Kämpya

Kämpya is spoken is my far-future Antarctican conworld, where runaway global warming has melted the icecaps and made the continent habitable (while rendering most of the rest of the world uninhabitable).

It originated from the area around Ross Island, one of the first large-scale colonies on Antarctica. The founders of the settlement were mostly either Burmese, Australian or Taiwanese, and as such Kämpya is most heavily influenced by the languages of those countries (especially Burmese). However, a later wave of Spanish speaking migrants from South America also had a large impact on the language.

It has since spread to other parts of the continent, aided by the spread of a religion called Laikyâr (although far from all Kämpya speakers follow the Laikyâr religion). Indeed there is a special register of the language that is only used in religious contexts. There are also a number of regional dialects. However, this page describes what could be termed the "standard" dialect.

Brief Description

Kämpya has topic comment syntax with isolating morphology. The syntactic alignment is split ergative, with pronouns having nominative accusative alignment, and the rest of the language being ergative. Possessors are marked for alienability [1] using tone, and come before the nouns they modify. Kämpya (at least in the standard dialect) uses postpositions rather than prepositions, and adjectives can come either before or after the nouns they modify if they are restrictive or non-restrictive respectively [2].

In terms of phonology, the most notable thing is a 3-way vowel phonation contrast on stressed syllables (which is not present on unstressed syllables). Kämpya distinguishes words with harsh voice (marked with a tilde e.g. /a̰/), from breathy voice (marked with a pair of dots either above or below the vowel e.g. /a̤/ or /ä/), from glottalisation (marked with a glottal stop after the vowel e.g. /aʔ/.

There are many minimal pairs of words that only contrast stress and phonation e.g. /síˈtâ̰/ - "wing" vs. /ˈsíʔtà/ - "guardian" vs. /ˈsì̤tà/ - "sister", or /áˈlôṵn/ - "that which is alone" vs. /áˈlòṳn/ - "everything / everyone".

In addition to this, there is also a tone contrast, but this is only used for grammatical purposes (e.g. to change between different parts of speech, or to mark alienable / inalienable possession), never for lexical purposes. For example, from the nouns /síˈtâ̰/ - "wing" and /áˈlôṵn/ - "that which is alone", which both have High Tone on the first syllable and Low Tone on the second (with harsh voice), we can derive the non-restrictive adjectives /sìˈtá̰/ - "wing" and /àˈlóṵn/ - "by itself / solitary", which both have Low Tone on the first syllable and High Tone on the second (with harsh voice).

It is usually written using a script based on the Burmese alphabet.

Phonology

Vowels

The vowel system is quite simple, with 5 monophthongs and 4 diphthongs.

Monophthongs

	Front	Central	Back
High	/i/		/u/
Mid	/e/		/o/
Low		/a/

Diphthongs

The following diphthongs are found /ai/, /au/, /ei/ and /ou/.

Consonants

	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Lateral	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stop	pʰ p b		tʰ t d			kʰ k g
Nasal	m̥ m		n̥ n			ŋ
Fricative		θ ð	sʰ s z	(ɬ)	(ç)		h
Semivowel	(ʍ) w				j
Other Sonorants	ⱱ~ʋ		ɾ	l

1. /b/, /d/ and /g/ are often pronounced as slightly implosive.
2. [ɬ] corresponds to Burmese */l̥/, and English */sl/. It is underlyingly /hl/.
3. [ç] is underlyingly /hj/.
4. [ʍ] is underlyingly /hw/.
5. [ⱱ] and [ʋ] are in free variation.

Phonotactics

In the standard dialect, only syllables of the form (C) (C) V (C) are permitted.

Initial consonant clusters can consist of any non-semivowel consonant followed by /w/ or /j/, except that /ŋj/ syllable onsets are forbidden.

In writing and formal speech, syllables can also begin with /pʰl/, /pl/, /bl/, /kʰl/, /kl/ and /gl/ (i.e. any non-alveolar stop + /l/). But outside formal speech, the /l/ is usually replaced with /j/.

Clusters of /hl/, /hj/ and /hw/ are permitted, but these are pronounced [ɬ], [ç] and [ʍ] respectively.

In unstressed syllables, the coda consonant can only be a stop or a nasal.

In stressed syllables, codas can also be /ⱱ/, /ɾ/ or /h/, as long as the vowel is a monophthong and not a diphthong.

