Kala
The Kala conlang...
Introduction
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.
Han Moya
Han Moya is an adaptation of Hangul for writing Kala. It is written horizontally, in lines running from left to right. It can also be written vertically in columns.
consonants
- ㄱㄲㄴㄷㄸㄹㅁㅂㅃㅅㅆㅇㅈㅉㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ
- k nk n t nt l m p mp s ns a ts nts ts` k` tl p` h
- /k~g ᵑk~ⁿg n t~d ⁿt~ⁿd l~ɾ m p~b ᵐp~ᵐb s~ʃ ⁿs~ⁿʃ - ts~t͡ʃ ⁿts~ⁿt͡ʃ tsʰ~t͡ʃʰ kʰ t͡ɬ~tl pʰ h~ɦ/
The adaptations of doubled consonants are used word initially to indicate prenasalization. Medial occurrences of nasalized syllables are written across syllables.
- Example:
- 까바 - nkapa - alcohol; liquor / 단가 - tanka - eagle; hawk; falcon
- 감바 - kampa - Cheers! / 쁘라 - mpula - lamp; lantern; light
vowels
- ㅏ ᅶ ㅐ ㅑ ᅸ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ
- a ao ai ya yao e ye o ao yo ua uai ue u i
- /a~a: aʊ̯ aɪ̯ ja~ʲa: jaʊ̯~ʲaʊ̯ e~ɛ je~ʲɛ o~o: jo~ʲo: wa~ʷa: waɪ̯~ʷaɪ̯ we~ʷe: u~u: i~ɪ/
- ㅘ This is pronounced /wa/ in Korean because of the order of the vowels; however, because obsolete jamo are difficult to type and look junky as images, in Kala, this is used for /aʊ̯/ when typing. It is rarely seen due to the diphthong itself being uncommon.
Phonology
Morphology
Derivational morphology
Because Kala has only two main parts of speech (content and functional words), new words formed by derivation should be analyzed based on context. Functional words can rarely be used to form new words, but this is typically to form extensions of functions, or new functions.
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
Kala has an extremely regular grammar, with very few exceptions to its rules. Sentences are made up of one or more phrases. Each phrase consists of a verb (optionally followed by modifying particles) and a subject (optionally followed by modifying particles). The subject, if understood, can be omitted at the end of an utterance: pana ("It is raining.") pana! ("Rain!") An utterance can be anything from an interjection to a story.
The basic structure of a Kala sentence is: AGENT--PATIENT--VERB (or SOV)
The agent is the person or thing doing the action described by the verb; The patient is the recipient of that action. The importance of word order can be seen by comparing the following sentences:
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In both sentences, the words are identical, the only way to know who is seeing whom is by the order of the words in the sentence.
The use of the object marker ke indicates the recipient of the action.
- naka ke mita itsa
- woman O dog love
- The woman loves the dog.
Kala lacks morphological adjectives and instead uses predicative verbs.
- ke tsaka taha
- O house be.big
- The big house / The house is big
Kala lacks morphological adverbs, verbs modified with the adverbial ending -n 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.
Clauses
Relative clauses (or adjective clauses) function like adjectives. Relative clauses follow the noun or noun phrase that they modify:
- naka ke na itsatle te ameyo
- woman O 1s love-REL from America
- The woman (that) I love comes from America.
- mayo ke na kitlayetle muyak
- tool O 1s create-PST-REL do-NEG
- The tool (that) I built doesn't function.
- na ke ta yani unyak / na ke yani tayo unyak
- 1s O 2s mean know-NEG / 1s O meaning 2s.GEN know-NEG
- I don't understand what you mean.
Subordinate clauses rely on conjunctions and other particles.
- eya ta ke mpeka inaye yatli ta pasala
- maybe 2s O toad eat-PST therefore 2s nauseous-become
- If you ate the toad (which you might have), you might get sick.
- naye na tasa ke masa okyohue anyaye
- while 1s hunt O deer clearing-LOC see-PST
- While hunting, I saw a deer in a clearing.
Questions
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.
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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).
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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:
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The other type contains a question word and is followed by ka:
| 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? |
Numbers
Kala uses a base 10 number system. The basic numbers are as follows:
| 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
Long form numbers are used in formal situations, including financial transactions, especially involving large sums. Short form numbers are used in everyday speech and when calculating basic math.
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 duodecuple |
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
Kala math is fairly basic and relies on particles and verbs to express functions.
Addition uses ma (and; also). There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation.
- ha'o ma ya'o ke pa'o a
- 3 and 5 O 8 COP
- Three plus five is eight.
Subtraction uses ma (and; also) and a negative form of the smaller integer. There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation.
- tsa'o ma ya'ok ke na'o a
- 6 and 5-NEG O 1 COP
- Six and five-less is one.
Multiplication uses ma (and; also) and a multiple form of one of the integers. There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation.
- ha'o ma tima'o ke ueta'o a
- 3 and multiple-4 O 12 COP
- Three times four is twelve.
Division uses yeka (divide; separate; partition), or ma (and; also) and a multiple-negative form of one of the integers. There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation.
- tama'o ma ha'o ke pa'o yeka
- 24 and 3 O 8 division
- Twenty-four divided by three is eight.
