Language: Kalash

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Kalash, from negated 'growl' in Nila, colloquially "Nila non-growl" from origins of a simpler version of Nilan, occasionally known as Nila(n) Kalash. Common tongue of Lavana and, by proxy, most of the Tri-System. One of two official languages of the Tri-System fleet, the other being kusanian.

Kalash is one of the oldest spoken languages and by far the most widespread. While it has its roots in Nilan, it has become a pidginized language, adopting phrases and vocabulary from other languages, most notably Koratian and Olashi.

Kalash is a OVS (object-verb-subject) language. The prey is hunted by me. vs. I hunt the prey. Indirect objects are shoved between (direct) object and verb. My spear to me is given by you. vs. You give me my spear.

Verbs are not directly conjugated; words indicating tense are presented after the subject. Fish is caught by me. is present tense: Fiynosh frisni dai. while Fish was caught by me. becomes Fiynosh frisni dai fres. A literal translation is more like Fish is caught by me earlier. than was caught. Tense is all-encompassing: past, past-present, present, present-future, future, endless (past-present-future).

Adjectives come after the noun they modify: sticks big instead of big sticks. Same with adverbs; they follow their verbs.

Pronouns do not have innate gender. I-singular you-it, we (you sing/pl and I)-we (it/they and I)-plural you-you and it/they-they. Words indicating gender (it male, they females) can be used when clarity is required. [Note: Nilan has gendered pronouns. They were deliberately removed from Kalash.]

Possessive pronouns don't exist; possession is indicated by a short phrase (essentially [object] is owned by me).

conjunctions, pluralization, lists, prepositions, articles, questions, negative and positive, subclauses, rearrangeability of OVS order

Vocabulary

Common Words/Phrases

"Botsa ze cha." - Peaceful greetings.
"Botsa." - "Hello."
"Cha nu kayl." - "Peace, prosperity, and understanding."
cha - peace
ze - and
nu - prosperity
kayl - understanding
"Tain gdip." - "Good luck."
"Rere fare farebs." / "Refare." - "Go in health and strength." / "Goodbye."
quyz-tai - trees
kûsani - the golden-leafed song tree / a song / a tree
"Baaaiiii!" - a call for help
"Raaaaiii!" - a cry of challenge
"Ese aane tain." - "This is bad."
pelash - minute
chirrling - cub, little one, small one, youngling, youth

Possessives

(Formed like mri'fao, li'kai, etc.)

my = mri'
hers = el'
his = li'
yours = ta'
ours = nu'
theirs = re'
its = ti'

fellow Korat = kar
kindred = kym

respected acquaintance = fa
packmate = tha
companion = thao
friend = fao

loved one = la
(platonic) soulmate = lai

lover/consort = lao
mate = kai

blood relative = cha
cousin = chao
child/cub = chai

son = chiri
nephew = s'chiri
brother = siri
father = miri
uncle = m'siri
grandfather = m'miri

daughter = chey
niece = s'chey
sister = sey
mother = mey
aunt = m'sey
grandmother = m'mey

student = dyn
mentor = qua
elder = quai
leader = nohs

Curses

btsa - rough equivalent of hell
diamen - faces
dyone - damn (verb)
dyone'd - damn (adjective)
dyoned - the damned (noun); rarely used
esh - ass, literally translated to 'undertail'
frante - very heavy insult; use with caution
cresh - a casual, slightly derogatory term for an individual, in the same vein as 'dude' or 'chick'

Kalash 1.0 (Outdated)

Pronunciation

AIE = As In English

Vowels
Not Used — y, au, eu, iu, oi, ou, oy, ue, ui

a - ah
e - eh, when at end of word = long e
i - ih, when at the end of a word = long e
o - long o
u - uh as in bug
û - oo (0251)

ae - long a
ai - long i or long a (depends on dialect)
ao - long a + long o
ay - long a

ea - long e + ah
ei - long e or long a
eo - long e + long o
ey - long a

ia - long e + ah or long i + ah
ie - long i
io - long e + long o or long i + long o
iy - long e

oa - long o + ah
oe - long o

ua - oo + long a (way)
uo - oo + long o
uy - oi as in void

Consonants
Not Used — c, x, ck, gh, hr, ph, sch, tch

b - AIE
d - AIE
f - AIE
g - AIE
h - AIE when alone, with another consonant owns a breathy, softening effect
j - jsh
k - AIE
l - AIE
m - AIE
n - AIE
p - AIE
q - when followed by u, AIE; when followed by nothing/another vowel, as k
r - AIE
s - AIE
t - AIE
v - AIE
w - AIE
y - AIE
z - AIE

ch - AIE
jh - jzsh
jj - hard j, as in just
mn - both sounds are heard
nm - both sounds are heard
rr - rolled r
sh - AIE
th - AIE

Language Structure

All proper nouns are capitalized, as are most foreign words. The beginnings of sentences are capitalized, as is the personal pronoun I/me, Dai.