Consonant Neutralisations

Voicing and aspiration distinctions are neutralised in syllable codas, though they are still present underlyingly e.g. /sjúˈðâ̰d/ - "city" is pronounced [sjúˈðâ̰t], but when combined with the genitive clitic /jà/ to form /sjúˈðâ̰djà/ - "of the city (alienable)", it is pronounced [sjúˈðâ̰djà].

In colloquial speech, stops in the codas of unstressed syllables are debuccalised to glottal stops e.g. the city named /ˈkʰóʔnàt/ is often pronounced [ˈkʰóʔnàʔ].

If a nasal coda occurs before /h/, an approximant, or at the end of a word, it is simply pronounced as nasalisation of the preceding vowel e.g. /áˈlòṳn/ - "everyone" is pronounced [áˈlòṳⁿ]. But likewise it is still present underlyingly, as can be seen when combined with the dative clitic /àuŋ/ to form /áˈlòṳnàuŋ/ - "to everyone", which is pronounced [áˈlòṳnàuŋ].

Stress and Phonation

One syllable in each word bears stress. Vowel phonation is phonemic on stressed syllables but not elsewhere. The phonations are harsh /a̰/ [3], breathy /a̤/ or /ä/ [4], and glottalised /aʔ/. Harsh and breathy vowels are both pronounced long, while glottalised vowels are pronounced short, and with glottalisation of the following consonant (or with a glottal stop [ʔ] in the case of word final syllables).

Allophones of /h/

Between two vowels, /h/ is voiced to [ɦ] e.g. /máháˈkáʔp/ - "eternity" is pronounced /máɦáˈkáʔp/

/h/ can occur in the coda of stressed syllables. It's realisation depends on the phonation of the previous vowel, but is always pharyngeal.

If the stressed vowel has breathy phonation, the /h/ manifests itself as a pharyngeal fricative [ħ] e.g. /à̤h/ - "question" is pronounced [à̤ħ]. Compare /ŋà̤/ - "fish" which is pronounced [ŋà̤].

If the stressed vowel has glottalised phonation, the /h/ manifests itself as a pharyngeal stop [ʡ] e.g. /dáʔh/ - "darkness" is pronounced [dáʡ]. Compare /táʔ/ - "a wish" (in a nostalgic context) which is pronounced with a glottal stop [táʔ].

/h/ never occurs after vowels with harsh phonation.

Of course, if a process such a cliticisation (e.g. with the genitive clitic /jà/ or the dative clitic /àuŋ/), means that the /h/ is no longer in coda position, then these process do not occur e.g.

/à̤h jà/ - "of the question (alienable)" is pronounced [ˈà̤çà] (/hj/ assimilates to [ç]).

/dáʔh jà/ - "of the darkness (alienable)" is pronounced [ˈdáʔçà].

/à̤h àuŋ/ - "to the question" is pronounced [ˈà̤ɦàuⁿ].

/dáʔh àuŋ/ - "to the darkness" is pronounced [ˈdáʔhàuⁿ].

Also, if a coda [ʡ] (i.e. /h/ after a glottalised stressed vowel) is followed by a consonant that can be aspirated (i.e. /p/, /t/, /k/, or /s/), there is a tendency to manifest this as aspiration on the consonant instead e.g.

/ˈbóʔhsòut/ - "bauxite", can be pronounced either [ˈbóʡsòut] or [ˈbósʰòut].

Tone Patterns

There are 4 phonemic tones: High á, Falling â, Low à and Rising ǎ. While it may seem that the pitch of each syllable is random, actually it is not. It changes regularly depending on how the word is being used in a sentence (e.g. restrictive vs. non-restrictive, alienable vs. inalienable possessor etc.), in conjuction with the phonation on the syllable (for stressed syllables) or the location of the syllable relative to the stressed syllable (for unstressed syllables).

In terms of assigning tone, there are three parts of speech:

Class 1 This is the default, catch-all class. It is used for most nouns and verbs.

Class 2 This is used for nouns in postpositional phrases, inalienable possessors, nouns used attributively, restrictive adjectives (modifying a noun), and verbs used in compounds.

Class 3 This is used for adverbs and non-restrictive adjectives (modifying a noun).

Stressed Syllables

This table shows how the tone of a stressed syllable (for each of the three phonations) depends on the tone class.

	Harsh Phonation a̰	Breathy Phonation a̤	Glottalised Phonation aʔ
Class 1	(High) Falling Pitch + Harsh Voice	Low Pitch + Breathy Voice	High Pitch + Glottal Stop
Class 2	Low Pitch + Harsh Voice	Low Pitch + Breathy Voice	Low Pitch + Glottal Stop
Class 3	High Pitch + Tense Voice	Rising Pitch + Faucalised Voice	High Pitch + Glottal Stop

Unstressed Syllables

Here the situation is simpler. For unstressed syllables, the tone can only be high or low, and does not depend on the phonation of the stressed syllable.

