Da: Difference between revisions

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Locative / Instrumentalis nouns receive the ending ''-i''.
Locative / Instrumentalis nouns receive the ending ''-i''.


When used as Locative, it indicates place or time: ''sue'' (in water), ''punseolani'' (in a forest), ''kokmihani'' (on an airplane), ''sorsunotei'' (yesterday), ''xortei'' (soon; lit. "in a short time"). Usually locative does not denote possession; e.g. compare ''Ku du áthata taoruolanu '' (Give me this book, i.e. for me to have) vs. ''Ku tita duti taoruolanu kai'' (Bring this book to me, i.e. to my place).
When used as Locative, it indicates place or time: ''sue'' (in water), ''punseolani'' (in a forest), ''kokmihani'' (on an airplane), ''sorsunotei'' (yesterday), ''xortei'' (soon; lit. "in a short time"). Usually locative does not denote possession; e.g. compare ''Ku du áthatta taoruolanu kai'' (Give me this book, i.e. for me to have) vs. ''Ku titta duit taoruolanu kai'' (Bring this book to me, i.e. to my place).


If the location needs to be specified more precisely, e.g. "'''on''' the desk" vs. "'''under''' the desk", or "'''near''' the house" vs. "'''in''' the house", Cha uses a position indicator + Genitive to express that: ''dei taoruo'' (on the desk, lit. "on top of the desk"), ''deri taoruo'' (under the desk), ''neri huo'' (outside the house), ''nertenki huo'' (around the house), ''nei huo'' (in / inside the house), ''hui'' (at the house, home). As you can see, all these constructions follow the pattern "at" (expressed as Locative) "position" (e.g. top, under, outside etc.) "of" (expressed as Genitive) original word. The position indicators are grammatically nouns, although they are usually translated into English as prepositions.
If the location needs to be specified more precisely, e.g. "'''on''' the desk" vs. "'''under''' the desk", or "'''near''' the house" vs. "'''in''' the house", Cha uses a position indicator + Genitive to express that: ''dei taoruo'' (on the desk, lit. "on top of the desk"), ''deri taoruo'' (under the desk), ''neri huo'' (outside the house), ''nertenxi huo'' (around the house), ''nei huo'' (in / inside the house), ''hui'' (at the house, home). As you can see, all these constructions follow the pattern "at" (expressed as Locative) "position" (e.g. top, under, outside etc.) "of" (expressed as Genitive) original word. The position indicators are grammatically nouns, although they are usually translated into English as prepositions.


To form a sentence indicating an object / person location, e.g. "The boy '''is''' in the house", Cha speakers would use the verb ''nai / ná'' (vi: "be located", vt: "put"): ''Nunmen nai nei huo''. One can also say ''Nunmen nei hui'', using the root ''ne'' as a verb with meaning "be inside".
To form a sentence indicating an object / person location, e.g. "The boy '''is''' in the house", Cha speakers would use the verb ''nai / ná'' (vi: "be located", vt: "put"): ''Nunmen nai nei huo''. One can also say ''Nunmen nei hui'', using the root ''ne'' as a verb with meaning "be inside".
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When used as Instrumentalis, the same form indicates a tool or object with which an action is done. This usage usually translates into English with the help of preposition "with", although not always: ''Nunmen kai lodani rur-e-xo-lodaniolai'' (This boy plays a violin). In Da, it is interchangeable with a phrase that includes the word ''lai'' (using): ''Damen tala saraotutirhonu seoruri'' (The master beats the dog '''with''' a stick) can be said as ''Damen tala saraotutirhonu lai seoruru'' (The master beats the dog '''using''' a stick).
When used as Instrumentalis, the same form indicates a tool or object with which an action is done. This usage usually translates into English with the help of preposition "with", although not always: ''Nunmen kai lodani rur-e-xo-lodaniolai'' (This boy plays a violin). In Da, it is interchangeable with a phrase that includes the word ''lai'' (using): ''Damen tala saraotutirhonu seoruri'' (The master beats the dog '''with''' a stick) can be said as ''Damen tala saraotutirhonu lai seoruru'' (The master beats the dog '''using''' a stick).


Finally, a noun in this case can be used as the verb of a sentence to express the "is the" relationship (Essive): Ku meni du síxao sorsunotei! -- You are the man I saw yesterday!  
Finally, a noun in this case can be used as the verb of a sentence to express the "is the" relationship (Essive): Ku meni du síssao sorsunotei! -- You are the man I saw yesterday!  


Although different uses of Locative / Instrumentalis share the same ending, it is usually quite obvious whether the place, time, or tool is meant in each given case.
Although different uses of Locative / Instrumentalis share the same ending, it is usually quite obvious whether the place, time, or tool is meant in each given case.

Revision as of 19:55, 8 January 2017



Da
Da
Progress: 97%
Type
Agglutinating
Alignment
Nominative-Accusative
Head direction
Initial Mixed Final
Primary word order
Tonal
No
Declensions
Yes
Conjugations
No
Genders
1
Nouns decline according to...
Case Number
Definiteness Gender


Phonology

The Latin transliteration of Da uses an alphabet of 16 letters:

A /a, ɐ/ D /d/ E /e, ɛ/ H /h/ I /i, ɪ/ K /k/ L /l/ M /m/ N /n/ O /o/ P /p/ R /r/ S /s/ T /t/ U /u, ʊ/ X /ʃ/ .

- Overall, the letters sound the way you would expect them to be (standard Latin pronunciation). Note that "x" is always pronounced as /ʃ/. All letters sound approximately the same way regardless of their placement.

- As an exception from this rule, the letter "i" tends to form diphthongs /aɪ/, /eɪ/, /oɪ/ and /uɪ/ when it follows another vowel; other vowels are pronounced separately from each other.

