User:Masako/pataka

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A short primer for Kala grammar. The full grammar can be found here:

Word order

SUBJECT - OBJECT - VERB

  • naka ke mita itsa
woman O dog love
The woman loves the dog.

Kala lacks morphological adjectives and instead uses attributive verbs.

  • ke tsaka taha
O house be.big
The big house / The house is big

Adverbs tend to precede the verb phrase they modify.

  • tsumun nam yokone
cautious-ADV 1pl swim-SUG
We should swim cautiously.

Kala lacks morphological prepositions and instead uses locational and relational verbs.

  • mita ke yempa tahe
dog O table be.under
The dog is under the table.

Nouns

Nouns are marked for number; plural and collective:

  • mita - dog - a dog
    • mitam - dog-PL - dogs
    • tlimita - COL-dog - a dog pack / a pack of dogs
    • tlimitam - COL-dog-PL - dog packs / packs of dogs

When the final syllable of a word contains an m, mp, and sometimes a p the plural marking changes to -lo.

  • yama - mountain - a mountain
    • yamalo - mountain-PL - mountains
    • tliyama - COL-mountain - a mountain range / range of mountains
    • tliyamalo - COL-mountain-PL - mountain ranges / ranges of mountains

Gender is not normally marked but can be with the endings -na and -ta to mark the feminine and masculine, respectively.

  • uma - horse - a horse
    • umana - horse-FEM - mare
    • umata - horse-MASC - stallion