Kala

From FrathWiki
Revision as of 04:07, 7 September 2017 by Masako (talk | contribs) (→‎Tense)
Jump to navigationJump to search

The Kala conlang...

Orthography

  • Kala conscripts are many and varied. Rather than multiple pages explaining each of them, this page serves as a working list with a consistent example across each script. The most commonly used script is the Hangul adaptation for Kala.

Morphology

Kala is a mostly agglutinative language that makes extensive use of compounding, incorporation and derivation. That is, it can add many different prefixes and suffixes to a root until very long words are formed, and a single word can sometimes constitute an entire sentence.

Numbers

Kala number English Kala number English Kala number English
ye'o 0 zero tsa'o 6 six nya'o 500 five hundred
na'o 1 one ka'o 7 seven tle'o 103 (one) thousand
ta'o 2 two pa'o 8 eight mue'o 104 ten thousand
ha'o 3 three sa'o 9 nine kye'o 105 (one) hundred thousand
ma'o 4 four ue'o 10 ten nte'o 106 (one) million
ya'o 5 five nye'o 100 (one) hundred hue'o 109 (one) billion

Forming Larger Numbers

  • uena'o - eleven / 11
  • taue'o - twenty / 20
  • nyeka'o - one hundred seven / 107
  • hanyetauetsa'o (long form) / hatatsa'o (short form) - three hundred twenty six / 326
  • tsatletauema'o - six thousand and twenty four / 6024

Other Number Forms

Kala number English ordinal multiple fractional
na'o 1 one kina'o
first
tina'o
once
-
ueta'o 12 twelve kiueta'o
twelfth
tiueta'o
twelve times
iueta'o
a twelfth
yauema'o
(yama'o)
54 fifty four kiyama'o
fifty fourth
tiyama'o
54 times
iyama'o
a fifty fourth
nyetsa'o 106 one hundred (and) six kinyetsa'o
106th
tinyetsa'o
106 times
inyetsa'o
a 106th
katle'o 7000 seven thousand kikatle'o
seven thousandth
tikatle'o
7000 times
ikatle'o
1/7000

Math Operations

  • ha'o ma ya'o ke pa'o a
3 and 5 O 8 COP
Three plus five is eight.
  • tsa'o ma ya'ok ke na'o a
6 and 5-NEG O 1 COP
Six and five-less is one.
  • ha'o ma tima'o ke ueta'o a
3 and multiple-4 O 12 COP
Three times four is twelve.
  • tama'o ma ha'o ke pa'o yeka
24 and 3 O 8 division
Twenty-four divided by three is eight.

Verbs

Aspect

There are four aspects in Kala. The progressive, also called the continuous [CONT], this is used to express an incomplete action or state in progress at a specific time. It is marked with -nko, from nkoso - "to continue; proceed; progress". The perfective aspect indicates that an action is completed [PFV]. It is often translated by the English present perfect (have done some-thing). It is marked with -pua, from opua - "to end; finish; complete". The inchoative aspect refers to the beginning of a state [INCH]. It is marked with -mu, from mula - "to begin; start; initiate". The frequentative aspect refers to a repeated action [FREQ]. It is marked with -nua, from nua - "frequent; often; regular".

ti'a
Kala gloss English
Progressive mita inanko dog eat-CONT The dog is eating.
Perfective mita inapua dog eat-PFV The dog has eaten.
Inchoative mita inamu dog eat-INCH The dog begins to eat.
Frequentative mita inanua dog eat-FREQ The dog eats often.

Mood

Negative

The negative mood (always marked finally) is indicated by the suffix –k or –nke (when the last syllable contains /k/).

  • mita inayek - dog eat-PST-NEG - The dog did not eat.
  • mita mokunke - dog sleep-NEG - The dog does not sleep.

Stative verbs

A large proportion of intransitive verbs are stative verbs, taking over the role of English adjectives. Examples are taha "be big" and ahi "be small". This type of verb is most often used in non-predicative situations, performing an adjective-like function. With intransitive verbs it describes the subject; with transitive verbs it usually describes the patient or theme and is thus roughly comparable to a passive participle in meaning. Essentially, Kala does not have adjectives as a distinct part of speech. Instead, many intransitive verbs can be used as adjectives. This leaves open to interpretation many phrases.

