Kola

Kola (Native: ጅቆለ /d͡ʒɨkʼolə/, Ethiopianist Latin script: Jïqolä, Bantuist Latin script: Jïkolä) is a Bantu language spoken by the Kola people (ወቆለ wäqolä).

Phonology

Orthography

Ge'ez abugida

IPA	ə	u	i	a	e	ɨ/-	o	ʷə	ʷi	ʷa	ʷe	ʷɨ
h	ሀ	ሁ	ሂ	ሃ	ሄ	ህ	ሆ
l	ለ	ሉ	ሊ	ላ	ሌ	ል	ሎ			ሏ
ħ	ሐ	ሑ	ሒ	ሓ	ሔ	ሕ	ሖ			ሗ
m	መ	ሙ	ሚ	ማ	ሜ	ም	ሞ			ሟ
s	ሠ	ሡ	ሢ	ሣ	ሤ	ሥ	ሦ			ሧ
r	ረ	ሩ	ሪ	ራ	ሬ	ር	ሮ			ሯ
s	ሰ	ሱ	ሲ	ሳ	ሴ	ስ	ሶ			ሷ
ʃ	ሸ	ሹ	ሺ	ሻ	ሼ	ሽ	ሾ			ሿ
kʼ	ቀ	ቁ	ቂ	ቃ	ቄ	ቅ	ቆ	ቈ	ቊ	ቋ	ቌ	ቍ
ʁ	ቐ	ቑ	ቒ	ቓ	ቔ	ቕ	ቖ	ቘ	ቚ	ቛ	ቜ	ቝ
b	በ	ቡ	ቢ	ባ	ቤ	ብ	ቦ			ቧ
v	ቨ	ቩ	ቪ	ቫ	ቬ	ቭ	ቮ			ቯ
tʰ	ተ	ቱ	ቲ	ታ	ቴ	ት	ቶ			ቷ
t͡ʃʰ	ቸ	ቹ	ቺ	ቻ	ቼ	ች	ቾ			ቿ
ħ	ኀ	ኁ	ኂ	ኃ	ኄ	ኅ	ኆ	ኈ	ኊ	ኋ	ኌ	ኍ
n	ነ	ኑ	ኒ	ና	ኔ	ን	ኖ			ኗ
ɲ	ኘ	ኙ	ኚ	ኛ	ኜ	ኝ	ኞ			ኟ
ʔ	አ (ኧ)	ኡ	ኢ	ኣ	ኤ	እ	ኦ
kʰ	ከ	ኩ	ኪ	ካ	ኬ	ክ	ኮ	ኰ	ኲ	ኳ	ኴ	ኵ
χ	ኸ	ኹ	ኺ	ኻ	ኼ	ኽ	ኾ	ዀ	ዂ	ዃ	ዄ	ዅ
w	ወ	ዉ	ዊ	ዋ	ዌ	ው	ዎ
ʕ	ዐ	ዑ	ዒ	ዓ	ዔ	ዕ	ዖ
z	ዘ	ዙ	ዚ	ዛ	ዜ	ዝ	ዞ			ዟ
ʒ	ዠ	ዡ	ዢ	ዣ	ዤ	ዥ	ዦ			ዧ
j	የ	ዩ	ዪ	ያ	ዬ	ይ	ዮ
d	ደ	ዱ	ዲ	ዳ	ዴ	ድ	ዶ			ዷ
d͡ʒ	ጀ	ጁ	ጂ	ጃ	ጄ	ጅ	ጆ			ጇ
ɡ	ገ	ጉ	ጊ	ጋ	ጌ	ግ	ጎ	ጐ	ጒ	ጓ	ጔ	ጕ
ŋ	ጘ	ጙ	ጚ	ጛ	ጜ	ጝ	ጞ	ⶓ	ⶔ	ጟ	ⶕ	ⶖ
tʼ	ጠ	ጡ	ጢ	ጣ	ጤ	ጥ	ጦ			ጧ
t͡ʃʼ	ጨ	ጩ	ጪ	ጫ	ጬ	ጭ	ጮ			ጯ
pʼ	ጰ	ጱ	ጲ	ጳ	ጴ	ጵ	ጶ			ጷ
t͡sʼ	ጸ	ጹ	ጺ	ጻ	ጼ	ጽ	ጾ			ጿ
t͡sʼ	ፀ	ፁ	ፂ	ፃ	ፄ	ፅ	ፆ
f	ፈ	ፉ	ፊ	ፋ	ፌ	ፍ	ፎ			ፏ
pʰ	ፐ	ፑ	ፒ	ፓ	ፔ	ፕ	ፖ			ፗ
IPA	ə	u	i	a	e	ɨ/-	o	ʷə	ʷi	ʷa	ʷe	ʷɨ/-

