Kala Grammar

Author: Carl Buck

MS Date: 09-13-2021

FL Date: 02-01-2022

FL Number: FL-00007D-00

Citation: Buck, Carl. 2021. «Kala Grammar» FL-00007D-

00, Fiat Lingua, . Web.
01 February 2022.

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Kala Grammar

Table of Contents
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Borrowing ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5

Phonology ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6

Consonants …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6

Free variation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6

Sound Changes …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6

Vowels ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7

Diphthongs ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7

Phonotactics ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7

Gemination …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8

Syllables………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9

Syllable Chart ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9

Collating Order …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10

Stress ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11

Morphology ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12

Function Words ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13

Content Words …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13

Nouns …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 14

Number …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14

Reduplication …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 15

Gender ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 16

Case ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 17

Pronouns ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 18

Pronominal constructions ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 19

Reflexives and Reciprocals …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 20

Determiners & Demonstratives ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 21

Verbs ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 22

Tense ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 23

Aspect……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 24

Mood ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 25

Evidentiality……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 26

Kala Grammar

Particles ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 27

Interjections ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 27

Cursing ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 27

Locative Verbs ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 28

Derivation…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 29

Compounding ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 29

Adverbials …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 30

Verbalization …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 31

Nominalization ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 32

Agentive ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 32

Instrumental ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 32

Locative …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32

Diminutive …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 34

Augmentative …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 34

Honorific ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 34

Syntax ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 35

Basic Sentences ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 35

Predicates……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 36

Negation ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 36

Voice…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 37

Compound Sentences …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 37

Compliment Clauses……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 39

Relative Clauses …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 40

Adverbial clauses ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 41

Copular Sentences ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 41

Questions ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 42

Polar questions ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 42

Content questions ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 42

Comparison ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 43

Indirect Objects ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 44

Dative ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 44

Instrumental ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 44

Comitative …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 44

Kala Grammar

Locative …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 45

Semantic Fields and Pragmatics ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 46

Numbers ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 47

Forming Larger Numbers …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 47

Other Number Forms ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 47

Math Operations ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 48

Writing system ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 49

Han Moya ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 49

consonants ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 49

vowels ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 49

Examples …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 50

Text Example ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 50

Lexicon …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 51

Kala Grammar

Introduction

Kala is a personal artistic language, or constructed language (conlang). It is the culmination of my life-
long appreciation and fascination with language and linguistics. This fascination began in my youth, c.
1988 when I received a book about ciphers and codes. I have studied multiple natural languages since
that time, including several European languages, Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese (Mandarin), to name
only a few. I have focused much of my interest in the subfield of writing systems, which will likely be
apparent to anyone familiar with Kala and its many varied writing systems.

Kala draws on natlangs (natural language), other conlangs, and of course imagination. Kala was started
in late 2009. The phonemic inventory is based on Classical Nahuatl while the syllable structure and
vowels are based on the strict (C)V structure of Japanese, and the presence of prenasalized stops is
influenced by Bantu languages. Kala’s grammar was initially based on Japanese but has changed
considerably based on influence from several natural and constructed languages. Many – if not most –
of Kala lexemes are derived from or inspired by natural languages. A few have been taken from previous
projects or constructed languages such as Ajara (a cipherlang from my youth) and Qatama (a conlang
that I abandoned several years ago).

Kala Grammar

Borrowing

Kala borrows from many varied languages, including but not limited to: Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese,
Korean, Spanish, Turkish, and several others. These borrowings are most often based on aesthetics and
function of the word. When borrowing, often changes made to the word include dropping of one or
more syllables, vowel changes, and occasionally metathesis. These changes frequently leave the word
unrecognizable from its original form. However, with each borrowing, an attempt has been made to
retain as much original phonological and semantic meaning as possible. Of the numerous examples of
borrowing, here is a breakdown of a few that are commonly used;

• niha – good; nice; cool; sweet; enjoyable (from Arabic حينم /mnīḥ/, meaning “fine; good”). So,

•

the /m/ was dropped and an /a/ was added, also the /ḥ/ becomes /ɦ/. These changes align the
word with the CVCV structure that the majority of Kala lexemes adhere to, as well as the
phonological and phonotactical rules. This has been further reduced to a derivational suffix, –
ni denoting a quality of goodness.
yohua – night(time); darkness (from Classical Nahuatl yohualli /jo(w)alli/, meaning “night;
nighttime; darkness”). The absolutive suffix –lli was dropped, and the Spanish spelling used to
inform pronunciation, making it /joːhʷa/. This word has been used in portmanteau to create
new words such as huatso “midnight”.
tsoya – center; middle; mid-; half (from Mandarin 中 / ʈ͡ʂʊŋ/, meaning “middle; center”). So, the
coda / ŋ/ was dropped and /ja/ was added, also the /ʈ͡ʂ/ becomes /ts~t͡ʃ/. This has been further
reduced to a derivational suffix, -tso denoting half, or the middle of something. This word has
been used in portmanteau to create new words such as huatso “midnight” and yotso “midday;
noon”.

This is a very small sample of borrowings:

kala – to speak, talk, converse; from Arabic takallama

• pato – duck (Anatidae); from Spanish pato
•
• myonta – to allow, permit; from Finnish myöntää
• na – I, me; from Arabic ʾanā
•
• uasi – to take, get, acquire; from Lakota wasichu
• a – to be, exist, yes; from Japanese aru

tsenka – orange; from Chinese chéng

So, some phrases can contain words from multiple natlangs:

•

ta (ke) inun uasiye ka
2sg (O) drink-ACC take-PST Q
Did you take the drink?

•

ta – Arabic ʾanta; ke – Chinese gè; inu – Hawaiian inu; uasi – Lakota wasichu; ka – Japanese か

Kala Grammar

Phonology

Consonants

• Where ~ appears, it indicates free variation between phonemes.

Labial

m (m)

Nasal

Plosive

p~b (p)

Alveolar

Palatal Velar Glottal

n (n)

t~d (t)

ɲ (ny)

k~g (k)

ʔ ( ‘ )

Affricate

Continuant

Semivowel

ts~t͡ʃ (ts)

t͡ɬ~tl (tl)

s~ʃ (s)

l~ɾ (l)

h~ɦ (h)

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/
•
• Palatalized: /pʲ kʲ mʲ hʲ/

Labialized:/pʷ kʷ mʷ nʷ ʃʷ hʷ t͡ʃʷ/

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/.

Kala Grammar

Vowels

Front Back

i~ɪ (i) u~ʊ (u)

Mid e~ɛ (e) o~o: (o)

Open

a~ɑ (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.

Phonotactics

The maximal syllable structure is (strictly open syllables) (N)(C)(u, y)V(a, i) where (N) indicates
nasalization, and u and y indicate labialization and palatalization respectively. Consonant clusters within
a syllable typically only occur in place names or “foreign” words, so that the majority of syllables follow a
simple (C)V(ː) pattern.

There is a limited set of syllables, of the type CV (consonant-vowel), allowed by Kala phonotactics,
similar to Japanese or Chinese. Kala phonotactics does not typically allow the onsets of adjacent
syllables to be identical, nor both to be labialized or palatalized. (There are a few exceptions to this, such
as tata for the informal/familiar form of “father”, etc., as well as reduplication as a form of plurality.)
Syllables beginning with /l/ do not occur as the first syllable of a headword (except in loanwords and
toponyms).

When an affix causes reduplication of a syllable it is replaced by –u, which has no meaning. This is done
to reduce duplicate syllables. An example might be tsuala’u meaning “to become prosperous”,
from tsuala “prosper; be prosperous” and the suffix –la meaning “become; change into”, used to
indicate the mutative.

Kala Grammar

Gemination

Gemination is only found as a product of word compounding and not as a phonological process,
however it affects the pronunciation as the phonemic variation is lost and all geminated consonants are
voiceless. naka (woman) can be /ˈnaːka/ or /ˈnaːga/, whereas nakkan (chieftess) can only be /ˈnaːkkan/.
All consonants except for semivowels can undergo gemination.

Kala Grammar

Syllables

Syllable structure in Kala is exclusively made up of open syllables of the type CV (consonant-vowel) with
most lexemes having two syllables exclusively of this type. The exceptions to this rule are the word final
endings –m (indicating general plural, deriving from ma, meaning “and, also”), -n (indicating accusative
case, deriving from no, meaning “thing, object”), and –k (indicating negative mood, deriving from nke,
meaning “no, not”).

Syllable Chart

the 136 basic Kala syllables

uai

yao

(m)pa

(m)pe (m)pi

(m)po

(m)pu pua pue pya pye pyo pai pao puai pyao

(n)ta

(n)te

(n)ti

(n)to

tai

tao

(n)ka

(n)ke

(n)ki

(n)ko

(n)ku

kua kue kya kye kyo kai kao kuai

kyao

m ma

mu mua mue mya mye myo mai mao muai myao

–

tsa

tla

tse

tle

tsi

tli

tso

tlo

nua nue nya nye nyo nai nao nuai nyao

sua

sue

sai

sao

suai

hua hue hya hye hyo hai hao huai hyao

tsu

tsua tsue

tsai tsao tsuai

tlai

tlao

lai

lao

uai

yao

Syllables such as nsa, ntla, or ntsa can occur but usually only in place names or loanwords. The A-
O columns are called mpalo and are the most common, the U-YO are called puhyo, the AI-YAO/red
syllables above occur infrequently and most often as the final syllable of a word, are referred to
as paihyao.