  • mita inya - dog be.hungry
    • The dog hungers.
    • The dog is hungry.
    • The hungry dog.
    • A hungry dog.
  • tsaka ketlahi - house be.red-DIM
    • The house is a little red.
    • The light-red house.
    • A pale red house.
  • taki saua - coat be.wet
    • The coat is wet.
    • The wet coat.
    • A wet coat.
  • umalo tahaku - horse-PL be.big-extreme
    • The horses are extremely large.
    • The very big horses.

Comparison

In Kala the concepts of comparative and superlative degree of an adjective (verb) are merged into a single form, the elative. How this form is understood or translated depends upon context and definiteness. In the absence of comparison, the elative conveys the notion of “greatest”, “supreme.”

  • tsaka hayo ke nayo tahaka
house 3sg.POSS O 1sg.POSS big-AUG
His house is bigger than mine.
  • ke mauam tayo yanaha
O flower.PL 2sg.POSS yellow-AUG
Your flowers are the most yellow.
  • iyapo ke tsaka tayo pakoha
PROX-building O home 2sg new-AUG
This building is newer than your home.

Relative

In a relative clause, the verb has the suffix -tle (or -le if the final syllable contains /tl/) added to it. The order of the words in relative clauses remains the same as in regular clauses. The use of participles in Kala is rather different than in English and at first sight is difficult to understand. This is mainly due to the fact that the relative pronouns who, what, which, where are not used in Kala as in English.

  • yalapa - to be able to walk produces: yalapatle - who/which/that can walk
  • yalapak - to not be able to walk produces: yalapanketle - who/which/that can't walk

This nominalizes the verb in some cases, and makes it possible for it to be either the subject or the object.

  • na ke tlaka nya inama talatle unya
1sg O man for eat-time come-REL know
I know the man who is coming to lunch.
  • ke naka patlole pako
O woman sweep-REL young
The woman who is sweeping is young.

The relative suffix is most often in the final position. In some cases, it may be followed by the negative -k.

  • itsaka na sutahuetle
PROX-house 1sg reside-LOC-REL
This is the house in which I live.
  • itsaka na sutahueyetlek
PROX-house 1sg reside-LOC-PST-REL-NEG
This is the house in which I did not live.


Adpositionals

Kala does not have prepositions (or postpositions) as a distinct part of speech. Instead, many locative verbs can be used as adpositionals, in which case they precede the noun they modify. There is one general locative (-hue) which is affixed to nouns (and occasionally verbs) to indicate the sense of “at; in; on”. Here are some common verbs used as adpositions:

  • pahe - against; touching
  • pa'e - apart from; other than; except for
  • paye - beyond; exceeding; farther than
  • pue - after; back; behind; rear
  • tahe - below; beneath; under
  • ka'e - to; towards; at [moving toward]
  • kaye - around; encircling; surrounding
  • mahe - around; approximate; close to
  • ma'a - with [accompanied by / furnished with]
  • ma'e - before; in front
  • maye - between; among
  • nahe - in [located inside of]; internal
  • nyaue - outside of; exterior to
  • sahe - across; opposite; other side
  • saye - along; following [a line]
  • hue / -hue - at [in the same location as] [LOC]
  • tsa'e - across; through
  • ua'e - above; over / on
  • uaye - from [moving out of or away from]
  • ya'e - near; close to
  • yomo - to the right of
  • yoso - to the left of


  • na ke ito yamahue anyapa
1sg O tree hill-LOC see-ABIL
I can see a tree on the hill.
  • ntahim nyaue tsaka yoti
child-PL outside.of house play
The children are playing outside of the house.

Word formation

Compounding

New nouns are usually created through head-initial compounding, using both nominal and verbal stems as the second, dependent element of the compound. The resulting lexical entries usually behave as single phonological words, which, however, have four full syllables: kuatlatloha "grass snake". Compounding of more than two elements is not common.

