User:Masako/naho
grammar outline and resources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_Franca_Nova_grammar
- zompist.com/virtuver.htm
- languagesgulper.com/eng/languages.html
text
languagesgulper.com/eng/Quechua.html
§ 2.3) Phonotactics (otomato)
Kala words are typically made up of open syllables of the type CV (consonant-vowel) with most words having syllables exclusively of this type. There is a limited set of syllables allowed by Kala phonotactics, similar to Japanese or Chinese. Kala phonotactics does not typically allow the onsets of adjacent syllables to be identical, nor both to be labialized or palatalized. (There are a few exceptions to this, such as tata for the informal/familiar form of “father”, etc.) Syllables beginning with /l/ do not occur as the first syllable of a headword. Gemination does occur and is distinctive, however it is rare and usually only occurs in compound words.
yasa – wind & yesa – peace > yassa – peaceful-wind naka – woman & kana – leader > nakkan – chieftess; queen
§ 4) Syntax (teyeto)
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 tlaka mita anya dog man see man dog see The dog sees the man. The man sees the dog.
In both sentences, the words are identical; the only way to know whom is seeing who is by the order of the words in the sentence.
§ 4.1) Basic sentences (enketeye)
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 sama nala baby sleep sun shine The baby sleeps. The sun shines.
Transitive clauses follow a SOV pattern and grammatically require the object particle ke.
ona ke matla kuha tasako ke masala yake mother O stew cook hunt-AG O deer-INDEF pursue The mother is cooking the stew. The hunters are chasing some deer.
§ 4.1.2) Oblique Participants
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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]
§ 4.1.2.1) Dative (ka’e)
Dative participants can be marked with ka’e (“toward; to”), nya (“for; by”), or be syntactically indicated.
ntahi ke ina ka’e mita yeta ikema nya ena enke child O food toward dog give PROX-task for P.1s easy The child gives food to a dog. This task is easy for me.
katiko nya ntakum tsani teki ke kama na’amyo tanyaye old-AG for sibling-PL tell.story enemy O village 1pl.EXCL.GEN destroy-PST The old man recites a story for the siblings. The enemies destroyed our village.
§ 4.1.2.2) Instrumental (ma’a)
Instrumental participants can be marked with ma’a (“with; using”), nya (“for; by”), or be syntactically indicated.
ona ke ntahi ma’a tlimu nohya tsani nya ntaha moyapua mother O child with blanket wrap story by elder write-PFV The mother wraps the child in a blanket. The story has been written by the elder.
§ 4.1.2.3) Comitative (ma’a)
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 ha ke naha mue ta ka’elaye ka 1s with friend 1s.GEN O deer hunt 3s O river without 2s toward-MOT Q I'm hunting deer with my friend. Did she go to the river without you?
§ 4.1.2.4) Locative (hue)
Locative participants can be marked with a variety of adverbial prepositions, most typically -hue (“at; in; on”). See also 3.6.2) Locative verbs
taku nayo ke poti patlahue patsi nam tlatsahue masetli brother 1s.GEN O goat field-LOC herd 1pl fire-LOC dance-FUT My brother is herding goats in the field. We will dance near (at) the fire.
§ 4.1.3) Negation (nke; ak)
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: 3.1.4) Mood
tahi inyak yohuaye ha ke samalo anyak boy hunger-NEG night-PST 3s O star-PL watch-NEG The boy is not hungry. 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-MOT-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 eta tlahamyok P.2s leave-compel-NEG P.2s leave-PERM-NEG You don't have to leave. 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. § 4.1.5) Passives (kemi)
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 PASSIVE na ke tanum yempahue moheye ke tanum yempahue moheye 1s O plate-PL table-LOC place-PST O plate-PL table-LOC place-PST I put dishes on the table. Dishes were put on the table.
ACTIVE PASSIVE na ke topa muntaye ke topa ni naku nayo muntaye 1s O bed rearrange-PST O bed PASS sister 1s.GEN rearrange-PST I changed the bed. The bed was changed by my sister.
ACTIVE PASSIVE ha ke mosa yomutli ke mosa ni kola yomutli 3s O book read-FUT O book PASS AG.INDEF read-FUT She will read the book. The book will be read by someone.
