User:Masako/pataka

Introduction

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.

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 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 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 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 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 pato
• kala – to speak, talk, converse; from Arabic takallama
• myonta – to allow, permit; from Finnish myöntää
• na – I, me; from Arabic ʾanā
• tsenka – orange; from Chinese chéng
• uasi – to take, get, acquire; from Lakota wasichu
• a – to be, exist, yes; from Japanese aru

So, some phrases can contain words from multiple natlangs:

• ta (ke) inun uasiye ka

2sg (O) drink-ACC take-PST Q

Did you take the drink?

• ta - Arabic ʾanta; ke - Chinese gè; inu - Hawaiian inu; uasi - Lakota wasichu; ka - Japanese か

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;

• masa - /ˈmaːsa/ → masako - /maːˈsako/
• tliyama - /tɬiːˈjama/ → tliyamalo - /tɬiːjaˈmalo/
• kam - /kaːm/ → kamyo - /ˈkaːmʲo/
• empahapak - /ɛᵐpaˈhaːpak/ → empahapayek - /ɛᵐpahaˈpaːjek/

Morphology

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/ - do Q - (What are you) doing?
• inanko - /iːna/ - eat-CONT - (I am) eating.
• tamatse - /tamaːˌt͡ʃɛ/ - good-seem - (That looks) good.
• ueha ka - /weːɦa kaː/ - want Q - (Do you) want (some)?
• nyasak - /ɲaːʃak/ - thank-NEG - 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 – 1sg-P.4sg do-PST – I did it. > [grammatical, formal]
• etla muyaye – P.4sg do-PST – (I) did it. >> It was done. > [grammatical, formal, passive]
• na muyaye – 1sg do-PST – I did (it). > [grammatical, informal]
• muyaye – do-PST – (I) did (it). > [semi-grammatical, idiomatic]
• muyye – /muːɟɛ/ – do-PST – (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).

	Kala	gloss	English
Singular [SG]	mita	dog	a/the dog
Plural [PL]	mita-m	dog-PL	(the) dogs
Paucal [PAU]	mita-mi	dog-PAU	(a) few dogs
Collective [COL]	tli-mita	COL-dog	(a) dog pack
Distributive [DIS]	mita-li [or -kua]	dog-DIS/INCL	each/every dog
Indefinite Mass [IM]	mita-mpa	dog-IM	many dogs

These endings can sometimes be combined to add nuance to the meaning, such as; tlimitam - COL-dog-PL - dog packs / packs of dogs; imitalin malo - PROX-dog-DIS-ACC be.brown – 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 - mountain - a mountain → yamalo - mountain-PL – mountains → tliyama - COL-mountain - a mountain range / range of mountains → tliyamalo - COL-mountain-PL - 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 - IMP be.loud-NEG - 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 -na and -ta 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.

• kuma - bear - a bear → kumana - bear-FEM - sow → kumata - bear-MASC - boar
• masa - deer - a deer → masana - deer-FEM - doe → masata - deer-MASC - stag
• uma - horse - a horse → umana - horse-FEM - mare → umata - horse-MASC - stallion

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.

Case	Suffix	Use
Nominative [NOM]	-Ø	indicates a syntactic core participant of the action, agent, force, or experiencer
Accusative [ACC]	-n	indicates a patient, theme or goal (used as Oblique occasionally), instrument, or experiencer
Genitive [GEN]	-yo	indicates alienable association or possession (see also te)
Dative [DAT]	-la	indicates the recipient/beneficiary of an action, or movement towards object
Locative [LOC]	-hue	indicates location or circumstance
Ablative [ABL]	-nte / -uai	indicates origin, source, or movement away from a location
Comitative [COM]	-mua	indicates instrument, or in company of something
Abessive [ABE]	-mue	indicates the lack or absence of something
Terminative [TERM]	-mpe	indicates the extent, finality, or limit (also Limitative)

Nominative

The nominative [NOM] is not marked [-Ø] and is in the absolutive form. It indicates a syntactic core participant of the action, agent, force, or experiencer.

• na kanyo

1sg-NOM ask

I ask.

• mita ina

dog-NOM eat

A/the dog eats.

Accusative

The accusative [ACC] is marked with the clitic -n and indicates a patient, theme or goal (used as Oblique occasionally), instrument, or experiencer.

• tlaka mitan anya

man-NOM dog-ACC see

A/The man sees a/the dog.