Kala Grammar

Collating Order

The collating sequence (alphabetical order) is based on the order established in the Naua script.

Consonants

t k m n

Vowels

a e

i o u ua ue

Based on this order, ma would come before ha, etc. Prenasalized syllables are ordered after their non-
prenasalized counterparts, i.e. mpa comes after pyo but before ta. To see the collating sequence in
action, look through the lexicon. This order can be vocalized as “pa, ta, ka, ma, na, nya, sa, ha, tsa, tla,
ua, la, ya, a”, this aides in memorization and organization.

Kala Grammar

Stress

Stress generally falls on the penultimate syllable, which means that stress is de facto initial in most
lemma given that stems are most often (CVCV). Monosyllabic words are not stressed. So;

• masa – /ˈmaːsa/ → masako – /maːˈsako/
•
•
• empahapak – /ɛᵐpaˈhaːpak/ → empahapayek – /ɛᵐpahaˈpaːjek/

tliyama – /tɬiːˈjama/ → tliyamalo – /tɬiːjaˈmalo/
kam – /kaːm/ → kamyo – /ˈkaːmʲo/

Kala Grammar

Morphology

Kala is a mostly agglutinative language that makes extensive use of compounding, incorporation and
derivation. That is, it can add many different prefixes and suffixes to a root until very long words are
formed, and a single word can sometimes constitute an entire sentence. The words of Kala can be
divided into two basic functional classes: verbs and nouns as content words, and particles and others as
functional. Adjectives do not exist, instead, stative verbs explain the state of the subject, i.e. “to be red”.
The few adverbs that exist fall into the class of particles or are derived from verbs. The most important
element of Kala lexemes to keep in mind is that they may function as a verb, noun, adjective, or an
adverb based on where they fall in the phrase, and any various endings that may be affixed. Kala has
two basic parts of speech. In most cases, the more important elements of a phrase are clustered toward
the end of the sentence (e.g. verbs and their modifiers). The less important an element is to the
understanding of a sentence, the more likely it is to be dropped. Consequently, many Kala sentences
end-up consisting solely of a verb (or adjectival verb); more so in conversation than in written Kala,
these short phrases are grammatically correct and natural. Here are some examples:

• muya ka – /muːja gaː/ – do Q – (What are you) doing?
inanko – /iːna/ – eat-CONT – (I am) eating.
•
tamatse – /tamaːˌt͡ʃɛ/ – good-seem – (That looks) good.
•
• ueha ka – /weːɦa kaː/ – want Q – (Do you) want (some)?
• nyasak – /ɲaːʃak/ – thank-NEG – No, thank (you).

Notice that none of the above contains any pronouns, or nouns. Any contextually understood elements
may be omitted unless indispensable. There can be considerable divergence from what is grammatical,
and what is acceptably idiomatic. The spectrum of formality and grammatical to idiomatic can be seen in
the example below:

• netla muyaye – 1sg-P.4sg do-PST – I did it. > [grammatical, formal]
• etla muyaye – P.4sg do-PST – (I) did it. >> It was done. > [grammatical, formal, passive]
• na muyaye – 1sg do-PST – I did (it). > [grammatical, informal]
• muyaye – do-PST – (I) did (it). > [semi-grammatical, idiomatic]
• muyye – /muːɟɛ/ – do-PST – (I) did (it). > [ungrammatical, idiomatic]

Kala Grammar

Function Words

Function words are called mayatla (“water words”; flowing speech). In this case, the words are «empty»
in that they don’t do anything by themselves. They serve important grammatical functions by making
clear relationships between words, logical connections, or modifications of meaning. Function words are
the «grammar words» of Kala. There are subcategories of function words that include: prepositions,
conjunctions, interjections, pragmatics, and particles.

Content Words

Content words are called konotla (“stone words”; still/solid speech) Contrary to function words, content
words refer to real objects in the real world, whether solid and palpable, or observable in some other
way. These words refer to objects, actions, concepts, and emotions, which exist in some real way as
more than just grammatical tools. Subcategories of content words are: nouns, pronouns, verbs (active
and stative), adverbials, number words, and onomatopoeia. Many content words can be used as both
nouns and verbs. The best and most common example would be ina /iːˈna/ «food; to eat». Kala is a
context-oriented language. The English glosses are meant to give an idea of what the core meaning of
the Kala word actually is, but which do not imply that the Kala word actually covers all the main senses
of these English words. Conversely, many words with a meaning much narrower than their English gloss
are not precisely specified.

Kala Grammar

Nouns

The morphology of Kala nouns can be complex enough to include number, gender, size, case, quality,
etc. However, it should be noted that a few of these are also non-obligatory. That is, if the meaning or
intended meaning can be inferred from context, certain nominal modifiers may be omitted. Due to the
semantic range of Kala words, the declension of nouns is often used to convey both the lexical role, but
also the semantic use, and grammatical importance of the word. Kala nominals (which includes full
nouns, pronouns, and determiners) inflect for number and several cases. Other relevant distinctions are
animacy and possession, but these are not always marked on the noun itself. Animacy plays a role both
for pronoun choice and for the validity of some syntactic constructions.

Number

In general the plural suffix is not used when the plurality of the noun is clear from context. For example,
while the English sentence «there are three dogs» would use the plural «dogs» instead of the singular
«dog», the Kala sentence mita ha’o a «dog three exist» keeps the word mita «dog» in its unmarked form,
as the numeral makes the plural marker redundant. The collective plural is marked by tli-, derived
from tatli, meaning «group; collection; gathering». It is mainly used to indicate collectives of animals, but
can also indicate groups of flora, geographic features, and various other groupings. This is called the
collective plural (COL). There are also markers for paucal (a few of something), distributive (each of a
countable group), or inclusive, and an indefinite large number (many, much).

Singular [SG]

Plural [PL]

Paucal [PAU]

Collective [COL]

Kala

mita

mita-m

mita-mi

tli-mita

gloss

dog

dog-PL

dog-PAU

COL-dog

English

a/the dog

(the) dogs

(a) few dogs

(a) dog pack

Distributive [DIS]

mita-li [or -kua]

dog-DIS/INCL

each/every dog

Indefinite Mass [IM]

mita-mpa

dog-IM

many dogs

These endings can sometimes be combined to add nuance to the meaning, such as; tlimitam – COL-dog-
PL – dog packs / packs of dogs; imitalin malo – PROX-dog-DIS-ACC be.brown – each of these dogs is
brown

When the final syllable of a word contains a labial consonant, ‘m’, ‘mp’, and ‘p’ the plural marking
changes to -lo. The –lo ending is also used when the word begins with a vowel, and when the –m ending
conflicts phonotactically with a given case suffix. An example of this would be; yama – mountain – a
mountain → yamalo – mountain-PL – mountains → tliyama – COL-mountain – a mountain range / range
of mountains → tliyamalo – COL-mountain-PL – mountain ranges / ranges of mountains.

Kala Grammar

Reduplication

Nominal reduplication in Kala indicates a plurality and that the items are scattered about in a disorderly
manner. It can also indicate uncountable version of a countable noun. Occasionally, it reflects a juvenile
or informal register; in this respect, it can be compared to the English diminutive ending «-y» or «-ie»
(kitty, “doggie», etc.) Verb reduplication is also common in Kala as it marks adverbs. Often, this adverb is
an informal and/or temporary character of the action. It may also indicate a nominal form of the verb.

•

kya o’unkonke – IMP be.loud-NEG – Don’t speak loudly!

The morphological process of reduplication is irregular in Kala and is based primarily on the initial
syllable of the word. The nasals (N), plosives (P), affricates (A), continuants (C), and semivowels and
vowels (S) each undergo various changes during reduplication.

N → N/(y/u)

• muku – knife → mumuku – knives scattered around
• muela – raspberry → memuela – raspberries scattered around / a bunch of raspberries
• nyahi – snow → nanyahi – snow all around

P → nP/(y/u) or nP → P/(y/u)

• pana – rain → pampana – rain all around (“It’s raining all over.”)
• ntasi – excitement → ntatasi – chaotic fits
•
•

kano – dear; darling → kankano – “sweetie; lovey”
kyo’a – be quiet → konko’a – quietly

A → C/(y/u)

•
•
•

tloso – annoy; bother → tloloso – bothersome
tsima – hour → tsisima – hourly; regularly
tsuama – sandwich → tsasuama – sandwiches scattered about / a sandwich tray

C → ~/(y/u) [mostly s → ts and h → k]

sama – sun → satsama – sunny; sunshine all around
•
suku – shop → sutsuku – marketplace; bazaar
•
• hama – protect; defend → hakama – protective

S → ‘u or ~
•
• etsa – degree; extent → e’utsa – extensive

ima – now; yet → i’uma – immediately [sounds like /ˈjuːma/]

Kala Grammar

Gender

Gender is not normally marked but can be with the endings -na and -ta to mark the feminine and
masculine, respectively or nouns such as naka, tlaka, nahi, or tahi (the woman, the man, the girl, the
boy), etc. A gender-neutral suffix, -nta may be used when the gender is unknown or ambiguous.

kuma – bear – a bear → kumana – bear-FEM – sow → kumata – bear-MASC – boar

•
• masa – deer – a deer → masana – deer-FEM – doe → masata – deer-MASC – stag
• uma – horse – a horse → umana – horse-FEM – mare → umata – horse-MASC – stallion

Kala Grammar

Case

Case is marked with suffixes. The regular forms of the case markers are given in the list below. Case is
marked on noun phrases using null marking for agents, and -n for patients. The clitic -n can appear on
multiple noun phrases in a single sentence at once, such as the direct object, indirect object, and
adverbial nouns.