For Class 1 words, the tone is high before the stressed syllable, and low after it.

For Class 2 words, unstressed syllables always have high tone.

For Class 3 words, unstressed syllables always have low tone.

Examples

Here is a table with examples of how roots change classes depending on what part of speech they belong to:

English Translation	Class 1	Class 2	Class 3
Kämpya	ˈkà̤mpjà	ˈkà̤mpjá	ˈkǎ̤mpjà
wing	síˈtâ̰	síˈtà̰	sìˈtá̰
guardian	ˈsíʔtà	ˈsìʔtá	ˈsíʔtà
sister	ˈsì̤tà	ˈsì̤tá	ˈsǐ̤tà
alone	áˈlôṵn	áˈlòṵn	àˈlóṵn
alone + Genitive clitic /ja/	áˈlôṵnjà	áˈlòṵnjá	àˈlóṵnjà
all	áˈlòṳn	áˈlòṳn	àˈlǒṳn
all + Genitive clitic /ja/	áˈlòṳnjà	áˈlòṳnjá	àˈlǒṳnjà

Pronouns

Pronouns are not marked for singular or plural, but there are two words for "we" depending on whether the listener is included [5]. The pronouns that do not include the listener are also used to only talk about the speaker. Another way of looking at this is that Kämpya makes no distinction between "us not including you" and "me", but uses different forms for "us including you".

In each case, there is a different form of the word depending on whether they are immediately followed by a word beginning with a vowel. There is also an "emphatic" form, which is used to emphasise the subject. The emphatic form does not depend on whether the following word starts with a vowel or not. Each form is listed below, with the normal form listed first, the form before a vowel second, and the emphatic form last:

Nominative Pronouns

	1st Person Exclusive	1st Person Inclusive	2nd Person
Before a consonant	ái	wéi	jéi
Before a vowel	ój-	wéj-	jéw-
Emphatic	òṵ	wèḭ	jèḭ

As you can see above, the emphatic forms all have Low Tone with Harsh Phonation (i.e. belong to Tone Class 2), while all the other forms have High Tone with no phonation (i.e. modal phonation).

Accusative Pronouns

	1st Person Exclusive	1st Person Inclusive	2nd Person	3PS	Reflexive
Before a consonant	mí	lán	ŋí	swí	sé
Before a vowel	mj-	lán-	íŋ-	síw-	és-
Emphatic	mḭ̀	là̰n	ḭ̂ŋ	swḭ̀	sḛ̀

The emphatic forms are also used with postpositions e.g. /mḭ̀=m̥á/ - "from me".

Possessive Pronouns

These inflect for alienable vs. inalienable possession, however, in the emphatic form, these are not distinguished. There is also a proximate vs. obviative distinction on 3rd person possessive pronouns. The proximate pronouns are used when the possessor was the last noun that was in the absolutive case (i.e. unmarked). The obviative pronouns are used in other cases.

	1st Person Exclusive	1st Person Inclusive	2nd Person	3PS Proximate	3PS Obviative
Before a consonant (Inalienable)	mái	áu	jó	dé	ðí
Before a vowel (Inalienable)	máj-	áw-	jólw-	délw-	ðj-
Alienable	môṵ	ˈḛ̂wà	jô̰	dḛ̂-	ðjíʔ
Emphatic	mòṵ	ˈḛ̀wá	bwò̤	swḭ̀	sḛ̀

Basic Syntax

Kämpya has topic comment syntax [6], and is also syntactically ergative [7] and secundative [8].

Copula

Kämpya has no verb meaning "to be" [9]. Instead, the two words are simply placed side by side in the sentence. e.g.

/ˈsíʔtà ˈḛ̂nèmì/

guardian enemy

The guardian is / was / will be the enemy.

/jéi ˈsíʔtà/ phonetically [jéiˈsíʔtà]

2PS guardian

You are / were / will be the guardian(s).

Pronouns take different forms if they are followed by a vowel e.g.

/jéw ˈḛ̂nèmì/ phonetically [jéˈwḛ̂nèmì]

2PS enemy

You are / were / will be the enemy.

They also take special emphatic forms e.g.

/jèḭ ˈḛ̂nèmì/ phonetically [jèḭ ˈḛ̂nèmì]

2PS.NOM.EMP enemy

You are the enemy.

