User:Masako/nkala: Difference between revisions
m (→phonology) |
m (→phonology) |
||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
= phonology = | = phonology = | ||
'''kata''' has nine consonants (/p, t, k, s, m, n, l, j, w/) and five vowels (/a, e, i, o, u/). Stress is word final. | |||
''' | |||
== consonants == | == consonants == | ||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 300px;" | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 300px;" | ||
! | ! | ||
| Line 33: | Line 30: | ||
| j | | j | ||
|} | |} | ||
== vowels == | == vowels == | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Line 49: | Line 44: | ||
| colspan="2" |a | | colspan="2" |a | ||
|} | |} | ||
== syllable structure == | == syllable structure == | ||
All syllables are of the form (C)V(N), that is, optional consonant + vowel + optional final nasal, or V, CV, VN, CVN. | All syllables are of the form (C)V(N), that is, optional consonant + vowel + optional final nasal, or V, CV, VN, CVN. | ||
== phonotactics == | == phonotactics == | ||
A few syllables sequences are disallowed; /ji, wu, wo/. Also, a syllable-final nasal may not occur before /m/ or /n/ in the same root. | A few syllables sequences are disallowed; /ji, wu, wo/. Also, a syllable-final nasal may not occur before /m/ or /n/ in the same root. | ||
== allophony == | == allophony == | ||
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/. Because of its small phoneme inventory, '''kata''' 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/ as [z] or [ʃ] as well as [s], /l/ as [ɾ] as well as [l], and vowels may be either long or short. Both its sound inventory and phonotactics (patterns of possible sound combinations) are found in the majority of human languages and are therefore readily accessible. | 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/. Because of its small phoneme inventory, '''kata''' 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/ as [z] or [ʃ] as well as [s], /l/ as [ɾ] as well as [l], and vowels may be either long or short. Both its sound inventory and phonotactics (patterns of possible sound combinations) are found in the majority of human languages and are therefore readily accessible. | ||
Revision as of 05:11, 5 April 2018
This is kata, a simple language with vocabulary based on the most widely spoken languages and an easily understood, mostly analytic grammar.
phonology
kata has nine consonants (/p, t, k, s, m, n, l, j, w/) and five vowels (/a, e, i, o, u/). Stress is word final.
consonants
| Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |
| Plosive | p | t | k |
| Fricative | s | ||
| Approximant | w | l | j |
vowels
| Vowels | Front | Back |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Mid | e | o |
| Open | a | |
syllable structure
All syllables are of the form (C)V(N), that is, optional consonant + vowel + optional final nasal, or V, CV, VN, CVN.
phonotactics
A few syllables sequences are disallowed; /ji, wu, wo/. Also, a syllable-final nasal may not occur before /m/ or /n/ in the same root.
allophony
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/. Because of its small phoneme inventory, kata 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/ as [z] or [ʃ] as well as [s], /l/ as [ɾ] as well as [l], and vowels may be either long or short. Both its sound inventory and phonotactics (patterns of possible sound combinations) are found in the majority of human languages and are therefore readily accessible.
word order
kata has a strict word order. The basic word order is subject–verb–object.
nouns
determiners
pronouns
kata has three basic pronouns; wa (first person), ni (second person), and ko (third person). These words do not indicate number or gender, but may be modified to do so if necessary. -lo marks all nouns as plural, and the gender modifiers are -ku (masculine), and -ki (feminine). In cases of singular distinction of gender, koku ("he"), or koki ("she") can be reduced to simply ku and ki.
verbs
adjectives
adverbs
prepositions
conjunctions
questions
clauses
numbers
lexicon
| kata word | class | meaning | etymology |
|---|---|---|---|
| ki | pro | she; her | هي |
| ko | pro | it | هُوَ |
| ku | pro | he; him | هُوَ |
| ni | pro | you | 你 |
| wa | pro | I; me | 我 |