- Accented vowels á, é, í, ó, ú are long: /a: e: i: o: u:/

Da words are stressed on the last root vowel. Most often, this turns out to be the penultimate syllable, or the last syllable if the word ends with a consonant. In a multi-syllable word, when the stress falls in an unusual place, it is sometimes denoted by an accent: á, é, í, ó, ú. (We will do this more often here than what is usually seen in Da texts, where accents may be omitted altogether.) Stress can play a distinctive role: e.g. compare hoté "when?" and hote "where to?".

Phonotactics

Generally, Da syllable structure can be described as (C)v(C)(C). Out of all consonants, however, D, H, K and P cannot be syllable-final.

Examples

Du sáttí Dau. I am learning Da.
Panudátú lusa pankoru kai, Tu harsa luis Meru kei Tuo kartú daisia Tú snít o át mou panteo. The Lord so loved the world...
Hi kai pantusiaotlissao. Ka onsehaotpao pantusiaot ka lois, kensanis i laotkís. This language has been featured. Due to its quality, plausibility and usability, it has been selected as featured.

Basic Grammar

Da has a very simple and regular grammar.

Syntax

Da is an SVO language. Verbs are placed after the subject, adjectives follow the noun, and adverbs follow the verb.

It is not uncommon, however, to place a word or phrase in front of the sentence for additional emphasis. E.g. one would say Kasunotei du mí kasishaohuit (Today I am going to the store) instead of Du mí kasishaohuit kasunotei (I am going to the store today).

Da adjectives are virtually indistinguishable from intransitive verbs.

Da makes an extensive use of supines and subordinate clauses.

Noun

A Da noun has four cases, each marked with its distinctive ending. Da nouns have no genders.

Nominative

A noun in Nominative has zero ending: su (water), dunotó (toy), punsé (tree), koxmihan (airplane). Note that with words in Nominative, the stress is always on the last syllable.

Composite verbs may have several subjects, all in nominative. This usually applies to causative verbs.

Nominative is also used for the subjects of a sentence or a subordinate clause.

Accusative

A noun in the Accusative case receives the ending -u: , dunotou, punseu, koxmihanu. Note that if the word root already ends with -u, u is not doubled but instead it receives the accent mark.

Accusative denotes the direct object of a transitive -a verb, and follows the verb. In composite verbs (and the majority of verbs in Da are composite) the signature of the verb is defined by its parts with -a (as long as the composite word does not include the object as well). Thus a composite verb with several -a components can have several direct objects. Vice versa, an intransitive verb (an -i verb) never has direct objects.

For example, the verb mia (to move) may take an object -- the thing that is being moved. Therefore, the composite verb daimia (to think, lit. "to move in one's head") also takes a direct object, and, unlike in English, the phrase Du daimia kú (I am thinking of you) needs no prepositions.

On the other hand, the verb sáttí (to learn, lit: "to come to know") has the second root (to come, to become) which in this form is intransitive (the transitive form of tia means "to bring") and the first root sá (to know). Therefore, sáttí should also have one direct object, and in Du sáttí Dau (I am learning Da) no adverbial is required before Dau.

Genitive

Nouns in Genitive have the ending -o. As with other endings, if the root ends with an o, it is not doubled but receives the accent mark. Nouns in Genitive describe other nouns and follow them. They usually are placed after adjectives describing the same noun.

Genitive in Da carries a wide range of semantic meanings, from possession to having a quality to being related to the main word in some way or another. Overall the range of cases when Genitive is used in Da is similar to those where you use possessive or the preposition "of" in English.

Da nouns in Genitive can also serve as a Verb of a sentence, replacing the use of a copula. Genitive in this role expresses belonging to a group ("is a" relationship), e.g.: Du meno! (I am a man!), Ka punseo dei (This is a tall tree) etc.

Locative / Instrumentalis / Essive

Locative / Instrumentalis nouns receive the ending -i.

When used as Locative, it indicates place or time: sue (in water), punseolani (in a forest), kokmihani (on an airplane), sorsunotei (yesterday), xortei (soon; lit. "in a short time"). Usually locative does not denote possession; e.g. compare Ku du áthatta taoruolanu kai (Give me this book, i.e. for me to have) vs. Ku titta duit taoruolanu kai (Bring this book to me, i.e. to my place).

If the location needs to be specified more precisely, e.g. "on the desk" vs. "under the desk", or "near the house" vs. "in the house", Cha uses a position indicator + Genitive to express that: dei taoruo (on the desk, lit. "on top of the desk"), deri taoruo (under the desk), neri huo (outside the house), nertenxi huo (around the house), nei huo (in / inside the house), hui (at the house, home). As you can see, all these constructions follow the pattern "at" (expressed as Locative) "position" (e.g. top, under, outside etc.) "of" (expressed as Genitive) original word. The position indicators are grammatically nouns, although they are usually translated into English as prepositions.

To form a sentence indicating an object / person location, e.g. "The boy is in the house", Cha speakers would use the verb nai / ná (vi: "be located", vt: "put"): Nunmen nai nei huo. One can also say Nunmen nei hui, using the root ne as a verb with meaning "be inside".

When used as Instrumentalis, the same form indicates a tool or object with which an action is done. This usage usually translates into English with the help of preposition "with", although not always: Nunmen kai lodani rur-e-xo-lodaniolai (This boy plays a violin). In Da, it is interchangeable with a phrase that includes the word lai (using): Damen tala saraotutirhonu seoruri (The master beats the dog with a stick) can be said as Damen tala saraotutirhonu lai seoruru (The master beats the dog using a stick).

Finally, a noun in this case can be used as the verb of a sentence to express the "is the" relationship (Essive): Ku meni du síssao sorsunotei! -- You are the man I saw yesterday!

Although different uses of Locative / Instrumentalis share the same ending, it is usually quite obvious whether the place, time, or tool is meant in each given case.

Nouns in Locative / Instrumentalis follow the verb and play the role of indirect objects or adverbial modifiers.

