User:Masako/nkala
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sounds
consonants
| Consonants | Labial | Coronal | Dorsal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |
| Plosive | p | t | k |
| Fricative | s | ||
| Approximant | w | l | j (y) |
vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Open | a |
nouns
gender
Gender is typically not indicated. If necessary, nouns may be prefixed with mu- (male) or yi- (female).
- yimala
- FEM-speak-NPST
- She speaks.
- mulumatli
- MASC-sleep-maybe-PST
- He may have slept.
pronouns
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | wa- | kwa- |
| 2 | ni- | pi- (-mpi-) |
| 3 | - | ku- |
locative prefixes
- na- - in; at; on
- ti- - behind; after
verbs
Verbs are the workhorses of Malu. They can mark for both agent and patient as well as tense. Many simple sentences are composed of only a verb.
tense
Tense is also distinguished, but only in the indicative. There are two tenses:
- present, which is also used for future events (nonpast tense).
- past
lexicon
ka
- ka- - plural
- ki- - someone; something
- ku- - they; them [3pl]
- kwa- - we; us [1pl]
la
- lum - sleep; rest; relax
ma
na
pa
sa
ta
wa
ya
a
examples
- wanimaluki
- wa-ni-mal-uk-i
- 1sg-2sg-speak-NEG-PST
- I did not speak to you
- wata
- wa-t-a
- 1sg-be-NPST
- I am
- kuwani
- ku-wa-n-i
- 3pl-1sg-see-PST
- They saw me (I was seen)
- kutuki
- ku-t-uk-i
- 3pl-be-NEG-PST
- They were not
- tatimu
- ta-tim-u
- animal-bleed-NOM
- animal blood
- yimuka
- yim-uk-a
- eat-NEG-NPST
- (She/He/It) does not eat
- kimpimalatli
- ki-mpi-mal-atl-i
- SB-2pl-speak-maybe-PST
- Someone may have spoken to you (all)
- kiluma
- ki-lum-a
- SB-sleep-NPST
- Someone is sleeping
