Kaita

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Re: Kaita

Post by Frislander »

OK, I think I'll try to write some Kaita poetry.

Poetry can cover a wide variety of topics. A popular one is reverence for nature. This form is called ciin ne θiku "hand and finger", which counts syllables and has a fixed rate of six syllables per line. These poems do not have a fixed length.

Saayan seyáyáci / weycenkèe setáwi / kíwan sewaaceku / wasinehanáku ...
saayan se-yá-yáci / weycen-kèe se-táwi / kíwan se-waace-ku / wasi-neha-ná-ku
sun II-INT-great / sky-ADV II-sit / sea II-surmount-3.ERG / heart-rule-1.OBJ-3.ERG
The almighty sun / that sits in the sky / surmounting the sea / rules over my heart ...

(Note that the English translation has the metrical form iamb-anapest, that is, weak-strong-weak-weak-strong).

Another popular subject, and possibly the origin of Kaita poetry, is the telling of epic legends, especially in ritual contexts, in a form known as séwenyàawnata "old-tounge". The meter is based upon vowel length, but not coda consonants: a short vowel counts for one "mora", a long vowel for two. The lines have an odd number of these "morae", though the number of "morae" varies between the lines.

Káyuθe katòocaannáy / "θesányùuke / θááθeweetita / cícuuθekèeyku!
Káyuθe ka-tòoca-:n-náy / "θe-sán-yùuke / θáá-θe-weeti-ta / cícuu-θe-kèey-ku
Crow I-reply-PRF-náy / 2.SUB-mind-weak / OBLA-2.SUB-serve-NOM / badly-2.SUB-use.HAB-3.ERG
And Crow then replied, "you weak minded fool! Your master is always abusing you!

Naturally, of course, there are plenty of bawdy poems as well. This one uses a popular syllable-counting doggerel form hìicékèe sááni kííha "Seven by three", which consists of three seven-syllable lines. These particular poems often take the form of a game where two poets (kéwaanyaakita "good speakers") will take turns composing these short poems on the fly: the first one to falter loses.

kayta yéénwaacèeynáku / kayòokatahèehèeθa / niitikanakísecàay!
kayta yéén-waace-`:y-ná-ku / ka-yòokata-CV-hèeθa / niiti-ka-na-kíse-càay
person like-surmount-1.SUB-3.ERG / I-anus-INT-smooth / always-I-1.SUB-desire-INT
My friend likes to be on top / his arse is nice and smooth / O how I want him all the time!
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Re: Kaita

Post by Frislander »

The derivation post has been expanded with two new affixes and more examples.
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Re: Kaita

Post by Frislander »

I've just realised I haven't done a dedicated adjectives/numerals post, so I'll do one now.

Stative Verbs
This bit is quite simple to explain: adjectives, numerals and some locational concepts are expressed by stative verbs. These behave like other verbs in most respects.

kèey kéwaanyesèente
kèey kéwaan-ye-sèente
MED well-III-be.big
It's very big

seceenkiku nayewí
se-ceenki-ku na-yewí
II-be.below-3.ERG 1.POSS-skin
It is under my skin

However, the different modes have more strongly tense-based interpretations than for normal verbs: imperfective is construed as a present/non-past, perfective as a past. The irrealis is still used in irrealis contexts, but the habitual is very rarely used, and when it is it generally has a "timeless" interpretation.

kanekétaantááy
ka-nekéta-:n-tááy
I-be.wise(polite)-PRF-tááy
(s)he was very wise

weycen hííθíkàay
weycen híí-θíka-`:y
sky IV-be.blue-HAB
The sky is blue (always)

So far we have seen predicative uses only. However, just like relative clauses, attributive uses of stative verbs are formed by paratactic sequences of verbs.

sòocin hésayenakisáθe yeteya
sòocin hésay-ye-na-kisáθe ye-teya
pot only-III-1.SUB-need.(polite) III-full
I only need the full pot

sááynàayta yeceenkiku hííhána
sááynàayta ye-ceenki-ku híí-hána
blanket III-be.below-3.ERG IV-be.permitted
It is allowed under the blankets

Numerals
As I said above, numerals are formed with stative verbs. The system is base 20, with body-part derivations for 4 upwards. They are presented here (heads-up Janko, they've changed since I last sent them to you).