Notes:

¹ The base forms for non-labialized guttural (uvular, pharyngeal, and glottal) consonants are not normally used, since they do not occur with the vowel /ə/ except in ideophones and, in the case of uvulars, loanwords. When the base forms do appear for pharyngeals or glottals, they are pronounced with /a/. In ideophones, /(ʔ)ə/ is written as ኧ; the rest simply use their base forms (despite the ambiguity for /h/, /ħ/, and /ʕ/).

² Gemination is not normally indicated, and the vowel /ɨ/ is not distinguished from a null vowel. If necessary (e.g. in texts meant for learners/foreigners), gemination can be indicated with a dot (or two) above the letter, and /ɨ/ with an apostrophe or underdot.

Latin alphabet

There are two Latin alphabets: a more common one based on the Semitic and Cushitic languages of Ethiopia ("Ethiopianist"), and a less common one based on other Bantu languages ("Bantuist"). The biggest difference is in the treatment of voiceless stops and affricates. In the Ethiopianist alphabet, the aspirated versions are treated as the unmarked forms and the ejective versions are treated as marked (as they are in Semitic and Cushitic languages). In the Bantuist alphabet, however, the ejectives are treated as unmarked and the aspirates as marked (as they are in Bantu languages). Since Kola is Bantu, the Bantuist alphabet more accurately represents the phonemes' status in the language; however, this article uses the more common Ethiopianist alphabet.

In both alphabets, clusters that can be confused with digraphs are separated with an apostrophe - e.g. s'h /sh/ vs sh /ʃ/.

Ethiopianist Bantuist IPA A a A a a Ä ä Ä ä ə B b B b b C c Ch ch t͡ʃʰ Ch ch C c t͡ʃ’ D d D d d E e E e e F f F f f G g G g ɡ Gh gh Q q ʁ H h H h h Hh hh Xh xh ħ I i I i i Ï ï Ï ï ɨ J j J j d͡ʒ K k Kh kh kʰ Kh kh X x χ L l L l l M m M m m N n N n n

Ethiopianist Bantuist IPA Ny ny Ny ny ɲ Ng ng Ng ng ŋ O o O o o P p Ph ph pʰ Ph ph P p p’ Q q K k k’ Qh qh Qh qh ʕ R r R r r S s S s s Sh sh Sh sh ʃ T t Th th tʰ Th th T t t’ U u U u u V v V v v W w W w w X x Ts ts t͡s’ Y y Y y y Z z Z z z (Zh zh) (Zh zh) ʒ ’ ’ ʔ

Consonants

Consonant phonemes

		Labial	Coronal	Palatal/ Postalveolar	Velar/Uvular		Pharyngeal	Glottal
					plain	labialized
Nasal		m	n	ɲ	ŋ	ŋʷ
Stop	ejective	pʼ	tʼ		kʼ	kʷʼ
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ		kʰ	kʷʰ		ʔ
	voiced	b	d		ɡ	ɡʷ
Affricate	ejective		t͡sʼ	t͡ʃʼ
	aspirated			t͡ʃʰ
	voiced			d͡ʒ
Fricative	voiceless	f	s	ʃ	χ	χʷ	ħ	h
	voiced	v	z	(ʒ)1	ʁ	ʁʷ	ʕ
Approximant			l	j		w
Tap/Trill			r

Notes:

¹ The distinction between /d͡ʒ/ and /ʒ/ has been lost in the standard language (where they occur in free variation), but is still present in some dialects.

² "Guttural" refers to everything post-velar - i.e. uvular, pharyngeal, and glottal.