  • kayapusu - "earthquake" > kaya - earth + pusu - vibrate
  • asuaseka - "leather" > asua - skin + seka - dry

There are also numerous affixes used to form new meanings. A few examples are;

  • tiyasu - "bakery" > tiya - bread + -su - market; shop
  • onyomo - "school" > onyo - learn + -mo - place; location
  • kuhasa - "kitchen" > kuha - cook + -sa - room; chamber
  • pyetampu - "egg-shaped" > pyeta - egg + -mpu - shape; form

Derivation

Verbalization

Causative verbs (as well as achievement verbs) can be formed from other verbs by adding -mya (from muya - "do, make, cause") or -la (from ela - "become; change into; turn into"). This type of derivation is fairly common; however, verbs created in this way are syntactically defective and tend to appear only in serial verb constructions.

  • tinamya - "bend" < tina - be bent
  • pitamya - "hollow out" < pita - be hollow; void
  • enomya - "annoy, bother" < eno - be angry
  • tsipuela - "slow down" < tsipue - be slow
  • kyolola - "speed up" < kyolo - be quick

Intensive verbs can be formed from other verbs by adding -mpa (from mpa - "many; much; very"), or more commonly -hu (from kyohu - "be drastic; extreme; aggressive").

  • ketsahu - "dismiss, reject, repudiate" < ketsa - doubt
  • amyampa - "fall in love with" < amya - be fond of; like; prefer (of people)

Adjective-like stative verbs which name an associated quality may be formed from nouns by -n (from no - "thing" (-ish, -ly, -ous)).

  • timan - "be cruel, be bloody" < tima - blood
  • amyan - "be welcoming, be hospitable" < amya - be fond of

Nominalization

Agentive

Nouns referring to a human subject of a verb (usually in a habitual sense) can be formed with the agentive suffix -ko (from ko - "individual; person"). This suffix changes to -tlo when a velar stop is present in the preceding syllable.

  • kitlako - "craftsman" < kitla - create; invent; make-up
  • sutako - "inhabitant (of)" < suta - live; reside; dwell; inhabit; settle
  • yekatlo - "unmarried young adult" < yeka - be separate, be on one's own
  • makatlo - "musician" < maka - music; play ~; tune
  • tsaniko - "storyteller" < tsani - recite, tell (a story)

Instrumental

Instrument nouns and names for tools and other inanimates can be derived from verbs or from other nouns by adding the suffix -nyo (from mayo - "device; equipment; tool").

  • hitanyo - "atlatl (spear-thrower)" < hita - throw; cast; expel
  • amonyo - "handle (for carrying)" < amo - transport; carry
  • kusunyo - "clasp, brooch, fibula" < kusu - squeeze
  • toponyo - "lock" < topo - door; gate

Locative

Location nouns can be formed from both nouns and verbs by several suffixes. These indicate specific places where either something happens, or something resides there are a few affixes which modify both verbs and nouns.

-mo (from mo - "location; place; site"). This suffix is used to form the general idea of where something happens or resides.

  • tanamo - "battlefield; boxing ring; wrestling mat, etc." < tana - fight; combat
  • uelomo - "bicycle-place; bike path; bike rack, etc." < uelo - bicycle; bike
  • inamo - "eat-place; dining room; restaurant" [This can also mean food-place; pantry, etc.] < ina - food; eat
  • onyomo - "learn-place; school" < onyo - learn; study

-su (from suku - "market; shop; store"). This suffix is used to specify a business where items are produced and/or sold.

  • tiyasu - "bread-shop; bakery" < tiya - bread
  • inasu - "food-market; grocery store; restaurant" < ina - food; eat
  • uelosu - "bicycle-shop" < uelo - bicycle; bike

-kyo (from hakyo - "college; school; university"). This suffix is used to specify a location where students learn. This can also be used to indicate a school of thought, or ideology.

