User:Masako/pataka

intro

Kalo is intended to be a minimalist artlang, not an auxlang. It draws primarily on vocabulary from the five most spoken languages in the world; Mandarin, Spanish, English, and Arabic (Hindi is used sparingly although it is spoken by more speakers than Arabic). The grammar is mostly isolating with very few elements of inflection, mostly to show plurality or possession.

Kalo is NOT meant to mimic, replace, or be inspired by Toki Pona or any IAL. Any similarities are based on design aesthetic coincidences and the minimalist nature of the language.

phonology

kalo has nine consonants (/p, t, k, s, m, n, l, j, w/) and five vowels (/a, e, i, o, u/). Stress is word final.

consonants

	Labial	Coronal	Dorsal
Nasal	m	n
Plosive	p	t	k
Fricative		s
Approximant	w	l	j (y)

vowels

Vowels	Front	Back
Close	i	u
Mid	e	o
Open	a

diphthongs

There are two diphthongs [ai̯] ai, and [au̯] au. These are rare and typically only occur word-finally.

syllable structure

All syllables are of the form (C)V(N), that is, optional consonant + vowel + optional final nasal, or V, CV, VN, CVN.

phonotactics

A few syllables sequences are disallowed; /ji, wu, wo/. Also, a syllable-final nasal may not occur before /m/ or /n/ in the same root.

syllables

a	ka	sa	ta	na	pa	ma	ya	la	wa
i	ki	si	ti	ni	pi	mi		li	wi
u	ku	su	tu	nu	pu	mu	yu	lu
e	ke	se	te	ne	pe	me	ye	le	we
o	ko	so	to	no	po	mo	yo	lo

writing

Kalo Hangul

If desired, an adaptation of Hangul may be used to write Kalo.

• ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ

k n t l m p s -

• ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅘ ㅛ ㅜ ㅝ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ

a ya e ye o wa yo u we wi yu - i

Examples

• 와로 너 고머 사

walo ne kome sa

1pl NEG eat FUT

We will not eat.

Kalo Katakana

allophony

The nasal at the end of a syllable can be pronounced as any nasal stop, though it is normally assimilated to the following consonant. That is, it typically occurs as an [n] before /t/ or /s/, as an [m] before /p/, as an [ŋ] before /k/, and as an [ɲ] before /j/. Because of its small phoneme inventory, kalo 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/ as [z] or [ʃ] as well as [s], /l/ as [ɾ] as well as [l], and vowels may be either long or short. Both its sound inventory and phonotactics (patterns of possible sound combinations) are found in the majority of human languages and are therefore readily accessible.

Syntax

Classical Arabic is primarily VSO, but MSA (Modern Standard Arabic) tends to be SVO, favoring full agreement over partial. Chinese is classified as an SVO language. Transitive verbs precede their objects in typical simple clauses, while the subject precedes the verb. Spanish unmarked word order for affirmative declarative sentences is SVO; however, as in other Romance languages, in practice, word order is mostly variable. English word order is almost exclusively SVO. Hindi is primarily an SOV language.

Based on the above information about the main source languages for Kalo, it is primarily an SVO (subject-verb-object) language. Modifiers generally follow what they modify, as do prepositional phrases and subordinate clauses.

• wa kome - 1S eat - I eat. (SV)

• wa amo ko - 1S love 3S - I love her. (SVO)

• o mala amo - DO woman love - The woman is loved. (OV)

questions

The interrogative particle ma (taken from Chinese (嗎) is used in conjunction with various nouns, adverbs, and adjectives to form specific questions.

non-polar questions

• ma - what; which
• ma ko - who, whom
• ma koyo - whose, of whom
• ma tenpo - when

• ma loka - where
• ma moto - how
• ma laka - how much, how many
• ma sapa - why

polar questions

Any statement can become a polar question by adding the interrogative particle ma at the end of the sentence.

• wa wite le kasa

1S see PST house

I saw the house.

• ni wite le kasa ma

2S see PST house Q

Did you see the house?

Nouns

Nouns only decline for number and possession. They are altered with -lo to show plurality, and possessiveness with -yo.

pronouns

kalo has three basic pronouns; wa [1sg], ni [2sg], and ko [3sg]. These do not indicate gender. These can be made plural using the suffix "-lo", and possessive with "-yo".

	singular	plural	possessive
1st person	wa I; me	walo we; us	wayo my; mine; our(s)
2nd person	ni you	nilo you (all)	niyo your(s)
3rd person	ko he; she; him; her; it	kolo they; them; those	koyo their(s)

• walo wite ni - 1pl see 2s - We see you.