1: hana
2: sááni
3: hìice
4: θúnúka (θú "finger" + núka "to lack")
5: kííteya (kíí "hand" + teya "be full/complete")
6: hana kííha (hana + kíí + -ha "to be")
7: sááni kííha
8: hìice kííha
9: kíísáánú θúnúka (kíí + sááni + ^w "irrealis" + θúnúka)
10: kíísááni
11: hana kíísááni
12-19: compounds of 2-9 and kíísááni
20: yàahana (yàa "body" + hana)
40: yàasááni
200: yàakíísááni
400: naanìiwa (naanùu "town/village" + -ha)

Multiples of 20 are formed by incorporating yàa "body" into all the verbs of the multiple (e.g. 180: yàakíísááni yàaθúnúka). Numbers in between the multiples are formed with compounds of the numerals 1-19 + the multiple (e.g. 176: hana kííha kíísááni yàahìice yàakííha)

The higher numbers could be said to be semi-transparent in that while they incorporate elements which are obviously related to body parts, the incorporate the shortened form of the noun used only in compounding.

When it comes to inflection the compound numbers behave as separate verbs, with each taking its own inflection. Note that while hana takes singular pronominal affixes, all other numbers take plural ones. The ordering in the compounds is strict, and is rarely if ever broken. In terms of clausal syntax, however, the numerals have an extremely strong tendency to be moved to the end of the clause after all o the other verbs.

caaká kàasèenteen kàaθaniin kàanatankaan kàahìiceen
caaká kàa-sèente-:n kàa-θani-:n kàa-na-tanka-:n kàa-hìice-:n
dog I.PL-be.big-PRF I.PL-be.black-PRF I.PL-1.SUB-kill-PRF I.PL-be.three-PRF
I killed three large, black dogs.
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Re: Kaita

Post by Frislander »

I've just realised I have't covered comparative and superlative constructions yet, so I'll do them now in preparation for a longer post on theology.

The comparative is formed by juxtaposition with the verb nééwe, "to exceed", with the standard and comparee being arguments of the verb. Positive comparison is formed with the standard as the absolutive/accusative argument and the comparee the ergative/nominative argument.

kàayeetíwa tasaa kàanééwekùuni
kàa-yeetú-ha tasaa kàa-nééwe-kùuni
I.PL-deer-COP bear I.PL-exceed-3.PL.ERG
There are more deer than bears

kéwaankayésa nééweθéku
kéwaan-ka-yésa nééwe-θé-ku
well-I-be.strong exceed-2.OBJ-3.ERG
(S)he is much stronger than you

With negative comparisons,the standard and the comparee switch roles.

nayekíse θenééwená
na-ye-kíse θe-nééwe-ná
1.SUB-III-desire 2.SUB-exceed-1.OBJ
I want it less than you do

tihééku seθani saanayku senééweho
tihéé-ku se-θani saana-ya-ku se-nééwe-ho
hair-3.POSS II-be.black be.angry-ACT.NOM-3/POSS II-exceed-3'.ERG
His hair is not as black as his anger

With superlatives the same structure is used, except with the voice prefixes: antipassive for positive and passive for negative.

Kèencííθita kayácitááy kékanééwetááy
kèen-cííθi-ta ka-yáci-tááy ké-ka-nééwe-tááy
fire-eat-NOM I-be.wise-tááy ANT-I-exceed-tááy
Fire-eater is the wisest (note: the -tááy suffixes indicate that the speaker respects Fire-eater)

kéθekéésìiy céyθenééwe kénahàatiin
ké-θe-kéési-`:y céy-θe-nééwe ké-na-hàati-:n
ANT-2.SUB-thank-HAB PASS-2.SUB-exceed ANT-1.SUB-meet-PRF
You are the least grateful person I have met
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Re: Kaita

Post by Frislander »

I'd better do that promised post on theology, hadn't I?