³ All consonants have labialized allophones before the rounded vowels /o/ and /u/. The distinction between plain and labialized gutturals is neutralized in this position.

Vowels

Vowel phonemes¹

	Front	Central2	Back
High	i	ɨ	u
Mid	e	ə	o
Low		a

Notes:

¹ The vowels /ɨ, ə/ are considered "weak", and the rest are considered "strong". In some circumstances, weak vowels may allophonically be pronounced strong or vice versa. In these cases, the underlying form is taken into consideration in any relevant processes (prosody, sandhi, etc). Note that diphthongs and triphthongs are treated as strong if they are within a single morpheme.

² The central vowels /ɨ, ə, a/ are actually pronounced closer to [ɪ̈, ɜ ~ ɐ, ä] respectively. They have front allophones [ɪ, ɛ ~ æ, a] after palatal/postalveolar consonants and rounded allophones [ʊ̈, ɞ ~ ɞ̞, ɒ̈] after labialized consonants (including /w/). The front and rounded allophones of the weak vowels are somewhat interchangeable with the corresponding front/rounded strong vowels; in this article, the underlying forms are used.

³ The weak vowel /ə/ becomes /a/ after guttural consonants, and the two vowels alternate with each other when followed by a guttural consonant (especially if said guttural is followed by a central or null vowel).

Phonotactics

The maximum allowed syllable structure is CRVC word-internally and CRVCC word-finally (C = consonant, R = glide/liquid, V = vowel). Labialized consonants cannot occur before. Consonant clusters with more than two consonants are broken up by inserting the epenthetic vowel /ɨ/. /ɨ/ is also added (in speech only) after a word-final consonant cluster when the following word begins in a vowel.

Not all clusters are allowed word-finally. The following are allowed:

• Any geminate consonant (except uvular, pharyngeal, and glottal consonants, which cannot geminate in any position)
• Sonorant + non-glottal obstruent - e.g. /nt, mpʼ, lf, rg/
• Velar/guttural or labial obstruent + coronal obstruent or /ʃ/ - e.g. /bd, kʼt, ħʃ, ʔs/ (some speakers may separate these with /ɨ/)
• Fricative + stop - e.g. /st, ftʼ, ʃkʼ/

Any other word-final cluster is broken with /ɨ/. Alternatively, a word-final /i/ may be added, especially in loanwords - e.g. ዓቅሊ qhaqli /ʕakʼli/ "reason, common sense" (from Arabic عقل /ʕaql/). Many loanwords ending in two consonants add an -i even when not the cluster does not violate phonotactics - e.g. ከልቢ kälbi (from Arabic كلب /kalb/).

Word-initially, a non-glottal stop can cluster with r, a non-glottal and non-coronal stop can cluster with l, and a non-guttural obstruent or nasal can cluster with y or w. Still, these clusters may be separated with /ɨ/ in careful speech.

Within a word, most two-consonant clusters are allowed (in theory). Some clusters do not occur due to coalescence (e.g. l + r → rr; t + d → dd) Guttural consonants do not normally cluster with each other, except in some loanwords (where they often fuse anyway) - e.g. ማዕሃድ maqh'had /maʕhad/ "institute" (also ማሓድ mahhad /maħad/).

Three-consonant clusters are allowed word-medially if they fulfill one of the following conditions:

• The first two can cluster in word-final position and the last two can cluster in word-initial position - e.g. ጅንግሊዝ Jïn'gliz /d͡ʒɨŋɡliz/ "English (language)"
• Cluster allowed in word-final position preceded or followed by a glide.
• Sonorant + homorganic obstruent + non-homorganic obstruent - e.g. /mpt, ŋks, nt͡ʃk/

All three-consonant clusters may be separated with /ɨ/ in careful speech.

Vowels cannot occur in hiatus. When this would happen, they are separated with epenthetic consonants such as /j/, /w/, or /ʔ/.