§ 4.1.6) Reflexives & Reciprocals (ki ma anku)
Kala has reflexive and reciprocal pronoun forms as well as the verbal affix –ki (“self; reflexive”) [REFL], and as such reflexive and reciprocal declarative phrases are regular and predictable.
na'i sepaye kanku ke onta nayo itsa 1s.REFL injure-PST 3pl.RECP O parent 1s.GEN love I hurt myself. My parents love each other.
ha'i tlela na'anku amyapak 3sg.REFL bathe 1pl.EXCL.RECP like-ABIL-NEG She bathes herself. We (but not you) are not able to like each other.
In order to differentiate non-singular reflexives from reciprocals, -li (“each; every”) can be added – to the subject for reflexives, and to the object for reciprocals. Note however that this construction usually implies that all members of the subject group were actually affected by the action.
tanakoli matakiye kanku ke tanakoli matakiye fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST 3pl.RECP O fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST Each one of the warriors killed himself. The warriors killed each other [and nobody survived].
§ 4.2) Complex Sentences (mpukuteye)
§ 4.2.1) Clause Coordination (penkuteye)
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 ima kihu saman ehe pakyotlai boy brave CL.CONJ girl intelligent now weather sun-ADJ however storm-IMM The boy is brave and the girl is intelligent. Now the weather is sunny, but a storm will come soon.
§ 4.2.2) Coordination of noun phrases (no-teye)
Non-subject noun phrases are coordinated using the conjunction ma "and" (sometimes "with").
yomaye na ke tanka ma pato anya ona ma ota kyosanku day-PST 1s O eagle CONJ duck see mother and father fornicate-RECP I saw an eagle and a duck yesterday. Mother and father have sex [with each other].
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.
ta ma'a na ke molihuelatli 2s with 1s 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 tsola ue otso itsikua mataye 2s O pear or apple eat-PERM fox either.X.or.Y wolf PROX-bird kill-PST You may eat an apple or a pear. 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 na itlaka mek inaka unya day-PST dog-MASC but-NEG O meat receive 1s PROX-man but-NEG PROX-woman know The male dog but not the female dog I know this man, but not this woman. received meat yesterday.
§ 4.2.3) Complement 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-MOT-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.
§ 4.2.4) 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 kam tananitle ke teki tlalitli 1s O woman liked-REL meet-VOL 3pl fight-nice-REL O enemy defeat-FUT I want to meet a girl who is friendly. 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 tayayetle 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. (lit. the boy is smart and understands the task) § 4.2.5) 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.
§ 3) Morphology (umpu)
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. The words of Kala can be divided into two basic functional classes: verbs and nouns as content words, and particles and others as functional. Adjectives exist, but they generally behave like verbs and there are very few adjectives that are not derived from either verbal or nominal roots. The few adverbs that exist fall into the class of particles or are derived from verbs. The most important element of Kala lexemes to keep in mind is that they may function as a verb, noun, adjective, or an adverb based on where they fall in the phrase, and any various endings that may be affixed.
§ 3.1) Verbal morphology (uati)
§ 3.1.1) Copular Verbs (uati te a)
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 tomua nya itsaka yasue 3s tall rent for PROX-house cheap She is tall. The rent for this house is cheap.
§ 3.1.2) Tense (eme)
Kala does not always mark tense, especially when it can be inferred from context. However, Kala verbs can be marked for past and future tenses. Both past and future can be marked with augmentative and diminutive suffixes to add further layers of nuance, i.e. recent and remote past, as well as immediate and distant future tenses. Kala’s distinguishing three levels of both past and future time is a unique typological trait. The use of the variations of past and future are not subject to strict grammatical rules and are a question of pragmatics. The recent and immediate markers are most commonly used for near-scope, that is, things which have just happened or will happen very soon. Of the triad tense–aspect–mood this section will only cover basic uses of the marked tense categories, followed by a discussion of complex tense combinations such as past-in-future. The subsequent section will provide more insight into the morphological marking of aspectual categories; and the following section deals with the morphology of mood marking in Kala.
Verbs in Kala are unmarked for present tense, as it is the normal mode of speaking. Besides being used to comment or report on current events, the present tense is also used to make statements of general truth. Also, Kala does not strictly mark its verbs for past tense in narrative discourses (instead the adverbial aye (“it was”) will start the first phrase); verbs may therefore appear as a present-time reference in spite of recounting past events, whether historical or fictional.
The present tense can show immediacy by using the adverb ima, "now; at this time":
ima mita ina now dog eat The dog is eating right now.
If a temporal adverb is used, the tense suffix may be omitted:
yomaye nam ina yesterday 1pl eat We ate yesterday.
