Kī́rtako is one of the languages belonging to Piti language family. It stems directly from Proto-Piti language. It is spoken in the classic period and gives rise to a separate branch, named Kī́rtako languages. Two languages belong to this group and stem from Kī́rtako. It has an alphabetic script.

Phonology

Consonants

The consonant system distinguishes 20 phonemes, traditionally arranged in the following scheme:

The group of the plosive consonants distinguishes three sub-groups: voiceless, voiced, and aspirated, even though the voiced sub-group includes only the phoneme [g].

The group of the fricative consonants is overall well developed, although less rich, like the group of the nasal and of the liquid consonants. The glottal consonant, [ʔ], while formally a plosive, is traditionally included in the fricative group. The phonemes [j] and [w] have a full consonantal value and they are never regarded as semivowels.

Vowels

There are 6 vocalic phonemes, which exhibit other forms of distinction:

5 vowels have a short form and a long form. Each long form distinguishes two types: one with a rising tone and one with a falling tone.

The open-back phoneme, [ɑ], makes no distinction, neither in length nor in tone.

Stress

The stress is firmly on the first syllable of the word root.

[ˈkɑ.wo.kow]

Monosyllabic words, often with a grammatical meaning, are meant to be unstressed and cliticized to the word which they are grammatically bound to.

Polysyllabic words, which are generally composed by more than a word root, usually turn one of the stresses in a secondary one. The stress on the first root is the most likely to become secondary, while also the second stress may become the secondary, albeit in very rare cases.

[ˌpi.ke.ˈmeː˩˧.ʔi]

Tones

The long vowels make a distinction in tone, between a rising [Vː˩˧] tone and a falling [Vː˧˩] tone. Every long vowel has a tonal feature, which is always marked in the script.

pikemḗʔi [ˌpi.ke.ˈmeː˩˧.ʔi]

The vowels with the falling tone are found mostly at the end of words, due to the loss of a previous final consonant. They can be found, quite infrequently, in a medial position inside of a word, mostly in loanwords.

ʔimḗɣɑme - ʔimḕ [ˌʔi.meː˩˧.ɣɑ.me] - [ˌʔi.meː˧˩]

Syllabic structure

The basic syllable structure in Kī́rtako is (C)V(C). There are, however, some constraints:

A word cannot consist of an exclusively vowel syllable, V, but such a syllable, V, can be found at the beginning of a multisyllabic word:

*[a]
[u.ˈma.tsoː˩˧.ta]

A word can consist of only one syllable of type VC, and a polysyllabic word can begin with such a syllable:

[om]
[ˈer.tu]

A CVC-type syllable is usually found at the end of a word, while is quite infrequent within the word or at its beginning. Monosyllabic words with such a syllabic structure are known to exist.

[ˈkɑ.wo.kow]
[ˈkiː˩˧r.ta.ko]
[ˈkoː˩˧w]

CV-type syllables are allowed in every position within a polysyllabic word. Monosyllabic words with this structure are limited in number, but relevantly used.

[ˈko.wɑ.ka.ka]
[ˈnɑ]

Clusters of more than two consonants are prohibited, both in syllabic onset and in coda.

Diphthongs

There are no diphthongs of any kind; the phonemes [j] and [w] have always full consonantal value.

Typological structure

Kī́rtako is a morphologically agglutinative language, with an additional but strongly marked introflexive feature, realized in verbal roots.

The basic word order is essentially SOV (Subject-Object-Verb).

phū́kali mū́ke lī́lopɑt
(the) person sees (the) cow

The entire system is set according to typological parameters of the modifier-head (or head-final) type:

object - verb
noun - postposition
adjective - noun
relative clause - noun

Morphology

Nouns

Nouns in Kī́rtako language end almost exclusively in a vowel. A certain number of nouns, mostly loanwords, may unusually ends in a consonant; in this case a euphonic vowel, -ɑ-, in added at the end of noun before the normal declension endings.

Nouns are grouped into two declension classes: animate nouns or first class and inanimate nouns or second class. The first class generally includes nouns indicating animate beings, namely capable of intentional motion or action, while the second class includes inanimate objects or entities. As a rule, we can sketch out the following scheme:

1^st class: human beings, animals, deities
2^nd class: plants, objects, ideas, feelings, senses, perceptions

A noun is not irreversibly included in one of the two classes, as nouns lack clear morphological marks for each class.

For example, the word sɑño, light, shifts from a class to the other during the history of the language, as the noun ñowe, love, depending on the overall cultural perception of the noun’s animateness degree.