Case

Suffix

Use

Nominative
[NOM]

Accusative
[ACC]

Genitive
[GEN]

Dative
[DAT]

Locative
[LOC]

Ablative
[ABL]

Comitative
[COM]

Abessive
[ABE]

Terminative
[TERM]

-Ø

indicates a syntactic core participant of the action, agent, force, or experiencer

-n

indicates a patient, theme or goal (used as Oblique occasionally), instrument, or
experiencer

-yo

indicates alienable association or possession (see also te)

-la

indicates the recipient/beneficiary of an action, or movement towards object

-hue

indicates location or circumstance

indicates origin, source, or movement away from a location

-nte / –
uai

-mua

indicates instrument, or in company of something

-mue

indicates the lack or absence of something

-mpe

indicates the extent, finality, or limit (also Limitative)

Kala Grammar

Pronouns

Kala agent pronouns are often omitted when the person is obvious from context. There are four persons
in Kala. The 4th being inanimate, or indefinite. The pronoun na’am is used as the 1st person plural
exclusive, meaning «We, but not you.» The 3rd person plural is irregular, all other pronoun decline
regularly. Pronouns do not inflect for gender; if gender is significant, one can use words like naka, tlaka,
nahi, tahi (the woman, the man, the girl, the boy), etc.

Personal pronouns:

• na – 1st person
ta – 2nd person
•
• ha – 3rd person
•

tla – 4th person («it», «one»)
(used for inanimate nouns)

Modifiers:
•
•

-m – plural
-nku – reciprocal (only attaches
to plural pronouns)

• e- – patient
-i – reflexive
•
-yo – possessive
•

Other pronouns include:

•

tlokua – everyone,
everybody
kola – someone,
somebody;
whomever,
anyone, anybody
tlok – no one,
nobody

• nokua – everything
• nola – something;

whatever,
anything
• nok – nothing

nkalo

Agent

Patient

Reflexive

Possessive

Reciprocal

1sg

2sg

3sg

4sg

tla

ena

eta

eha

etla

1pl
1pl exclusive

nam
na’am

enam
ena’am

2pl

3pl

4pl

tam

kam

tlam

etam

ekam

etlam

na’i

ta’i

ha’i

tla’i

nami
na’ami

tami

kami

tlami

nayo

tayo

hayo

tlayo

namyo
na’amyo

tamyo

kamyo

tlamyo

–

nanku
na’anku

tanku

kanku

tlanku

Kala Grammar

Pronominal constructions

The agent and patient pronouns are linked in most constructions. That means that the agent and the
patient form one word. This is done with the pronominal patient marking affix -e-.

• neha anya
1s-P.3s see
I see her.

•

kameta motoyek

3pl-P.2s remember-PST-NEG
They didn’t remember you.

•

tametla yohauek

2pl-P.4s have-DES-NEG
You (all) don’t want to have it.

• nya tena tapya ka
for 2s-P.1s follow Q
Why are you following me?

1sg

2sg

3sg

4sg

1pl

1pl.EXCL

2pl

3pl

4pl

A/P

1sg

2sg

neta

–

heta

tleta

3sg

neha

teha

4sg

netla

1pl

–

1pl.EXCL

2pl

3pl

4pl

–

netam

nekam

netlam

tetla

tenam

tena’am

–

tekam

tetlam

–

hetla

henam

hena’am

hetam

–

hetlam

tleha

–

tlenam

tlena’am

tletam

tlekam

–

nameta nameha nametla

na’ameta na’ameha na’ametla

–

nametam namekam nametlam

na’ametam na’amekam na’ametlam

–

tena

hena

tlena

–

tamena

–

tameha

tametla

tamenam tamena’am

–

tamekam

tametlam

kamena kameta

–

kametla kamenam kamena’am kametam

–

kametlam

tlamena tlameta

tlameha

–

tlamenam tlamena’am tlametam

tlamekam

–

Kala Grammar

Reflexives and Reciprocals

Kala handles reflexives and reciprocals using suffixes that can be added to either the pronoun or the
verb. The reflexive suffix added to pronouns is –i, when added to verbs it is –ki, from ki meaning “self;
essence”. The reciprocal suffix added to pronouns and verbs is –nku, , from anku meaning “reciprocate;
[in] return”.

• na’i sepaye

1s.REFL injure-PST
I hurt myself.
• ha’i tlela
3s.REFL bathe
She bathes herself.

•

kanku ke onta nayo itsa
3pl.RECP O parent 1s.GEN love
My parents love each other.

• na’anku amyapak

1pl.EXCL.RECP like-ABIL-NEG
We (but not you) are not able to like each other.

In order to differentiate non-singular reflexives from reciprocals, -li (“each; every”) can be added – to
the subject for reflexives, and to the object for reciprocals. Note however that this construction usually
implies that all members of the subject group were actually affected by the action.

•

tanakoli matakiye
fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST
Each one of the warriors killed himself.

•

kanku ke tanakoli matakiye
3pl.RECP O fight-AG-each kill-REFL-PST
The warriors killed each other [and nobody survived].

Kala Grammar

Determiners & Demonstratives

The demonstratives can be prefixed to any noun to show deixis. Kala makes a three-way distinction.
Typically there is a distinction between proximal or first person (objects near to the speaker), medial or
second person (objects near to the addressee), and distal or third person (objects far from both).

itla (i-) – this (near me)
•
• uatla (ua-) – that (near you)
•

yetla (ye-) – that (over there)

Examples:
imitami – PROX-dog-few – These few dogs
•
yemitampa – DIST-dog-many – Those many dogs (over there)
•
• uamitali – MED-dog-each – Each dog (each of those dogs) (near

you)

Correlatives

kua (-kua) – all; every; whole

Quantifiers follow the noun that
modify.
•
• oli (-li) – each; every
• ula (-la) – whatever; any; some
• mi (-mi) – few; little
• nke (-k) – none
• mpa (-mpa) – many; much; a

lot

• maha – more; plus
• ohi – less; fewer

Proximal
i-

Medial
ua-

Distal
ye-

Inclusive
-kua

mo
(place)

hina
here

uana
there

yemua
over there

mokua
everywhere

Negative
-k

mok
nowhere

Indefinite
-la

mola
somewhere;
anywhere

ko
(person)

iko
this person

uako
that person

uku
(amount)

iku
this much

uaku
that much

ama
(time)

so
(kind, type)

ima
now, at
present

iso
this kind

uama
then; at
that time

so’o
that kind

no
(thing)

itla
this

uatla
that

to
(manner, way)

yoto
thus; like this;
this way

uato
that way

yeko
that person
(over
there)

–

yeso
that kind
(over
there)

yetla
that
(over
there)

ato
that way
(over
there)

tlokua
everyone

tlok
no one

kola
someone; anyone

kua
all; every

kuama
always

ok
none

amak
never

ula
some; any

tlama
sometime; anytime

sokua
all kinds

sok
no kind (at all)

sola
some/any kind

nokua
everything

nok
nothing; none

nola
something;
anything

tokua
every way

tok
no way

tola
somehow; anyway

Kala Grammar

Verbs

Kala relies on analytic serial verb constructions, and can therefore get by with very little verbal
morphology. Each verb has at most two possible forms: the active and the stative. Passivity is marked on
the subject thus verbs are unmarked and must be analyzed based on surrounding morphology. Active
verbs solely denote actions and occurrences and never states in Kala. Stative verbs are the words that
modify nouns in an attributive and often adjectival way. They often express a state like a quality or
result. Verbs can 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. The negative, adverbial, and plural endings are always final, while other affixes can be varied, but
in general they should be ordered:

STEM-(SIZE/IMPORTANCE)-(MOOD)-(ASPECT)-(TENSE)-(NEGATIVE)

Example:

Verb Stem Size/Importance Mood Aspect Tense Negative

empa

run

-hi

DIM

-pa

-nko

-ye

-k

ABIL PROG

PST

NEG

• na empahipankoyek

1s run-DIM-able-PROG-PST-NEG
I was not able to keep jogging.

• na empahik

1s run-DIM-able-NEG
I don’t jog.

• na empankoye
1s run-PROG-PST
I was running.

• na empa’uk
1s run-ABIL-NEG
I can’t run.

• na empayepak
1s run-PST-ABIL-NEG
I couldn’t run.

• na empahahye
1s run-AUG-REC
I just sprinted.

