User:Masako/pataka

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Introduction

Kala is a personal artistic language, or constructed language (conlang). It is the culmination of my life-long appreciation and fascination with language and linguistics. This fascination began in my youth, c. 1988 when I received a book about ciphers and codes. I have studied multiple natural languages since that time, including several European languages, Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese (Mandarin), to name only a few. I have focused much of my interest in the subfield of writing systems, which will likely be apparent to anyone familiar with Kala and its many varied writing systems.

Kala draws on natlangs (natural language), other conlangs, and of course imagination. Kala was started in late 2009. The phonemic inventory is based on Classical Nahuatl while the syllable structure and vowels are based on the strict (C)V structure of Japanese, and the presence of prenasalized stops is influenced by Bantu languages. Kala’s grammar was initially based on Japanese but has changed considerably based on influence from several natural and constructed languages. Many – if not most – of Kala lexemes are derived from or inspired by natural languages. A few have been taken from previous projects or constructed languages such as Ajara (a cipherlang from my youth) and Qatama (a conlang that I abandoned several years ago).

Borrowing

As can be seen here, Kala borrows from many varied languages, including but not limited to: Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Turkish, and several others. These borrowings are most often based on aesthetics and function of the word. When borrowing, often changes made to the word include dropping of one or more syllables, vowel changes, and occasionally metathesis. These changes frequently leave the word unrecognizable from its original form. However, with each borrowing, an attempt has been made to retain as much original phonological and semantic meaning as possible. Of the numerous examples of borrowing, here is a breakdown of a few that are commonly used;

  • nihagood; nice; cool; sweet; enjoyable (from Arabic منيح /mnīḥ/, meaning “fine; good”). So, the /m/ was dropped and an /a/ was added, also the /ḥ/ becomes /ɦ/. These changes align the word with the CVCV structure that the majority of Kala lexemes adhere to, as well as the phonological and phonotactical rules. This has been further reduced to a derivational suffix, -ni denoting a quality of goodness.
  • yohuanight(time); darkness (from Classical Nahuatl yohualli /jo(w)alli/, meaning “night; nighttime; darkness”). The absolutive suffix –lli was dropped, and the Spanish spelling used to inform pronunciation, making it /joːhʷa/. This word has been used in portmanteau to create new words such as huatsomidnight”.
  • tsoyacenter; middle; mid-; half (from Mandarin / ʈ͡ʂʊŋ/, meaning “middle; center”). So, the coda / ŋ/ was dropped and /ja/ was added, also the /ʈ͡ʂ/ becomes /ts~t͡ʃ/. This has been further reduced to a derivational suffix, -tso denoting half, or the middle of something. This word has been used in portmanteau to create new words such as huatsomidnight” and yotsomidday; noon”.

This is a very small sample of borrowings:

  • patoduck (Anatidae); from Spanish pato
  • kalato speak, talk, converse; from Arabic takallama
  • myontato allow, permit; from Finnish myöntää
  • naI, me; from Arabic ʾanā
  • tsenkaorange; from Chinese chéng
  • uasito take, get, acquire; from Lakota wasichu
  • ato be, exist, yes; from Japanese aru

So, some phrases can contain words from multiple natlangs:

  • ta (ke) inun uasiye ka
2sg (O) drink-ACC take-PST Q
Did you take the drink?

Phonology

Nominal 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

Clipped compounding does occur and is distinctive. This clipping occurs consistently in content words, but is usually blocked in functional words and auxiliaries. Syllables are clipped based on euphonic choices but must remain recognizable and retain grammatical functionality.

  • naka – woman & kana – leader → nakkan – chieftess; queen
  • naua – to tie & ualo – bring → naualo – get someone involved in one's trouble
  • uaso – cup; jug; vessel & sitsa – hot; heat → uassitsa – flask; thermos; bottle
  • yasa – wind & sitsa – hot; heat → yassitsa – warm breeze
  • yasa – wind & yesa – peace → yassa – peaceful-wind

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

In Kala, new words can be formed by adding prefixes or suffixes to existing words, or by combining two existing words as a compound noun. It's also possible to reuse adjectives as nouns, and verbs as nouns, without adding an affix.