Morphophonology

Sandhi

The following changes occur at morpheme boundaries:

• ï + w, y > u, i / _C / w or y is geminated
• ä + w, y > o, e / _C / w or y is geminated (this rule is optional)
• ï > Ø / C_C whenever possible
• ï > Ø / _V, V_
• u > w / K_V (i.e. labializes gutturals)
• u > Ø / C_V (otherwise)
• i > Ø / C_V
• ä/a + a, e, i, o, u > a, e, e, o, o
• front/central vowel > Ø / e_
• back/central vowel > Ø / o_
• When e/i/o/u are not assimilated to a following vowel or preceding central vowel, y/w is added as an epenthetic consonant for front and back vowels respectively.

Allophony and variation

• When the vowel "ä" occurs after non-labialized guttural (uvular, pharyngeal, or glottal) consonants, it becomes "a". This can also occur optionally before gutturals, especially if the guttural is followed by a central or null vowel.
• All consonants are labialized before the vowels o and u. The distinction between plain and labial velars is lost in this circumstance.
• Labiovelar consonants followed by ä or ï can be written and pronounced as their non-labialized counterparts followed by o or u respectively. The inverse is also true. Note that w has no non-labialized counterpart and therefore remains w regardless (but the vowel alternations still apply).
• The vowels ä or ï can be replaced with e or i respectively after palatal consonants and vice versa.
• Velars and gutturals are often palatalized before front vowels, but this is not always true even in native words.
• Word-initial vowels are preceded with a glottal stop.

Consonant mutations

Spirantization

p’, pʰ > f

b, w > v

t’, tʰ, t͡s’ > s

d, l, r > z

t͡ʃ’, t͡ʃʰ > ʃ

(d͡ʒ > ʒ)

k’, kʰ, g > χ, ħ, ʕ

ŋ > ʁ

Fortition

p’, t’, t͡s’, t͡ʃ’, k(ʷ)’ > pʰ, tʰ, s, t͡ʃʰ, k(ʷ)ʰ

w, l, r, j, ŋ(ʷ) > b, d, d, d͡ʒ, g(ʷ)

χ(ʷ), ʁ, ʁʷ > ħ(ʷ), ʕ, w

Ø > ɲ / _V

Palatalization

ŋ, ʔ > j

k’, kʰ > t͡ʃ’, t͡ʃʰ

χ, ħ, h > ʃ

g, > d͡ʒ

ʁ, ʕ > d͡ʒ (dialectal: ʒ)

Labialization

ŋ, k’, kʰ, g, χ, ħ, ʁ > ŋʷ, kʷ’, kʷʰ, gʷ, χʷ, ħʷ, ʁʷ

ʔ, ʕ > w

Historical phonology

Grand master plan

(Proto-Bantu reconstruction taken from Wikipedia.^[1] To avoid confusion, Proto-Bantu *j is written ɟ)

ɟ > Ø / V_a, ɲ_a

ɟ > Ø / i_i, i_ɪ (maybe also ɪ_i, ɪ_ɪ) - for class 5/6 nouns, the *ɟ is also dropped from the plural by analogy

b, d, ɟ, g > _ / sporadic (mostly in common words)

p, b > p͡f, b͡v / _i, _u

t, d > t͡s, d͡z / _i, _u

c, ɟ > c͡ç, ɟ͡ʝ / _i, _u

k, g > k͡x, g͡ɣ / _i, _u

ɪ, ʊ > i, u

i, e, u, o > j, j, w, w (transfers high tone to following vowel) / _V

V́, VV > V: (VV = doubled vowel)

ie, ei > e:

uo, ou > o:

ai, ae, au, ao > e:, e:, o:, o:

b, d, ɟ, g > β̞, l, j, ɰ / not preceded by nasal

p͡f, b͡v > f, v / not preceded by nasal

t͡s, d͡z > s, z / not preceded by nasal

c͡ç, ɟ͡ʝ > ç, ʝ / not preceded by nasal

k͡x, g͡ɣ > x, ɣ / not preceded by nasal

[-voiced +prenasalized +stop/affricate ] > [-prenasalized +aspirated] (i.e. mp, nt, etc > pʰ, tʰ, etc for all voiceless stops and affricates)

[-voiced -aspirated +stop/affricate ] > [+voiced] / in grammatical morphemes

[-voiced -aspirated +stop/affricate] > [+ejective] / otherwise

[+voiced +prenasalized +stop/affricate] > [-prenasalized] / #_, V:_ (i.e. mb, nd, etc > b, d, etc)

