Cha

From Linguifex
Revision as of 20:23, 6 December 2012 by Adagio.burner (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search



Cha
Cha
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 Cha uses an alphabet of 16 letters:

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

- Overall, the letters sound the way you would expect them to be (standard Latin pronunciation). Note that "ch" is always pronounced as /tʃ/ and "qu" as /kw/. 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.

For more details, see IPA for Cha.

Cha 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 Cha texts, where accents may be ommitted altogether.) In certain grammatical constructions the accent is also put on one-syllable words. Stress can play a distinctive role: e.g. compare hoté "when?" and hote "where to?".

Phonotactics

Generally, Cha syllable structure can be described as (C)v(C)(C). Out of all consonants, however, Ch, H and Qu cannot be syllable-final, while K, P and T can end a syllable but are never word-final.

Examples

Chu sattia sati Chau. I am learning Cha.
Panuchatú lupa pankoru kai, Tu harpa lupi Meru kea Tuo kartú chaesia Tú sniti oi ati mou panteo. The Lord so loved the world...
Hi ká pantusitlípao. Ka onpehárpao pantusiti ka lopi, kenausanpi i latkipi. This language has been featured. Due to its quality, plausibility and usability, it has been selected as featured.

Basic Grammar

Cha has a very simple and regular grammar.

Syntax

Cha 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 Kasunoté chu mia kasphaohute (Today I am going to the store) instead of Chu mia kasphaohute kasunoté (I am going to the store today).

Cha adjectives are virtually indistinguishable from intransitive verbs.

Cha makes an extensive use of supines and subordinate clauses.

Noun

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

Nominative

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

Nominative is used for the subjects of a sentence or a subordinate clause. Nominative is also used when two nouns are linked with the copula oa: Ku oa men chu sípao sorsunoté! -- You are the man I saw yesterday!

Accusative

A noun in the Accusative case receives the ending -u: , chunotou, punseu, kochekemihanu. 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 verb, and follows the verb. In composite verbs (and the majority of verbs in Cha are composite) the signature of the verb is defined by its last (main) root: whatever object the root-verb takes will also be the object of the composite verb.

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

On the other hand, the verb sattia (to learn, lit: "to come to know") has the root tia (to come, to become) which in this form is intransitive (the transitive form of tia means "to bring"). Therefore, sattia cannot have direct objects either, and in Chu sattia sati Chau (I am learning Cha) an adverbial is required before Chau. (Lit. "I learn to know Cha".)

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 Cha carries a wide range of semantic meanings, from posession 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 Cha is similar to those where you use posessive or the preposition "of" in English.

Cha 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.: Chu meno! (I am a man!), Ka punseo chea (This is a tall tree) etc.

Locative / Instrumental

Locative / Instrumental nouns receive the ending -e.

When used as Locative, it indicates place or time: sue (in water), punseolane (in a forest), kochekemihane (on an airplane), sorsunoté (yesterday), quorté (soon; lit. "in a short time"). Usually locative does not denote possession; e.g. compare Ku athata chu ati taoruolanu ká (Give me this book, i.e. for me to have) vs. Ku tita chute taoruolanu ká (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: ché taoruo (on the desk, lit. "on top of the desk"), chere taoruo (under the desk), nere huo (outside the house), nertenke huo (around the house), né huo (in / inside the house), hue (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 (vi: "be located", vt: "put"): Nunmen ná né huo. One can also say Nunmen nea hue, using the root ne as a verb with meaning "be inside".

When used as Instrumental, 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 ká lochana ruriquo-lochanaolae (This boy plays a violin). In Cha, it is interchangeable with a phrase that includes the word lai (using): Chamen tala saraotutirhonu seorure (The master beats the dog with a stick) can be said as Chamen tala saraotutirhonu lai seoruru (The master beats the dog using a stick).

