Kala

THIS SECTION IS CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED TO REFLECT A NEW GRAMMAR.

The Kala conlang...

• calendar
• conversations
• etymology
• lexicon
  • thematic lexicon
• particles
• phrases
• word formation
• writing

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;

• niha – good; 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.

• yohua – night(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 huatso “midnight”.

• tsoya – center; middle; mid-; half (from Mandarin 中 / 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 huatso “midnight” and yotso “midday; noon”.

This is a very small sample of borrowings:

• pato – duck (Anatidae); from Spanish pato
• kala – to speak, talk, converse; from Arabic takallama
• myonta – to allow, permit; from Finnish myöntää
• na – I, me; from Arabic ʾanā
• tsenka – orange; from Chinese chéng
• uasi – to take, get, acquire; from Lakota wasichu
• a – to 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?

• ta - Arabic ʾanta; ke - Chinese gè; inu - Hawaiian inu; uasi - Lakota wasichu; ka - Japanese か

Phonology

Consonants

• Where ~ appears, it indicates free variation between phonemes.

Consonants

	Labial	Alveolar		Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m (m)	n (n)		ɲ (ny)
Plosive	p~b (p)	t~d (t)			k~g (k)	ʔ ( ' )
Affricate		ts~t͡ʃ (ts)	t͡ɬ~tl (tl)
Continuant		s~ʃ (s)	l~ɾ (l)			h~ɦ (h)
Semivowel				j (y)	w (u)

The glottal stop is not phonemic but is included in the chart above for completeness. It is only ever intervocalic, meaning it is pronounced between two vowels and/or diphthongs.

• Prenasalized: /ᵐp ⁿt ᵑk/
• Labialized:/pʷ kʷ mʷ nʷ ʃʷ hʷ t͡ʃʷ/
• Palatalized: /pʲ kʲ mʲ hʲ/

Free variation

Because of its small phoneme inventory, Kala 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 l h/ as [ʃ ɾ ɦ], and /t͡s t͡ɬ/ as [t͡ʃ t͡l]; also, vowels may be either long or short, but are most often only lengthened when stressed.

Sound Changes

The phoneme /n/ undergoes an assimilatory process when followed by /p~b/ to become /m/. Words that are ostensibly “vowel-initial” tend to be pronounced with an initial glottal stop when occurring within phrases. Where ~ appears, it indicates free variation between phonemes. However, certain sounds change in a predictable way. For example, /h/ becomes [ɦ] when preceded or followed by a front vowel, including when labialized or palatalized. It is also sometimes realized as [x], or even [χ]. The alveolar affricates are most often /t͡ʃ/ and /t͡ɬ/. The “s” is almost always /ʃ/ unless preceded or followed by a syllable with the onset /t͡ʃ/, in which case “s” becomes /s/. So, sama (sun; star; solar) is /ˈʃaːma/ where sitsa (heat; hot) is /ˈsiːt͡ʃa/ and tsisi (embroider; embroidery) is /t͡ʃiːsi/. /ts~t͡ʃ/ is typically realized as / t͡ʃ / when followed by front vowels, and /ts/ elsewhere. This is also the case with /s~ʃ/; /sa/ >> /ʃi/.

Vowels

Vowels

	Front	Back
Close	i~ɪ (i)	u~ʊ (u)
Mid	e~ɛ (e)	o~o: (o)
Open	a~ɑ (a)

Kala has five vowels /i/, /e/, /a/, /o/ and /u/. Each occurs in both stressed and unstressed syllables. Phonetic nasalization occurs for vowels occurring between nasal consonants or when preceding a syllable-final nasal, e.g. tsunka [ˈt͡ʃũᵑka] ('bug').

Diphthongs

Phonetically, Kala has only two diphthongs, both falling; [aɪ̯] ai and [aʊ̯] ao, but there are five syllables that can be analyzed as rising diphthongs; [wa] ua, [we] ue, [ja] ya, [je] ye, and [jo] yo. The two triphthongs [waɪ̯] uai and [jaʊ̯] yao are very rare but should be noted as possible.

