Kala/affixes/use

See also: Kala lexicon & Kala word formation

These are the functional affixes used in Kala, by usage.

Verbal modifiers

Tense

• -hye marks Recent past tense (REC) (action just finished)

from aye + -hi

ota namyo akyahye - father 1pl.GEN wake-REC - Our father just woke.

• -tli marks the Future Tense (FUT)

from atli

naka tahi tlepatli - woman boy teach-FUT - The woman will teach the boy.

• -tlai marks the Immediate Future (IMM)

from atli and ahi

na tlelatlai - 1s bathe-IMM - I'll bathe soon. (within the day)

• -ye marks the Past Tense (PST)

from aye

naka mita anyaye - woman dog see-PST - The woman saw the dog.

Aspect

• -pua marks the Perfective (PFV)

from opua

kam inapua - 3pl eat-PFV - They have eaten.

• -nko marks the Progressive (PROG/CONT)

from nkoso

na ke niye pukunko - 1s O undergarment wear-CONT - I am wearing underclothes.

Mood

• -pa marks the Abilitative (ABIL)

from pala

na mokuyepak - 1s sleep-PST-ABIL-NEG - I was unable to sleep.

nam mue pana ke mauam anyapak - 1pl without rain O flower-PL see-ABIL-NEG - We cannot see the flowers without rain.

• -po marks the Compulsive (COMP)

from nipo

ke ntahi mokupoye - O child sleep-COMP-PST - The child was compelled to sleep.

• -pya marks the Attemptative (ATT)

from upya

neko ke panya matapya - cat O mouse kill-ATT - The cat is trying to kill the mouse.

ima ha inapyak - now 3s eat-ATT-NEG - She hasn't tried to eat yet.

• -te marks the Precative (PREC)

from teya

ke asi yetate - O salt give-PREC - Will you please pass me the salt?

simate - sit-PREC - Please, sit.

• -k marks Negation (NEG)

from nke

mita inak - dog eat-NEG - The dog doesn't eat.

ya simak - VOC sit-NEG - Don't sit.

This suffix is changes to -nke when preceding syllable contains /k/. See -nke

• -kyo marks "do ~ quickly" (quick) (This is a type of imperative.)

from kyolo

ua'ekyo - upward-quick - Get up!

kuama nam inakyo - always 1pl eat-quick - We always eat quickly.

• -nke marks Negation (NEG)

from nke

ha akanke - 3s drive-NEG - She doesn't drive.

ya etla tsekanke - VOC P.4s pull-NEG - Don't pull it.

This suffix is only used when the preceding syllable contains /k/. See -k

Evidentiality

• -tai marks Hearsay (HSY)

from ata

ha inatai - 3s eat-HSY - She eats (I hear). / (It's said) She is eating.

• -ke marks the Dubitative (DUB)

from ketsa

ha tsakahueke - 3s home-LOC-DUB - I guess he is at home. lit: He is at home, supposedly.

kam inyake - 3pl hunger-DUB - (It's doubtful that) they are hungry.

Nominal

Derivational

• -pe marks "piece; part of ~" (part)

from peya

mita ke inape yatsi - dog O food-part chew - The dog is chewing the morsel.

• -pu marks "clothing of/for ~" (wear)

from puku

naya tayo ke anapu nomo ka - wife 2sg.GEN O head-wear like Q - Does your wife like hats?

• -pyo marks "disease (of ~); ill; sick" (ill)

from pyoki

ha ke tsinipyo yoha - 3sg O sugar-ill have - He has diabetes.

• -pao marks "crooked; warped; unbalanced" (warp)

from payo

ke mita hayo anyapao yoha - O dog 3sg.GEN eye-warp have - Her dog has a crooked eye (Strabismus).

• -mpu marks "~ formed/shaped" (shape)

from umpu

na'am ke panu tsakampu inaye - 1pl.EXCL O cake house-shape eat-PST - We ate a house-shaped cake.

Gender

• -ta marks the Masculine (MASC)

from tlaka

mo ke umata hayo ka - place O horse-MASC 3s.GEN Q - Where's her stallion?

• -nta marks "relative; kin" (kin)

from nata

ntaku - sibling - sibling

ntaya - kin-marriage - spouse

This suffix is also used when gender is neutral, or ambivalent.

• -na marks the Feminine (FEM)

from naka

mo ke umana hayo ka - place O horse-FEM 3s.GEN Q - Where's his mare?

Quantity

• -pye marks the Excessive (EXC)

from kupye

itanu tahapye - PROX-plate big-EXC - This plate is too big.

• ti- marks a Multiple (MUL)

from tiha

tiueta'o - MUL-ten-two - duodecuple

• ki- marks Ordinal numbers (ORD)

from tsuki

kiha'o - ORD-three - third / 3rd

• -kua marks "all of ~; every ~" (all)

from kua

mitakua ina ma moku - dog-all eat and sleep - All dogs eat and sleep.

• -m marks the Plural (PL)

from ma

nam ke mitam yoha - 1pl O dog-PL have - We have dogs.

This suffix changes to "-lo" when the preceding syllable contains a /m/, /mp/, and sometimes a /p/, also, when the word begins with a vowel.

• -mi marks the Paucal (PAU)

from mi (originally from -m "plural" + -hi "diminutive")

yemua mitami moku - yonder dog-PAU sleep - A few dogs are asleep over there.

• tli- marks the Collective (COL)

from tatli

tlimita malo tala - COL-dog brown come - A pack of brown dogs is coming.

• -li marks "each; every" (each)

from oli

mitali inapua - dog-each eat-PFV - Each dog has eaten.

Quality

• -mpo marks "bad; unfavorable; unpleasant" (bad)

from mala

ke naku nayo kehampo - O sister 1s.GEN body-bad - My sister is infirmed.

Deixis

• ua- marks the Medial (MED)

from uatla

uamita malo - MED-dog brown - That brown dog (by you).

• ye- marks the Distal (DIST)

from yetla

yemitampa - DIST-dog-many - Those many dogs (over there).

• i- marks the Proximal (PROX)

from itla

imitami - PROX-dog-PAU - These few dogs (by me).