User:Masako/nkala
kamalo
Phonology
Consonants
Consonants | Labial | Coronal | Dorsal |
---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | |
Plosive | p | t | k |
Fricative | s | ||
Approximant | w | l | j (y) |
Vowels
Vowels | Front | Back |
---|---|---|
Close | i | u |
Mid | e | o |
Open | a |
Syllable Structure
All syllables are of the form (C)V(N), that is, optional consonant + vowel + optional final nasal, or V, CV, VN, CVN.
Phonotactics
The following sequences are not allowed: /wo, wu, yi, yu, lu, tu/.
Allophony
Because of its small phoneme inventory, kamalo allows for quite a lot of allophonic variation. For example, /p t k/ may be pronounced [b d ɡ] as well as [p t k], /s/ as [z] or [ʃ] as well as [s], /l/ as [ɾ] as well as [l], and vowels may be either long or short.
Parts of Speech
All kamalo words are built from basic roots. These roots are always CVC (consonant+vowel+consonant) and surrounded by various affixes to subtly add nuance and change meaning. The majority of these roots are primarily verbal. The only other part of speech is particles.
Verbals
Verbs are the centerpiece of a kamalo sentence. They can mark for both agent and patient as well as tense. Many simple sentences are composed of only a verb. An unconjugated verb root can consist of as little as a single consonant. As a rule, all verb roots must start and end with a consonant.
- wata
- 1s-COP
- I am. / We are.