Despite the general lack of morphological markers in the basic forms, being thus unable to distinguish the two classes, the declension patterns depend on which class a noun belongs to.

There are two morphological numbers for almost all nouns, singular and plural.

Cases

Kī́rtako nouns do decline, according to an active-stative system with 9 cases:

Case	Meaning
Agentive	This case marks primarily the subject of a transitive verb. It is also used to mark the subject of an intransitive verb, which displays a certain degree of activity, will or intention in performing the said action or in being in a certain state. It can be used only with nouns belonging to the 1^st class.
Passive	This case marks primarily the direct object of a transitive verb. It is also used to mark the subject of an intransitive verb, which displays no degree of activity, will or intention in performing the said action or in being in a certain state. It is regarded as the base form of the noun, and it is used as the vocative form.
Ablative	This case marks primarily a natural and unintentional belonging (for example, body parts), without any sign of will of possession, or an inverse belonging. It also marks the point of origin of a movement (motion from a place). It is also used to mark the direct object of an infinitival form of a verb, marking thus the direct object of the negated form of a transitive verb.
Genitive	This case marks an intentional possession, from subjects with a clear and active will. It can be used only with nouns belonging to the 1^st class.
Dative	This case marks primarily the indirect object. It can also mark the final point of a movement (motion toward a place), and, in a broad sense, the final purpose of an action or a state.
Causative	This case marks the reason or the cause, which are the source of an action or a state.
Instrumental	This case marks the tool or the instrument which are used to perform an action or to be in a certain state. It can be used only with nouns belonging to the 2^nd class.
Abessive	This case marks the tool or the instrument which are absent while performing an action or being in a certain state. It can be used only with nouns belonging to the 2^nd class.
Locative	This case marks the place where an action is performed, or a certain state exist (stative location). It can also have a temporal value. It can be used only with nouns belonging to the 2^nd class.

The cases are usually classified in 4 groups:

Primary main cases: agentive, genitive
Secondary main cases: passive, ablative
Primary oblique cases: dative, causative
Secondary oblique cases: instrumental, abessive, locative

Other types of clause complements are conveyed using various postpositions, which can select one or more cases.

Noun declension

Nouns are declined for case and number by adding the following endings to the base form of the noun:

	1^st class		2^nd class
	singular	plural	singular	plural
agentive	-li	-noli
passive	-	-no	-	-no
ablative	-šu	-nošu	-šu	-nošu
genitive	-ra	-nora
dative	-ɣɑ	-noɣɑ	-ɣɑ	-noɣɑ
causative	-khu	-nokhu	-khu	-nokhu
instrumental			-khɑ	-nokhɑ
abessive			-gil	-nogil
locative			-tsar	-notsar

Some examples are shown below: a 1^st class noun, papu, father, and a 2^nd class noun, sṓgo, house.

	papu		sṓgo
	singular	plural	singular	plural
agentive	papuli	papunoli
ablative	papu	papuno	sṓgo	sṓgono
passive	papušu	papunošu	sṓgošu	sṓgonošu
genitive	papura	papunora
dative	papuɣɑ	papunoɣɑ	sṓgoɣɑ	sṓgonoɣɑ
causative	papukhu	papunokhu	sṓgokhu	sṓgonokhu
instrumental			sṓgokhɑ	sṓgonokhɑ
abessive			sṓgogil	sṓgonogil
locative			sṓgotsar	sṓgonotsar

As for the rules, the endings for the secondary oblique cases cannot be added to a 1^st class noun, while the endings for the primary main cases cannot be added to a 2^nd class noun.

Adjectives and pronouns

Adjectives closely resemble the noun form, mostly ending in a vowel and showing the same exceptions of nouns. Pronouns, instead, may exhibit different forms in the root form.

Adjectives

Attributive adjectives are always placed before the nouns they specify, while predicative adjectives are always placed after them.

jṓpā́ wī́ro
(the) young man

wī́ro jṓpā́ (ʔɑñ)
(the) man is young

As the verbal copula, ʔɑñɑme, to be, can be omitted when the subject is expressed in the clause, the attributive or predicative role of an adjective can be inferred only by its own position.

