User:Masako/nkala
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sounds
A macron is used to indicate vowel length.
- ā ī ū
consonants
| Consonants | Labial | Coronal | Dorsal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n~ɲ | |
| Plosive | p~ᵐp | t | k~kʷ |
| Fricative | s~t͡ʃ | ||
| Approximant | w | l~t͡ɬ | j (y) |
vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i~iː | u~uː | |
| Open | a~aː |
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.
- mulumātli
- MASC-sleep-maybe-PST
- He may have slept.
pronouns
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | wa- | kwa- |
| 2 | ni- | pi- (-mpi-) |
| 3 | - | ku- |
- ki is the indefinite pronoun "someone, something"
- kikwita - INDEF-eat-NPST - Someone is eating.
- nyi is the reflexive
- wanyina - 1SG-REFL-know-NPST - I know myself.
- pwa is the first person plural exclusive [we but not you]
- pwakini - 1PL.EXCL-INDEF-see-PST - We saw someone.
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. Verbs can also be marked with several suffixes to add or change meaning. The modals and tense affixes can be added in different order to a verb to create a new meaning…their placement is not always fixed.
| Subject | Number | Gender | Object | Root | Mood/Aspect | Mood/Aspect | Tense |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ka- | mu- | wa- | mal | -āp | -ūk | -i |
| 0 | PL | MASC | 1SG | speak | VOL | NEG | PST |
- kamuwamalāpūki
- The men did not intend to speak to me.
tense
Tense is also distinguished, but only in the indicative. There are two tenses:
- present, which is also used for future events (nonpast tense), marked with -a.
- kwita
- eat-NPST
- She/he/it eats.
- general past, marked with -i.
- kwiti
- eat-PST
- She/he/it ate.
examples
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