Phonotactics

The maximal syllable structure is (strictly open syllables) (N)(C)(u, y)V(a, i) where (N) indicates nasalization, and u and y indicate labialization and palatalization respectively. Consonant clusters within a syllable typically only occur in place names or “foreign” words, so that the majority of syllables follow a simple (C)V(ː) pattern.

There is a limited set of syllables, of the type CV (consonant-vowel), 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., as well as reduplication as a form of plurality.) Syllables beginning with /l/ do not occur as the first syllable of a headword (except in loanwords and toponyms).

When an affix causes reduplication of a syllable it is replaced by –u, which has no meaning. This is done to reduce duplicate syllables. An example might be tsuala’u meaning “to become prosperous”, from tsuala “prosper; be prosperous” and the suffix –la meaning “become; change into”, used to indicate the mutative.

Gemination

Gemination is only found as a product of word compounding and not as a phonological process, however it affects the pronunciation as the phonemic variation is lost and all geminated consonants are voiceless. naka (woman) can be /ˈnaːka/ or /ˈnaːga/, whereas nakkan (chieftess) can only be /ˈnaːkkan/. All consonants except for semivowels can undergo gemination.

Syllables

Syllable structure in Kala is exclusively made up of open syllables of the type CV (consonant-vowel) with most lexemes having two syllables exclusively of this type. The exception to this rule are the word final endings –m (indicating general plural, deriving from ma, meaning “and, also”), -n (indicating accusative case, deriving from no, meaning “thing, object”), and –k (indicating negative mood, deriving from nke, meaning “no, not”).

Syllable Chart

the 136 basic Kala syllables

	a	e	i	o	u	ua	ue	ya	ye	yo	ai	ao	uai	yao
p	(m)pa	(m)pe	(m)pi	(m)po	(m)pu	pua	pue	pya	pye	pyo	pai	pao	puai	pyao
t	(n)ta	(n)te	(n)ti	(n)to							tai	tao
k	(n)ka	(n)ke	(n)ki	(n)ko	(n)ku	kua	kue	kya	kye	kyo	kai	kao	kuai	kyao
m	ma	me	mi	mo	mu	mua	mue	mya	mye	myo	mai	mao	muai	myao
n	na	ne	ni	no	nu	nua	nue	nya	nye	nyo	nai	nao	nuai	nyao
s	sa	se	si	so	su	sua	sue				sai	sao	suai
h	ha	he	hi	ho	hu	hua	hue	hya	hye	hyo	hai	hao	huai	hyao
ts	tsa	tse	tsi	tso	tsu	tsua	tsue				tsai	tsao	tsuai
tl	tla	tle	tli	tlo							tlai	tlao
l	la	le	li	lo							lai	lao
-	a	e	i	o	u	ua	ue	ya	ye	yo	ai	ao	uai	yao

Syllables such as nsa, ntla, or ntsa can occur but usually only in place names or loanwords. The A-O columns are called mpalo and are the most common, the U-YO are called puhyo, the AI-YAO/red syllables above occur infrequently and most often as the final syllable of a word, are referred to as paihyao.

Collating Order

The collating sequence (alphabetical order) is based on the order established in the Naua script.

Consonants	p	t	k	m	n	s	h	ts	tl	l
Vowels	a	e	i	o	u	ua	ue	ya	ye	yo

Based on this order, ma would come before ha, etc. Prenasalized syllables are ordered after their non-prenasalized counterparts, i.e. mpa comes after pyo but before ta. To see the collating sequence in action, look through the lexicon. This order can be vocalized as “pa, ta, ka, ma, na, nya, sa, ha, tsa, tla, ua, la, ya, a”, this aides in memorization and organization.