Infixes -t-, -x- and -k-

Three infixes, -t-, -x- and -k-, can be used in different parts of speech and with different noun cases. The general semantic meaning of them is as follows:

-t- Moving towards, becoming, entering a state; goal, purpose, effect or consequence
-x- Moving away, leaving state; motive, cause, condition or antecedent
-k- Moving through, being in a state

In particular, when used with Locative, -t-, -x- and -k- attach after the locative marker and have the meaning of "to", "from" and "through", respectively. E.g. Du mí huit (I go home) vs. Du mí huix (I am leaving home) vs. Du mí nomisik (I am walking on a path); Karmel nexa taoruru deit taolono (She put the pencil on the desk) vs. Karmel haxa taoruru deix taolono (She took the pencil from the desk), etc.

-x- and -t- can also be used with Genitive (e.g. huomen duo "my husband" vs. huomen duxo "my ex-husband") but such usage is more rare.

When used in verbs, -t-, -x- and -k- form prospective, perfective and progressive aspects. Used to create adverbials, -t- and -x- produce adverbs of purpose and adverbs of cause, etc. We will give examples of these in each respective section below.

Verb

Verbs in Cha receive the endings -a (transitive) and "-e" (intransitive). As with other endings, if the root ends with the same vowel, it is not duplicated but receives the accent instead. Verbs do not conjugate.

A large percentage of Cha verbs are ergative and change their meaning depending on whether they are used as transitive or intransitive verbs. For example: mie / mia (vi: goes, vt: moves /something/), 'tie / 'tia (vi: comes, vt: brings /something/), kele / kela (vi: errs, vt: breaks /something/) etc.

Similarly, many verbs have a different meaning when used as modal verbs, that is, verbs followed by a t--adverbial. E.g. the word , when used as an adjective, means "necessary", but the meaning is changed to "need, have to" when it is used as a modal verb: pa xí "necessary work" --> to xío pat "what has to be done".

There are no verb tenses in Da, but there are aspects. Unmodified verbs are assumed to be in imperfective aspect. The infixes -t- and -x- put them into prospective and perfective aspects, signifying the action that is about to start or has been completed. Quite often these aspects are translated into other languages using future and past tenses: Du sixa tou síotenoxui duo! (I have seen it with my own two eyes!) or Ku kasti pax katou! (You will pay for (doing) this!). On the other hand, a narrative like Palsunotei moi korudamen pali... (Once upon a time there lived a king...) usually does not require an aspect change.

The infix -k- produces the progressive aspect: compare Du maka sunoteoporomau katei (I am eating lunch now) and Du má honokanu sunotei pani (I eat meat every day).

The prospective aspect is also used as imperative: Titi kait! "Come here!"

Infix -i-

The infix -i- is used with verbs and denotes imaginary actions. When put in the perfective aspect, it it used to mark actions that could happen, but never did (subjunctive). On the other hand, when it is used with verbs in the prospective aspect, it shows that the action may happen, оr may not, depending on the circumstances (conditional).

For example: Du tixí ku títhíax dú! (I would have come if you called me!) or Du pátia katou áiax teu (I will do it if I have time). Compare this with: Du tixi ku títhíxax dú! (I came because you called me) and Du pata katou áx teu (I will do it for I have the time).i\

Intransitive Verbs as Adjectives

Cha adjectives, from the grammatical point of view, do not differ from intransitive verbs. In a way, all Cha adjectives are participles. They end with -a and go after the noun.

Adjectives often play the role of a verb in a sentence, requiring no copula. For example, losia (beautiful) can be used in Ku nunmelo losia (You are a beautiful girl) as well as Nunmel ká losia roi (This girl is very beautiful).

Just like verbs, adjectives can have aspects: Mihan losipa tyila i nerekélao katé (The car, once beautiful, was now dirty and scratched).

Another way of looking at adjectives is to see them as one-word subordinate clauses. The word losia is composed of two words, loi "good" and sia "look" and literally means "good-looking". One can look at it as the verb that means "to look good". The phrase nunmel losia can be equally well translated as "a beautiful girl", "a good-looking girl" and "a girl that looks good".

Adverbs and Adverbial Clauses

Cha adverbs end with -i: roi (strongly, from roa strong), loi (well, from loa good) etc.

Adverbs are often used with infixes -t- for adverbs of goal or purpose, and -p- for cause or condition. With their dependent words, such adverbs form adverbial clauses that are ubiquitous in Cha. Some of the most frequent uses of such adverbial clauses include:

- with modal verbs, like ria (want, need), kia (can) etc.: Ku kia hiti Tyae? (Can you speak Cha?); Tyu ria nertenepenti kú (I want to hug you).

- with verbs like tia (come, become), lia (let, allow) and similar: Tyu sattia hiti Tyae (I learn to speak Cha).

- when you state intent or purpose: Tyu tipa siti menmeu tyuo (I came to see my father).

- when you state reason or cause: Karmen skaená lorranuapi (He is not in here because he is sick).

Please note that the adverbal phrase can be quite developed, incuding a subject, object etc., e.g. Tyu ria ku pati katou syorté (I want you to do this immediately) is formed by taking Ku pata katou syorté (You will do this immediately) and turning it into a adverbial phrase by changing the ending -a into -i: pata (will do) -> pati (to do).

When Genitive is used as a verb, it can also be turned into adverbial, e.g.: Pinócchio ria panté nunménoti kena "Pinocchio always wanted to be a real boy", or Men kelkouá síaoi "He was visibly upset".

Adverbs and Prepositions

There are no prepositions in Cha, and the case system is not that extensive. Where the noun cases are not enough to express the relationship between the verb and the indirect object, adverbs are commonly used as links between the two. The range of adverbs and adverbial phrases used for this purpose is extensive:

Pantú ria sattiti sati Tyau (Everyone should learn Cha; lit: Everyone should learn to know Cha)

Hikista tyú hí Johnu (My name is John; lit: Call me saying John)

In many cases when is an indirect object in English becomes the subject of a subordinate clause in Cha:

Tyu pippathia ku atharti tyu ati taoruolanu ká! (Please give me this book! lit: I ask that you give me to have this book).