Intransitive Sentences

Intransitive sentences generally have free word order. If the verb is in focus [10], then it will come after the subject. If the subject is in focus, then it will come after the verb. So both of the following are grammatical:

/kʰwèi̤ áˈlôṵn/

dog alone

The dog is / was / will be alone.

as well as

/áˈlôṵn kʰwèi̤/

alone dog

The dog is / was / will be alone.

Constituent Deletion

However, constituents of phrases can be freely deleted, so it is perfectly possible to have one word sentences e.g.

/áˈlôṵn/

alone

He / She / It / They is / are / was / were / will be alone.

With Postpositional Phrases

If we include a postpositional phrase in the sentence, it must come immediately before the verb (except for any pronouns) e.g. with the postpositional phrase /ˈkʰòʔnát=m̥á/ - "from Hkónat (a place name)", the verb /kúʔn/ - "to set off" and the noun /ˈḛ̂nèmì/ - "enemy", we can say:

/ˈkʰòʔnát=m̥á kúʔn ˈḛ̂nèmì/

Hkónat=from depart enemy

The enemy departs from Hkónat.

or

/ˈḛ̂nèmì ˈkʰòʔnát=m̥á kúʔn/

enemy Hkónat=from depart

The enemy departs from Hkónat.

With Adverbs

Unlike adverbs of place and other postpositional phrases which precede the verb, adverbs of manner and time follow it (and are placed in Tone Class 3) e.g.

/kúʔn ˈlwéʔpìd tjǎ̤ŋ ˈḛ̂nèmì/

depart fast yesterday enemy

The enemy departed quickly yesterday.

With Pronouns

The same subject pronouns as before are also used for intransitive sentences e.g.

/jéi kúʔn/

2PS depart

You are setting off.

However, the pronoun must immediately precede the verb so */kúʔn jéi/ is ungrammatical. And postpositional phrases cannot intervene between the pronoun and the verb, so */jéi ˈkʰóʔnàt m̥à kúʔn/ is ungrammatical. They must come before the pronoun, so it is only grammatical to say:

/ˈkʰòʔnát=m̥á jéi kúʔn/

Hkónat=from 2PS depart

You are setting off from ˈkʰóʔnàt.

Transitive Sentences

In transitive sentences without pronouns, the basic word order is SVO, with the subject marked with the ergative clitic /-zu/ e.g.

/ˈkʰwèi̤=zù káiʔk gáʔɾ/

dog=ERG bite lizard

It was the dog that bit the lizard.

However, immediately after an open syllable with breathy or harsh voice (and thus necessarily a stressed vowel), the ergative clitic has the allomorph /-ɾu/ e.g.

/ŋà̤=ɾù káiʔk gáʔɾ/

fish=ERG bite lizard

It was the fish that bit the lizard.

With Postpositional Phrases

The come after the ergative noun, but before the verb (or any pronouns) e.g.

/ˈkʰwèi̤=zù pʰáˈzè̤t=dé káiʔk gáʔɾ/

dog=ERG forest=in bite lizard

It was the dog that bit the lizard in the forest.

Topicalisation

However, Kämpya speakers very often topicalise either the subject or the object. The object is topicalised by moving it in front of the subject (i.e. making the sentence OSV) e.g.

/gáʔɾ kʰwèi̤=zù káiʔk/

lizard dog=ERG bite

The lizard was bitten by the dog.

The subject of a transitive sentence is topicalised by deleting the ergative marker e.g.

/kʰwèi̤ káiʔk gáʔɾ/

dog bite lizard

The dog bit the lizard.

The difference between this and /kʰwèi̤ zù káiʔk gáʔɾ/ (i.e. with the case marker), is that, in the sentence with the case marker, the "new information" being presented to the listener is that it was the dog that did the biting. Without the case marker, it is a sentence describing the dog, and the new information is that it bit the lizard. This is analagous to the difference between "ga" and "wa" in Japanese.

Also note that topicalising both the subject and object is ungrammatical i.e. we cannot say */gáʔɾ kʰwèi̤ káiʔk/ or anything like that.

With Pronouns

The nominative pronouns discussed earlier can also be the subject of transitive verbs, with no restrictions other than the time of the action must be made clear (on the pronoun) e.g.

/jéi=káiʔk gáʔɾ/

2PS.NOM=bite lizard

You are biting the lizard.

As before, the object can be fronted as a topic e.g.

/gáʔɾ jéi=káiʔk/

lizard 2PS.NOM=bite

You are biting the lizard.