The most common ending (other than tense, aspect, and modals) is the adverbial ending –n. It is used to mean "similar to ...", "-like", "-ish", "full of ..." or "made of ...", and "pertaining to ..." or "to do with ...".

Here are some common examples:

  • kyo’a - "quiet" → kyo’anquietly
  • enke - "simple" → enkensimply
  • ntahi - "child" → ntahinchildish; childlike
  • putsu - "monster" → putsunmonstrous
  • yoti - "game" → yotinplayful
  • hanya - "nation" → hanyannational
  • kuaha - "science" → kuahanscientific
  • olo - "gold" → olonmade of gold

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.

Basic Sentences

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: mita – “dog”, tlaka – “man”, anya - “eye; see”. The only way to know who is seeing whom is by the order of the words in the sentence. Intransitive (including those of the existential type) 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.
  • sama nala
sun shine
The sun shines.

Transitive clauses follow a SOV pattern and grammatically require the object particle ke.

  • ona ke matla kuha
mother O stew cook
(The) mother is cooking (the) stew.
  • tasako ke masami yake
hunt-AG O deer-PAU pursue
The hunters are chasing some deer.


Predicates

In the simplest form, the adjective simply appears after the noun, in verbal position. Many statements that would be phrased as adjectival predicates in English are preferably expressed with stative intransitive verbs in Kala, requiring no copula. (For simplicity, such verbs are glossed without “be” in interlinears.)

  • mita hikya
dog old
The dog is old.
  • nahi tayo aya
daughter 2s.GEN beautiful
Your daughter is beautiful.

The same phrases can be formed using the copula a, this is grammatical but bulky and jarring.

  • mita hikya a
dog old COP
The dog is old.
  • nahi tayo aya a
daughter 2s.GEN beautiful COP
Your daughter is beautiful.

Negation

The negative mood [NEG] (always marked finally on the primary verb) is indicated by the suffix –k or –nke (when the last syllable contains /k/). See also: 3.2.3) Mood

  • tahi inyak
boy hunger-NEG
The boy is not hungry.
  • yohuaye ha ke samalo anyak
night-PST 3s O star-PL watch-NEG
She did not watch the stars last night.


In general, contiguous serial verb constructions can only be negated as a whole. Negating one or more of the verbs in the construction separately is ungrammatical.

  • na ke tsakahue nya ina ka’elatlik
1s O home-LOC for eat toward-MVT-FUT-NEG
I'm not coming home for dinner.

However, if there is a modal auxiliary, negation may either take scope over the modal (and thus over the whole clause), or alternatively only over the non-modal part of the serial verb construction:

  • eta tlahapok
P.2s leave-compel-NEG
You don't have to leave.
  • eta tlahamyok
P.2s leave-PERM-NEG
You're not allowed to leave.


In some serial verb constructions, where the middle noun phrase acts both as the object of the first verb and as the subject of the second verb, each verb phrase can be negated separately.

Voice

Passive voice emphasizes the process rather than who is performing the action. In Kala this form is called kemi. There are few patterns to help distinguish between active and passive voices in Kala verbs. Using the passive voice is not common in Kala. It can sometimes be used to emphasize what would normally have been the object of the sentence. In order to shift emphasis away from the agent and towards the patient or theme, a transitive sentence can be passivized simply by word order, or using the particle ni (“by”) [PASS].

ACTIVE

  • na ke tanum yempahue moheye
1s O plate-PL table-LOC place-PST
I put dishes on the table.
  • na ke topa muntaye
1s O bed rearrange-PST
I changed the bed.
  • ha ke yona yomutli
3s O book read-FUT
She will read the book.

PASSIVE

  • ke tanum yempahue moheye
O plate-PL table-LOC place-PST
Dishes were put on the table.
  • ke topa ni naku nayo muntaye
O bed PASS sister 1s.GEN rearrange-PST
The bed was changed by my sister.
  • ke yona ni kola yomutli
O book PASS AG.INDEF read-FUT
The book will be read by someone.