• mita kutsun ina

dog-NOM meat-ACC eat

A/the dog eats (the) meat.

Genitive

Genitive [GEN] -yo indicates alienable association or possession (see also te)

Dative

Dative/Lative [DAT] -tle / -le indicates the recipient/beneficiary of an action, or movement towards object

Locative

Locative [LOC] -hue indicates location or circumstance

Ablative

Ablative [ABL] -nte / -uai indicates origin, source, or movement away from a location

Comitative

Comitative [COM] -mua indicates instrument, or in company of something

Abessive

Abessive [ABE] -mue indicates the lack or absence of something

Terminative

Terminative [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.

Personal pronouns:

• na - 1st person
• ta - 2nd person
• ha - 3rd person
• tla - 4th person ("it", "one") (used for inanimate nouns)

Modifiers:

• -m - plural
• -nku - reciprocal (only attaches to plural pronouns)
• e- - patient
• -i - reflexive
• -yo - possessive

Other pronouns include:

• tlokua - everyone, everybody
• kola - someone, somebody; whomever, anyone, anybody
• tlok - no one, nobody
• nokua - everything
• nola - something; whatever, anything
• nok - nothing

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 1pl exclusive	nam na'am	enam ena'am	nami na'ami	namyo na'amyo	nanku 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-.

• neha anya

1s-P.3s see

I see her.

• kameta motoyek

3pl-P.2s remember-PST-NEG

They didn’t remember you.

• tametla yohauek

2pl-P.4s have-DES-NEG

You (all) don’t want to have it.

• nya tena tapya ka

for 2s-P.1s follow Q

Why are you following me?

A/P	1sg	2sg	3sg	4sg	1pl	1pl.EXCL	2pl	3pl	4pl
1sg	-	neta	neha	netla	-	-	netam	nekam	netlam
2sg	tena	-	teha	tetla	tenam	tena'am	-	tekam	tetlam
3sg	hena	heta	-	hetla	henam	hena'am	hetam	-	hetlam
4sg	tlena	tleta	tleha	-	tlenam	tlena'am	tletam	tlekam	-
1pl	-	nameta	nameha	nametla	-	-	nametam	namekam	nametlam
1pl.EXCL	-	na'ameta	na'ameha	na'ametla	-	-	na'ametam	na'amekam	na'ametlam
2pl	tamena	-	tameha	tametla	tamenam	tamena'am	-	tamekam	tametlam
3pl	kamena	kameta	-	kametla	kamenam	kamena'am	kametam	-	kametlam
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”.

• na'i sepaye

1s.REFL injure-PST

I hurt myself.

• ha'i tlela

3s.REFL bathe

She bathes herself.

• kanku ke onta nayo itsa

3pl.RECP O parent 1s.GEN love

My parents love each other.

• na'anku amyapak

1pl.EXCL.RECP like-ABIL-NEG

We (but not you) are not able to like each other.

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.

• tanakoli matakiye

fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST

Each one of the warriors killed himself.

• kanku ke tanakoli matakiye

3pl.RECP O fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST

The warriors killed each other [and nobody survived].

Determiners & Demostratives

The demonstratives can be prefixed to any noun to show deixis. Kala makes a three-way distinction. Typically there is a distinction between proximal or first person (objects near to the speaker), medial or second person (objects near to the addressee), and distal or third person (objects far from both).

• itla (i-) - this (near me)
• uatla (ua-) - that (near you)
• yetla (ye-) - that (over there)

Examples:

• imitami - PROX-dog-few - These few dogs
• yemitampa - DIST-dog-many - Those many dogs (over there)
• uamitali - MED-dog-each - Each dog (each of those dogs) (near you)

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

Correlatives

uatse

	Proximal i-	Medial ua-	Distal ye-	Inclusive -kua	Negative -k	Indefinite -la
mo (place)	hina here	uana there	yemua over there	mokua everywhere	mok nowhere	mola somewhere; anywhere
ko (person)	iko this person	uako that person	yeko that person (over there)	tlokua everyone	tlok no one	kola someone; anyone
uku (amount)	iku this much	uaku that much	-	kua all; every	ok none	ula some; any
ama (time)	ima now, at present	uama then; at that time	-	kuama always	amak never	tlama sometime; anytime
so (kind, type)	iso this kind	so'o that kind	yeso that kind (over there)	sokua all kinds	sok no kind (at all)	sola some/any kind
no (thing)	itla this	uatla that	yetla that (over there)	nokua everything	nok nothing; none	nola something; anything
to (manner, way)	yoto thus; like this; this way	uato that way	ato that way (over there)	tokua every way	tok no way	tola 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 active and the 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:

