User:Masako/pataka: Difference between revisions
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= introduction ['''soka'''] = | |||
This is the grammar of Kala. A personal constructed language based on aesthetic preferences and a desire to understand more deeply the linguistic and cognitive process. The name of the language is taken from the Arabic verb [''takallama''] meaning “to talk, to have a discussion or conversation”. This description of Kala is meant to be simultaneously simple and thorough as to engage the linguistically inclined yet be accessible to those less so. There are three basic parts of speech in Kala: noun, verb, and particle. | |||
== vowels == | == borrowing ['''kasu'''] == | ||
Kala borrows 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''] | |||
= phonology ['''oto'''] = | |||
The phonemic inventory is based on Classical Nahuatl while the syllable structure and vowels are based on the strict (C)V structure of Japanese, and the presence of prenasalized plosives is influenced by Bantu languages. | |||
== vowels ['''musa'''] == | |||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
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| || '''a''' || | | || '''a''' || | ||
|} | |} | ||
Kala has five vowels {{IPA|/i/}}, {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/o/}} and {{IPA|/u/}}. Each occurs in both stressed and unstressed syllables. | Kala has five vowels {{IPA|/i/}}, {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/o/}} and {{IPA|/u/}}. Each occurs in both stressed and unstressed syllables. Phonetic nasalization occurs for vowels occurring between nasal consonants or when preceding a syllable-final nasal, e.g. '''tsunka''' [ˈʧũŋka] ('bug'). | ||
=== diphthongs === | === diphthongs === | ||
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Both of the falling diphthongs, '''ai''' [a͜ɪ] and '''ao''' [a͜ʊ], as well as '''uai''' [ʷ~wa͜ɪ] and '''yao''' [ʲ~ja͜ʊ] only occur word finally, and very infrequently. | Both of the falling diphthongs, '''ai''' [a͜ɪ] and '''ao''' [a͜ʊ], as well as '''uai''' [ʷ~wa͜ɪ] and '''yao''' [ʲ~ja͜ʊ] only occur word finally, and very infrequently. | ||
== consonants == | == consonants ['''hapu'''] == | ||
Where "~" appears, it indicates [[WP:Free_variation|free variation]] between phonemes. | Where "~" appears, it indicates [[WP:Free_variation|free variation]] between phonemes. | ||
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=== nasalization === | === nasalization === | ||
Prenasalized plosives: /ᵐp~ᵐb/, /ⁿt~ⁿd/, /ᵑk~ᵑ/ | |||
=== palatalization === | === palatalization === | ||
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== stress == | == stress == | ||
== allophones == | == allophones ['''tonua'''] == | ||
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/. Kala 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], /ts/ as [dz] or [tʃ] as well as [ts], /s/ as [z] or [ʃ] as well as [s], /l/ as [ɾ] as well as [l], and vowels may be either long or short. | |||
== phonotactics == | == phonotactics ['''oto'u'''] == | ||
Kala has a fairly simple phonological system. It allows only syllables with maximally one initial and one final consonant. Consonant clusters only occur word-medially and over syllable boundaries, with the exception of prenasalized plosive which can start a word. | |||
=== syllable structure === | === syllable structure === | ||
= word order = | = word order ['''tsukimila'''] = | ||
The only strict rule of word order is that the verb must be placed at the end of a sentence (possibly followed by sentence-end particles). This is because Kala sentence elements tend to be marked with particles that identify their grammatical functions. Kala is a subject-object-verb (SOV) language (e.g., '''mikelo amenyatla onyo''' “Michael German studies”). In Kala, verbs and adjectives appear at the end of the sentence. All other elements such as nouns (e.g., subject and/or object), adverbs, and numbers, appear before verbs and/or adjectives. In addition, modifiers (e.g., adverbs, demonstratives, and relative clauses) appear before the modified words. | |||
For instance, let us consider the following English sentence: “Michael studies history at the library in the afternoon.” We know that “Peter” is the subject since it comes before the verb “studies,” and “history” is the object as it appears after the verb. Notice that extra elements such as “at the library” and “in the afternoon” are placed after the object. In addition, English prepositions always appear before nouns, as in “at the library.” However, the word order of Kala would be '''mikelo mosamohue ke saha onyo''' “Michael library-at history studies.” | |||
Consider another example: | |||
'''mikelo tsakahue ke katsoyotso ina''' - “Michael eats lunch at home” | |||
The locative suffix -'''hue''' marks '''tsaka''' (home) as the location. In addition, the object particle '''ke''' marks '''katsoyotso''' (lunch) as the object of the sentence. | |||
== context == | |||
In Kala the most important elements tend to cluster to the end of the sentence. The further the word is from the end of the sentence, the less important the element is and more likely it is to be dropped. In other words, what appears at the very end of the sentence (e.g., verbs) is most important. Consequently, Kala sentences that have no subject or object but just a verb or an adjective, such as in '''ina''' “eat,” are grammatically correct and natural in conversation. | |||
Here are more examples: | |||
* '''to ka''' - “How are you?” - <small>manner Q</small> | |||
* '''onyo ka''' - “What do you study?” - <small>study Q</small> | |||
* '''nyasa''' - “Thank you” - <small>thank</small> | |||
Notice that none of the above expressions contains the first or second person pronoun. What determines the omission is the context. Kala is a context-oriented language in that any contextually understood elements may be omitted unless they are indispensable. | |||
= root words = | = root words = | ||
Revision as of 08:01, 22 August 2015
introduction [soka]
This is the grammar of Kala. A personal constructed language based on aesthetic preferences and a desire to understand more deeply the linguistic and cognitive process. The name of the language is taken from the Arabic verb [takallama] meaning “to talk, to have a discussion or conversation”. This description of Kala is meant to be simultaneously simple and thorough as to engage the linguistically inclined yet be accessible to those less so. There are three basic parts of speech in Kala: noun, verb, and particle.