Kala Grammar

Tense

Kala has three simple tenses; past, present, and future. Present tense is unmarked. However, past (-ye)
and future (-tli) tenses can be modified to include immediate future («is about to…»), distant future
(«will…in a long while»), recent past («just …»), and remote past («…a long while ago»). These
distinctions are made with the augmentative and diminutive endings -ha and -hi. Kala’s distinguishing
three levels of both past and future time is a unique typological trait. The use of the variations of past
and future are not subject to strict grammatical rules and are a question of pragmatics. The recent and
immediate markers are most commonly used for near-scope, that is, things which have just happened or
will happen very soon. Of the triad tense–aspect–mood this section will only cover basic uses of the
marked tense categories, followed by a discussion of complex tense combinations such as past-in-
future. Subsequent sections will provide more insight into the morphological marking of aspectual
categories; and the following section deals with the morphology of mood marking in Kala. Verbs in Kala
are unmarked for present tense, as it is the normal mode of speaking. Besides being used to comment
or report on current events, the present tense is also used to make statements of general truth. Also,
Kala does not strictly mark its verbs for past tense in narrative discourses (instead the adverbial aye (“it
was”) will start the first phrase); verbs may therefore appear as a present-time reference in spite of
recounting past events, whether historical or fictional.

Kala

gloss

English

remote past

kamahi hinayeha
or -hai

town-DIM be.here-REM

There was a village here (long ago).
(before the lifetime of the speaker)

past

naka mita anyaye

woman dog see-PST

The woman saw the dog.

recent past

ota namyo akyayehi
or -hye

father 1pl.GEN wake-REC

Our father just woke.
(action just finished)

present

future

mita tahi yatsi

dog boy bite

The dog bites the boy.

naka tahi tlepatli

woman boy teach-FUT

The woman will teach the boy.

immediate future

na tlelatlihi
or -tlai

1s bathe-IMM

distant future

panam opuatliha

rain-PL end-DIS

I’ll bathe soon.
(within the day)

The rains will end.
(months from now)

The present tense can show immediacy by using the adverb ima, «now; at this time»; If a temporal
adverb is used, the tense suffix may be omitted:

ima mita ina – now dog eat – The dog is eating right now.
yomaye nam ina – yesterday 1pl eat – We ate yesterday.

•
•
• anyotli ha huato – year-FUT 3s move.about – He will move next year.
•

semaye kamena ke mita yeta – week-PST 3pl-P.1s O dog give – (A) week(s) ago they gave me a
dog.

Kala Grammar

Tense cont.

Note that the recent and the remote past tense are not generally marked if the past context is clear, for
instance, when a past context has already been established in discourse. This may also happen explicitly
by using a temporal adverbial such as yomaye (“yesterday”) or anyoye nye’o (“a hundred years ago”). In
the presence of an explicit temporal adverb, redundant tense marking is also dropped subsequently.
Like the past tense, the future is often not explicitly marked if the time frame is clear from context or
has been clarified with such adverbials as “tomorrow”.

“Already”, past in past & past in future; so far, we have only dealt with tense marking from the point of
view of the present. However, it is also possible to refer to an event which precedes another event in
the past. Kala uses the particle tso («already; since») to indicate actions that took place prior to the
primary tense of the verb. It is most often placed at the beginning of a verb phrase.

tso mikelo yetla inaye
already Michael DIST-4s eat-PST
Michael already ate that (before).

tso maliya yetla inatli ama nam talatli
already Mary DIST-4s eat-FUT time 1pl arrive-FUT
Mary will have already eaten that (before) when we (will) arrive.

Aspect

There are four aspects in Kala. The progressive, also called the continuous [CONT], this is used to express
an incomplete action or state in progress at a specific time. It is marked with -nko, from nkoso – «to
continue; proceed; progress». The perfective aspect indicates that an action is completed [PFV]. It is
often translated by the English present perfect (have done some-thing). It is marked with -pua,
from opua – «to end; finish; complete». The inchoative aspect refers to the beginning of a state [INCH]. It
is marked with -mu, from mula – «to begin; start; initiate». The frequentative aspect refers to a repeated
action [FREQ]. It is marked with -nua, from nua – «frequent; often; regular».

Kala

gloss

English

Continuous

na ke niye pukunko

1s O undergarment wear-CONT

I am wearing underclothes.

Frequentative

tlaka ke apua tlatonua

man O song recite-FREQ

The man recites the song repetitively.

Inchoative

nahi yotimu

Perfective

kam inapua

girl play-INCH

3pl eat-PFV

The girl begins to play.

They have eaten.

A few aspectual derivations:

kuali – drill; bore; dig into → kualinua – cultivate, farm

•
• oma – shout; yell → omanua – scream
• noko – stay; remain → nokonua – survive, be resilient
• moku – sleep; rest → mokumu – fall asleep
•

yelo – ice → yelomu – freeze; solidify → yelopua – frozen; solid

Kala Grammar

Mood

Besides various aspects, Kala also marks moods other than realis: irrealis, imperative, hortative, and
negative. These are also expressed by suffixes on the verb and typically follow aspectual marking where
it is expressed by a suffix. As is common throughout natural and constructed languages, the indicative
mood is unmarked. Subjunctive, conditional, and imperative moods are marked lexically, by various
particles, and as such are covered in detail in the “particles” of this grammar.

Kala

gloss

English

Abilitative

na mokuyepak

1s sleep-PST-ABIL-NEG

I was unable to sleep.

Attemptative

neko ke panya
matapya

Desiderative otsokai ka’e moli

yalaue

cat O mouse kill-ATT

The cat is trying to kill the mouse.

wolf-red toward forest
go-DES

Redwolf wants/intends to go to the
forest.

Dubitative

ha tsakahueke

3s home-LOC-DUB

I guess he is at home. lit: He is at home,
supposedly.

Hortative

yalakya

walk-HORT

Let’s go!

Necessitative

mita inahe

dog eat-NEC

The dog needs to eat.

Negative

naku nayo hinak

sister 1s-GEN be.here-
NEG

My sister is not here.

Permissive

ta ke hina
simamyok

2s O here sit-PERM-NEG

You are not allowed to sit here.

Precative

ke asi yetate

O salt give-PREC

Will you please pass me the salt?

Preparative

tahi mokusue

boy sleep-PREP

The boy is ready to sleep.

Propositive

ta mokune

2s sleep-PROP

You should sleep.

The negative mood (always marked finally) is indicated by the suffix –k or –nke (when the last syllable
contains /k/).

• mita inayek – dog eat-PST-NEG – The dog did not eat.
• mita mokunke – dog sleep-NEG – The dog does not sleep.

Kala Grammar

Evidentiality

Verb clauses in Kala may optionally be marked for evidentiality, particularly if the described event took
place in the past and/or when the speaker was not directly involved in it. This set of six verbal suffixes
indicating the nature of the evidence supporting a statement. These morphemes are not obligatory;
however, the lack of an evidential in a main clause not marked as interrogative or irrealis is usually taken
as a sign of pure speculation and thus likely to raise suspicions about the statement’s truth.

Visual [VIS]

Kala

kam ke yoti
matsunya

gloss

English

3pl O game win-VIS

They won the game. (I saw it)

Auditory [AUD]

naku hayo ke
metlamyanu

sister 3s.GEN O flute-
CAUS-AUD

His sister plays the flute. (I heard
it)

Hearsay [HSY]
(reported speech)

kye ota tayo
kupanko

HSY father 2s.GEN die-
CONT

(it is said) Your father is dying.

Inferred [INFR]

kola ke katso
kuhatsi

AG.INDEF O meal cook-
INF

Someone is cooking a meal. (based
on evidence)

Assumptive/Assertive
[ASS]

ke maliya
kantipuaho

O Maria cheat-PFV-ASS Maria has been cheated. (I assert)

As can be seen in the above examples, there are two direct evidentials, and three indirect;

• Direct:

•

-nya – visual evidence, the speaker witnessed the event
-nu – auditory/general evidence, the speaker heard/felt the event
Indirect:
kye – reported speech; hearsay, the speaker received via hearsay and may or may not be
accurate
-tsi – inferred based on physical evidence
-ho – assumed or asserted based on experience

Kala Grammar

Particles

Particles in Kala cover a broad spectrum of what are more accurately called function words. These
include adverbs, prepositions (more accurately locative or relative verbs), conjunctions, interjections,
onomatopes, and structural particles.

Interjections

The term “interjection” is used to cover a range of pragmatic, or discourse markers that do not fit well
into any other category. This is because many words and expressions have a pragmatic rather than a
semantic meaning.

• a – expresses acknowledgement, agreement, or simply that one is listening
• e – marks dispreferreds, ends a digression,
• po – marks a sudden change of topic
•
•

ya – vocative marker, polite imperative, expresses commiseration
yali – excuses jostling or interruptions

These can occur either at the beginning or the end of a sentence.

• e…nakkan ke ameyo yohatsek

• po…taye katso ka

well queen O America have-seem-NEG
Well… America doesn’t really have a queen.

so about meal Q
Anyway, what about dinner?

•

ke motsa ya’o…a
O banana five yes
Mm hmm, (you want) five bananas.