[+voiced +prenasalized +stop/affricate] > [-prenasalized +geminate] / V_

NN > N / #_, V:_

velar > palatal / before front vowel

c͡ç’, c͡çʰ, ɟ͡ʝ > t͡ʃ’, t͡ʃʰ, d͡ʒ

c’, cʰ, ɟ > t͡ʃ’, t͡ʃʰ, d͡ʒ

ç, ʝ > ʃ, ʒ

k͡xʰ, g͡ɣ > qʰ, ɢ

p͡fʰ, b͡v > f, v

ɰ > ŋ / all environments / in grammatical prefixes and some roots

qʰ, ɢ > χ, ʁ

Kw > Kʷ (where K = kʼ, kʰ, ɡ, ŋ, χ, ʁ, x, ɣ)

Kʷ > K / _VKʷ, _VP (where P = labial consonant)

χ(ʷ), ʁ > ħ(ʷ), ʕ

ʁʷ > w

x(ʷ), ɣ(ʷ) > χ(ʷ), ʁ(ʷ)

ʒ > d͡ʒ (not in all dialects)

β̞ > w

ɰ > w / before rounded vowel

ɰ > j / otherwise

a > ə

e, o > ə / _

a:, e:, o: > a, e, o

i, u > ɨ (u sometimes labializes velar consonants, especially in grammatical prefixes)

i:, u: > i, u

wɨ, jɨ > u, i / C_C

wə, jə > o, e / C_C

ɨ > Ø / _#, VC_C (starting from beginning of word) / disallowed by phonotactics

j > Ø / C_V (not always)

w > Ø / C_V (not always)

(due to the above two changes, many stems beginning in semivowels drop them and become vowel-initial)

l > r / sporadic

χ, ħ > h / sporadic

ə > a / after non-labialized guttural consonant

Dialectal features

Some dialectal features not present in the standard language:

• Distinction between /ʒ/ and /d͡ʒ/.
• Distinction between dental and alveolar stops, and between sibilant and non-sibilant alveolar fricatives. The alveolar stops/affricates (/t͇’ ~ t͡ɬ’, t͇ʰ ~ t͡ɬʰ, d͇ ~ d͡ɮ/) and non-sibilant alveolar fricatives (/θ͇ ~ ɬ, ð͇ ~ ɮ/) correspond to Proto-Bantu palatals before non-front vowels, which in the standard language merged with other palatals.
• Labialization of non-velar consonants.
• Reduction of guttural consonants in various ways. Some examples:
  • /ħ/ > /χ/ (actually a merger of earlier /χ/ & /x/)
  • /ħ/, /χ/ > /h/
  • /ħ/, /χ/ > /f/ (due to alternative pathway of spirantization)
  • /ʕ/, /ʁ/ > Ø
  • /ʕ/ > /ʁ/ (actually a merger of earlier /ɣ/ & /ʁ/)
  • /ʕ/, /ʁ/ > /ɰ/
  • /ʕ/, /ʁ/ > /ʔ/
  • /ʕ/, /ʁ/ > /ɦ/
  • /ʕ/, /ʁ/ > /v/ (due to alternative pathway of spirantization)
  • /ħ/, /χ/, /ʕ/, /ʁ/ > Ø

Morphology

Nouns

Noun classes

Kola preserves many of the Proto-Bantu noun classes.

