Kah: Difference between revisions

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==Phonology==

===Orthography===

:Lower case: '''a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v w y z'''

===Consonants===

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! style="" |Plosive

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! style="" |Fricative

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! style="" |Affricate

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! style="" |Nasal

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! style="" |Approximant

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! style="" |Flap or tap

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! style="" |Lateral app.

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!Close

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!Open-mid

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!Open

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* ''a'' /a/, an open front unrounded vowel (as Spanish ''mal''),

* ''e'' /ɛ/, an open-mid front unrounded vowel (as Spanish ''el''),

* ''o'' /ɔ/, an open-mid back rounded vowel (as Spanish ''no''),

* ''u'' /u/, a close back rounded vowel (as Spanish ''su'').

! style="" |'''V'''

| one vowel in rime

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! style="" |'''VN'''

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! style="" |'''VL'''

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! style="" |'''VS'''

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! style="" |'''CV'''

| consonant in onset, vowel in rime

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! style="" |'''CVN'''

| bon

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! style="" |'''CVL'''

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! style="" |'''CVS'''

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! style="" |'''CGV'''

| consonant plus glide in onset, vowel in rime

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! style="" |'''CGVN'''

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! style="" |'''CGVL'''

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! style="" |'''CGVS'''

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:'''sp st sk'''

==Compounds==

The bulk of Kah lexicon consists of compound words, made up from two of more roots. This means it is a vital process to understand truly how the language works. Compounding basically means that two or more words are combined in order to create a new lexeme with a new, unique meaning.  

Kah was designed an oligosynthetic language, meaning a language with a very limited number of roots, which put together form the lexicon from wich statements are made. Kah has a couple of hundred basic roots from which all of the lexicon was derived. This does not mean however the lexicon is self-explanatory and does not have to be memorized. Every word is a independent lexeme with a semantic value which is not limited to the sum of the roots it is built from and depending on its context.

:body + stick

===Phonotactics of compounding===

Situations may occur that contradict the phonotactical rules of Kah as explained in the chapter on phonology. In these situations the following adjustments are made for the words to fit Kah phonology:

:chen + pe  = '''chempe'''

:rum + so = '''runso'''

:lam + vun  = '''lamavun'''

:bas + no  = '''basano'''

:yus + do = '''yusudo'''

:mas + yun = '''mashun'''

:bos + ya = '''bosha'''  

:tus + ka  = '''tuska'''

:tus + pu = '''tuspu'''

   

:mel + mbe = '''melembe'''

   

:mul + ka  = '''mulka'''

==Parts of speech==

Kah has four parts of speech:

===Nouns===

Nouns are a lexical category made up by words that can be modified by stative verbs, the possessive marker or deictic pronouns in an attributive manner and can serve as an argument to verbs. In the semantic aspect of the word this means nouns express items, persons, places, events, actions and such:

===Conjunctions===

Conjunctors connect clauses and phrases and describe the nature of this relationship. This part of speech is made up by words like:

===Interjections===

Interjections are words that can show up anywhere and often coincide with emotions:

===To verb===

The bulk of cross-class derivation results in a verb. Most of those derivations constitute of a derivation from a verb to a verb even. The following verbs act like prefixes to derive verbs:

====Verb extensions====

Verb extensions in Kah consist of prefixed verbs altering the meaning of the verb they are attached to. This means that a single verb stem can be used to built new verbs from in a standardized manner. This method has proved to be a rich source of verbal derivation in many natural and constructed languages. For constructed languages the main benefit lies in the instant recognizability and logic it adds to the lexicon as well as the fact it keeps the minimum number of roots needed for a mature lexicon beneath acceptable perimeters.

====Reversive====

The reversive extensions expressed the undoing of an action and is formed by prefixing the verb mon "to undo" to the original verb.  Compare:

====Permissive====

Permissive verbs are formed with the root  ten- expressing "to be able" and express something rather hard to describe. It denotes that an action or quality is possible, advisory or morally right.

====Causative====

A causative verbs express an action is caused to happen. The verb '''mun''' ''to cause'' is prefixed to the basic verb stem:

====Intensive verbs====

Besides derivation by means of combining roots or attaching affixes, there is a more internal way of extending the meaning of words. This method involves a partial reduplication of  the initial syllable of a word. This partial reduplication involves the initial consonant, stripped of an eventual glide following it, and only the initial vowel:

   

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====Iterative====

Iterative verbs express the repetition of an action:

====Habituative====

Habituative verbs denote actions that are carried out regularly or habitually:

====Continuative====

Continuative verbs express an action is of a perpetual nature:

===To noun===

When a noun is created from another word, one of the the following prefixes is used:

====Intensive nouns====

Some intensive forms are nouns. Many of those express an occupation ("someone habitually carrying out an action"):

====Inalienables====

Another class of intensive nouns describing inalienables like family members and body parts ("things that are usually yours") is characterized by reduplication.

==Syntax==

{{Main|Kah/Syntax}}

==Nouns==

There is no inflectional morphology involved with nouns anywhere. Nouns have one form only and don't inflect for case, gender or number. There are no definite of indefinite articles.

====Case====

Grammatical case is expressed by word order, logic and a topic marker when necessary. In unmarked word order, the subject precedes the verb:

====Collective====

Collective nouns express and usually are characterized by the ending in the root  nyo meaning "collection, many of". Please keep in mind this is a closed class and not a suffix which can actively be applied to nouns in order to pluralize them. Examples of words containing this root are:

===Pronouns===

Kah has several sets of pronouns that can function as an subject or object of oblique utterance in a nominal way. Besides the set of personal pronouns, there is an impersonal pronoun, reciprocity is expressed by a pronoun, there is a set of reflexive pronouns, as well as deictic and interrogative pronouns.

====Reflexive pronouns====

In order to form reflexive pronouns, the focus marker '''lo''' is suffixed to the basic personal pronouns:

====Demonstratives====

Deictic marking in Kah has two gradations, one expressing objects close to the speaker, and one for objects further away:

==Quantifiers==

In Kah quantifiers determiners indicating quantity such as three, all and many. They are stative verbs and behave as such, which means that in their most common attributive form they resemble common adjectives:

===Numerals===

Kah numerals are a subclass of stative verbs. They are designed to be easily distinguishable from one another:

====Tens====

Tens are created by simply combining the words for a numeral with the word nini for "ten".

   

====Hundred and up====

The powers of ten up til one billion are listed below:  

====Ordinal numbers====

Ordinal numbers are expressed by adding the possessive marker na before the number in question:

====Unbound forms====

Numerals can be marked with the nominal prefixes u- and a- in order to derive unbound forms of numerals:

====Decimal fractions====

Decimal fractions are characterized by a bastan "comma" like in most non-anglophone languages:

====Vulgar fractions====

Vulgar fractions are built by adding the root -mbe "part, share" to a numeral:

===Common quantifiers===

Common quantifiers behave like just numerals in respect to their place in noun phrases:

==Interrogatives==

Interrogatives have in common they all start with '''ha'''-.  The complete list of interrogatives is:

==Vocabulary==

===Swadesh list===

{{Swadesh

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