STEM-(SIZE/IMPORTANCE)-(MOOD)-(ASPECT)-(TENSE)-(NEGATIVE)

Example:

Verb Stem	Size/Importance	Mood	Aspect	Tense	Negative
empa	-hi	-pa	-nko	-ye	-k
run	DIM	ABIL	PROG	PST	NEG

• na empahipankoyek

1s run-DIM-able-PROG-PST-NEG

I was not able to keep jogging.

• na empahik

1s run-DIM-able-NEG

I don’t jog.

• na empankoye

1s run-PROG-PST

I was running.

• na empa’uk

1s run-ABIL-NEG

I can’t run.

• na empayepak

1s run-PST-ABIL-NEG

I couldn’t run.

• na empahahye

1s run-AUG-REC

I just sprinted.

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.

eme

	Kala	gloss	English
remote past	kamahi hinayeha or -hai	town-DIM be.here-REM	There was a village here (long ago). (before the lifetime of the speaker)
past	naka mita anyaye	woman dog see-PST	The woman saw the dog.
recent past	ota namyo akyayehi or -hye	father 1pl.GEN wake-REC	Our father just woke. (action just finished)
present	mita tahi yatsi	dog boy bite	The dog bites the boy.
future	naka tahi tlepatli	woman boy teach-FUT	The woman will teach the boy.
immediate future	na tlelatlihi or -tlai	1s bathe-IMM	I'll bathe soon. (within the day)
distant future	panam opuatliha	rain-PL end-DIS	The rains will end. (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 - now dog eat - The dog is eating right now.
• yomaye nam ina – yesterday 1pl eat – We ate yesterday.
• anyotli ha huato – year-FUT 3s move.about – He will move next year.
• semaye kamena ke mita yeta – week-PST 3pl-P.1s O dog give – (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.

• tso mikelo yetla inaye

already Michael DIST-4s eat-PST

Michael already ate that (before).

• tso maliya yetla inatli ama nam talatli

already Mary DIST-4s eat-FUT time 1pl arrive-FUT

Mary will have already eaten that (before) when we (will) arrive.

Aspect

There are four aspects in Kala. The progressive, also called the 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 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 inchoative aspect refers to the beginning of a state [INCH]. It is marked with -mu, from mula - "to begin; start; initiate". The frequentative aspect refers to a repeated action [FREQ]. It is marked with -nua, from nua - "frequent; often; regular".

	Kala	gloss	English
Continuous	na ke niye pukunko	1s O undergarment wear-CONT	I am wearing underclothes.
Frequentative	tlaka ke apua tlatonua	man O song recite-FREQ	The man recites the song repetitively.
Inchoative	nahi yotimu	girl play-INCH	The girl begins to play.
Perfective	kam inapua	3pl eat-PFV	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 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.

	Kala	gloss	English
Abilitative	na mokuyepak	1s sleep-PST-ABIL-NEG	I was unable to sleep.
Attemptative	neko ke panya matapya	cat O mouse kill-ATT	The cat is trying to kill the mouse.
Desiderative	otsokai ka'e moli yalaue	wolf-red toward forest go-DES	Redwolf wants/intends to go to the forest.
Dubitative	ha tsakahueke	3s home-LOC-DUB	I guess he is at home. lit: He is at home, supposedly.
Hortative	yalakya	walk-HORT	Let's go!
Necessitative	mita inahe	dog eat-NEC	The dog needs to eat.
Negative	naku nayo hinak	sister 1s-GEN be.here-NEG	My sister is not here.
Permissive	ta ke hina simamyok	2s O here sit-PERM-NEG	You are not allowed to sit here.
Precative	ke asi yetate	O salt give-PREC	Will you please pass me the salt?
Preparative	tahi mokusue	boy sleep-PREP	The boy is ready to sleep.
Propositive	ta mokune	2s sleep-PROP	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 - dog eat-PST-NEG - The dog did not eat.
• mita mokunke - dog sleep-NEG - 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.