As you can see, the first part of the verb is often used as an adverb later in the sentence. This is the general practice; e.g. if hara simply means "give (away), let go", the verb athara, made up from ati (to have) + hara (give) means "give to someone". The first part, ati (to have) can be repeated as a part of an adverbial phrase: Tyu athara ku ati katou (I give this to you).

Similarly, hia means "say" and tonthia, composed from hia and tonti "to listen" means "tell", and you use the first part, tonti, to introduce indirect objects, like Ku tonthita tyu tonti pantou! "Tell me everything!"

The same role can also be played by a noun in an indirect case, e.g. Tyu soremia sore kelpatuo. Tyu sorpetia sorpe tuo! "I am following the criminal. I am catching up with him!" (lit.: I go-behind behind of-criminal. I come-from-behind from-behind of-him!)

Thus, the way indirect objects are introduced is most often "encoded" in the verb itself. This allows to quickly recognize them and attribute them to the right verb, at the same time keeping the sentence structure logical and removing the necessity to memorize prepositions and cases that go with each verb.

Supine and Subordinate Clauses

A Cha verb can be put into noun cases, forming a supine. To do that you keep the verb ending -a and add the case ending after it. For example, (eat) -- huosyon mao (eating room, dining room); tyaurá (rest, sleep) -- te tyaurao (time of sleep, resting time).

A supine is linked by its case ending to the main word it describes, but at the same time it can retain all words that were linked to it as a verb, forming a subordinate clause. Here are some examples:

Tyu sá ku rípau tonthiti tyu tonti paltou -- I know you wanted to tell me something (compare with: Ku ripa tonthiti tyu tonti paltou "You wanted to tell me something" and Tyu tonta paltou "I will hear something").

John maka té syentú tuo tíao hute -- John was eating when his friend entered the house (compare with Syentú tuo tia hute "His friend enters the house").

The case in which the supine is placed determines the relationship between the main word and the subordinate clause:

- when the supine is in Accusative, it decribes a verb and can be translated using the English conjunction "that": Sorpe siaopuo melme sia tyu sorttíau. ("From the window, mother saw that I was coming back" or "saw me coming back"); Tyu sapa tu sorttítau! menme hia. ("I knew he would come back, said father").

- when the supine is in Genitive, it describes a noun. This noun is "raised" from being an object in the subordinate clause; that is, it is assumed to play the role of an object there. This can either be a direct object in Accusative (tu panesao "a well-known person"; to tyu essípao sorté "something I've never seen before"), or an indirect object in Locative / Instrumental (te mao "time of eating, dinner time"; mis noemíao "a traveled path", siaotenosyú tyu sipao lorpaonu ká skia siti tyori "the pair of eyes with which I have seen these horrors can not see any more" etc.)

- when the supine is in Locative / Instrumental, it describes a verb and can be translated using such English conjunctions as "while" or "by" (Melme sia tyu sorttíau síae sorpe siaopuo "Mother saw me coming back while (she was) looking out of the window.")

Finally, supine can be used in Nominative, naming the action or quality, e.g. Romia tyunpia ("Running is fun") or Losia mortlirta pankor morti ("Beauty will save the world").

Note that if Genitive plays the role of a verb, it can also form supine:

Té tyu nunménoo tyora tyu lua konmau -- When I was a little boy I liked candy (Tyu nunmeno tyora "I am a little boy", Tyu lua konmau "I like candy").

Please refer to the "Advanced Examples" for more examples of supine, which is very widely used in Cha.

Morphology

Transitions Between Parts of Speech

Cha roots do not have an inherent part of speech attached to them; instead, each root word can freely transition between different parts of speech, and often has a separate meaning when it is used as a noun, verb etc. Of course all these meanings are closely related. Let us give just a couple of examples:

Root tye
Form Translation Part of speech
tyea high, tall Adjective
tyea lift Transitive Verb
tyeti up Adverb
tyé on Noun in Locative
tyete onto Noun in Locative
tyei above, over Adverb
tye top Noun


Root kel
Form Translation Part of speech
kela wrong Adjective
kela err (be wrong) Intransitive Verb
kela break Transitive Verb
keli by mistake Adverb
kel error, mistake Noun


Root ne
Form Translation Part of speech
nea be inside Intransitive Verb
nea inner Adjective
in Noun in Locative
nete into Noun in Locative
neo internal Noun in Genitive
ne interior, core Noun
nei internally Adverb

This list can go on and on. Most of the time the meaning for the same root as a different part of speech does not need to me memorized, as it is self-evident. (There are some exceptions, however; for example, the word te (time), when used as a verb, means "to wait").

Note that when a composite word is is used as certain part of speech, its meaning is always related to the last root's meaning for this part of speech.

For example, the English noun "face" is translated into Cha as tyaosó, lit. "the front of head". The same English word can be used as a verb, meaning, depending on context, "to meet face-to-face" or "to confront".

The Cha verb soa, however, means "to advance" and any verb ending with soa is expected to have a related meaning. Therefore, the English "to face" cannot be expressed by just using tyaosó as a verb. Indeed, one has to say sotetia (lit. "come to the front") or sousittia (lit. "come to see the face") or a similar verb.

Composite Words

Cha is rife with composite words. Most words in the dictionary are composed by linking together a relatively small number of short "primary" roots.

Cha composite word is a little phrase fused together into a word. The individual parts of a composite word relate to each other using the same morphemes as those used to link words in a sentence.

Examples start with very simple words: te suno "time of light" --> sunoté "day, daytime"; se puna "hard plant" --> punsé "tree"; mel nuna "young woman" --> nunmel "girl"; han mia "moving vessel" --> mihan "car" and so forth.

Here we need to stress a couple of very important points that are essential for understanding how composite words work in Cha.