Noun classes

Class	Noun prefix	Concord prefixes1					Typical meaning(s)2
		pronominal	extended pronominal	subject	object	adjective
1	mï-; -	yï-	ye-	ya-	mï-	mï-	Humans*, kinship terms, personification*, animate*
2	wä-	wä-	wo-	wa-		wä-	Plural of class 1
3	mï-	wï-	wo-	wu-		mï-	Plants (and derivatives)*, natural phenomena, non-paired body parts, various
4	mï-	jï-	jo-	ji-		mï-	Plural of class 3
5	zï-; -	lï-	lo-	li-		zï-	Augmentatives*, amelioratives*, paired body parts, natural phenomena, expanses, individual things found in groups, various*
6	mä-	yä-	yo-	ya-		mä-	Plural of class 5, mass nouns, collectives, collective actions
7	jï-	shï-	sho-	shi-		jï-	Tools/artefacts, diminutives*, languages*, resemblance, amelioratives*, derogatives*, disabilities/diseases, various*
8	vï-	vï-	vo-	vi-		vï-	Plural of class 7
9	ⁿ-; -3	yï-	yo-	yi-		ⁿ-	Animals, inanimate, loanwords*, various*
10	ⁿ-; -	ĵï-	ĵo-	ĵi-		ⁿ-	Plural of classes 9 & 11
11	lï-	lï-	lo-	lu-		lï-	Abstract, manner/way/culture*, localized mass nouns, long or broad objects
12	gä-	gä-	go-	ga-		gä-	Diminutives*, derogatives*, amelioratives*
13	dï-	dï-	do-	du-		dï-	Plural of class 12
14	wï-	wï-	wo-	wu-		wï-	Abstract*, countries/lands*, location terms*
15	g(w/ï)-4	g(w/ï)-	go-	gu-		g(w/ï)-	Infinitives
16	bä-	bä-	bo-	ba-		bä-	Specific/definite/internal location*, "at/on/in"*, "against"*, "to the detriment of"*
17	g(w/ï)-	g(w/ï)-	go-	gu-		g(w/ï)-	Nonspecific/approximate location*, direction*, "for/to"*, "to the benefit of"*

Notes:

¹ Subject and object concords are used for the subject and object of a verb respectively, and adjective concords are used with adjectives. Most other words use pronominal concords. The extended pronominal concords are used to form pronouns (see pronouns).

These concord prefixes are considered formal and old-fashioned, and are normally replaced with animacy-based concords. Words agreeing with animate nouns use classes 1/2, while those agreeing with inanimate nouns use classes 5/6, 9/10 (used by this article), or some combination (e.g. 9/6). When a modifier is used with a noun, the concord prefix can optionally be omitted. With verbs, class 16 and 17 prefixes are used even in informal language; others are replaced with animacy concords.

The locative classes (classes 16 and 17) most often behave as prepositions. Their concord prefixes are used with verbs; otherwise, the prefix appears at the beginning of the noun phrase. However, there are some nouns inherently in these classes; these behave as nouns in any other class - e.g. በት bätt "place", ግት gïtt "area".

² Productive meanings are marked with an asterisk.

³ ⁿ- = initial fortition

⁴ (w/ï) = -w- added before vowels

⁵ Inanimate nouns (especially those whose plural form is identical to their singular) can form an alternative plural by adding the class 6 prefix mä- to either their singular or plural. Similarly, animate nouns (especially those not already in class 1) can add the class 2 prefix wä-.

e.g. class 3 ምጢ mïthi "tree" (stem: -thi) → class 4 ምጢ mïthi or class 6 መምጢ mämthi "trees"

class 5 ዚጨ zichä "eye" (stem: -ichä) → class 6 ሜጨ mechä or መሜጨ mämechä / መዚጨ mäzichä "eyes"

class 5 ዝት zïtt "giant; great person" (stem: -tt) → class 6 መት mätt or class 2 ወመት wämätt / ወዝት wäzïtt "giants; great people"

Younger speakers tend to add the prefixes to the noun's singular form, while older speakers add them to the plural forms or don't add them at all. In this article, the traditional plurals are used.

⁶ Diminutive and augmentative prefixes may be added before the prefix of the base noun or directly to the stem. Locative prefixes are always added to the beginning of the noun phrase before any other prefixes and/or modifiers.

e.g. gä- + zichä → ጌጨ gechä or ገዚጨ gäzichä "little eye"

bä- + zichä → በዚጨ bäzichä (NOT *ቤጨ bechä) "in (an) eye"

bä- + lä- "the" + inanimate concord + -ngolä "red" + zichä → በለጎለ ዚጨ bälägolä zichä "in the red eye"

Articles

The definite article is ለ lä (invariant), which attaches to the beginning of the noun phrase, immediately after any locative prefixes or other prepositions - e.g. ለዚጨ läzichä "the eye"; በለዚጨ bäläzichä "in the eye".