Stress

Stress generally falls on the penultimate syllable, which means that stress is de facto initial in most lemma given that stems are most often (CVCV). Monosyllabic words are not stressed. So;

• masa - /ˈmaːsa/ → masako - /maːˈsako/
• tliyama - /tɬiːˈjama/ → tliyamalo - /tɬiːjaˈmalo/
• kam - /kaːm/ → kamyo - /ˈkaːmʲo/
• empahapak - /ɛᵐpaˈhaːpak/ → empahapayek - /ɛᵐpahaˈpaːjek/

Morphology

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 do not exist, instead, stative verbs explain the state of the subject, i.e. “to be red”. 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. Kala has two basic parts of speech. In most cases, the more important elements of a phrase are clustered toward the end of the sentence (e.g. verbs and their modifiers). The less important an element is to the understanding of a sentence, the more likely it is to be dropped. Consequently, many Kala sentences end-up consisting solely of a verb (or adjectival verb); more so in conversation than in written Kala, these short phrases are grammatically correct and natural. Here are some examples:

• muya ka - /muːja gaː/ - do Q - (What are you) doing?
• inanko - /iːna/ - eat-CONT - (I am) eating.
• tamatse - /tamaːˌt͡ʃɛ/ - good-seem - (That looks) good.
• ueha ka - /weːɦa kaː/ - want Q - (Do you) want (some)?
• nyasak - /ɲaːʃak/ - thank-NEG - No, thank (you).

Notice that none of the above contains any pronouns, or nouns. Any contextually understood elements may be omitted unless indispensable. There can be considerable divergence from what is grammatical, and what is acceptably idiomatic. The spectrum of formality and grammatical to idiomatic can be seen in the example below:

• netla muyaye – 1sg-P.4sg do-PST – I did it. > [grammatical, formal]
• etla muyaye – P.4sg do-PST – (I) did it. >> It was done. > [grammatical, formal, passive]
• na muyaye – 1sg do-PST – I did (it). > [grammatical, informal]
• muyaye – do-PST – (I) did (it). > [semi-grammatical, idiomatic]
• muyye – /muːɟɛ/ – do-PST – (I) did (it). > [ungrammatical, idiomatic]

• Function Words

Function words are called mayatla (“water words”; flowing speech). In this case, the words are "empty" in that they don't do anything by themselves. They serve important grammatical functions by making clear relationships between words, logical connections, or modifications of meaning. Function words are the "grammar words" of Kala. There are subcategories of function words that include: prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, pragmatics, and particles.

• Content Words

Content words are called konotla (“stone words”; still/solid speech) Contrary to function words, content words refer to real objects in the real world, whether solid and palpable, or observable in some other way. These words refer to objects, actions, concepts, and emotions, which exist in some real way as more than just grammatical tools. Subcategories of content words are: nouns, pronouns, verbs (active and stative), adverbials, number words, and onomatopoeia. Many content words can be used as both nouns and verbs. The best and most common example would be ina /iːˈna/ "food; to eat". Kala is a context-oriented language. The English glosses are meant to give an idea of what the core meaning of the Kala word actually is, but which do not imply that the Kala word actually covers all the main senses of these English words. Conversely, many words with a meaning much narrower than their English gloss are not precisely specified.

Nouns

The morphology of Kala nouns can be complex enough to include number, gender, size, case, quality, etc. However, it should be noted that a few of these are also non-obligatory. That is, if the meaning or intended meaning can be inferred from context, certain nominal modifiers may be omitted. Due to the semantic range of Kala words, the declension of nouns is often used to convey both the lexical role, but also the semantic use, and grammatical importance of the word. Kala nominals (which includes full nouns, pronouns, and determiners) inflect for number and several cases. Other relevant distinctions are animacy and possession, but these are not always marked on the noun itself. Animacy plays a role both for pronoun choice and for the validity of some syntactic constructions.

Number

In general the plural suffix is not used when the plurality of the noun is clear from context. For example, while the English sentence "there are three dogs" would use the plural "dogs" instead of the singular "dog", the Kala sentence mita ha'o a "dog three exist" keeps the word mita "dog" in its unmarked form, as the numeral makes the plural marker redundant. The collective plural is marked by tli-, derived from tatli, meaning "group; collection; gathering". It is mainly used to indicate collectives of animals, but can also indicate groups of flora, geographic features, and various other groupings. This is called the collective plural (COL). There are also markers for paucal (a few of something), distributive (each of a countable group), or inclusive, and an indefinite large number (many, much).