1. A composite word is not "equal" to the meaning of the phrase that was used to build it. Mel nuna means just that, a young woman; it does not mean "girl", while nunmel means "girl" but not "a young woman". Fusing a phrase into a composite word gives it additional idiomatic meaning. You can often guess what that meaning is, and thus deduce the meaning of the word; but, when in doubt, one should turn to a dictionary.

The same goes about word creation: one cannot expect to throw a bunch of words together and hope to create a word that another Cha speaker will understand.

In short, knowing etymology of composite words helps one memorize them and helps to understand a new word one has never heard before. But that does not mean one can skip the dictionary altogether.

2. Composite words in Cha are not just a bunch of roots thrown together. The infixes and endings needed to link those roots together in a phrase are retained in the composite word, making its meaning much more clear.

For example, the Cha word for "learn", sattia, is comprised of two root-words, "know" and tia "come, become". However, you don't simply put these two together and let everyone guess the relationship of the two (come knowing? come for knowledge?). Instead, you create a phrase, tia sati "come to know" and only then turn it into a composite word, sattia.

On the other hand, the word for "buy" is composed of two roots, kasa "pay" and "take". The relationship between those if different: you take things because you have paid for them. Therefore, the phrase that is used to describe this is há kaspi, and the word for "buy" is kasphá.

To have another example illustrating the importance of links between roots in a composite word, let us consider words tyerttia and tyertetia. The first is composed from the phrase tia tyerti, "become lower" and means "diminish". The second, however, has its root in the phrase tia tyerte, "come down", and means "to descend".

There are two easy rules describing how composite words are constructed in Cha:

1. The word order is reversed. While in Cha the main word is usually the first, with adjectives following the nouns, objects and adverbs following the verbs etc, in the composite word the main root is always the last part.

2. Adjectives, verbs and adverbs lose their endings (-a and -i) when they become a part of a composite word (supines do not lose the final '-a'!). Those endings, however, are most of the time easily reconstructed (adjectives modify nouns, while adverbs modify verbs).

Let us give you a couple more examples:

tu sarao "unknown person"
--> saraotú "stranger"

tira saraotú "drive strangers away"
--> saraotutira "guard"

hon saraotutira "guard animal"
--> saraotutirhon "a dog"

han mia "moving vessel"
--> mihan "car"

mia tyeke kó "move through the height of air"
--> kotyekemia "fly"

mihan kotyekemia "flying car"
--> kotyekemihan "airplane"

Negation

The Cha word for "no" is es. When it is used with a verb, adjective or noun, it usually loses the initial 'e' and merges with the following word: ria "want" --> sria "don't want", riao "needed, necessary" --> sriao "unnecessary, extra" etc. The exception to this rule are words beginning with an 's'; with them, the initial 'e' is retained: Tyu essipa kú tunotunke pankoteo! "I have not seen you for a hundred years!".

Double negation is possible for emphasis: Ku sipa paltou? "Have you seen anything?" -- Tyu essipa stou! "I saw nothing at all!"

Along with es, Cha also has a mechanism of forming antonyms, which consists of alternating the last root consonant. To get an antonym, -n alternates with -l and -r alternates with no consonant. For example:

lua "love" <--> lura "hate"

tye "top" <--> tyer "bottom"

kela "wrong / break" <--> kena "right / fix"

on "many, plenty" <--> ol "few, little"

and so forth. Of course, negatives and antonyms have very different semantics: lura "hate" is not quite the same as slua "not love".

Plural and Numbers

When a Cha speaker wants to say "two chairs", "three tables" and so on, she uses an expression similar to English "a pair of chairs": syu soruraolono, sas maolono (lit. "pair of chairs", "trio of tables"). The numeral is grammatically a noun ("pair", "trio", "dozen") and is followed by Genitive.

Note that when used as adjectives the numerals become ordinal numbers: soruraolono syua "the second chair".

Often, especially with number two and with paired body parts, the number indicator is merged with the main word: siaotenosyú (eyes, lit. "pair of eyes"), haosyú (hands, lit. "pair of hands") etc.

"Plurality", or "multiple" is translated into Cha with the use of word on. So if "a person" is tu, then "many persons" is on tuo (lit. "plurality of persons"). If we merge this expression into a single word, tuón, we get "people". Note that the two "o"s have become one "o" with an accent.

Using the same method (adding -ón) one can form plural of most any noun. Note however that the plural form will be used when it is not otherwise clear from context that a purality of objects or persons is being referred to. In particular, the plural with -ón is never used with numbers or words like "some" or "several"; e.g. tu pana "all people" (NOT tuón pana)

Translating Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Single Plural
I tyu tyuón, tyuosyú, tyuotuón,
II ku kuón, kuosyú, kuotuón
III karmen, karmel, kartú, kartó,
kamen, kamel, katú, kató
men, mel, tu, to
karmenón, karmelón, kartuón, kartón,
kamenón, kamelón, katuón, katón,
menón, melón, tuón, tón

As you can see, Cha speakers use words "man", "woman", "person" and "thing" as 3-rd person pronouns. It is more frequent however to see words karmen, karmel ("that man", "that woman") and so forth. The use of kar- and ka- depends on where the referred persons or objects are.

The 1-st and 2-nd person plural pronouns have full forms that losely correspond to phrases like "my people" and "your people"; however, short forms tyuón and kuón are most frequently used. Instead of the plural with -ón, one often can hear tyuosyú, kuosyú and tuosyú (lit. "the pair of us", "the pair of you" or "pair of them").

Putting personal pronouns into Genitive produces possessive pronouns: tyuo (mine, lit. "of me"), meno (his) etc. When one needs to underscore possession, the verb á (have) can be fused in, e.g. tyuao (mine, that is belonging to me).