• kolo ne kono wa - 3pl NEG know 1s - They don't know me.

Verbs

Verbs do not change and are only ever modified by particles. There are three basic tenses in Kalo, past, present, and future. The simple present is not marked, the past is marked by le from the Chinese particle (了), and the future is marked by sa from the Arabic construction (سَـ).

tense/mood	particle	example	translation
present	-	wa ila	I go
past	le	wa ila le	I went
future	sa	wa ila sa	I will go
conditional	kisa	wa ila kisa	I would go

• wa kome le - 1s eat PST - I ate.
• aki koyo kome - brother 3sg.GEN eat - His brother eats/is eating.
• nilo ne wite sa ko - 2pl NEG see FUT 3sg - You all will not see her.

Uncertainty is marked by ki, kisa, or kile. These are taken from Spanish (quizá) and used across the three basic tenses. It can also act as a subordinating conjunction, and conditional constructions, “if, whether”. It is also used to express possibility or probability.

• tela wa ki ni wite ko - tell 1s if 2s see 3s - Tell me if you can see her.
• ki ni amo yawe te pu yuma ne inpo - if 2sg like weather of today NEG important - Whether you like today’s weather does not matter.
• kisa pu yuma yuwa - maybe this day rain - It may rain (later) today.

positional verbs

Kalo does not use prepositions, but instead uses positional verbs as auxiliaries. These are also used as temporal adverbs in certain situations.

• yu - in; at; within; inside; during; between | from (于)
• ila - be toward; at; in the direction of; go; walk; travel | from (إلى)

Particles

determiners

Determiners in kalo precede the noun they modify.

deixis

• pu - this; these
• su - that; those

amount

• aku - many; much (one hundred)
• kula - all; every; each
• ne - no; none; zero
• poka - some; several; a few

• meno - less; fewer / few; a little
• maso - more

other-ness

• asi - such
• ayo - whichever; whatever
• oto - other
• tonye - same

Number

Kalo	number	English	Kalo	number	English
sunya	0	zero	na	7	seven
wa	1	one	pa	8	eight
li	2	two	nun	9	nine
san	3	three	ye	10	ten
si	4	four	aku / -ku	100	(one) hundred
pen	5	five	mila	1000	(one) thousand
we	6	six

When numbers one through ten occur independently, the indicator "ke" precedes the number.

• ko yo le o kasa ke li

3s have PST O house NUM two

She had two houses.

• wa wite o nano ke si

1s see O man NUM four

I see four men.

Higher Numbers

• yewa - 11; eleven
• yeli - 12; twelve
• liye - 20; twenty
• liyesi - 24; twenty-four
• kuyeli - 112; one-hundred-twelve
• sankuweyepen - 365; three-hundred-sixty-five

lexicon

The working lexicon for Kalo.

• ARA - Arabic
• ELL - Greek
• ENG - English
• FRE - French
• GER - German
• HIN - Hindi

• JPN - Japanese
• KOR - Korean
• PIE - Proto-Indo-European
• SPA - Spanish
• TUR - Turkish
• ZHO - Mandarin

• adj - adjective
• n - noun
• num - number/numeral
• part - particle
• prep - preposition
• pro - pronoun
• v - verb

ka

• kasa /ˈka.sa/ from SPA casa

n - house; building

v - dwell; reside

• kan/a /ˈka.na/ from ARA كان

n - existence; occurrence

v - be; exist; occur

• kai /kaɪ̯/ from ZHO 該

v - should; ought to; need to; have to

• kisa /ˈki.sa/ from SPA quizá

part - perhaps; maybe; if; conditional particle [COND]

• kula /ˈku.la/ from ARA كل

n - all; whole; entire; every; complete; each

• kute /ˈku.te/ from FRE écouter

v - listen; hear

• kun /kun/ from SPA/ZHO con/跟

prep - with; by means of

v - use; employ

• ke /ke/ from ZHO 個

part - number marker

• ko /ko/ from JAP 個

n - person; individual

pro - he; she [3sg]

• kono /ˈko.no/ from SPA conocer

n - knowledge; awareness; understanding; recognition

v - know; understand; be aware (of); recognize

• kome /ˈko.me/ from SPA comer

v - eat; consume; drink

• koyo /ˈko.jo/ from KALO

part - whose; of who(m)

sa

• sa /sa/ from ARA سَـ

part - future tense particle [FUT]

• saka/na /ˈsa.ka.na/ from ARA سخن

v - be hot; be warm; burn

n - heat; warmth / fire

• san /san/ from ZHO 三

num - three; 3

• sana /ˈsa.na/ from ARA سنة

n - year; 365 days

• sapa /ˈsa.pa/ from ARA سبب

n - cause; reason; purpose; rationale; motive

• salama /sa.ˈla.ma/ from ARA سلم

n - peace; calm; tranquility; quiet

v - be peaceful; be calm

intj - Peace! Hey! Hi!