•

ya kyo’a…nam tsipue

VOC quiet 1pl late
Hey, shut up, we’re late!

Cursing

Other common interjections – of course – include curses, vulgarities, obscenities, etc.

kotsa – a spiteful person (“bitch; bastard”)
kuna – excrete; expel; defecate (“shit”)
kyosa – sex; copulation; fornicate (“fuck”)

•
•
•
• nanka – emphasizing disgust; [interj. of contempt]; (“damn; darn”)
•

tsaya – damn [general invective]

Kala Grammar

Locative Verbs

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:

-hue – in; at; on (general locative)

•
• nahe – within; inside
• nyaue – out; outside of; exterior
• ma’e – before; in front of
• pue – behind; after; in back of
• ua’e – above; over; on
tahe – below; under; beneath; bottom
•
ya’e – near; close to
•
• uaye – away (from)
• maye – between; among

The above are used as prepositions, but can also function strictly as verbs.

• mita tahe yempa ina

dog under table eat
The dog is eating under the table.

• mita ke yempa tahe

dog table be.under
The dog is under the table.

The suffix -la (from yala “go; walk; travel”) forms an allative (or motive) preposition, expressing
movement in the indicated direction, stopping at the position indicated by the locative:

• nahela topu – into bed
• pahela ke ana tayo – onto your head
tsayela tsaka – up to the house
•

The locative/allative pair works like English on/onto, in/into, but in Kala this distinction is made for all
locatives: you must distinguish between them:

• pue’ela kuanu – go behind a bush – (motion implied → allative)
• pue kuanu koma – hide behind a bush – (no motion → locative)

Kala Grammar

Derivation

Because Kala has only two main parts of speech (content and functional words), new words formed by
derivation should be analyzed based on context. Functional words can rarely be used to form new
words, but this is typically to form extensions of functions, or new functions.

Compounding

New nouns are usually created through head-initial compounding, using both nominal and verbal stems
as the second, dependent element of the compound. The resulting lexical entries usually behave as
single phonological words, which, however, have four full syllables: kuatlatloha «grass snake».
Compounding of more than two elements is not common.

kayapusu – «earthquake» → kaya – earth + pusu – vibrate

•
• asuaseka – «leather» → asua – skin + seka – dry

Clipped compounding does occur and is distinctive. This clipping occurs consistently in content words,
but is usually blocked in functional words and auxiliaries. Syllables are clipped based on euphonic
choices but must remain recognizable and retain grammatical functionality.

• naka – woman & kana – leader → nakkan – chieftess; queen
• naua – to tie & ualo – bring → naualo – get someone involved in one’s trouble
• uaso – cup; jug; vessel & sitsa – hot; heat → uassitsa – flask; thermos; bottle
•
•

yasa – wind & sitsa – hot; heat → yassitsa – warm breeze
yasa – wind & yesa – peace → yassa – peaceful-wind

There are also numerous affixes used to form new meanings. A few examples are;

tiyasu – «bakery» → tiya – bread + -su – market; shop
•
• onyomo – «school» → onyo – learn + -mo – place; location
kuhasa – «kitchen» → kuha – cook + -sa – room; chamber
•
• pyetampu – «egg-shaped» → pyeta – egg + -mpu – shape; form

Kala Grammar

Adverbials

In Kala, new words can be formed by adding prefixes or suffixes to existing words, or by combining two
existing words as a compound noun. It’s also possible to reuse adjectives as nouns, and verbs as nouns,
without adding an affix.

The most common ending (other than tense, aspect, and modals) is the adverbial ending –n. It is used to
mean «similar to …», «-like», «-ish», «full of …» or «made of …», and «pertaining to …» or «to do with …».

Here are some common examples:

kyo’a – «quiet» → kyo’an – quietly
•
• enke – «simple» → enken – simply
• ntahi – «child» → ntahin – childish; childlike
• putsu – «monster» → putsun – monstrous
•
• hanya – «nation» → hanyan – national
•
• olo – «gold» → olon – made of gold

kuaha – «science» → kuahan – scientific

yoti – «game» → yotin – playful

Kala Grammar

Verbalization

Causative verbs (as well as achievement verbs) can be formed from other verbs by adding –
mya (from muya – «do, make, cause») or -la (from ela – «become; change into; turn into»). This type of
derivation is fairly common; however, verbs created in this way are syntactically defective and tend to
appear only in serial verb constructions.

tinamya – «bend» ← tina – be bent

•
• pitamya – «hollow out» ← pita – be hollow; void
• enomya – «annoy, bother» ← eno – be angry
tsipuela – «slow down» ← tsipue – be slow
•
kyolola – «speed up» ← kyolo – be quick
•

Intensive verbs can be formed from other verbs by adding -mpa (from mpa – «many; much; very»), or
more commonly -hu (from kyohu – «be drastic; extreme; aggressive»).

ketsahu – «dismiss, reject, repudiate» ← ketsa – doubt

•
• amyampa – «fall in love with» ← amya – be fond of; like; prefer (of people)

Adjective-like stative verbs which name an associated quality may be formed from nouns by –
n (from no – «thing» (-ish, -ly, -ous)).

timan – «be cruel, be bloody» ← tima – blood

•
• amyan – «be welcoming, be hospitable» ← amya – be fond of

Kala Grammar

Nominalization

Agentive

Nouns referring to a human subject of a verb (usually in a habitual sense) can be formed with the
agentive suffix -ko (from ko – «individual; person»). This suffix changes to -tlo when a velar stop is
present in the preceding syllable.

kitlako – «craftsman» ← kitla – create; invent; make-up
sutako – «inhabitant (of)» ← suta – live; reside; dwell; inhabit; settle
yekatlo – «unmarried young adult» ← yeka – be separate, be on one’s own

•
•
•
• makatlo – «musician» ← maka – music; play ~; tune
tsaniko – «storyteller» ← tsani – recite, tell (a story)
•

Instrumental

Instrument nouns and names for tools and other inanimates can be derived from verbs or from other
nouns by adding the suffix -nyo (from mayo – «device; equipment; tool»).

• hitanyo – «atlatl (spear-thrower)» ← hita – throw; cast; expel
• amonyo – «handle (for carrying)» ← amo – transport; carry
•
•

kusunyo – «clasp, brooch, fibula» ← kusu – squeeze
toponyo – «lock» ← topo – door; gate

Locative

Location nouns can be formed from both nouns and verbs by several suffixes. These indicate specific
places where either something happens, or something resides there are a few affixes which modify both
verbs and nouns.

-mo (from mo – «location; place; site»). This suffix is used to form the general idea of where something
happens or resides.

•
•

tanamo – «battlefield; boxing ring; wrestling mat, etc.» ← tana – fight; combat
inamo – «eat-place; dining room; restaurant» [This can also mean food-place; pantry, etc.]
← ina – food; eat

• onyomo – «learn-place; school» ← onyo – learn; study

-su (from suku – «market; shop; store»). This suffix is used to specify a business where items are
produced and/or sold.

•
•

tiyasu – «bread-shop; bakery» ← tiya – bread
inasu – «food-market; grocery store; restaurant» ← ina – food; eat

Kala Grammar

Locative Cont.

-kyo (from hakyo – «college; school; university»). This suffix is used to specify a location where students
learn. This can also be used to indicate a school of thought, or ideology.

•
•
•
•

tanakyo – «dojo; martial arts training academy; etc.» ← tana – fight; combat
kuhakyo – «culinary-school; chef’s academy» ← kuha – cook; prepare food
tsiyakyo – «liberalism» ← tsiya – freedom; liberty
ya’akyo – «medical-school» ← ya’a – medicine; drug; cure

-sa (from sala – «chamber; room; section»). This is more specific than -mo and used primarily for spaces
inside buildings.

kuhasa – «cook-room; kitchen» ← kuha – cook; prepare food

•
• mokusa – «sleep-room; bedroom» ← moku – sleep; rest
inasa – «eat-room; dining room» ← ina – food; eat
•
• onyosa – «learn-room; classroom» ← onyo – learn; study

Kala Grammar

Diminutive

Diminutive nouns and endearment terms can be formed from verbs and other nouns by adding the
suffix -hi (from ahi – «few; small»). This becomes -ki after a syllable that contains a glottal fricative.

• mukuhi – «blade» ← muku – knife
• umahi – «foal» ← uma – horse; equine
• mitahi – «puppy» ← mita – dog; canine
• ohuaki – «indulgence» ← ohua – luxurious; extravagant

Augmentative

Augmentative nouns can be formed from verbs and other nouns by adding the suffix –
ha (from taha – «big; large; grand»). This becomes -ka after a syllable that contains a glottal fricative.

kamaha – «city» ← kama – village; town

•
• ohaka – «dislocate one’s jaw» ← oha – yawn; open one’s mouth
• mosaha – «epic; novel» ← mosa – book; letter; scroll
•

tiniha – «hurricane» ← tini – spiral; whorl

Honorific

Honorific nouns can be formed from other nouns by prefixing o-.

