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 - [w] | y - [j]

Laterals

l - [l] | tl - [tK]

clusters

ky - [k_j~g_j]
mp - [mp)]
mh - [m_h\]
my - [m_j]
nt - [nt~nd]
nk - [Nk~N]
nh - [n_h\]
lh - [l_h\]
ly - [l_j]

vowels

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

diphthongs

ua - /wa:/ | ue - /we:/

phonotactics

Kala allows only a single consonant at the start or end of a syllable, and up to two consonants word medially across a syllable boundary.

The la syllable is the only restricted syllable; it cannot begin a word.

syllable structure

(C)V(k, l, m, n, t)

syllable stress

Kala stress is penultimate; that is, the next-to-last syllable of the word is stressed.

Grammar

word order

The usual, declarative formal word order is subject noun phrase - (object noun phrase) - verb phrase.

Example : He/She is preparing food.

ha ina yaso

3sg food/eat prepare/ready

The "indirect object" exists only in the form of a prepositional phrase, and follows the object noun phrase.

Example : The woman gives the house to me.

naka ke tsaka ika na yeta

woman the/a house to/at 1sg give

degree

The diminutive is formed with -l, and the augmentative with -t.

Example : ina - food, meal | inal - snack, morsel | inat - feast, banquet

Example : tsaka - house, home, dwelling | tsakal - shack, hut, cabin | tsakat - palace, mansion

These are also used to differentiate hue, or shade.

Example : yanal - light yellow, kuyat - dark green

plurals

To make a noun plural, add -m to the end, or -im for words ending in a consonant.

Example : kono - stone | konom - stones

Example : sukal - piglet | sukalim - piglets

Nouns need not be marked plural if a number is used to show quantity.

Example : sahi - color, sahim - colors, sahi ya'o - five color(s)

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".

articles

There is only one article in Kala, ke. It is used primarily as a "noun marker".
It is ambi-definite, meaning it can be either definite or indefinite. The distinction is made through context.

Example : kama "village", ke kama "the/a village", ke kamam "the villages"

Example : inal "snack", ke inal "the/a snack", ke inalim "the snacks"

questions

When asking questions in Kala, the idea, or concept, is the subject, and the entire construction is followed by the interrogative particle ka.

ama...ka - when, lit: time...INT

ko...ka - who, lit: person [Agentive]...INT

nye...ka - why, lit: reason...INT

to...ka - what, lit: thing [Instrument]...INT

koyo...ka - whose, lit: person-POSS...INT

mo...ka - where, lit: place...INT

no...ka - how, what manner, lit: manner/method...INT

ko'o...ka - how much/many, lit: number/amount...INT

pronouns

personal pronouns

	Singular	Plural
1^st	na	nam
2^nd	ta	tam
3^rd	ha	kam

possessive pronouns

	Singular	Plural
1^st	nayo	namyo
2^nd	tayo	tamyo
3^rd	hayo	kamyo

reflexive pronouns

	Singular	Plural
1^st	na'i	nami
2^nd	ta'i	tami
3^rd	ha'i	kami

Agent-Patient construction

**A-P** *construction*
	1^st sing	2^nd sing	3^rd sing	1^st plu	2^nd plu	3^rd plu
1^st sing	-	na'eta	na'eha	-	na'etam	na'ekam
2^nd sing	ta'ena	-	ta'eha	ta'enam	-	ta'ekam
3^rd sing	ha'ena	ha'eta	-	ha'enam	ha'etam	ha'ekam
1^st plu	-	nameta	nameha	-	nametam	namekam
2^nd plu	tamena	-	tameha	tamenam	-	tamekam
3^rd plu	kamena	kameta	kameha	kamenam	kametam	-

Thematic 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 - uena'o

twenty / 20 - taue'o

one hundred one / 107 - nyeka'o

three hundred twenty five / 326 - hanyetauetsa'o (long form) | hatatsa'o (short form)

six thousand and twenty / 6020 - tsatletaue'o

ordinals, fractions etc.

ki- - ordinal/multiple prefix

Example : kisa'o - ninth, or nine times

Example : kiyanyepa'o - 508^th, or 508 times

i- - fractional prefix

Example : isa'o - a ninth

Example : iha'o pa'o - three eighths, ⅜

family

family / kin - tlika
parent - onata
grandparent - onataha
spouse - tlanata
sibling - uanata
child - inata
father / uncle - ota
mother / aunt - ona
husband - tla'ota
wife - tla'ona
grandfather - otaha
grandmother - onaha
brother / cousin - otaua
sister / cousin - onaua
boy / son - ota'i
girl / daughter - ona'i
man / masculine / male - tlaka
woman / feminine / female - naka

colors

red - ketla
orange - tliyo
yellow - yana
green - kuya
blue - tsuku
indigo, violet, purple - tlaku
white, pale - nyahi
black, dark - oya
clear - yehi

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

p

pameya - okra, ladies' fingers
pana - (to) rain | perspire, moisten | dew
petsa - mild, soft
pila - to saw, rip, crush
puna - dirt, soil | sand

t

k

ka - interrogative particle
kata - nature, universe | essence
kama - village, town, city
kana - to lead, command | chief, leader
kasuma - onion
kaua - coffee
kala - to speak, talk, say | language, dialect
kalo - be difficult | burden | cumbersome
ketla - red | blood | to bleed
kipa - tooth | to bite, chew
kita - to greet, welcome | hello, hi
kito - symbol | mark | glyph
ko - person | agentive
kopa - mushroom | fungi
koni - skunk
kono - gray | stone, rock
ko'o - number, amount, quantity | to count
kue'a - deer, cervine
kuna - to expel | to excrete, shit, defecate
kulu - all, every, each
kuya - green | grass, foliage

m

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

n

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

ny

nyahi - white | snow | to snow
nye - reason, cause | because
nyeli - pink

s

ts

h

hani - land | a country or region
hika - to stop, halt | wait
hina - near, close, here

y

yato - finger | hand
yaka - arm, leg | appendage
yama - mountain, hill | pile, mound
ya'asa - wind, breeze | air
yesa - be quiet, tranquil | peaceful

l

tl

tlayo - to wed, marry | marriage, matrimony
tlela - to wash, bathe | clean, pure

a

a - to be, exist | yes
aposi - outhouse, toilette
ato - body, anatomy | corpse
ato'a - torso | chest, belly
ama - time, year, season
ani - wish, hope | to aspire
ahi - potato
ala - to be born | to birth
aya - beauty | to be beautiful

e

i

ito - wood
itola - to fall, drop, plummet
ikana - friend, ally
impa - table | desk | flat work surface
ina - food, sustenance | to eat, consume
iso - to hit, strike | slap
itsa - love, affection | to love, care for
ila - bird, avian | to fly, glide

o

omo - to exchange, trade | commerce, business

u

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?

na yalaye nye ta talaye

1SG go-PAST because 2SG return-PAST

I left because you returned.

Article 1, UDHR

kuluko ekam ala tsiyaso ma sayoso ma kimaso ma kuelasom

all-person P-PART-they born/birthed free-with and equal-with dignity-with and right-with-PL

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

Writing System

sample