• sawa /ˈsa.wa/ from ARA زوج

n - spouse; husband; wife; sweetheart; mate

v - marry

• si /si/ from ZHO 四

num - four; 4

• siya /ˈsi.ja/ from ZHO 下

prep - below; under; beneath

v - be under; be lower

• su /su/ from TUR şu

part - that; those (over there)

• sunya /ˈsun.ja/ from HIN शून्य

num - zero; 0

n - nothing

v - be empty; be void

• se /se/ from SPA se

pro - reflexive / reciprocal pronoun

• sosa /ˈso.sa/ from SPA salsa

n - juice; sauce; gravy; dressing

ta

• ta /ta/ from ZHO 大

v - be large; big; grand

• tanka /ˈtaŋ.ka/ from ENG/GER thank/danke

v - to thank; show appreciation; express gratitude

part/intj - thank you; thanks

• tapo /ˈta.po/ from ZHO 打破

v - damage; wreck; break; destroy

n - destruction; damage

• tipa /ˈti.pa/ (or tupa /ˈtu.pa/) from ARA طيب (or טוב)

v - be good; pleasant; agreeable; nice; sweet; OK

intj - great! good! thanks! OK! cool! yay!

• tiya /ˈti.ja/ from SPA tía

n - aunt/uncle; extended family

• te /te/ from SPA/ZHO de/的

v - to move away from

prep - of; from

• tenpo /ˈtem.po/ from SPA tiempo

n - time; moment; period

• tela or talo /ˈte.la/ or /ˈta.lo/ from ENG tell

n - language; talk; speech

v - talk; speak; discuss; say; tell

• tonpa /ˈtom.pa/ from ZHO 同胞

n - sibling; compatriot; friend

• tonye /ˈto.ɲe/ (or ton /ton/) from ZHO 同一

v - be identical; same; equivalent; equal

na

• na /na/ from JPN なな

num - seven; 7

• nai /naɪ/ from ZHO 內

v - be inside; within

prep - inside; within; during; while

• nano /ˈna.no/ from ZHO 男

n - man; male

• nama /ˈna.ma/ from ARA نام

v - sleep; rest; relax

• naya /ˈna.ja/ from HIN नया

v - be new; fresh; young

• nalu /ˈna.lu/ from JPN なる

v - succeed; finish; complete; accomplish; become; turn into

• ni /ni/ from ZHO 你

pro - you [2sg]

• nun /nun/ from PIE h₁néwn̥

num - nine; 9

• ne /ne/ from ENG nay

part - no; not; negative [NEG]

• nesi /ˈne.si/ from SPA necesitar

v - need; require; must

n - obligation; need

• nen/ka /ˈnen.ka/ from ZHO 能

v - be able to; be capable; be possible

n - potential; possibility; capability

• note /ˈno.te/ from SPA noche

n - night; darkness

pa

• pa /pa/ from ZHO 八

num - eight; 8

• pan /pan/ from SPA/ZHO pan/飯

n - bread; food; sustenance

• pala /ˈpa.la/ from SPA palabra

n - word; morpheme; lexeme

• pina /ˈpi.na/ from ARA ابن

n - child; offspring; kid

• pu /pu/ from TUR bu

part - this; these (here)

• pula /ˈpu.la/ from HIN बुरा

n - evil

v - be bad; spoiled; be broken; to break down; be wicked; be evil

• pen /pen/ from ELL πέντε

num - five; 5

• po /po/ from SPA por

prep - by; for; [be] about

v - [go] through; [move] across

• poka /ˈpo.ka/ from SPA poca

v - be small; little

v - be few; less

• ponte /ˈpon.te/ from ENG ponder

v - think; ponder; consider; weigh

n - thought; idea; consideration

• pone /ˈpo.ne/ from SPA poner

v - to put, to place, to set

ma

• ma /ma/ from ZHO 嗎

part - interrogative particle [Q]