Compound Sentences

Two sentences may be joined together to form a longer compound sentence. Both sentences must be able to stand alone as properly formed sentences. When combined, they simply come one after the other, joined by a conjunction. Common Conjunctions:

Kala meaning example
pa although; even; despite She is here despite my protest.
po so; thus He seems nice so I ate with him.
ku and; also; too I see it and I see you.
ma and; also; too I see it and you.
ua and/or; either You may eat and/or drink.
ue either X or Y You may either eat or drink.
uenke (uek) neither X or Y You may neither eat nor drink.
yema both X and Y I ate both soup and bread.
yo if X then Y; therefore If she comes then we’ll eat.
ehe (me) but ; however I dislike him, but he is my brother.
  • na ina ku ha moku
1s eat and 3s sleep
I am eating and she is sleeping.
  • na ina ehe ha moku
1s eat but 3s sleep
I am eating but she is sleeping.

Note: ku is a clause level conjunction used to join to independent clauses.

  • ta ina ua inu
2s eat and/or drink
You are eating and/or you are drinking.
  • ntahi ke mita anya ma inamya
child O dog see and eat-CAUS
The child saw and fed the dog.
  • ta ina ue inu
2s eat or drink
You are either eating or else you are drinking.
  • ha tala yo na’am hinatlik
3s come therefore 1pl.EXCL be.here-FUT-NEG
If she comes we won’t be here.


Clause-level conjunctions such as ku (“and; also; too”), ua (“or; either; otherwise”), or ehe (“but; however”) are placed clause-initially. Note that these conjunctions (except for ku) can 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.


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

  • yomaye na ke tanka ma pato anya
day-PST 1s 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.GEN 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.
  • ta ma'a na ke molihuelatli
2s with 1s O forest-LOC-MVT-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
2s 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 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
1s PROX-man but-NEG PROX-woman know
I know this man, but not this woman.


Compliment Clauses

Complement clauses, i.e. subordinated clauses acting as a noun (most importantly as the subject or object of a sentence), and are formed exactly like ordinary main clauses, preceded by the particle ke (“topic particle”).

  • nakkan ke eya tekim kamahi hyoka munaye
woman-chief O maybe enemy-PL city-DIM attack worry-PST
The queen was worried that the enemies might attack the village.
  • itomatle ke maliya noyamya
wood-carve O Mary happy-CAUS
Carving wood makes Mary happy.

Complement clauses can also act as the object of a motional/locational verb:

  • ta ke naha ka’elak yatli ke tlohi kuyepak
2s O river toward-MVT-NEG if.X.then.Y O salmon grab-ABIL-NEG
You can't catch salmon if you don't go to the river.
  • kam ka’e tsiua uahe moku ma ina yalayenko
3pl toward lake instead.of rest and eat walk-PST-CONT
Instead of taking a rest and eating, they continued to walk towards the lake.

Since complement clauses behave like nouns syntactically, they may participate in existential constructions as well. Semantically, this indicates that the occurrence of the action described in the complement clause is emphatically affirmed.

  • uala ke yemua tlana masenko
verily O DIST-place person dance-CONT
There is dancing over there. (lit. it's true that people are dancing there)

In addition to the particle ke, Kala possesses a few other words which may fill the same syntactic position under special circumstances. The most common of these appears in the context of reported speech. A couple of other specialized particles have a more limited distribution, appearing mainly in evidential constructions.

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 ke naka amyatle pesoue
1s O woman liked-REL meet-VOL
I want to meet a girl who is friendly.
  • kam tananitle ke teki tlalitli
3pl fight-nice-REL O enemy defeat-FUT
They who fight well will defeat the enemy.


  • naku nayo ke yakokua na tikuyetle inapua
sister 1s.GEN O strawberry-all 1s pick-PST-REL eat-PFV
My sister has eaten all the strawberries that I picked.


If both subject and object of a transitive relative clause are represented by the same pronoun, the relativized noun will be assumed to be the subject of the subclause. In order to relativize the object in such a situation, the subject must be represented by one of the reflexive, or reciprocal pronouns instead, which explicitly refer back to the subject of the matrix clause:

  • aye tanako ke tlaka eha hyokatle mata
past fight-AG O man P.3s attack-REL kill
The warrior killed the man who attacked him.
  • aye tanako ke ha tlaka hyokatle mata
past fight-AG O 3s man attack-REL kill
The warrior killed the man whom he attacked.


Relativization of oblique participants works very much the same way as relativization of subjects and objects, but the repeated pronoun needs to appear inside a prepositional phrase or coverb phrase which shows the role of the relativized noun within the subclause.

