User:Masako/nkala

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

A typical verb denotes the occurrence or abandonment of an action (run, stop), a relationship (have, lose), or a state (stand, melt). The majority of Kala verbs can also be nouns…so; they can be classified as either verbal nouns, or nominal verbs. Verbs can be marked with several suffixes to add or change meaning. Some of these can be optional and their sequence varied, but in general they should be ordered:

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

na empahipankoyek

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

I was not able to keep jogging.

There are three simple tenses in Kala, three aspects, and numerous modals that are marked on the verb; however verbs are not marked for number or person. The present tense is not marked in Kala:

tlaka ina

man eat

The man eats. / The man is eating.

The present tense is also used to indicate habitual actions and states, facts of nature, and as a “historical” tense, such as when relating a story that has been clearly established as occurring in the past:

sama nahe timu uaya

sun in east rise

The sun rises in the east.

na hakyohue kema

1SG university-LOC work

I work at the university.

The past tense is indicated by the suffix –ye from aye, meaning the past; “it was”:

tlaka inaye

man eat-PST

The man ate. / The man did eat.

The future tense is indicated by the suffix –tli from atli, meaning the future; “it will be”:

tlaka inatli

man eat-FUT

The man will/shall eat.

Certain adverbs and verbal constructions add precision to the tenses:

ima na ina – now 1SG eat – I am eating now.

yomatli na ina – day-FUT 1SG eat – I will eat tomorrow.

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 (or noun) 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!

Numbers

ye'o - zero

na'o - one

ta'o - two

ha'o - three

ma'o - four

ya'o - five

tsa'o - six

ka'o - seven

pa'o - eight

sa'o - nine

ue'o - ten; 10

nye'o - hundred; 100

tle'o - thousand; 10³

mue'o - ten thousand; 10⁴

kye'o - hundred thousand; 10⁵

nte'o - million; 10⁶

hue'o - billion; 10⁹