The past tense indicates actions in the past if not further modified. Past tense [PST] is marked by –ye from aye (“it was”) and indicates a general sense that the action occurred before the present.
na’eha anyaye 1s-P.3s see-PST I saw her.
The recent past [REC] is marked by –yehi or -hye (“it just was”) and indicates that the action just finished.
ha ke tsunku tanyayehi / tanyahye 3s O pot break-PST-DIM / break-REC He just broke the pot.
The remote past [REM] is marked by –yeha (“a long while ago”) and indicates the action took place before the lifetime of the speaker or at least several years prior.
kam hinahue asayeha 3pl here-LOC live-REM (PST-AUG) They lived here (a long while ago).
Note that the recent and the remote past tense are generally not marked if the past context is clear, for instance, when a past context has already been established in discourse. This may also happen explicitly by using a temporal adverbial such as yomaye (“yesterday”) or anyoye nye’o (“a hundred years ago”). In the presence of an explicit time adverbial, redundant tense marking is also dropped subsequently:
semaye na’am ma’a anku ina week-PST 1pl.EXCL with each.other eat We had lunch together last week.
The reference to the past is explicitly stated in the above example by the adverbial semaye (“last week”), so the verb here appears simply as ina (“eat”) rather than including the redundant past tense marking of –ye.
Future tense [FUT] is marked by –tli from atli (“it will be”) and indicates a general sense that the action will occur sometime after the present. It explicitly references to future time in Kala, that is, “someone’s plans, intentions or obligations”, as well as predictions. The future suffixes behave analogously to the ones indicating past tense. The following examples show the future tense markers in context:
nam nyahihue yelotli 1pl snow-LOC freeze-FUT We will freeze in the snow.
The immediate future tense [IMM] is marked by –tlihi or -tlai (“is about to”) and indicates that the action will occur within the day, or sooner.
na talatlihi / talatlai 1s come-FUT-DIM / come-IMM I’m coming. (in a moment)
The distant future [DIS] is marked by –tliha (“will...in a long while”) and indicates the action will take place months or years from the present.
kam ke naku kamyo talatliha haua 3pl O sister 3pl.GEN return-DIS (FUT-AUG) believe They believe that their sister will return. (one day)
Like the past tense, the future is often not explicitly marked if the time frame is clear from context or has been clarified with such adverbials as “tomorrow”;
yomatli na’eta anya day-FUT.(tomorrow) 1s-P.2s see I will see you tomorrow.
It is possible here to explicitly mark the verb for future tense as well, for example, to make a promise, or to otherwise emphasize that the future condition will come to pass:
ya ueta, sematli na’etla tamitli VOC uncle week-FUT 1s-P.4s repair-FUT I will fix it next week, uncle.
“Already”, past in past & past in future
So far, we have only dealt with tense marking from the point of view of the present. However, it is also possible to refer to an event which precedes another event in the past. Kala uses the particle tso (already; since) to indicate actions that took place prior to the primary tense of the verb. It is most often placed at the beginning of a verb phrase.
tso mikelo yetla inaye tso maliya yetla inatli ama nam talatli already Michael DIST-4s eat-PST already Mary DIST-4s eat-FUT time 1pl arrive-FUT Michael already ate that (before). Mary will have already eaten that (before) when we (will) arrive.
§ 3.1.3) Aspect (ti’a)
There are four aspects in Kala. The progressive [PROG], 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". This aspect could also be analyzed as the imperfective in that it can easily be combined with tense markers to add nuance.
kyolon ha antankoye be.quick-ADV 3s breathe-CONT-PST She was breathing quickly.
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". Perfective forms are used for completed actions, no matter what time they occur.
na mita kamyo anyapua 1s dog 3pl.GEN see-PFV I’ve seen their dog.
The inchoative aspect refers to the beginning of a state [INCH]. It is marked with -mu, from mula - "to begin; start; initiate".
tso ha apuamu already 3s sing-INCH She already began to sing.
The frequentative aspect refers to a repeated action [FREQ]. It is marked with -nua, from nua - "frequent; often; regular".
tahi topunuaye boy jump-FREQ-PST The boy was jumping up and down.
§ 3.1.4) Mood (toka)
Abilitative mood
The abilitative mood [ABIL] expresses ability to accomplish, and positive potential occurrences. It is marked with -pa, from pala - "to be able; can ~; ability".
kam yalapa ha ke mita anyapayek 3pl walk-ABIL 3s O dog see-ABIL-PST-NEG They are able to walk. She couldn’t see the dog.