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

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

Infixes -t-, -p- and -k-

Three infixes, -t-, -p- 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
-p- Moving away, leaving state; motive, cause, condition or antecedent
-k- Moving through, being in a state

In particular, when used with Locative, -t-, -p- and -k- have the meaning of "to", "from" and "through", respectively. E.g. Chu mia hute (I go home) vs. Chu mia hupe (I am leaving home) vs. Chu mia nomiske (I am walking on a path); Karmel nepa taoruru chete taolono (She put the pencil on the desk) vs. Karmel hapa taoruru chepe taolono (She took the pencil from the desk), etc.

-p- and -t- can also be used with Genitive (e.g. huomen chuo "my husband" vs. huomen chupo "my ex-husband") but such usage is much more rare.

When used in verbs, -t-, -p- and -k- form prospective, perfective and progressive aspects. Used in adverbials, -t- and -p- 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 ending -a. 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: mia (vi: goes, vt: moves /something/), tia (vi: comes, vt: brings /something/), 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 qui, 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 quia "necessary work" --> to quiao pati "what has to be done".

There are no verb tenses in Cha, but there are aspects. Unmodified verbs are assumed to be in imperfective aspect. The infixes -t- and -p- 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: Chu sipa tou siaotenoquue chuo! (I have seen it with my own two eyes!) or Ku kasta papi katou! (You will pay for (doing) this!). On the other hand, a narrative like Palsunoté moa koruchamen pala... (Once upon a time there lived a king...) usually does not require an aspect change.

The infix -k- produces the progressive aspect: compare Chu maka sunoteoporomau katé (I am eating lunch now) and Chu má honokanu sunoté pana (I eat meat every day).

The prospective aspect is also used as imperative: Tita kate! "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: Chu típia ku tithipi chú! (I would have come if you called me!) or Chu pátia katou api teu (I will do it if I have time). Compare this with: Chu tipa ku tithipi chú! (I came because you called me) and Chu pata katou api teu (I will do it for I have the time).

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 chila 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 Caluses

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 Chae? (Can you speak Cha?); Chu ria nertenepenti kú (I want to hug you).

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

- when you state intent or purpose: Chu tipa siti menmeu chuo (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. Chu ria ku pati katou quorté (I want you to do this immediately) is formed by taking Ku pata katou quorté (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 Chau (Everyone should learn Cha; lit: Everyone should learn to know Cha)

Hikista chú 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:

Chu pippathia ku atharti chu 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: Chu 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 chu tonti pantou! "Tell me everything!"

The same role can also be played by a noun in an indirect case, e.g. Chu soremia sore kelpatuo. Chu 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) -- huoquon mao (eating room, dining room); chaurá (rest, sleep) -- te chaurao (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:

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

John maka té quentú tuo tíao hute -- John was eating when his friend entered the house (compare with Quentú 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 chu sorttíau. ("From the window, mother saw that I was coming back" or "saw me coming back"); Chu 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 chu 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", siaotenoquú chu sipao lorpaonu ká skia siti chori "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 chu 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 chunpia ("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 chu nunménoo chora chu lua konmau -- When I was a little boy I liked candy (Chu nunmeno chora "I am a little boy", Chu 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 che
Form Translation Part of speech
chea high, tall Adjective
chea lift Transitive Verb
cheti up Adverb
ché on Noun in Locative
chete onto Noun in Locative
chei above, over Adverb
che 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 chaosó, 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 chaosó 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 cherttia and chertetia. The first is composed from the phrase tia cherti, "become lower" and means "diminish". The second, however, has its root in the phrase tia cherte, "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 cheke kó "move through the height of air"
--> kochekemia "fly"

mihan kochekemia "flying car"
--> kochekemihan "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: Chu 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?" -- Chu 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"

che "top" <--> cher "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": quu 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 quua "the second chair".

Often, especially with number two and with paired body parts, the number indicator is merged with the main word: siaotenoquú (eyes, lit. "pair of eyes"), haoquú (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 chu chuón, chuoquú, chuotuón,
II ku kuón, kuoquú, 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 chuón and kuón are most frequently used. Instead of the plural with -ón, one often can hear chuoquú, kuoquú and tuoquú (lit. "the pair of us", "the pair of you" or "pair of them").