	Kala	gloss	English
Visual [VIS]	kam ke yoti matsunya	3pl O game win-VIS	They won the game. (I saw it)
Auditory [AUD]	naku hayo ke metlamyanu	sister 3s.GEN O flute-CAUS-AUD	His sister plays the flute. (I heard it)
Hearsay [HSY] (reported speech)	kye ota tayo kupanko	HSY father 2s.GEN die-CONT	(it is said) Your father is dying.
Inferred [INFR]	kola ke katso kuhatsi	AG.INDEF O meal cook-INF	Someone is cooking a meal. (based on evidence)
Assumptive/Assertive [ASS]	ke maliya kantipuaho	O Maria cheat-PFV-ASS	Maria has been cheated. (I assert)

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.

• e…nakkan ke ameyo yohatsek

well queen O America have-seem-NEG

Well... America doesn’t really have a queen.

• ke motsa ya’o…a

O banana five yes

Mm hmm, (you want) five bananas.

• po…taye katso ka

so about meal Q

Anyway, what about dinner?

• ya kyo’a…nam tsipue

VOC quiet 1pl late

Hey, shut up, we’re late!

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.

• mita tahe yempa ina

dog under table eat

The dog is eating under the table.

• mita ke yempa tahe

dog table be.under

The dog is under the table.

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 (content and functional words), new words formed by derivation should be analyzed based on context. 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 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 -mya (from muya - "do, make, cause") or -la (from 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 -mpa (from mpa - "many; much; very"), or more commonly -hu (from 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 -n (from 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 -ko (from ko - "individual; person"). This suffix changes to -tlo when a 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 -nyo (from 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.

-mo (from 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

-su (from 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

-kyo (from 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

-sa (from sala - "chamber; room; section"). This is more specific than -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 -hi (from ahi - "few; small"). This becomes -ki after a syllable that contains a 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 -ha (from taha - "big; large; grand"). This becomes -ka after a syllable that contains a 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 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:

• mita tlaka anya

dog man see

The dog sees the man.

• tlaka mita anya

man dog see

The man sees the dog.

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.

• nta’i moku

baby sleep

The baby sleeps.

• sama nala

sun shine

The sun shines.

Transitive clauses follow a SOV pattern and grammatically require the object particle ke.

• ona ke matla kuha

mother O stew cook

(The) mother is cooking (the) stew.

• tasako ke masami yake

hunt-AG O deer-PAU pursue

The hunters are chasing some deer.

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.)

• mita hikya

dog old

The dog is old.

• nahi tayo aya

daughter 2s.GEN beautiful

Your daughter is beautiful.

The same phrases can be formed using the copula a, this is grammatical but bulky and jarring.

• mita hikya a

dog old COP

The dog is old.

• nahi tayo aya a

daughter 2s.GEN beautiful COP

Your daughter is beautiful.

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

• tahi inyak

boy hunger-NEG

The boy is not hungry.

• yohuaye ha ke samalo anyak

night-PST 3s O star-PL watch-NEG

She did not watch the stars last night.

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

1s O home-LOC for eat toward-MVT-FUT-NEG

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:

• eta tlahapok

P.2s leave-compel-NEG

You don't have to leave.

• eta tlahamyok

P.2s leave-PERM-NEG

You're not allowed to leave.

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].

ACTIVE

• na ke tanum yempahue moheye

1s O plate-PL table-LOC place-PST

I put dishes on the table.

• na ke topa muntaye

1s O bed rearrange-PST

I changed the bed.

• ha ke yona yomutli

3s O book read-FUT

She will read the book.

PASSIVE

• ke tanum yempahue moheye

O plate-PL table-LOC place-PST

Dishes were put on the table.

• ke topa ni naku nayo muntaye

O bed PASS sister 1s.GEN rearrange-PST

The bed was changed by my sister.

• ke yona ni kola yomutli

O book PASS AG.INDEF read-FUT

The book will be read by someone.

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:

Kala	meaning	example
pa	although; even; despite	She is here despite my protest.
po	so; thus	He seems nice so I ate with him.
ku	and; also; too	I see it and I see you.
ma	and; also; too	I see it and you.
ua	and/or; either	You may eat and/or drink.
ue	either X or Y	You may either eat or drink.
uenke (uek)	neither X or Y	You may neither eat nor drink.
yema	both X and Y	I ate both soup and bread.
yo	if X then Y; therefore	If she comes then we’ll eat.
ehe (me)	but ; however	I dislike him, but he is my brother.