  • tanakyo - "dojo; martial arts training academy; etc." < tana - fight; combat
  • kuhakyo - "culinary-school; chef’s academy" < kuha - cook; prepare food
  • tsiyakyo - "liberalism" < tsiya - freedom; liberty
  • ya'akyo - "medical-school" < ya'a - medicine; drug; cure

-sa (from sala - "chamber; room; section"). This is more specific than -mo and used primarily for spaces inside buildings.

  • kuhasa - "cook-room; kitchen" < kuha - cook; prepare food
  • mokusa - "sleep-room; bedroom" < moku - sleep; rest
  • inasa - "eat-room; dining room" < ina - food; eat
  • onyosa - "learn-room; classroom" < onyo - learn; study

Diminutive

Diminutive nouns and endearment terms can be formed from verbs and other nouns by adding the suffix -hi (from ahi - "few; small"). This becomes -ki after a syllable that contains a glottal fricative.

  • mukuhi - "blade" < muku - knife
  • umahi - "foal" < uma - horse; equine
  • mitahi - "puppy" < mita - dog; canine
  • ohuaki - "indulgence" < ohua - luxurious; extravagant

Augmentative

Augmentative nouns can be formed from verbs and other nouns by adding the suffix -ha (from taha - "big; large; grand"). This becomes -ka after a syllable that contains a glottal fricative.

  • kamaha - "city" < kama - village; town
  • ohaka - "dislocate one's jaw" < oha - yawn; open one's mouth
  • mosaha - "epic; novel" < mosa - book; letter; scroll
  • tiniha - "hurricane" < tini - spiral; whorl

Honorific

Honorific nouns can be formed from other nouns by prefixing o-.

  • omasa - "stag" < masa - deer; cervine
  • okama - "capital" < kama - town; village

Syntax

Simple sentences

Intransitive clauses

Intransitive clauses in Kala minimally consist of a subject followed by an intransitive verb, giving SV word order.

  • nta'i moku
baby sleep
The baby sleeps.
  • mita ina
dog eat
The dog eats.
  • sama nala
sun shine
The sun shines.
  • kamahi ke naha ya'e
town-DIM O river be.near
There is a village near the river.
  • ke apua muyapua
O song do-PFV
The song has been sung.

Transitive clauses

Clauses with transitive verbs follow a SOV pattern.

  • ona ke matla kuha
mother O stew cook
The mother is cooking stew.
  • tasako ke masala yake
hunt-AG O deer-INDEF chase
The hunters are chasing some deer.
  • kyali ke itohuatla peha
spear O tree-oak pierce
The spear pierces the oak tree.
  • tasako ke mitla hita ma ne masa mata
hunt-AG O arrow cast and DO deer kill
The hunter shoots an arrow and kills the deer.

Predication

Nominal predicates are formed with the copula a, using SOV word order. However, more common is the idiomatic omission of the copula and object marker.

  • tsola ke haya a
fox O animal COP
The fox is an animal. (grammatical)
  • tsola haya
fox animal
The fox is an animal. (idiomatic)
  • itlaka ke taya nayo a
PROX-man O husband 1sg.POSS COP
This man is my husband. (grammatical)
  • itlaka ke taya nayo
PROX-man O husband 1sg.POSS
This man is my husband. (idiomatic)

Oblique participants

Kala verb phrases have only a single object slot. As a result, the patient of a ditransitive clause needs to be introduced with the help of a preposition.

Dative and benefactive

Dative participants are marked with the preposition nya ‘for, by, via’.

  • ntahi ke nyotlomi nya kinti yeta
child O nut-PAUC BEN squirrel give
The child gives a few nuts to the squirrel.
  • ikema nya na tlahi
PROX-task BEN 1sg be.easy
This task is easy for me.

Benefactive participants are also marked with the preposition nya ‘for, by, via’.

  • mekatlo nya ntakum ke tsani yomu
holy-AG BEN sibling-PL O story recite
The shaman recites a story for the siblings.

Antibenefactive participants are marked like ordinary datives using nya:

  • tekim nya kamahi namyo tanyaye
enemy-PL BEN town-DIM 1pl.POSS destroy-PST
The enemies destroyed our village.

Instrumental

Instrumental participants are marked with the preposition wo ‘with, by, using’.