• omasa – «stag» ← masa – deer; cervine
• okama – «capital» ← kama – town; village

Kala Grammar

Syntax

Kala has an extremely regular grammar, with very few exceptions to its rules. Sentences are made up of
one or more phrases. Each phrase consists of a verb (optionally followed by modifying particles) and a
subject (optionally followed by modifying particles). The subject, if understood, can be omitted at the
end of an utterance: pana («It is raining.») pana! («Rain!») An utterance can be anything from an
interjection to a story.

Basic Sentences

The importance of word order can be seen by comparing the following sentences:

• mita tlaka anya

dog man see
The dog sees the man.

•

tlaka mita anya

man dog see
The man sees the dog.

In both sentences, the words are identical: mita – “dog”, tlaka – “man”, anya – “eye; see”. The only way
to know who is seeing whom is by the order of the words in the sentence. Intransitive (including those
of the existential type) clauses in Kala minimally consist of a subject followed by an intransitive verb,
giving SV word order.

• nta’i moku
baby sleep
The baby sleeps.

•

sama nala
sun shine
The sun shines.

Transitive clauses follow a SOV pattern and grammatically require the object particle ke.

• ona ke matla kuha
mother O stew cook
(The) mother is cooking (the) stew.

•

tasako ke masami yake

hunt-AG O deer-PAU pursue
The hunters are chasing some deer.

Kala Grammar

Predicates

In the simplest form, the adjective simply appears after the noun, in verbal position. Many statements
that would be phrased as adjectival predicates in English are preferably expressed with stative
intransitive verbs in Kala, requiring no copula. (For simplicity, such verbs are glossed without “be” in
interlinears.)

• mita hikya

dog old
The dog is old.

• nahi tayo aya

daughter 2s.GEN beautiful
Your daughter is beautiful.

The same phrases can be formed using the copula a, this is grammatical but bulky and jarring.

• mita hikya a
dog old COP
The dog is old.

• nahi tayo aya a

daughter 2s.GEN beautiful COP
Your daughter is beautiful.

Negation

The negative mood [NEG] (always marked finally on the primary verb) is indicated by the suffix –k or –
nke (when the last syllable contains /k/). See also: Mood

•

tahi inyak
boy hunger-NEG
The boy is not hungry.

•

yohuaye ha ke samalo anyak

night-PST 3s O star-PL watch-NEG
She did not watch the stars last night.

In general, contiguous serial verb constructions can only be negated as a whole. Negating one or more
of the verbs in the construction separately is ungrammatical.

• na ke tsakahue nya ina ka’elatlik

1s O home-LOC for eat toward-MVT-FUT-NEG
I’m not coming home for dinner.

However, if there is a modal auxiliary, negation may either take scope over the modal (and thus over the
whole clause), or alternatively only over the non-modal part of the serial verb construction:

• eta tlahapok

• eta tlahamyok

P.2s leave-compel-NEG
You don’t have to leave.

P.2s leave-PERM-NEG
You’re not allowed to leave.

In some serial verb constructions, where the middle noun phrase acts both as the object of the first verb
and as the subject of the second verb, each verb phrase can be negated separately.

Kala Grammar

Voice

Passive voice emphasizes the process rather than who is performing the action. In Kala this form is
called kemi. There are few patterns to help distinguish between active and passive voices in Kala verbs.
Using the passive voice is not common in Kala. It can sometimes be used to emphasize what would
normally have been the object of the sentence. In order to shift emphasis away from the agent and
towards the patient or theme, a transitive sentence can be passivized simply by word order, or using the
particle ni (“by”) [PASS].

ACTIVE

• na ke tanum yempahue moheye
1s O plate-PL table-LOC place-PST
I put dishes on the table.

PASSIVE
•

ke tanum yempahue moheye
O plate-PL table-LOC place-PST
Dishes were put on the table.

• na ke topa muntaye
1s O bed rearrange-PST
I changed the bed.

• ha ke yona yomutli
3s O book read-FUT
She will read the book.

Compound Sentences

•

ke topa ni naku nayo muntaye
O bed PASS sister 1s.GEN rearrange-PST
The bed was changed by my sister.

•

ke yona ni kola yomutli
O book PASS AG.INDEF read-FUT
The book will be read by someone.

Two sentences may be joined together to form a longer compound sentence. Both sentences must be
able to stand alone as properly formed sentences. When combined, they simply come one after the
other, joined by a conjunction. Common Conjunctions:

Kala

meaning

example

although; even; despite

She is here despite my protest.

so; thus

He seems nice so I ate with him.

and; also; too

and/or; either

either X or Y

I see it and I see you.

I see it and you.

You may eat and/or drink.

You may either eat or drink.

uenke (uek)

neither X or Y

You may neither eat nor drink.

yema

both X and Y

I ate both soup and bread.

if X then Y; therefore

If she comes then we’ll eat.

ehe (me)

but ; however

I dislike him, but he is my brother.

Kala Grammar

• na ina ku ha moku
1s eat and 3s sleep
I am eating and she is sleeping.

• na ina ehe ha moku

1s eat but 3s sleep
I am eating but she is sleeping.

Note: ku is a clause level conjunction used to join to independent clauses.

•

ta ina ua inu
2s eat and/or drink
You are eating and/or you are drinking.

•

ta ina ue inu

2s eat or drink
You are either eating or else you are drinking.

Clause-level conjunctions such as ku (“and; also; too”), ua (“or; either; otherwise”), or ehe (“but;
however”) are placed clause-initially. Note that these conjunctions (except for ku) can be used to
connect noun phrases.

•

tahi tohyo ku nahi pina

•

ima kihu saman ehe pakyotlai

boy brave CL.CONJ girl intelligent
The boy is brave and the girl is intelligent.

now weather sun-ADJ however storm-IMM
Now the weather is sunny, but a storm will come soon.

Non-subject noun phrases are coordinated using the conjunction ma «and» (sometimes «with»).

•

yomaye na ke tanka ma pato anya

day-PST 1s O eagle CONJ duck see
I saw an eagle and a duck yesterday.

• ona ma ota kyosanku
mother and father fornicate-RECP
Mother and father have sex.

•

kinti ke tsaka kamyo ma’a yosu sapotle ma siuem muya

squirrel O house 3pl.GEN with moss soft-REL and leaf.PL make
The squirrels make their nest comfortable with soft moss and leaves.

•

ta ma’a na ke molihuelatli
2s with 1s O forest-LOC-MVT-FUT
You and I will go to the forest together.

Noun phrases can be presented as alternatives to each other with the conjunction ua («or; other»). This
conjunction can be used with both subjects and non-subjects. The conjunction ue («(exclusive) either X
or Y») is used to delimit other nouns from the conjunction phrase.

•

ta ke nasi ua poma inamyo

•

tsola ue otso itsikua mataye

2s O pear or apple eat-PERM
You may eat an apple or a pear.

fox either.X.or.Y wolf PROX-bird kill-PST
It must have been a fox or a wolf that killed this bird.

Contrastive coordination of noun phrases is achieved with ehe («but; however») (or me more informally)
if the noun phrases appear in subject position.

•

yomaye mita’u ehek mitana ke kutsu kapya

• na itlaka mek inaka unya

day-PST dog-MASC but-NEG O meat receive
The male dog but not the female dog received meat yesterday.

1s PROX-man but-NEG PROX-woman know
I know this man, but not this woman.

Kala Grammar

Compliment Clauses

Complement clauses, i.e. subordinated clauses acting as a noun (most importantly as the subject or
object of a sentence), and are formed exactly like ordinary main clauses, preceded by the
particle ke (“topic particle”).

• nakkan ke eya tekim kamahi hyoka munaye

woman-chief O maybe enemy-PL city-DIM attack worry-PST
The queen was worried that the enemies might attack the village.

•

itomatle ke maliya noyamya

wood-carve O Mary happy-CAUS
Carving wood makes Mary happy.

Complement clauses can also act as the object of a motional/locational verb:

•

ta ke naha ka’elak yatli ke tlohi kuyepak

2s O river toward-MVT-NEG if.X.then.Y O salmon grab-ABIL-NEG
You can’t catch salmon if you don’t go to the river.

•

kam ka’e tsiua uahe moku ma ina yalayenko

3pl toward lake instead.of rest and eat walk-PST-CONT
Instead of taking a rest and eating, they continued to walk towards the lake.

Since complement clauses behave like nouns syntactically, they may participate in existential
constructions as well. Semantically, this indicates that the occurrence of the action described in the
complement clause is emphatically affirmed.

• uala ke yemua tlana masenko
verily O DIST-place person dance-CONT
There is dancing over there. (lit. it’s true that people are dancing there)

In addition to the particle ke, Kala possesses a few other words which may fill the same syntactic
position under special circumstances. The most common of these appears in the context of reported
speech. A couple of other specialized particles have a more limited distribution, appearing mainly in
evidential constructions.

Kala Grammar

Relative Clauses

Relative clauses, i.e. subordinated clauses acting as an attribute to a noun phrase, are marked with the
relativizer -tle (or -le if the last syllable has tl). A pronoun referring to the relativized noun is retained
within the relative clause:

• na ke naka amyatle pesoue

1s O woman liked-REL meet-VOL
I want to meet a girl who is friendly.

