Shortenings:

Pkhk - Proto-Kahi-Ka

Phonology

Ka has fifteen phonemic consonants, a five vowel system and three diphthongs.

Consonants

/p/ is only ever realized as [p] word-initially. In all other environments it is realized as [v].

/m/ may be syllabic word-initially, but it can never come after another consonant.

/c/ varies in realization geographically. In the north, it is usually always [c]. However, in the southern dialects, it may be [t͡s] or [c͡ɕ].

/j/ is optionally romanized as ⟨y⟩, but only when I feel like it.

Vowels

Vowels are realized as [ɪ ɛ ʊ ɔ ɐ] in unstressed environments. The allophone [ɐ] may be better described with [ə] depending on speaker.

The diphthong [ɐɪ̯] could be analysed as /aj/, but that would probably make the syllable structure more confusing. I’ve mostly written it as /ɐɪ̯/ throughout this document, mostly because it is distinguished from [a.i] and therefore cannot be romanized as ⟨ai⟩. Therefore I’ve settled on either ⟨aj/ay⟩ for /ɐɪ̯/, and ⟨ai⟩ for ⟨ai⟩ for [a.i].

Echo vowels

The function of echo vowels is to solve consonant clusters that the phonology deems illegal. Proto-Ka earlier went through a period of syncope, leading to many new consonant clusters being formed. As many clusters were unstable, it led to the insertion of echo vowels.

Because the diphthong /ɐɪ̯/ has several origins in the old language, it also has several corresponding echo vowels. It is a merger of the long vowels /ɑː eː iː/, which could get /ɐ ɛ ɪ/ as echoes respectively. Through analogy [ɪ] is now most commonly inserted, even in environments where there historically was a different vowel.

/we/ and /wa/ are analyzed as glide-vowel sequences despite often being derived from the proto-Ka long vowels /oː/ and /uː/ respectively. This is why they often have their own echo vowels. There are many instances were /we/ and /wa/ do not descend from /oː/ and /uː/. In those cases, /we/ will have [ɛ] as its echo vowel, while /wa/ will have [ɐ].

Consonant clusters

When affixes are added, consonants clusters can be created. many clusters are not permitted, especially word-initially and word-finally. However, most clusters are permitted word-internally. Long consonants are written as doubled consonants here.

Possible syllable structures:

(C(w/j))V

VCCV

V(w)C

Word-initial clusters:

Cw, mj, pj, wj, hj (coronals and velars merge become palatals if placed before /j/)

Word-internal clusters:

wC, Cw, jC, mj, pj, wj, hj

sC, ɕC, xC > hC

Cs, Cɕ, Cx > Ch

Nasal-nasal, plosive-plosive, and fricative-fricative clusters assimilate: mn > n:, kt > t:, sɕ > ɕ: (etc.)

nasal-plosive clusters assimilate: mk > ŋk, ŋc > ɲc, (etc.)

plosive-nasal clusters are illegal henceforth.

Word-final clusters:

wC

Will I only ever be freed when consonant clusters seize to exist

Sound changes

These are the sound changes that happened from proto-Ka to contemporary Ka:

1. long vowels shift stress, e.g. /u:'ko/ > /'u:ko/
2. tj, tʰj, ⁿtj, nj, kj, kʰj, ᵑkj, ŋj > c cʰ ᶮc ɲ
3. k, kʰ, ᵑk, ŋ > c cʰ ᶮc ɲ (before /i/)
4. ᵐp, ⁿt, ᵑk, ᶮc > m, n, ŋ, ɲ
5. p > v (after vowel)
6. a, e, o, ɛ, ɔ > Ø (unstressed)
7. e, o ɛ, ɔ > i, u, e, o
8. Clusters merge, like described in the section above.
9. a, ɑ > a
10. ɑː aː, iː, eː, uː, oː, > ɐj, ɐj, ɐj, ɐj, wɐ, wɛ

Diphthongs are simplified in some affixes, e.g. -ak (perfective suffix) and ajk (‘to finish’, original verb).

Morphology

Nouns

Ka nouns have seven cases, a Bantu-like gender system and three numbers; singular, plural and paucal.

Cases

Case marking on nouns:

• Absolutive/Ergative: Unmarked

• Dative: -ay
• Locative: -s
• Ablative: -m
• Instrumental: -twa
• Genitive: -g

Gender

The genders are derived from various nouns getting affixed onto the noun. The first wave of affixation happened in proto-Kahi-Ka, the second one in proto-Ka. Gender is also the means by which number is marked on nouns. Because of syncope, some prefixes are emitted in some nouns, yet most were retained despite phonological changes.