  • ona ke nta'i hayo ma'a tlimu nohya
mother O baby 3sg.POSS with blanket wrap
The mother wraps her baby in a blanket.

In passive sentences, agents may be reintroduced with the preposition nya ‘by’:

  • ke aha nya ntahi apua'u
O melody by child sing-PFV
The song has been sung by the child.

Comitative

Locative

Negation

Negation, both of noun phrases and of clauses, is made with the negating suffix -k (or -nke), which affixes to the negated element. Kala utilizes multiple negation, like tlok ak (AG-NEG COP-NEG) - (there isn't anyone / there is no-one).

  • intahi ke nok onyotlik
PROX-child O thing-NEG learn-FUT-NEG
This child will learn nothing.
  • mita inyak
dog hunger-NEG
The dog is not hungry.

The suffix -nke also marks the abessive, meaning without, or lacking.

  • ha ke’e hatsanke nya potsi hayo kayoye
3SG so luck-ABE for wallet 3SG.POSS lose-PST
He was unlucky enough to lose his wallet.

Interrogatives

There are two types of questions: Polar, those which may be answered "yes" or "no," and those which require explanations as answers.

Polar questions

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

  • mita ina
dog eat
The dog eats.
  • nta'i moku
baby sleep
The baby is sleeping. / The baby sleeps.
  • ta ke tlo'o anyaye
2SG O elephant see-PST
You saw the elephant.
  • tekatlo eta ke ya'a yetaye
heal-AG P.2SG O medicine give-PST
The doctor gave you the medicine.
  • mita ina ka
dog eat Q
Does the dog eat?
  • nta'i moku ka
baby sleep Q
Is the baby sleeping?
  • ta ke tlo'o anyaye ka
2SG O elephant see-PST Q
Did you see the elephant?
  • tekatlo eta ke ya'a yetaye ka
heal-AG P.2SG O medicine give-PST Q
Did the doctor give you the medicine?


Content questions

Questions that give a list of possible answers are formed like polar questions, with the conjunction ue ‘or’ introducing each alternative (which must appear in the form of a noun phrase).

  • ta ke nkapa ue maya inuue ka
2SG O beer or.EXCL water drink-VOL Q
Do you want to drink beer or water?
  • uala ta ke sinka mataye ue empa ma koma ka
truly 2sg O lion kill-PST or.EXCL flee CONJ hide Q
Did you really kill the lion, or did you run away and hide?

Open content questions are most easily formed with the correlatives, such as ko ‘person’, mo ‘place’, to ‘manner’, etc. These correlatives always appear clause-initially:

  • ko ta ka
person 2sg Q
Who are you?
  • itla ka
this Q
What is this?
  • to kihu ka
manner weather Q
What's the weather like?

The other type contains a question word and is followed by ka:

kanyo
Kala gloss English
object ke mita ina ka O dog eat Q What does the dog eat?
person ko ina ka person eat Q Who eats?
possession koyo mita ina ka person-POSS dog eat Q Whose dog eats?
manner to mita ina ka manner dog eat Q How does the dog eat?
place mo mita ina ka place dog eat Q Where does the dog eat?
reason nye mita ina ka reason dog eat Q Why does the dog eat?
time ama mita ina ka time dog eat Q When does the dog eat?
amount uku mita ina ka amount dog eat Q How much/many does the dog eat?
which ula mita ina ka any dog eat Q Which dog eats?

Passives

The passive voice is formed by prefixing e- (patient marker) to pronouns, and the object marker ke for nouns, or nya "for, by, via". Compare these simple sentences:

  • matla kuha
stew cook
The stew cooks.
  • ha yatsi
3sg bite
She bites.
  • ha yapo
3sg build
She builds.
  • ke matla kuhapua
O stew cook-PFV
The stew has been cooked.
  • eha yatsi
P.3sg bite
He is bitten.
  • etla nya ha yapo
P.4sg by 3sg build
It is built by him.


Kala can also passivize some intransitive verbs (especially verbs that describe activities rather than states). This has the effect of creating an impersonal predicate without any syntactic subject, often carrying existential semantics.