Assumptive mood
The assumptive mood [ASS] indicates that the statement is assumed to be true, because it usually is under similar circumstances, although there may not be any specific evidence that it is true in this particular case. It is marked with -ho, from toho – ("claim; assert that ~; assume").
ueta namyo hinaho uncle 1pl.GEN be.here-ASS Our uncle must be here.
Attemptive mood
The attemptive mood [ATT] expresses an attempt to accomplish. It is marked with -pya, from upya - "to try; attempt".
na’am nya uatsi inahahue tasapyaye 1pl.EXCL for fish PROX-river-LOC hunt-ATT-PST We tried to fish in this river.
Dubitative mood
The dubitative mood [DUB] indicates that the statement is dubious, doubtful, or uncertain. It is marked with -ke, from ketsa - "doubt; suspect; suspicion".
ha yetloke mita nya pyolato unyake 3s be.malnourished-DUB dog for roll-way know-DUB She must be sick. It is doubtful the dog knows how to roll-over. (I guess she's sick / maybe she's sick / she might be sick, but it is doubtful)
Hortative mood
The hortative mood [HORT] expresses encouragement, or urges. It is marked with -kya, from kya - "the imperative particle".
inakya hakyohue mokukyanke eat-HORT school-LOC sleep-HORT-NEG Let’s eat! Let’s not sleep at school.
Necessitative mood
The necessitative mood [NEC] expresses requirement, necessity, insistence, imploring, self-encouragement, intent, command, purpose or consequence. It is marked with -he, from heya - "to need; require".
nam mokuhe tlenoko ke tseuem mahahe 1pl sleep-NEC wood-AG O nail more-NEC We need (to) sleep. The carpenter needs more nails.
Negative mood
The negative mood [NEG] (always marked finally) is indicated by the suffix –k or –nke (when the last syllable contains /k/). This mood also indicates an abessive case [ABE].
mita inayek ueta kamyo takanke dog eat-PST-NEG uncle 3pl.GEN honor-ABE The dog did not eat. Their uncle is dishonor(ed/able).
Permissive mood
The permissive mood [PERM] indicates that the action is permitted by or for the speaker. It is marked by –myo from myonta “permit; allow”.
ena inamyoyek nameha nahelamyo P.1s eat-PERM-PST-NEG 1pl-P.3s inside-MOT-PERM I was not allowed to eat. We permit her to enter.
Precative mood
The precative mood [PREC] expresses a request or proposition. It can sometimes be translated as “please”. It is marked with -te, from teya - "propose; request; suggest". The interrogative particle ka can be dropped when the precative is used. This makes the phrase a more polite request.
ta ke asi yetate akate 2s O salt give-PREC move.slightly-PREC Will you please pass the salt? Please, move. (lit: You pass the salt, please) (just a bit less polite than “excuse me”)
Preparative mood
The preparative mood [PREP] expresses readiness or anticipation. It is marked with -sue, from yaso - "prepare; be ready".
na inasuek yalasue ka 1s eat-PREP-NEG go-PREP Q I am not ready to eat. (You) ready to go?
Propositive mood
The propositive mood [PROP] expresses proposals or suggestions. It is marked with -ne, from neya - "ought to; suggest".
ta inane ke itanum apyapuane 2s eat-PROP O PROX-plate-PL clean-PFV-PROP You should eat. These dishes should have been cleaned.
Volitive mood
The volitive mood [VOL] expresses wants, desires, hopes, and intentions. It is marked with -ue, from ueha - "want; desire; wish" and/or ueyo - "intend; intention".
taku nayo hinauek nahim ka’e kamahi yalaueye brother 1s.GEN be.here-VOL-NEG girl-PL toward city-DIM go-VOL-PST My brother doesn’t want to be here. The girls intended to go toward the village.
§ 3.2) Nouns (noma)
§ 3.2.3) Size & Importance (manyo ma muna)
Diminutive
Diminutive nouns and endearment terms can be formed from verbs and other nouns by adding the suffix -hi (from ahi - "few; small") [DIM]. 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
This is also used to denote an offspring, younger sibling, or descendent in familial words.
hyata nayo ke nekohi nomok takuhi kamyo hinayeha grandfather 1s.GEN O cat-DIM like-NEG brother-DIM3pl.GEN be.here-REM My grandfather doesn’t like kittens. Their little brother was here (a long while ago).