The central concept of Kaita theology is the nature of time, which they have quite an unusual conception of. Their view of time has both linear and cyclical features. The story goes something like this:

Long ago the universe was an undifferentiated mass of "stuff", completely neutral and formless. It had been created that way by the eternal, great god Wáteen, universal architect, first cause. However, a neutral, formless mass to the universe is like unmoulded clay to a pot (so the story goes): so Wáteen decides to set it spinning. This differentiates the universe into its constituent parts: night and day, good and bad, physical and spiritual, life and death, truth and falsehood. Life develops and the cycle of time begins. Eventually the cycles will stop and peter out, and the universe will return to its initial state.

How do humans fit into all this? At some point during the history of the universe, true consciousness developed, creating what are called "souls" (sécan). These are diffuse collections of thoughts and experiences which develop around some central personality "core". These outlast the physical body after death and reenter another human being (frequently a direct descendant) between conception and the age of about five. The fate of a soul is in part determined by its virtue/"karma" (kééwawee "that which follows"): particularly virtuous and compassionate souls eventually attain independence from the physical universe and "ascend" to join Wáteen; especially unvirtuous and self-centered souls eventually dissipate into the ether and are not reborn again.

The main division within this system concerns the nature of the cyclic time: whether there are a fixed number of cycles or an indefinite number of cycles.

Holding the latter position are the Salvationists (θòonikòosúnàaníta "they want us to ascend"). According to them the cycles will only stop once all souls in the universe have either ascended or been extinguished, with a focus on bringing people to the former. This movement is in itself divided into several subbranches, each holding different amounts of emphasis on ritual, study and good works, all three of which are considered necessary in some form to achieve ascendance. Those who follow this path are frequently scholars, especially in the medical arts and biology in general (it is to one of this sect that you would go to to obtain your céynócííθitáyta, for instance).

At the other end are the Counters (yéénniycita "those who like to count"). For them the number of cycles is definite and finite: what is more, they also believe that the universe has set itself up (note: not "Wáteen has set up the universe") in such a way that there are clues as to the number of cycles and to how long they are. This has led them to becoming particularly interested in astronomy/astrology, and physics and mathematics in general. They also believe that when the end of the cycle has been reached, those souls which have not yet ascended will either be judged or allowed to ascend, depending on the specific branch.

Between them both lie the "Fatists" (θáácéykensita "it is decided for them"). For them the number of cycles is definite, but is neither known nor meant to be known by mere mortals. This is the most popular of the three branches, and its priests/shamans are generally present at funerals even for followers of the other two positions.

Note the strong dualistic streak throughout all of this, particularly the good/evil split: good cannot be considered "good" without there being an "evil" counterpart. Kayta society is thus quite lenient, especially with punishments: murder is often resolved with compensation for the victim's family and some corporal punishment, though this can vary depending on the victim's socioeconomic importance.
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Re: Kaita

Post by Frislander »

We all enjoy sound-symbolism, don't we?

Like most languages, Kaita likes to use sound-symbolising ideophones in its grammar. These ideophones are distinctive in both phonology and grammar.

Phonologically, ideophones have several distinct properties. Firstly, /i/ and /e/ may be pronounced as the front-rounded vowels /y/ and /ø/ respectively. Note that unlike normal diphthongs these vowels may occur before coda /n/. In addition the true diphthongs /iw/ and /ew/ occur.

Secondly, a vowel may be lengthened to an extreme degree depending on intensity.

yáya
Oblivious, dismissive

yáyaaaaaaa
Totally away with the faeries

Thirdly, these lengthened vowels may have multiple tones appearing in sequence without an intervening consonant. This generally consists of either a high-mid-low (with the tones clearly demarked, not blending into a falling tone) or a repeated sequence of falling tones.

sannéé θiitesewèey wǿtòoòoòo
sannéé θiite-se-we-`:y wǿtòoòoòo
river CONT-II-go flowing.along
The river keeps on flowing gently along

Ideophones may also be reduplicated to show intensity.

nàay yekawteweeha tiwtiwtiw
nàay ye-kawtewee-ha tiwtiwtiw
PROX III-wall-COP hard.mud
This is a dead solid mud wall, this

Grammatically they again do not neatly fit with the rest of the grammar. Syntactically they are closest to nouns with the adverbial suffix -kèe, as demonstrated by this example.