Putting personal pronouns into Genitive produces possessive pronouns: chuo (mine, lit. "of me"), meno (his) etc. When one needs to underscore possession, the verb á (have) can be fused in, e.g. chuao (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 choi (more), chori (less) and (looking at, comparing with). Choi and chori are usually fused with the adjectives, forming a comparative form:

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

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

Chu romia choi 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 cholosia panusí! Ku cholosia 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:

Chu morttalpa konkanuluhonu sanchoa sani chekoru. I killed a bear as big as a mountian.

Advanced Examples

The North Wind and the Sun

Mupinokó i Sunoten quelhika hotú choróau té quomisomen 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.

Tuoquú sanhia chaesíau tu hertpata kei quomisomen hepherti hepi murheu choróau.

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 choi men ranuhetpena murheu choi;

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 chapetira patléau chirté. Karté Sunoten mursuna i quomisomen hephera hepi murheu quorté.

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 quia saphiti Sunoten choróau sí tuoquú.

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 chatupathita kuón kai: Me chuotuono ná chelone, Kis kuo lohítao.

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

Chaokor kuo kenttita, Riaotó ku ríao pátao cherkore sani pau chelone.

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

Ku hatharta chuón hati reomau sunoté ká.

Give us this day our daily bread.

I ku chapetirta sorthartquiaotou chuón quiao harti sani chuón chapetírau sorthartquitú chuóno.

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

I smitlita chuón lorpatriti, oi quotemita chuon nati quote loro: chaokor 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 chauarttí, i melmeome lua choi. Mottiaoté melmeome athara nunmel ati chaoheu sela. Chí katepe nunmel nomia pane chauhei hé ká. Quorehutuón kisthia kisti melu kai:

-- Kare Chaohé Sela mia!

Palté melme pá kanneuá-reochoromau i sathia nunmel sati:

-- Ku sittita siti melmeomeu, Chaohé Sela, i hatmita melmeome hati reochoromau i korohanu chulá minsuopuncheu, i ku sattita sati melmeome loranuáu.

Chaohé Sela quattia i noemia siti melmeomeu.

Mel mia punseolanke i soesittia siti Rormilhonu.

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

-- Chu mia hute melmeomeo, i chu hatmia mel hati reochoromau i korohanu chulá minsuopuncheu.

-- Quore melmeome kuo hua?

-- Quore, -- Chaohé Sela sorthia -- mel hua huolane kara, sore reuchoraohuo, né chorhuo kea poe huolano.

-- Ka loa, -- Rormilhon hia -- chu sitria quui siti melmeomeu kuo. Chu mita nomiske ká, i ku charta nomisu kara. Chuoquu sita hotu tíau soté.

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

I Chaohé Sela mia charki nomisu choquoa. Mel slea miti roi, mira miske onté, chethá losiseonu i pá losiseotenlanu. Mel ara teu natetiti nate reuchoraohuo té Rormilhon natetipao quai nate chorhuo melmeomeo i chanttalpao miaopuoheu: not-not!

-- Hotú ná kare? -- melmeome sathia.

-- Chu ná kae, Chaohé Sela -- Rormilhon sorthia, -- chu sittipa siti kú, i chu hattipa hati kanneuá-reochoromau i korohanu chulá minsuopuncheu.

Karté melmeome lorranuá i ranurá raolone. Mel chaesia Chaohé Sela tiau, i rohia:

-- Ku penta quou, meromer chuo, i miaopú pettita!

Rormilhon pena quou, i miaopú pettia.

Rormilhon chetetia chete melmeomeo i má melu nité. Hon matria roi smapi teke saso sunoteo. Kateosore hon pera miaopú, cherattia ché raolono meomeo i tea Chaohé Sela tiau.

Quoté mel tia i chanttala: not-not!

-- Hokú ná kare? -- Rormilhon sathia.