	Kala	gloss	English
Singular [SG]	mita	dog	a/the dog
Plural [PL]	mita-m	dog-PL	(the) dogs
Paucal [PAU]	mita-mi	dog-PAU	(a) few dogs
Collective [COL]	tli-mita	COL-dog	(a) dog pack
Distributive [DIS]	mita-li [or -kua]	dog-DIS/INCL	each/every dog
Indefinite Mass [IM]	mita-mpa	dog-IM	many dogs

These endings can sometimes be combined to add nuance to the meaning, such as; tlimitam - COL-dog-PL - dog packs / packs of dogs; imitalin malo - PROX-dog-DIS-ACC be.brown – each of these dogs is brown

When the final syllable of a word contains a labial consonant, ‘m’, ‘mp’, and ‘p’ the plural marking changes to -lo. The –lo ending is also used when the word begins with a vowel, and when the –m ending conflicts phonotactically with a given case suffix. An example of this would be; yama - mountain - a mountain → yamalo - mountain-PL – mountains → tliyama - COL-mountain - a mountain range / range of mountains → tliyamalo - COL-mountain-PL - mountain ranges / ranges of mountains.

Reduplication

Nominal reduplication in Kala indicates a plurality and that the items are scattered about in a disorderly manner. It can also indicate uncountable version of a countable noun. Occasionally, it reflects a juvenile or informal register; in this respect, it can be compared to the English diminutive ending "-y" or "-ie" (kitty, “doggie", etc.) Verb reduplication is also common in Kala as it marks adverbs. Often, this adverb is an informal and/or temporary character of the action. It may also indicate a nominal form of the verb.

• kya o’unkonke - IMP be.loud-NEG - Don’t speak loudly!

The morphological process of reduplication is irregular in Kala and is based primarily on the initial syllable of the word. The nasals (N), plosives (P), affricates (A), continuants (C), and semivowels and vowels (S) each undergo various changes during reduplication.

• N → N/(y/u)

• muku - knife → mumuku – knives scattered around
• muela - raspberry → memuela – raspberries scattered around / a bunch of raspberries
• nyahi - snow → nanyahi – snow all around

• P → nP/(y/u) or nP → P/(y/u)

• pana - rain → pampana – rain all around (“It’s raining all over.”)
• ntasi – excitement → ntatasi – chaotic fits
• kano – dear; darling → kankano – “sweetie; lovey”
• kyo’a – be quiet → konko’a – quietly

• A → C/(y/u)

• tloso – annoy; bother → tloloso – bothersome
• tsima – hour → tsisima – hourly; regularly
• tsuama – sandwich → tsasuama – sandwiches scattered about / a sandwich tray

• C → ~/(y/u) [mostly s → ts and h → k]

• sama - sun → satsama – sunny; sunshine all around
• suku - shop → sutsuku – marketplace; bazaar
• hama – protect; defend → hakama – protective

• S → ‘u or ~

• ima – now; yet → i’uma – immediately [sounds like /ˈjuːma/]
• etsa – degree; extent → e’utsa – extensive

Gender

Gender is not normally marked but can be with the endings -na and -ta to mark the feminine and masculine, respectively or nouns such as naka, tlaka, nahi, or tahi (the woman, the man, the girl, the boy), etc. A gender neutral suffix, -nta may be used when the gender is unknown or ambiguous.

• kuma - bear - a bear → kumana - bear-FEM - sow → kumata - bear-MASC - boar
• masa - deer - a deer → masana - deer-FEM - doe → masata - deer-MASC - stag
• uma - horse - a horse → umana - horse-FEM - mare → umata - horse-MASC - stallion

Case

Case is marked with suffixes. The regular forms of the case markers are given in the list below. Case is marked on noun phrases using null marking for agents, and -n for patients. The clitic -n can appear on multiple noun phrases in a single sentence at once, such as the direct object, indirect object, and adverbial nouns.