Augmentative
Augmentative nouns can be formed from verbs and other nouns by adding the suffix -ha (from taha - "big; large; grand") [AUG]. 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
There is also -hu (from kyohu - “be drastic; extreme; aggressive”) [EXT], occasionally used to describe the superlative in comparison. This becomes -ku after a syllable that contains a glottal fricative.
imita ke na anyapuatle kapihu PROX-dog O 1s see-PFV-REL ugly-EXT This dog is the ugliest I’ve seen.
The diminutive and augmentative are also used in making comparisons (covered in detail later in this grammar).
ha kiha > 3s tall > She is tall. ha ke takuhi nayo kihaka > 3s O brother-DIM 1s.GEN tall-AUG > She is taller than my little brother. ha ke tanko hayo kihaku > 3s O team 3s.GEN tall-EXT > She is the tallest on her team. ha kihaku > 3s tall-EXT > She is the tallest.
§ 3.3) Pronouns (nkalo)
Kala generally distinguishes four persons, the fourth person indicating abstract and inanimate nouns – both in the singular and plural numbers. There is also a distinction between inclusive (I/we and you) and exclusive (EXCL) (we but not you) forms of the first person plural.
The chart above demonstrates that the nominative/agentive (NOM/A) and absolute forms of the pronouns are identical.
-m marks the plural (PL) -nku marks the reciprocal (RECP) e- marks the patient (accusative) (P) -i marks the reflexive (REFL) -yo marks the possessive or genitive (GEN)
Pronominal constructions
The agent and patient pronouns are linked in most constructions. That means that the agent and the patient form one word. This is done with the pronominal patient marking affix -e-.
na’eha anya kameta motoyek 1s-P.3s see 3pl-P.2s remember-PST-NEG I see her. They didn’t remember you.
tametla yohauek nye ta’ena tapya ka 2pl-P.4s have-VOL-NEG reason 2s-P.1s follow Q You (all) don’t want to have it. Why are you following me?
§ 3.5) Derivation (yota)
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
Honorific
Honorific nouns can be formed from other nouns by prefixing o-.
omasa - "stag" < masa - deer; cervine okama - "capital" < kama - town; village
§ 3.5.1) Word Formation (muntamila)
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’an – quietly enke - "simple" > enken – simply ntahi - "child" > ntahin – childish; childlike putsu - "monster" > putsun – monstrous yoti - "game" > yotin – playful hanya - "nation" > hanyan – national kuaha - "science" > kuahan – scientific olo - "gold" > olon – made of gold § 3.5.2) Compounding (tsunamila)
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
§ 3.6) Particles (peya)
Particles in Kala cover a broad spectrum of what are more accurately called function words. These include adverbs, prepositions (more accurately locative or relative verbs), conjunctions, interjections, onomatopes, and structural particles.
§ 3.6.1) Adverbs (pusa)
Adverbs in Kala strictly modify verb phrases and tend to be placed before the construction. They are marked with -n, from no - "thing; item".
kyolon ha ina tsumun mita yalapayek be.quick-ADV 3s eat be.careful-ADV dog walk-ABIL-PST-NEG She is eating quickly. The dog was unable to walk carefully.
kyo’an nta’im mokunko sapon ha ke tapo hayo iuanko be.quiet-ADV infant-PL sleep-PROG be.soft-ADV 3s O shoulder 3s.GEN massage-CONT The babies are sleeping quietly. He is massaging her shoulder softly.
§ 3.6.2) Locative verbs (tatse)
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:
-hue – in; at; on (general locative) nahe – within; inside nyaue – out; outside of; exterior ma’e – before; in front of pue – behind; after; in back of ua’e – above; over; on tahe – below; under; beneath; bottom ya’e – near; close to uaye – away (from) maye – between; among
The above are used as prepositions, but can also function strictly as verbs.
mita tahe yempa ina mita ke yempa tahe dog under table eat dog table be.under The dog is eating under the table. The dog is under the table. (The dog is under the table eating.)
The suffix -la (from yala “go; walk; travel”) forms an allative preposition, expressing movement in the indicated direction, stopping at the position indicated by the locative:
nahela topu – into bed pahela ke ana tayo – onto your head tsayela tsaka – up to the house
The locative/allative pair works like English on/onto, in/into, but in Kala this distinction is made for all locatives: you must distinguish between
pue’ela kuanu – go behind a bush - (motion implied → allative) pue kuanu koma – hide behind a bush - (no motion → locative)
§ 3.6.3) Conjunctions (penku)
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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.