Oi hon á hiotonu nila. Chaohé Sela solttia soté, oi quuté mel chaesia meome attiau ati hiotonu nila lorranuapi, i sorthia:

-- Chu ná kae, melmeome, -- Chaohé Sela sorthia, -- Chu hattipa ku hati kanneuá-reochoromau i korohanu chulá minsuopuncheu.

Rormilhon ranosoechana i hia chochei:

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

Chaohé Sela pena quou i miaopú pettia. Nunmel netetia nete chorhuo, oi Rormilhon sirttia chere raolonoheo i hia:

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

Chaohé Sela rattia pote Rormilhono i sathia:

-- Melmeome, hopi ku á haoquú chora kai?

-- Chu á haoquú neretenpelti kú, meromer muo!

-- Melmeome, hopi ku á siaotenoquú chora kai?

-- Chu á siaotenoquú siti kú chorloi, meromer muo!

-- Melmeome, hopi ku á puopunonu chora kai?

-- Chu a puopunonu mati ku quorté, meromer muo!

Chaohé Sela ara teu hiti palu, oi Rormilhon chetetia chete melo i netemá melu nité.

Lomisuati seopunupatuón pela poemia katé poe chorhuo áe seopunulalaolau ché ranocheo. Tuón tona chanu, romia nete chorhuo i mora Rormilhonu. Sorté tuón tallala ranocheru Rormilhono; i Chaohé Sela i melmeomé melo nera ranpe, meloquú skelao.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Palté moa nunmel hikísao hí Quechaoquou. Mel noemia punseolante. Quorté mel tersia hú pala. Nunmel chanttala i té stu sorthíao nettia pini.

Ché maolono né maoquono sas maohano neá reochorsú. Quechaoquo matria. Mel maopuepia reochorsú maohanpe kea.

“Reochorsú ká quirmura!” mel pihia.

Kapi mel maopuepia reochorsú maohanpe quua.

“Reochorsú ká quirmua!” mel hia. Kai mel pia reochorsú maohanpe sora.

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

Sore mao sunteosomau saso konkanuluhono mel chaupuna ratquiau rori. Kapi mel noetia chaquonte i sia sasu soruraolono. Mel chetetia chete soruraolono kea rati noquú.

“Soruraolon ká quirchoa!” mel pihia.

Kai mel sorurá ché soruraolono quua.

“Soruraolon ká quirchoa quui!” mel lorkaluatonhia.

Mel lea lati soruraolonu chosora i chochora panusí.

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

Quechaoquo ratquia roi katé i mel chetemia raoquonte. Nunmel lonttia chete raolono kea, oi raolono puna quiri. Sorté mel lonttia chete raolono quua, oi raolono pula quiri. Katé mel lonttia chete raolono sasa i raolono kenloa. Quechaoquo chaurattia.

Té mel chaurao sas konkanuluhono tia hute.

"Paltú mapa reochrsú chuo!" Menme Hono chanhia murkaluái.

"Paltú mapa reochorsú chuo" Melme Hono hia.

"Paltú mapa reochorsú chuo i tu chirmapa panu!" Nunhon lorpihia.

"Paltú sorurapa soruraolone chuo!" Menme Hono chanhia murkaluái.

"Paltú sorurapa soruraolone chuo!" Melme Hono hia.

"Paltú sorurapa soruraolone chuo i laltkela tou lalonte chora!" Nunhono lorpihia.

Tuón chaupuna siau pantene choi i té tuón chetemiao raoquonte Menme Hono chanhia murkaluái:

"Paltú lonrapa raolone chuo!"

"Paltú lonrapa raolone chuo quuí!" Melme Hono hia.

"Paltú lonrapa raolone chuo, i mel ná kare quari!" Nunhon pihia.

Katé Quechaoquo rarttia i sittia sasu konkanuluhono. Mel rohia: "Lirta kelu!" I mel noetalmia chete i romia nerte quono.

Quachaoquo romia cherte, pea miaopuohe i romia punseolante. I mel sorttia nité hute saso konkanuluhono.

