User:Masako/nkala: Difference between revisions
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<h1>Word order</h1> | <h1>Word order</h1> | ||
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 and a subject. The basic word order is always <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb" target="_blank">SOV</a>. | 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 and a subject. The basic word order is always <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb" target="_blank">SOV</a>.<br> | ||
<dl> | <dl> | ||
<dd><b>yohano empa</b><br> | <dd><b>yohano empa</b><br> | ||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
Plurals are not marked as frequently as in English and tend to only be marked for accuracy. They are never marked if another quantifying suffix is used, or if there is a number present. Plural nouns are formed by appending -<b>m</b> or -<b>lo</b> if the final syllable contains <b>m</b>. This does not alter the stress:<br> | Plurals are not marked as frequently as in English and tend to only be marked for accuracy. They are never marked if another quantifying suffix is used, or if there is a number present. Plural nouns are formed by appending -<b>m</b> or -<b>lo</b> if the final syllable contains <b>m</b>. This does not alter the stress:<br> | ||
<dl> | <dl> | ||
<dd><b>tsaka</b> - <b>tsakam</b><br> | <dd><b>tsaka</b> - <b>tsakam</b><br> | ||
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<br> | <br> | ||
Gender is typically not indicated. If necessary, nouns may be modified by -<b>ta</b> (male) or -<b>na</b> (female):<br> | Gender is typically not indicated. If necessary, nouns may be modified by -<b>ta</b> (male) or -<b>na</b> (female):<br> | ||
<dl> | <dl> | ||
<dd><b>uma</b> - <b>umata</b> - <b>umana</b><br> | <dd><b>uma</b> - <b>umata</b> - <b>umana</b><br> | ||
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<h1>Adjectives</h1> | <h1>Adjectives</h1> | ||
There are no adjectives as such in Kala. Those notions expressed as adjectives in English (such as big, tired) are expressed by verbs in Kala (be big, be tired). A verb expressing a state or quality can be used immediately following a noun to modify that noun. | There are no adjectives as such in Kala. Those notions expressed as adjectives in English (such as big, tired) are expressed by verbs in Kala (be big, be tired). A verb expressing a state or quality can be used immediately following a noun to modify that noun.<br> | ||
<dl> | <dl> | ||
<dd> | <dd><b>ntahi tsanka</b><br> | ||
<dd> | <dd><small>child (be)tire(d)</small><br> | ||
<dd> | <dd><i>tired child</i> or <i>The child is tired.</i> | ||
<dd> | <dd><br> | ||
<dd> | <dd><b>sima ketla</b><br> | ||
<dd><small>chair (be)red</small><br> | |||
<dd><i>red chair</i> or <i>The chair is red.</i> | |||
</dl> | </dl> | ||
Revision as of 12:15, 9 June 2015
Word order
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 and a subject. The basic word order is always <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject–object–verb" target="_blank">SOV</a>.
- yohano empa
- John run
- John runs. or John is running.
- maliya yohano anya
- Mary John see
- Mary sees John. or Mary is looking at John
Nouns
The roles of nouns in a sentence are indicated through prepositions and word order. There are no cases.
Plurals are not marked as frequently as in English and tend to only be marked for accuracy. They are never marked if another quantifying suffix is used, or if there is a number present. Plural nouns are formed by appending -m or -lo if the final syllable contains m. This does not alter the stress:
- tsaka - tsakam
- house - house-pl
- house - houses
- yama - yamalo
- mountain - mountain-pl
- mountain - mountains
Gender is typically not indicated. If necessary, nouns may be modified by -ta (male) or -na (female):
- uma - umata - umana
- horse - horse-MASC - horse-FEM
- horse - stallion - mare
Pronouns
There are no gender distinctions between "he" and "she". If gender is significant, one can use words like tlaka, naka, tahi, nahi (man, woman, boy, girl), etc.
- na - 1sg - I, me
- ta - 2sg - you
- ha - 3sg - he; she
- tla - 4sg - it (inanimate; also used for impersonal)
- kam - 3pl - they, them
- na'am - 1pl.EXCL - we (but not you)
Pronoun modifiers:
- -m - PL - plural
- -nku - RECP - reciprocal
- e- - P - patient (object)
- -i - REFL - reflexive
- -yo - POSS - possessive
Verbs
Adjectives
There are no adjectives as such in Kala. Those notions expressed as adjectives in English (such as big, tired) are expressed by verbs in Kala (be big, be tired). A verb expressing a state or quality can be used immediately following a noun to modify that noun.
- ntahi tsanka
- child (be)tire(d)
- tired child or The child is tired.
- sima ketla
- chair (be)red
- red chair or The chair is red.
Adverbs
Any verb in Kala can be used as an adverb by adding the suffix –n. It correlates to the English endings –ly, -ish, -ity, -ous, -ness, -ship, etc.:
tlaka mase noyan
man dance be.happy-ADV
The man dances happily.
na’eta anupak taman
1SG-P.2SG hear-able-NEG be.good-ADV
I cannot hear you well
Other adverbs, such as temporal adverbs, tend to precede the phrase they modify:
yomaye na kema
yesterday 1sg work
I worked yesterday.
Adverbs sometimes occur alone, functioning more or less as exclamations:
kyolon
quick-ADV
Quickly!
kyo'an
quiet-ADV
Quietly!