• na ina ku ha moku

1s eat and 3s sleep

I am eating and she is sleeping.

• na ina ehe ha moku

1s eat but 3s sleep

I am eating but she is sleeping.

Note: ku is a clause level conjunction used to join to independent clauses.

• ta ina ua inu

2s eat and/or drink

You are eating and/or you are drinking.

• ntahi ke mita anya ma inamya

child O dog see and eat-CAUS

The child saw and fed the dog.

• ta ina ue inu

2s eat or drink

You are either eating or else you are drinking.

• ha tala yo na’am hinatlik

3s come therefore 1pl.EXCL be.here-FUT-NEG

If she comes we won’t be here.

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.

• tahi tohyo ku nahi pina

boy brave CL.CONJ girl intelligent

The boy is brave and the girl is intelligent.

• ima kihu saman ehe pakyotlai

now weather sun-ADJ however storm-IMM

Now the weather is sunny, but a storm will come soon.

Non-subject noun phrases are coordinated using the conjunction ma "and" (sometimes "with").

• yomaye na ke tanka ma pato anya

day-PST 1s O eagle CONJ duck see

I saw an eagle and a duck yesterday.

• kinti ke tsaka kamyo ma'a yosu sapotle ma siuem muya

squirrel O house 3pl.GEN with moss soft-REL and leaf.PL make

The squirrels make their nest comfortable with soft moss and leaves.

• ona ma ota kyosanku

mother and father fornicate-RECP

Mother and father have sex.

• ta ma'a na ke molihuelatli

2s with 1s O forest-LOC-MVT-FUT

You and I will go to the forest together.

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.

• ta ke nasi ua poma inamyo

2s O pear or apple eat-PERM

You may eat an apple or a pear.

• tsola ue otso itsikua mataye

fox either.X.or.Y wolf PROX-bird kill-PST

It must have been a fox or a wolf that killed this bird.

Contrastive coordination of noun phrases is achieved with ehe ("but; however") (or me more informally) if the noun phrases appear in subject position.

• yomaye mita'u ehek mitana ke kutsu kapya

day-PST dog-MASC but-NEG O meat receive

The male dog but not the female dog received meat yesterday.

• na itlaka mek inaka unya

1s PROX-man but-NEG PROX-woman know

I know this man, but not this woman.

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

woman-chief O maybe enemy-PL city-DIM attack worry-PST

The queen was worried that the enemies might attack the village.

• itomatle ke maliya noyamya

wood-carve O Mary happy-CAUS

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

2s O river toward-MVT-NEG if.X.then.Y O salmon grab-ABIL-NEG

You can't catch salmon if you don't go to the river.

• kam ka’e tsiua uahe moku ma ina yalayenko

3pl toward lake instead.of rest and eat walk-PST-CONT

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

verily O DIST-place person dance-CONT

There is dancing over there. (lit. it's true that people are dancing there)

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:

• na ke naka amyatle pesoue

1s O woman liked-REL meet-VOL

I want to meet a girl who is friendly.

• kam tananitle ke teki tlalitli

3pl fight-nice-REL O enemy defeat-FUT

They who fight well will defeat the enemy.

• naku nayo ke yakokua na tikuyetle inapua

sister 1s.GEN O strawberry-all 1s pick-PST-REL eat-PFV

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:

• aye tanako ke tlaka eha hyokatle mata

past fight-AG O man P.3s attack-REL kill

The warrior killed the man who attacked him.

• aye tanako ke ha tlaka hyokatle mata

past fight-AG O 3s man attack-REL kill

The warrior killed the man whom he attacked.

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

PROX-city-DIM P.1s be.born-PST-REL

This is the village in which I was born.

• ke taku tlakayo na tlayayetle nya teki matapua

O brother man-GEN 1s wed-PST-REL by enemy kill-PFV

The man whose brother I married has been killed by the enemy.

• iyoma ke yomatle ta’ena nya uapa talaue

today O day-REL 2s-P.1s for visit come-VOL

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

1s O girl like-ADV meet-VOL

I want to meet a girl who is friendly. (lit. a friendly girl)

• kola sima ke ina kapyatli

AG-INDEF sit O food receive-FUT

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

boy smart O task understand

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.

• ha kiha

3s tall

She is tall.