Dictionary

Swadesh list



No. English Cha
0ChaCha
1Ichu
2you (singular)ku
3hekarmen, kartú
4wechuón
5you (plural)kuón
6theykartuón
7thiská, ka
8thatkara, kar
9herekae
10therekare
11whohotú
12whathotó
13wherehoe
14whenhoté
15howhoi
16notes
17allpana
18manyona
19somepala
20fewola
21otherská
22oneke
23twoquo
24threesas
25fourkeisas
26fivechis
27bigchoa
28longquoa
29widerua
30thickruranuá
31heavychertepela
32smallchora
33shortquora
34narrowrura
35thinrurranuá
36womanmel
37man (adult male)man
38human beingtu
39childnuntú, mer (offspring)
40wifehuomel
41husbandhuomen
42mothermelmé
43fathermenmé
44animalhon
45fishsuohes
46birdkohon
47dogsaraotutirhon
48lousechaoquohas
49snakequohes
50wormquohas
51treepunsé
52forestpunseolan
53stickrur
54fruitre, punseoré
55seedsetré
56leafseorú
57rootseocherquo
58barkpunseoner
59flowerseolosinú
60grassnosé
61ropequo, ruquó
62skinranoner
63meatranokan
64bloodranosú, ranoselsú
65boneranopun
66fatranominkan
67eggkohonoten
68hornchaorur
69tailsororur
70featherkohonoheolal
71hairchaoquó
72headcha
73eartonaonú
74eyesiaoten
75nosesonú, koupiaonú
76mouthmaopú
77toothmaopuepun
78tonguemaopuenú
79fingernailnasoruropun
80footnocher
81legno
82kneenonú
83handha
84wingchetmiaorú
85bellyranocher
86gutsranoné
87neckchaocheorur
88backsor, ranosor
89breastranosó
90heartranopor
91liverranolelné
92drinksumá
93eat
94bitepuetala
95sucksunetpena
96spitsupupelia
97vomitmausortpupepena
98blowkoumia
99breathekounetpena
100laughchunpchana
101seesia
102heartona
103know
104thinkchaesia, chaemia
105smellkoupia
106fearsola
107sleepchaurá
108livemoa
109diemora
110killmorttala
111fighttalka
112hunthonuhatmia
113hittaltnasa
114cutruetala
115splitlalttala, lala (divide)
116stabneknasa
117scratchneretala
118digkoruchea
119swimsukemia
120flykokemia
121walknoemia
122cometia
123lielona, lonrá
124sitsorurá
125standlola, lolrá
126turnpila
127fallchetemia
128givehara
129holdhaemira, haeá
130squeezenetepela
131rubnila
132washsuechina
133wipenerechina
134pullpena
135pushpela, mitpela
136throwkokemitpela
137tiequoemira
138sewquoelana
139countonusattia
140sayhia
141singlochanuhia
142playchuna, lochanupá (music)
143floatsuochená
144flowsusanmia
145freezemuttia
146swellquonttia
147sunsunoten
148moonsulteoten
149starsunchor
150watersu
151rainchertemisú
152riverquosú
153lakerusú
154seachorusú
155saltkuskan
156stonekoropun
157sandquechorolan
158dustchorlalolan
159earthkor
160cloudchelonomin
161fogmuminkó
162skychelon
163windmikó
164snowchertemimin
165icesuomupun
166smokemilkó
167firemursun
168ashmurpaochil
169burnmiltmura, sunmura
170roadmiaoquo
171mountainchekor
172redsela
173greensena
174yellowquea
175whitemina
176blackmila
177nightsuloté
178daysunoté
179yearpankoté
180warmrormura
181coldmua
182fullquola
183newnuna
184oldnula
185goodloa
186badlora
187rottenlorkounera
188dirtychila
189straightpina, pinmia
190roundtena
191sharppoetaltká (edge), nuetaltká (tip)
192dullpoetaltská (edge), nuetaltská (tip)
193smoothnima
194wetsuá, sunereá
195drysuara
196correctkena
197nearquore
198farquoe
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