User:Masako/nkala
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sounds
consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | t | k | (ʔ) | |
| Affricate | ts~tʃ | ||||
| Fricative | s~ʃ | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | |||
| Approximant | l (t͡ɬ) | j | w |
vowels
| Short | Long | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | Front | Back | |
| Close | i | u | iː | uː |
| Open | ɑ ~ ə | aː | ||
nouns
Nouns can be marked for gender, number, size, and in several other ways.
- ka- - plural; several [PL]
- kayul - ka-yul - PL-dog - dogs
- kwi- - good; pleasant; "regular"
- mí- - female; feminine [FEM]
- nyi- - same; reflexive [REFL]
- pa- - pair of; both
- pya- - group; collection; mass of [COL]
- tlá- - male; masculine [MASC]
- twa- - other; different
- wi- - abstract
- ya- - that [over there] [DIST]
- yi- - this [by me] [PROX]
- yu- - that [by you] [MED]
pronouns
subject
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | wa- | pwá- | kwa- |
| 2nd | ni- | pí- | (n)ki- |
| 3rd | ∅ | ú- | ku- |
object
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | mwa- | twá- | skwa- |
| 2nd | mi- | (n)tí- | ski- |
| 3rd | (m)pu- | tú- | sku- |
verbs
- Pronominal prefix - VERB STEM - tense/aspect-modal
tenses
There are three tenses...nonpast, past, and distant past.
- -á - non-past [NPST]
- wanuyá - wa-nuy-á - 1S-eat-NPST - I eat.
- -í - past [PST]
- ninuyí - ni-nuy-í - 2S-eat-PST - You ate.
- -íyí - distant past [DSPT]
- pwánuyíyí - pwá-nuy-íyí - 1DU-eat-DPST - We (two) ate long ago.
other modifiers
Various moods (or modals), aspects, and syntactic markers are used to add nuance and subtlety.
- -ank- - negative [NEG]
- skumatankí - sku-mat-ank-í - 3PL-kill-NEG-PST - They were not killed.
- mwanapanká - mwa-nap-ank-á - 1SG.OBJ-hear-NEG-NPST - I am not heard. | She/he doesn't hear me.
- -iy- - obligation [OBG]
- walakiyá - wa-lak-iy-á - 1SG-go-OBG-NPST - I should go.
- ninapiyí - ni-nap-iy-í - 2SG-listen-OBG-PST - You should have listened.
- -úy- - ability [ABIL]
- tumúyá - tum-úy-á - attend-ABIL-NPST - She/he is able to attend.
lexicon
These are listed by stem, and do not distinguish nominal and verbal meanings or usages.
- kál - say; tongue; voice; language; talk
- mat - cut; kill; knife
- yim - eat; nourish; bread
examples
speak
- kál - speak
- wakálá - I speak
- nikálí - you spoke
- wakálutlá - I may speak to him
- pukálámí - did he speak to someone else?
- nikálí - you had spoken
- inikálí - you were spoken to
- nikál! - speak to me!
- kálúna - made to speak
- nimpukálí - you were speaking to him
- únyikálanká - they are not speaking to each other
- kálanyá - and he keeps on speaking
break
- put - break
- puputí - it broke
- puputásá - it’s beginning to break
- wampuputí - I broke it
- mwaputúní - he made me break it
- puputanyá - it is broken again
