Kala

The Kala conlang...

• calendar
• lexicon
  • thematic lexicon
• phrases
• syllables
• word formation
• writing

Introduction

Word Order

The basic structure of a Kala sentence is:

AGENT--PATIENT--VERB (or SOV)

The agent is the person or thing doing the action described by the verb; The patient is the recipient of that action. 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, the only way to know who is seeing whom is by the order of the words in the sentence.

Comparisons

When things being compared have equal characteristics, the comparison of equality is used.

• mita kue tahi taha - dog like boy big - The dog is as big as the boy.
• mpa'a kue mosa niha - movie like book nice - The movie is as good as the book.

If two things are not equal, they are unequal.

• nanku ke manyo itlok - 1pl.RECP O height same-NEG - We are not the same height.
• ta kue na manyoha - 2sg like 1sg height-AUG - You are taller than I.

• ke no ta'o poku itlok - O thing two cost same-NEG - The two items do not cost the same.
• potonyo kue ninka mpahaka - photo-tool as television expensive-AUG - The camera is more expensive than the television.

Questions

There are two types of questions: Polar, those which may be answered "yes" or "no," and those which require explanations as answers. 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.
  • mita ina ka - dog eat Q - Does the dog eat?

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

• ke mita ina ka - O dog eat Q - What does the dog eat?
• ko ina ka - person eat Q - Who eats?
• koyo mita ina ka - person-POSS dog eat Q - Whose dog eats?
• to mita ina ka - manner dog eat Q - How does the dog eat?
• mo mita ina ka - place dog eat Q - Where does the dog eat?
• nye mita ina ka - reason dog eat Q - Why does the dog eat?
• ama mita ina ka - time dog eat Q - When does the dog eat?
• uku mita ina ka - amount dog eat Q - How much/many does the dog eat?
• ula mita ina ka - any dog eat Q - Which dog eats?

Borrowing

Kala borrows extensively from various natural languages. This is a very small sample of borrowings:

• kala – to speak, talk, converse; from Arabic takallama
• 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

Parts of Speech

Kala has three parts of speech, each with several subgroups. Nouns and verbs are substantive, while particles tend to be only functional.

1. noma - nouns
   1. nkalo - personal pronouns
   2. uatse - demonstratives
2. uati - verbs
   1. pusa - adverbials
   2. tatse - locative verbs (prepositions)
   3. keyo - descriptive verbs (adjectives)
3. peya - particles
   1. nita - interjections
   2. eka - affixes

Morphology

Nouns

Number

general plural

Kala does not require the plural be marked if it is understood through context, and only animate pronouns are marked, whereas inanimate nouns need not be marked. General plurals are formed with –m (or –lo if the final syllable contains m).

• mita / mitam - dog / dogs
• kuma / kumalo - bear / bears

mass nouns

Mass nouns include liquids, powders, and substances, such as maya (water), hyeka (sand), and tleno (wood). They do not normally require determiners or the plural. However, one may add these to indicate specific examples or different types:

• tlenom – woods (e.g. various kinds)
• mayam - waters (e.g. various locations)

collective

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).

• mita – dog / tlimita – pack of dogs
• yama – mountain / tliyamalo – mountain range
• tsaka – house / tlitsaka – neighborhood
• puku – clothing / tlipuku – wardrobe

Verbs

Mood

negative

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.

Particles

Conjunctions

• ma - and; also; too; as well
• ehe (me) - but; yet; however
• ua - or; either
• ue - either X or Y
• uenke (uek) - neither X nor Y
• yatli - therefore; if X then Y
• yema - both X and Y