User:Masako/pataka
cons
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stops | p~b (p) | t~d (t) | k~g (k) | ʔ (') | |
| Fricatives | s (s) | ʃ (s) | h~ɦ (h) | ||
| Affricates | t͡ɬ (tl) / t͡s (ts) | t͡ʃ (ts) | |||
| Approximants | w (u) | l~r (l) | j (y) | ||
| Nasals | m (m) | n (n) | ɲ (ny) |
vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i (i) | u (u) | |
| Mid | e (e) | o (o) | |
| Open | a (a) |
phonotactics
Kala has a fairly simple phonological system. It allows only syllables with maximally one initial and one final consonant. Consonant clusters only occur word-medially and over syllable boundaries, with the exception of prenasalized plosives which can start a word. Kala phonotactics does not 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.
locative verbs
Kala does not have prepositions as a distinct part of speech. Instead, many locative verbs can be used as prepositions, 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”.
- na tsakahue – 1SG house-LOC – I am at home
- iyoma tahi nayo hakyohue – today son 1SG.POSS school-LOC – My son is in school today
Almost any locative verb can be used in the preposition role.
- mita tsakam maye – dog house be.among – The dog is among the houses
- mita naye yohua inak – dog during night eat-NEG – The dog does not eat during the night
- mita tsaka nahe – dog house inside – The dog is inside the house
- mita nahe tsaka ina – dog inside house eat – The dog is eating inside the house
There is a special suffix (-la) to indicate motion. It can be added to a locative verb only in the verb role and is never affixed to –hue.
- mita tsaka ka’ela – dog house toward-go – The dog is going toward the house
- mita ka’e tsaka yala – dog toward house go – The dog is going toward the house
- mita yempa tahelaye – dog table under-MOT-PST – The dog went under the table
In certain expressions a preposition is unnecessary. Most often this is because of the pronominal constructions.
- kamena ke mita yetaye – 3PL-P.1SG O dog give-PST – They gave me a dog. / They gave the dog to me.
- na’ameta ke apua tayo makatli – 1PL.EXCL-P.2SG TOP song 2SG.POSS play.music-FUT – We will play your song to/for you.
A list of some common locative verbs:
- ma’a – with [accompanied by / furnished with]
- ma’ak – without; with no…
- nyahe – by means of; per; via
- pahe – against; touching
- sahe – across; opposite; other side
- saye – along; following [a line]
- tsa’e – across; through
- ma’e – before; in front
- pue – after; back; behind; rear
- ua’e – above; over / on
- tahe – below; beneath; under
- ka’e – to; towards; at [moving toward]
- uaye – from [moving out of or away from]
- nahe – in [located inside of]; internal
- nyaue – outside of; exterior to
- ya’e – near; close to
- mahe – around; approximate; close to
- maye – between; among
- kaye – around; encircling; surrounding
- tsaye – since; until; up to; as far as
- paye – beyond; exceeding; farther than