Case	Suffix	Use
Nominative [NOM]	-Ø	indicates a syntactic core participant of the action, agent, force, or experiencer
Accusative [ACC]	-n	indicates a patient, theme or goal (used as Oblique occasionally), instrument, or experiencer
Genitive [GEN]	-yo	indicates alienable association or possession (see also te)
Dative [DAT]	-la	indicates the recipient/beneficiary of an action, or movement towards object
Locative [LOC]	-hue	indicates location or circumstance
Ablative [ABL]	-nte / -uai	indicates origin, source, or movement away from a location
Comitative [COM]	-mua	indicates instrument, or in company of something
Abessive [ABE]	-mue	indicates the lack or absence of something
Terminative [TERM]	-mpe	indicates the extent, finality, or limit (also Limitative)

Nominative

The nominative [NOM] is not marked [-Ø] and is in the absolutive form. It indicates a syntactic core participant of the action, agent, force, or experiencer.

• na kanyo

1sg-NOM ask

I ask.

• mita ina

dog-NOM eat

A/the dog eats.

Accusative

The accusative [ACC] is marked with the clitic -n and indicates a patient, theme or goal (used as Oblique occasionally), instrument, or experiencer.

• tlaka mitan anya

man-NOM dog-ACC see

A/The man sees a/the dog.

• mita kutsun ina

dog-NOM meat-ACC eat

A/the dog eats (the) meat.

Genitive

Genitive [GEN] -yo indicates alienable association or possession (see also te)

Dative

Dative/Lative [DAT] -tle / -le indicates the recipient/beneficiary of an action, or movement towards object

Locative

Locative [LOC] -hue indicates location or circumstance

Ablative

Ablative [ABL] -nte / -uai indicates origin, source, or movement away from a location

Comitative

Comitative [COM] -mua indicates instrument, or in company of something

Abessive

Abessive [ABE] -mue indicates the lack or absence of something

Terminative

Terminative [TERM] -mpe indicates the extent, finality, or limit (also Limitative)

Pronouns

Kala agent pronouns are often omitted when the person is obvious from context. There are four persons in Kala. The 4th being inanimate, or indefinite. The pronoun na'am is used as the 1st person plural exclusive, meaning "We, but not you." The 3rd person plural is irregular, all other pronoun decline regularly. Pronouns do not inflect for gender; if gender is significant, one can use words like naka, tlaka, nahi, tahi (the woman, the man, the girl, the boy), etc.

Personal pronouns:

• na - 1st person
• ta - 2nd person
• ha - 3rd person
• tla - 4th person ("it", "one") (used for inanimate nouns)

Modifiers:

• -m - plural
• -nku - reciprocal (only attaches to plural pronouns)
• e- - patient
• -i - reflexive
• -yo - possessive

Other pronouns include:

• tlokua - everyone, everybody
• kola - someone, somebody; whomever, anyone, anybody
• tlok - no one, nobody
• nokua - everything
• nola - something; whatever, anything
• nok - nothing

nkalo

	Agent	Patient	Reflexive	Possessive	Reciprocal
1sg	na	ena	na'i	nayo	-
2sg	ta	eta	ta'i	tayo	-
3sg	ha	eha	ha'i	hayo	-
4sg	tla	etla	tla'i	tlayo	-
1pl 1pl exclusive	nam na'am	enam ena'am	nami na'ami	namyo na'amyo	nanku na'anku
2pl	tam	etam	tami	tamyo	tanku
3pl	kam	ekam	kami	kamyo	kanku
4pl	tlam	etlam	tlami	tlamyo	tlanku

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-.

• neha anya

1s-P.3s see

I see her.

• kameta motoyek

3pl-P.2s remember-PST-NEG

They didn’t remember you.

• tametla yohauek

2pl-P.4s have-DES-NEG

You (all) don’t want to have it.