Kola does not have an indefinite article.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

In this table, only animate (class 1/2) and inanimate (class 9/10) third person pronouns are shown. Other classes form pronouns analogically from their respective extended pronominal prefixes (see noun classes).

When taking a prefix or suffix, the clitic pronoun forms are used. For example, possessive pronouns/adjectives are formed by prefixing the relativizing particle to the clitic pronouns. The absolute pronouns can be used more or less synonymously with the corresponding referential demonstratives (formed by reduplicating the clitic pronouns; see demonstratives).

Kola personal pronouns

Person	Independent		Concord prefixes
	absolute	clitic	extended pronominal	pronominal	subject	object
1S	እሚ ïmmi	ሚ mi	ኜ- nye-	ኝ- nyï-
2S	እዌ ïwwe	ዌ we	ዌ- we-	ው- wï-		ግ/ጕ- g(ï/w)-
3SA	እዬ ïyye	ዬ ye	ዬ- ye-	ይ- yï-	ያ- ya-	ም- mï-
3SI	እዮ ïyyo	ዮ yo	ዮ- yo-	ይ- yï-	ዪ- yi-
1P	እሲ ïssi	ሲ si	ሶ- so-	ሲ- si
2P	እኒ ïnni	ኒ ni	ኖ- no-	ኒ- ni-
3PA	እዎ ïwwo	ዎ wo	ዎ- wo-	ወ- wä-	ዋ- wa-
3PI	እጆ ïĵĵo	ጆ ĵo	ጆ- ĵo-	ጅ- ĵï-	ጂ- ĵi-

Demonstratives

There are three demonstratives in Kola: proximal, referential, and distal. Demonstratives can function as pronouns or adjectives.

1. Proximal: -ኖ -no (pronominal concord)
   • Used for things near the speaker ("this/these").
   • Can be used in contrast with the referential for something that were mentioned earlier ("the former").
2. Referential: formed by reduplicating clitic pronoun
   • Used for things far from the speaker but near the listener ("that").
   • Also used for something that was mentioned earlier without reference to its distance.
   • Can be used in place of personal pronouns.
   • When a prefix is added, the unreduplicated clitic pronouns are normally used.
   • Used in contrast with the proximal for something that was mentioned later ("the latter").
3. Distal: -ላ -la (pronominal concord)
   • Used for things that are far from both the speaker and listener ("that over there").

The proximal and distal demonstratives can either take regular or extended pronominal concord prefixes.

Adjectives

Adjectives agree with the noun they modify, taking the appropriate adjective concord prefixes (see noun classes). However, except in very formal language, the full set of prefixes is not used and is replaced with animacy concords. Adjectives modifying animate nouns use class 1/2 prefixes (for the singular/plural repectively), and those modifying inanimate nouns use class 9/10 or 5/6 or 9/6 prefixes. In very informal language, the concord prefixes can be dropped entirely.

Adjectives precede the noun they modify. They can be used independently without a noun, in which case the concord prefix is obligatory and cannot be dropped.

Numbers

In the below table, like the rest of this article, animacy concord is used (with 9/10 for inanimate). Class 7/8 forms are also given in order to demonstrate the effects of sandhi, particularly in the forms for "two".

Ordinal numbers are formed with the relativizing particle a- and therefore are actually possessives. For example, amu "first" literally means "of one".