  • ikamahi ena nasayetle
PROX-city-DIM P.1s be.born-PST-REL
This is the village in which I was born.
  • ke taku tlakayo na tlayayetle nya teki matapua
O brother man-GEN 1s wed-PST-REL by enemy kill-PFV
The man whose brother I married has been killed by the enemy.
  • iyoma ke yomatle ta’ena nya uapa talaue
today O day-REL 2s-P.1s for visit come-VOL
Today is the day on which you want to come and visit me.


In case a relative clause would contain only the subject and an intransitive verb phrase, speakers of Kala are likely to use an attributive construction instead. If the attributed verb phrase contains more than one verb, all of them need to appear in the attributive form.

  • na ke nahi amyan pesoue
1s O girl like-ADV meet-VOL
I want to meet a girl who is friendly. (lit. a friendly girl)
  • kola sima ke ina kapyatli
AG-INDEF sit O food receive-FUT
Anyone who is sitting quietly gets food.


Note that both relative clauses and attributive constructions tend to be avoided when they refer to the subject of a sentence. Instead, the semantically ‘attributive’ verb describing the subject is treated syntactically as forming a sequential or simultaneous event together with the main verb of the sentence:

  • tahi pina ke kema unya
boy smart O task understand
The smart boy understands the task.

Adverbial clauses

Kala has several different ways to express adverbial elements – adverbial suffix, adpositional phrases, serial verb constructions, and full-scale adverbialized subclauses. For most types of adverbials, more than one of these methods can be used. Because an adequate description of this gets rather lengthy, and because it presupposes an understanding of how serial verb constructions work in Kala, it is described in a later section of this document. Adverbial constructions which are valid constituents typically appear near the beginning of a sentence, with adpositional phrases preceding subclauses, but they may be topic-fronted for emphasis. If several adverbial constituents of the same syntactic type are present, they are generally ordered place → manner → reason → purpose → result → time.

Copular Sentences

The copula a (to be; exist; yes) is not used as it is in English. It is primarily used to affirm Yes/No questions. ta inaye ka (Did you eat?) a (Yes.) However, it can be used to add emphasis or nuance to a descriptive phrase. In an adjectival predicate the verb [to be] is not normally used.

  • ha kiha
3s tall
She is tall.
  • tomua nya itsaka yasue
rent for PROX-house cheap
The rent for this house is cheap.

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.
  • ta ke tlo’o anyaye
2s O elephant see-PST
You saw the elephant.
  • mita ina ka
dog eat Q
Does the dog eat?
  • ta ke tlo’o anyaye ka
2s O elephant see-PST Q
Did you see the elephant?

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
2s 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 2s 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 2s Q
Who are you?
  • to kihu ka
manner weather Q
What's the weather like?
  • itla ka
this Q
What is this?
  • to taku tayo ka
manner brother 2s.GEN Q
How’s your brother?


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-GEN 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 INDEF dog eat Q Which dog eats?

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 3s.GEN O 1s.GEN big-AUG
His house is bigger than mine.
  • iyapo ke tsaka tayo pakoha
PROX-building O home 2sg new-AUG
This building is newer than your home.
  • ke mauam tayo yanahu
O flower.PL 2s.GEN yellow-EXT
Your flowers are the most yellow.
  • mitala ke yetlam hikyahi
dog-INDEF O DIST-4pl old-DIM
Some dogs are less old (younger) than others.

When comparing the amount of involvement of several participants in a transitive verb, an appositional construction is used with competing subjects, and complement clauses are used with competing objects:

  • tsaneya ke ona pa’e naku hayo itsaha
Jane O mother other.than sister 3s.GEN love-AUG
Jane loves her mother more than her sister does.
  • imukuhi ke asua uahe tleno telaniha
PROX-blade-DIM O leather instead.of timber cut-nice-AUG
This knife cuts leather better than it cuts wood.

Indirect Objects

Kala verb phrases have only a single object slot. As a result, the recipient of a ditransitive clause needs to be introduced with the help of an adverbial preposition. The same strategy is also used to introduce other participants in oblique roles.