Demonstrative, Interrogative and Negative Pronouns

Demonstrative, interrogative, negative (and no on) pronouns are usually expressed by putting words like ka (this), kar (that), ho (what? which?), es (no, none), pan (all), pal (some) into different cases, or fusing them with words like te (time), na (place), tu (person), to (thing) etc. For example:

Hotú "who?", hoté "when?", hoe, honae "where?", hope "where from?", hote "where to?", hotepe "since when?", hoi "how?", hopi "why?", hoti "what for?"

Kató "this", katé "now", kae, kanae "here", kape "from here", kate "(to) here", katepe "since now", kai "this way" etc.

Kartó "that", karté then, and so on.

Here are some usage examples:

Hoi ku papa karu? How did you do that?

Hoté ku napa kare? When have you been there?

Hoe ku napa?" Where have you been?

Hope ku tia? Where do you come from?

Hopi ku mia karte? Why do you go there?

Hoti ku mika karte? What for do you keep going there?

Degrees of Adjectives and Adverbs

To compare two qualities, Cha speakers use words tyoi (more), tyori (less) and (looking at, comparing with). Tyoi and tyori are usually fused with the adjectives, forming a comparative form:

Hu ká tyotyea. Hu ká tyotyea sí hú kara. This house is taller. This house it taller than that house.

Nunmel ká tyorlosia sí nunmelu kara. This girl is less beautiful than that girl.

Tyu romia tyoi sí kú. I run faster than you.

To form the superlative degree, use the word panusí (overall; lit. "more compared with all"). E.g. Ku tyolosia panusí! Ku tyolosia sí melu pana pankoro! "You are the most beautiful! You are more beautiful than all women in the world!".

The word sani (similarly) is used to compare two qualities that are perceived to be equal. Again, sani can be fused with the adjective:

Tyu morttalpa konkanuluhonu santyoa sani tyekoru. I killed a bear as big as a mountian.

Advanced Examples

The North Wind and the Sun

Mupinokó i Sunoten syelhika hotú tyoróau té syomisomen nereá murheu tíao karte.

The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak.

Tuosyú sanhia tyaesíau tu hertpata kei syomisomen hepherti hepi murheu tyoróau.

They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other.

Mupinokó koumia sanroi sani kíau, oi té ko koumíao tyoi men ranuhetpena murheu tyoi;

Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him;

i ko tyapetira patléau tyirté. Karté Sunoten mursuna i syomisomen hephera hepi murheu syorté.

and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt. Then the Sun shined out warmly, and immediately the traveler took off his cloak.

I kai Mupinokó syia saphiti Sunoten tyoróau sí tuosyú.

And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.

Gloss

North-Wind[NOM] and[CONJ] Sun[NOM] argue[PROGR][VERB] { who[NOM] strong[COMP][SUPINE][ACC] } time[LOC] { traveler[NOM] { have-around[VERB] cloak[ACC] } come[SUPINE][GEN] there[ALL] }.

Pair-of-them[NOM] agree[VERB] { consider[SUPINE][ACC] person[ACC] { make-undress[VERB] first[ADV] { traveler[NOM] take-off[PROSP][ADV] { wear[PERF][ADV] cloak[ACC] } } strong[COMP][SUPINE][ACC] } }.

North-Wind[NOM] blow[VERB] strong[COMP-EQ][ADJ] same[ADV] can[SUPINE][ACC] but[CONJ] time[LOC] { wind[NOM] blow[SUPINE][GEN] more[ADV] } man[NOM] press-to-cover-body[VERB] cloak[ACC] more[ADV];

and[CONJ] wind[NOM] give-up[VERB] try[SUPINE][ACC] final-time[LOC]. That-time[LOC] Sun[NOM] warmly-shine[VERB] and[CONJ] traveler[NOM] take-off[VERB] { wear[PERF][ADV] cloak[ACC] } short-time[LOC].

And[CONJ] thus[ADV] North-Wind[NOM] need[VERB] confess[PROSP][ADV] { Sun[NOM] strong[COMP][SUPINE][ACC] { see[ADV] pair-of-them[ACC] } }

The Lord's Prayer

Kapi tyatupathita kuón kai: Me tyuotuono ná tyelone, Kis kuo lohítao.

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Tyaokor kuo kenttita, Riaotó ku ríao pátao tyerkore sani pau tyelone.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Ku hatharta tyuón hati reomau sunoté ká.

Give us this day our daily bread.

I ku tyapetirta sorthartsyiaotou tyuón syiao harti sani tyuón tyapetírau sorthartsyitú tyuóno.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

I smitlita tyuón lorpatriti, oi syotemita tyuon nati syote loro: tyaokor kuapo, i rotkia, i lopsá, kuao panté. Amen.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Gloss

Therefore[CAUSE][ADV] pray[PROSP][VERB] you[PL][NOM] thus[ADV]: parent[NOM] we[PL][GEN] is-located[ADV] sky[LOC], Name[NOM] you[GEN] bless[SUPINE][GEN].

Ruled-land[NOM] you[GEN] to-be-true-come[IMP][VERB], Thing-of-wish[NOM] { you[NOM] wish[SUPINE][GEN] } do[IMP][SUPINE][GEN] earth[LOC] same[ADV] { do[SUPINE][ACC] sky[LOC] }

You[NOM] give-to-have[IMP][VERB] { we[PL][NOM] have[PROSP][ADV] grain-food[ACC] } day[LOC] this[ADJ].

And[CONJ] you[NOM] forgive[IMP][VERB] debt[ACC] { we[PL][NOM] need[SUPINE][GEN] give[PROSP][ADV] } same[ADV] { we[PL][NOM] forgive[SUPINE][ACC] debtor[ACC] we[PL][GEN] }

And[CONJ] lead[NEG][IMP][VERB] { we[PL][NOM] sin[PROSP][ADV] } but[CONJ] bring-far[IMP][VERB] { we[PL][NOM] be-located[PROSP][ADV] far[LOC] evil[GEN] } { ruled-land[NOM] you-have[CAUSE][SUPINE][GEN] }, and[CONJ] power[NOM], and[CONJ] glory[NOM], you-have[SUPINE][GEN] all-time[LOC]. Amen.