Kola numbers

	Cardinal					Ordinal
	Counting	Adjective				no prefix	singular	plural animate
		stem	animate (1/2)	inanimate (9/10)	7/8
1	መሲ mäsi	ሙ mu	ምሙ mïmu	ሙ mu	ሽሙ shïmu	አሙ amu	የሙ yämu	ዋሙ wamu
2	ውሊ wïli	ውሊ wïli	ዎሊ/ወውሊ woli/wäwli	ብሊ bïli	ቩሊ vuli	አውሊ awli	ዮሊ/የውሊ yoli/yäwli	ዋውሊ wawli
3	ጣጥ thath	ጣጥ thath	ወጣጥ wäthath	ታጥ tath	ቭጣጥ vïthath	አጣጥ athath	የጣጥ yäthath	ዋጣጥ wathath
4	ኔ ne	ኔ ne	ወኔ wäne	ኔ ne	ቭኔ vïne	አኔ ane	የኔ yäne	ዋኔ wane
5	ጫን chan	ጫን chan	ወጫን wächan	ቻን can	ቭጫን vïchan	አጫን achan	የጫን yächan	ዋጫን wachan
6	ቃጘ qangä	ቃጘ qangä	ወቃጘ wäqangä	ካጘ kangä	ቭቃጘ vïqangä	አቃጘ aqangä	የቃጘ yäqangä	ዋቃጘ waqangä
7	ጦሎ tholo	ጦሎ tholo	ወጦሎ wätholo	ቶሎ tolo	ቭጦሎ vïtholo	አጦሎ atholo	የጦሎ yätholo	ዋጦሎ watholo
8	ናኔ nane	ናኔ nane	ወናኔ wänane	ናኔ nane	ቭናኔ vïnane	አናኔ anane	የናኔ yänane	ዋናኔ wanane
9	ሰጛን sängan	ሰጛን sängan	ወሰጛን wäsängan	ሰጛን sängan	ቭሰጛን vïsängan	አሰጛን asängan	የሰጛን yäsängan	ዋሰጛን wasängan
10	ቁም qum	ቁም qum	ወቁም wäqum	ኩም kum	ቭቁም vïqum	አቁም aqum	የቁም yäqum	ዋቁም waqum

Verbs

Non-finite forms

Infinitive is a class 15 noun. It is formed by adding the class 15 prefix to the verb stem - e.g. ጔደ gweddä "to walk" (stem: -eddä).

Agent nouns are class 1/2. They are formed by adding the class 1/2 prefix to the nominalized verb stem. In regular verbs (i.e. those that end in -ä), the nominalized stem is formed by removing the final vowel and spirantizing the final consonant if applicable. Verbs ending in other vowels simply use the verbal stem - e.g. ሜዝ mezz "person who walks; companion" (pl: ዌዝ wezz).

Negative and interrogative

Negation is accomplished with the circumfix kä-m in main clauses and the prefix kä- in subordinate clauses.

Yes/No questions are formed with the suffix -m on the verb.

TAM

The perfect is formed by converting the final -ä of the present to -e. If the present ends in a different vowel, -le is added. Suffix-derived verbs may form it irregularly (see voice).

Voice

Native verbs normally end in -ä, which is dropped upon the addition of suffixes. Verbs ending in other vowels add suffixes after their final vowel (with appropriate sandhi effects).

Passive is formed with the suffix -wa in the present and -ule in the perfect - e.g. *ጔዷ gweddwa "to be walked", *ጔዱሌ gweddule "to have been walked" (doesn't make sense, but you get the idea).

Causative is formed with the suffix -ishä in the present and -ishe in the perfect (the -i- is dropped. This suffix spirantizes and palatalizes preceding consonants wherever applicable; however, loanwords may not be affected - e.g. ጔዚሸ gwezzishä "to cause to walk", ጔዚሼ gwezzishe "to have caused to walk".

Applicative is formed with the suffix -(ï)lä in the present and -(ï)le in the perfect. This suffix causes velar/guttural consonants to be palatalized; again, loanwords may not be affected - e.g. ጔድለ gweddïlä "to walk to", ጔድሌ gweddïle "to have walked to".

Suffixes can be stacked in the order applicative-causative-passive. Only the final suffix changes in the perfect.

e.g. ጔድዚሿgweddïzishwa "to be made to walk to", ጔድዚሹሌ gweddïzishule "to have been made to walk to"

Syntax

Constituent order

SOV

Noun phrase

Modifiers precede noun

Verb phrase

Verb-final

Adpositional phrase

Prepositions, postpositions, circumpositions.

Dependent clauses

Follow the same word order as main clauses (SOV, etc). Subordinating particles directly precede the verb, unless they are used for other functions (such as possession).

Relative clauses

Relativizing particle: a- (attaches to verb)

The relativizing particle may take pronominal concord prefixes to agree with noun being modified, but this is optional. It combines as -ä-.

The relativizing particle is also used with nouns/pronouns for possession, in which case it attaches to the possessor.

Like most modifiers, relative clauses and possessors precede the noun they modify.