  • ka’e – to; toward [Dative]
  • ma’a – with; using [Instrumental] / with; together [Comitative]
  • mue – without; lacking [Abessive]
  • nya – for (the benefit of) [Benefactive] / by [Passive]
  • -hue – at; in; on [Locative]

Dative

Dative participants can be marked with ka’e (“toward; to”), nya (“for; by”), or be syntactically indicated.

  • ntahi ke ina ka’e mita yeta
child O food toward dog give
The child gives food to a dog.
  • katiko nya ntakum tsani
old-AG for sibling-PL tell.story
The old man recites a story for the siblings.
  • ikema nya ena enke
PROX-task for P.1s easy
This task is easy for me.
  • teki ke kama na’amyo tanyaye
enemy O village 1pl.EXCL.GEN destroy-PST
The enemies destroyed our village.

Instrumental

Instrumental participants can be marked with ma’a (“with; using”), nya (“for; by”), or be syntactically indicated.

  • ona ke ntahi ma’a tlimu nohya
mother O child with blanket wrap
The mother wraps the child in a blanket.
  • tsani nya ntaha moyapua
PROX-task for P.1s easy
The story has been written by the elder.

Comitative

Comitative participants are marked with the preposition ma’a (“with; together”), and anticomitative (or abessive) participants are marked with the preposition mue (“without”).

  • na ma’a amyako nayo ke masa tasa
1s with friend 1s.GEN O deer hunt
I'm hunting deer with my friend.
  • ha ke naha mue ta ka’elaye ka
3s O river without 2s toward-MVT Q
Did she go to the river without you?

Locative

Locative participants can be marked with a variety of adverbial prepositions, most typically -hue (“at; in; on”). See also: 5.1) Locative verbs.

  • taku nayo ke poti patlahue patsi
brother 1s.GEN O goat field-LOC herd
My brother is herding goats in the field.
  • nam tlatsahue masetli
1pl fire-LOC dance-FUT
We will dance near (at) the fire.


Semantic Fields and Pragmatics

Kala, like all languages relies on the relationship of meanings instead of meanings in isolation. Additionally, morphemes tend to have a range of meanings that exist on a spectrum. A morpheme often can only be defined by its relationship to other morphemes within an utterance, or to other words of a similar semantic field.

One example would be in discussing temperature. Of course there is a system of degrees, but that is a quantitative statement, a qualitative statement would be more relative and open to interpretation.

How to express temperature

English divides temperature into "hot, warm, cool, cold", while Kala has just sitsa, tlolo, and manka. However, these can be expanded to be more specific;

  • manka – cold
  • tlolo – cool; warm (mild)
  • sitsa – hot; heat

Using the augmentative -ha and the diminutive -hi adds even more nuance to expressing temperature. mankaha (or mankampa, mankahu) being the coldest, and sitsaha (or sitsampa, sitsahu) the hottest means that tloloha is closer to sitsahi and tlolohi is closer to mankahi. This means that tlolotso (mild-middle) is likely how someone would describe their ideal temperature.

  • ya iyoma kihua tlolotso!
VOC PROX-day fine.weather mild-middle
Oh, how today’s weather is so mild!

Of course, some meanings do exist in a binary state;

  • asa - alive / kupa - dead

Meanings may also be divided into non-linear semantic space — e.g. color, social classes, directions, parts of the body, time, geographical features.

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. Notable is the use of the copular a to express the result of an equation.

Addition uses ma (and; also). There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation. 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.

  • ta’o ma ya’o ke ka’o a
two and five O seven COP
2 + 5 = 7
  • ka’o ma ta’ok ke ya’o a
seven and two-NEG O five COP
7 - 2 = 5

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. Division uses 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.

  • ka’o ma tita’o ke uema’o a
seven and multiple-two O fourteen COP
7 x 2 = 14
  • hata’o ma tisa’ok ke ma’o a
thrity-two and multiple-eight-NEG O four COP
32 ÷ 8 = 4


Writing system

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/
  • 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.

Examples

  • 어하 거 거하 가먀터 하요 마아 타감 뱌사하먀여
eha ke keha kamyatle hayo ma’a tlakam pyasahamyaye
[eːɦa kɛ keːɦa kamʲaːt͡ɬe haːjo maːʔa t͡ɬaːkam pʲaʃahamʲaːjɛ]
P.3s O body stun-REL 3s.POSS with man-PL be.popular-AUG-CAUS-PST
Her bewitching body made her very popular with men.