All adjectives agree in case and number with the noun they specify, being declined with the nominal endings. They thus display a complete declension set, not belonging inherently to one of the two classes.

jṓpā́ra wī́rora rḗʔo sṓgo pinkotsar wɑkitsar mḗʔis
the young man’s new house is located in the nearby village

Declension of qualifying adjectives

Example: rḗʔo, new

	rḗʔo
	singular	plural
agentive	rḗʔoli	rḗʔonoli
passive	rḗʔo	rḗʔono
ablative	rḗʔošu	rḗʔonošu
genitive	rḗʔora	rḗʔonora
dative	rḗʔoɣɑ	rḗʔonoɣɑ
causative	rḗʔokhu	rḗʔonokhu
instrumental	rḗʔokhɑ	rḗʔonokhɑ
abessive	rḗʔogil	rḗʔonogil
locative	rḗʔotsar	rḗʔonotsar

Comparison of qualifying adjectives

Adjectives have two comparison forms, comparative and superlative. They are formed by adding the following endings: Example: rḗʔo, new

comparative	-rṓ
superlative	-rṓtu

These ending are always placed before the case endings. The second comparative term is in the ablative case and is followed by the postposition phɑw.

wī́ro ʔṓnašu phɑw jṓpā́rṓ (ʔɑñ)
the man is younger than the woman

ʔṓna owtunošu phɑw jṓpā́rṓtu (ʔɑñ)
the woman is the youngest of/among us

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns display a marked dichotomy between the first two person (1^st and 2^nd) and the 3^rd person.

Both the first and the second person have indeed two different roots, exhibiting thus a mixed declension; more than one form for each case is created on both roots. On the other hand, the third person has only one root.

	1^st person sing.	2^nd person sing.	3^rd person sing.	1^st person plur.	2^nd person plur.	3^rd person plur.
agentive	owtu	ertu	ɑktuli	owtuno	ertuno	ɑktunoli
passive	jo	nɑ	ɑktu	jono	nɑno	ɑktuno
ablative	owtušu	ertušu	ɑktušu	owtunošu	ertunošu	ɑktunošu
ablative	jošu	nɑšu	ɑktušu	jonošu	nɑnošu	ɑktunošu
genitive	owtura	ertura	ɑktura	owtunora	ertunora	ɑktunora
genitive	jora	nɑra	ɑktura	jonora	nɑnora	ɑktunora
dative	joɣɑ	nɑɣɑ	ɑktuɣɑ	jonoɣɑ	nɑnoɣɑ	ɑktunoɣɑ
causative	jokhu	nɑkhu	ɑktukhu	jonokhu	nɑnokhu	ɑktunokhu
instrumental			ɑktukhɑ			ɑktunokhɑ
abessive			ɑktugil			ɑktunogil
locative			ɑktutsar			ɑktunotsar

First and second person forms are meant as referents for 1^st class entities; the endings for the secondary oblique cases are thus not used with them. Conversely, the third person forms display a complete declension, in which the case forms are used whether the referred name belongs to the 1^st or the 2^nd class.

In the pre-classical period another form for the third person, nigtu, is also used. This form is used in an obviative relationship with the form ɑktu, but it has already disappeared in the classical period.

1^st and 2^nd person pronouns have two forms in the ablative and in the genitive case. These forms are distinguished between broad forms (owtušu, ertušu,...) and narrow forms (jošu, nɑšu,...), which have a different use:

In the ablative case:
- Broad form: it is used as the ablative form of the pronoun, in the main meanings of the case and with postpositions. It is also used to mark belonging (according to the role of the ablative case), playing the role of an indeclinable possessive adjective or pronoun.

ertunošu papu ʔalolī́ponow
we saw your father

- Narrow form: it is mostly used as a direct object form for verbal infinitives and in negative sentences.

nɑšu hṓthī́niñɑme ʔaʔī́sow
I wasn't looking for you

In the genitive case:
- Broad form: it is used to mark strictly possession, playing the role of an indeclinable possessive adjective or pronoun..

ertunora sṓgo ʔalolī́ponow
we saw your house

- Narrow form: it is mostly used with postpositions.

nɑra ʔḕ kogiwow
I'm going to come with you

Especially in the genitive case these roles are not unchangeably fixed, but they can shift meaning during the entire history of the language: is it indeed not impossibile to find the narrow forms with a possessive role in the later period.

Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns

The forms of the possessive adjectives are the following:

that: ɑktuko
this: niktuko

Demonstrative pronouns exhibit, instead, different forms:

that one: ɑwo
this one: niwo

Interrogative pronouns

Basic interrogative pronouns display two different forms: one for animate entities (who?) and one for inanimate entities (what?).

what: šɑ
who: šā́

Both pronouns can be declined, with the nominal declension endings, according to their animacy class.

šā́ɣɑ om pike ʔakowɑker
whom did you give water to?

However, while the animate class pronoun keeps its original meaning when declined, the inanimate class pronouns usually acquire new meanings, depending on the selected case:

šɑtsar: where (static location)
šɑɣɑ: where (motion toward)
šɑšu: where... from (motion form)
šɑkhu: why (cause)

All forms can, nevertheless, keep their original meaning of “what”:

šɑšu lolī́piñame om ʔaʔī́ser
what didn’t you see?