borrowing [kasu]
Kala borrows 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]
phonology [oto]
The phonemic inventory is based on Classical Nahuatl while the syllable structure and vowels are based on the strict (C)V structure of Japanese, and the presence of prenasalized plosives is influenced by Bantu languages.
vowels [musa]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Open | a |
Kala has five vowels /i/, /e/, /a/, /o/ and /u/. Each occurs in both stressed and unstressed syllables. Phonetic nasalization occurs for vowels occurring between nasal consonants or when preceding a syllable-final nasal, e.g. tsunka [ˈʧũŋka] ('bug').
diphthongs
Both of the falling diphthongs, ai [a͜ɪ] and ao [a͜ʊ], as well as uai [ʷ~wa͜ɪ] and yao [ʲ~ja͜ʊ] only occur word finally, and very infrequently.
consonants [hapu]
Where "~" appears, it indicates free variation between phonemes.
- Nasals: m – /m/, n – /n/, ny – /ɲ/
- Plosives: p – /p~b/, t – /t~d/, k – /k~g/, ‘ /ʔ/
- Affricates: ts – /t͡s~t͡ʃ/, tl – /t͡l~ t͡ɬ/
- Continuants: s – /s~ʃ/, h – /h~ɦ/, l – /l~r/
- Semivowels: u – /w/, y – /j/
labialization
Labialized consonants: /pʷ/, /kʷ/, /mʷ/, /nʷ/, /sʷ/, /hʷ/, /t͡ʃʷ/
nasalization
Prenasalized plosives: /ᵐp~ᵐb/, /ⁿt~ⁿd/, /ᵑk~ᵑ/
palatalization
Palatalized consonants: /pʲ/, /kʲ/, /mʲ/, /hʲ/
stress
allophones [tonua]
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/. Kala 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], /ts/ as [dz] or [tʃ] as well as [ts], /s/ as [z] or [ʃ] as well as [s], /l/ as [ɾ] as well as [l], and vowels may be either long or short.
phonotactics [oto'u]
Kala has a fairly simple phonological system. It allows only syllables with maximally one initial and one final consonant. Consonant clusters only occur word-medially and over syllable boundaries, with the exception of prenasalized plosive which can start a word.
syllable structure
word order [tsukimila]
The only strict rule of word order is that the verb must be placed at the end of a sentence (possibly followed by sentence-end particles). This is because Kala sentence elements tend to be marked with particles that identify their grammatical functions. Kala is a subject-object-verb (SOV) language (e.g., mikelo amenyatla onyo “Michael German studies”). In Kala, verbs and adjectives appear at the end of the sentence. All other elements such as nouns (e.g., subject and/or object), adverbs, and numbers, appear before verbs and/or adjectives. In addition, modifiers (e.g., adverbs, demonstratives, and relative clauses) appear before the modified words.
For instance, let us consider the following English sentence: “Michael studies history at the library in the afternoon.” We know that “Peter” is the subject since it comes before the verb “studies,” and “history” is the object as it appears after the verb. Notice that extra elements such as “at the library” and “in the afternoon” are placed after the object. In addition, English prepositions always appear before nouns, as in “at the library.” However, the word order of Kala would be mikelo mosamohue ke saha onyo “Michael library-at history studies.”
Consider another example: mikelo tsakahue ke katsoyotso ina - “Michael eats lunch at home”
The locative suffix -hue marks tsaka (home) as the location. In addition, the object particle ke marks katsoyotso (lunch) as the object of the sentence.
context
In Kala the most important elements tend to cluster to the end of the sentence. The further the word is from the end of the sentence, the less important the element is and more likely it is to be dropped. In other words, what appears at the very end of the sentence (e.g., verbs) is most important. Consequently, Kala sentences that have no subject or object but just a verb or an adjective, such as in ina “eat,” are grammatically correct and natural in conversation.
Here are more examples:
- to ka - “How are you?” - manner Q
- onyo ka - “What do you study?” - study Q
- nyasa - “Thank you” - thank
Notice that none of the above expressions contains the first or second person pronoun. What determines the omission is the context. Kala is a context-oriented language in that any contextually understood elements may be omitted unless they are indispensable.