  • ke kema
O work
There is work to do. (lit. it is work)
  • ke hina kyo'a
P.4sg by 3sg build
It's quiet around here. (lit. here is quieted)

Reflexives and reciprocals

Kala has reflexive and reciprocal pronoun forms, and as such declarative phrases are regular and predictable.

  • na'i sepaye
1sg.REFL injure-PST
I hurt myself.
  • ha'i tlela
3sg.REFL bathe
She bathes herself.
  • kanku ke onta nayo itsa
3pl.RECP O parent 1sg.POSS love
My parents love each other.
  • na'anku amyapak
1pl.EXCL.RECP like-ABIL-NEG
We (but not you) are not able to like each other.

Complex sentences

Clause coordination

Clause-level conjunctions such as ku "and", ua "or", or ehe "but, however" are placed clause-initially. Note that these conjunctions cannot be used to connect noun phrases.

  • tahi tohyo ku nahi pina
boy brave CL.CONJ girl intelligent
The boy is brave and the girl is intelligent.
  • ima kihu saman ehe pakyotlai
now weather sun-ADJ however storm-IMM
Now the weather is sunny, but a storm will come soon.

Coordination of noun phrases

Non-subject noun phrases are coordinated using the conjunction ma "and" (sometimes "with").

  • yomaye na ke tanka ma pato anya
day-PST 1sg O eagle CONJ duck see
I saw an eagle and a duck yesterday.
  • kinti ke tsaka kamyo ma'a yosu sapotle ma siuem muya
squirrel O house 3pl.POSS with moss soft-REL and leaf.PL make
The squirrels make their nest comfortable with soft moss and leaves.
  • ona ma ota kyosanku
mother and father fornicate-RECP
Mother and father have sex [with each other].
  • ta ma'a na ke molihuelatli
2sg with 1sg O forest-LOC-MOT-FUT
You and I will go to the forest together.

Noun phrases can be presented as alternatives to each other with the conjunction ua "or; other". This conjunction can be used with both subjects and non-subjects. The conjunction ue "(exclusive) either X or Y" is used to delimit other nouns from the conjunction phrase.

  • ta ke nasi ua poma inamyo
2sg O pear or apple eat-PERM
You may eat an apple or a pear.
  • tsola ue otso itsikua mataye
fox either.X.or.Y wolf PROX-bird kill-PST
It must have been a fox or a wolf that killed this bird.

Contrastive coordination of noun phrases ("but") is achieved with ehe "but; however" (or me more informally) if the noun phrases appear in subject position.

  • yomaye mita'u ehek mitana ke kutsu kapya
day-PST dog-MASC but-NEG O meat receive
The male dog but not the female dog received meat yesterday.
  • na itlaka mek inaka unya
1sg PROX-man but-NEG PROX-woman know
I know this man, but not this woman.

Complement clauses

Relative clauses

Relative clauses, i.e. subordinated clauses acting as an attribute to a noun phrase, are marked with the relativizer -tle (or -le if the last syllable has tl). A pronoun referring to the relativized noun is retained within the relative clause:

  • na ka naka amyatle pesoue
1sg O woman liked-REL meet-VOL
I want to meet a girl who is friendly.
  • naku nayo ke yakokua na tikuyetle inapua
sister 1sg.POSS O strawberry-all 1sg pick-PST-REL eat-PFV
My sister has eaten all the strawberries that I picked.
  • kam tananitle ke teki tlalitli
3pl fight-nice-REL O enemy defeat-FUT
They who fight well will defeat the enemy.

Adverbial clauses

Serial verb construction

Sequential events

Lexicalized sequential serials

Grammatical use of serial verbs

Causatives

Comparison

Motion verbs

Direction and deixis

Manner of motion

Source and target

Posture and orientation

Aspect

Advanced Syntax

Adverbial Constructions

Time

Place

Reason

Purpose

Result

Manner

Measure

Frequency

Conditionals

Consessives

Modality

Evidentiality

Volition

Reported Speech

Quotations

Indirect Speech

Indirect Questions