• tomua nya itsaka yasue

rent for PROX-house cheap

The rent for this house is cheap.

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.

• mita ina

dog eat

The dog eats.

• ta ke tlo’o anyaye

2s O elephant see-PST

You saw the elephant.

• mita ina ka

dog eat Q

Does the dog eat?

• ta ke tlo’o anyaye ka

2s O elephant see-PST Q

Did you see the elephant?

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

2s O beer or.EXCL water drink-VOL Q

Do you want to drink beer or water?

• uala ta ke sinka mataye ue empa ma koma ka

truly 2s O lion kill-PST or.EXCL flee CONJ hide Q

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:

• ko ta ka

person 2s Q

Who are you?

• to kihu ka

manner weather Q

What's the weather like?

• itla ka

this Q

What is this?

• to taku tayo ka

manner brother 2s.GEN Q

How’s your brother?

The other type contains a question word and is followed by ka:

kanyo	Kala	gloss	English
object	ke mita ina ka	O dog eat Q	What does the dog eat?
person	ko ina ka	person eat Q	Who eats?
possession	koyo mita ina ka	person-GEN dog eat Q	Whose dog eats?
manner	to mita ina ka	manner dog eat Q	How does the dog eat?
place	mo mita ina ka	place dog eat Q	Where does the dog eat?
reason	nye mita ina ka	reason dog eat Q	Why does the dog eat?
time	ama mita ina ka	time dog eat Q	When does the dog eat?
amount	uku mita ina ka	amount dog eat Q	How much/many does the dog eat?
which	ula mita ina ka	INDEF dog eat Q	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.”

• tsaka hayo ke nayo tahaka

house 3s.GEN O 1s.GEN big-AUG

His house is bigger than mine.

• iyapo ke tsaka tayo pakoha

PROX-building O home 2sg new-AUG

This building is newer than your home.

• ke mauam tayo yanahu

O flower.PL 2s.GEN yellow-EXT

Your flowers are the most yellow.

• mitala ke yetlam hikyahi

dog-INDEF O DIST-4pl old-DIM

Some dogs are less old (younger) than others.

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

Jane O mother other.than sister 3s.GEN love-AUG

Jane loves her mother more than her sister does.

• imukuhi ke asua uahe tleno telaniha

PROX-blade-DIM O leather instead.of timber cut-nice-AUG

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.

• ntahi ke ina ka’e mita yeta

child O food toward dog give

The child gives food to a dog.

• katiko nya ntakum tsani

old-AG for sibling-PL tell.story

The old man recites a story for the siblings.

• ikema nya ena enke

PROX-task for P.1s easy

This task is easy for me.

• teki ke kama na’amyo tanyaye

enemy O village 1pl.EXCL.GEN destroy-PST

The enemies destroyed our village.

Instrumental

Instrumental participants can be marked with ma’a (“with; using”), nya (“for; by”), or be syntactically indicated.

• ona ke ntahi ma’a tlimu nohya

mother O child with blanket wrap

The mother wraps the child in a blanket.

• tsani nya ntaha moyapua

PROX-task for P.1s easy

The story has been written by the elder.

Comitative

Comitative participants are marked with the preposition ma’a (“with; together”), and anticomitative (or abessive) participants are marked with the preposition mue (“without”).

• na ma’a amyako nayo ke masa tasa

1s with friend 1s.GEN O deer hunt

I'm hunting deer with my friend.

• ha ke naha mue ta ka’elaye ka

3s O river without 2s toward-MVT Q

Did she go to the river without you?

Locative

Locative participants can be marked with a variety of adverbial prepositions, most typically -hue (“at; in; on”). See also: 5.1) Locative verbs.

• taku nayo ke poti patlahue patsi

brother 1s.GEN O goat field-LOC herd

My brother is herding goats in the field.

• nam tlatsahue masetli

1pl fire-LOC dance-FUT

We will dance near (at) the fire.

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.

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!