This a second language to all Nila. The first is their growling language, which is far more grammatically and phonetically complex than this one, their non-growl language. This was designed chiefly to keep a universal Nila tongue among the various tribes, as the growling lang' tends to morph quickly and according to culture, habitat, and circumstance. This language was also intended to be easy to learn, simplistic, pragmatic, yet profound. It is the one taught to non-Nila who are allies or friends. There are no dialects of this, though slurring and bad pronunciation and foreign accents are quite common and must be shoved aside. This was derived partially from Kalash, as the interplanetary tongue, and so is pronounceable by most species, regardless of their jaw shape.

When speaking in a list without use of : , one uses 'and' or 'or' constantly. IE, "I went to buy fruit and vegetables and grain and meat," and "I don't know if I want the chicken or the fish or the corn or the soup." When using :, one simply lists. IE, "Here's what I want: grain, chicken, fish, meat," and one would pause after each item to ensure understanding.

Verbs are constructed firmly and with no exceptions whatsoever. They will have ah' in front of the actual verb - ah'verb is the infinitive. When conjugating, the ah is replaced by the personal pronoun, thus creating pronoun'verb. The verb root does not change in any way. It does not agree with the personal pronoun in gender nor number. Tense is shown by a short one-syllable word directly after the verb. For imperatives or very simplified speaking, only the verb root is used. The following are the verb bits - the words which follow the verb and indicate tense. Present tense has no verb bit.

nkat is past tense completed aka past perfect (I have done) ((J'ai))
nraff is future imperfect (I'm going to, I will) ((Je vais))
ngadda is habitual, ongoing, repeated ((Je -ais)
mû is possible, probable, but not certain (I might, I may, it could)

nven goes after the verb to negate it
-n attaches to end of nven to indicate never
-sh attaches to end of nven to indicate always
-hin attaches to end of nven to indicate no one
-je attaches to end of nven to indicate everyone
-ra attaches to end of nven to indicate nowhere
-tra attaches to end of nven to indicate everywhere
jwa goes at end of sentence to ask politely or deferentially
griyk goes at end of sentence to command, demand, or order

Pronouns are most often found attached to verbs. They are occasionally capitalized. Direct and indirect personal pronouns are identical. Dai is always capitalized.

First person singular - I/je - Dai
Second person singular - you/tu - daim
Third person singular generic - he/she/it/one/on/il/elle - daiya
First person plural - we/nous - daiks
Second person plural - you all/vous - dain
Third person plural generic - they - daiz

First person singular - mine/my - Ûdai (0219)
Second person singular - yours/your - ûdaim
Third person singular generic - his/hers/her/its/one's - ûdaiya
First person plural - ours/our - ûdaiks
Second person plural - your/yours - ûdain
Third person plural generic - their/theirs - ûdaiz

classification query this that some no every
adjective which this that some no every
person who this that someone no one everyone
thing what this that something nothing everything
place where here there somewhere nowhere everywhere
time when now then sometime never always
way how thus somehow
reason why
classification query this that some no every
adjective sûmala sûmara sûvala chûmala vensû vaesû
person hûtana hûtara hûvana chûtana venhû vaehû
thing njha njhara nva ncha venjha vaenjha
place zret zretara zrev chret venzret vaezret
time njink njinara njiv chink venjink vaenjink
way njwhada njwhara njwhava chada venjwhada vaenjwhada
reason whana whara whava chana venwhana vaewhana

Numbers are counted in base eight, as that's how many fingers Nila (and most other bipeds with hands) have. There is a one-through-eight count, and then after that, there is how-many singles and how-many eights. Once you get to eight eights, you go on count how-many singles, how-many eights, and how-many sixty-fours. (This is reversed as our system, where there's the hundreds place, tens place, and then ones. Nila put the ones first, then the tens, then hundreds, and so on.) Like in English, where one might say 136 as 'one thirty-six', instead of 'one hundred, thirty tens, and six ones', in Nila one can say 136 as 'ajh nga n', instead of 'ajh nk, nga nkae, n nje'. (Note - 136 in the Nila numbering system, aka base eight, is 104 in the English number system of base ten.)

1 - n
2 - ng
3 - nga
4 - ngae
5 - a
6 - ajh
7 - ajha
8 - ajhan

singles (ones) - nk
eights (tens) - nkae
sixty-fours / eight eights (hundreds) - nje
five-twelves / eight sixty-fours (thousands) - njhe
sixteens (dozens/scores) - nk-nk

Modifiers

Adjectives come after the noun/pronoun; adverbs come after the verb, but before the adverb or adjective that it modifies. Numbers are phrased like so - instead of 'eight snakes', one would say 'snakes of eight'. All adjectives and adverbs may have the below suffixes. Adverbs also have the prefix v- if starting with a vowel or ve- if starting with a consonant to signify that they aren't adjectives.

ending if adj/adv ends in vowel -meaning in English- ending if adj/adv ends in consonant

nven -opposite (un-)- en
ven -lack (-less)- even
nvah -surfeit (-ful)- ah
chil -possibility (-able)- il
rass -liking (-phile)- assna
nvrass -disliking (-phobe)- enrass
dai -inhabitant (-er, -ian, -an, -ese)- ai
k -weakening of meaning (-ish)- ek
nvah -strengthening of meaning (to the max)- ah

