Kala
The Kala conlang...
glossing
Glossing abbreviations.
phonology
consonants
vowels
diphthongs
syllable structure
syllables
stress
word order
content words
nouns
plural
pronouns
pronoun declensions
demonstratives
correlative pronouns
verbs
adjectives
Kala does not have adjectives as a distinct part of speech. Instead, many intransitive verbs can be used as adjectives. This leaves open to interpretation many phrases.
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comparison
In Kala the concepts of comparative and superlative degree of an adjective (verb) are merged into a single form, the elative. How this form is understood or translated depends upon context and definiteness. In the absence of comparison, the elative conveys the notion of “greatest”, “supreme.”
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relative
In a relative clause, the verb has the suffix -tle (or -le if the final syllable contains /tl/) added to it. The order of the words in relative clauses remains the same as in regular clauses. The use of participles in Kala is rather different than in English and at first sight is difficult to understand. This is mainly due to the fact that the relative pronouns who, what, which, where are not used in Kala as in English.
- yalapa - to be able to walk produces: yalapatle - who/which/that can walk
- yalapak - to not be able to walk produces: yalapanketle - who/which/that can't walk
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This nominalizes the verb in some cases, and makes it possible for it to be either the subject or the object.
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The relative suffix is most often in the final position. In some cases, it may be followed by the negative -k.
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adpositionals
Kala does not have prepositions (or postpositions) as a distinct part of speech. Instead, many locative verbs can be used as adpositionals, 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”. Here are some common verbs used as adpositions:
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numbers
function words
particles
ke
The most common particle in Kala. It marks the object...
conjunctions
interjections
The most common interjections in Kala are as follows;
- kya - imperative particle
- kyo - imperative particle
- kyo'a - imperative particle
- nka - emphatic negative
- ya - vocative particle
- a - affirmative
- aya - expresses strong emotions such as surprise ('ah', 'argh') and pain ('ow')
questions
The other type contains a question word and is followed by ka:
| Kala | gloss | English | |
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| object | ke mita ina ka | O dog eat Q | What does the dog eat? |
| person | ko ina ka | person eat Q | Who eats? |
| possession | koyo mita ina ka | person-POSS dog eat Q | Whose dog eats? |
| manner | to mita ina ka | manner dog eat Q | How does the dog eat? |
| place | mo mita ina ka | place dog eat Q | Where does the dog eat? |
| reason | nye mita ina ka | reason dog eat Q | Why does the dog eat? |
| time | ama mita ina ka | time dog eat Q | When does the dog eat? |
| amount | uku mita ina ka | amount dog eat Q | How much/many does the dog eat? |
| which | ula mita ina ka | any dog eat Q | Which dog eats? |