Little Red Riding Hood

Palté nunmel moa. Melme lua nunmelu tyauarttí, i melmeome lua tyoi. Mottiaoté melmeome athara nunmel ati tyaoheu sela. Tyí katepe nunmel nomia pane tyauhei hé ká. Syorehutuón kisthia kisti melu kai:

-- Kare Tyaohé Sela mia!

Palté melme pá kanneuá-reotyoromau i sathia nunmel sati:

-- Ku sittita siti melmeomeu, Tyaohé Sela, i hatmita melmeome hati reotyoromau i korohanu tyulá minsuopuntyeu, i ku sattita sati melmeome loranuáu.

Tyaohé Sela syattia i noemia siti melmeomeu.

Mel mia punseolanke i soesittia siti Rormilhonu.

-- Hote ku mia, Tyaohé Sela? -- Rormilhon sathia.

-- Tyu mia hute melmeomeo, i tyu hatmia mel hati reotyoromau i korohanu tyulá minsuopuntyeu.

-- Syore melmeome kuo hua?

-- Syore, -- Tyaohé Sela sorthia -- mel hua huolane kara, sore reutyoraohuo, né tyorhuo kea poe huolano.

-- Ka loa, -- Rormilhon hia -- tyu sitria syui siti melmeomeu kuo. Tyu mita nomiske ká, i ku tyarta nomisu kara. Tyuosyu sita hotu tíau soté.

Rormilhon hipa kai i romia nomiske tyosyora panusí sanroi sani kíau miti.

I Tyaohé Sela mia tyarki nomisu tyosyoa. Mel slea miti roi, mira miske onté, tyethá losiseonu i pá losiseotenlanu. Mel ara teu natetiti nate reutyoraohuo té Rormilhon natetipao syai nate tyorhuo melmeomeo i tyanttalpao miaopuoheu: not-not!

-- Hotú ná kare? -- melmeome sathia.

-- Tyu ná kae, Tyaohé Sela -- Rormilhon sorthia, -- tyu sittipa siti kú, i tyu hattipa hati kanneuá-reotyoromau i korohanu tyulá minsuopuntyeu.

Karté melmeome lorranuá i ranurá raolone. Mel tyaesia Tyaohé Sela tiau, i rohia:

-- Ku penta syou, meromer tyuo, i miaopú pettita!

Rormilhon pena syou, i miaopú pettia.

Rormilhon tyetetia tyete melmeomeo i má melu nité. Hon matria roi smapi teke saso sunoteo. Kateosore hon pera miaopú, tyerattia tyé raolono meomeo i tea Tyaohé Sela tiau.

Syoté mel tia i tyanttala: not-not!

-- Hokú ná kare? -- Rormilhon sathia.

Oi hon á hiotonu nila. Tyaohé Sela solttia soté, oi syuté mel tyaesia meome attiau ati hiotonu nila lorranuapi, i sorthia:

-- Tyu ná kae, melmeome, -- Tyaohé Sela sorthia, -- Tyu hattipa ku hati kanneuá-reotyoromau i korohanu tyulá minsuopuntyeu.

Rormilhon ranosoetyana i hia tyotyei:

-- Ku penta syou, meromer muo, i miaopú pettita!

Tyaohé Sela pena syou i miaopú pettia. Nunmel netetia nete tyorhuo, oi Rormilhon sirttia tyere raolonoheo i hia:

-- Ku nata mau tyerte maolono, melmeromer, i nata korohanu tyerte lalolono, i ku rattita pote muo!

Tyaohé Sela rattia pote Rormilhono i sathia:

-- Melmeome, hopi ku á haosyú tyora kai?

-- Tyu á haosyú neretenpelti kú, meromer muo!

-- Melmeome, hopi ku á siaotenosyú tyora kai?

-- Tyu á siaotenosyú siti kú tyorloi, meromer muo!

-- Melmeome, hopi ku á puopunonu tyora kai?

-- Tyu a puopunonu mati ku syorté, meromer muo!

Tyaohé Sela ara teu hiti palu, oi Rormilhon tyetetia tyete melo i netemá melu nité.

Lomisuati seopunupatuón pela poemia katé poe tyorhuo áe seopunulalaolau tyé ranotyeo. Tuón tona tyanu, romia nete tyorhuo i mora Rormilhonu. Sorté tuón tallala ranotyeru Rormilhono; i Tyaohé Sela i melmeomé melo nera ranpe, melosyú skelao.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Palté moa nunmel hikísao hí Syetyaosyou. Mel noemia punseolante. Syorté mel tersia hú pala. Nunmel tyanttala i té stu sorthíao nettia pini.

Tyé maolono né maosyono sas maohano neá reotyorsú. Syetyaosyo matria. Mel maopuepia reotyorsú maohanpe kea.

“Reotyorsú ká syirmura!” mel pihia.

Kapi mel maopuepia reotyorsú maohanpe syua.

“Reotyorsú ká syirmua!” mel hia. Kai mel pia reotyorsú maohanpe sora.

“Ahhh, reotyorsú ká kenloa!” mel hia loteai, i má sú pana.

Sore mao sunteosomau saso konkanuluhono mel tyaupuna ratsyiau rori. Kapi mel noetia tyasyonte i sia sasu soruraolono. Mel tyetetia tyete soruraolono kea rati nosyú.

“Soruraolon ká syirtyoa!” mel pihia.

Kai mel sorurá tyé soruraolono syua.

“Soruraolon ká syirtyoa syui!” mel lorkaluatonhia.

Mel lea lati soruraolonu tyosora i tyotyora panusí.

“Ahhh, soruraolon ká kenloa!” mel kounirhia. Oi, soruraolon laltkela lalónte tyora té mel sorurattia tyete lono!