The basic order of a sentence is simple - subject, verb, direct object, (infinitive), indirect object. Various modifies are attached accordingly. For example, -I need to make a weapon- would be written as, -Dai'vûna fronjwei ah'njwhana,- which is -I'need weapon to'make.- Sub-ordinate clauses are to be avoided at all costs. IE, -The eight Leasheas who are grazing look at me- would be written as -Leasheas tk ajhan juayo ze pvaem tk Dai,- or -Leasheas of eight eat and look at me.- Or, in more difficult cases, -The Nila whose necklace I want talked to me- would be written as -Nila, Dai'vûna ûdaiya frahn, enshae tk Dai,- which is -Nila, I want his necklace, speaks to me.- Independent clauses can easily be embedded in one another through use of commas, but sub-ordinate clauses are a no-no. Questions are simply phrased with a drop in intonation at the beginning, and a rise in intonation at the end. Pluralizing is simply not done. To stress great numbers, one either cites a specific amount (sixty-four Leasheas!) or adds -nvah to the noun, indicating that the noun is overflowing with such numbers.

Some Roots

ana - heavenly body
dai - personal pronoun
ensh - speak, talk, communicate, converse
ghû - heavenly body
juay - to consume, to ingest, to absorb
khû - water
sû - bright, hot
tae - plants, foliage, flora

Vocabulary

a - five
-ah - -ful / to the max / many
ah'dana - to close, to shut, to shut down
ah'enshae - to talk, to speak, to converse, to communicate
ah'ghand - to be
ah'juaya - to drink
ah'juayo - to eat
ah'medala - to do
ah'njwhana - to make
ah-pvaem - to look, to watch, to observe, to regard
ah'vûna - to want, to desire, to need
-ai - inhabitant (-er, -ian, -an, -ese)
ajh - six
ajha - seven
ajhan - eight
-ana - heavenly body
-assna - liking (-phile)chada - somehow
chana - some-reason
-chil - possibility (-able)
chink - sometime
chret - somewhere
chûmala - some (adj)
chûtana - someone
-dai - inhabitant (-er, -ian, -an, -ese)
Dai - I, me
daiya - he/she/it
daim - you singular
dain - you plural
daiks - we
daiz - they
demins - mines
-ek - weakening of meaning (-ish)
-en - opposite (un-)
enjwei-ano - forest
enkwada - word (for)
-enrass - disliking (-phobe)
enshein - call, name for…
-even - lack (-less)
fiynosh - fish
frahn - necklace, collar
fronjwei - weapon(s)
ft-tae - stick, fallen branch, twig, log
genshaet - language
ghû- - heavenly body
ghûdano - moon
ghûlava - planet
gratan - teeth, claws, natural blade
gûrana - and
hûtana - who
hûtara - this (person)
hûvana - that (person)
-il - possibility (-able)
joa - slow
-k - weakening of meaning (-ish)
kantant - always
karant - day
karantae - week (eight days)
katrao - sorry
kgaht - rock, stone, boulder, pebble, gravel
khûlana - stream, creek, river
khûrana - lake, ocean, pond, sea, bay
kûsani - song, music; tree; specific type of singing tree
kûsha - group
lahna - earth, soil, dirt
lava - far, wide, big
n - one
ncha - something
ng - two
nga - three
ngado - evil, bad, wrong, incorrect
ngae - four
njha - what
njhara - this (thing)
nje - hundreds-place / sixty-fours
njhe - thousands-place / five-twelves
njinara - now
njink - when
njiv - then
njwhada - how
njwhara - thus
njwhava - that-way
njwhei - food
nk - ones-place / singles
nk-nk - dozens/scores / sixteens
nkae - tens-place / eights
nk-jweino - bird
nk-lrada - water
ntae - flower
nvahnei - very
nvha - that (thing)
nvae - yes
-nvah - -ful / to the max / many
nven - no
-nven - opposite (un-)
-nvrass - disliking (-phobe)
quaiz-tae - tree/trees
-rass - liking (-phile)
rassna - good
rhabado - spirit, soul
robato - person, creature, being, beast, animal, etc.
shwei - fast, rapidly, quickly
sûdana - sun
sûghûl - fire
sûlava - stars
sûmala - which
sûmara - this (adj)
sûvala - that (adj)
tae - plant
tk - of, at, to, towards, for, etc.
vaehû - everyone
vaenjha - everything
vaenjink - every-time
vaenjwhada - every-way
vaesû - every (adj)
vaezret - everywhere
vai - yes
vei - of
ven - no
-ven - lack (-less)
venhû - no one
venjha - nothing
venwhana - no-reason
venjink - never
venjwhada - no-way
vensû - none (adj)
venzret - nowhere
whana - why
whara - this-reason
whava - that-reason
ze - and
zn - small
zret - where
zretara - here
zrev - there

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