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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:

mita tlaka anya

dog man see

The dog sees the man.

tlaka mita anya

man dog see

The man sees the dog.

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.

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?

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 106^th	tinyetsa'o 106 times	inyetsa'o a 106^th
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.

Kala

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