• maka /ˈma.ka/ from ENG make

n - cause; action; happening

v - do; make; cause; happen

• maso /ˈma.so/ from SPA más

part - more; again

n - layer; repetition; addition

v - add; repeat; layer

• mala /ˈma.la/ from ARA امرأة

n - woman; female; wife

• mila /ˈmi.la/ from SPA mil

num - thousand; 1000

• muki /ˈmu.ki/ from ARA مهم

n - importance; significance

v - be important; matter

• muna /ˈmu.na/ from ENG moon

n - moon; month

• me /me/ from FRE mais

part - but; however; although

• moto /ˈmo.to/ from SPA modo

n - mood; manner; way; method

ya

• ya /ja/ from ARA يا

part - vocative marker [VOC]; hey; let's ~

• yati /ˈja.ti/ from ARA يد

n - hand; arm

v - give; transfer

• yapu /ˈja.pu/ from ARA عفا

n - pardon; excuse; forgiveness

v - pardon; excuse; forgive

• yame /ˈja.me/ from ARA جمع

n - collection; gathering; group; set

v - gather; collect; assemble; unite

• yu /ju/ from ZHO 于

v - be in; at; out of

prep - in; at; to; by; than; out of

• yuma /ˈju.ma/ from ARA يوم

n - day; daylight; 24 hour period

• ye /je/ from KOR 열

num - ten; 10

• yeko /ˈje.ko/ from ZHO 以后

prep - back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later

adv - from now on; henceforth

• yo /jo/ from ZHO 有

v - have; possess; carry; hold; keep

la

• laka /ˈla.ka/ from ARA رقم

n - number; digit; amount

v - count; enumerate

• lata /ˈla.ta/ from SPA lata

n - box; bucket; basket; container; vessel

v - carry; tote; transport

• li /li/ from ZHO 兩

num - two; double; duo

pro - some; a few

• le /le/ from ZHO 了

part - past tense marker [PST]

• loka /ˈlo.ka/ from SPA local

n - place; location; point; spot

wa

• wa /wa/ from ARA/ZHO واحد/我

pro - I; me [1sg]

num - one; 1; single

v - be alone; be singular

• wan /wan/ from ENG want

v - want; desire; wish for

• waya /ˈwa.ja/ from HIN वयस्क

v - grow; mature; develop

n - adult; mature thing

• wite /ˈwi.te/ from PIE weyd

v - look; see; observe; watch; read

• wino /ˈwi.no/ from SPA vino

n - alcohol; beer; wine

v - drink ~

• we /we/ from PIE swéḱs

num - six; 6

• weko /ˈwe.ko/ from SPA hueco

n - door, hole, orifice, window; port

• wento /ˈwen.to/ from SPA viento

n - air; wind; void; essence; spirit

• wela /ˈwe.la/ from SPA fuera

prep - outside; exterior

v - leave; exit

a

• aku (-ku) /ˈa.ku/ from JPN ひゃく

n - a very many, lots, a lot; much

num - hundred; 100

• alima /a.ˈli.ma/ from ARA علم

v - to discern, to find out, to learn

n - learning; education; knowledge

• amo /ˈa.mo/ from SPA amor

n - love; affection; adoration

v - love; adore; like

• ante /ˈan.te/ from SPA ante

n - front side; chest; fore area

prep - before; in front; forward; ahead

• asi /ˈa.si/ from SPA así

part - like this/that; as [such]; thus; so

• awa /ˈa.wa/ from ARA أو

part - either; or; other

• ayo /ˈa.jo/ from ARA أي

part - whichever; whatever; something [INDEF]

• e /e/ from SPA/ZHO e/和

part - and; also; too

• ila /ˈi.la/ from ARA إلى

prep - toward; at; in direction of

v - go (toward); walk; travel

• o /o/ from JPN を

part - direct object particle

phrasebook

• wikitravel.org/en/Spanish_phrasebook
• en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Phrasebooks_by_language

Essentials

• ola - Used for "hello; goodbye; farewell; welcome" (analogous to aloha)

• kan/a - "yes; it is"
• ne - "no; it is not"

• yapu wa - "Excuse me."
• nenka ma - "Please." [lit: is (it) possible?]

by extension "Do you mind?"

• tanka (ta) - "Thank you (very much)."
• tipa - "(That's) OK."

Greetings & Goodbyes

• ola yuma - "Good morning/day/afternoon"
• ola note - "Good evening/night"
• salama - "Hey/Hi/Hello/Bye"

Civilities

• moto (niyo) ma - manner 2s.POSS Q - How are you?
  • tipa - "Good/OK/Fine."
  • ... - "Not bad."

• tenpo ta ne wite - time big no see - Long time no see