However, the subject pronoun still come immediately before the verb, so sentences like */jéi gáʔɾ káiʔk/ are ungrammatical.

When a verb takes an accusative pronoun as its object, it becomes intransitive i.e. the subject will be unmarked (in the absolutive case) and can come either before or after the verb e.g.

/kʰwèi̤ ŋí=káiʔk/

dog 2PS.ACC=bite

The dog will bite you.

or

/ŋí=káiʔk kʰwèi̤/

2PS.ACC=bite dog

You will be bitten by the dog.

Using the ergative form /kʰwèi̤=zù/ is ungrammatical here.

When both the subject and the object of a verb are pronouns, the subject comes first e.g.

jéi=swí=káiʔk

2PS.NOM=3PS.ACC=bite

You are biting him.

Reciprocal Voice

This takes a transitive verb and turns it into an intransitive verb meaning "do ... to each other / one another". It is formed by reduplicating the first syllable of the verb, and putting it as a particle in the object pronoun "slot" e.g. /ˈdè̤sì/ - "to speak" -> /dé ˈdè̤sì/ - "to speak to each other".

However coda consonants and the second elements of diphthongs are deleted e.g. /káiʔk/ - "to bite" -> /ká káiʔk/ - "to bite each other".

Also if the onset of the first syllable contains an aspirated consonant, the aspiration is lost in the reduplication e.g. /sʰwè̤/ - "to pull" -> /sé sʰwè̤/ - "to pull each other".

If the onset of the first syllable contains a voiceless nasal, the it becomes voiced in the reduplication e.g. - /m̥â̰n/ "to correct" -> /má m̥â̰n/ - "to correct each other". Likewise, if the onset of the first syllable contains /h/, it is lost in the reduplication e.g. /hwêg/ - "to play" -> /wé hwêg/ - "to play with each other".

Subject Deletion

It is perfectly acceptable to delete the subject of a transitive sentence e.g.

/káiʔk gáʔɾ/

bite lizard

He / She / It / They bit the lizard.

/gáʔɾ káiʔk/

lizard bite

The lizard was bitten.

This carries no ambiguity, because the word for lizard is always in the absolutive case.

Antipassive Voice

To delete the object of a transitive sentence, the antipassive voice is used [11]. This is done with the clitic /θu-/. It goes in the same syntactic "slot" as an object pronoun would e.g.

/kʰwèi̤ θú=káiʔk/

dog ANTIP=bite

The dog bit (someone / something).

However, if followed by a vowel, the form of the clitic is /θw-/ e.g.

/kʰwèi̤ θw=áhlôṵn/

dog ANTIP=abandon

The dog abandoned (someone / something).

The deleted object can be re-introduced at the end of the sentence using the dative clitic /-àuŋ/ (note that this does not change the tone class of the noun) e.g.

/kʰwèi̤ θú=káiʔk gáʔɾ=àuŋ/

dog ANTIP=bite lizard=DAT

The dog bit the lizard.

At first glance, this may seem pointless, as we could have quite easily have said:

/ˈkʰwèi̤=zù káiʔk gáʔɾ/

dog=ERG bite lizard

It was the dog that bit the lizard.

However, the difference is that Kämpya has ergative syntax. Whatever argument of the verb is in the absolutive case is the syntactic pivot [12]. In a normal transitive sentence, this is the object of the verb. But, by using the antipassive voice, the subject of the transitive verb becomes the syntactic pivot. If we combine the two sentences above with the verb /pjèi̤/ - "to flee", the meaning becomes very different:

/kʰwèi̤ θú=káiʔk gáʔɾ=àuŋ pjèi̤/

dog ANTIP=bite lizard=DAT flee

The dog bit the lizard and (the dog) ran away.

vs.

/ˈkʰwèi̤=zù káiʔk gáʔɾ pjèi̤/

dog=ERG bite lizard flee

The dog that bit the lizard and the lizard ran away.

Note that the dative clitic has the allomorph /jàuŋ/ after a vowel e.g.

/gáʔɾ θú=káiʔk kʰwèi̤=jàuŋ/

lizard ANTIP=bite dog=DAT

The lizard bit the dog.

Ditransitive Sentences

For verbs such as "give", "sell", "send" etc. [13], the normal situation is to have the donor marked in the ergative case in the usual position (i.e before the verb and any postpositional phrases), the theme (whatever is being given / sold etc. to someone) directly after it, and marked with the secundative postposition /-ti/, and the recipient in the absolutive case either after the verb or topicalised at the beginning of the sentence e.g.

