Kala
THIS SECTION IS CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED TO REFLECT A NEW GRAMMAR.
The Kala conlang...
Phonology
Consonants
- Where ~ appears, it indicates free variation between phonemes.
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m (m) | n (n) | ɲ (ny) | |||
| Plosive | p~b (p) | t~d (t) | k~g (k) | ʔ ( ' ) | ||
| Affricate | ts~t͡ʃ (ts) | t͡ɬ~tl (tl) | ||||
| Continuant | s~ʃ (s) | l~ɾ (l) | h~ɦ (h) | |||
| Semivowel | j (y) | w (u) | ||||
The glottal stop is not phonemic but is included in the chart above for completeness. It is only ever intervocalic, meaning it is pronounced between two vowels and/or diphthongs.
- Prenasalized: /ᵐp ⁿt ᵑk/
- Labialized:/pʷ kʷ mʷ nʷ ʃʷ hʷ t͡ʃʷ/
- Palatalized: /pʲ kʲ mʲ hʲ/
Free variation
Because of its small phoneme inventory, Kala allows for quite a lot of allophonic variation. For example, /p t k/ may be pronounced [b d ɡ] as well as [p t k], /s l h/ as [ʃ ɾ ɦ], and /t͡s t͡ɬ/ as [t͡ʃ t͡l]; also, vowels may be either long or short, but are most often only lengthened when stressed.
Sound Changes
The phoneme /n/ undergoes an assimilatory process when followed by /p~b/ to become /m/. Words that are ostensibly “vowel-initial” tend to be pronounced with an initial glottal stop when occurring within phrases. Where ~ appears, it indicates free variation between phonemes. However, certain sounds change in a predictable way. For example, /h/ becomes [ɦ] when preceded or followed by a front vowel, including when labialized or palatalized. It is also sometimes realized as [x], or even [χ]. The alveolar affricates are most often /t͡ʃ/ and /t͡ɬ/. The “s” is almost always /ʃ/ unless preceded or followed by a syllable with the onset /t͡ʃ/, in which case “s” becomes /s/. So, sama (sun; star; solar) is /ˈʃaːma/ where sitsa (heat; hot) is /ˈsiːt͡ʃa/ and tsisi (embroider; embroidery) is /t͡ʃiːsi/. /ts~t͡ʃ/ is typically realized as / t͡ʃ / when followed by front vowels, and /ts/ elsewhere. This is also the case with /s~ʃ/; /sa/ >> /ʃi/.
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i~ɪ (i) | u~u: (u) |
| Mid | e~ɛ (e) | o~o: (o) |
| Open | a~a: (a) | |
Kala has five vowels /i/, /e/, /a/, /o/ and /u/. Each occurs in both stressed and unstressed syllables. Phonetic nasalization occurs for vowels occurring between nasal consonants or when preceding a syllable-final nasal, e.g. tsunka [ˈt͡ʃũᵑka] ('bug').
Diphthongs
Phonetically, Kala has only two diphthongs, both falling; [aɪ̯] ai and [aʊ̯] ao, but there are five syllables that can be analyzed as rising diphthongs; [wa] ua, [we] ue, [ja] ya, [je] ye, and [jo] yo. The two triphthongs [waɪ̯] uai and [jaʊ̯] yao are very rare but should be noted as possible.