• nya tena tapya ka

for 2s-P.1s follow Q

Why are you following me?

A/P	1sg	2sg	3sg	4sg	1pl	1pl.EXCL	2pl	3pl	4pl
1sg	-	neta	neha	netla	-	-	netam	nekam	netlam
2sg	tena	-	teha	tetla	tenam	tena'am	-	tekam	tetlam
3sg	hena	heta	-	hetla	henam	hena'am	hetam	-	hetlam
4sg	tlena	tleta	tleha	-	tlenam	tlena'am	tletam	tlekam	-
1pl	-	nameta	nameha	nametla	-	-	nametam	namekam	nametlam
1pl.EXCL	-	na'ameta	na'ameha	na'ametla	-	-	na'ametam	na'amekam	na'ametlam
2pl	tamena	-	tameha	tametla	tamenam	tamena'am	-	tamekam	tametlam
3pl	kamena	kameta	-	kametla	kamenam	kamena'am	kametam	-	kametlam
4pl	tlamena	tlameta	tlameha	-	tlamenam	tlamena'am	tlametam	tlamekam	-

Reflexives and Reciprocals

Kala handles reflexives and reciprocals using suffixes that can be added to either the pronoun or the verb. The reflexive suffix added to pronouns is –i, when added to verbs it is –ki, from ki meaning “self; essence”. The reciprocal suffix added to pronouns and verbs is –nku, , from anku meaning “reciprocate; [in] return”.

• na'i sepaye

1s.REFL injure-PST

I hurt myself.

• ha'i tlela

3s.REFL bathe

She bathes herself.

• kanku ke onta nayo itsa

3pl.RECP O parent 1s.GEN love

My parents love each other.

• na'anku amyapak

1pl.EXCL.RECP like-ABIL-NEG

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

fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST

Each one of the warriors killed himself.

• kanku ke tanakoli matakiye

3pl.RECP O fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST

The warriors killed each other [and nobody survived].

Determiners & Demostratives

The demonstratives can be prefixed to any noun to show deixis. Kala makes a three-way distinction. Typically there is a distinction between proximal or first person (objects near to the speaker), medial or second person (objects near to the addressee), and distal or third person (objects far from both).

• itla (i-) - this (near me)
• uatla (ua-) - that (near you)
• yetla (ye-) - that (over there)

Examples:

• imitami - PROX-dog-few - These few dogs
• yemitampa - DIST-dog-many - Those many dogs (over there)
• uamitali - MED-dog-each - Each dog (each of those dogs) (near you)

Quantifiers follow the noun that modify.

• kua (-kua) - all; every; whole
• oli (-li) - each; every
• ula (-la) - whatever; any; some
• mi (-mi) - few; little
• nke (-k) - none
• mpa (-mpa) - many; much; a lot
• maha - more; plus
• ohi - less; fewer

Correlatives

uatse

	Proximal i-	Medial ua-	Distal ye-	Inclusive -kua	Negative -k	Indefinite -la
mo (place)	hina here	uana there	yemua over there	mokua everywhere	mok nowhere	mola somewhere; anywhere
ko (person)	iko this person	uako that person	yeko that person (over there)	tlokua everyone	tlok no one	kola someone; anyone
uku (amount)	iku this much	uaku that much	-	kua all; every	ok none	ula some; any
ama (time)	ima now, at present	uama then; at that time	-	kuama always	amak never	tlama sometime; anytime
so (kind, type)	iso this kind	so'o that kind	yeso that kind (over there)	sokua all kinds	sok no kind (at all)	sola some/any kind
no (thing)	itla this	uatla that	yetla that (over there)	nokua everything	nok nothing; none	nola something; anything
to (manner, way)	yoto thus; like this; this way	uato that way	ato that way (over there)	tokua every way	tok no way	tola somehow; anyway

