Kala

• Kala is meant to be a simple and euphonic personal conlang.

• Many lexical entries are inspired and/or influenced by any number of natlangs

Phonology

consonants

• Plosives

p - [p~b] | t - [t~d] | k - [k~g] | ' - [?]

• Nasals

m - [m] | n - [n] | ny - [J]

• Fricatives

s - [s~S] | ts - [ts~tS] | h - [h~h\]

• Approximants

u - [u] | y - [j]

• Laterals

l - [l] | tl - [tK]

vowels

• a - /a~a:/ | e - /e~e:/ | i - /i~i:/ | o - /o~o:/ | u - /u~u:/

diphthongs

• ua - /wa:/ | ue - /we:/

syllable structure

• (C)V(k, m, n)

Grammar

plurals

• To make a noun plural, add -m to the end.

Example : kono - stone | konom - stones

• Adjectives do not change when they are plural. However, when an adjective is used in place of a noun, it can be pluralized.

Example : nyeli - pink | nyelim - (the) pink (ones)

gender

• In general, nouns do not indicate their gender. To distinguish the sexes, one can use the adjectival endings -ta and -na.

Example : nikata "a male dog", nikana "a female dog".

Lexicon

numbers

• zero / nothing / 0 - e'o
• one / 1 - na'o
• two / 2 - ta'o
• three / 3 - ha'o
• four / 4 - ma'o
• five / 5 - ya'o
• six / 6 - tsa'o
• seven / 7 - ka'o
• eight / 8 - pa'o
• nine / 9 - sa'o
• ten / 10 - ue'o
• hundred / 100 - nye'o
• thousand / 1000 - tle'o

higher numbers

• eleven / 11 - uesa'o

• twenty / 20 - taue'o

• one hundred one / 101 - nyena'o

• three hundred twenty five / 325 - hanyetaueya'o (long form) | hataya'o (short form)

• six thousand and twenty / 6020 - tsatletaue'o

family

• family / kin - tlika
• parent - onata
• grandparent - onataha
• spouse - tlanata
• sibling - uanata
• child - inata

• father / uncle - ota
• mother / aunt - ona
• man / husband - tla'ota
• woman / husband - tla'ona
• grandfather - otaha
• grandmother - onaha
• brother / cousin - otaua
• sister / cousin - onaua
• boy / son - ota'i
• girl / daughter - ona'i

General Lexica

• The majority of lexical units in Kala can have multiple roles.
• Most have a primary role, such as verb, noun or adjective, but almost all can serve in at least two roles.
• Because of this, this list is sorted alphabetically and not by part of speech or category.

p t k m n s h l a

a

• a - to be, exist | yes
• ala - to be born | to birth
• ama - time, year, season
• ato - body
• aya - beauty | to be beautiful

h

• hina - near, close, here

i

• ila - bird, avian | to fly, glide
• ina - food, sustenance | to eat, consume
• itsa - love, affection | to love, care for

k

• kala - to speak, talk, say | language, dialect
• kama - village, town, city
• kana - to lead, command | chief, leader
• kata - nature, universe | essence
• kaua - coffee
• ketla - red | blood | to bleed
• kipa - tooth | to bite, chew
• kita - to greet, welcome | hello, hi
• ko - person | agentive
• kono - gray | stone, rock
• ko'o - number, amount, quantity | to count
• kulu - all, every, each
• kuna - to expel | to excrete, shit, defecate
• kuya - green | grass, foliage

m

• ma - and, also, as well | plus | more
• mala - bad, unfavorable, negative
• mata - to kill, murder
• matla - stew, casserole, goulash
• maya - water, fluid | wet
• metla - to whistle | sound of wind | flute
• mo - to locate, place | locative | location [where]

n

• naha - river, stream | lake, pond
• naho - to regulate | rule | grammar
• nika - dog, canine

ny

• nyahi - white | snow | to snow
• nyeli - pink

o

• omo - to exchange, trade | commerce, business

Examples

• mo ta yala ka

place/locale 2sg go/walk/travel INT-part

Where are you going?

• nam tsala inaye

1pl sauce/paste eat-PAST

We ate the sauce.

• ko tayo onatam ka

person 2sg-POSS parent-PL INT-part

Who are your parents?