/ˈsíʔtà=zù áˈjòṳ=tí gḭ̂b kʰwèi̤/

guardian=ERG bone=SEC give dog

It was the guardian that gave the bone to the dog.

or

/kʰwèi̤ ˈsíʔtà=zù áˈjòṳ=tí gḭ̂b/

dog guardian=ERG bone=SEC give

The dog was given a bone by the guardian.

The ergative argument can be topicalised in the same way e.g.

/ˈsíʔtà áˈjòṳ=tí gḭ̂b kʰwèi̤/

guardian bone=SEC give dog

The guardian gave the bone to the dog.

It is also perfectly possible to put a ditransitive sentence in the antipassive voice e.g.

/ˈsíʔtà áˈjòṳ=tí θú=gḭ̂b kʰwèi̤=jàuŋ/

guardian bone=SEC ANTIP=give dog=DAT

The guardian gave the bone to the dog.

Allomorphy

Immediately after a vowel with breathy voice (and thus necessarily a vowel in an open syllable that has stress), the secundative clitic becomes /ɾi/ e.g.

/ˈsíʔtà ŋà̤=ɾí gḭ̂b kʰwèi̤/

guardian fish=SEC give dog

The guardian gave the fish to the dog.

Immediately after a vowel with harsh voice, the clitic also becomes /ɾi/. However, it also triggers a phonation shift on the vowel from harsh to glottalised e.g. the noun meaning "animal fat" is /áˈsʰḭ̀/ in Tone Class 2. It normally has harsh voice, but it combines with the secundative clitic to form /áˈsʰìʔ=ɾí/, as in:

/ˈsíʔtà áˈsʰìʔ=ɾí θú=gḭ̂b kʰwèi̤=jàuŋ/

guardian fat=SEC ANTIP=give dog=DAT

The guardian gave the fat to the dog.

Applicative Voice

To topicalise a noun in a postpositional phrase, Kämpya uses applicative constructions [14]. These are formed by first shifting the noun in the absolutive case to the end of the sentence (and marking it with the dative clitic /-àuŋ/). In turn, the noun that the postposition was attached to goes into the absolutive case, and the postposition is placed after the verb as a clitic e.g. from the sentence:

/ˈkʰwèi̤=zù pʰáˈzè̤t=dé káiʔk gáʔɾ/

dog=ERG forest=in bite lizard

It was the dog that bit the lizard in the forest.

we can apply an applicative transformation to get:

/pʰáˈzè̤t ˈkʰwèi̤=zù káiʔk=dè gáʔɾ=àuŋ/

forest dog=ERG bite=in lizard=DAT

In the forest, the dog bit the lizard.

As another example, the sentence

/ˈḛ̂nèmì ˈkʰòʔnát=m̥á kúʔn/

enemy Hkónat=from depart

The enemy departed from Hkónat.

becomes the following:

/ˈkʰóʔnàt kúʔn=m̥à ˈḛ̂nèmì=jàuŋ/

Hkónat depart=from enemy=DAT

From Hkónat, the enemy departed.

Note here the tone change from /ˈkʰòʔnát/ (in a postpositional phrase and thus Tone Class 2) to /ˈkʰóʔnàt/ (in Tone Class 1 like most nouns). We cannot see this in the previous example because the word for "forest" is /pʰáˈzè̤t/ in both Tone Class 1 and Tone Class 2.

Likewise, in ditransitive sentences, the theme (i.e. whatever is given by the donor to the recipient) can also be topicalised by the same process e.g.

/kʰwèi̤ ˈsíʔtà=zù áˈjòṳ=tí gḭ̂b/

dog guardian=ERG bone=SEC give

The dog was given a bone by the guardian.

becomes

/áˈjòṳ ˈsíʔtà=zù gḭ̂b=tì kʰwèi̤=jàuŋ/

bone guardian=ERG bone=SEC give=SEC dog=DAT

The bone was given to the dog by the guardian.

When a pronoun is the object of the verb to be put into the applicative voice, the subject is put into the dative case instead e.g. when we apply the applicative voice to

/kʰwèi̤ pʰáˈzè̤t=dé ŋí=káiʔk/

dog forest=in 2PS.ACC=bite

The dog will bite you in the forest.

we get

/pʰáˈzè̤t ŋí=káiʔk=dé kʰwèi̤=jàuŋ/

forest 2PS.ACC=bite=in dog=DAT

In the forest, the dog will bite you.

Notice that when the postpositions /mḁ/, /de/ and /ti/ attach to a noun, they have High Tone, since postpositional phrases are in Tone Class 2. However, when they attach to a verb, they have has Low Tone, since verbs are in Tone Class 1.