•

kam tananitle ke teki tlalitli

3pl fight-nice-REL O enemy defeat-FUT
They who fight well will defeat the enemy.

• naku nayo ke yakokua na tikuyetle inapua
sister 1s.GEN O strawberry-all 1s pick-PST-REL eat-PFV
My sister has eaten all the strawberries that I picked.

If both subject and object of a transitive relative clause are represented by the same pronoun, the
relativized noun will be assumed to be the subject of the subclause. In order to relativize the object in
such a situation, the subject must be represented by one of the reflexive, or reciprocal pronouns
instead, which explicitly refer back to the subject of the matrix clause:

• aye tanako ke tlaka eha hyokatle mata

• aye tanako ke ha tlaka hyokatle mata

past fight-AG O man P.3s attack-REL kill
The warrior killed the man who attacked him.

past fight-AG O 3s man attack-REL kill
The warrior killed the man whom he attacked.

Relativization of oblique participants works very much the same way as relativization of subjects and
objects, but the repeated pronoun needs to appear inside a prepositional phrase or coverb phrase which
shows the role of the relativized noun within the subclause.

•

ikamahi ena nasayetle
PROX-city-DIM P.1s be.born-PST-REL
This is the village in which I was born.

•

ke taku tlakayo na tlayayetle nya teki matapua

O brother man-GEN 1s wed-PST-REL by enemy kill-PFV
The man whose brother I married has been killed by the enemy.

•

iyoma ke yomatle ta’ena nya uapa talaue

today O day-REL 2s-P.1s for visit come-VOL
Today is the day on which you want to come and visit me.

Kala Grammar

In case a relative clause would contain only the subject and an intransitive verb phrase, speakers of Kala
are likely to use an attributive construction instead. If the attributed verb phrase contains more than
one verb, all of them need to appear in the attributive form.

• na ke nahi amyan pesoue

1s O girl like-ADV meet-VOL
I want to meet a girl who is friendly. (lit. a friendly girl)

•

kola sima ke ina kapyatli
AG-INDEF sit O food receive-FUT
Anyone who is sitting quietly gets food.

Note that both relative clauses and attributive constructions tend to be avoided when they refer to the
subject of a sentence. Instead, the semantically ‘attributive’ verb describing the subject is treated
syntactically as forming a sequential or simultaneous event together with the main verb of the sentence:

•

tahi pina ke kema unya

boy smart O task understand
The smart boy understands the task.

Adverbial clauses

Kala has several different ways to express adverbial elements – adverbial suffix, adpositional phrases,
serial verb constructions, and full-scale adverbialized subclauses. For most types of adverbials, more
than one of these methods can be used. Because an adequate description of this gets rather lengthy,
and because it presupposes an understanding of how serial verb constructions work in Kala, it is
described in a later section of this document. Adverbial constructions which are valid constituents
typically appear near the beginning of a sentence, with adpositional phrases preceding subclauses, but
they may be topic-fronted for emphasis. If several adverbial constituents of the same syntactic type are
present, they are generally ordered place → manner → reason → purpose → result → time.

Copular Sentences

The copula a (to be; exist; yes) is not used as it is in English. It is primarily used to affirm Yes/No
questions. ta inaye ka (Did you eat?) a (Yes.) However, it can be used to add emphasis or nuance to a
descriptive phrase. In an adjectival predicate the verb [to be] is not normally used.

3s tall

She is tall.

rent for PROX-house cheap

The rent for this house is cheap.

Kala Grammar

Questions

There are two types of questions: Polar, those which may be answered «yes» or «no,» and those which
require explanations as answers.

Polar questions

Any statement can become a polar question by adding the interrogative particle ka at the end of the
sentence.

• mita ina

dog eat
The dog eats.

• mita ina ka

dog eat Q
Does the dog eat?

•

ta ke tlo’o anyaye

•

ta ke tlo’o anyaye ka

2s O elephant see-PST
You saw the elephant.

2s O elephant see-PST Q
Did you see the elephant?

Content questions

Questions that give a list of possible answers are formed like polar questions, with the
conjunction ue (“or”) introducing each alternative (which must appear in the form of a noun phrase).

•

ta ke nkapa ue maya inuue ka

2s O beer or.EXCL water drink-VOL Q
Do you want to drink beer or water?

• uala ta ke sinka mataye ue empa ma koma ka

truly 2s O lion kill-PST or.EXCL flee CONJ hide Q
Did you really kill the lion, or did you run away and hide?

Open content questions are most easily formed with the correlatives, such
as ko (“person”), mo (“place”), to (“manner”), etc. These correlatives always appear clause-initially:

•

ko ta ka

person 2s Q
Who are you?

itla ka

•
this Q
What is this?

•

to kihu ka
manner weather Q
What’s the weather like?

•

to taku tayo ka

manner brother 2s.GEN Q
How’s your brother?

Kala Grammar

The other type contains a question word and is followed by ka:

kanyo

Kala

gloss

English

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-GEN 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

INDEF dog eat Q

Which dog eats?

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.”

•

tsaka hayo ke nayo tahaka

house 3s.GEN O 1s.GEN big-AUG
His house is bigger than mine.

•

iyapo ke tsaka tayo pakoha
PROX-building O home 2sg new-AUG
This building is newer than your home.

•

ke mauam tayo yanahu
O flower.PL 2s.GEN yellow-EXT
Your flowers are the most yellow.
• mitala ke yetlam hikyahi

dog-INDEF O DIST-4pl old-DIM
Some dogs are less old (younger) than others.

When comparing the amount of involvement of several participants in a transitive verb, an appositional
construction is used with competing subjects, and complement clauses are used with competing
objects:

•

tsaneya ke ona pa’e naku hayo itsaha

Jane O mother other.than sister 3s.GEN love-AUG
Jane loves her mother more than her sister does.

•

imukuhi ke asua uahe tleno telaniha

PROX-blade-DIM O leather instead.of timber cut-nice-AUG
This knife cuts leather better than it cuts wood.

Kala Grammar

Indirect Objects

Kala verb phrases have only a single object slot. As a result, the recipient of a ditransitive clause needs to
be introduced with the help of an adverbial preposition. The same strategy is also used to introduce
other participants in oblique roles.

ka’e – to; toward [Dative]

•
• ma’a – with; using [Instrumental] / with; together [Comitative]
• mue – without; lacking [Abessive]
• nya – for (the benefit of) [Benefactive] / by [Passive]
•

-hue – at; in; on [Locative]

Dative

Dative participants can be marked with ka’e (“toward; to”), nya (“for; by”), or be syntactically indicated.

• ntahi ke ina ka’e mita yeta

•

ikema nya ena enke

child O food toward dog give
The child gives food to a dog.

PROX-task for P.1s easy
This task is easy for me.

•

katiko nya ntakum tsani

•

teki ke kama na’amyo tanyaye

old-AG for sibling-PL tell.story
The old man recites a story for the siblings.

enemy O village 1pl.EXCL.GEN destroy-PST
The enemies destroyed our village.

Instrumental

Instrumental participants can be marked with ma’a (“with; using”), nya (“for; by”), or be syntactically
indicated.

• ona ke ntahi ma’a tlimu nohya

•

tsani nya ntaha moyapua

mother O child with blanket wrap
The mother wraps the child in a blanket.

PROX-task for P.1s easy
The story has been written by the elder.

Comitative

Comitative participants are marked with the preposition ma’a (“with; together”), and anticomitative (or
abessive) participants are marked with the preposition mue (“without”).

• na ma’a amyako nayo ke masa tasa

• ha ke naha mue ta ka’elaye ka

1s with friend 1s.GEN O deer hunt
I’m hunting deer with my friend.

3s O river without 2s toward-MVT Q
Did she go to the river without you?

Kala Grammar

Locative

Locative participants can be marked with a variety of adverbial prepositions, most typically -hue (“at; in;
on”).

•

taku nayo ke poti patlahue patsi

• nam tlatsahue masetli

brother 1s.GEN O goat field-LOC herd
My brother is herding goats in the field.

1pl fire-LOC dance-FUT
We will dance near (at) the fire.

Kala Grammar

Semantic Fields and Pragmatics

Kala, like all languages relies on the relationship of meanings instead of meanings in isolation.
Additionally, morphemes tend to have a range of meanings that exist on a spectrum. A morpheme often
can only be defined by its relationship to other morphemes within an utterance, or to other words of a
similar semantic field.

One example would be in discussing temperature. Of course, there is a system of degrees, but that is a
quantitative statement, a qualitative statement would be more relative and open to interpretation.

English divides temperature into «hot, warm, cool, cold», while Kala has just sitsa, tlolo, and manka.
However, these can be expanded to be more specific;

• manka – cold
•
•

tlolo – cool; warm (mild)
sitsa – hot; heat

Using the augmentative -ha and the diminutive -hi adds even more nuance to expressing
temperature. mankaha (or mankampa, mankahu) being the coldest, and sitsaha (or sitsampa, sitsahu)
the hottest means that tloloha is closer to sitsahi and tlolohi is closer to mankahi. This means
that tlolotso (mild-middle) is likely how someone would describe their ideal temperature.

•

ya iyoma kihua tlolotso!
VOC PROX-day fine.weather mild-middle
Oh, how today’s weather is so mild!