Examples

  • seko saye puani nahayo yalaye ma ke tsa’eto omoye
scorpion along bank river-GEN walk-PST and TOP across-way think-PST
A scorpion was walking along the bank of a river, wondering how to get to the other side.
  • haye seko ke tsola anyaye
sudden scorpion TOP fox see-PST
Suddenly, he saw a fox.
  • seko nya tsa’e naha amo ua’e muta tsolayo kanyoye
scorpion for across river carry on back fox-GEN ask-PST
He asked the fox to take him on his back across the river.
  • tsola kye ak na’eta amo yatli ta’ena kute nuesitli
fox IND.SP COP.NEG 1SG-P.2SG carry if.X.then.Y 2SG-P.1SG sting drown-FUT
The fox said, “No. If I do that, you’ll sting me, and I’ll drown.”
  • seko kye na’eta kute yatli nam nuesitli
scorpion IND.SP 1SG-P.2SG sting if.X.then.Y 1PL drown-FUT
The scorpion assured him, “If I do that, we’ll both drown.”
  • tsola pue omo nkataye
fox after think agree-PST
The fox thought about it and finally agreed.
  • ya seko ua’e muta tsolayo uayaye ma tsola yokomuye
VOC scorpion on back fox-GEN climb and fox swim-begin-PST
So the scorpion climbed up on his back, and the fox began to swim.
  • me tsa’etsohue nahayo seko ke tsola kuteye
however across-half-LOC river-GEN scorpion TOP fox sting-PST
But halfway across the river, the scorpion stung him.
  • tsola ike sunu ke sila hayo yeno ka’e seko muka kye nye ta’ena kuteye ka ima ta nuesitli
fox while poison TOP vein 3SG.POSS fill toward scorpion face IND.SP reason 2SG-P.1SG sting-PST Q now 2SG drown-FUT
As poison filled his veins, the fox turned to the scorpion and said, “Why did you do that? Now you’ll drown, too.”
  • seko kye na’i ke to nayo tlinapayek
scorpion IND.SP 1SG.REFL TOP way 1SG.POSS stop-able-PST.NEG
“I couldn’t help it,” said the scorpion. “It’s my nature.”

Lexicon

See also: Lexicon, Kala thematic lexicon, and Kala etymological lexicon.

A small sampling of Kala lexemes.

  • pa - although; even though; even if
  • pa'a - be well-ordered; regular; organized
  • pina - be clever; intelligent; wise
  • punka - fruit; fruit tree
  • mpana - wide; broad; extensive; vast; width
  • tanko - group; organization; team
  • tepe - conceal; cover; shield; shelter
  • tiku - extract; withdraw; pick-up
  • tona - tuna
  • ntela - interact; interplay; interrelated
  • kanyo - question; ask; raise a question
  • kemu - experience; undergo
  • kinyo - intervene; get involved
  • kona - dress; skirt
  • kunye - moon; lunar; satellite
  • kuya - green; foliage; verdant
  • nkanu - short [in height and from end edge]
  • makua - iron; press; smooth out
  • menka - cotton
  • mosukua - Moscow
  • mutla - be absolute; unconditional
  • napo - turnip
  • ne - indirect object particle
  • nota - lie; be in horizontal position; horizon
  • nyalo - call; number; telephone
  • sahe - across; opposite; other side
  • sipanya - Spain
  • sokyo - helium
  • suama - sew; seam; mend; stitch
  • hasu - conjecture; guess; supposition; assumption
  • hilo - plaza; public square
  • hueta - testicle
  • tsame - accumulate; collect; gather; cluster
  • tsemu - jam; marmalade
  • tsitli - farm; ranch
  • tsuto - be curly-haired
  • tlato - recite rhythmically; chant; intone
  • tlehe - esteemed; honest; candid; sincere
  • tlokua - everybody; everyone
  • ato - that way [over there]
  • atsa - disc; rotate; wheel
  • esue - fail; lose
  • ila - sail; fly; navigate
  • otso - wolf; lupine
  • ulo - crop rotation
  • uatli - inferior; of lower quality
  • uetsi - dispirited downcast [idiom]; in low spirits
  • yatso - ferment; brew; make honey; liquor
  • yopi - mail; post [office]