kàayeetúsííhàay hòokankèe
kàa-yeetú-sííha-`:y hòokan-kèe
I.PL-deer-see-HAB temporary.shelter-ADV
They watch deer from a shelter

kàayeetúsííhàay yúúyuuyùù
kàa-yeetú-sííha-`:y yúúyuuyùù
I.PL-deer-see-HAB all.day.long
They watch deer all day long (Note that the grave accent represents a low tone in this example and the next one)

However, ideophones differ from adverbial nouns in lacking all morphology such as adverbial marking and possessive affixes. They also cannot be the applied object in an applicative construction.

niitiθecícàay náaà
niiti-θe-cíca-`:y náaà
always-2.SUB-be.confused-HAB drunk
You're always drunk out of your mind

*niititííθecícàay náaà
niiti-tíí-θe-cíca-`:y náaà
always-ADVA-2.SUB-be.confused-HAB drunk
*(same interpretation as above)

There a many ideophones, and they are particularly prone to dialectal variation and replacement, so only a small sample can be given here.

wátawáta - rain pounding on rooftops
hýýwøhýýwø - oozing bodily fluids such as blood
kaháá - a rousing cry/a large army over the crest of a hill
syysi - looking about nervously
wekeweke - one-on-one duelling
concuconcu - munching through food
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Re: Kaita

Post by Frislander »

Anaphora and Co-reference

I've said before that the ergative and oblique suffixes on the verbs have an "obviation" distinction rather than a class one, but I haven't really explained how that works in practice. Now I will.

For reference, here are the ergative and oblique suffixes again:

Ergative

Code: Select all

   SING PLUR
3  -ku  -kùuni
3' -ho  -hòoni
Oblique

Code: Select all

   SING PLUR
3  -kí  -kìini
3' -hé  -hèeni
The basic principal is that the most prominent NP is marked using the 3 suffixes, while everything else gets the 3' suffixes. This in most cases means the human/animate referent, partly because as humans we naturally empathise more with other humans, and partly because human NPs are the ones most likely to fulfill the ergative and oblique roles.

kèey hatanen kahennáy sannéékèe kíísin kasííhaankí
kèey hatan=hen ka-hen-náy sannéé-kèe kíísin ka-sííha-:n-kí
MED woman=INV I-go.PRF-náy river-ADV frog I-see-PRF-3.OBL
Now one day this woman went to the river and saw a frog

In this example the woman is understood to be the referent of the oblique suffix on the final verb as she was the first noun phrase to be introduced and is therefore the most "prominent". Its prominence is further highlighted by the demonstrative usage: the near-listener demonstrative indicates that at this point the woman is at the forefront of the listener's minds, indicating that this is from a longer narrative (note also the non-visible clitic, since the woman is not actually present when the story is being told).

In this example, the referred-to noun phrase was a core participant in the first clause, and in most instances anaphora can only refer to core arguments. Oblique participants are in applied to make them fit this rule.

heway θáákawìicinsíwiku yawááycinku kéwaanííkíseeno
heway θáá-ka-wìicin-síwi-ku yawááycin-ku kéwaan-híí-kíse-:n-ho
elder OBLA-I-berry-pick.up-3.ERG granddaughter-3.POSS well-IV-want-PRF-3'.ERG
An old man was picking berries for his granddaughter, who really wanted some

tííkanéhaanku kaytaku taawkakaawtíwo
tíí-ka-néha-:n-ku kayta-ku taaw-ka-kaawti-^w-ho
ADVA-I-return-PRF-3.ERG person-3.POSS might-I-help-IRR-3'.ERG
He went back to his friend on the off chance that he might help him

Note also the relative back-grounding effects of the 3/3' distinction. The participants referred to by the 3 suffixes (in these cases the old man and the person returning to their friend respectively) are the main focus of the story, the protagonist, while the participants referred to with the 3' suffixes (the granddaughter and the friend) are supporting characters. This is another instance of Kaita grammar being geared towards narrative.