The various meanings of the declined forms can be usually inferred by the context of the sentence.

There are also other interrogative adjectives and pronouns (and adverbs):

šā́ko: which (animate)
šɑko: which (inanimate)
šɑjuʔṓ: when
šā́mine: how much (animate)
šā́mineko: how much / many (animate)
šɑmine: how much (inanimate)
šɑmineko: how much / many (inanimate)
šɑmɑgi: how

Example:

šā́minekono gū́ʔetino totirer
how many horses do you own?

Inside of an interrogative clause, pronouns usually stay in their syntactical position, according to their role, but in the later period they tend to be moved at the beginning of the sentence. In addition, like other parts of the sentences, can be followed by postpositions:

šā́ɣɑ gū́ om tsɑgewuger
whom are you talking about?

Relative pronoun

There is only one form of relative pronoun:

hī́

This form displays a complete declension, in which the case forms are used whether the referred name belongs to the 1^st or the 2^nd class.

Postpositions

In the Kī́rtako language a noun cluster can be followed by a postposition, which gives a new meaning to the case of the selected noun cluster. Thus, every possible clause complements can be effectively expressed.

All postposition are always placed after the noun they specify. Most postposition share a similar origin with the adverbial forms, while some postposition originated from fixed case forms of nouns.

General list of postpositions

Each postposition tends to follow a noun cluster, which is declined in one grammatical case. Thus it is said that each postposition governs a specific case.

Most postpositions govern only one case, while some other postpositions govern more than one, while slightly altering their meaning depending on the selected case (like kī́g).

	case	meaning
ʔḕ	+ genitive	with, together with (marking company)
hā́k	+ ablative	from, native to (marking origin)
jɑl	+ ablative	from, coming from (marking a departure point)
sū̀	+ dative	for, aiming to (marking purpose)
kī́g	+ instrumental	by, with, by means of (marking instrument)
kī́g	+ ablative	by way of, using (marking exploiting)
phes	+ ablative	without, in the absence of (marking absence)
kṓw	+ dative	towards, in the direction of (marking direction)
phɑw	+ ablative	in relation to (marking relation)
mɑg	+ passive	in comparison to, like, as (marking comparison)
gū́	+ dative	about, regarding, concerning (marking topic, theme)
pḗr	+ dative	through, throughout, across (marking from a side to the other)
phun	+ locative/genitive	after (temporal value)
roš	+ locative/genitive	before (temporal value)
wū́g	+ ablative	away, away from (marking distancing)
pṓtu	+ dative	against, in opposition to (marking opposition)

Some postpositions conveying location or motion make use of different case to specify a static location (locative or passive case), a motion towards a place (dative case) or a motion from a place (ablative case). Such postpositions are called locative postpositions:

	case	meaning
ʔū́m	+ locative/passive/dative/ablative	inside of
sā̀	+ locative/passive/dative/ablative	outside of
wim	+ locative/passive/dative/ablative	under
git	+ locative/passive/dative/ablative	over, on
pig	+ locative/passive/dative/ablative	near
phṓr	+ locative/passive/dative/ablative	in front of, opposite
šom	+ locative/passive/dative/ablative	behind
tī́n	+ locative/passive/dative/ablative	between, among
ʔī́r	+ locative/passive/dative/ablative	around

A clear explanation of each postposition is presented in the following section.

ʔḕ

The postposition ʔḕ conveys the meaning of the complement of company. It specifies an entity, together with which a certain action is performed or a certain state exists.

sṓgoɣɑ owtušu kogā́tinora ʔḕ ʔaʔḗmiɣow
I went home with my friends

This postposition always governs the genitive case.

It never conveys the instrument, by which the action is performed; this function is expressed by the instrumental case or by the postposition kī́g. Thus, this postposition is never used with a 2^nd class noun.

hā́k

The postposition hā́k conveys the meaning of the complement of origin. It specifies the original point of an action or a state.

jo Kī́rtašu hā́k (ʔɑñow)
I am from Kī́rta. (It is my birthplace)

This postposition always governs the ablative case.

It can however convey, especially in later texts, the general meaning of motion from a place, in other words, the beginning point of a motion of any kind. Such use is often confused with the postposition jɑl.

sṓgošu hā́k ʔawɑpū́kow
I departed from the house. (my motion began from that place)

In the classical period, this last role is played directly by the ablative case alone.

sṓgošu ʔawɑpū́kow
I departed from the house. (my motion began from that place)

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