe''' – around; approximate; close to
-* '''maye''' – between; among
-* '''kaye''' – around; encircling; surrounding
-* '''tsaye''' – since; until; up to; as far as
-* '''paye''' – beyond; exceeding; farther than
-= conjunctions =
-Kala conjunctions are simple: any constituents can be joined with a conjunction. Informal variants appear in parenthesis.
-* '''kue''' – in the same way
-* '''ma''' – and; also; too; as well
-* '''nya’e''' – in order that
-* '''nye''' – because
-* '''ehe''' ('''me''')  – but; however; yet
-* '''ua''' ('''u''') – or (inclusive; X and/or Y)
-* '''uahe''' – instead of; rather than
-* '''ue''' – or; either (exclusive; either X or Y)
-* '''uenke''' ('''uek''') – nor; neither (exclusive; neither X nor Y)
-* '''yatli''' – therefore (if X then Y)
-* '''yema''' – both (both X and Y)
-In the coordinating role, a few of these have specific functions:
+== subordinate clauses ==
-* '''ha tala yatli na yala''' – <small>3SG come if.X.then.Y 1SG go</small> – ''If he comes then I go.''
+== negatives ==
-* '''mita pomalo uek mputsa ina''' – <small>dog apple-PL neither/nor cheese eat</small> – ''The dog is eating neither apples nor cheese.''
-= number & counting =
+== questions ==

User:Masako/pataka: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 08:37, 24 January 2022

introduction

phonology

consonants

free variation

Sound Changes

vowels

diphthongs

phonotactics

gemination

syllables

syllable chart

collating order

stress

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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