This is clearly a cliticisation process, since adverbs can come before the particle but after the verb e.g.

/pʰáˈzè̤t kʰwèi̤=zù káiʔk tjǎ̤ŋ=dè gáʔɾ=àuŋ/

forest dog=ERG bite yesterday=in lizard=DAT

In the forest, the dog bit the lizard.

Noun Phrases

The basic order in noun phrases is: Demonstrative - Numeral - Restrictive Adjective - Noun - Non Restrictive Adjective

Restrictiveness in Adjectives

When an adjective modifies a noun, Kämpya makes a distinction between restrictive and non-restrictive (descriptive) adjectives [15]. It does this by putting restrictive adjectives in Tone Class 2, and placing them before the noun they modify e.g.

/ˈlwèʔpíd kʰwèi̤/

fast.REST dog

The fast dog(s) (choosing one or more fast dogs out of a group of other dogs).

Descriptive (non-restrictive) adjectives are in Tone Class 3 and follow the noun they modify e.g.

/kʰwèi̤ˈlwéʔpìd/

dog fast.DESC

The fast dog(s).

or

/sôṵ ˈjḛ́làu/

sun yellow.DESC

The yellow sun.

In the last case, it would never make any sense to say /ˈjḛ̀láu sôṵ/, unless for some reason we were disambiguating between multiple suns.

Articles

There are no definite articles, but there is an indefinite article clitic. It occupies the demonstrative syntactic "slot" and has the allomorphs /ti-/ before a consonant and /it-/ before a vowel e.g.

/tí=kʰwèi̤/

INDEF=dog

a dog

/ít=áˈtâṵŋ/

INDEF=feather

a feather

Kämpya nouns are not inflected for singular or plural, but when they take the indefinite article, they are only ever singular, so the above examples could never mean "some dogs" or "some feathers".

It is important to distinguish the indefinite article from the word for one /tìʔ/. The indefinite article is a clitic, which has no stress and is phonologically part of whatever word follows it i.e. it will have plain High Pitch no matter whether it is followed by a noun or (restrictive) adjective. On the other hand, the numeral /tìʔ/ - "one" is phonologically a separate word. In terms of the tonal morphology, it (like all other numerals) belongs to category 2, and is thus pronounced with Low Pitch.

Compare:

/tí=kʰwèi̤/

INDEF=dog

a dog

with

/tìʔ kʰwèi̤/

one dog

one dog

Also, the numeral for one does not "reverse" (i.e. undergo metathesis) when the next syllable begins with a vowel e.g.

/ít=áˈtâṵŋ/

INDEF=feather

a feather

vs.

/tìʔ áˈtâṵŋ/

one feather

one feather

The numeral for "one" (or any other numerals) cannot be used with the indefinite article, so */tí=tìʔ áˈtâṵŋ/ is ungrammatical.

However, (restrictive) adjectives can intervene between the indefinite article and the noun e.g.

/tí=ˈjḛ̀láu áˈtâṵŋ/

INDEF=yellow.REST feather

a yellow feather

Demonstratives

Kämpya has a two-way distance contrast in demonstratives (like English but unlike many other languages). It uses tone to distinguish pronominal demonstratives (e.g. in the sentence "This is a cat") from adnominal demonstratives (e.g. in the sentence "This cat is here"). It also uses tone to make a further distinction in adnominal demonstratives depending on whether they are describing a place, or something else.

Here is a table of the demonstratives:

	Tone	This	That
Pronominal	Harsh Falling	dâ̰	tʰôṵ
Adnominal (Places)	Modal High	dá	*tʰóu
Adnominal (Other cases)	Harsh Low	dà̰	tʰòṵ

• /tʰóu-/ has the allomorph /*tʰów-/ before a vowel.

So for example "this mountain" is /dá ˈmjáuʔnàn/, since a mountain is a place. But "this dog" is /dà̰ kʰwèi̤/, since a dog is not a place.

Possession

Kämpya distinguishes alienable and alienable possession. In both cases, possessors are marked with the cliticised case marker /ja/, and come before the noun they possess. But inalienable possessors are in Tone Class 2 e.g.

/kʰwèi̤=já áˈjòṳ/

dog=GEN.INALIENABLE bone

The dog's bone (i.e. in it's body).

While alienable possessors are in Tone Class 1 e.g.

/kʰwèi̤=jà áˈjòṳ/

dog=GEN.ALIENABLE bone

The dog's bone (i.e. that it is chewing on / has buried etc.)