VOC PROX-day fine.weather mild-middle

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:

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	103	(one) thousand
ta'o	2	two	pa'o	8	eight	mue'o	104	ten thousand
ha'o	3	three	sa'o	9	nine	kye'o	105	(one) hundred thousand
ma'o	4	four	ue'o	10	ten	nte'o	106	(one) million
ya'o	5	five	nye'o	100	(one) hundred	hue'o	109	(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

Kala	number	English	ordinal	multiple	fractional
na'o	1	one	kina'o first	tina'o once	-
ueta'o	12	twelve	kiueta'o twelfth	tiueta'o duodecuple	iueta'o a twelfth
yauema'o (yama'o)	54	fifty four	kiyama'o fifty fourth	tiyama'o 54 times	iyama'o a fifty fourth
nyetsa'o	106	one hundred (and) six	kinyetsa'o 106th	tinyetsa'o 106 times	inyetsa'o a 106th
katle'o	7000	seven thousand	kikatle'o seven thousandth	tikatle'o 7000 times	ikatle'o 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.

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.

• ta’o ma ya’o ke ka’o a

two and five O seven COP

2 + 5 = 7

• ka’o ma ta’ok ke ya’o a

seven and two-NEG O five COP

7 - 2 = 5

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.

• ka’o ma tita’o ke uema’o a

seven and multiple-two O fourteen COP

7 x 2 = 14

• hata’o ma tisa’ok ke ma’o a

thrity-two and multiple-eight-NEG O four COP

32 ÷ 8 = 4

Writing system

Kala conscripts are many and varied. Rather than multiple pages explaining each of them, 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 Hangul for writing Kala. It is written horizontally, in lines running from left to right. It can also be written vertically in columns.

consonants

• ㄱㄲㄴㄷㄸㄹㅁㅂㅃㅅㅆㅇㅈㅉㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ

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 prenasalization. Medial occurrences of nasalized syllables are written across syllables.

Example:

• 까바 - nkapa - alcohol; liquor / 단가 - tanka - eagle; hawk; falcon

• 감바 - kampa - Cheers! / 쁘라 - mpula - lamp; lantern; light

vowels

• ㅏ ᅶ ㅐ ㅑ ᅸ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ

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/

• ㅘ This is pronounced /wa/ in Korean because of the order of the vowels; however, because 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.

Examples

• 어하 거 거하 가먀터 하요 마아 타감 뱌사하먀여

eha ke keha kamyatle hayo ma’a tlakam pyasahamyaye

[eːɦa kɛ keːɦa kamʲaːt͡ɬe haːjo maːʔa t͡ɬaːkam pʲaʃahamʲaːjɛ]

P.3s O body stun-REL 3s.POSS with man-PL be.popular-AUG-CAUS-PST

Her bewitching body made her very popular with men.

Examples

• seko saye puani nahayo yalaye ma ke tsa’eto omoye

scorpion along bank river-GEN walk-PST and TOP across-way think-PST

A scorpion was walking along the bank of a river, wondering how to get to the other side.

• haye seko ke tsola anyaye

sudden scorpion TOP fox see-PST

Suddenly, he saw a fox.

• seko nya tsa’e naha amo ua’e muta tsolayo kanyoye

scorpion for across river carry on back fox-GEN ask-PST

He asked the fox to take him on his back across the river.

• tsola kye ak na’eta amo yatli ta’ena kute nuesitli

fox IND.SP COP.NEG 1SG-P.2SG carry if.X.then.Y 2SG-P.1SG sting drown-FUT

The fox said, “No. If I do that, you’ll sting me, and I’ll drown.”

• seko kye na’eta kute yatli nam nuesitli

scorpion IND.SP 1SG-P.2SG sting if.X.then.Y 1PL drown-FUT

The scorpion assured him, “If I do that, we’ll both drown.”

• tsola pue omo nkataye

fox after think agree-PST

The fox thought about it and finally agreed.

• ya seko ua’e muta tsolayo uayaye ma tsola yokomuye

VOC scorpion on back fox-GEN climb and fox swim-begin-PST

So the scorpion climbed up on his back, and the fox began to swim.

• me tsa’etsohue nahayo seko ke tsola kuteye

however across-half-LOC river-GEN scorpion TOP fox sting-PST

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

fox while poison TOP vein 3SG.POSS fill toward scorpion face IND.SP reason 2SG-P.1SG sting-PST Q now 2SG drown-FUT

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

scorpion IND.SP 1SG.REFL TOP way 1SG.POSS stop-able-PST.NEG

“I couldn’t help it,” said the scorpion. “It’s my nature.”

Lexicon

See also: Lexicon, Kala thematic lexicon, and Kala etymological lexicon.

A small sampling of Kala lexemes.

• pa - although; even though; even if
• 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]