1. (x-, -xwa) Pairs of things, bundles, packed things, households. Derived from pkhk qʰuw ‘testicles’.
2. (m-, -v) Family, food portions, medicine (causes, effects), words (language, thought). Derived from pkhk bunba ‘mouth’
3. (i-/Ø-, -s) People, persons, humans. Can be used to derive agent nouns (gisi ‘to sleep’ -> igsi ‘one who sleeps’). Derives from pkhk jise ‘face’. The prefix will irregularly cause plosives to become fricatives.
4. (š-, -š) Handheld items, equipments, money, game pieces, soldiers.
5. (h-, -h) Safety, shelter, house, non-natural locations, vehicles. Derived from pkhk pʰi ‘tree’.
6. (u-/w-/Ø-, -wm/-um) Nature, wind, seasons, animals, deities. Derives from pkhk um ‘spirit, force, soul’. There was an old belief that all parts of nature were controlled by spirits. Humans were seen as separate entities, and therefore distinguished from the rest of nature. The prefix will irregularly cause plosives to become nasals.
7. (t-, -tVm) Flat terrain, flat surfaces, clothes, leaves, paper. Derived from pkhk atam ‘plain’. The prefix will irregularly cause plosives to become nasals.
8. (g-, -g) Diminutives, tiny amounts, cute things, nicknames. Derived from late pkhk ⁿqo ‘droplet’.
9. (x, -xVm) Augmentatives, big/important things, central things. Derived from pkhk qʰam ‘heart’. The prefix will irregularly cause plosives to become nasals.
10. (we-, -w) Allies, family, someone friendly, belonging to your group. Derived from pkhk lowa ‘good’.
11. (d-, -š) Miscallenous, things scattered about, disorganized stuff, the belongings on ones person. The prefix will irregularly cause plosives to become fricatives.
12. (hok-, -kwa) Related to the passage of time. Days, nights, whiles, ages, years. Derived from proto-Ka hòkwa ‘moment’.

Ka has a marginal system of consonant mutation. For instance, proto-Kahi-Ka jis-pa ‘person’ became i-pha in proto-Ka, when the sibilant /s/ caused the following plosive to become aspirated. Later on, the prefix i- was sometimes lost when unstressed vowels went through syncope. In Ka we see an alternation between the original root pa, while the gendered noun is ha.

Number

There used to be two particles in proto-Kahi-Ka; u and jij, for marking plural and paucal respectively. These were fused together with some gender prefixes. For instance, the plural of gwaaj “frog” is mukwaaj. Some genders do not have plural or paucal forms, as they are seen as uncountable.

Irregular nouns:

Descriptive nouns

Ka doesn’t distinguish adjectives from nouns, and instead has descriptive nouns such as ga ‘something/someone threatening; threat’. When placed after other nouns to modify them, they take the same gender and case affixes as the head noun.

hewemay hegaay

h- wem-ay h-ga-ay

5.ɢ-boat-ᴅᴀᴛ  5.ɢ-threat-ᴅᴀᴛ

“for the dangerous boat”

Verbs

Verbs in Ka are marked for aspect, mood, person, argument and negation, but not for tense. There are three aspects: imperfective, perfective, habitual. The moods are: indicative, subjunctive, imperative, iterative, abilitive.

The lexical origin of the negation prefix š(a)- is from an old negated auxiliary. Verbal number is marked with the suffix -i. It indicates that the verb is plural. It is distinguished from the iterative aspect, which indicates that an action is being repeated multiple times. Hence the difference between kakad (say.ɪᴛᴇʀ-1sɢ.ᴀʙs) ‘I say repeatedly’ and kakaid (say.ɪᴛᴇʀ-ᴘʟ -1sɢ.ᴀʙs) ‘I say various things repeatedly’

Indicative

Most nouns can take the same markers as verbs, but need the prefix w- to mark the indicative, which is otherwise unmarked in regular verbs. This is typically how copular constructions are made, like wagad (ɪɴᴅ-threat-1.sɢ.ᴀʙs) ‘I am a threat/I am dangerous’.

Subjunctive

To form the subjunctive, the prefix d- is added. It is used for hypothetical statements, like ‘if X, then Y’. E.g. (More functions, seeing as it’s merged with the optative? Maybe expansive usage like desirative?)

Imperative

Is formed with the prefix w(e)-.

Habitual

Is formed with the prefix m-. It is used for customs and actions that are regularly preformed by the agent.

Iterative

Is formed by reduplicating the first syllable of the root. It is used for signaling that an action is performed repeatedly in a single occasion.

Abilitative

Is formed by adding the prefix s-. Indicates that the agent is able to do the action. E.g. swakad (ᴀʙɪʟ-frog.noise-1.sɢ.ᴀʙs) ‘I can make frog noises.’

Writing system

The Ka writing system is a fairly new invention, and it hasn’t been in use long enough for there to be any historical spellings. Writing is done from top to bottom, right to left. The in-universe inventor is said to be left-handed.

Translations

I’ll take a piss.

piss-1.sɢ.ᴀʙs

ni   -d

nid.

I just finished taking a piss.

piss-ᴘғᴠ-1.sɢ.ᴀʙs

ni   -k    -d

nikid.

I am not finished taking a piss.

ɴᴇɢ-piss-ᴘғᴠ-1.sɢ.ᴀʙs

ša-  ni   -k    -d

šanikid.

The fisher’s tale

(/j/ is romanized as /y/ here.)

hunt-1pl.erg-6.G  6.G-fish 12.G-day 12.G-finish, hunger-abl.

travel-1.pau.abs boat-inst, stay-1.pau.abs land-loc.

complete-12.G.abs-PFV night.abs, gain-1pl.erg-6.G 6.G-fish 2.G-five.

ind-hunger-1pl.abs

kihis-ka-wm u-go hok-taym hok-ayk, ayhges-m.

ca-vi hewem-twa, kwan-vi moxon-s.

ayk-kwa-k domwe, šutum-ka-wm u-go m-naga.

w-ayhges-m.

In Ka:

kihihkawm ugo hottaym hokayk, ayhgesem.

cavi hewentwa, kwanvi moxonso

aykkwak domwe, šutugkawm ugo managa.

waihgesem. :(

In English:

We were out fishing yesterday, because we didn’t have food.

Some of us went by boat, while some remained on land.

A whole night passed, yet we only got five fish.

We are still hungry. :(

Common phrases

Hello

How are you?

I’m good

Good luck!

I don’t know.

šašad.