Word order

SOV
Attributes follow the words that they modify.

Phonology

Syllable structure is (C)V

Consonants

	Labial	Coronal	Dorsal
Nasal	m	n
Plosive	p	t	k
Fricative		s
Approximant	w	l	j

Clusters

Nasalized: /ᵐp ⁿt ᵑk/
Labialized:/pʷ kʷ mʷ nʷ ʃʷ t͡ʃʷ/
Palatalized: /pʲ kʲ mʲ ɲ/

the cluster tl is /t͡ɬ/ or /t͡l/

Vowels

/a i u a: i: u:/

a i u á í ú

Nouns

Classifiers

na- - person; human
nya- - tool; device; vehicle
tla- - masculine; male [MASC]
tli- - food
wi- - abstract
ya- - inanimate; material; stuff
yi- - feminine; female [FEM]

Determiners

kí- - other; different
ná- - this [by me]
ní- - that [by you]
nú- - that [over there]
nyí- - same
sá- - sort; kind of
pwí- - so-called
lá- - next
tí- - last

Number

Nouns are marked for various quantities:

ká- - plural; several
má- - many; much; a lot
mú- - group; collection; mass of
mwá- - all; every
nwá- - one; a
pá- - pair of; both
tsí- - few; little
yú- - piece of

Qualifiers

á- - venerated [honorific]
mí- - good; pleasant; "regular"
pí- - small; diminutive; dear
sú- - bad; unpleasant
tá- - big
tsú- - lacking respect; damn

Pronouns

	singular	dual	plural
1	wa-	pwa-	kwa-
2	ni-	(m)pi-	(n)ki-
3	u-	pu-	ku-

Verb arguments (i.e. subject, direct object, indirect object) are indicated with pronominal affixes which are added to verb stems. The pronominal affixes are inflected according to number (singular, dual, and plural) and person (1st, 2nd, etc.).

subject	object	verb	tense / aspect / mood
ku-	wa-	kup	-i
3pl	1sg	harm	PST
kuwakupi
They harmed me.

Verbs

Tense

Verbs are either non-past or past.

wa-kwit-a

1sg-eat-NPST

I eat. / I am eating. / I will eat.

wa-kwit-i

1sg-eat-PST

I ate.

Stems

kam - symbol; write; mark
kup - harm; hurt; corrupt
kwit - eat; nourish; bread
mak - want; desire; love
mal - speak; talk
n - know; see
natl - sleep; rest; relax
nay - loud; noise; roar
nyak - fire; burn; light
t - be; exist [COP]
tlil - bathe; wash
wap - rhythm; pulse; meter
way - go; move; walk
y - have; belong; get
yam - delight; happy; toy; glad
yap - be green; foliage; plant

Examples

upuni

u-pu-n-i

3sg-3du-see-PST

He saw them (two).

notes

for word generator:

C=ptkmnswlyqxcf
V=aáàiíìuúù
P=aiu

c|ts
f|ny
kw[uúù]|kwa
n[nml]|n
np|mp
q|kw
tl[uúù]|tla
w[uúù]|wa
x|tl

User:Masako/nkala

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