Unlike in English, there are no restrictions on possessing a noun modified by a demonstrative or an article. So it is perfectly grammatical to say the following:

/kʰwèi̤=jà dà̰ áˈjòṳ/

dog=GEN.ALIENABLE this bone

This bone of the dog's (literally "the dog's this bone").

Relative Clauses

In the same way as with adjectives, Kämpya places relative clauses before the head noun if they are restrictive, and after the noun if they are non-restrictive e.g.

/gáʔɾ=zù káiʔk kʰwèi̤ pjèi̤/

lizard=ERG bite dog flee

The dog that the lizard had bitten fled.

Or, using a non-restrictive relative clause:

/kʰwèi̤ gáʔɾ=zù káiʔk pjèi̤/

dog lizard=ERG bite flee

The dog, which the lizard had bitten, fled.

However, in Kämpya and unlike in English, the accessibility hierarchy is very important [16]. In every case, the head noun must be the absolutive argument of the verb in the relative clause. If it would not normally be so, then it must be put into the absolutive case by strategies such as antipassivisation on the verb e.g.

/θú=káiʔk gáʔɾ pjèi̤/

ANTIP=bite lizard flee

The lizard that had bitten it fled.

Or in a non-restrictive relative clause:

/gáʔɾ θú=káiʔk pjèi̤/

lizard ANTIP=bite flee

The lizard, which had bitten it, fled.

Or an applicative construction can be used e.g.

/gáʔɾ=zù káiʔk=dè pʰáˈzè̤t nóuʔp/

lizard=ERG bite=in forest small

The forest that the lizard bit it in is small.

And in a non-restrictive relative clause:

/pʰáˈzè̤t gáʔɾ=zù káiʔk=dè nóuʔp/

forest lizard=ERG bite=in small

The forest, which the lizard bit it in, is small.

Internal Heads

It must be noted that Kämpya restrictive relative clauses are strictly speaking internally headed [17]. We can only see this in antipassives and applicatives where the noun (that used to be in the absolutive case) is re-introduced as a dative argument, it follows the head noun e.g.

/θú=káiʔk gáʔɾ kʰwèi̤=jàuŋ pjèi̤/

ANTIP=bite lizard dog=DAT flee

The lizard that had bitten the dog fled. (not */θú=káiʔk kʰwèi̤=jàuŋ gáʔɾ pjèi̤/)

Or in an applicative construction:

/gáʔɾ=zù káiʔk=dè pʰáˈzè̤t kʰwèi̤=jàuŋ nóuʔp/

lizard=ERG bite=in forest dog=DAT small

The forest that the lizard bit the dog in is small. (not */gáʔɾ=zù káiʔk=dè kʰwèi̤=jàuŋ pʰáˈzè̤t nóuʔp/)

Negation

Basic Pattern

The basic way to negate something is to place the particle /na/ immediately before it, and the particle /bu/ immediately after it. These are clitics i.e. they become phonologically part of whatever word they attach to e.g. from the sentence

/jéi=ˈdè̤sì ˈkà̤mpjà/

2PS.NOM=speak Kämpya

You speak Kämpya.

We can say

/jéi=ná=ˈdè̤sì=bù ˈkà̤mpjà/

2PS.NOM=NEG=speak=NEG Kämpya

You don't speak Kämpya

as well as

/ná=jéi=bú=ˈdè̤sì ˈkà̤mpjà/

NEG=2PS.NOM=NEG=speak Kämpya

You don't speak Kämpya. / It's not you that speaks Kämpya.

and

/jéi=ˈdè̤sì ná=ˈkà̤mpjà=bù/

2PS.NOM=speak NEG=Kämpya=NEG

You don't speak Kämpya. / It's not Kämpya that you speak.

As we can see, the particles can attach to either nouns or verbs. They can also attach to adjectives e.g.

/jéi=ˈdè̤sì ná=kàṳŋ=bù ˈkà̤mpjà/

2PS.NOM=speak NEG=good.REST=NEG Kämpya

You don't speak good Kämpya.

They can also attach to adverbs e.g.

/jéi=ˈdè̤sì nà=kǎṳŋ=bù ˈkà̤̀mpjà/

2PS.NOM=speak NEG=good.ADV=NEG Kämpya

You don't speak Kämpya well.

However, if the word after /na/ begins with a vowel, an epenthetic /w/ is inserted e.g.

/jéi=náw=áˈlôṵn=bù/

2PS.NOM=NEG=alone=NEG

You are not alone.