The only circumstance where an oblique constituent may be co-referenced by one of the suffixes is when the other arguments are SAPs.

saankénawèey niisíkèe tíísewiθàayku sóóka
saanké-na-wèey niisi-ta-kèe tíí-se-wiθa-`:y-ku sóóka
daily-1.SUB-go.HAB sing-NOM-ADV ADVA-II-stand-HAB-3.ERG branch
Every day I walk past a songbird sitting on a branch
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Re: Kaita

Post by Frislander »

What would people like me to look at next? Is there something I've missed out or haven't explained enough? What do you think of the language so far?
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Re: Kaita

Post by Frislander »

The Noun-class System

I have sort of glossed over the noun-classes a bit, but of course it is as deep and rich as in any language.

As mentioned above, the noun-class system is a four-way distinction expressed only on the absolutive verbal prefixes (though these appear all the time in the language). The distinction works this way:

Code: Select all

    SING PLUR
I   ka-  kàa-
II     se-
III    ye-
IV     híí-
Class I expresses animate referents, and is the only prefix which expresses a number distinction. More specifically, this prefix encodes "living" referents - living humans and animals. Plants are excluded because they are not "animate" in the minds of the speakers.

tasaa kanìiya
tasaa ka-nìiya
bear I-sleep
The bear is sleeping

nantèe kàatèesíwiinin
nantèe kàa-tèe-síwi-:n-hin
fish I.PL-2.PL.SUB-pick.up-IND
You (pl.) caught some (live) fish, I hear

yàawnata kékàakaaycàay
yàawna-ta ké-kàa-kaayca-`:y
old-NOM ANT-I.PL-settle-HAB
The elders decide things

Class II is a bit of a "sub-animate" class. The nouns covered by this are plants - living but not "animate" - and dead members of class I. Many locations, often with spiritual significance, may take this form. It is sometimes used to refer to the inhabitants of a location specified by an independent nouns phrase. This class also contains a couple of other nouns denoting measures or quantities of a class IV substance, most notably càatin "fire" in the sense of "hearth/pyre".

wèesá sesèesèente
wèesá se-CV-sèente
tree II-INT-big
The tree is very big

nantèe yyyøøø setèesíwiinin
nantèe yyyøøø se-tèe-síwi-:n-hin
fish manky II-2.PL.SUB-pick.up-PRF-IND
You (pl.) picked up really manky fish

waceeku nahanci θáásenahen
wacee-ku na-hanci θáá-se-na-hen
house-3.POS 1.POS-mother OBLA-II-1.SUB-go.PRF
I went in(to) my mother's house

Class III is a mostly straight-up inanimate class, used for either natural or man-made objects with no life of their own. Note however, that the inanimates must have a defined "shape" or "quantity"; masses of inanimates go in class IV.

yekétákáyanka
ye-ké-táka-ta-yanka
III-ANT-hit-NOM-red
It is a red club

kiisan θòoniyenakeθeen
kiisan θòoni-ye-na-keθe-:n
ball want-III-1.SUB-throw-PRF
I wanted to throw the ball

yawáá yenacawáw
yawáá ye-na-cawa-^w
string III-1.SUB-find-IRR
I might find a piece of string

Class IV is an intriguing class. The basic concept linking this class seems to be that these nouns are "undefined" or non-specific. Mass nouns go in this class, though not their receptacles (see above). Abstract nouns also fall into this class; this may reflect an origin as two separate classes. Interestingly, generic nouns, of any class, may also take this prefix.

nétu hííkánθe
nétu híí-kánθe
water IV-everywhere
There's water all over the place

nàanin cátííhíínakányi
nàanin cá-tíí-híí-na-kányi
nighttime DEL-ADVA-IV-1.SUB-afraid
I'm scared at night

caaká hííkéésìiy
caaká híí-kéési-`:y
dog IV-dig-HAB
Dogs dig
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Re: Kaita

Post by Frislander »

It's very weird revisiting this thread all these years later and seeing how much I've come along as both a conlanger and as a linguist (what quaint things I used to think was interesting morphology!). I'm particularly intrigued by the random phonology in the middle of this thread for some reason, perhaps I should do something with that.

Either way, perhaps I should do a 2.0 version of this sometime (even though in many ways Asta has kinda supplanted this and shares a lot of features with this language), perhaps it'd be interesting for people to hear what I'd do differently now I've got some actual linguistics degrees behind me.
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Re: Kaita

Post by Omzinesý »

It's nice that this thread reappeared.
I could steal some ideas for my vague natam project.
My meta-thread: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5760
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