Of course, some meanings do exist in a binary state;

• asa – alive / kupa – dead

Meanings may also be divided into non-linear semantic space — e.g. color, social classes, directions,
parts of the body, time, geographical features.

Kala Grammar

Numbers

Kala uses a base 10 number system. The basic numbers are as follows:

Kala number English Kala number

English

Kala number

English

ye’o

na’o

ta’o

ha’o

ma’o

ya’o

zero

tsa’o

one

ka’o

two

pa’o

three

sa’o

four

ue’o

six

nya’o

500

five hundred

seven

tle’o

eight

mue’o

nine

ten

kye’o

nte’o

103

104

105

106

109

(one) thousand

ten thousand

(one) hundred thousand

(one) million

(one) billion

five

nye’o

100

(one) hundred hue’o

Forming Larger Numbers

• uena’o – eleven / 11
taue’o – twenty / 20
•
• nyeka’o – one hundred seven / 107
• hanyetauetsa’o (long form) / hatatsa’o (short form) – three hundred twenty six / 326
•

tsatletauema’o – six thousand and twenty four / 6024

Long form numbers are used in formal situations, including financial transactions, especially involving
large sums. Short form numbers are used in everyday speech and when calculating basic math.

Other Number Forms

Kala

na’o

number

English

one

ueta’o

twelve

yauema’o
(yama’o)

fifty four

nyetsa’o

106

one hundred (and) six

ordinal

kina’o
first

kiueta’o
twelfth

kiyama’o
fifty fourth

kinyetsa’o
106th

multiple

fractional

tina’o
once

–

tiueta’o
duo decuple

iueta’o
a twelfth

tiyama’o
54 times

iyama’o
a fifty fourth

tinyetsa’o
106 times

inyetsa’o
a 106th

katle’o

7000

seven thousand

kikatle’o
seven thousandth

tikatle’o
7000 times

ikatle’o
1/7000

Kala Grammar

Math Operations

Kala math is fairly basic and relies on particles and verbs to express functions. Notable is the use of the
copular a to express the result of an equation.

Addition uses ma (and; also). There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation.
Subtraction uses ma (and; also) and a negative form of the smaller integer. There is no specific order to
the numbers in the phrase/equation.

•

ta’o ma ya’o ke ka’o a

two and five O seven COP
2 + 5 = 7

•

ka’o ma ta’ok ke ya’o a
seven and two-NEG O five COP
7 – 2 = 5

Multiplication uses ma (and; also) and a multiple form of one of the integers. There is no specific order
to the numbers in the phrase/equation. Division uses ma (and; also) and a multiple-negative form of one
of the integers. There is no specific order to the numbers in the phrase/equation.

•

ka’o ma tita’o ke uema’o a

• hata’o ma tisa’ok ke ma’o a

seven and multiple-two O fourteen COP
7 x 2 = 14

thrity-two and multiple-eight-NEG O four COP
32 ÷ 8 = 4

Kala Grammar

Writing system

Kala conscripts are many and varied. Rather than multiple pages explaining each of them, this page
[http://www.frathwiki.com/Kala/writing] serves as a working list with a consistent example across each
script. The most commonly used script is the Hangul adaptation for Kala.

Han Moya

Han Moya is an adaptation of Hangul for writing Kala. It is written horizontally, in lines running from left
to right. It can also be written vertically in columns.

consonants

ㄱㄲㄴㄷㄸㄹㅁㅂㅃㅅㅆㅇㅈㅉㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ
k nk n t nt l m p mp s ns a ts nts ts` k` tl p` h
/k~g ᵑk~ⁿg n t~d ⁿt~ⁿd l~ɾ m p~b ᵐp~ᵐb s~ʃ ⁿs~ⁿʃ – ts~t͡ʃ ⁿts~ⁿt͡ʃ tsʰ~t͡ʃʰ kʰ t͡ɬ~tl pʰ h~ɦ/

The adaptations of doubled consonants are used word initially to indicate prenasalization. Medial
occurrences of nasalized syllables are written across syllables.

Example:

• 까바 – nkapa – alcohol; liquor / 단가 – tanka – eagle; hawk; falcon

• 감바 – kampa – Cheers! / 쁘라 – mpula – lamp; lantern; light

vowels

ㅏ ᅶ ㅐ ㅑ ᅸ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ
a ao ai ya yao e ye o ao yo ua uai ue u i
/a~a: aʊ̯ aɪ̯ ja~ʲa: jaʊ̯~ʲaʊ̯ e~ɛ je~ʲɛ o~o: jo~ʲo: wa~ʷa: waɪ̯~ʷaɪ̯ we~ʷe: u~u: i~ɪ/

• ㅘ This is pronounced /wa/ in Korean because of the order of the vowels; however,

because obsolete jamo are difficult to type and look junky as images, in Kala, this is used for
/aʊ̯/ when typing. It is rarely seen due to the diphthong itself being uncommon.

Kala Grammar

Examples

어하 거 거하 가먀터 하요 마아 타감 뱌사하먀여
eha ke keha kamyatle hayo ma’a tlakam pyasahamyaye
[eːɦa kɛ keːɦa kamʲaːt͡ɬe haːjo maːʔa t͡ɬaːkam pʲaʃahamʲaːjɛ]
P.3s O body stun-REL 3s.POSS with man-PL be.popular-AUG-CAUS-PST
Her bewitching body made her very popular with men.

Text Example

seko saye puani nahayo yalaye ma ke tsa’eto omoye
scorpion along bank river-GEN walk-PST and TOP across-way think-PST
A scorpion was walking along the bank of a river, wondering how to get to the other side.
haye seko ke tsola anyaye
sudden scorpion TOP fox see-PST
Suddenly, he saw a fox.
seko nya tsa’e naha amo ua’e muta tsolayo kanyoye
scorpion for across river carry on back fox-GEN ask-PST
He asked the fox to take him on his back across the river.
tsola kye ak na’eta amo yatli ta’ena kute nuesitli
fox IND.SP COP.NEG 1SG-P.2SG carry if.X.then.Y 2SG-P.1SG sting drown-FUT
The fox said, “No. If I do that, you’ll sting me, and I’ll drown.”
seko kye na’eta kute yatli nam nuesitli
scorpion IND.SP 1SG-P.2SG sting if.X.then.Y 1PL drown-FUT
The scorpion assured him, “If I do that, we’ll both drown.”
tsola pue omo nkataye
fox after think agree-PST
The fox thought about it and finally agreed.
ya seko ua’e muta tsolayo uayaye ma tsola yokomuye
VOC scorpion on back fox-GEN climb and fox swim-begin-PST
So the scorpion climbed up on his back, and the fox began to swim.
me tsa’etsohue nahayo seko ke tsola kuteye
however across-half-LOC river-GEN scorpion TOP fox sting-PST
But halfway across the river, the scorpion stung him.
tsola ike sunu ke sila hayo yeno ka’e seko muka kye nye ta’ena kuteye ka ima ta nuesitli
fox while poison TOP vein 3SG.POSS fill toward scorpion face IND.SP reason 2SG-P.1SG sting-PST Q now
2SG drown-FUT
As poison filled his veins, the fox turned to the scorpion and said, “Why did you do that? Now you’ll
drown, too.”
seko kye na’i ke to nayo tlinapayek
scorpion IND.SP 1SG.REFL TOP way 1SG.POSS stop-able-PST.NEG
“I couldn’t help it,” said the scorpion. “It’s my nature.”

Kala Grammar

Lexicon

A small sampling of Kala lexemes.

tanko – group; organization; team
tiku – extract; withdraw; pick-up
tona – tuna

• pa – although; even though; even if
• pa’a – be well-ordered; regular; organized
• pina – be clever; intelligent; wise
• punka – fruit; fruit tree
• mpana – wide; broad; extensive; vast; width
•
•
•
• ntela – interact; interplay; interrelated
kanyo – question; ask; raise a question
•
kinyo – intervene; get involved
•
kona – dress; skirt
•
kunye – moon; lunar; satellite
•
kuya – green; foliage; verdant
•
• nkanu – short [in height and from end edge]
• menka – cotton
• mosukua – Moscow
• mutla – be absolute; unconditional
• napo – turnip
• ne – indirect object particle
• nota – lie; be in horizontal position; horizon
• nyalo – call; number; telephone
•
•
•
• hasu – conjecture; guess; supposition; assumption
• hilo – plaza; public square
• hueta – testicle
•
•
•
•
•
•
• ato – that way [over there]
• atsa – disc; rotate; wheel
• esue – fail; lose
•
• otso – wolf; lupine
• ulo – crop rotation
• uatli – inferior; of lower quality
• uetsi – dispirited downcast [idiom]; in low spirits
yatso – ferment; brew; make honey; liquor
•
yopi – mail; post [office]
•

tsame – accumulate; collect; gather; cluster
tsemu – jam; marmalade
tsuto – be curly-haired
tlato – recite rhythmically; chant; intone
tlehe – esteemed; honest; candid; sincere
tlokua – everybody; everyone

sahe – across; opposite; other side
sipanya – Spain
sokyo – helium

ila – sail; fly; navigate

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