Verbs

Kala relies on analytic serial verb constructions, and can therefore get by with very little verbal morphology. Each verb has at most two possible forms: the active and the stative. Passivity is marked on the subject thus verbs are unmarked and must be analyzed based on surrounding morphology. Active verbs solely denote actions and occurrences and never states in Kala. Stative verbs are the words that modify nouns in an attributive and often adjectival way. They often express a state like a quality or result. Verbs can be marked with several suffixes to add or change meaning. The modals and tense affixes can be added in different order to a verb to create a new meaning; their placement is not always fixed. The negative, adverbial, and plural endings are always final, while other affixes can be varied, but in general they should be ordered:

STEM-(SIZE/IMPORTANCE)-(MOOD)-(ASPECT)-(TENSE)-(NEGATIVE)

Example:

Verb Stem	Size/Importance	Mood	Aspect	Tense	Negative
empa	-hi	-pa	-nko	-ye	-k
run	DIM	ABIL	PROG	PST	NEG

• na empahipankoyek

1s run-DIM-able-PROG-PST-NEG

I was not able to keep jogging.

• na empahik

1s run-DIM-able-NEG

I don’t jog.

• na empankoye

1s run-PROG-PST

I was running.

• na empa’uk

1s run-ABIL-NEG

I can’t run.

• na empayepak

1s run-PST-ABIL-NEG

I couldn’t run.

• na empahahye

1s run-AUG-REC

I just sprinted.

Tense

Kala has three simple tenses; past, present, and future. Present tense is unmarked. However, past (-ye) and future (-tli) tenses can be modified to include immediate future ("is about to..."), distant future ("will...in a long while"), recent past ("just ..."), and remote past ("...a long while ago"). These distinctions are made with the augmentative and diminutive endings -ha and -hi. 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. Subsequent sections 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.

eme

	Kala	gloss	English
remote past	kamahi hinayeha or -hai	town-DIM be.here-REM	There was a village here (long ago). (before the lifetime of the speaker)
past	naka mita anyaye	woman dog see-PST	The woman saw the dog.
recent past	ota namyo akyayehi or -hye	father 1pl.GEN wake-REC	Our father just woke. (action just finished)
present	mita tahi yatsi	dog boy bite	The dog bites the boy.
future	naka tahi tlepatli	woman boy teach-FUT	The woman will teach the boy.
immediate future	na tlelatlihi or -tlai	1s bathe-IMM	I'll bathe soon. (within the day)
distant future	panam opuatliha	rain-PL end-DIS	The rains will end. (months from now)

The present tense can show immediacy by using the adverb ima, "now; at this time"; If a temporal adverb is used, the tense suffix may be omitted:

• ima mita ina - now dog eat - The dog is eating right now.
• yomaye nam ina – yesterday 1pl eat – We ate yesterday.
• anyotli ha huato – year-FUT 3s move.about – He will move next year.
• semaye kamena ke mita yeta – week-PST 3pl-P.1s O dog give – (A) week(s) ago they gave me a dog.

Note that the recent and the remote past tense are not generally 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 temporal adverb, redundant tense marking is also dropped subsequently. 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”.

“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

already Michael DIST-4s eat-PST

Michael already ate that (before).

• tso maliya yetla inatli ama nam talatli

already Mary DIST-4s eat-FUT time 1pl arrive-FUT

Mary will have already eaten that (before) when we (will) arrive.

Aspect

There are four aspects in Kala. The progressive, 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". 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". The inchoative aspect refers to the beginning of a state [INCH]. It is marked with -mu, from mula - "to begin; start; initiate". The frequentative aspect refers to a repeated action [FREQ]. It is marked with -nua, from nua - "frequent; often; regular".

	Kala	gloss	English
Continuous	na ke niye pukunko	1s O undergarment wear-CONT	I am wearing underclothes.
Frequentative	tlaka ke apua tlatonua	man O song recite-FREQ	The man recites the song repetitively.
Inchoative	nahi yotimu	girl play-INCH	The girl begins to play.
Perfective	kam inapua	3pl eat-PFV	They have eaten.

