User:Masako/nkala
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sounds
consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | t | k | (ʔ) | |
| Affricate | ts~tʃ | ||||
| Fricative | s~ʃ | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | |||
| Approximant | l (t͡ɬ) | j | w |
vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Open | a |
nouns
Nouns can be marked for gender, number, size, and in several other ways.
- ka- - plural; several [PL]
- - - PL-dog-NOM - dogs
pronouns
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | wa- | kwa- |
| 2 | ni- | ki- / nki- |
| 3 | o- | ku- |
- The reflexive/reciprocal is marked by -nya-.
- kunyakala - ku-nya-kal-a - 3PL-REFL-speak-NPST - They speak to each other.
- onyananke - o-nya-n-ank-e - 3SG-REFL-see-NEG-PST - She did not see herself.
- The accusative/passive is marked by i-.
- iwana - i-wa-n-a - ACC-1SG-see-NPST - I am seen.
- ipikalanke - i-pi-kal-ank-e - ACC-2DU-speak-NEG-PST - You (two) were not spoken to.
NOTE: The dual pronouns pwa, pi (mpi), and pu are used infrequently.
verbs
- Pronominal prefix - VERB STEM - tense/aspect-modal
tenses
There are two tenses...nonpast, past.
- -a - non-past [NPST]
- wayema - wa-yem-a - 1S-eat-NPST - I eat.
- -e - past [PST]
- niyeme - ni-yem-e - 2S-eat-PST - You ate.
other modifiers
Various moods (or modals), aspects, and syntactic markers are used to add nuance and subtlety.
- -ak- - obligation [OBG]
- wasapaká - wa-sap-ak-á - 1SG-go-OBG-NPST - I should go.
- ninapakí - ni-nap-ak-í - 2SG-listen-OBG-PST - You should have listened.
- -ank- - negative [NEG]
- pumatankí - pu-mat-ank-í - 3PL.OBJ-kill-NEG-PST - They were not killed.
- nwanapanká - nwa-nap-ank-á - 1SG.OBJ-hear-NEG-NPST - I am not heard. | She/he doesn't hear/listen to me.
- -áts- - ability [ABIL]
- yimátsá - yim-ás-á - eat-ABIL-NPST - She/he is able to eat.
lexicon
These are listed by stem, and do not distinguish nominal and verbal meanings or usages.
- kál - say; tongue; voice; language; talk
- kalã (nkalu) - language; dialect
- mat - cut; kill; knife
- yim - eat; nourish; bread
- yimã - food; sustenance
examples
speak
- kál - speak
- wakálá - wa-kál-á - 1SG-speak-NPST - I speak.
- nikálí - ni-kál-í - 2SG-speak-PST - You spoke.
- kunyákálá - ku-nyá-kál-á - 3PL-REFL-speak-NPST - They speak to each other.
break
- tak - break