Syetyaosyo ratsyia roi katé i mel tyetemia raosyonte. Nunmel lonttia tyete raolono kea, oi raolono puna syiri. Sorté mel lonttia tyete raolono syua, oi raolono pula syiri. Katé mel lonttia tyete raolono sasa i raolono kenloa. Syetyaosyo tyaurattia.

Té mel tyaurao sas konkanuluhono tia hute.

"Paltú mapa reotyrsú tyuo!" Menme Hono tyanhia murkaluái.

"Paltú mapa reotyorsú tyuo" Melme Hono hia.

"Paltú mapa reotyorsú tyuo i tu tyirmapa panu!" Nunhon lorpihia.

"Paltú sorurapa soruraolone tyuo!" Menme Hono tyanhia murkaluái.

"Paltú sorurapa soruraolone tyuo!" Melme Hono hia.

"Paltú sorurapa soruraolone tyuo i laltkela tou lalonte tyora!" Nunhono lorpihia.

Tuón tyaupuna siau pantene tyoi i té tuón tyetemiao raosyonte Menme Hono tyanhia murkaluái:

"Paltú lonrapa raolone tyuo!"

"Paltú lonrapa raolone tyuo syuí!" Melme Hono hia.

"Paltú lonrapa raolone tyuo, i mel ná kare syari!" Nunhon pihia.

Katé Syetyaosyo rarttia i sittia sasu konkanuluhono. Mel rohia: "Lirta kelu!" I mel noetalmia tyete i romia nerte syono.

Syatyaosyo romia tyerte, pea miaopuohe i romia punseolante. I mel sorttia nité hute saso konkanuluhono.

Dictionary

Swadesh list



No. English Cha
0ChaTya
1Ityu
2you (singular)ku
3hekarmen, kartú
4wetyuón
5you (plural)kuón
6theykartuón
7thiská, ka
8thatkara, kar
9herekae
10therekare
11whohotú
12whathotó
13wherehoe
14whenhoté
15howhoi
16notes
17allpana
18manyona
19somepala
20fewola
21otherská
22oneke
23twosyo
24threesas
25fourkeisas
26fivetyis
27bigtyoa
28longsyoa
29widerua
30thickruranuá
31heavytyertepela
32smalltyora
33shortsyora
34narrowrura
35thinrurranuá
36womanmel
37man (adult male)man
38human beingtu
39childnuntú, mer (offspring)
40wifehuomel
41husbandhuomen
42mothermelmé
43fathermenmé
44animalhon
45fishsuohes
46birdkohon
47dogsaraotutirhon
48lousetyaosyohas
49snakesyohes
50wormsyohas
51treepunsé
52forestpunseolan
53stickrur
54fruitre, punseoré
55seedsetré
56leafseorú
57rootseotyersyo
58barkpunseoner
59flowerseolosinú
60grassnosé
61ropesyo, rusyó
62skinranoner
63meatranokan
64bloodranosú, ranoselsú
65boneranopun
66fatranominkan
67eggkohonoten
68horntyaorur
69tailsororur
70featherkohonoheolal
71hairtyaosyó
72headtya
73eartonaonú
74eyesiaoten
75nosesonú, koupiaonú
76mouthmaopú
77toothmaopuepun
78tonguemaopuenú
79fingernailnasoruropun
80footnotyer
81legno
82kneenonú
83handha
84wingtyetmiaorú
85bellyranotyer
86gutsranoné
87necktyaotyeorur
88backsor, ranosor
89breastranosó
90heartranopor
91liverranolelné
92drinksumá
93eat
94bitepuetala
95sucksunetpena
96spitsupupelia
97vomitmausortpupepena
98blowkoumia
99breathekounetpena
100laughtyunptyana
101seesia
102heartona
103know
104thinktyaesia, tyaemia
105smellkoupia
106fearsola
107sleeptyaurá
108livemoa
109diemora
110killmorttala
111fighttalka
112hunthonuhatmia
113hittaltnasa
114cutruetala
115splitlalttala, lala (divide)
116stabnetenasa
117scratchneretala
118digkorutyea
119swimsukemia
120flykokemia
121walknoemia
122cometia
123lielona, lonrá
124sitsorurá
125standlola, lolrá
126turnpila
127falltyetemia
128givehara
129holdhaemira, haeá
130squeezenetepela
131rubnila
132washsuetyina
133wipeneretyina
134pullpena
135pushpela, mitpela
136throwkokemitpela
137tiesyoemira
138sewsyoelana
139countonusattia
140sayhia
141singlotyanuhia
142playtyuna, lotyanupá (music)
143floatsuotyená
144flowsusanmia
145freezemuttia
146swellsyonttia
147sunsunoten
148moonsulteoten
149starsuntyor
150watersu
151raintyertemisú
152riversyosú
153lakerusú
154seatyorusú
155saltkuskan
156stonekoropun
157sandsyetyorolan
158dusttyorlalolan
159earthkor
160cloudtyelonomin
161fogmuminkó
162skytyelon
163windmikó
164snowtyertemimin
165icesuomupun
166smokemilkó
167firemursun
168ashmurpaotyil
169burnmiltmura, sunmura
170roadmiaosyo
171mountaintyekor
172redsela
173greensena
174yellowsyea
175whitemina
176blackmila
177nightsuloté
178daysunoté
179yearpankoté
180warmrormura
181coldmua
182fullsyola
183newnuna
184oldnula
185goodloa
186badlora
187rottenlorkounera
188dirtytyila
189straightpina, pinmia
190roundtena
191sharppoetaltká (edge), nuetaltká (tip)
192dullpoetaltská (edge), nuetaltská (tip)
193smoothnima
194wetsuá, sunereá
195drysuara
196correctkena
197nearsyore
198farsyoe
199rightlela, lelte (direction)
200leftlena, lente (direction)
201at(locative)
202inné (+ genitive)
203withlani, ai
204andi
205if(-i- + p-adverbial)
206because(p-adverbial)
207namekis


Root Words



English-Cha Dictionary


A
B
C