A few aspectual derivations:

• kuali - drill; bore; dig into → kualinua - cultivate, farm
• oma – shout; yell → omanua - scream
• noko – stay; remain → nokonua - survive, be resilient
• moku – sleep; rest → mokumu – fall asleep
• yelo – ice → yelomu – freeze; solidify → yelopua – frozen; solid

Mood

Besides various aspects, Kala also marks moods other than realis: irrealis, imperative, hortative, and negative. These are also expressed by suffixes on the verb and typically follow aspectual marking where it is expressed by a suffix. As is common throughout natural and constructed languages, the indicative mood is unmarked. Subjunctive, conditional, and imperative moods are marked lexically, by various particles, and as such are covered in detail in the “particles” of this grammar.

	Kala	gloss	English
Abilitative	na mokuyepak	1s sleep-PST-ABIL-NEG	I was unable to sleep.
Attemptative	neko ke panya matapya	cat O mouse kill-ATT	The cat is trying to kill the mouse.
Desiderative	otsokai ka'e moli yalaue	wolf-red toward forest go-DES	Redwolf wants/intends to go to the forest.
Dubitative	ha tsakahueke	3s home-LOC-DUB	I guess he is at home. lit: He is at home, supposedly.
Hortative	yalakya	walk-HORT	Let's go!
Necessitative	mita inahe	dog eat-NEC	The dog needs to eat.
Negative	naku nayo hinak	sister 1s-GEN be.here-NEG	My sister is not here.
Permissive	ta ke hina simamyok	2s O here sit-PERM-NEG	You are not allowed to sit here.
Precative	ke asi yetate	O salt give-PREC	Will you please pass me the salt?
Preparative	tahi mokusue	boy sleep-PREP	The boy is ready to sleep.
Propositive	ta mokune	2s sleep-PROP	You should sleep.

The negative mood (always marked finally) is indicated by the suffix –k or –nke (when the last syllable contains /k/).

• mita inayek - dog eat-PST-NEG - The dog did not eat.
• mita mokunke - dog sleep-NEG - The dog does not sleep.

Evidentiality

Verb clauses in Kala may optionally be marked for evidentiality, particularly if the described event took place in the past and/or when the speaker was not directly involved in it. This set of six verbal suffixes indicating the nature of the evidence supporting a statement. These morphemes are not obligatory; however, the lack of an evidential in a main clause not marked as interrogative or irrealis is usually taken as a sign of pure speculation and thus likely to raise suspicions about the statement's truth.

	Kala	gloss	English
Visual [VIS]	kam ke yoti matsunya	3pl O game win-VIS	They won the game. (I saw it)
Auditory [AUD]	naku hayo ke metlamyanu	sister 3s.GEN O flute-CAUS-AUD	His sister plays the flute. (I heard it)
Hearsay [HSY] (reported speech)	kye ota tayo kupanko	HSY father 2s.GEN die-CONT	(it is said) Your father is dying.
Inferred [INFR]	kola ke katso kuhatsi	AG.INDEF O meal cook-INF	Someone is cooking a meal. (based on evidence)
Assumptive/Assertive [ASS]	ke maliya kantipuaho	O Maria cheat-PFV-ASS	Maria has been cheated. (I assert)

As can be seen in the above examples, there are two direct evidentials, and three indirect;

• Direct:

-nya - visual evidence, the speaker witnessed the event

-nu - auditory/general evidence, the speaker heard/felt the event

• Indirect:

kye - reported speech; hearsay, the speaker received via hearsay and may or may not be accurate

-tsi - inferred based on physical evidence

-ho - assumed or asserted based on experience

Particles

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.

Interjections

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,
• po – 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.

• po…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!

Cursing

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]

Locative Verbs

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

dog under table eat

The dog is eating under the table.

• mita ke yempa tahe

dog table be.under

The dog is under the table.

The suffix -la (from yala “go; walk; travel”) forms an allative (or motive) 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 them:

• pue’ela kuanu – go behind a bush - (motion implied → allative)
• pue kuanu koma – hide behind a bush - (no motion → locative)