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 [with each other].
ta ma'a na ke molihuelatli 2s with 1s 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 tsola ue otso itsikua mataye 2s O pear or apple eat-PERM fox either.X.or.Y wolf PROX-bird kill-PST You may eat an apple or a pear. 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 1s PROX-man but-NEG PROX-woman know I know this man, but not this woman.
§ 3.6.4) Interjections (nita)
The term “interjection” is used to cover a range of pragmatic, or discourse markers that do not fit well into any other category. This is because many words and expressions have a pragmatic rather than a semantic meaning.
a – expresses acknowledgement, agreement, or simply that one is listening e – marks dispreferreds, ends a digression, impo – marks a sudden change of topic ya – vocative marker, polite imperative, expresses commiseration yali – excuses jostling or interruptions
These can occur either at the beginning or the end of a sentence.
e…nakkan ke ameyo yohatsek well queen O America have-seem-NEG Well... America doesn’t really have a queen.
ke motsa ya’o…a O banana five yes Mm hmm, (you want) five bananas.
impo…taye katso ka so about meal Q Anyway, what about dinner?
ya kyo’a…nam tsipue VOC quiet 1pl late Hey, shut up, we’re late!
Other common interjections – of course – include curses, vulgarities, obscenities, etc.
kotsa – a spiteful person (“bitch; bastard”) kuna – excrete; expel; defecate (“shit”) kyosa – sex; copulation; fornicate (“fuck”) nanka – emphasizing disgust; [interj. of contempt]; (“damn; darn”) tsaya – damn [general invective]
§ 5) Serial Verbs (uatitsuna)
§ 5.1) Comparison (nisanko)
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 ke mauam tayo yanahu house 3s.GEN O 1s.GEN big-AUG O flower.PL 2s.GEN yellow-EXT His house is bigger than mine. Your flowers are the most yellow.
iyapo ke tsaka tayo pakoha mitala ke yetlam hikyahi PROX-building O home 2sg new-AUG dog-INDEF O DIST-4pl old-DIM This building is newer than your home. Some dogs are less old (younger) than others.
When comparing the amount of involvement of several participants …:
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.
6.2. Comparison Comparative adjectives are formed by adding the adverbs plu (‘more’) and min (‘less’). ‘Than’ is ca: • La cosina es plu calda ca la jardin. – The kitchen is hotter than the garden. • Esta leto es min comfortosa ca me ia previde. – This bed is less comfortable than I expected. Superlative adjectives are formed by adding the adverbs la plu (‘most’) and la min (‘least’): 29 • La sol es la ojeto la plu calda en la sistem solal. – The sun is the hottest object in the solar system. • El ia ave un fia la plu bela en la mundo. – She had a daughter, the most beautiful (of daughters) in the world. Ordinal numbers can be combined with the superlative construction: • Vega es la stela sinco la plu briliante en la sielo de note. – Vega is the fifth brightest star in the night sky. • El ia deveni la om tre la plu rica en la mundo. – He became the third richest man in the world. Equality comparisons use the combination tan… como… (‘so… as…’): • La arbor ia es tan alta como un casa. – The tree was as tall as a house. • On es tan joven como on senti. – You’re as young as you feel.
ha ke tanko hayo kihaku > 3s O team 3s.GEN tall-EXT > She is the tallest on her team.
akana.conlang.org/wiki/Ronc_Tyu/Serial_verb_constructions#Sequential_events
akana.conlang.org/wiki/Ronc_Tyu#Relative_clauses
wikibooks.org/wiki/Japanese/Grammar/Transitivity
Abbreviations
1 first person 2 second person 3 third person 4 fourth person ABIL abilitative mood AG agentive ASS assumptive mood ATT attemptive mood CONT continuous aspect DIST distal deixis DUB dubitative mood FUT future tense HORT hortative mood IMM immediate future tense MED medial deixis NEC necessitative mood NEG negative mood O (direct) object / topic PFV perfective aspect PL plural PREC precative mood PREP preparative mood PROG progressive aspect PROP propositive mood PROX proximal deixis PST past tense Q question particle SG singular VOL volitive mood
links:
akana.conlang.org/wiki/Ronc_Tyu en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Na’vi frathwiki.com/Kala hungarianreference.com/ japaneselanguageguide.com/grammar/noun.asp kinezika.info/pdf/ChineseEssentialGrammar.pdf klingonwiki.net/En/Math ossicone.com/conlangs/uskra pomax.github.io/nrGrammar/ resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/ rickmor.x10.mx/arabic_morphology.html turkishlanguage.co.uk/ zompist.com/kitgram.html zompist.com/wedei.html
